Augustus Road

As soon as Pompey finished speaking, several tanned messenger cavalrymen handed over the latest war report - Caesar had arrived in Brindisi.

"What?" Pompey was surprised, and then he suddenly realized and said to everyone that this was exactly Caesar's trick. He deceived us with false information. In fact, his legion had already quietly gone to Brindisi, but the senators who stayed in Rome only knew to keep an eye on Caesar, and Caesar used this to pin down our spies. Then he found an excuse and rushed to Brindisi with a light car and a few people. It only took about three days. He could immediately command and dispatch the battle situation, just to catch us by surprise.

Not long after, Pompey was right. Another messenger cavalryman bared his white teeth, raised his whip, and in the smoke and dust, he struggled and handed over the document at full speed: "Caesar has already arranged an attack plan on Greece."

"Who is his commander?" Pompey asked.

"Caesar has put together a new fleet with all his strength. It is said that there are only 40 ships with decks, which have been handed over to Antony's brother Gaius and his deputy general Cetellus, as well as Cicero's son-in-law Eulabella, along the coast of Dalmatia, trying to establish a bridgehead somewhere." The messenger shouted loudly, and it was obvious that the intelligence he received was very accurate. "In any case, since we have figured out the enemy's subordinates, goals and commanders, the war has a chance of winning." Scipio said confidently.

Pompey hummed. Once this general really came to the battlefield and had time to sharpen his claws. He would become the most terrifying enemy. He quickly walked out of the overall subordinates: my son Sextus and his father-in-law Lipo. Immediately take the Utica fleet to sail again, no matter it is a storm or a rainstorm, and immediately meet with the Greek fleet of Byblos. Although this Byblos has a deep hatred for Caesar and will not slack off, his ability is limited after all, so with Maximus's assistance, he is the actual commander. This young admiral followed me to fight against pirates in the past. He is as experienced as Libo, who is in his fifties. Although he was expelled for disobeying me before, now we are fighting for the Republic again. With these people united, the commanders sent by Caesar are not to be feared. At sea, Caesar's poor weaklings are compared with my elite soldiers who have fought against Mediterranean pirates. What use can they be?

In Asia, our Brutus and Apis recruited people there to form a new second-line legion. Mobilize the veterans of Crete and Rhodes to fight against Caesar's party. In addition, Cassius and Marcellus commanded the fleet to try to retake these strongholds and shock those hesitant vassal states. As for the Greek and Macedonian land forces, give up attacking Illyria and concentrate all on the coast of Dichacian and Apollonia, led by Gabinus, and Marcellus stayed in Delphi to collect money and food from various city-states and kingdoms and prepare logistics equipment. Both sides were preparing for a new fight, but this situation could not be felt in Rome for the time being. Lepidus, who was responsible for staying in the city, cancelled the triumphal ceremony as ordered, but still took out money for the citizens to feast. The whole city began to revel and get drunk again until Matthias, who was in charge of finance, came to report: Caesar had run out of gold, silver and copper coins in the treasury and the military camp at this moment.

The money was spent, which may be unimaginable in modern society, but it was a normal problem in the classical era. The money in the treasury of the Temple of Saturn was all taken away by Pompey. Although Lepidus had forcibly looted the treasury before, the money was also used in the wars in Italy and Spain. Because the military funds and bounties were exhausted, Lepidus himself also paid a considerable amount of money.

The current city of Rome is a city without money, or at least in the government of the dictator Dictator, all these shiny and indispensable little things have slipped away.

So when Matthias reported this situation, Lepidus was in the luxurious mansion of Senator Bollus, lying on a couch inlaid with diamonds and gold nuggets, drinking fine wine, and relaxing from the fatigue of the previous battles! Since many Republican senators fled the city, Pompey's manor and house fell into Antony's hands, Bollus' house was given to Lepidus, and some were sold at a low price, converted into money for celebrations and bribery activities. Now after hearing this news, I suddenly felt that the wine was sour because of my melancholy.

"No wonder this dead bald guy ran so fast! It turns out that he wants to throw all the mess to me." Lepidus threw the silver wine glass heavily on the small table, and then Matthias suggested that the mint and warehouse in Cyrenaica have accumulated a lot of gold and silver coins in the past two years, and some of them are exchanged by Adiana for selling flower luxury sets to Greece regularly. From time to time, they are transported to help?

"Kid, you are crazy." Lepidus quickly stopped him from talking. "Those gold and silver coins are always valuable. If we distribute them, they will become troops and supplies for our own use. Do you think this war will end in one or two years? In addition, the route from Cyrene to Italy is now blocked by the superior Pompey fleet. If they are captured on the way, my heart will break."

If you ask where Lepidus's own fleet is, it is still in the hands of his confidant Paulus, resting happily in the port of New Carthage in the name of guarding against African enemies. Lepidus has become more and more shrewd and treacherous in recent years. He will not use this trump card when there is no benefit.

"In fact, the solution to the waste of money and coins is very simple." Lepidus said thoughtfully.

Matthias stood beside him with full concentration and breath, listening to his instructions.

Lepidus then talked about several core tips: fundraising, decrees and minting.

However, Lepidus did not directly point out the latter two. He first told Matthias that the first one was the starting point and the key, so he had to use the identity and convenience of the dictator's assistant to take this crucial step first.

"Ask Helsius to come to my house tomorrow. I need to create momentum in this city." Lepidus said to Matthias in a loud voice.

As a result, on the second day, Lepidus replaced the dictator Dictator and posted a temporary Acuta in the Forum, on which was signed a clear decree: the war was difficult and extravagance was strictly prohibited. From that day on, in the city of Rome, no one, regardless of their status, was strictly prohibited from possessing more than 60,000 sesquiterans in cash.