Augustus Road

On the snowy plains of Lekdania, Apis was like a reindeer that suddenly appeared. He dusted off the snow on his body and slowly stood up. He felt that everything was fate. He was here more than ten years ago, liberating He gathered a camp full of slaves to resist the army of Mithridates VI; now, he is still here, but the enemies pursuing him include one of the slaves he liberated back then, as well as Mithridates Eubert. daughter.

The entire team is on the verge of collapse, with military discipline, goals and supplies all lost. Even Apis, who has been fighting in Asia Minor for many years, has never encountered such a cold winter as this year, although according to the calendar, it is close to spring plowing. At that time of the year, it was snowing and raining all day long, everywhere, and the crisscrossing rivers began to muddy. The soldiers filled their military shoes with leather strips, linen wadding, and wheat straw to keep out the cold, but when they stepped on it, the mud would burst. After rolling up and down, within a few steps, the entire foot becomes as huge as a "small island". If a cold wind passes by at this time, the soldier's lower legs will often freeze immediately, followed by horrors such as frostbite and gangrene. words came one after another.

This is true for people, and so is the packhorse. They were all stuck in this boundless snowy area, and the dry food they carried with them was exhausted. In order to satisfy their hunger, the novel team began to kill the mules and horses that carried the baggage, as well as the goats that accompanied the army. , at first Scipio strictly stopped this behavior, but a few days later, the entire army reached the edge of mutiny and riot, and the fearful Scipio had to acquiesce-and then, seeing that he could not get out, he could only deceive himself and ordered the establishment of Winter camp is a winter camp with only closing days and no outing days.

The soldiers of the two legions could not find fresh hay, so they could only pull out some thorns and dead branches from under the thick snow. Cover the tent. They dug as deep as they could into the foundations of the camp. In order to weaken the damage of the blizzard, the camp was surrounded by the corpses of pack horses that had died of freezing and starvation. Scipio's previous most valued salary, various coins, oil cans and other belongings were also thrown everywhere, on the verge of death. The soldiers saw it and were not interested in picking it up again.

By morning, those who survived. With a pale face, he crawled out of the tent where he was living. Then there was no smoke coming out of the entire camp. All the survivors began to gather and looked at each other in silence. When some tents were sealed by snow, there were no more living creatures. When they climbed out, they opened a corner of the curtain and sighed when they saw that it was filled with stiff and terrifying corpses, all of which had been frozen to death last night. Cut down the tent supports so that all the curtains fall down. Covering the dead body, the fire in the brazier will burst into flames, and soon black smoke and flames will emerge from everywhere, burning fiercely, burning the tent and the body together, forming a ready-made "cremation pile."

More and more firelight shines in Apis's eyes. Is there any scene more tragic than this? He sat slumped in the low corner of the tent, which was a place where he could take shelter from the wind. On the open ground more than ten Roman feet away from him, there were dozens of objects sitting and lying on the ground that could hardly be called living people, because their faces and bodies were so different. Covered in snow and water, it was really hard to tell.

As for Scipio, it would be difficult for Apis to find out where he was, because he didn't know if the supreme commander was still in the camp. Did he freeze to death or escaped quietly?

Because the organization of the entire army no longer exists, Apis only knows that the towering and towering mountain directly in front of the winter camp is called Mount Asimanus, but from here to Silesia, There is still an extremely long way to go.

Soon after, there was a slight commotion from the living people around him. Apis looked up and saw that on a snowy hillside outside the camp, from unknown time on, there were several cavalrymen holding negotiation flags standing... ....

Apis was still a little surprised. Caesar's cavalry commander, the military slave Lepidus who was released by him during the Mithridatic War, can still clearly remember his name and resume, but if he thinks about it carefully, , this seems normal, "That is an extremely smart and determined young man. He became a slave before, probably due to the tragic fate of the war. Sooner or later, he will make his mark in this world." Apis thought so , and took the letter handed to him by Lebida.

In the letter, Lepidus said, "I myself have never forgotten the kindness you showed me more than ten years ago. In a certain sense, I should be your Crean disciple, because my freedom was restored with your help." We have fought side by side, but I didn't expect that the turn of fate would be so ups and downs, but I believe that this should not be the reason for you to refuse my final help - so please cooperate with the people under your command. Team, in this snowfield where there is only despair and death, give up unnecessary sacrifices. Caesar needs you, and the Republic also needs you. Your Excellency Caesar initiated this war only because he suffered Pompey’s unreasonable jealousy and slander, and was unable to distinguish it. .To this day, doesn’t the reversal of the entire battle prove where justice stands? Marcus, Maximus, Cassius and Brutus, who had awakened earlier, so many young heroes. , Caesar all entrusted new important tasks according to their talents, and Caesar did not kill any of the Pompeian soldiers who surrendered, and gave them fair and reasonable treatment. Caesar did not destroy the Republic even a little bit. Everything he does, whether he thinks or acts, is to rebuild this great country that is mired in chronic disease and internal strife.”

But Apis, who was freezing, didn't finish reading all the contents. He walked to a fire, burned the letter, and stretched his numb fingers in front of the fire. Then he turned around and said to the cavalrymen who were waiting for a reply, "I'm sorry, I'm not the highest commander of this team, and I can't disobey orders or do anything for personal gain, but please go back and tell your general that if the negotiations fail and there is a bloody war, I'm not the kind of person who disregards the lives of ordinary soldiers. I still ask your general to suspend the offensive. I will handle everything in front of me."

After receiving such a reply, the cavalrymen turned around and crossed the long snow-covered street. About half a day later, they saw the cavalry commander holding a gilded baton and surrounded by his entourage and guards.

Behind Lepidus, there were no less than 3,000 elite cavalrymen, who were in battle formation. They had come from a long distance, chasing all the way to the foot of Mount Asimanus, and wanted to destroy all of Scipio's winter camps. So they had already sharpened their knives, waiting for the cavalry commander to issue the order for a general attack.

"Let the token officer spread my order throughout the army. Wait for a day and then wait for my new order. Hanske, General Dusongville, lead a thousand cavalrymen to go around to the front and block the roads of Scipio's two legions." After understanding Apis' words, Lepidus looked at the peak of Mount Asimanus, which was hidden and hidden in the wind and snow, and said. (To be continued...)