Augustus Road

But the first person to appear on the shores of Alexandria in April was Scipio, who had escaped from Mount Asimanus. This general had shamefully and decisively abandoned his men, taking with him a dozen senators and With about fifty talents, he rushed all the way to Silesia, but he could not stay here because the city councils of Tarsus, the capital, and Antioch, the neighboring province of Syria, decided that the entire city would collapse. to Caesar, so Scipio could only disperse his money, recruit some exiled slaves and green forest horse bandits, put together a team of more than 500 people, and take eight ships with him, avoiding the patrols of enemies from all walks of life, and miraculously sailed Visit the island of Pharos, where the Alexandria Lighthouse is located.

Here, Gebinus and Marcellus had already arrived. These two men also came with hundreds of armed slaves. In addition, the Pompeian veterans who had been stationed on Pharos Island earlier, about 300 people, also supported the two men. A former consul, Scipio eventually joined the two fellow refugees and was elected as the supreme commander, responsible for commanding Pompey's followers in Egypt.

Long before the outbreak of the Roman Civil War, the Kingdom of Egypt was already in a state of fragmentation. Previously, under the control of Lepidus, the Piper's new "Hormacian Guards" regiment was commanded by the remaining non-commissioned officers and soldiers of Lepidus' expeditionary force. They were the Galatians and pirates from Asia Minor. This group of people only obeyed the orders of Lepidus and Cleopatra. In addition, the River Guards and Tomb Guards in the upper reaches of the Nile, as well as many treasurer heads, also He was close to Queen Elizabeth; but then Ptolemy Jr., Cleopatra's younger brother, returned to Alexandria. With the support of the eunuch Motammenes, he also began to secretly train a group of dead soldiers. cronies. It's called the "Golta Legion". "Golta" is the triangle. Refers to the Nile Delta, ready to attack at any time and kill his sister to monopolize it. In addition, Pompey also tried every means to ask his confidant Gabinus to infiltrate power into Egypt, so he also sent veterans to Pharos Island. Ming served as a military advisor to the Kingdom of Egypt. In fact, it was a pawn used by Pompey's party to compete for Egypt. In this way, the entire kingdom of Egypt has always been in the undercurrent of the competition between the three forces.

Now, although Scipio had consuls, senators, and an armed force of about a thousand people at his disposal, and occupied the island of Pharos, which was only a short distance away from the city of Alexandria (just a breakwater), But after all, Egypt still has two legions, the "Holmashi" and the "Golta". Even though these two legions are on the same level, they will be defeated once they face outsiders. They will definitely unite together. If they really fight, Scipio's chances of winning are slim. Because the citizens of Alexandria will not support their side. Therefore, Scipio adopted a cautious diplomatic strategy. He constantly sent envoys to lobby and intimidate the "piper", saying, "Your Excellency Pompey was kind to you in the past. Without his approval, you will have no hope of restoring the country. Therefore, It seems that due to such close friendship, you should provide garrison and supplies for our army, and mobilize your legions to fight against Caesar."

The flute player was a man of no opinion. He planned to bring in the Romans, but was met with fierce opposition from his subordinate officers. Cleopatra and the little Ptolemy brothers also rarely faced each other at the same time. The flute player was extremely troubled by his father's unsupportive attitude. In addition, he was already in poor health and suddenly fell ill with scurvy. Nowadays, in the palace of Alexandria, there is an atmosphere of misery and conspiracy everywhere. The Pharaoh's face is like a plaster wall that is about to crack and collapse. He is suffering from the disease on his sick bed, but the servants and Scipio's envoys still can't help it. He was willing to let him go and circled around his bed. The former asked him to raise an army and kill Scipio, while the latter asked him to fulfill his will and give the kingdom to Pompey after his death. Now Caesar's envoys also came, also threatening him. he.

"I only hope to see my best friend Lepidus. If it were him, he would definitely save me from this boundless mire disaster." The Pharaoh was so angry that he kept repeating these words.

At this time, Diotusos, the chief of the palace guard, asked the priests to place models of ships, Hades, and various animals on the bench in front of the bed, and placed a screen behind the Pharaoh's head to isolate the inside and outside. Then he and a group of guards knelt in front of the Pharaoh and asked the Pharaoh to wake up from the confusion of foreign affairs as soon as possible. It was most urgent to arrange the succession of the kingdom first. "That's it, my most loyal subordinate Diotusus, my determination is to follow the tradition of the Ptolemaic royal family and arrange the wedding between Cleopatra and her brother before I die, so that they can get married. As husband and wife, they became co-owners of the Kingdom of Egypt, and then"

"Then the contents of His Majesty's will will be handed over to His Majesty's two heirs for settlement?" Diotusos finally understood the Pharaoh's thoughts. The flute player was a sad character without decision-making until his death.

The Pharaoh nodded laboriously, and then the high fever made him enter a dying state. Upon seeing this, Diotusos immediately stood up with his sword in hand, and led the Pharaoh's guards to the corridor of the palace, where the great eunuch Motamei Nice was hiding in the shadow of the pillar with a gloomy face. The heavy eyeshadow and eyeliner on the eunuch's face made his expression even more rigid and unfathomable.

"The keys to the palace gate and the command of the gate guards are now in my hands." Diotusos said in a deep voice, then he looked around cautiously, handed over the impression of the key to the eunuch, and also With a puzzled expression, he said, "Is this really okay? Let the son of the Pharaoh, a supporter of the Gorta Legion, ascend the throne, and then expel and kill his sister?"

"No, not only the sister of the future Pharaoh, but also the Roman fugitives who occupied the island of Pharos." Mortanmenes said with a hunched back and a hoarse voice, "As long as the heads of Scipio, Gabinus and others are cut off and sent to Caesar first, and the money of 1,500 talents is collected and presented to the Roman dictator (the flute player had previously signed a document to borrow 1,500 talents from Pompey and Caesar respectively), then Caesar will have no excuse to come to Egypt again - in this way, the throne of the son of Pharaoh will be safe and sound." As he said, the eunuch's dry hand suddenly grabbed Diotus' collar and said, "You are the most trusted person around Pharaoh. I also know that you became the chief of the palace guards after being recommended by Lepidus. What do you think! Can I and the entire royal family trust you?"

"My wife in Egypt is in your hands, not to mention my loyalty to the entire royal family." Diotusus said tremblingly.

"Very good, let's take action immediately. We can no longer change the Pharaoh's will because the Romans have a copy of the document. But it's time to confront other matters as well." Mortanmenes said with a shriveled mouth and a fierce look in his eyes.