Augustus Road

"The emperor sat on a high throne, surrounded by weapons, horses and guards, and the conquered captives prostrated at his feet." - Saint Chrysostom's description of the Eastern Roman emperor's pomp

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The representatives were immediately stunned. The leader Gu opened his mouth and held Ulabella's complaint in his hand. They didn't know whether to read it bravely or to leave quietly, but the cold light of the ax was still in the hall. Flashing, the cavalry commander still stood aside in a condescending manner from a distance.

Finally, Lepidus spoke, "Now there are no consuls in the city of Rome, only dictators and cavalry commanders. The system is a wartime martial law system. All people should respect the dictator's consciousness. Now you are inciting the people to launch a riot and occupy the temple. This is already a huge crime. I can cut off your scalp right now, and then ask the executioner to push you off the high rock｜No｜Wrong｜.[][s].But I still need to throw you to death. I will go to Eulabella to send a message, so of the twelve of you, only one of you needs to go back, and the rest will rest in Capua for a few days." After saying that, Lepidus walked to the representative who was trembling with the complaint in his hand. In front of him, he slowly brought his scroll over, which meant that he had no intention of resisting the push. Then Lebida threw the scroll on the ground and stepped on it with his foot, "Go back and give Eurabella a message. I will The commander of the cavalry declared that the Roman city-state was closed until Caesar arrived on the Italian territory, and no fairs or gatherings were allowed to be held, nor were any bills allowed to be held in the Senate or in the Council of Tebris. Vote." The so-called "closed market." It is indeed an order that can be issued by consuls and dictators. Generally speaking, the purpose of closing the market is to allow the people to prepare for festivals or triumphal celebrations, to facilitate the cleaning of squares and assembly halls, and to plan procession routes.

Now Lepidus is asking for a market break, naturally to delay the vote on Eulabela's debt proposal. Once the dictator really returns to the city of Rome, Eulabela will have more energy. There is no way to turn out the waste.

"The reason for my request to suspend the market, you have to know that we must give reasonable feedback to the general public who hope that this proposal will lead." Finally, the representative plucked up the courage, avoided the fascist axe, and told the cavalry commander questioned.

"The market is closed for the Saturnalia celebration." Lepida said expressionlessly.

“What about after Saturnalia?”

"For the triumph of the Dictator's Legion."

"But now even the Legion is at the God of War Campus."

"Who cares, in ten days I will lay a finger on them and tell them to return to their resettlement place and prepare to go to Africa." Lepidah still had a poker face.

"What if we, the people, are united and refuse to close the market?"

"The four legions of Corfinium and Passini, together with the Skylark Legion that was originally on the Tiber River in Rome, will enter the city and enforce the closing order on behalf of the Senate." All the representatives were a little angry. The people protested, saying that the cavalry commander had no proper reason for doing this.

"Of course there is a reason, because these four legions have been awarded the qualification to triumph. After so many years of fighting, I can sponsor a large-scale competitive competition in Rome for the first time. By then, none of the eleven of you will have to go alone. Go back to the city with my guards and carriages, and watch the grand drama, gladiatorial battles and parades. After that, I will give you extremely generous gifts." Unexpectedly, the cavalry commander now changed his face and used this kind of generosity. Putting them under house arrest for such generous reasons is really dumbfounding.

After learning that Lepidus dared to detain the representative, Ulabella was extremely angry. He yelled, "I heard that his women and children are in the city, so I ran to arrest them!"

As a result, the Lepidus' house was guarded by three hundred fully armed gladiators, as well as thousands of dockworkers and oarsmen from the Ostia River Port. After receiving the letter sent by Paluma from Gaul, , also armed with weapons, crowded in front of the mansion, and voluntarily vowed to protect the safety of Lepidah's family until death. Facing the gladiators and the well-organized union, the ragtag group of people under Ulabella couldn't even touch the door frame.

So Ulabella thought of the veterans who were demanding pay on the campus, and sent representatives to contact them, meaning that they could provide them with weapons and let them serve as vanguard thugs, but Skava and all the legion commanders sternly refused. "We are an army, and our request this time is extremely legitimate. When faced with Antony's cavalry and swords, we did not stoop to using violence to solve the problem. Now the cavalry commander has outstanding military exploits and is a war hero in all of Rome. We have no reason to taint ourselves." ”

"These ruffians can still pretend to be righteous." Ulabella was so angry that he cursed loudly. Then he realized that his father-in-law was also in Brindisi and was actually a hostage in the hands of Lepida, so he had no choice but to give up on each other. Hijack the idea of ​​a threat.

But the news that followed shocked him even more: Although the cavalry commander clearly stated that he would not come to the city of Rome, half a market day later, he suddenly appeared in the Roman Civic Square, followed by hundreds of senators, almost all of whom had power in Rome. The powerful dignitaries were all around him, as if they had been discussed in advance.

When Eulabella's henchmen gathered in front of the Juilliard Hall, the other party also confronted them face to face leisurely, "Let the market be closed and disband. Eulabella returns to her mansion and is not allowed to leave the city." Sanctuary, as a tribune, if you leave the boundary of the furrow, you will lose your inviolable power. If any security incident occurs at that time, it will have nothing to do with the country. What you have to do is to wait patiently for the dictator to return. Finally, I will treat you leniently." Lepida said directly to Eurabella.

The party members and the mob immediately became commotion, and many people began to fumble for weapons from their arms. Waiting for Eulabela's order, they used violence to coerce the cavalry commander to announce in public that he would give up the order to "close the market."

But after looking at each other for a period of time, Ulabella took the lead in compromising. After all, he was a young man who was not very experienced in the world. His energy came and went quickly. He thought about his wife, children, lover, and father-in-law. At the same time, he also saw the cavalry commander. The reflection of the soldiers' swords hidden in the Great Hall could only say so, "The debt abolition proposal is far from complete, but if the riots expand, it will be detrimental to the entire country, so we should wait until Caesar comes back before bringing this up." Topic." Then, amid the frenzied moans and curses, Eulabella lowered her head and stood on the steps of the Senate, standing together with all the nobles and officers again.

Then, Lepidus ordered an emergency shipment of food from the Ostia River Port, distributed sufficient bread to the people, and gave all citizens a certain amount of new coins as a "Saturnalia gift", and promised to resolve debt and rent issues. They waited until the dictator returned to discuss the matter, and the popular riot was quickly put down.

A few days later, Cicero also returned to the city of Rome in a postal carriage. It seemed that this place had given him the "courage to love" again.

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