Augustus Road

This condition is very tempting, and it is in line with King Juba's dream, but he continued to ponder. Demetrius has always handled internal and external affairs on behalf of his master Pompey, and he is very clear in his mind - according to the current situation, King Juba is hesitating between Caesar and Pompey. You know, although Pompey has offered such a generous bargaining chip, he is now betting on the entire country. If he still cannot defeat Caesar, then Numidia will be in danger of extinction.

"Please don't hesitate any longer. This is the plan for dealing with Numidia proposed by Curio, who was the tribune at the time and is now the commander of Caesar's garrison in Africa, before we left Rome." As he spoke, Demetrius handed a copy to King Juba for review. It was indeed Curio's proposal, and there was nothing to hide. Curio suggested to Caesar: After defeating Pompey's party in Africa, not only should Eunonia be revived and four to five legions of veterans be settled on African soil, but Numidia should also be completely annexed, and King Juba and his son should be relocated to Rome to be controlled. This would be in full compliance with the interests of the Roman knights here. They were generally dissatisfied with King Juba's policy of heavy taxes and military advancement, and wanted to overthrow the royal family and achieve their own group's control over this place. "Let my vanguard General Mago take 3,000 cavalry to reinforce Utica. Then I will personally mobilize 40,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry, and 100 war elephants, together with the palace steward Sapp. Cooperate with His Excellency Pompey to fight and destroy the enemy!" It seems that King Juba has made up his mind.

Pompey couldn't help but applaud on a chair on the side, and then he said that he would sacrifice many white bulls to the gods to establish the covenant relationship between the two sides.

At this time. Demetrius' heart was also full of joy and excitement. It seemed that the war situation had taken a big turn after everyone's efforts. He also clapped his hands. Many musicians and bridesmaids who had been carefully trained by him walked to the center of the banquet and began to perform. Handsome young men shuttled between them, pouring wine and teasing for the king and the nobles, and the atmosphere of the whole banquet reached *. King Juba and Pompey frequently clinked glasses across the chair in the middle, for the war situation, for their wives and children, and for the glorious victory of Rome and Numidia, just like old friends who had known each other for many years. "Oh, so you are General Lepidus's men. I feel sorry that we belong to different camps in this battle, but I will still prepare a banquet for you two!" In the tent, General Mago greeted Hitis and Otacilius enthusiastically, but he was obviously still wary - in the past, Mago had served as a vassal army, with a thousand Numidian light infantry and several war elephants, to cooperate with Lepidus in the military campaign to Lusitania. The relationship between the two was quite good. Lepidus gave the general a lot of spoils of war, which increased his property.

Hitis looked around, and then said to Mago in fluent Phoenician, "This time our cavalry commander will bring a bigger gift for the general."

"I know you, your name is Hitis, you used to be a mercenary in Mauritania and fought against my majesty. Your words are not trustworthy." Mago said angrily after seeing through his identity.

On the other side, Otacilius was not in a hurry. Under the translation of Hitius, he told General Mago, "I am the real representative of the cavalry commander." Then he gave Mago a ring.

The ring was engraved with the portrait of King Numa and the name of Aemilius, which surprised Mago. He believed in Lepidus' sincerity, but out of caution, he still had to ask what he had to do to satisfy the cavalry commander.

"It's very simple, betray your majesty and serve and be loyal to His Excellency Caesar." Otacilius said proudly.

Mago shouted angrily, he pushed over the table, drew his sword out of the sheath, and wanted to teach those who teased him a lesson, but Otacilius, who was in front of him, immediately took out a decree board. Mago, who was fluent in Greek, looked at it and saw that under the dense content, there was indeed a seal of the Roman dictator.

"Numidia is doomed to perish. It's good that King Juba is helping Pompey now, so the dictator won't have to waste too much energy. However, Caesar's decree is very clear. He plans to divide the conquered Kingdom of Numidia into four parts according to tradition. The city of Cielta will be given to me, the city of Dio will be given to you, and the other two parts will be turned into provinces directly under Rome. That is to say, after our cooperation is completed, you and I will both be kings of four territories." Sitius explained the contents of the decree to Mago.

Although the king of a four-territorial territory is smaller, he is also the ruler of a country with a palace and a large group of slaves. This is something Mago didn't even dare to think about before. Luck is like this. It comes to you without you knowing it, or gives you gifts, or brings you endless regrets. Can I really only be an unknown officer? Mago was not originally a hereditary noble of Numidia. His ancestors had always been Carthaginians and owned independent manors. Later, during the civil war between Sulla and Marius, Sulla gave his family's territory to the kingdom in order to win the support of the King of Numidia.

"I don't like loyal people who betray their masters." Mago said slowly and proudly, and then he laughed, "But it depends on who the master is. Obviously it shouldn't be King Juba."

"Very good!" Otacilius raised his glass with great satisfaction and proposed to clink glasses for the agreement they reached privately. "Don't worry about the following things. As long as General Mago does what the cavalry commander says, your honor and safety can be fully guaranteed."

After the sacrificial ceremony and the marching ceremony in Kirta City were completed, Mago led his 3,000 cavalrymen without any flaws and marched towards the city of Utica.