Chapter 5 Brutus's Confusion (Part 2)

Brutus, who was in the city of Rome just because he had an informant, also got the news that Turinus was exiled and imprisoned. He also learned for sure that the entire city of Rome was holding warm and long-lasting celebrations, and the election of the consuls had just been concluded. , new officials are returning the votes of the people in the form of competitions, racing and dinner parties.

"Lepidus's four legions have just arrived in Lucania and have not yet gone to Brindisi or Ravenna in the north. It seems that he is still hesitating before spring comes!" At the military meeting in Athens, Brutus pointed out Looking at the map hanging on the wall of the meeting hall, he said to all the generals and subordinates, "In other words, our freedom period is still three to four months. I am determined to abandon the winter camp and directly lead the previous four legions. Set out from Athens with the two newly recruited legions, and first defeat the seven legions left by Caesar in Epirus, which were patrolling because of the loss of their commander!"

"Are you sure?" Sitting on the seat, young Horace had bright eyes. He exchanged a confident attitude with Virgil, and then asked Brutus. What he might need is not an answer, but Brutus. Answer this question with passion.

"Of course I am sure. The combat strength of these seven legions is nothing more than the two or three second- and third-rate legions under Caesar's camp. There are also three legions of new recruits. When Caesar was still there, the seven of them combined , are not our opponents, and now I have no reason to be afraid of them! As long as we annihilate and capture these seven legions, we will have the strength to compete with Lepidus in the coming year, and if we do nothing in this winter camp, then the final chance will be You will lose it." Brutus clenched his fists and shouted in response to Horace's question.

So all the young generals, with poets as the main representatives. They all stood up and cheered and applauded in response. They are full of blood and passion. It seems that in the previous wars, there was no need to take any opponents into consideration. What they need now is to follow Brutus and the battle flag of the Republic, destroy all enemies in front of them, and kill them all.

But Sibalus and Calataphemius, including Synesis, the general of the Aetolian cavalry, expressed their opposition.

Sibalas was the treasurer appointed by Caesar in the province of Bithynia, and he was the oldest in this camp. They also received the support of Italian veterans (these veterans were the backbone of Brutus' army), so others recommended Sibalas to speak. He stood up and advised Brutus:

"Your Excellency, if Turinus is compared to a pheasant, now it has broken wings and cannot fly. This is indeed great news for us. But if we want to take advantage of this opportunity, we must He has a prudent judgment on the enemy's situation, which was also the secret of Caesar's biggest advantage in using troops in the past. He will never give up on himself due to failure, nor will he be daring because of success. As far as I know, Turinus is now in charge of the army. . It is the Agrippa brothers. Agrippa is good at fighting. It can be said that Turinus, as the coach, hindered the performance of this young man - and his brother Lucius is He is a close confidant of Lepidus, so if Lepidus does not conduct the winter camp and adds reinforcements to the battle group in Epirus, our chances of winning and escaping will be very slim. We should think twice about this, Commander Brutus!"

Brutus first politely expressed his sincere gratitude to the veteran general for his advice, and then he explained, "Lepidus exiled Turinus and deposed Antony, and now the city of Rome over there is falling into confusion and chaos, and power is in decline. It will take time for the enemy's legions to be integrated. But in other words, this opportunity is the only chance we have left. If we watch it slip away, the Republic will be in ruins."

"No, I don't agree with a decisive battle." The Athenian Calataphemius then stood up and retorted, "Now our main attack direction should not be to the west, but to the east. The defense of Lepidus' thieves there is relatively Weak - the three legions of Rufio in Egypt are still wavering, only the vassal state of Lepidus in Asia is our enemy, and Cassius has just made great progress in the war against Rhodes - so now we should One legion was left to defend Athens, while the rest of the main force marched eastward to conquer important maritime strongholds such as Crete, Cyprus, and Lesbos, blocking Lepidus from overseas, and then focused on conquering Ionia and Cilicia in Asia Minor. Stand firm."

"Don't you even want your hometown of Athens? Everyone knows that by the end of winter at the latest, Lepidus will definitely mobilize an army to come and capture Athens!"

"Keeping Athens, even if it costs a huge sacrifice, as long as we control the transportation and advantages of the sea, and take turns to defend my hometown, we can defeat Lepidus' offensive. This is not the first time that Athens has sacrificed for the sake of republic and democracy. I also hope that This is not the last time." Calataphemius was so impassioned that the whole assembly was in a state of excitement.

"But Lepidus still has two main armies, namely the 16th Army and the 28th Army. They are still in the hands of Sabo of Lepidus Fort, which may threaten our flanks and retreat." At this time, someone added worriedly.

So the meeting quickly entered the stage of debate and discussion, and everyone expressed their opinions. This is also the characteristic of military democracy in the Brutus camp. No, it cannot be said to be military democracy, but democratic military.

Under this situation, Brutus had no choice but to give all the generals two days, but a consensus must be reached in the end. Otherwise, the only way to determine the battle plan was to hold a secret vote.

At the same time, Lepidus had secretly ordered the Skylark Legion, the Seventh Legion and the Twelfth Legion to board the transport fleet and secretly jump through Sicily and Malta and quickly head towards Cyrene.

Then the high priest received news that the former chief virgin, Li Xiliya, was already critically ill. Before she died, she hoped to see the high priest to express her feelings.

In the virgin apartment on the street on the other side of the circular Temple of Vesta, dark blue vines densely hung on the courtyard wall. Lepidus passed through the fountain and the fish pond and came to Li Xiliya's room at the edge of the first floor. She was once elegant, but now her skin was dry and her eye sockets were sunken. She lay quietly on the raised couch, surrounded by other virgins, including Zeno.

After learning that the high priest was standing in front of the bed, Li Xilia tried to say to Zeno, "You go out, but you must stand in the corridor and don't close the door of the room. Even though I am so old, I still have to avoid gossip. This is the pride of being a virgin, but also a great sorrow."

When Li Bi Da walked in, Zeno brushed past him, and then with tears in his eyes, he walked out with other virgins as instructed.

"Come on, please ask the high priest to sit next to my bed. It's really rude." Li Xilia opened her eyes and said leisurely. (To be continued...)