Chapter 5: Cemetery of the Temple of War God (Part 2)
"That seems to be a tuna coffin. They are going to rush into the Temple of War Cemetery." A priest who recognized him panicked and patted the slave next to him, meaning to tell him to run faster and notify the Union Temple or the Concord Temple. Your Majesty the Consul, we must find someone who can and is willing to take care of this matter.
Just as the onlookers were talking loudly and asking for an explanation for this scene, Lepidus, who was pretending to be a priest's assistant, suddenly put down his sacred vessels, climbed up on the altar, and shouted to the people below, "Everyone, my name is Lepidus. , similar to some of you, was sentenced to death by a bribed jury last year for absenteeism, but if you ask me why I was absent, is it because I feel guilty because of my crime, that would be a big mistake. Where was I when the jury and the judicial officer were playing tricks and deliberately trying to convict me? Dear citizens, I risk my life to tell you that I and my colleagues are in Cyprus, in Egypt, in Cyrene is in a bloody battle with all kinds of enemies of the Republic, and there are endless yellow sands, steep hills, crocodiles with big mouths, and poisonous insects and scorpions everywhere, all of which may take away our lives at any time. But I am always here. I followed my comrades and never abandoned anyone, because I always believed that I was a free citizen of Tuna, a great general who also made great achievements for Rome but was rejected by politicians. I am the adoptive father of his younger brother. . In the philosophy of this world, a Roman man trusts his wife the most, followed by his personal slaves and free people, and finally his son." His funny words aroused laughter and laughter from the people. Applause, attention was gradually attracted.
The other priests' faces were covered in sweat. I know this person is here to cause trouble. He hurriedly called the temple slave. He pulled this one down, but it was obvious that Lepidus had been in battle for a long time and was very experienced. He immediately shouted about a topic that the people were more interested in, "But my patron has found the right loyal freedman heir, but he has made the wrong friend." , his good friend, the person who read his will, is the moral model advocated by the nobles! Now I want to announce the misdeeds of Cato, who has a human face and a beast's heart, and embezzled the inheritance of my patron! "At this time, a certain slave in the temple happened to be there! After touching Lebida, Lepidat immediately screamed exaggeratedly and was "pushed" off the altar, falling into the crowd. Then he quickly took out a bronze vessel from his arms and said hello to his head, and then someone He came to help him, but he pushed him away with his face covered in blood. Li Bida tore the clothes off his chest, his face flushed. He roared angrily, "If little Cato and the nobles want to harm me, an insider, and feel that banishing me from the country is not enough, then come and kill me!"
Several golden young men and the old centurion immediately started making noises in the crowd, and hands were shaking everywhere, "Let him continue talking, let him continue talking!" People are instinctively interested in the gossip of aristocratic politicians. , and was also moved by Le Bida, who was still unyielding even though he was covered in blood.
Lepidus returned to the altar on the shoulders of several old centurions. His time was limited. He understood that Cato the Younger or Pompey might be walking towards this direction with his retinue, so he had to To be concise and concise, "As we all know, this is not the first time that Cato has interfered with other people's inheritance. This is his nature. At that time, he gave his wife to a wealthy friend, and let his wife give birth to a child with him, and then took advantage of him. After passing away, I inherited a large inheritance - ten thousand bottles of fine wine and a luxurious manor. This time, I treated my patron the same way. My patron said this to me before he died. He said he would. I left the will to Cato for peace of mind, because he was the most upright man in Rome, and then Cato and Charon formed a partnership to divide my patron’s inheritance equally.”
Lepidus is obviously using a pun here. Charon is the ferryman of the River Styx and wants to ask for money from the dead. This sentence is a satire on Cato the Younger who relies on the dead to make money.
As a result, the speaker became more and more outrageous, and the mood of the crowd became more and more passionate. The first people to rush to the square to stop them were a few young nobles who were supporters of Cato. They protested fiercely and were about to board the The altar was pulled, and as a result, an old centurion from the city of Fesule who had retired from the army shouted, "I hope you will also taste the taste of blood." He pulled out a hidden dagger and stabbed one of them deeply in the waist. After entering, the opponent's intestines and internal organs immediately ruptured, and he screamed and fell under the altar of the God of War. This time it really caused a loss of life. The square was in chaos, with people trampling and running around. On the roof of the arcade of the warehouse opposite, Paluma, who had been sitting on the ridge, whistled and then waved his hands quickly, which meant that the fire brigade slaves of the Senate were about to arrive, and he must have seen the flag at the intersection.
A group of golden youths, shouting loudly, rushed the tuna coffin into the Temple of War. The priests and slaves who were frightened by the bloody conflict were overwhelmed one after another. Many civilians who were agitated also helped carry it hand in hand, and Lepidah was independent. On the altar, after looking at the chaos around him, he jumped down, met the little pigeon and the centurions, ran towards the deep and winding alleyway over there, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
**In the official residence of the minister, Cato the Younger was furious and slammed the writing board on the table. He was originally going to arrest Lepidus and donate thousands of talents of real money to the Republic's treasury to improve the rampant bribery during the consul election. But now he has caused trouble instead. Now the whole city of Rome is spreading rumors that he embezzled his friend's inheritance. What's more, Lepidus also declared with great emotion that before his death, Tuna wanted to give him 800 talents. This made the Romans who valued the will the most feel extremely angry, saying that Cato the Younger was an out-and-out black-hearted and a bad friend.
Not only that, Claudius also took action against his ally, the great and vain Pompey. Just when Pompey was about to attend the People's Assembly and pass a final judgment to hunt down and execute Lepidus, he was blocked by Claudius and a group of followers at the door of the Temple of Virtue!
Claudius climbed up the wall like a play, then lifted up his robe, exposing his genitals insultingly, and then shouted to everyone, "Which great general in Rome married a wife as old as his daughter?"
"It's Pompey, the great Pompey!" Hundreds of Claudius' followers collectively imitated their leader, exposing their genitals and shouting such slogans.
"In my opinion, he is not a great general, but a great sexual maniac!"
"Yes, the great sexual maniac is called Pompey!" All the followers' genitals shook violently and responded, just like the legionnaires beating their shields, it was simply a carnival.
Pompey was both angry and afraid. Facing such an unrestrained political hooligan, he could only cover his face with his sleeves, hurried home, and never mentioned going to the People's Assembly again. (To be continued...)