Chapter 28 Cicero's Great Victory (Part 2)

Therefore, this condition further strengthened Cicero's confidence. In the public debate that followed, he showed his talents to the fullest, constantly sarcastic, sarcastic and refuted all those who dared to hold counterarguments. For example, he invited Aetius to go now. Outside the city, he negotiated with four legions, "Maybe I should allocate half of the city legion to you as bodyguards, but they might also sell you out for five hundred sesterces right next to Lepidus' camp." Is there anyone closer to Lepidus than me? I know him, I understand him, he just wants a fair result. When Caesar crossed the Rubicon, Cato the Younger once said that Pompeo had not done a good job. He rashly started a war without preparation, and now this comment could not be more appropriate for some people. +,"

Next, Cicero kept making promises, "Caesar is a young man who admires me very much, and Lepidus is willing to sit on the seat and talk and laugh with me. Now the city of Rome is like a pile of dry wood and kindling." The venue is full of legions. If the Senate's order is a little extreme, it will definitely ignite a catastrophic flames and burn us all to death. So we are dancing on the vines dedicated to the faun. So at this time, we must believe that the real elders will calm everything down."

Under Cicero's hard and soft tactics, many senators have already succumbed, and the Senate was not afraid of the sword. But that was only when they faced the invasion of foreign enemies. At this moment, the people were happy to accept the leadership of their specially chosen father, but They are afraid that like Marius and Sulla, this group of cancers that breed in the internal body of the Republic has no law or logic at all. They can do whatever they want, as long as they have the support and recognition of the legions.

The result is the final vote. With an advantage of 70% to 30%. Cicero's proposal was approved.

Spinzel slumped down on his seat. He said to himself that everything is over. The current Republic is like a huge fortress. It looks invulnerable from the outside, but God has set a gap for each fortress city when it is being built. As long as the enemy knows the gap, any soldier will If you stand there, or even pour a woman's menstrual blood on it, the wall will automatically collapse. The towers will automatically tilt, the garrison will automatically collapse, the huge and prosperous city will be reduced to ruins, its glory will become a fleeting cloud, and the ungrateful citizens who once enjoyed their freedom and rights will be punished for their chattering and stupidity. Retribution, they once hated the elite, but now no elite is willing to protect them. Their retribution has come, that is, they will become slaves forever.

Then Cicero appeared in front of everyone. As the elder on duty, he issued a series of edicts:

Hejius was given a state funeral and praised the 42nd and 43rd legions who fought bravely. Grant them an eagle and a wreath, allow them to participate in the triumphal ceremony, and reward each soldier with one hundred dinars of silver;

For the nine and ten legions who had deserted the dark side of Antony and turned to the bright side, the Senate specially allocated five hundred dinars of silver to each of them from the treasury as a reward;

A twelve-day thanksgiving ceremony was held for Decimus, who bravely resisted Antony in the city of Mutina, and an eight-day thanksgiving ceremony was held for the two consuls Pansa and Hegius who bravely rescued the siege of Mutina. the thanks of the young Caesar, who commanded the army, and among them;

Merut, the original high priest, was transferred to the position of second consul, and Lepidus took the vacant high priest position;

The task of pursuing Antony was solely responsible for Dethymos. Dethymos' position as governor of Siberian Gaul remained unchanged. Less Caesar's mission came to an end and he could return to the city of Rome and take over one of the twelve praetorian seats.

After announcing this, Cicero raised his hands to everyone and shouted, "With this edict, the instability of the Republic will disappear!" What he received in return was also the voice of the emperor: Lepidus got what he wanted. Yes, Antony is at the end of his rope. Young Caesar will soon have to come back and smooth out his anger on the long road of qualifications. The power of Caesar's party will be successfully split and resolved.

There is no doubt that in Cicero's arrangement, the contempt and burying of young Caesar have reached the pinnacle.

In the camp outside the city, soldiers from the four legions shouted the slogan "Imperato" as if participating in a celebration, and bought various flower crowns, rattles and small gifts from the camp market , flocked to Lepidus' camp to express their congratulations. Many people fell down and knelt before the statue of King Numa, while Lepidus came out with a smile, mounted a black horse, and circled the boundary of the trench of the camp, amidst the cheers of the soldiers. Inside, he ran around for a full circle, then dismounted again and walked into the tent. When he walked out after a while, he changed his attire and openly put on the special olive branch hat used by the high priest and a waistcoat. Wearing a sheepskin cloak, "Long live the high priest! Long live Rex!" After the soldiers saw it, their emotions reached their peak. They clasped each other's arms, raised them up and down, and shouted like a turbulent ocean.

"This is for the time being my last day as your commander-in-chief, and it may also be the first day I receive the position of high priest. Because the high priest is elected by the people's assembly, not by the Hundreds on the Mars Campus, so I Calling for the assistance of all of you.”

Lepidus's meaning was very clear. Except for the old soldiers who stayed behind, everyone in the camp immediately took off their military uniforms, hid their daggers, and went out to the assembly hall to vote for Lepidus. This was a very convenient thing during the three-headed monster period. Caesar had repeatedly asked legion soldiers to return to Rome during the winter camp to vote for Crassus and Pompey, or their respective agents and confidants, and seek various positions.

The result was self-evident. Lepidus wore such clothes that night, and in the welcome of new citizens and soldiers, and in the silence of old citizens, he walked into the Corso Cola like Caesar in those days, but he was no longer returning to the apartment he rented when he came to Rome, but entered the luxurious and exclusive residence of the high priest. He had become the owner of this place.

On the shelf of the closet in the residence, Lepidus slowly placed the strange bronze statue of a man and a bull left by the master during his lifetime on it, and looked at it intently, but he knew that everything was not over yet.

The next day, at the meeting in the Senate Hall, Lepidus arrived on time and asked the two consuls to take over their legions and go to cooperate with Decimus to pursue Antony. As the high priest, he should be in charge of the Capitoline Hill.

"To pursue Antony, Decimus' legions and Caesar's legions are enough." At this time, Cicero said.

But Lepidus laughed, "Will my six legions accept the result of being dismissed on the spot?"

He laughed so wantonly in the hall, as if mocking everyone. Almost everyone was stunned. Then Cicero proposed, "Then Pansa and Melut can take over the mission of the expedition." (To be continued..)