Chapter 15 Click to Read (Part 1)

"I like betrayal (from the enemy), but I don't like betrayers (from the enemy)." - Julius Caesar

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What! Cicero's chest felt as if he had been hit hard by a hammer, and he was speechless. The tribunes all laughed proudly.

"Yes, both account books were burned. It was purely an accident." Cato stood there and said with a very determined expression. He was unwilling to mention the rebellion of Di Linmo and Ascher, but Claudius Obviously he didn't ask much. He just put on a sad expression and said, "It doesn't matter. Even if the account books are destroyed, these coins are still in good condition. I will ask Basatus to make detailed statistics and never let you suffer any embarrassment."

"I must make it clear that the three thousand talents in these wooden cabinets are my loans." Little Cato slowly handed over the documents from the Chamber of Commerce.

Claudius took it and looked at it doubtfully, then said with a wry smile, "Sorry, I can't quite figure out the reason. Do you mean that half of it cannot enter the treasury? But... "Then he gave up the conversation to Basatus, because he was the tribune in charge of the keys to the treasury of the Temple of Saturn. Basatus also said in embarrassment, "Dear Lord Governor, if all your account books have been burned, then It is impossible to convince the public by distinguishing the source of money. In this regard, you must imitate the great general Pompey, whose harvest in the East was so clearly recorded that I must say that you are particularly embarrassed by this. "

At this time, the senators and tribunes in the entire venue were whispering, and they obviously began to express doubts and dissatisfaction with Cato's property. "Everyone, please don't discuss it. Losing the account books is both torture and a sin for me. It is understandable for you to question my loyalty and integrity. It is all due to my lack of ability to do things in my daily life. But I still have to do it for you. Let me defend myself a little, because there is no doubt about it." Little Cato pointed to his heart, "My intolerance still led me to find a witness, and that was Nicias, the chief eunuch of Ptolemy in Cyprus. "

So Nicias stepped forward and explained clearly how Cato divided the Cyprus property, and then patted his chest and assured that Cato was fair and honest, and there was no possibility of embezzling a penny.

"But who allowed the governor of the Republic to share privately with the mercenaries under the name of the Pharaoh and divide the property of the enemy country?" Claudius's tone became colder, which also aroused even greater discussion among the people around him.

"But according to common sense, the mission of the Thirteenth Illyrian Legion is to go to Cyprus and Egypt for restoration. At least now it is under my jurisdiction as the provincial governor." Cato had no choice but to publicly acknowledge the identity of the Thirteenth Legion at this time.

Ebro spread his hands and said, "But, Julius Caesar's legion just has a designation, and... I'm sorry, although the Senate declared war on Egypt, in the official existence Here, the Roman Republic did not dispatch any troops, so the legal connection between you and the Thirteenth Legion probably does not exist. "

"Okay, if that's the purpose of your special trip here to welcome you, then I'm afraid you will get what you want. Let me put it bluntly, since several tribunes are in charge of the treasury of the Temple of Saturn, then these seven I don't distinguish between public and private matters for a thousand talents, please do as you please!" Little Cato finally became angry. He understood that these people had colluded to set up the situation, and the instigators behind the scenes were Caesar and Lepidus.

Who would have thought that Claudius really discussed it with a few people, and then elected Basatus as the representative, and promulgated a temporary decision that half of the seven thousand talents, whether public or private, would be paid to the treasury in accordance with established regulations, and an additional eight hundred talents would be paid. It is specially given to the Municipal Secretary to celebrate Cato's triumphal career in Cyprus, and the rest can be left to Cato's own disposal. In addition, after Cato's term ends this year, he can stay in Rome and continue to serve as a legal officer, while Gabinus, one of the consuls and Pompey's most trusted party member, will take over the affairs of Cyprus and Egypt. , and by the way, the ill-named Thirteenth Legion was upgraded to a formal auxiliary legion to fight against the Egyptians.

"What a bastard. In this case, we haven't gained any benefit from this war!" Brutus was going crazy, but Cato forced himself to calm down and asked Claudius if he could do it without having to submit it to the Municipal Secretary. A sum of money.

At this time, Claudius was really confused, and the following words may be his sincere expression: Dear Cato, you must know that you will soon be old enough to run for consulship, but you almost never use the name of your family. If you hold banquets and animal fighting performances in the city of Rome, I'm afraid that people won't even recognize you during the election. Of course, it's your personal choice whether to hand over these eight hundred talents to the Municipal Secretary, and I have no right to force interference. .

"I only exchange wealth with the most noble clans in Rome, not with the masses who eat cheap relief food, because only noble people can really think about the future of the country, while the masses will only indulge in the sins of carnival and drunkenness In the abyss, their vision is only beyond the world of tomorrow." Little Cato's tone was very strong.

Soon, the news that Cato the Younger was unwilling to use an asce to hold a celebration, and the news that he had seized a huge fortune of seven thousand talents, spread throughout the city of Rome at the same speed, even if the Temple of Concord had not yet A final decision was made on the matter, but Acuta had already been posted on the colonnade of the main square. The people were all disappointed, and what followed was a lot of criticism of this person, "Since Cato is unwilling to associate with the crowd, then We don’t want to be friends with him either.”

"Uncle, your behavior just now was too impulsive. I can understand your mood, but it doesn't matter if you lower your profile appropriately to please the people. If you want to confront Caesar and Pompey, you must bribe the people, even if you have How I hate these low-class people." On the street from the Temple of Saturn to the Palatine Hill, Brutus chased his uncle quickly, and behind him was a burning heart.

But Cato sighed and said, "If the account books can still be kept, why should I say these words? Then we will have at least five thousand talents for the campaign. My original plan was to let the My father-in-law will be the consul, and he will ask my brother-in-law Dumitius to run for the consulship in person next year when I reach my age. But now that the account books have been destroyed, most of the money is destined to be embezzled by Claudius and his gang. , we can only guarantee that one person will run for the election, and that is my brother-in-law Dumijus."

"But where should the remaining money be invested? Nobles or commoners. I think it should be commoners. With the current situation of the Republic, the nobility has no integrity at all. Uncle, have you heard about your colleague Spinzel? Well, he was still the core figure in the anti-Caesar noble camp before, but after Caesar sent him 40 million sesterces from Gaul, he immediately changed his identity and shamelessly catered to the three-headed monster in the Senate and gave them a wide berth. The door of convenience.”

"No, go to the side of the nobles. As for the people, Cicero and I will give the speech." Cato replied stubbornly. (To be continued.)