Chapter 19: Amnesty (Part 2)
"It is necessary to seize Perusium urgently, but we cannot seize Alexandria too hastily." This is what Lepidus repeatedly emphasized to his subordinates in the past two days, so surrounding the oasis around Perusim, The Thirteenth Army Corps was resting and working at the same time. It built a peripheral defense line based on villages and rivers, and dispersed hundreds of troops to act as sentinels to monitor the defense, while two elite thousand-man troops were stationed in the fortress to act as the core defense force.
Lepidus returned to the entire local people of Perusium the cattle, village communities (excluding those that had been burned and looted), and cisterns, and selected them from among the old officials, prisoners, and slaves accompanying the legions. Find those who know accounting, writing and taxation, and take the lead in liberating them to become their own citizens, responsible for maintaining organized production locally.
These teams, together with Lepidus, used the Temple of Amun in the fortress as the government office. The entire temple was not large, but very strong, with Greek-style columns and stone foundations that were high above the ground to prevent dampness and heat. The windows are narrow and high up so that dry dust will not enter the temple along them. There are dozens of underground rooms where temple slaves live, and now they are all full - hiring local manpower is simply not possible. Difficulties are faced by poor people who are willing to sacrifice their lives for God. They don't care whether the person occupying the temple is an Egyptian priest or a Roman officer.
These slaves were responsible for serving the entire Restoration Army headquarters. They worked hard in the basement sifting wheat, brewing beer, spinning and weaving. Several charming female slaves had already had a hot relationship with Anthony and were exempted from hard labor. They served in the military guard all day long. In the officer's room.
"This is a letter from the Pharaoh - His Majesty the Pharaoh hopes to take the royal flagship to the fortress after a market day." The eunuch Motenmenis had a strange smile on his face, holding the letterboard with the envelope, and stood in front of Lepidus. In front of him and behind him is Diotusus. It seems that he has been successfully recommended as the chief of the palace guard. He is wearing gorgeous and funny Egyptian clothes, hanging a gold-inlaid sword, and has a beard. He seems to be doing well. That's pretty good.
"Well, dear Chief Eunuch, can you please report to His Majesty the Pharaoh that the area around the Fortress of Pelusim is still a dangerous war zone, our army still needs to rest and train, and there are still two thousand Nubian mercenary prisoners who are in urgent need of help. They need to be dealt with, otherwise they may mutiny at any time. Therefore, His Majesty the Pharaoh should continue to stay on the safe island of Cyprus." Lepidus put the tablet on the table and told Motamenes the true situation respectfully.
But Motamenes remained stubborn, and he let out a dry laugh, "Your Majesty, Commander-in-Chief, please allow me to tell you about Pharaoh's difficulty. He urgently needs to enter the city of Alexandria. This is certainly not your Majesty's desire to enjoy the life in the palace. , but the rebellious Beneniki, together with Archelaus, a lowly man she brought from the wild, began to win the recognition of Thebes, and His Majesty the Pharaoh also received terrible news-that is, Beneniki Nainiki is giving away a large amount of wealth to the princes and chiefs of Cyrenaica, almost using up all the money left in the treasury.”
Lepidus' expression became serious, and he crossed his hands, "Eunuch, do you mean that Beneniki wanted to extradite His Majesty's son who was fostered in Cyrenaica first, so that he bribed the chiefs so much?"
Why, it seems that this commander also knows the fact that Cleopatra's brother is there. It seems that Cleopatra must have told this person. Now things are a little tricky, because everyone knows that Lepidus This guy Us is completely on the side of Queen Marie - Motamenes laughed dryly a few more times and said that was absolutely the case, "If Beneniki gets the son of the Pharaoh, she may fight with that Archelaus Retiring to the position of regent and supporting the son of the Pharaoh to succeed to the throne, and gaining the recognition of the officers, dignitaries and priests, then the throne of His Majesty the Pharaoh would be really in danger. Originally, His Majesty thought that Cyrenaica was a safe area, so he did not Taking his son to Rome seems to be a fallacy now! So the hope of a quick war rests on the Commander-in-Chief, no, His Excellency the Supervisor, so His Majesty hopes to come to the fortress and personally encourage the three armies. "
Just when Lepidus wanted to emphasize the difficulties - the team had consumed too much energy before, the weather was hot now, the problem of prisoners had not been solved, etc., he originally hoped that it would be best to recruit local people to join the army and expand the generals and horses after the grain harvest was completed. When there are ten thousand men (he is going to form a new legion), he will march to Alexandria.
However, Diotusos kept winking at him from behind. Lepidus understood a little, so he smiled and said, "I will step up and take care of the chores before the expedition. When the pharaoh arrives at Perusium, I will The army marched towards Alexandria."
After nightfall, Diotusos sneaked along the drainage ditch behind the temple, under the cover of night and tree shades, and came to see Lepidus, saying that he would provide key information.
As expected, Diotusus had followed Cato for a year, and he was quite aware of some entanglements in government affairs and power. He also strongly advised Lepidus not to waste too much time and to take action first. Because let’s not talk about the struggle for the throne within the Egyptian court, but in the city of Rome, Pompey’s crony, the former consul Gabinus (Rome will install a new consul on the throne, that is, March 1st every year, as the New Year At the beginning of , at the same time, the former consul also went to the province to serve as the administrator, that is, the governor) has also set off for the island of Cyprus. The Pharaoh cannot stay there anymore, otherwise once he is controlled by Pompey, your interests in conquering Egypt and The benefits may be wasted.
After listening to Diotusos's narration, Lepidus suddenly realized that it seemed that bribing this tomb robber would be a very cost-effective deal. He immediately gave him three thousand drachmas of silver coins as intelligence fees, and then told him to be careful in the Pharaoh's court, "You are smart and clever, but don't slack off in learning rhetoric and etiquette - even if Cleopatra cannot become the female pharaoh for the time being, you will have to gain the trust of her brother. You are the future regent of Egypt, and I really need you." Not only did Lepidus give money, he also patted and hugged Diotusos as if he were a brother of equal status, making the other party so grateful that he was speechless.
After Diotusos gave a brief exhortation, he left the temple. Lepidus then half-reclined in an armchair, staring at the paintings and hieroglyphics on the wall. Then Sabo turned around the room, hurried to him, and said in a deep voice: "It's bad. The prisoners stationed outside the fortress have begun to mutiniate. Some of them have escaped over the wooden fence. Hebrida is leading three centuries to suppress them!" (To be continued.)