Chapter 25 Half-Tax Collection Order (Part 2)

A few jackals in the desert were tearing apart the corpse of a dead traveler. White bones and dark red flesh were scattered everywhere. The last remaining soldiers of the Hormach Legion, more than a thousand soldiers, were seen in the unobstructed sunlight. , wearing soft linen armor and a short sword, slowly walked past the corpse with dull eyes, while the jackals raised their heads slightly, staring at the muddy yellow eyes, looking at it without fear. With these people, the Hormachian Legion had completely lost its prestige. When Lepidus's men were inspected by the Pharaoh and rewarded with mountains of fine wine and delicacies before setting out on the expedition, these proud men of Egypt, He was nesting in Idawuyi Fortress, eating sour bread, drinking turbid well water, and feeling sorry for himself.

When marching towards the desert of southern Cyrenaica, Lepidus did not even come to personally mobilize them and integrate them into the expeditionary force. Instead, he only sent a few centurions to beat them with his cane. The fortress was pulled out, and everyone, whether they were soldiers or officers, was only given a dagger and took them away. They had no wish to escape or riot. The first reason is that they are always followed by more than a thousand elite Vibicinas cavalry. They use swords, spears, bows and arrows and sufficient supplies for the camel team to stare at them; the second reason is that these Hormashein before They are so pampered that they dare not stand up to fight and resist unfair treatment.

In front of them were the Thirteenth Illyrian Legion and the Serapis Legion, with a total of 12,000 people, plus the accompanying personnel (Lepidus fulfilled his previous promise and liberated all the military slaves, each They all received a bounty and a small plot of land, but the army still had to guard the luggage). There are approximately nearly 30,000 people. And the restoration army who killed a thousand swords, no, is now the Vizier of Egypt, a friend of the king, and the successor to General Dege's title of "Military Chief of Defense against Nomads", and he brought with him the chief thousand soldiers he brought from Gaul. The people's brigade, as well as three hundred Medje guards, walked at the back of the entire army.

So the officers and soldiers of Hormahi's regiment. Seeing Alexandria getting further and further away, and the desert scenery becoming more and more desolate, the fear in my heart quickly became stronger. Since we were only given daggers, then Lepidus did not pull us out to fight with the chiefs. The greatest possibility : Following the orders of the Pharaoh who hates us deeply, he killed everyone in this uninhabited desert, just like Anke killed those treacherous Silver Shields back then.

Fortunately, when they were camping, Lepidah's tribe only surrounded their camp. No one was directly sent to mix, so the officers of the Hormach Corps could still gather together to discuss matters. At this time, the night wind in the Libyan desert was already desolate. Many down-and-out officers were wrapped in coarse blankets. They first reminisced about the glorious years in the royal city, and then began to angrily denounce the current miserable life. "If I had known this, I should have maintained a formation of 5,000 men." If we don't run away and follow Archelaus, we will definitely win in a battle with Lepidus who was born as a pheasant." An officer named Eumenes said bitterly.

Several other officers in the shadows made mocking sounds, "Eumenes, your camp luggage was all made of gold and silver plates, as well as amber and turquoise necklaces, and there were several beautiful Greek and Asian dancers to accompany you. , do you still have the strength to fight the Romans?"

Eumenes ignored the teasing of others, kicked over several clay pots, and shouted loudly, asking all the Hormarchic legions to follow him in "rebellion", but not to fight against Lepidus' troops, which would be the same. Instead of striking an egg against a stone, he fled this damn desert and moved forward under the guidance of the northern stars. "Let's go to Cyrenaica, which is a wealthy Roman autonomous city."

"Are you crazy? It is said that Lepidus is from Rome. If we go to Cyrenaica, aren't we surrendering to Rome?" Several other people refuted loudly.

"No, Cyrenaica is just a city affiliated with Rome. It is half Greek and half Jewish. It has its own city-state assembly and judicial power, as well as its own army, so we went to defect to Rome. It cannot reach us." What Eumenes said is correct. Cyrenaica was a Greek colony in Africa. Later, it was ruled by the tyrant Paretus family and was annexed by the other party after the rise of the Ptolemaic dynasty. The title of "King of Cyrenaica" was established, and members of the royal family served as governors (administrators) similar to Rome. However, as time went by, Cyrenaica's centrifugal trend with Egypt became stronger and stronger. Years ago, Ptolemy Apion, the last king of Cyrenaica, gifted the country to Rome in his will. Since then, it has been separated from Egyptian rule and has become a gray area between the two countries. It is a port city with rich agriculture and water resources. , there are no less than 50,000 residents, most of whom are of Greek and Jewish descent, but there are quite few orthodox Egyptians.

I have a relative who works as a mercenary there. According to him, the danger of Jewish riots is increasing now because the power of the city is in the hands of the Greeks, who are loan sharks from Judea (the name of the ancient Jews in Rome). This guy is very dissatisfied, so the city-state citizens are in urgent need of mercenaries. If we serve as instructors or officers, we can all make a fortune!

It is undeniable that Eumenes's bewitchment did work. By the early morning of the next day, there were more than 200 Hormachian legions. Under his leadership, some of the baggage personnel guarding the stables in the camp were killed. , pulled many horses and camels and escaped. The rest who didn't dare to escape stayed tremblingly in front of their tents, watching Lebida leading the menacing guards into the camp.

But surprisingly, the commander-in-chief's speech was like this, "I pardon the Hormarch Legion that is willing to stay in the camp. When you return to the army, you will restore your honor and form a new Hormarch Legion to garrison in Memphis. But those who escaped cannot accept the experience at all. What I want to know now is, where is the destination of Eumenes and his gang?"

The trembling Hormarch soldiers said in unison, "It's Cyrene, my commander!"

Lepidus sneered, and then told the weighing officer, " From now on, the Hormasi Legion will be temporarily reduced to one battalion, accompanying the chief battalion of the 12th Legion, Commander Tagus. Immediately give them broadswords, shields, helmets, and short tunics of Knu, and ask the soldiers' committee to allocate one month's salary first, yes, refer to the same treatment as other troops. "

"Aren't you going to send me and General Dusongville to pursue with cavalry? I can kill all the traitors in less than a thousand stadia." Next to the flag, Antony on horseback drank a sip of beer produced in Thebes and asked. (To be continued...)