Chapter 7 The Curse of Aetius (Part 1)
"Grant me the privilege of making the republic more secure and secure." - Augustus often said to the Senate
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When they were very tired but still braved the rain to come to the Temple of Vesta, Crassus took off his robe in the altar hall and wiped the rain off his head. "Looking down" at everyone vividly, Crassus's entourage, due to status issues, could only wait in the mud at the foot of the temple's curved steps with their clothes in hand. At this time, the side door of the altar wall at the bottom of the three columns of the main hall was guarding the sacred fire. Zou Yi, dressed in white, hurriedly walked out, saluted Crassus and Lepidus, and then told them to wait for a while. Li Xilia was the virgin opposite. I will inspect the house and come to meet you after the inspection is completed.
"After the expedition, a great king will rise in the east. He and his son will surely gain glory that covers the entire ocean and land. Of course, his son will be a year late." After Li Xilia arrived, she heard In response to Crassus' request, he consulted the Sibyl Prophecy in the inner hall and came to this conclusion.
Crassus's face was flushed, and even though he was standing next to the holy fire altar, he was still shaking as if he was cold. The rain under the colonnade outside formed a misty curtain, but the old man was pacing up and down on the floor, and everything he prophesied came to light. Constantly echoing her own psychology: Li Xilia did not say "Dictado", the dictator in the Roman world, but "the king". Doesn't "he and his son" refer to her own father and son? And "his son will come a year late" is even more fitting for him - Crassus Jr.'s cavalry team will not end their winter camp in Gaul until the following year and come to Syria to join him, and that time is Time to strike.
After saying this, Li Xilia smiled lightly at Lepidah, who was standing next to the potted plant in the corner of the fence opposite the pillar, and then held up the prophecy book in her hand. After saluting Crassus, he took this mysterious book, which the Roman politicians believed in without a doubt, into the inner hall, where it is said that there are two lacquered gold locked cabinets. Used to house this two-volume story of the infamous prophetic delirium.
All the power of interpretation lies in the mouths of these virgins. Listening to Li Xilia's serious nonsense, Lepidus finally understood that the greatest power of prophecy is based on that kind of ambiguity. It only gives the person who is predicted a certain Psychological guidance and hypnosis "make him believe what he wants to believe." Lepidus leaned against the pillar and thought thoughtfully: Did the words just now refer to himself? Something in this prophecy. Just the idea of "Cornerius as King" has already made many people crazy and even dead.
After about a market day, more than 30,000 soldiers with civil rights sent back by Caesar detachment poured into the Roman Assembly and began to bypass the Senate to vote. Give Crassus the power to leave office and rush to Syria. Even if the previous street fight between the two tribunes Triaari and Claudius escalated further, one of them was Pompey's hound and the other was Caesar's thug. Now that the masters have reached harmony on the matter, the following vote There was actually no interference at all - in the end, Crassus won the vote with an absolute advantage. Victory achieved what he wanted. Like a man who had just entered a steam bath, he took off the consul's white robe with contempt, and then ordered all the retinues to put fascist axes on their beams because he was about to leave. Rome, these axes represent that he can kill unlimited numbers of Eastern Parthians.
But through the efforts of the tribune Aetius. The dirty facts behind the popular vote were revealed, and the upright citizens and nobles were horrified, followed by uncontrollable anger: a provincial governor actually temporarily sent his own soldiers back to control the vote, and the war of the Republic was also A few monsters were playing around. The angry people blocked Crassus and his followers at the city gate. Loudly questioning the truth of the incident, Aetius stood directly on the tower of the city wall and shouted, "Citizens and officials, exercise your power and bring to justice the illegal warmonger Marcus Licinius Crassus." Catch them and throw them into jail."
Crassus was furious. He publicly threatened the people, saying that since his fascists had axes, he was not afraid to execute some unscrupulous guys on the spot.
At this moment, the flames of Palatine Hill rose again, and everyone looked in the direction of the fire in surprise. It was Cicero's mansion. It was burned for the second time, but the arsonist was the same person: Claudius.
Because Crassus deeply suspected that what Aetius did was under the instruction of his friend Cicero, he gave the instruction to Claudius, and the other party was also concerned about the burning of the orator's beautiful house. Once addicted, we hit it off immediately. About an hour later, thousands of Claudius's street gangsters came and beat the people who blocked them with iron rods and other weapons in front of the city gate. Blood and flesh were everywhere. Lietius hurriedly put on a black cloak similar to that of a wizard. Sitting next to the city gate, staring at Crassus and Claudius, he bit his finger, wrote all kinds of weird words on the scroll with blood, and sang a scary song loudly, roughly It means that he hopes to summon all the evil spirits and evil gods to punish Crassus. At the moment when the street gangsters swarmed up and beat Aetius, the tribune threw the cursed paper into the small stove he brought, and there was a burst of fireworks and In the ashes, he was beaten all over his body and his hands were burned. In the end, someone hired a mule cart to take him home. Although Roman law stipulates that the body of the tribune cannot be harmed, Claudius's reasons are still sufficient. "As we all know, if the person who is cursed is unlucky, the curser will also have to pay the price of a broken body to repay the ancient times." Evil God, I just manifested Aetius’ spell.”
Of course, Claudius only dared to say this publicly after Crassus took his staff to Brindisi.
At this time, Lepidus had already taken the lead and returned to the seaport of Cyrene. His fleet base on Chio Island had basically taken shape. All the ships and oarsmen originally in Alexandria gathered here. They used Chio Island as their starting point. , fleet tactical exercises were carried out at the mouth of the Torstone River and in giant lakes, and they would not slack off throughout the autumn and winter.
In the Barca Fortress, Lepidus touched the head of Matthias next to him. The child handed over the letter in the box knowingly, and then Lepidus handed it to Anthony opposite, "This is Curio's letter, he hopes you Do not go to the east, but return to the city of Rome with a thousand men of the Twelve Legions to participate in the triumphal ceremony, and he will soon obtain for you the command of the cavalry in Caesar's Gaul."
"Why?" It was Anthony who asked Lepidus this question.
"Because if you go to the East, the chances of survival or death are very high."
"Now the Republic is no longer what it used to be. There are only thugs and politicians left in Rome. What maintains the status of the country is veteran colonies and various vassal states, isn't it? I have no interest in going back for the time being. I am willing to go to the East with you to make more adventures. ." After speaking, Anthony shook the Ambrose gold medal in his hand to show his determination.