Chapter 8 River of Blood (Part 1)

"Great men, whether doing good or evil, will go to extremes." - Plato

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It is said that in real history, when Caesar crossed the Rubicon River, he once said the bold words "the dice have been cast", but Lepidus had never heard of it at that time. Perhaps this was some kind of artistic description of the psychological state of the man at that time by later literati and writers!

Caesar did have the character of a gambler, but who among those who fought for great things in ancient and modern times, who did not have this character? He was greedy for money and spent a lot of money, but secretly he always had a clear goal process for the career he planned.

Therefore, after announcing his decision, he immediately summoned all his capable generals and then asked Lepidus to make an overall strategic plan for everyone.

Lepidus stood in the center of the group, took a deep breath, raised his gilded baton, and began to point at the sand table: "Our goal is to completely defeat Pompey and his ten legions!"

This appetite made many commanders look at each other in bewilderment. At this time, in the hearts of the Romans, Pompey was still an undefeated hero. He and his elite army, not to mention foreign countries, even other legions in his own country, could hardly be compared with him - even Caesar's top main force, the Gaul "Bacchus" Ten Legions, were said to be the ones Pompey eliminated in the East, and were "scraps" in his eyes.

Now this assistant of Caesar is actually going to eat up Pompey's ten legions.

"Yes, I know you all have doubts. You always care about the difference in service age and combat experience. Pompey's army has experienced the ocean, desert, and wilderness, and has fought with the armies of various countries and kings. His centurions are better, both in bravery and experience. So I also admit that if the twenty legions follow the marching route and the date of the decisive battle, and face each other on a plain somewhere and divide into three wings to fight it out, then maybe we have a 70% chance of losing. But we have to consider it from a global perspective - so!" Lepidus moved the baton back and forth on the sand table several times. "Pompey's current situation is very much like a boxer with his arms outstretched. He has six legions in Spain and Lusitania, and three legions in Macedonia, but in the center, Italy, which is separated from these two places by a vast ocean, has only one legion, one legion! Therefore, we are absolutely superior in this regard, because all ten legions are in Gaul, and we can concentrate our forces. My strategy is to move south quickly and first eat up this legion, which is his most elite Spanish First Legion. As long as we seize the eagle flag of this legion and the flag of the First Battalion, all the soldiers will believe that Pompey will also be defeated." "How many legions are you going to use? Select the vanguard general Lepidus." At this moment, Caesar made a final decision with great interest, which was equivalent to handing over the vanguard mission of advancing Italy to him. "I only need the 12th and 13th legions, with auxiliary cavalry." As soon as Lepidus said this, there was another commotion, and even Caesar was full of surprise. He originally thought that if he swept across Italy, he would have to use at least six or seven legions. Three legions were left to guard Gaul to prevent Pompey's army from attacking Spain. But Lepidus only needed two auxiliary legions now.

"These two legions will take the main front line, running through the whole of Italy and capturing the port of Brindisi. Then the 15th and 16th legions (Serapis legion and Cyrene legion) will cooperate to take the side front line. They will seize Sardinia before Pompey's subordinates and cut off the sea route between it and Spain. The 11th legion will rush to Illyria to block the possible land reinforcements from Pompey's Macedonian province. The 14th legion will stay in Milan and try to recruit 20 to 30 auxiliary battalions in a short time to form two new legions to replace them and continue to attack Sicily and Africa without giving the enemy a chance to breathe. The 7th legion will stay in the Gallic colonies, and the 8th, 9th and 10th legions will quickly cut into the Pyrenees and Masseria to try to block Pompey's Spanish army."

"The sea route between Dickacon and Brindisi is short and fast. How can we stop Pompey's Greek and Eastern reinforcements from coming to support us?" Caesar still had doubts about the two auxiliary legions breaking through Italy.

"As long as you can personally command our four southward legions and gain speed, I believe this is not a particularly difficult task. The only troops Pompey has are difficult to confront us head-on, and the fleet in Cyrenaica will attack in time to cut off the waterway of Brindisi and surround Pompey!"

In the end, the plan of first holding Pompey's fists and then kicking him in the abdomen was finalized.

The next day, Caesar's soldiers in the entire camp spent the New Year in the camp. Then on the third day after the New Year, after offering sacrifices to the gods, Caesar rode a white horse to the Rubicon River for the nth time. Although the black rain clouds had dispersed, the river and the weeds along the land were covered with white frost. After all, it was the midwinter season. There was no sunshine in the sky. Only some unknown birds flew low over the chaotic foothills.

Caesar looked at the river again, which was completely wadable. "Then I'll just walk across it. I want to communicate with the city of Rome in person, not be separated by this small river. I want to ask her, my mother Rome, whether my behavior is right or wrong." Yes, Caesar has always been fearless. He has felt the fear of civil war since he was a child. It only takes one-tenth of a day to walk from Subura to the Forum. I saw how my most admired hero, my uncle Marius, killed people. A thousand senators and knights all lost their heads after he lightly issued a public enemy declaration. How many The heads were piled up under the bronze prow podium, densely packed, like the eighth hill of Rome. At that time, I was a teenager, still laughing and pretending not to care. I stood in front of the mountain of heads, looking at the various expressions on the faces of the dead. Some were peaceful with their eyes closed, some were twisted and hideous, some were in pain and anxiety, and some were strangely lazy. The blood kept flowing, gurgling, like the river in front of me. Then there was Sulla's revenge after entering the city, still killing people, still piled heads around the podium, or the families and slaves of the dead wailing, holding their heads and kneeling everywhere. The only difference was that there were more dead.

There was also a little difference, that is, at that time, because I married Cinna's daughter, I was also on Sulla's wanted list, and began to flee with my wife.

"I don't want to hide anymore. I must give Rome a final explanation. These thirty years of unrest should end, my late wife..."