Chapter 22: Grand Triumphal Parade (Part 2)
Lepidus also laughed, shook his head and said that what he said just now was just a joke. In fact, I want to verify the myth of your family.
"Myth?" Caesar said in surprise.
"Yes, myth. From the fall of Troy, to Aeneas's escape, to his legendary exile experience, and then to how he went to the Apennines to reproduce. So I will not only go to Asia Minor, but also take biographers, poets and naturalists with me to explore the true connection between the people of your family and the gods, and make it an epic of the entire Roman Empire and nation. You must understand that ordinary people like this kind of thing the most. They will automatically ignite their inner pride and regard you and your family heritage as the bloodline of the entire country. Your glory will become theirs forever. So my plan is not to waste these four months. , I will invite all the relevant outstanding talents in the Villa Prima; then when the expedition begins, I will take a boat to Lepidus Castle first, and use it as a base to start excavating and rebuilding the legendary Troy.
Caesar stroked his hair back excitedly and said to Lepidus, "Very good, very good, you will concurrently serve as the title of the capital's *officer. In fact, I will allocate you 300 talents of the Holy Treasury funds to do this. The money is not obtained from the national treasury, so you don't have to worry about the opinions of the elders and tribunes. It is paid directly from my Holy Treasury. I have given the key to my father-in-law, Piso, to manage. You can find him and select the relevant personnel as soon as possible. " In fact, Lepidus had already obtained this information from Cleopatra, but he chose to listen in silence. Caesar continued, "In fact, the remnants of Pompey, especially those from Macedonia and Crete, were reorganized into the 31st and 32nd Legions, and later the 40th Legion was formed. The supervision of the legion was handed over to Rufio, who I trust the most. He is the son of my personal slave, and his loyalty to me can be completely assured - I have thought about it, if things change. Antony will be responsible for Italian affairs, and you will go to the East to gather troops to quell those who dare to rebel against me. In this document, I grant you completely unrestricted power." After speaking, the two walked out of the Temple of Jupiter. At this moment, on the altar and square in front of the temple, there were a full 20 elephants wearing gorgeous blankets and gold jewelry, with elephant trainers sitting on them, and the shooting tower was burning with fire, illuminating the entire mountain like daylight. Caesar and Lepidus walked down the Capitoline Hill accompanied by the elephants, accepting the cheers and support of the people.
In the early hours of the morning, several Flamen priests of the temple quietly ushered in an uninvited guest at the side door, namely Marcus Brutus. He wore a pure white robe and walked into the narrow backyard where the sculptures were placed. Then, in the night and moonlight, he saw the sculpture of his ancestor standing side by side with Julius, so close together. Then Brutus went around to the back and saw that the two statues had been quietly engraved with words by a priest.
On the base of the statue of old Brutus was a line of words, "Lucius Brutus, because he expelled the king, he became the first consul of the Republic." Then Brutus turned to the base of the statue of Caesar, which also had a line of words, "Julius Caesar, because he expelled and killed the consul, he will become king again."
Then, Brutus stood there alone, speechless for a long time.
As a result, the next day, Caesar's hospitality to the city of Rome did not end. Soldiers from all legions gathered at the Parade Ground or the Grand Circuit, constantly receiving money from the dictator. In the end, almost every ordinary soldier received a reward of 5,000 sestes, while centurions received twice as much, and military tribunes and chief centurions received five times as much. As for the lieutenants and Caesar's personal staff, they received more. Caesar sold all the 2,000 pure gold vessels and crowns captured in various wars, fulfilling his promise of rewards to the army. In addition, Caesar also shook hands with several legions that had been dismissed in advance, including the Eighth, Ninth and Eleventh Legions, and distributed the money to the veterans, so this group of people re-swore allegiance to Caesar, dedicating their youth to their descendants. Each citizen also received a gift of a Greek gold coin, and there were also a large number of athletic competitions to watch. In the Neruda Colosseum, Caesar, wearing a robe and purple boots, along with many senators and aides, announced the start of the great sword fighting competition amidst overwhelming cheers!
The iron gate of the Colosseum rose with a bang. A total of one thousand gladiators wearing helmets and shirtless, from Gaul, Spain, Thrace, and Asia Minor, walked out of the four gates and divided into two sides on the sand field. Several slaves ran quickly into the center of the venue and handed the real military flags to their leaders. One side was of the Roman Legion, and the other was the captured Mithraic flag of the Bronze Shield Army. As a result, before the slaves could leave, Caesar gave a thumbs up, and the emcee beside him immediately announced the start. The gladiators howled, waving iron nets, harpoons, spears, and daggers, and fought each other. The slaves who were unable to dodge were killed by the flying hammers and javelins in the first time, fell down screaming, and were trampled to pieces by countless footsteps.
This "unexpected surprise" immediately made the audience's emotions reach the climax. Caesar also laughed and sat down. The bloody fight and killing lasted for three whole days. There were more and more dead bodies and dying sword slaves lying on the sand. The whole sand field had turned dark red, like a huge Persian carpet. The audience's voices were hoarse. At this time, Caesar sent out a second signal in order to avoid a dull moment. Before the sword slaves on foot withdrew, two hundred fully armed cavalrymen rushed out from the iron gate with a roar.