Chapter 29 Triangle Relationship (Part 2)

"Yes, Portia, I can completely protect you, and your husband Brutus. If I guessed correctly, he must have gone to the city of Pella in Macedonia, where Caesar stored the treasures before his death. With three thousand talents of military resources and a large group of radical literati centered in Athens who have high aspirations but low abilities and are full of democracy and freedom, they can form an army. ○" After finishing this, Lepidus' tone became gentler. , he said to Portia, "You can temporarily move to Prima or the quieter Apilon, and you can also ask Boti to accompany you, because the owner of my house and hers is now Leo. With Viviya, maybe after the expedition is over, I will have to retire. "

"No, I'm not going to Apilon. I'm here, not going anywhere. What if Brutus can't find me when he comes back? What should I do?" Portia broke away from Bo. With Di's arms, she hugged the armrest on the edge of the couch and shouted, "I heard that Cornelia, who lost her two husbands, still died in the cemetery outside Utica, Africa. I envy her. She, but I am not her after all, I am not that strong, my father is dead, my sisters and brothers are separated, and my husband has become a public enemy - I cannot leave the seven hills, I am willing to stay here and watch This barren garden and the silted rain eaves are quietly waiting for Marcus, waiting for his return to give this place a chance to rejuvenate." After saying that, Portia suddenly hugged her like a blind man. Lepidus' waist and legs, "Will Marcus Brutus die? He was a poor man. He abandoned his wife, had no children, and killed his adoptive father. He was banished by his mother and stepfather. I don't hate you anymore. You may laugh at me for having only this condition left in exchange, but as long as you can still be Brutus's friend, as long as you are still willing to help him, even if he is really unlucky and dies on the battlefield, can you His bones and coffin will be returned to this garden." After saying this, Portia burst into tears, and Bodie also covered her face and cried. The whole hall and the garden in front echoed with the mournful cries of the woman.

Lepidus was speechless for a long time, just holding Portia's shoulders that kept shrugging, listening to the monotonous chirping of autumn insects outside, and finally said to Portia in a hoarse voice, "Brutus will not die, I promise you , But you have to be good. I respect your decision. Tomorrow Poti will accompany you and protect you. This courtyard should be revitalized before Brutus returns, and I will arrange for craftsmen to repair it. "

Early the next morning. The sound of the military shoes of the Thirteenth Legion suddenly filled the streets of Rome. Every tower and every fort was lit up with pine trees. The whole city was shrouded in chilling and unknown. It is said that dozens of senators have been imprisoned in dungeons. Therefore, Lepidus handed over the task of staying behind after the expedition to the Thirteenth Legion that he trusted, and the chief centurion Polo was fully responsible. At this moment, he was leading the chief battalion to the city legion's garrison camp, and he asked everyone in a grand manner to come out.

The officers of the City Legion were the first to get angry. Even if they were trash, they still had honor. The Thirteenth Legion had gone too far! But just when they were about to issue an order to resist, they were blocked by soldiers. Then the scale officer of the legion was familiar with the task and first handed over the soldier and service roster, as well as the baggage material ledger, to Polo's hands, followed by the soldiers of the city legion. They lined up in neat formation and walked out boldly and accepted the review from the brother team. Then Polo led the other centurions in and found that all the dust and garbage in their camp and ramparts had been swept away. Clean, all the weapons, whether they are short swords, shields or javelins, are neatly stacked on the equipment racks. The mules, horses and goats in the rear stables are lying or sitting in an orderly manner, and the hay has been added. , even the drainage ditches were dredged.

"Very good..." Polo thought for a long time and could only think of this word to describe his mood at this time.

The Thirteenth Legion completely took over the city defense, and then Lepidus led the remaining three legions across the Etrunia region and headed toward Gaul in the south.

At this time, Antony retreated another ten Roman miles, almost reaching the border of Liguria. He found an area full of high hills, forests and streams, set up barriers and small fortresses on the street passages, and then He "circled and guarded" all the three remaining legions in his hands.

However, there were no unventilated walls, and soon the Eighth Army and the Eleventh Army became violently unstable. They had been planning to "hijack" Anthony to surrender all day long. In the end, even within the Fifth Army, there were centurions plotting to defect. , sold out the commander-in-chief, Anthony then summoned everyone, stood on the podium and asked if someone was planning a conspiracy against him, but the answer was only boos from the audience.

"You should continue to be loyal to me, and I am willing to give each of you a reward of one hundred dinars." Anthony shouted, "Now you must know that the one who has received the Senate's order and continues to conquer us is Diximo. "The murderer of Caesar became the Senate's lackey Falcon, which just proves that my actions are unmistakable. Following me is following the legacy of Caesar."

Perhaps it was these words, coupled with Leo's "never leaving" his father Antony, that finally saved the team that was on the verge of disintegration. The centurions and soldiers finally swore collectively again that they were willing to obey Antony's command and leadership.

Then Antony also sent a letter to the Ligurian city-state, and like Octavian, requested reinforcements from the state's army.

However, both letters asking for help were withheld by General Itasos, and they were not even read out at the gathering of state elders - everyone was waiting for Lepidah's arrival.

There is only one person who has a very complicated attitude and mood towards this kind of waiting, and that is Young Caesar. At this moment, he is standing melancholy on the south bank of a wide river outside the city of Mutina, watching a ship The boat came slowly from the opposite side.

There was a token officer standing on it, holding up Diximus' document, and then several cavalry came forward to prevent the ship from docking. The token officer stood on the bow of the ship and read aloud to Young Caesar: Diximus Moss expressed his gratitude to Caesar for his reinforcements and asked for a secret and safe meeting with Caesar at a certain location. However, after a frank meeting, he could guarantee that his participation in the assassination of Caesar was completely controlled by Aetius. Evil spirits were bewitching him.

But regardless of his actual thoughts or his position, Caesar rejected all of this cleanly. He angrily said to the token officer, "I only want to see the severed head of Deximus. As long as it's spinning around his neck, this conversation can't happen with Caesar!"

So next, the city of Mutina fell into a triangular stalemate: Antony fled, Caesar was waiting for relief from the treasury, and Deximus was afraid of Caesar's sneak attack and did not dare to follow the orders of the Senate to pursue Antony. (To be continued...)