Chapter 25: Marching on Alexandria (1)
"People say there are nine muses, but they are all wrong. If you don't believe it, look at Sappho, the female poet of Lespers, who is the tenth." - Plato
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Then Diotus continued to stand on the deck and announced the Ptolemy royal vision:
Invite three generals or consuls into the palace of Ipos;
The Kingdom of Egypt provided armed protection for all Pompei's followers, and if Caesar came, he would go to war with him;
Invite three hundred Pompei veterans to enter the city barracks, assist in the training of the Gorta Legion, and suppress the army teams of the rest of the kingdom;
After the end of the Roman Civil War, Pharaoh executed his will and presented the kingdom to Pompeii after his death. Of course, Diotus concealed the fact that the flute player had passed away.
After hearing the purpose of the Pharaoh's guard, Scipio, Marcelas and the "leaders" on the three islands of Gabinus immediately discussed. The three of them reacted differently. Gabinus had previously been the governor of Cyprus and the spokesperson of Pompei and had intervened in Egyptian affairs. He had always been condescending to the Egyptians, and this time was no exception. He believed that the current Ptolemaic royal family had been scared by its own diplomatic offensive and sincerely requested surrender.
But Marcelas has always been a diehard who is hostile to all foreign nations. He does not want outsiders to come to Rome, nor does he like the Romans to go to foreign countries. Therefore, he has always been suspicious. Faced with Ptolemy's invitation, he strongly maintained a skepticism. "We can draw a centurion to explore the reality and then make a decision."
"What else can we decide now!" Scipio, who had been listening to the two quarrels, said angrily. "There is only this isolated island at hand. There is also this big lighthouse. There are only three hundred veterans with combat effectiveness. Caesar had more than a dozen legions in Greece and Xiaoya, staring at us. He could only accept Ptolemy's kindness, use the rich Nile as the base, and cooperate with His Excellency Pompei to prepare for future counterattacks. So—" he said. He pointed at Marcelas and Gabinus with his fingers and said in an imperative tone, "According to the envoy, the Pharaoh would take the guard of honor to wait for us to ashore on the palace dock of the Ipos Island in the evening, so you will take a boat to complete the entry ceremony."
"But this is not safe for us. I am not sacrificing my life, but we are both figures who were once consuls. If we die, it will cause endless shame to the Republic." The two former consuls immediately said in panic.
Scipio said you don't have to worry. I have observed carefully these days. The long breakwater from Faros Island to Alexander blocks the vicious waves outside this area. So the ships will sail very steadily no matter when they are. So I will allocate you two boats, bringing fifty veteran guards away. I personally take the remaining seven boats, one of the armed slaves, one of the armed slaves, one of your ships, Furlong, as the temple. If things turn around, we will immediately withdraw to Faros Island and leave Egypt forever. But now if we do nothing and run away, what will we face His Excellency Pompei in the future?
These words made both former consuls shake their hearts, and then Scipio shouted out the oldest and most loyal centurion in the queue, asking the other party’s name and how long they had been in service.
"Luccius Ceptimius, when His Excellency Pompei entered Spain, served as centurion when he was clearing out pirates, retired with the title of chief centurion, and later lived on Faros Island and married a local indigenous woman, my general." The centurion was full of wrinkles, beard and hair were gray, but his spirit was very good. All the other soldiers nodded and told Sciptimius that Ceptimius was a rigorous and brave man, and that he could feel at ease as a guard.
Of course, Sciptimius was also very satisfied. He hung his gold chain and stuffed him a 100 dinar's wallet, and promised to give him a 1000 dinar's reward when the matter was done.
After the negotiations were completed, Marcelas, Gabinus, and Septimius, jumped onto a sailboat. After seeing this, Diotus also ordered his ship to row towards Ipos Island, and hung a flag at the stern of the ship to guide the work. The sunset was setting, and the entire Alexander's palace, residential area, temple and statue were all wanted to be burned by fire. When the horn sounded, everyone saw that the pharaoh's guard of honor had appeared on the dock in front of the main entrance of the palace.
The team was luxurious. The pharaoh carried the sedan chair with a gorgeous curtain by a team of Nubian slaves and placed it in the center of the queue. It was surrounded by generals, eunuchs, Privy Councilors, documents, slaves in white linen skirts, as well as guard soldiers holding scepters of feathers, and many guards with swords and spears.
Soon, the guard of honor played solemn and grand music, as if we were welcoming the arrival of the king. This music greatly relaxed everyone's guard, because the enthusiasm and sincerity of the Egyptian royal family could be felt in it. Even Marcelas, who was sitting on the deck, looked at the pharaoh's guard of honor, and then mumbled, "It seems a bit strange. Although it is through the curtain of the sedan chair, the figure of the flute player should still be much larger."
So in this music, Gabinus became more and more nervous. He began to ask the helmsman on the ship to turn his head because "the guard of pharaohs on the opposite side was full of murderous intent." At this time, the Diotus on the ship in front was still shaking the flag there and asking them to follow.
"Can't continue to follow!" Gabinus made a quick decision, and said to Septimius, who was still a little nasty on the mast, "Your people are asked to turn around quickly and meet Scipio's fleet, and we will return to Faros Island!"
Septimius strode forward, shouted to obey the order, and then stabbed the sword into Gebinus's belly. Marseilles next to him screamed. As a result, Septimius flashed out his weapon and a bronze axe with his backhand. Then he slid down and held it in his hand, slashed on Marseilles' neck. The opponent's blood splattered and turned over and fell into the sea.
"You have betrayed your lord, centurion... a despicable man..." Gabinus still had his tone and cursed at the bloody Ceptimius with gritted teeth.
"My lord is not Pompeius, but General Sethulis. I have been enduring humiliation this day for a long time, not to mention that the new pharaoh is willing to spend 30,000 Drakhs to buy your heads." After saying that, Septimius pulled out the bloody sword, then pressed Gebinus to kneel down, and then cut off his head cleanly. Several soldiers also used hooks to pull Marseilles' body up, and cut off his head as usual.
At this time, in the afterglow of the sunset under the mast, there was an inconspicuous woodcut statue of the deer antler god, quietly "looking at each other" with the two heads on the deck. (To be continued, please search for Piaotianyi, the novel is better and faster!
Chapter completed!