Chapter 100: Rome and Pharaoh >

Chapter 100: Rome and Pharaoh >

Crassus had taken measures according to Marcus’s letter and prepared to receive Auletes politely.

The Roman Senate had not yet made a clear stance, but they had decided to accept Auletes as a guest of state for now.

The lictors, who performed a similar duty to the guards in the republic, went to the Ostia port to greet Auletes.

And when Auletes entered the walls of Rome, the current praetor personally came out to meet him.

Once they decided to accept him, they had to follow the proper procedures.

This was not only for Auletes, but also for Rome’s dignity.

Of course, it was a formal welcome, so there was no grand ceremony.

Auletes was more eager to know how his fate would be decided than to attend an unwelcome reception.

In fact, his visit as a king of a country was too humble from the start.

He had escaped so poorly that he could not bring anything that would show his dignity as a pharaoh.

He had less than ten escorts.

Even a decent tribal leader from Gaul would have a more splendid procession than this.

The Senate handed him over to Crassus without showing any intention of taking responsibility.

Crassus was an excellent politician, though not as much as Marcus.

He did not show any emotion of having taken over a headache and welcomed Auletes warmly.

“You must have had a lot of trouble coming from Alexandria to here. I was very worried, but I’m glad to see you in good shape.”

Crassus greeted him kindly in Macedonian.

The pharaohs of Ptolemy were of Macedonian descent and they naturally used Macedonian instead of Egyptian.

Among the Ptolemaic dynasty, only Cleopatra could speak the local Egyptian language.

Of course, Auletes could not speak any language other than Macedonian either.

But since Crassus spoke perfect Macedonian, the two could converse without an interpreter.

“Thank you for your kind hospitality. I was impressed by Marcus Crassus when he came as an envoy last time. He was a remarkable talent. And now I see who he got it from.”

“You flatter me. I’m always grateful to the gods for giving me such a son beyond my capacity.”

“You are too modest for the head of the richest family in Rome. Your reputation is well known even in Alexandria.”

“Haha, I just got lucky and made some money and fame. Let’s go inside and talk more.”

Auletes followed Crassus into his mansion and was guided to the reception room.

The escorts were all told to wait in the courtyard and only the two entered the reception room.

Crassus had also prepared wine and food in advance and sent all the slaves outside.

He personally poured the finest Samos wine into Auletes’s cup.

“I never thought I would have the honor of hosting the great pharaoh of Egypt in my mansion.”

“Pharaoh... Does Rome still consider me as pharaoh?”

At Auletes’s sarcasm, Crassus bowed his head politely without changing his expression.

“Of course. Aren’t you a ruler recognized as a friend of Rome?”

“Then what about the traitor who took my place? Isn’t he an enemy of Rome?”

“Well, that’s... “

“Why did you annex Cyprus if you still recognize me as pharaoh? I can only interpret that as an act to shake my position.”

Auletes unconsciously hardened his expression.

He was the one who suffered in this situation, but if Rome still recognized him as pharaoh, he had to vent his dissatisfaction.

His anger was justified and logical.

Crassus scratched his chin and smiled apologetically.

“The annexation of Cyprus was not the will of the Senate. As you know, Rome is a republic. If the citizens pass a law in the assembly, even the Senate cannot overturn it. And there was a troublesome tribune who pushed for a law to annex Cyprus. We are also a bit embarrassed.”Aall newest chapters on n.o./velbi/n/(.)com

“Are you embarrassed? From what I heard, all the wealth accumulated in Cyprus went into Rome’s treasury. It must have been like picking up money without lifting a finger for the Senate.”

“I admit that there are many people who think that way. But anyway, Cyprus was a land that became Rome’s land by the will of the previous king. It was not legally problematic to annex it. Of course, I acknowledge that we caused you a lot of trouble. The Senate entrusted me with the aftermath of this matter, so I promise you firmly. Rome will not ignore the difficulties of its friends.”

Auletes’s expression softened slightly.

Crassus, who had been given full authority by the Senate, guaranteed it, so the biggest problem was solved.

He could endure losing Cyprus as long as he could regain his throne.

As long as the Senate still sided with him, he felt more relieved.

“The rebels must know that I came to Rome. Didn’t they say they would send an envoy?”

“Yes. They should arrive next month or so.”

“They will claim that it was a legitimate transfer of power. And they will also claim that they are also from the Ptolemaic dynasty, so Rome did not break its cooperation.”

“That’s an accurate prediction. I think so too.”

Auletes felt a slight anxiety and his face hardened.

Crassus anticipated his mind and firmly nailed it down.

“Don’t worry. The Crassus family does not speak with two mouths. In fact, if my son had not been sent to Gaul, this would not have happened.”

“...It was bad timing.”

“Yes. Of course, I recently received a letter from Gaul. My son also asked me to apologize to you first. But he said that this could be an opportunity in disguise.”

“Huh... How can this be an opportunity for me when I was driven out of the pharaoh’s throne? It only makes me look ridiculous.”

Auletes retorted in a sour tone.

But Crassus still showed no sign of wavering. He told him the answer he had heard from Marcus.

“Think about it. Your weakness as a pharaoh was that you had a weak base. So the greedy ones who coveted power were always looking for a gap. And when the opportunity came, they showed their true colors. They tried to usurp the throne by putting your daughter forward.”

“Yeah. The ones I had been watching out for came to the front. They had enough power and no legitimacy, so I couldn’t touch them until now. But they became the root of this trouble.”

“You couldn’t until now. But now you have a reason.”

“...Are you going to help me wipe them all out?”

Caesar, who had similar thoughts, immediately ordered the formation of an additional legion.

The Senate, conscious of Rome’s public opinion, did not oppose this time either.

Caesar, who now commanded nine legions, began to act as soon as his troops were ready.

This time, even the pro-Roman Gallic tribes volunteered to take charge of the reinforcements and supplies.

They thought it was better to maintain their relationship with Rome than to oppose it.

Caesar, who gathered a total of 60,000 soldiers including Gallic mercenaries, entered the territory of the Belgae without hesitation.

His speed, which always moved half a beat faster than his opponent’s expectations, was his greatest weapon.

The Remi tribe, one of the Belgae tribes living in the upper reaches of the Aisne River, fell into a great turmoil.

The Roman army had reached their doorstep before the Belgic alliance army had even assembled.

The Remi tribe, which had been skeptical of the alliance from the beginning, sent an envoy to the Roman army without hesitation.

“We have no intention of fighting against Rome. We will supply you with food and give you detailed information about the Belgic tribes. Please spare us.”

There was no reason to refuse this offer, which demanded everything they could offer themselves.

Caesar promised Roman citizenship to the influential people of the Remi tribe and welcomed their surrender.

With the information provided by the Remi tribe, he was able to find out everything about the enemy’s numbers and types of troops, as well as which regions they belonged to.

Marcus suggested another quick attack to Caesar.

He intended to strike first and weaken the alliance before they united as one.

Even without the Remi tribe, the Belgic alliance had gathered nearly 290,000 troops from twelve tribes.

If they fully assembled as one, even the brave Roman army would have to suffer considerable damage.

Moreover, when a huge number of people gather together, morale rises by itself.

He never wanted to give his enemies a chance to gain momentum. That was Caesar’s principle.

He accepted Marcus’s suggestion and advanced into enemy territory first.

The Belgic tribes, who had been stabbed in their weak spot again, hastily summoned their army and confronted the Roman army.

It was a force that had been scraped together half-heartedly, but their number still exceeded 200,000.

They agreed to punish the traitor Remi tribe first before facing Rome.

The Belgae were warlike but not stupid. They knew that solidarity among tribes was the most important factor when dealing with Rome.

Leaving behind the traitor Remi tribe would be a serious obstacle for the cohesion of the tribal alliance.

However, Marcus already knew that the Belgic alliance would attack the Remi tribe’s town.

He had prepared the Roman legion in advance to reinforce the Remi tribe’s warriors and to fortify the rampart.

They also dug a ditch behind it.

On top of that, archers equipped with composite bows guarded it tightly.

The Belgic alliance, who tried to attack the Remi tribe’s town belatedly, suffered losses and retreated.

They could have captured the city if they had fought with all their might, but they had no confidence to fight the Roman army right after that.

After a brief confusion, they decided to unite their opinions and strike Rome first.

Of course, Caesar had no intention of fighting against more than 200,000 troops head-on.

There was a wide swamp and a river between the Roman army and the Belgic alliance, and Caesar made full use of this terrain.

No matter how many Belgae there were, it was impossible to cross the swamp and the river and charge into the Roman camp.

That was not a battle, but a suicide attempt.

Marcus suggested that they wait patiently in the camp and wear out the Belgic alliance.

“They hastily gathered their army and came to the battlefield, so their supply lines are not stable. It takes a huge amount of food to feed more than 200,000 troops, but most of the tribes are far away from their territories. On the other hand, we have already stockpiled enough food. Time is absolutely on our side.”

“I agree with you.”

Caesar adopted Marcus’s strategy and pulled out his cavalry to attack the territory of the Belgic alliance.

The command of the cavalry was entrusted to Antony again.

He led the Roman archers and Gallic cavalry and ravaged the territory of the Belgic tribes.

The defenders who came to protect their territory were harassed by the swarm tactics of the Roman archers.

In this situation, the Belgic alliance had no choice but to retreat.

They thought it was pointless to confront the Roman army while their territory was being plundered and their food was scarce.

And their movements were reported to the Roman camp one after another.

Marcus, who was gathering information in the barracks of the Twelfth Legion, jumped up from his seat when he heard the news he had been waiting for.

‘It’s finally here!’

He didn’t care much about the intelligence that the Belgic alliance army was restless. He had expected that anyway.

What he had been looking forward to was the equipment for the final experiment that he had requested from Rome.

It took time to prepare, so he came first with the legion in a hurry, but he managed to make it in time.

His heart pounded fiercely.

It felt completely different from when he introduced the new armor made of steel plates.

This was the culmination of his efforts that he had spent an enormous amount of time on since the slave rebellion.

No one else in the other legions, not even Caesar, knew what the goods that arrived at the Twelfth Legion were.

He only reported that there was a new weapon to experiment with in battle.

Caesar, who had already seen the new armor and gladius, assumed it would be something like that.

Marcus looked at the cart that was brought under heavy guard with a pleased smile.

The shining steel inside it was like a revelation promising absolute victory.

He gave an order to Spartacus, who had finished checking the cart.

“Gather all the centurions and decurions of the Twelfth Legion. Right now.”

<100. Rome and Pharaoh> End