Augustus Road

Along the way, Hebrida and Luculas got along well, because Luculas was now full of disappointment and dissatisfaction with the soldiers who once served under his command. He was unwilling to mix with these ungrateful guys, and he would distance his team from the team of soldiers going to the winter camp.

When Carabis and his men entered the Lydian Plain of Sardis, the wind blowing on their faces became gentle, the ground under their feet was soft and moist, the trees on the hillsides and hills began to sprout shallow buds, grass and wheat densely poked their heads out of the soil, and egrets flew over the lakes and farms, leaving a string of white shadows on the rippling water. Everything indicated that spring was coming, and the soldiers and slaves became brisk in smelling the intoxicating fragrance. For Hebrida and his men, the rare winter camp could last until the most pleasant April.

"Hey, Carapis, you have to feed this Scythian doctor a little more, we'll be in Bithynia soon." Every time they met on the road, Hybrida would not forget to shout twice, because he completely "fostered" Timotheus with Carapis.

Finally, in the yard of a farmhouse adjacent to the entrance to Bithynia, Potti held a copper kettle filled with hot water, Arminius and another legionary soldier held down the screaming Timotheus, and Carapis held a razor, repeatedly shouted "Don't move", and cut off Timotheus's messy beard and braids. "Carabis, you have good skills. I heard that you are going back to Rome soon. You can consider becoming a barber." Hebrida, who was sitting on the table, chewed salted peas with satisfaction. "How about it? This guy looks a bit like a Greek doctor now. Hmm, hmm, he looks pretty good. When the time comes, I will bring out the name of Mithridates' royal physician. Maybe I can really sell it for 10,000 or 20,000 sesterces." Then, the centurion, who was always low-ranking, farted twice and walked out slowly.

Timotheus, who had his hair cut off, was depressed in the corner alone. Carabis was cleaning the razor in the sink in front of the barn. "May the snow god and wind god of the grassland punish you, you bad guy! Maybe I should bite you to death with a poisonous snake." Timotheus said, and fumbled in the pottery jar with his hands, which scared Carabis so much that he jumped up, but this guy fumbled for a while and became dejected. It seems that his precious little poisonous snake is still in the snow field of Lycdania.

Seeing that Timotheus couldn't go crazy, Carapis breathed a sigh of relief and brought him half of the remaining salted peas, and Timotheus started eating. "Since we are going to Rome soon, we have to follow the customs. In fact, I used to have long hair." Carapis pointed at his short hair and said. Then he saw the skeleton next to Timotheus, and couldn't help but ask out of curiosity: "Whose skeleton is this?"

"It's a Roman who was killed in the Temple of Medicine when Mithridates attacked Rhodes." Timotheus fiddled with the skeleton with great interest, "Because thousands of Roman colonists were killed in the Temple of Medicine at that time - Mithridates killed a full 80,000 Romans, including women and children, when he rebelled against Rome. I don't know this guy's name at all, but this is a perfect corpse, and it must be even more perfect if it is made into a skeleton. I must carry it with me, and when I have free time, I will copy this person's appearance with plaster."

Carabis thought to himself, you don't understand the world of crazy doctors - then he heard the horn sound of the team moving forward.

A few days later, on the coast of Bithynia, the ship owned by Luculus docked. The bow of the ship was an exquisitely carved bronze statue of Apollo. When Carapis was helping Pius to load pottery jars and luggage at the dock, Hebrida found him with a gloomy face and asked him to go to the market with her to see the twenty slaves that had been deposited with the slave traders.

"I can't go with the other members of the Triumvirate, because I owe everyone in the Triumvirate, whether alive or dead, either one hundred or three or five hundred sestes. I know the only one who doesn't owe me money, and you are the only one left - if all the slaves die of typhoid fever, I will be finished, and I don't want the other members of the Triumvirate to see this scene."

When the two walked to the market, there were dogs, pigs, chickens, ducks and slaves locked in wooden cages everywhere, as well as vendors and citizens coming and going. The stench mixed with the fishy smell of the muddy ground was suffocating. At this time, a middle-aged man wearing a Phrygian hat, seeing Hebrida coming, hurriedly abandoned his stall and ran away - Hebrida threw a stone in the crowd, hitting the man's back of the head, and then held him down.

"Tell me, how are my slaves!" Hebrida pressed the man's head into the mud pit and shouted.

"How can he answer you if you do this!" Carapis pushed Hebrida away and helped the middle-aged man up. The man kept coughing, wiping the mud on his face, and said in panic: "Centurion, you have to forgive me, you must not be angry, this typhoid fever is too terrible, and the deposit you left in advance is not enough for them to seek medical treatment, so..."

"What? Say it again. I paid the deposit of 3,500 sestes. Do you feed your pig slaves stewed with civet cats with hazelnuts all day long?!" Hebrida grabbed the merchant and dragged him to the warehouse of the stall, and then threw the sword to Carapis, "Listen, Carapis, if you go in and see something that doesn't suit my taste, you will kill this guy. Anyway, you are leaving here and returning to Rome soon, and no one can control you."

When the three of them pushed open the door, After entering the warehouse door, the stench of decay hit me in the face. Rats were running all over the ground. Several rotten wooden cages were lying on the ground. Many people, no, many dead people, men and women were tied up on the chains. Flies and bedbugs were swarming on their bodies, enjoying the delicious feast. Hebrida counted them one by one, becoming more and more angry. "Why not sell them at a low price when they are sick, even if you only sell them for ten to twenty drachmas each?" The man said with a sad face: "Centurion, you have to understand that this is Bithynia, there is never a shortage of slaves. A slave has been sold for only two drachmas in the local area, which is only the same as the price of an axe or a saw. Only by selling these slaves to Rome or Africa can they be sold at a suitable price, but you also know that the tax farmers and big slave traders have been expelled by your previous commander, and there is no transit trader at all. In the past one or two years, only cargo ships have docked at the coast."

In the stench, Carapis saw Hebrida slowly holding her head, squatting down, and actually crying. Come to think of it, this guy fought in Asia Minor for seven years, not only did he not get promoted, but he also paid pensions for the soldiers who died in the war. As a result, he owed a debt of no less than 10,000 sesterces. His wife and children in Rome are still waiting for him to send money back to live...

The dealer slowly retreated against the wall, then looked at the dagger in Carapis's hand with fear, and did not dare to move again when he was at the door. Finally, Carabis winked at him, telling him to run away. The dealer suddenly woke up, dropped his keys, and ran away, never to be seen again.

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