~ ~ ~ ~
Caesar had appointed Domitius Calvinus governor of Asia, and he had sent the 37th to Caesar while retaining the 36th, despite Caesar calling for both Legions to join us in Alexandria. To be fair to Domitius, he had good reason not to send the 36th; another son of Mithridates, Pharnaces was his name, was raising havoc in the region, invading Cappadocia and Armenia with a large host. Deiotarus was the king of Galatia, the invaded regions part of his domains, so he went to Domitius, begging for help. The fact that he had originally sided with Pompey meant that he could not come to Domitius empty-handed, so he was forced to promise a substantial sum to help defray the costs of the war we were fighting in Alexandria, to which Domitius promptly agreed. Domitius then marched with the 36th along with Galatian Legions trained in the Roman manner and a force of auxiliaries to confront Pharnaces. In the ensuing battle, Domitius was soundly defeated a few miles from the city of Nicopolis. This was the matter that Caesar was now determined to address, judging that it posed a greater threat to the security of the region than the events in Rome. Consequently, I was summoned to headquarters and ordered to make ready to march overland to the province of Syria. I must say that I was not happy to receive these orders, knowing how the men would react at being told that instead of boarding ships for home, they would be marching to fight yet again. Most worryingly, I had to think about Cornuficius and what emotions he would arouse with this news, wondering which Centurions would side with him. Although I had begun to form an idea on how to neutralize him, it was still not the right time for me to implement my plan, and I worried that this news would render what I had come up with so far useless. These thoughts were at the forefront of my mind when I returned to our quarters to tell Diocles to summon the Centurions. When they arrived, they were in a boisterous, happy mood, sure that I was about to tell them what they had been expecting since we returned to Alexandria.
“We're marching day after tomorrow.”
The Centurions’ first reaction was to cheer. After a moment, I could see that my words were sinking in, their expressions rapidly changing. Not surprisingly, Cornuficius raised his hand.
“When you say ‘march,’ do you mean down to the docks?”
I did not see any point in delaying the inevitable reaction. “No.”
I might have to deal with their displeasure, I thought, but I do not have to make it any easier on them than they would on me.
“Then march where?”
“Wherever Caesar orders us to,” I replied sharply, immediately regretting it. Because Cornuficius was my enemy did not mean I should punish the other men. “We're marching to Syria,” I relented.
There was a moment of shocked silence, then the air was filled with protests, and Cornuficius shot me a triumphant look.
“Silete!”
I did not mean to be so loud, but it had the desired effect, the men immediately shutting their mouths, their expressions sullen.
I decided that I needed to make an attempt to give details on why Caesar made this decision. “We received word that General Domitius suffered a defeat at Nicopolis at the hands of Pharnaces,” I explained. “Deiotarus has asked for our help to expel the Pontics from the territory they’ve seized. That’s what Domitius was trying to do when he was beaten. Caesar has decided that affairs in this part of the world take precedence over what is going on back in Rome.”
“That’s fine for Caesar, but I don’t see what it has to do with us,” Cornuficius replied. “Our agreement with Caesar was very specific. We would march for him until the civil war is over. What happens in Armenia or fuck-knows-where doesn't concern us.”
I saw that there were men nodding their head in agreement, something that I expected, but what worried me was that some of those expressions were worn by men who were not normally aligned with Cornuficius. I knew I had to tread very carefully, and I made a vow right then to Dis that I would make Cornuficius pay for all that he was putting me through.
“What happens in Armenia very much is our concern, and it has everything to do with the civil war. Caesar can't return to Italy with the situation in Asia so unstable. Not to mention that the whole reason that Pharnaces felt confident enough to try to invade was because of the civil war and our situation here. That makes it very much our concern.”
It was thin; oh, it was very thin but I remained silent, waiting for the others to digest this. I was heartened to see that the men who were not allies of Cornuficius seemed to accept my argument.
Of course, Cornuficius was unmoved. “So you say, Primus Pilus, but that's your opinion. .”
Before he could say anything more, I cut him off. “No, that's what Caesar has ordered, and that's what's going to be done. Are you refusing a direct order, Decimus Pilus Posterior Cornuficius?”
The silence that followed hung like a wet sagum over the room as I waited for his reply. I was gratified to see that he did not look quite as smug or comfortable now, his eyes darting around to the others, looking for support. However, men like Cornuficius only surrounded themselves with people weaker than they were, meaning that men like Considius and Favonius were not likely to stick their necks out at a moment like this. Quickly seeing he was alone, he licked his lips nervously, obviously calculating what his odds were of facing me down. Making his decision, there was no mistaking the bitterness in his tone when he spoke.
“No, Primus Pilus, I'm doing no such thing. I'm simply voicing the concerns that I know many of the men have about our situation.”
“Your concern is duly noted, Pilus Posterior, and you're to be commended for your genuine concern for the welfare of your men; it's an inspiration to us all, I'm sure.”
I made no attempt to hide the sarcasm in my voice and it made me happy to see that my words scored a direct hit, his normally placid features becoming flushed and his lips tightening in anger. He opened his mouth to say something, and for a moment, I thought I had him, but he regained his self-control, instead saying nothing.
Looking around at the rest of the group, I finished, “If there's nothing else to be said, then we have work to do and it won’t get done sitting here.”
Chapter 6- Veni Vidi Vici
Two days later, we left Alexandria, just the men of the 6th, the Jewish contingent and other allied forces, and the cavalry. The men were not in the best of moods, but they marched at the pace Caesar set with no problems, and I was thankful that at the end of the day they were generally too tired to do much complaining. I watched Cornuficius the way a buzzard eyes a dying animal, waiting for him to do anything that I could use to finish him, for that is the conclusion I had come to, that his career in the Legions must end. It was not a decision I came to lightly; even during my problems with Celer, I had never considered taking such a drastic action like what I was contemplating now, but I had seen enough of Cornuficius to know that he was a detriment to the Legions. Even now, after all these years when my passions have cooled, I am comfortable with my decision. I just had to wait for him to make a mistake, one that I could use to achieve my aims. However, he was cautious, knowing that I was watching him, so it became something of a grim game. I would suddenly stop by his Century area whenever he was sitting at a fire with some of the men, hoping to catch him saying something that would put him where I wanted him. Unfortunately, I am hard to miss and he would always be chatting innocently away.