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While I took care of my own administrative details, Caesar was doing the same, on a much larger scale. As he told me, he had to think of a way to appease the Jews, doing it in his usual thorough and grand way. During our stay in Ace Ptolemais, one of Antipater’s rivals, a man named Antigonus had come before Caesar to accuse Antipater and Hyrcanus of trying to poison him, asking Caesar for justice. Antigonus’ timing could not have been worse, though he had no way of knowing what had transpired with Joseph of Gaza. In what Apollonius described as a scene worthy to be called theater and to charge people for admission, there was a confrontation between Antigonus and Antipater. Antipater disrobed to show everyone there the scars that he had borne during the battle on the Nile fighting for Caesar. Even if there had not been the Joseph affair hanging over his head, there was no way that Caesar would turn his back on a man who had shed blood for him, meaning Antigonus was sent on his way empty-handed. Both as a reward for his service and as a way to appease the Jews for the murder of Joseph, Caesar told Antipater to pick the office he wanted to hold in Judaea, and Antipater made himself procurator of the province. Antipater promptly appointed his fifteen-year-old son, Phasaelus, governor of Jerusalem, and his other son, Herod, governor of Galilee. Caesar also bestowed Roman citizenship on Antipater, freeing him from taxes for the rest of his life as well. Hyrcanus was confirmed as high priest of the Jews, which Caesar also decreed would be a hereditary post, Hyrcanus’ sons and grandsons inheriting the office. With these two acts, the Jews were appeased, enabling Caesar to turn his attention back to the matter of Pharnaces.
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At the formation the next morning, I informed the men of the fate of Cornuficius, which of course, they already knew. I had to keep myself from shaking my head; I cannot say I was particularly surprised, and I suppose it was a little much to expect that newly promoted men would not draw attention and questions. As I stood there mouthing the words, I looked most intently at the men of the Second Century of the 10th, and was happy to see that, for the most part, the men looked more relieved than anything else. At the very least, they would not have to worry about being extorted, able to keep more of their money for themselves, in order to waste in any manner they saw fit.
Suddenly seeing an opportunity, I began speaking again. “If there's anything to be learned from this, it's that nobody, not even a Centurion, is above the law. No matter what your rank, no matter what your station, the laws of Rome provide protection for each and every one of you. But it also means that there will be retribution against you if you break those laws. Let the example of Cornuficius remind you of that. Nobody is above the law,” I repeated. With that done, I turned to other business, informing the men what I had learned in the morning briefing. “We'll be marching very shortly now, perhaps even in the next day. So except for the Centuries on guard duty, you all have passes to go into the city and debauch yourselves to your heart’s content after your duties.”
The men gave a rousing cheer, but I was not about to let them go without a warning.
Holding my hand up for silence, they obeyed quickly enough that I did not have to yell at them to shut up. “I would hope that the example of Cornuficius and Publius is sufficient warning to keep you out of trouble. But just to be sure, you're all forbidden from going anywhere near the Jewish Quarter. And if you run into any of the Jewish soldiers, you're to avoid trouble with them at all costs, even if that means you leave the premises. Any man who gets into any kind of trouble with the Jews is going to be assumed guilty, no matter what your explanation. And if you get into trouble, you better hope that the Jews kill you, because I will flay you alive. Do I make myself clear?”
The men answered that they did, although I knew that they would agree to anything just to get out of there and get into the city. I just hoped that it would be enough, but had decided to take the risk, knowing that no matter the cause and who had been punished, hearing about a comrade being executed was not good for morale, so I wanted them to have something to take their minds off of it.
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Just before we left, Caesar was joined by one of his kinsman, Sextus Caesar, who had arrived with a fleet from Italy, bringing dire news of developments back home. According to Sextus, Dolabella had announced that he planned on forgiving all debts and eliminating all rents, which he had the power to do as Tribune of the Plebs. Naturally, despite this being immensely popular with people of my class, it enraged the patricians, who comprised the majority of the landlords in Rome and the whole of the peninsula, along with being the major lenders. Although there was some violence in the Forum, it had been relatively minor so far, but it was not likely to remain that way. Still, as bad as that was, there was even worse news, at least as far as I was concerned, and it was about the 10th and what they had done. As I mentioned earlier, they had been encamped on the Campus Martius now, along with the other Spanish Legions for almost a year, waiting for Caesar, and their patience had finally run out. Despite the fact I did not know the details, I was told by Caesar that at least two Tribunes by the name of Gaius Avienus and Aulus Fonteius, along with several Centurions, had been feeding the flames of the men’s discontent, telling them that they indeed held legitimate grievances and deserved all the things that Caesar had promised them. Now, I cannot argue that they were wrong; Caesar had indeed made promises and as loyal as I was to Caesar, I felt strongly that these promises must be kept for a number of reasons. However, the men were running out of patience, and there were a number of incidents of violence against civilians, with tensions rising almost daily, according to Sextus Caesar. When I was told of what was happening, and that Centurions were involved, I knew in my gut that at the very least, Celer was involved. As sure as I was about Celer, I was just as sure that Scribonius and Priscus would not have anything to do with inciting the men. Crispus, I was not so sure about, and Niger’s replacement, Vatinius, I did not know well enough to make a judgment either way, but the man I was most worried about was Vibius. Even though he was not a Centurion and had been my and was now Scribonius’ Optio, I was sure that his hatred of Caesar, and now of me, would spur him to act in a rash manner. Compounding the problem, at least in my eyes, was the fact that despite not being a Centurion, Vibius held a great deal of influence over the men. As much as I would like to say that it was only because of his relationship with me that would not be the truth; he was as brave as I was, he was well-liked by his comrades and I have no doubt that if he had wanted it as badly as I did, he would have been in the Centurionate. At Pharsalus, I had threatened to strike him down, and meant it, but the habit of a lifetime is very hard to break. No matter how angry I was with Vibius, or how estranged we were, he had been my oldest friend and that was something I could not just shut off, no matter how much I may have wanted. Despite all this bad news, Caesar was still determined to finish what he had started here in the East, both administratively and militarily with Pharnaces, who showed no inclination to vacate the territory he had taken. To that end, we took ship, bound for Tarsus in Cilicia next, where Caesar did the same thing he had done in Ace Ptolemais, making appointments, hearing cases and putting things in order. For whatever reason, he did not seem to be in any hurry to confront Pharnaces, which I found both puzzling and disturbing, so much so that I grabbed Apollonius one evening when he was sitting talking with Diocles and demanded to know what he thought Caesar was doing.