Senator Appius Barbatus,

You do me great honour in your words. Truth is that perhaps these victories are becoming too easy for my men now, truth is they crave challenges that I cannot give them.

Senators,

It does beg one question that occurs to me, that perhaps the Senate can advise me upon.

At what point is it deemed that an army can be disbanded?

We promise our citizen soldiers much, and certainly those in my army have earned much and gained much in booty over these few years……..is it three years now?.......but they remain in service to the Republic as soldiers still and cannot enjoy that wealth and status they have secured.

We continue to take casualties, excepting the last engagement, and I have three Cohorts below half strength. Do I continue to order them to fight until the Cohort is utterly destroyed or do the survivors deserve release back to be private citizens in our Republic? At what level is this acceptable for the Senate, when half are left, when a quarter….when a tenth?

I am young and still have much I can give the Republic both as warrior and statesman, what I wish is a resolution for my men.

They wish for nothing more than land to till and farm, women to marry, to start good solid Roman families….to perhaps live the remainder of their lives as honest, good Romans, paying taxes and remembering what glory they have brought to our Republic.

I do not believe I could deign them any less.

Now, I must leave as I have news of yet another battle I am to fight defending this border.