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Whilst browsing the Genocide I cam across a quote from Frances Titchener when discussing Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon that,

Finally [Caesar] makes a decision, it's time to go, and he uses a gambling metaphor: he says 'Roll the dice', 'Alea jacta est'. Once the dice start rolling they cannot be controlled, even though we don't know what it is as the dice roll and tumble. Julius and his men swiftly cross the river and they march double time toward Rome, where they almost beat the messengers sent to inform the Senate of their arrival."

Now I've read in other places that Caesar's progress south was apparently slower than Titchener suggests but let's say for this discussion he's actually slightly faster and manages to reach Rome literally on the heels of the messengers. This comes as a major shock to his opponents with the Senate and Pompey not having the warning time to evacuate the city. So the question becomes what happens next? Would this be an improvement for Caesar, or was he better off allowing them to flee and damage their personal prestige for doing so even at the cost of having to later fight them?
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