The Dangers of the Late Republic

Caesar knows that if he gives up his title of pro console, then he's going to be prosecuted. If he comes back to Rome, then not only will he lose his army, but he has no real allies to come back to either. There was a danger. People often survived prosecution, but he might not have done. He might have been sent into exile, which would have been the end of his career possibly. So he's got a massively loyal army. That's the other thing to mention. This army has by and large been with him for those eight years. And this is one reason why there are furious negotiations to try to settle the situation without war.