In late February Caesar sent his agent, Cornelius Balbus (the younger) on a secret mission to win over the consul Lentulus with the bribe of a lucrative province; there is no hint that he made any similar offers to Marcellus, which may be an indication of the latter's comparative honesty or, perhaps more likely, his comparative insignificance in Roman politics. Balbus was too late in any case: Pompeius had sent both consuls and their forces on ahead of him to Dyrrhachium and he followed with the remainder by 4 March, narrowly evading Caesar. Cicero condemned this, as it destroyed the negotiations for peace which he claimed to be mediating.