The Roman home front was located on the Latin and Campania borders. Here, on one side of the battle line was the traditional Roman Senate and the coalition of the Julius family; On the other side was an expedition to the Second Roman Legion under the command of Aloyous, the heir to the Macedonian throne.

During the Macedonian king's campaign against Sicily with the First Legion. Aloyos repelled the attacks of the Roman legions twice, and obeyed the king's order not to attack Rome for the time being.

The recruitment and reinforcement of troops in Campania is proceeding well. The 2nd Roman Regiment of the Expedition was further expanded. and sent a half-formed new regiment to Sicily to help Antigone in battle. Aloyos' reinforcements came at the right time. The king defeated the main force of the enemy army and conquered the city. The more troops, the better.

In fact, Macedonia had very little defense in Messina. If Juventus strikes decisively, it is likely that the city of Messina has already been recaptured. However, when Publius Juventus learned of the situation on the island, he was still hesitant. The mistakes he made made made the Macedonian First Army famous for its blitzkrieg attack on Sicily.

Analysing Juventus' strategy, it is not difficult to find:

First of all, after returning to Syracuse, he knew that there was no threat here, but he still insisted on holding the city and did not actively send troops to fight for the initiative.

Second, he was annoyed to hear that the legions of Tetius had been wiped out. Regret that he did not listen to the advice of this general, and acted with him to stop the Macedonian army. The heavy blow of losing an army made him entanglement and indecisive.

Again, after the defeat in the battle on the plains, hesitated. I don't know whether to rescue Lilibal or attack Messina, thus missing the opportunity.

In the end, it was finally decided to send troops to Messina, and as a result, Aloyous' reinforcements arrived in Messina first.

Due to the strength of the defenders of Messina, Juventus's troops were overwhelmed for a long time and had to retreat.

Antigones, on the other hand:

With a legion, he is like a dragon in the sea in Sicily. Through three decisive actions, he broke through the enemy and obtained two-thirds of the territory on the island, which can be described as a fruitful battle.

For the honor of the Macedonian army, Antigone could be said to have done his best, stepped forward at the most critical moment, and grasped the direction of the battle. Immediately afterwards, without giving the enemy a chance to breathe, he insisted on taking Lilili in one fell swoop with illness and wounds. This can also be said to be the result of the old king's sacrifice of his health. After entering the city, Antigone fell ill again, and the sores returned.

He had to leave the affairs of the island to Amintas and Pamition Antigomila. The king needs to rest.

When Aloyos learned that the king was ill, he immediately sent his cousin Ducarus to Lililia to take him to Capua. There are better doctors and recuperation conditions.

Antigone saw Ducarus and said that he would return to Capua to recuperate, as Aloyos had arranged. Amintas was appointed governor of Messina, and Pamilion Antigomila became governor of Lilipa. Before leaving, the king told them:

Do a good job of city defense work on weekdays. If the Romans attacked the city, they would have to make full use of Sicily's special location and coordinate with each other.

After everything was settled, the king boarded the ship with the Praetorian Guard and set sail back to Rome itself.

As soon as Aloyos saw Antigones, he threw himself into his arms and cried:

"Grandfather, you are suffering and tired. It's not good for me to take care of you. I am ashamed of my father's trust to me. ”

"Hey~ Don't say that, what's there to take care of, I'm physically tough, ah, don't worry."

The king said and touched Aloyos' head and reassured him:

"You see, how can this be, still like a child.

You are now the Great General of the Expedition, the Governor of Roman Affairs. The soldiers are counting on you to lead.

You can't be weak, you can't have too many children. ”

Aloyos looked at the king's emaciated figure and haggard face, and felt very uncomfortable. He still held back tears. In his eyes, the king was now only a kind old man, and in his Macedonian house there was a large family waiting for him to sit comfortably together and have a warm supper at home.

"It doesn't matter what your injuries are, do you?"

"A little arrow wound is nothing. A lifetime of fighting horses, fighting on the front line.

Look at what weapons I have not left any scars on my body, knives, spears, swords, halberds, clubs and stones, I have long been used to it.

The doctor helped me remove the arrow and bandaged it with gold sore medicine.

He said, 'It's an ordinary arrow, and it hit the left side of the rib.' Fortunately, it didn't hurt the internal organs. ’

In order to stabilize the morale of the army, I pretended to be nothing. But to be honest, it really hurt at the time. Maybe it's old and useless. ”

"But you win in the end. I heard a warrior say,

The king is the soul of this army. ’

I think the soul of the Macedonian army is also in the body of King Antigo. ”

"I fainted from the arrow. When I was wounded and bleeding, I missed your grandmother Sesara and you and every member of my family. I thought about it. ”

"I know, Your Majesty. I know. I understand you.

Now please recuperate with peace of mind and no longer have to worry about these tedious tasks. I will report back to you in time, and the affairs on the battlefield will be left to me.

I would also like to ask Your Majesty's permission.

I have twice repelled the massive attacks of the Julius family, and dozens of other small battles.

I think the time is ripe for me to launch a campaign to conquer the city of Rome.

I'm sure I'll take Rome. When the time comes, we will bring Queen Thessara, and my wife Sylphin, and my son Podare Rios. Let's enjoy the family together, try the magnificence of the Romans in the newly conquered foreign cities. ”

"Okay, I agree. Leave this world to you young people to explore, and I will see the kingdom of Macedonia so prosperous and glorious in my lifetime, and I will have nothing more to ask for. ”

Aloyos didn't expect the king to agree so happily to his request to send troops to Latin, but perhaps both of them realized that the king was not in good health. Aloyos wanted to fulfill his long-cherished wish to conquer Rome for the king, and the most important thing was to keep the king alive to see this day.

The grandfather and grandson hadn't seen each other for two months, as if they had been separated for too long, and the conversation was late at night, and they still felt that there was still a lot to say.

Ducarus had been in Rome for a long time, leaving the comfortable and luxurious court life to devote himself to the barracks. He followed the king and his eldest brother Aloyos as helpers, and learned a lot of knowledge and experience. He is also much more mature than his peers. The main thing is that Ducarus has a gentle personality and can think calmly when encountering problems. This is why the old king chose him as the partner of Aloyos, who was both civil and military, but had a great temper and was a serious man. He needed a close associate like Ducarros.

Ducarus is fifteen years old, a young age, and it is rare that he is more than enough to do things for his eldest brother or handle things alone.

Coupled with the assistance of several civil servants and advisors introduced to him by the king as mentors, it was even more advantageous.

With Ducarus as a solid backing, Aloyos can give it a go and enter Latin America.