In the golden morning light, Appis stood on a hill outside the city of Rome, looking at this great and handsome city, which is the largest megacity in the Western world, known as the Eternal City, at this time, he can only compete with the city of Chang'an in the east. It's just that Apis knows that in his lifetime, he is afraid that it will be impossible to reach Chang'an of the Han Dynasty in the same era, and even the war madman Alexander the Great will only go to India, and he will not be able to go on anymore.

"Appis, what do we do next? Really attacking Rome? ”

Crane stepped up and interrupted Appis' thoughts. In front of him, it was still a huge Roman city, which had nothing to do with Chang'an in the Han Dynasty.

"Has the news gotten out?"

Appis asked, turning his head.

"Yes, the news was spread last night, and it is estimated that in a few days, Octavian will get the news."

Klein returned honestly. This was originally what Appis had confessed.

"Then continue to wait, surround the city, do not attack, and wait for Octavian to come back."

"Appis, you don't really want to surround Rome, do you? We don't have enough supplies. ”

"As we said before, the siege of Rome was an illusion, and as soon as Octavian began to leave for the city, we were ready to evacuate and block them on the road. As for the siege of Rome at the moment...... This way, you don't have to besiege the city in the traditional way, because the city of Rome is too large to be surrounded by civil engineering, you can just have soldiers guard the roads leading to the city in batches. The caravans and passers-by were all taken prisoner and their supplies were collected. ”

Looking at the sprawling, rolling megacity of Rome, Appis replied thoughtfully.

The city of seven hills, with no end in sight, can only vaguely see the temple of Jupiter on Capitol Mountain, reflecting a little spot of light in the sun. Appis knew that this time, he had gambled all his belongings, and if he won, Rome would be in his pocket. If he failed, Octavian could have marched straight into Gaul. You will also lose everything.

…………

"Appis' main army appeared in Rome? No, it can't be! Is he crazy? No supplies, no support, no allies, alone into the heart of Italy, and threatening to take Rome? ”

Perugia, where the XIII Army was stationed. When Octavian heard the news in the tent, he felt bad. Octavian's pale face was so painful as if he had a stomach attack, and he walked up to the huge topographical map of the sand table, pointed to his current position, and then moved to the location of the city of Rome, and his heart could not help but feel a pang of pain. Napis once again surprised him by sneaking up from behind, and this time, Apis could not even get supplies smoothly, and without any allies in Italy, he arrived in Rome, the heart of Italy. Ahead, there was a vast area under his control, and Appis could not transport grain and supplies to the front, so he could only transport grain and materials by sea, all the way from Sardinia or Gaul, such a thing that only a madman could do. However, in addition to the consternation, Octavian was indeed a little embarrassed by the current situation.

"I wondered, where did his confidence come from? Before I left, in order to prevent this from happening, I had placed two legions in the city of Rome, a legion of veterans and a legion of new soldiers, and the walls of the city had been fortified, so that even if Apis attacked Rome, he might not have a chance of victory. What's more, it's a very risky act. The normal approach of people is to gradually advance from northern Italy. What the hell is he trying to do? ”

Without waiting for the advice of his generals, Octavian stood in front of the sand table and muttered to himself.

"Maybe he's trying to lure us back to relieve the siege of Rome, and then attack us on the way?"

Octavian's cavalry commander, young Flevinus analyzed with a cool head. The young Roman who succeeded Agrippa in charge of the legionary cavalry was deeply loved and appreciated by Octavian, but for now, Octavian still did not have the same trust in him as Agrippa.

"It's possible, but it is said that Apis was agitating the legions every day, and the morale of the soldiers was high, and some people said that since they had come, they did not plan to go back. Moreover, Appis brought a whole ten legions this time, and it seems that it is not impossible to forcibly attack the city. ”

Macinas quickly chimed in and added.

"Fiction and reality, who can tell me what the truth really is. Even if it's just based on your experience. ”

Hearing the disagreement of his subordinates, Octavian was a little upset. This reminded him even more of his former companion Agrippa.

"Octavian, I'm thinking, whatever the truth is, Rome is the capital of the Republic, the spiritual home of all, what will the people of Rome think if Apis besieges Rome and we don't go back to the rescue? I'm afraid that people will think we've abandoned them. Moreover, the situation is now very clear, since the main force of Apis appeared in Rome and appeared in Ostia, then the Gallic legions, which proved that the Gallic army that confronted us during this period was not the main force of Apis, but perhaps just some improvised stragglers. Then we no longer have to worry about the Gallic legion stationed at Aletion moving south and threatening Kastoni. ”

Octavian walked back and forth in a freaked pere, and Masinus volunteered to come up with his theory. Of course, such a theory is also very reasonable in the face of this situation.

"No, Caesar, if we really do, we will fall into the trap of Appis."

As soon as Masinus finished speaking, Flevinus retorted.

"Why, why?"

"Why didn't Apis invade Italy head-on this time, but took a long detour, or even a dangerous road, to march into Rome from the sea, my guess is that Apis knows his weakness, he doesn't have enough funds, and he doesn't have enough logistics, and if he confronts us for a long time, he will definitely lose first. So, he preferred to go by sea, risking the whole army being swallowed up by storms and waves, landing in Ostia, why did he do this? My inference is that he has only one aim, to force us to retreat and fight him head-on, so that he can achieve his goal of a quick victory. Otherwise, with our defense in Kastoni, it will take at least half a year for Appis to occupy this area, and the attrition on both sides will be huge. ”

The cavalry commander, Fleivinus, expressed his opinion. It has to be said that both people's statements have their reasonableness. Moreover, it seems that they can all "justify themselves". The final decision naturally fell into the hands of the young heir, Octavian. It's just that, with the expectations of the people on the one hand, and the foggy tactics of Apis on the other, Octavian, who was only in his early twenties, was in a dilemma......