Lonely and melancholy, Lilia waited for Appis' reply to her thoughts. She hoped that Apis would promise to marry Nevia to Tiberius, so that they would ensure the future peace and prosperity of their mother and son. On the other hand, he felt that Appis would not do this. He only had one daughter, and his own family had no power, so how could Apis do that?

In the midst of such a tangled emotion, Lilia finally waited for Appis's reply, which was brought by Tertila. Disappointing Lilia, Tertila relayed Apis's words to Lilia, and Lilia's expression darkened from anticipation. Then she was relieved, because the result was no different from what she had expected. Some are just helplessness and self-deprecation after the dust settles.

Tertilla saw Lilia's thoughts, but persuasion was useless, the facts were there, Lilia was also a smart person, she knew her situation. But how do you educate Tiberius? Want to tell the boy the truth? Or should he be loyal to Apis for the rest of his life? This is a conundrum for Lilia.

…………

"Legions, legions, these people are nowhere near the standard of the Roman legions in my mind."

While Apis traveled back and forth between Rome and Alexandria, defending the lands and regions he had just conquered, Antony, on his part, began to rebuild the Roman legions in the East.

The small size of the land and the small number of provinces allowed Anthony to better manage and implement reforms. And changing the combat formation and battle arrangement of the soldiers in the East was undoubtedly the most important of all Antony's reforms. He wanted to adapt the militias of Asia Minor and northern Syria to the style of regular Roman legions, at least with the discipline and morale of Roman legions. Anthony was fed up with the temporary retreat of these Eastern militias on the battlefield.

"Your Excellency, these soldiers are already one in a hundred, they have a strong physique and strong explosive power, they kill people without blinking, they are the best infantry."

Cecilio, the leader of the mercenaries, stood in front of Antony and introduced himself in detail about the soldiers, who, although they were farmers and herders, had been able to meet the standards of soldiers after a period of professional training and several battles.

But Anthony was still not happy with this.

"Cecilio, I don't want barbarians, I want real soldiers. Do you know what a real Roman legion looks like? Let me tell you, my soldiers, fighting alone, may not be able to fight these people you have selected, but the battle formation composed of a hundred Roman legionary infantry, you can't break through even a thousand, why? Because they are united and listen to orders, they are a team, not an individual effort. When my soldiers are fighting, the soldier on the left will protect his companion on the right with a shield, and the soldier on the right will protect his comrade on the left with a short sword. When the enemy rushes like a tidal wave, the phalanx can be like an impregnable wall, holding its position without collapsing. This is the Roman legion. The people you've picked are all valiant and good at fighting, but they're not real soldiers. ”

In the face of Cecilio's self-confidence, Anthony taught him a good lesson in front of everyone.

Cecilio nodded in dismay, he knew that these soldiers he had carefully selected might as well order a hundred random people for Anthony to train, because their philosophy was contrary to the beginning from the beginning. In the East, the infantry at the forefront was often only slaves and peasants, who were incapable of fighting and fell victim to war, and the real main force was the regular army around the king, as well as shock forces such as chariots and cavalry. And Anthony's arrival is to completely change this perception. In fact, what the Roman legionary commander had to do, as early as half a century ago, the monarchs of the eastern countries tried to do this, but the army was not successfully reformed, and it was already conquered by Rome. Now, once again, Anthony has brought the idea of military restructuring to these countries.

However, in this bloody era, it was always impossible to live a quiet life for a few years, and the news of Antony's defeat reached the eastern part of the empire, and a powerful kingdom began to peek into the rich land on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea - the Parthians finally found the best breakthrough after a long wait.

Now, the Roman Civil War was at its most intense, and Antony was no longer the hegemon of the sea and land, and his strength was even beginning to be weaker than that of Appis. The East is no longer what he says. In other words, in the past, Antony occupied the eastern provinces and was so powerful that if he waved his arms, the eastern kingdoms would gather under his banner, and at that time, attacking Rome's eastern provinces would be met with Antony's head-on attack. Now that the situation is different, with the loss of Egypt and the loss of Greece, Antony is like a beast with a broken arm, and can no longer respond to the call, and at this time, attacking the eastern provinces of Rome is undoubtedly the best time for the Parthians.

The Parthians even expected that when the time came, whether Antony would lead his troops into battle, or whether Antony and Apis would unite and lead their troops together, they would have a strategy to deal with it. If Antony himself led the army, then he would face Parthia and Apis, and he would soon be unable to hold out because of the lack of troops and alliances.

And if the Roman world was united, and Antony fought with Apis, then the Parthians also had their own strategy. Because Antony and Apis are not in the same camp after all, there is a gap between them, and they will judge the situation for their own interests, in other words, once the war starts, even if the two are allied, no one will want to let their elite troops rush to the front to consume. This was the key to the Parthians' division of the Roman League.

In short, the Parthians were full of confidence this time, and the army was overwhelming.

The target was also cleverly chosen: the area of Syria that Antony and Apis disputed.

Egypt already had Appis's legions stationed, and Asia Minor, Silesia, and Cyprus were all Antony's territories. Now, only this piece of land sandwiched in the middle is the main point of contention between the two. The Parthian king of Orodes knew that he had to gain a diplomatic advantage before he could go on this campaign. While contacting the kings and chiefs of the kingdoms of Asia Minor, asking them not to give Antony reinforcements and supplies, he also sent people to contact Appis, hoping that Apis would not bother with the matter, and that once he had taken Syria, he would cede half of the land to Apis. It is equivalent to Apis can obtain half of Syria's land without a single soldier. Yes, Orodus was confident, but Apis didn't think so......