"Close to Spain, northern Italy, Istria, Sardinia. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info Appis wants these places. ”

"No, no, no, Spain and Sardinia, that is impossible."

Two months later, Octavian could no longer bear the siege and had to send Masinus to negotiate peace with Appis, this time, the real peace talks. However, while Octavian's overseas reinforcements could not arrive, Appis opened his mouth and directly asked for three provinces. Sardinia is rich in high-quality timber and has a large amount of fertile land that can be used as an excellent port for building a fleet, and wheat on the island is a good commodity, which can bring good income to the national treasury every year. Near Spain, Iberia is a region close to the Mediterranean Sea, where there are a large number of mines and its economic status cannot be underestimated. Appis focused on these two places, which in fact amounted to biting Octavian's economic lifeline. Of course, Masinus did not dare to agree, so he had to go back and consult with Octavian.

"At the moment, I have no other way, it will take more than three months for the Spanish and Afritan legions to build a fleet, but now we can't afford to wait, if this continues, without the Apis attacking the city, the civilians will rise up and overthrow us."

Octavian sat on his ivory chair and sighed sadly. After this battle, Roma's three-point situation will be reversed, and the strongest will still be Antony, while Appis's strength will be greatly increased. But Octavian had no other choice, and even if he lasted another month and a half, when the Spanish and African fleets were built and sailed to Sicily, he might not be able to defeat Commodus. At that time, I was afraid that I didn't even have bargaining chips. Apis could besiege the city until he surrendered completely. In that case, let alone negotiations, I am afraid that even myself will become a prisoner. Octavian knew that perhaps everything really had to be considered in the long run.

The early autumn sun poured into the white marble mansion, and Octavian's pale face did not feel a trace of the warmth of the sun. In front of him, there was only Rome, which looked like a dead city. The Temple of Jupiter on Pading Hill has lost its former brilliance and color.

……

A few days later, Octavian's chief diplomat, Masinas, filled with resentment and grief, signed a treaty ceding Sardinia and the provinces of Spain. The garrisons also withdrew from the province and were replaced by the legions of Appis. From the north, the Younger Crassus took the Gallic Legion with great pride, occupied various cities near Spain, military garrisons, landed in Sardinia, and garrisoned the ports of Sardinia.

Appis also fulfilled his promise to withdraw the three Germanic legions besieging Rome and restore order to the sacred and ancient capital. And just after the siege was lifted, all kinds of supplies and food must be in short supply, at this time, Apis took another stealing brain, let the soldiers disguise themselves as merchants, and transported their supplies to the city in exchange for a large amount of gold and silver, and only in this special period did there be such prices, the prices of wheat and vegetables increased dozens of times, and the prices of wine and olive oil also increased more than ten times......

……

"Commodus, ah, this is the first time we've met in the league, cheers for this great victory!"

After dealing with the peace talks and the administrative handover, Apis handed over the follow-up chores to Livius, Crassus Jr., and Klein. Himself and Maxim, in Marseille, feasted the pirate king Commodus. The former opponent has now become a friend and partner at the wine table, which has to be said to be very dramatic. But both Apis and Wintus loved the drama, because both were people with a rich story.

"This is indeed something to celebrate, Appis. If I had been a little more ruthless back then, I'm afraid you would no longer be in this world, but a 'stupid' decision by Brutus at that time has created the situation today. This has to be said to be the will of the gods. You helped Caesar, but betrayed his heir, hehe, that's a dramatic enough ending. ”

When there were no outsiders around, Commodus withdrew his usual disguise and talked about the past years as a gentleman. It's just that the original noble figure of the Ganeus family has gradually become a commoner in the years of fighting with the ruffian pirates.

"We are all beasts fighting in the sand of the arena, and the heirs want us to have no place to live, so we must fight back. So much for. But in the middle, there will be countless Romans who shed blood and suffered unbearably. ”

Appis said with a feigned tenderness.

"That's how it was with the civil war."

Wintus took a sip of Gallic wine.

"So we have to end this war as soon as possible."

Appis then responded.

"You want to continue the blockade and siege Octavian?"

Ignoring the greasy food in his hand, he asked curiously.

"Yes. I hope you will continue to put pressure on Octavian. Caesar would leave the position of heir to the boy, necessarily because of his abilities and qualities. We must not despise him, you must know that you and I have been cornered by him. Now, it's time for an eye for an eye. I have signed a peace agreement with Octavian, and there are some things that are inconvenient to do, and I can only rely on you to do them. ”

Appis shifted his body, approached Wintus, and spoke to the Pirate King with a smile.

"Treachery, you are too treacherous, Appis, you made me see the shadow of Julius Caesar at the beginning, dictators do things by unscrupulous means, and I am afraid that you have learned not only strategy and tactics by his side in those years, but also various means."

Wintus replied with a smile. He knew what Apis meant, but at the same time, Octavian no longer had the original threat, and Wintus needed some of his own leverage to continue to cooperate with Apis.

"Haha, this can only be said to be a necessary measure for self-preservation."

Apis laughed. Then he said—

"Brother, I will continue to give you financial support, in the past, in my most difficult times, I have given you help and support. Now that Sardinia and Spain have fallen into my hands, I am more powerful and justified to support you, and you, help me to continue to fight Octavian, to put pressure on him, to prevent him from developing. There is no better win-win deal in the world, and we have a common enemy. ”

"Honestly, brother, it's a favorable condition, a reasonable deal, but I have one more offer, one more request."

Wontus stopped chewing in his mouth and said solemnly.

"Say it."

Appis just continued to smile in response.

"There is no guarantee of these financial supports, no matter how much money there is, it will run out one day, and I need a place, to be exact, I need a province like you. Moreover, one city alone is not enough, my fleet has already exceeded the number of regular navy, and the crew needs rations and salaries, so I need several ports to feed this huge fleet. To be precise, I would like to have Kalman and New Carthage as my base. ”

Wintus smiled awkwardly, he knew that his request was a bit excessive, but he deliberately asked for it to wait for a bargain with Appis. Unexpectedly, the next moment, Appis didn't have any bargaining, and replied briskly-

"Yes, as long as Octavian can be completely defeated, this place, I, Appis will not be stingy, and even after the war, the coastal areas of Africa can belong to you, I only want Italy. We can live in peace, because behind the enemy, there is still the enemy, and this war is not something that can be solved in a year or two, you know, even if Octavian is defeated, on the east shore of the sea, there is still a strong Antony. It's a huge empire, not just a few provinces. ”