"Marcus, I sympathize with your father's plight, and I swear that in my lifetime I will take the Roman legions and set foot on that land again to conquer the barbarians from the East. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 infoRecapture the Eagle Banner. ”

In the camp of the 10th Army after the shipwreck, the wounded sat together in twos and threes, nibbling on the bread that had not yet been damp and drinking wine that had not yet been soaked in the sea. Appis, on the other hand, sat with another Roman legion commander, Marcus Crassus.

He was the eldest son of Crassus, the richest man in Rome, whose father Crassus and his younger brother Publius Crassus had died in the Battle of Calle, a battle that had been the most difficult knot in Marcus's heart for several years. Despite his desire to re-establish himself on the land of the East and take revenge by slaughtering the Parthians with his own hands, the situation in Rome kept him from doing so. Appis suddenly mentioned this question, which for a time surprised the young man of Rome.

"Apis, I know your abilities very well, you are my best companion, and at the same time, your talents are probably the best in the entire legion, even surpassing that of Rabienus. But the conquest of Parthia was not something that could be done alone. And the current situation in Rome, we don't even know if Caesar will be able to survive to the end? ”

Little Crassus sat with Apis, and his expression was so gloomy at the mention of the Battle of Calle. It's as if the land of the East has never had a chance to step on it again in this life. And Apis knew that it was not impossible for Rome to conquer Parthia again. Historically, Caesar had planned an expedition to Parthia after becoming the dictator of Rome, and if it were not for that dark and shoddy assassination, I am afraid that this great man of history would have done another great cause, but history finally fixed Caesar's fate on those dark and rotten daggers. This was the outbreak of the next Roman Civil War and the legend of Octavian.

"Yes, Caesar will be victorious."

Appis replied in the most affirmative. At the same time, the cavalry also rushed in from outside the camp, and hurriedly reported the latest information.

"General, the enemy's city has been found ahead......"

"Which city?"

Little Crassus asked with concern.

"I don't know, there are sentry posts along the way, and we don't dare to observe it up close. But it is certain that the size of the city is large enough. Estimated to be a medium-sized city. ”

The cavalry's report gave Apis a preliminary judgment. It is likely that the location where the fleet was blown apart by the hurricane was on the eastern coastline of Spain. Moreover, according to Appis's judgment of the geography of the entire Iberian Peninsula, such a large town could appear in this place, and the place where he landed should be located just near the city of New Carthage. Because on the eastern coast of Spain at this time, only the city had the size described by the Scout Cavalry.

"Marcus, I don't think we have to be hungry and thirsty here."

Appis turned to little Crassus and smiled. But at this time, little Crassus did not have much smile on his face, because, even if the fleet appeared on the east coast of Spain crookedly, and there was a medium-sized city not far from the landing of the legion, with the current combat strength of the legion, Marcus Crassus did not think that his legion could capture that town.

"Appis, we don't have many men. Moreover, there were many wounded, and the rations were not enough to last for three weeks. Under such conditions, even if a city appears in front of us, I don't think our army can easily take it. ”

"We need to be well prepared, my friend. Before attacking, let the soldiers take cover. The camps along the way, I hope to remodel them and build them even smaller. At the same time, after camping, all traces of camping must be erased. ”

Appis replied. At the same time, the cavalry received the latest instructions from Appis and continued to reconnoiter the entire city, including the road system, geography, city defenders, weak areas of the city, and so on.

Two days later, the cavalry confirmed that the Spanish town, not far south of the legion, was New Carthage, a colonial city founded by the Carthaginians a hundred years earlier. After confirming this information, Appis couldn't help but have a bold idea in his mind. According to historical data, the city in front of you is the place where Scipio the Younger, a famous general of the Roman Republic, once led his army to conquer a hundred years ago. In that year, Hannibal led an army of 50,000 across the Alps in northern Italy, burning and looting in Rome, and the entire Roman Republic trembled. And this new Carthage city was the first stop conquered by the famous Roman generals in the Punic War.

The topography of the city of New Carthage is similar to that of a Celtic tribe that Caesar had conquered in Gaul, the Viniti tribe. All of its towns were built on a peninsula, surrounded by the sea on three sides, with only one road in and out of the city. This is almost the same as the city of New Carthage. This large city, built by the Phoenicians, was also built on a huge peninsula surrounded by the sea on three sides, and only one side was land. Unlike the Gallic Venetti tribes of the north, it was much larger, and the road into the city was not flooded by the daily high tide. But even so, it is still not easy to attack the city. After all, once the city is attacked, all the soldiers will be crowded into this path into the city, and they will be subjected to intensive fire from the arrow towers on the city walls.

A hundred years ago, Scipio observed that the city was surrounded by the sea on three sides, but at low tide at night, the water level of its southwest beach was very shallow, and the whole beach was very flat. A hundred years ago, Scipio organized a group of elite Roman infantry at night by this law, and when the large army made a feint to attack the city gate, this army rushed into the city from that beach and crushed the Carthaginian defenders in one fell swoop. Now, time has passed, and the Carthaginian defenders have now been replaced by Roman soldiers, but the geography of the city has not changed much. The shallow waters to the southwest still existed, and the scouts might not know about it, but Appis knew it well, and this was the city's greatest weakness. (To be continued.) )