"A great victory, Appis, you have once again done what others thought impossible. Pen ~ fun ~ Pavilion www.biquge.info Rome, just one step away. In just three days, our legions could reach the city of Rome, and Octavian's army left in Italy was a few new recruits, who could not resist our army. ”

When the night was quiet, Crane and Levius drank a little wine and went into Appis's room in high spirits. And Appis's tactical arrangements for the next step once again surprised everyone.

"No, not to attack Rome. Agrippa's legions had returned from Gaul, and we turned north to meet Agrippa. ”

Standing on the balcony of the room, Apis said lightly. The mood is as calm as the full moon outside the window. But the two adjutants present were not calm.

"But Rome ......"

Crane almost choked on his own drink and asked in surprise.

"The walls of Rome were built, and Octavian probably had anticipated the worst two years ago, and he had a hand in it. Rome is not Aletion. The defenders of the city had three legions. Attacking a city would normally have more than five times as many soldiers as the defenders, but we were as numerous as Octavian's defenders. In this case, there is little hope of attacking the city again. The capture of Rome was not a matter of a day or two, nor a week or two, but of several months. We could not conquer Rome except for the siege. The siege was ineffective, because it would take time, but Octavian did not give us time, Agrippa had already arrived from the north, and his army would reach Italy in two or three weeks. At that time, we will face the dilemma of being attacked on our backs. Therefore, in order to take Rome, Agrippa must first be defeated. ”

Appis said very calmly.

The intricacies of the environment and the current situation make me feel tired. The management of the legions, the operation of the city, the governance of internal affairs, the struggle of the hearts and minds, the arrangement of military tactics, and the political attention. You have to take care of everything. Although he is in his prime, he feels a little haggard. At this moment, Apis deeply understood the mood of Caesar when he set out to conquer Gaul, the more high-level he was, the more tired he was, the more exhausted, and the more dangerous he was. The people below want to climb up, your enemies want to kill you, and every decision may touch someone's interests, thus making you an ally or a new enemy. Everything, there is too much to think about.

And no matter how good the people around you are, they can't help you. Because, in this position, no one can be absolutely trusted. There are too many benefits. There are too many conspiracies.

Rome, the city of endless prosperity, his wife is in that city, but he can't see it. Although the news came from Atticus that Tertilla was all right. But Apis still felt uneasy in his heart. His wife, Tertila, might be Octavian's last card, throwing her at the most crucial moment, and no amount of legions would help.

……

"Thank the gods that Apis did not besiege Rome, but withdrew. Rome was saved, Caesar. ”

In Julius's Great Hall, Octavian stepped into the ornate hall and was followed by a swarm of ants from the Senate, buzzing, as if to praise the "great" victory. However, Octavian's troubles were not over. In fact, Appis's departure made him more anxious than the siege of Rome.

"Withdrawal? Not necessarily, Karenus, your intelligence doesn't seem accurate enough. Appis did not withdraw his troops, in fact, he marched north with his legions to prevent Agrippa from returning to Italy. ”

Octavian stopped and returned coldly.

"Oh my God! This can't be, what does Apis want to do? Did he think that his three legions of alien races from afar could defeat the real Roman legions? ”

Seeing the wind at the rudder, Carrenus made a surprised expression.

In fact, yes, and Aretine is the strongest proof of this. That city, even if the Parthian Legion and the Sixth Legion besieged it for three months, could not be conquered, but it took Apis less than half a month to capture the city. Always fear your opponents, and sarcasm and contempt will only reveal your own ignorance. Lord Carrenus. ”

Octavian turned around and looked at the "respectable" senate member in front of him with a grim gaze. And the people next to him immediately understood that today, Turinus's mood may not be good, and very bad.

"In fact, there are more serious things than that. Commodus and his pirates had blockaded the Strait of Messina, and all supplies and food from Sicily to Italy had been blockaded and looted. The situation was as dire as Apris's deep proximity to northern Italy. Moreover, the Commodus Pirates were unprecedentedly large, with thousands of warships, all armed with catapult ballistas and catapults. This is no ordinary pirate team, and I suspect there is support from Antony or Appis. In the Battle of Brindisi, the pirate ships of these robbers even routed two of our naval fleets. ”

Octavian took a step closer and continued to gush on about the military situation at the front. Carrenus froze there, looking embarrassed.

……

"Octavian, why did you tell him so much? Karenus may not be one of our people, he is a guy who sees the wind and steers the rudder and moves to see the situation, at this time, tell him this information, will it? ”

Masinus followed Octavian into the secret room at the back of the Great Hall and asked anxiously. At the same time, it can be regarded as a reminder that he does not understand why Octavian, who had always been calm and calm in the past, is so impatient today. Is it just because of a bad mood?

"Send someone to keep an eye on him, if he has found someone else during this time, inform me immediately, if the situation is urgent, you can control the person who is connected with Karenus first, the evidence can be falsified, and the investigation will take time. But undercover agents and traitors cannot tolerate reappearing. Octavian then returned. Only then did Masinus realize that Octavian's performance just now was actually tentative words. It also set a trap for Carenus, and if he leaked the information and told others, it would prove that the person was not clean, at least he was bought by Appis's people. The situation at the front was urgent, but far from what Octavian had suggested, Sicilian ships could still make a detour of Sardinia and then transport food supplies to Rome.

It's just that now, Octavian really had to start preparing to deal with the problem of Commodus, the trouble at sea was getting bigger and bigger, if the development of Commodus could not be curbed in time, then, once the supplies from Spain and Africa could not reach Rome, the power of Italy alone would not be able to defeat Appis.