Since ancient times, there has been a famous saying in my Great Heavenly Empire, which is called "Seeking things in people, and achieving things in heaven." Apis, the www.biquge.info of the pen "Fun", firmly believes that this is a truthful aphorism. And now, what happened to Octavian has fully fulfilled this sentence. In the spring, while Apis was busy with the bad things of his provinces, a drought broke out in the south, in Octavian's Italy......

Italy is located in the southern part of Gaul, and although the two places are not very far apart, the climate is similar but very different. Italy and Sicily have a typical Mediterranean climate, with mild and rainy springs and hot summers. This climate makes it impossible for crops to grow in conjunction with the rainy season, so Italy can only grow some drought-tolerant crops, such as wheat, grapes, olives and figs, but no matter how drought-tolerant, it also needs water, and spring is a good time for these vegetation to store water, but now, God has made Octavian a hard pit out. The civil war had just ended, and Octavian, who had not yet come out of the shadow of defeat, was hit by a once-in-a-century drought in Italy. In the spring of this year, there were hardly any decent rains in the entire Apennine Peninsula. There is no precipitation in the spring, and once in the summer, the river dries up, or at least the water level drops. This is undoubtedly a fatal blow to Italy, which is dominated by irrigated agriculture.

Appis controlled Gaul and Britain, as well as part of Spain. Most of these places have a temperate maritime climate, and there is not much rain in spring and winter, and the rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year, and there is slightly more rain in summer, so the lack of water in southern Gaul is not worth worrying about for Appis. But for Octavian, who was mainly in Italy, it was a disaster.

In order to stabilize the people's hearts, the young Octavian had to hold a grand sacrifice ceremony in the capital Rome, where 500 goats and 200 bulls were slaughtered and sacrificed to the god of agriculture, Sayles, praying that she would bring the harvest to the Roman people in the coming year. But a week after the ceremony, the sky in Italy is still clear, and there is not a single dark cloud to be seen.

Human beings are so small in the face of the cruel nature that even the leader who rules over millions of people is like dust and powerless in the face of the powerful nature.

"Masinas, Agrippa, Rome is on the verge of life and death, you are all my best friends, and at this time, only you can help me, help the people of Rome, and get out of this catastrophe."

In the dimly lit Roman palace, Octavian spoke solemnly and gloomily to his two best friends. There was firmness in his eyes, but he was squeezed to the brink of collapse by the unforgiving reality.

"Until the last moment of my life, I will be on your side, Turinus."

As soon as Octavian finished speaking, Agrippa and Masinus responded excitedly. Agrippa was better, having been promoted to captain of the reserve cavalry during Caesar's lifetime, while Masinus had been promoted from the grassroots by Octavian. He was fiercely loyal to Octavian, and Masinas knew that without Octavian, he would not have been where he is today. Three young people in their early twenties were supposed to make great achievements, but they encountered the combined blow of the bug of Apis and God, which is sad and lamentable.

"Well, then, now, on my behalf, you will go to Aphia and Carthage, and collect the grain there, and put it in the granary for government purchase. I estimate that at this rate, in a few months there will be a famine in Rome. What my father left me, I must not let anyone else take away from me, and the people of Rome must be settled. ”

Octavian said solemnly and gloomily. Agrippa and Masinas could even feel the pain and torment in his heart. No matter how strong your heart is, you can't withstand one huge blow after another.

Two weeks later, Agrippa and Masinus personally appeared in Africa and Carthage to buy local private grain stocks, although many grain merchants were dissatisfied with the purchase, the news of the drought in Italy spread to Africa, everyone knew that Rome, Capua, Brindisi and other large cities would be short of food, and the price of grain would definitely skyrocket, and the merchants were all for the sake of profit without a lower limit, but now Octavian sent people in advance, and it was an executive order, and many merchants and rich nobles were helpless, Watching the wealth in his hands be taken away by others.

……

"Appis, why don't we take this opportunity to march into Rome again, into Italy again? This is the best opportunity that God has given us. ”

Crane asked as he stood in front of Appis with a depressed expression.

"No, this is not an opportunity given to us by God, this is the punishment of the gods for Rome. I know how you're feeling, brother, but the more this happens, the more you can't rush in. The last time we marched into Rome, there was a clear reason, to get Octavian to accept our reforms, to make the people of Rome more prosperous. So we besieged Rome and demanded a compromise with Octavian. But this time, in what name are you marching in? Could it be because of the famine in Italy? If that were the case, the people of Rome would have been disappointed in us. Brothers, you must know that if you want to conquer this world, you must first win the hearts of the people, and the hearts of the people are always the most important, as long as you win the hearts of the people, then the civilians can even take up arms and fight for you for free. But what does it mean to lose the hearts and minds of the people? Just like Brutus back then, even if he had an army of 100,000, he ended up in a crushing defeat. Therefore, the more dangerous Rome is, the less we can infringe on it. Even, to help it. ”

Appis sat in the circle chair behind his desk and patiently explained.

"Then you really want to help Octavian through this?"

Klein continued to ask, puzzled.

"Of course, surface work still has to be done. I have given way to Octavian's grain convoy by Bunodius's fleet, so that they can smoothly transport grain from Africa and Carthage to Rome. In addition, this year, we will no longer purchase grains uniformly, but let the private sector buy and sell them spontaneously. In addition to spare grain, excess grain is no longer put into the warehouse. I expected that in the summer, Octavian would come to me for food, and he would speak very eloquently, hoping that I would save the people of Rome. At that time, can I say no? No. Therefore, this is the purpose of non-unified procurement. At that time, I will have no surplus grain to sell to him, and he will naturally have nothing to say. But if I raise the price of grain by means of free trade and sell it to Octavian, it is understandable that the merchants will benefit from it, and the people of Rome will be angry with the treacherous merchants instead of accusing me, so that we can also make a good profit from this famine. It's just that the means are different. ”

Sitting in front of Klein, Apis slowly explained his plan......