Annibalesacomevincere, manonsannocomeutilizzarelavittoria (Hannibal knows how to win, but does not know how to use it)

- Mahabal (Hannibal's general)

Oscar's fleet did not find the pirates' scout boats; However, the large pirate fleet following behind him cannot be ignored. After spotting about ten pirate warships chasing our fleet behind them, the lookout on the escort ships immediately informed the captain of the emergency; The captain did not dare to delay, and immediately ordered the flag bearer to pass the message to the flag bearer on the Oscar ship.

After receiving the flag bearer's report, Oscar did not panic in the slightest; Instead, he calmly comforted the panicked standard-bearer and ordered: "You need not be afraid of these pirates; Our transports are full of elite troops. Moreover, we also have a large number of secret weapons on board that are specialized in dealing with pirate warships; Not to mention ten pirate warships, even fifty pirate warships will crash their heads on our iron plate!

Actually, before I set out, I thought about the possibility of encountering the notorious Sicilian pirates; Therefore, the army on each transport ship secretly carried a part of the secret weapons in order to deal with the pirates. I wanted to wipe out these pirates once and for all, but now they've sent them to the door; It just saves me a lot of trouble going to them.

Now, you go and tell the four escort warships not to ask too much and immediately speed up, and leave the matter of the pirate ship to me personally; And told all sailors not to be afraid, and to stay at their posts with confidence. The battle is all in the hands of our warriors of House Augustus; As for you, you will be my temporary herald after informing everyone. I'm going to let you witness an epoch-making naval battle! “

Oscar's confident words made the frightened standard-bearer suddenly boil with enthusiasm, he didn't say anything more, but straightened his waist in front of Oscar; Then he turned around and carried out the order. After the standard-bearer walked out, Licinius, who was behind Oscar, asked Oscar suspiciously: "Master, didn't we say before that we should try to avoid conflicts with Sicilian pirates?" Why don't you hasten forward now, but stay and fight them? And, what will we do when we face Hannibal's legions when we use our secret weapon on the island now? “

At this moment, Oscar's face no longer has the calmness just now, but is full of helplessness and regret; However, Licinius's doubts could not fail to answer. After all, he is his most trusted confidant; So, Oscar explained and didactic, saying: "I don't want to clash with the Sicilian pirates again at such a time, and it's a large pirate force with ten warships. But if we choose to flee now; Well, not to mention the Guards Regiment, at least the confidence in the victory of this transport fleet is gone. You know, our opponents after landing on the island are Hannibal and his elite army.

We of the House of Augustus do not have a fleet of our own, and without the full support of this transport fleet, we may not even have a chance to run if we fail; Therefore, we must imbue this fleet with the belief that the Augustians are invincible, so that they are willing to tie themselves to the chariots of the Augustus.

And, even if we choose to run away; How could a fully loaded transport ship outrun the pirates' warships? Since you can't run away, negotiation is useless; War, then, is the only option. At the very least, we have the secret weapon to surely gain a decisive advantage in this sudden naval battle, and we can even wipe out this pirate fleet without a single soldier.

As for the situation of operations after the landing in Lower Sicilya; There is no such thing as eternal smooth sailing in war. In a real war, the number of soldiers, the scale of operations, the ability of generals, morale and will, logistics and supplies, plus some unexpected events, the difficulty of real war can be imagined. Therefore, in war, we can only see tricks and dismantle them, and we cannot rigidly fix tactics.

In war, it is always the centurion who uses rigid tactics, and the one who makes full use of his every advantage to achieve victory is the general and commander. The secret weapon can play a role, but the secret weapon is the secret weapon; If we watch pirates invade us and don't use it, isn't the secret weapon just an ornament? Licinius, there are many things that you still need to learn; You don't think of yourself as a captain, you should think about things from the perspective of the overall situation. “

Oscar's words and deeds made Licinius nod thoughtfully, and Oscar walked out of the cabin without saying anything. At this time, the crew members were actively busy at their posts, and the army was also hurrying to sort out their equipment and wipe their weapons. The news of the arrival of the pirates frightened all the crew and sailors, and the declaration of the leader of the House of Augustus carried by the standard-bearer reassured everyone; So, Oscar, who walked out of the cabin, saw this orderly scene in front of him.

Whether it's really no longer afraid of pirates, or pretending to be calm; At least the scene in front of him is still quite satisfactory to Oscar. After all, these sailors were not professional soldiers of the House of Augustus, but ordinary Roman people recruited by the Richards; They don't have the glory and strength of their families, they have their own families, wives and children, and all they need is to provide for their families, not to fight pirates on the battlefield.

Licinius, who figured it out, did not disappoint Oscar, and just as Oscar walked under the flagbearer standing on the mast, Licinius appeared behind Oscar. Oscar didn't say much, just nodded at Licini with an appreciative smile. Immediately, Oscar shouted an order to the standard-bearer on the mast:

"Order: The archers on the six transports immediately occupy the high ground on their respective transports and strike at the pirate ships as soon as they get within 100 meters. The slingers lay down their stone bags, each with more than five torches, and threw the lit torches at the enemy ship as soon as the secret weapon was used.

Lancers and Spartan warriors are responsible for using their spears against enemy ships, and in any case, they must not let enemy ships with secret weapons come within three meters of the transport! The heavy infantry is responsible for the use of secret weapons, which are used to spray black oil on enemy ships as soon as they get within fifty meters of the transport ship. Sailors must have enough seawater on board the transport, and if the ship catches fire, they will immediately put out the fire with all their strength and throw all the secret weapons and black oil on the ship into the sea! ”

As soon as Oscar's order began, the standard-bearer quickly passed the order through the flag; And repeat Oscar's orders again and again. Both Oscar and Licinius were satisfied with the performance of this standard-bearer, and even Oscar decided in his heart that he would keep this standard-bearer after the end of the Sicilian War and use it as his own special standard-bearer in the future.

The flag-bearers of the other five transport ships, as soon as they received the order, conveyed it to the supreme commander of the army on board; So, everyone on the five transport ships began to act according to Oscar's orders. As for Oscar's ship, it was already in operation when Oscar gave the order. After a period of panic and scramble, five transports signaled to Oscar that everything was ready.

Now, the pirate fleet is less than 1,000 meters away from Oscar's fleet; The vast Mediterranean Sea allows the two sides to clearly see each other's flags and the situation on the ship, and the war is about to break out! Licinius, as a veteran of the Wolf Legion, participated in several foreign wars of the Augustan family; Naturally, the flag of the Sicilian pirates is more familiar. After seeing clearly the flag hoisted by the enemy pirates and the five-column battleship "Queen of Vengeance", Licinius immediately explained to Oscar with a great change of face:

"This pirate fleet is not a pirate fleet, but a combined fleet belonging to Blackbeard Pirates and Calico Jack! Both of them are now great pirates in the Mediterranean, and they are both well-known pirates who are among the top 10 pirates in Sicily. Blackbeard, in particular, whose original name was Edward, was the bravest and most brutal of the Sicilian pirates; He even frantically provoked the Carthaginian navy and took the initiative to attack the Carthaginian military port in North Africa.

The most terrible thing is that he succeeded in the end, and he defeated the Carthaginian navy, the sea hegemon that dominated the Mediterranean, and fled with heavy casualties! Moreover, this man is cruel by nature; He was extremely brutal to his enemies and his own pirates. At every turn, it is murder, and it is always executed by the most cruel means; Therefore, he is the most feared pirate in the Mediterranean. “

Licini's words not only did not cause Oscar to be shocked, but made Oscar even more excited; Oscar even smiled at Licinius and asked, "If such a notorious and distorted pirate lord dies at the hands of the transport fleet of the Augustus family this time; And it's Blackbeard who fights with the strong and the weak. So, will the pirates of the Mediterranean still dare to attack the fleet of the Augustus family in the future? “

Licinius didn't expect Oscar to have such a problem at such a time, I really don't know if His Excellency Oscar is too confident in his secret weapon, or His Excellency Oscar's mentality is too good. In short, Licini has not seen the Oscar's so-called secret weapon either; However, His Excellency Oscar then admired this so-called secret weapon. Therefore, he didn't dare to say anything more about this secret weapon. Just said calmly: "If the family can really use these six transport ships to defeat Blackbeard and Calico Jack's combined fleet, then there is no need for family propaganda at all; All who saw this naval battle spread the news throughout the Mediterranean. From now on, not to mention the Augustus fleet, and even all ships flying the flag of the Augustus family, will become a forbidden place for pirates. “

Licini's helpless answer made Oscar even more happy, ignoring Licini's sad face; Oscar excitedly shouted to all the sailors on the ship who were already pale: "Today, let us use Blackbeard and the blood and prestige of Calico Jack to lay the foundation for the rise of our Augustus family in the Mediterranean!" “