The process of life is but a point, its essence is changing, its perception is blurred, its whole body structure is susceptible to decay, its soul is a whirlpool, its fate is unpredictable, and its reputation is difficult to determine. In short, the physical things are like the passing waters of a river, and the soul things are like dreams and clouds. Life is a battle, a pilgrim's journey, and the reputation after death is only forgotten.

- Marcus Aurelius (the only philosopher-emperor in Western history)

Hannibal's bold words directly shocked the eight people present, Hannibal actually wanted to complete the defeat of the strong with the weak and completely defeat the kingdom of Numidia with the weak; To the eyes of the seven except Mahabali, this is simply whimsical! However, since this is what Hannibal said, the seven people also inexplicably believed it; Perhaps this is the charm of Hannibal, and even the most arrogant words that come out of Hannibal's mouth will be taken for granted.

At this point, there was no longer any objection to Hannibal's arrangement; In order to complete the deployment of the army before Zuguta's army surrounded Tapsus, Hannibal immediately sent Mahabal and Himiko to the barracks to lead 2,000 Iberian infantry, armed with bows and arrows and other supplies, and immediately set off for Tapsus. Admentus was also ordered by Hannibal to return to the Western Front to deliver the order, so that Abydos and his 5,000 troops would immediately set off for Tapsus to wait for Vermina's command after receiving the order.

As for the remaining two corps commanders, Kelimis and Gisken, under the orders of Hannibal, immediately drew their camps to the Carthaginian army camp on the Western Front with 10,000 shield cavalry under their respective commands; Hannibal asked these two corps commanders to lead the army to the camp and began to train in the triangle breakthrough formation and cluster charge, and left nothing else. In addition to this, Hannibal also instructed Mahabal to obey the orders of General Vermina after arriving at Tapsus, and never to disobey orders again; Otherwise, military law engages!

After giving the specific order to act, Hannibal asked all five generals present to go down and carry out their orders; At this time, only the three representatives of the Senate and Hannibal were left in the chamber. The three senate representatives, who were at a loss, did not know why Hannibal wanted to leave him and the other three behind, and thought that Hannibal would have to settle accounts after the fall; So the three of them looked at Hannibal with horror on their faces. It's like a death row prisoner waiting for a final verdict.

The horror of the three delegates could not hide from Hannibal's eyes; However, Hannibal still had plans to speak his mind immediately and scare them. Otherwise, these senators of the Senate would really be easy to bully when Hannibal; If the current crisis in Carthage is too serious, do you think that Hannibal would really be magnanimous to forgive these patriarchs regardless of their past grievances? In the eyes of Hannibal. These so-called senator politicians were the pests within Carthage; If Carthage wants to rise again, it must get rid of these pests!

Alas, the threat of the kingdom of Numidia saved their lives; Hannibal would never have had any conflict with the senators of the Senate during a great war. Although the policy of securing the outside world before securing the interior is a good prescription, it is unavoidable to deal with the outside world first and then at home under the constraints of the situation. In Hannibal's view, he could only stabilize the senators of the Senate in the event of war. And by giving them power in exchange for their unconditional support for themselves, the rest will be said after the war is over.

At that time, Hannibal will have control over all the armies of the Carthaginian kingdom itself; And the senators of the Senate are nothing more than a herd of sheep waiting to be slaughtered without the ability to resist. That was the most opportune time for Hannibal's heart; Hannibal would never again choose to compromise with the Senate, but would eradicate the entire Carthaginian Senate in one fell swoop, completely integrating the Carthaginian kingdom itself. In this way, the Kingdom of Carthage can be reborn, and even defeat Rome to regain supremacy in the Mediterranean!

Ten minutes of waiting was not a long time, and Hannibal spent it in his own contemplation; However, the three deputies have been fidgeting like pins and needles. Seeing that the time was almost up, Hannibal coughed to attract the attention of the three of them, and then asked the three of them: "Now that the situation in the kingdom is so critical, why did the Senate just hand over the armored war elephant troops to General Vermyna; Why hasn't the powerful Holy Order Legion been transferred out and sent to fight on the front line? ”

It turns out that Hannibal wanted to ask about the Legion of the Holy Order. The hearts of the three delegates that were hanging in the air finally fell; This question had nothing to do with the Senate, and one of the delegates, looking at Hannibal, replied helplessly:

"Your Excellency Hannibal, we also want to transfer the Legion of the Holy Order to the front line to resist the invading army of Numidia! However, the orders of our Senate and those of the Holy Order did not listen to them; We had already begged them to send the Legion of the Templars into battle, and they drove out the men we had sent without even seeing each other. They even said that as long as the Numidian army did not reach the city of Carthage, it had nothing to do with them; Even if the call comes, they depend on the situation. ”

The deputy's words directly angered Hannibal, who had always regarded the motherland as his life; I saw Hannibal suddenly get up from his seat and slam the table fiercely, and said angrily: "What do they want to do with these ungrateful things?" Their so-called Holy Order organization eats the kingdom's, drinks the kingdom's, and uses the kingdom's, and even the weapons and equipment and war horses used by the holy assembly legions are provided by the kingdom; Now the kingdom is facing an existential crisis. But they want to stay out of it? How can it be so easy! ”

This time, Hannibal's anger did not make the delegates feel frightened, but made the three people present feel more cordial; Because the previous senators of the Senate were also burned with anger when they faced the impudent arrogance of the Holy Order, but what can anger change? The delegates also sighed helplessly, but the deputies who spoke just now reassured Hannibal:

"Your Excellency Hannibal. You don't have to be so angry; If it weren't for the fact that the current situation in the kingdom was too critical, the Senate would have sent troops to encircle and suppress this Holy Order organization. Although many of the members of the Order are Carthaginians, the Legion of the Order is also a legion composed of us Carthaginians; However, they have now become a state within a state within our kingdom. Even we Carthaginians, after joining the Order, have forgotten our Carthaginian identity in their hearts; Remember only that you were part of this Assembly. There's nothing we can do! ”

When the representative said this, Hannibal's mood instantly returned to its former calm; Since this Order is able to create its own state within a state near the city of Carthage, it is no ordinary opponent. More critically, in Hannibal's plans. The battle on the southern front relied entirely on General Verminia's stubborn defense regardless of casualties; The decisive battle and further strategic planning on the Western Front must be coordinated by this Holy Legion.

Originally, Hannibal thought that the command of the Holy Order was in the hands of the Senate, but now it seems that the actual situation is completely different from what Hannibal expected; So can Hannibal's strategic layout continue to be implemented? The order for the movement of the various legions had been given, and it was impossible for Hannibal to change his plans easily; The only way to do this is to find a way to take the command of the Holy Order Legion from the Holy Order organization. Hannibal wanted to see for himself what this Purcracy organization was like. Let the three delegates leave on their own at once; Hannibal himself, on the other hand, went directly to the direction of the Templars with the Guards cavalry.

Looking at Hannibal who was in a hurry, the hearts of the three representatives were both helpless and happy; Unfortunately, the Legion of the Holy Order, a powerful legion, could not be controlled by the Senate, otherwise how could the Senate need to recall Hannibal back. Happily, Hannibal's departure will certainly lead to a violent collision with the Order; As long as Hannibal completely offends the Holy Order, then the Holy Order will also stand in the camp of the Senate after the end of the war in the future against Hannibal, who is in charge of the Carthaginian military power!

Let's not say whether Hannibal is going to conflict with the Holy Order organization for the time being. It was at such a critical moment in the kingdom that the mentality of the senators of the Carthaginian Senate was really despicable; With such profit-hungry patriarchs in control of Carthage, how could Carthage not decay?

Followed by hundreds of cavalry guards, Hannibal galloped in the direction of the Order; In fact, of course, Hannibal would not fail to see that the senators of the Senate wanted to bring themselves into conflict with this Holy Order, but Hannibal could only choose to face this Holy Order directly. Because regardless of the Senate's thoughts, Hannibal needed to be given command of the Legion of the Holy Order in order to change the tide of the entire war in order to win the war for the Kingdom of Carthage.

The galloping procession soon came to the vicinity of a huge village less than ten miles from the city of Carthage, and Hannibal, who looked at the quiet and peaceful people in the village, suddenly felt that this so-called Holy Order organization should not be a country within a country as the Senate said, and there might be something else hidden in this. The advance of Hannibal and his party was halted by a sudden group of cavalry; Looking at the well-equipped and calm heavy cavalry in front of him. Hannibal knew that they were supposed to be the Legion of the Order's cavalry.

After the guards informed the captains of the cavalry of Hannibal's identity, the cavalry captains immediately invited Hannibal to the village to meet with the leaders of the Order; And it was stated that Hannibal could only go alone. Naturally, the guards could not agree to the request of the cavalry captain, so they drew their short swords on the spot to confront this group of cavalry, and this group of cavalry was not to be outdone and drew their spears; Looking at the two cavalry that might fight at any time, Hannibal ordered his personal cavalry to stay here, and took the initiative to drive his horse into the village after the cavalry captain.

The faces of the pedestrians who came and went in the village did not have the conspirence and urgency of the citizens of Carthage, but were filled with a sense of tranquility and contentment; They also had a very good relationship with the Templar cavalry, and along the way Hannibal even saw many children rushing up and reaching out to touch the horses of these cavalrymen. And the cavalry also greeted the families of these children with smiles on their faces. As the procession continued to move forward, the cavalry captain eventually led Hannibal to a halt in front of an unusually rudimentary house.

The cavalry captain did not dismount, but said respectfully to Hannibal: "General Hannibal, the leader of our Holy Order organization is waiting for you inside; I won't bother with your interview. In the next farewell. With that, the captain of the cavalry turned his horse's head and walked away slowly; Looking at the departing cavalry captain, Hannibal turned over and dismounted and walked towards the house. The simplicity of the room did not affect the elegance of the room, and an old man with kind eyes was lying on a chair looking at a Carthaginian book; Seeing Hannibal enter the house, the old man smiled and said:

"The person who came must be General Hannibal, the brave and warlike guardian of Carthage; General Hannibal, please take a seat, I guess you're here for the Legion of the Holy Order. I have long been ready for the general. Now the five thousand cavalry and five thousand infantry of the Legion have been assembled in the barracks half a mile away, just waiting for General Hannibal to receive them; They will serve you under the command of the legion commander Sakarb, who is also the general chosen by the old man for the general! (To be continued.) )