The most virtuous people are those who have virtue and do not show it outwardly and still feel satisfied. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

- Plato (one of the greatest philosophers and thinkers of Western culture)

Two flowers bloom and one branch each, just when Oscar took the ancient city-state of Syracuse and successfully unified Sicily, and considered the relocation of the Augustan family; The results of the decisive battle on Sicily also quickly spread throughout the entire western Mediterranean coast to all the powers.

Whether it was the Kingdom of Spain on the Iberian Peninsula, the Roman powers on the Apennine Peninsula, or the major powers on the North African continent; They are all closely watching the Armageddon between the House of Augustus and Hannibal in Sicily.

Even the Greek states on the Greek peninsula and the Kingdom of Egypt and the Seleucid Empire in the east focused their attention on Sicily; After all, this decisive battle has become a fateful battle to decide the hegemony of the Western Mediterranean.

Although Hannibal has the name of the god of war, his previous achievements are enough to be proud, comparable to Alexander the Great; However, the newly rising House of Augustus should not be underestimated, especially the recent performance of the House of Augustus, which shows its strong military strength.

After Hannibal left Sicily and returned to the North African continent, the Augustus family quickly sent troops to occupy the Balearic Islands and the province of Betica in the Kingdom of Carthage. This undoubtedly made the major forces look at the Augustan family with admiration.

The Balearic Islands and the provinces of Betica were nominally overseas provinces of the Kingdom of Carthage, but anyone with a discerning eye knows it; These two provinces were originally occupied by the Hannibal family, and they have always been under the rule of the Hannibal family, and there is no real connection with the Carthaginian kingdom at all.

Therefore, this move of the House of Augustus can be understood as a direct declaration of war against the House of Hannibal! Not only that, but the Augustus family also killed two of Hannibal's younger brothers in battle; This really created a deep blood feud between the two sides.

In fact, the Augustan family, as one of the super families of the Roman Republic, rose too short a time to have the prestige of those old families; But with the occurrence of these things, the Augustus family has truly entered the eyes of other major forces, and has even become an existence no less than any other force.

With the successful capture of the Balearic Islands and the province of Betica, the eyes of all forces turned to the Augustians and Hannibal; Everyone wants to know who will have the last laugh between the two.

Hannibal's ability and prestige do not need to be repeated, after all, the Romans have used their countless blood and tears to let the world understand Hannibal's strength and invincibility; However, the strength of the Augustan family is also staggering.

Even though the House of Augustus is just a newly rising family, its strong military strength and comprehensive potential have shocked all the forces that have begun to pay attention to the House of Augustus!

Not to mention the outstanding performance of the Augustus family in the attack on the Balearic Islands and the province of Betica, even the huge fleet owned by the Augustus family is enough to put countless forces to shame; That's a huge fleet to dominate the western Mediterranean!

In addition, after the outbreak of chaos within Rome itself, the Maxentius family, which was originally the head of the four traditional Roman families, became a vassal family of the Augustan family; Such a change once again brought the Augustan family to the forefront!

Subsequently, Marius, who was unwilling to fail, united with the Scipio family and the Brutus family to organize a large fleet to compete with the Augustus family; As a result, the fleet of Marius's forces was completely wiped out, but the Augustus family was unscathed!

If the rise of the House of Augustus was a fortuitous factor, it was only a coincidence that the family successfully occupied the Balearic Islands and the provinces of Betica; Then, the battle with Marius's forces is a real hard fight.

One coincidence doesn't mean anything, and two luck doesn't mean anything; However, the successive victories are enough to prove that the strength of the Augustus family is definitely not weak, at least it belongs to the existence that can compete with Hannibal.

In this way, how could the decisive battle between the House of Augustus and Hannibal not attract the attention of all the powers? In addition to those forces that are too remote, the forces of the Iberian Peninsula, the Apennine Peninsula, and the North African continent are not only concerned about this decisive battle, but also a decisive battle that will affect their own future fate!

The first is the Kingdom of Spain on the Iberian Peninsula, the contradictions between the Spanish Kingdom and the Hannibal family are well known, and it is only a few years since the two sides ended the war; The hatred and fear of the House of Hannibal in the Kingdom of Spain is also obvious to all.

When the Augustans attacked the province of Betica of the House of Hannibal, the role played by the Kingdom of Spain should not be underestimated; It can even be said that without the strong support of the Kingdom of Spain, the Augustans would not have been able to successfully take the province of Betica.

With such a layer, how could the Kingdom of Spain not pay close attention to the decisive battle between the House of Augustus and Hannibal? For the Kingdom of Spain, the decisive battle on the island of Sicily will not only determine the status of the hegemon of the Western Mediterranean, but also determine the future fate of the Kingdom of Spain!

If the House of Augustus had tried, the Kingdom of Spain would naturally continue to sit back and relax; After all, the two sides still formed a very good friendship when dealing with the province of Betica of the Hannibal family.

If Hannibal had won, then the peace between the Kingdom of Spain and the House of Hannibal would have almost come to an end; With Hannibal's character, it was impossible for him to let go of the Kingdom of Spain, which had secretly helped the House of Augustus, after his victory.

With the strength of the Kingdom of Spain, can it withstand Hannibal's strong attack? The answer, of course, is no. Therefore, the entire upper echelons of the Spanish kingdom were anxiously awaiting the outcome of the decisive battle in Sicily; They were afraid of Hannibal's victory and longed for the final victory of the House of Augustus!

Second only to the Kingdom of Spain were the Roman powers on the Apennine Peninsula; Whether it is the Julius family, which dominates the north, the alliance between the city of Rome and Scipio represented by Marius, or the Brutus family who moved to the Greek peninsula, their hearts are contradictory and complicated.

From the sentiments of the Roman people, their hatred of Hannibal was unparalleled; After all, the name Hannibal has become a nightmare for almost the entire Roman nation, and the name of Hannibal as the god of war was laid with the blood and bones of the Romans!

In addition to national feelings, the relationship of interests in reality cannot be ignored; Hannibal's strength has never been questioned, and if Hannibal wins the decisive battle of Sicily again, he will inevitably dominate the entire western Mediterranean.

At that time, Hannibal could not only take the opportunity to gain dominion over all the islands in the entire western Mediterranean, but also return to the army to take the dominion of the Carthaginian kingdom itself; Coupled with Hannibal's own bravery and skill, who in the Mediterranean can resist such a Hannibal?

It is no exaggeration to say that as long as Hannibal won the battle; All the powers in the entire Western Mediterranean would quickly unite to form an anti-Hannibal alliance against Hannibal. Otherwise, sooner or later everyone will be broken by Hannibal one by one.

In view of these practical problems, the Roman powers should have supported the victory of the House of Augustus; Anyway, the family of Augustus was also part of the Roman nation, didn't they?

However, this is not the case; The Roman powers feared not only Hannibal's victory in the decisive battle, but also the victory of the Augustusian family. The contradictions between Marius and the Augustan family are all made public, and there is no need to say much about it.

In fact, the Julius and Brutus families did not want the Augustus family to win; Because if the Augustians won the decisive battle, then the Augustians would become the hegemonic power in the western Mediterranean, which would be a new threat to the other powers of Rome.

A Hannibal, who controlled all the islands and maritime supremacy in the western Mediterranean, was a powerful presence that the Roman powers could not resist; So, is an Augustan family that controls all the islands and maritime supremacy in the Western Mediterranean acceptable?

Even if the House of Augustus did not have the rich and prosperous roots of Carthage, the House of Augustus had advanced weaponry forging methods and more aggressive systems that Hannibal did not have; This is also an advantage that belongs only to the House of Augustus.

So, taken together; Once the House of Augustus won the decisive battle, it posed no less threat to the native powers of Rome than Hannibal! More crucially, the Augustans also had an advantage that Hannibal could never match; This was the main reason why other Roman powers were more reluctant to see Augustus win.

That is, the House of Augustus was itself part of the Roman Republic and part of the Roman nation; This means that when Hannibal, a foreigner, wants to attack other forces in Rome itself, he will definitely encounter desperate resistance from the Roman people, and the Augustan family's attack on other forces in Rome is only a civil war of the Romans!

That alone was enough to make the rest of Rome wary of the House of Augustus; This is also the reason why the Julius and Brutus families, who have no grudges against the Augustus, are also unwilling to see the Augustus family win.

Finally, of course, there are the powers of the North African continent; Whether it is the Kingdom of Libya, the Kingdom of Cyrenaica, which is still in civil strife, or the forces of Adheba and Jugudah, who have already taken action, everyone's life and death are pinned on the decisive battle between the Augustan family and Hannibal, and no one can escape, let alone escape! (To be continued.) )