In the clamor of violence, the voice of the law seems too weak. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

- Marius (Roman commander and statesman)

When Hannibal marched towards the city with two thousand infantry of the Holy Order, the defenders of the city sounded the emergency trumpet in time; With the sound of the piercing military trumpet, the defenders of the city quickly closed the city gates, and the defenders on the city walls also took out their weapons as if they were facing a great enemy, and watched the slowly coming Hannibal's troops vigilantly.

In fact, this rebel force already had the capital to continue to expand its army after taking the city; However, its leader did not continue to expand his army with this city, but strictly controlled the number of troops under his command to 2,000. This is not to say that the leaders of this rebel army are not ambitious; It's just that the war elephant troops under his command are too powerful.

In the entire North African continent, with the exception of the extremely fortunate Jugurdah, no power could possess a full eighty war elephants; Even the Kingdom of Carthage at its peak and the Kingdom of Numidia before its defeat could not have had an army of war elephants of this size. And the Kingdom of Cyrenaica is a weak country on the North African continent, and the strength of its entire kingdom is nothing, and it is impossible to compare with other kingdoms.

It is inconceivable that a rebel force should have a full eighty war elephants in such a country. These 80 war elephants, as long as they are properly coordinated and used reasonably, coupled with the cooperation of 2,000 infantry, can definitely defeat more than ten times the enemy army head-on!

It was precisely on this basis that the rebel leaders did not recruit more soldiers for their own army; Otherwise, the current size of this rebel army would not be as simple as 2,000 people. With the hostility of the south of the kingdom of Cyrenaica to the north, it is not impossible for him to organize a rebel army of 20,000 men.

In fact, the total strength of the entire Cyrenaica Kingdom was only more than 20,000 people; This also includes nearly 10,000 garrisons from all over the country, and thousands of garrisons left in the south, and its real regular army that can be used for field battles is only 6,000 people, which is also the guard army of the royal family of the Cyrenaica Kingdom!

Since it is a Guards Army, it is naturally based in Cyrene, and it is impossible to send it out to suppress the rebels; Except for this guard, the rest of the garrison is just a tool to frighten the civilian population, and to expect them to suppress the rebels with eighty war elephants is simply to send them to death.

The former Cyrenaica Kingdom had a total strength of more than 30,000 people, and then because of the three consecutive troops sent to suppress this rebel army, the total strength of the Cyrenaica Kingdom decreased by nearly 10,000, and what happened can be imagined.

None of this, though, has anything to do with Hannibal; Hannibal didn't care what the rebels had done in the Kingdom of Cyrenaica, nor did they care what their record was, all Hannibal wanted was those eighty war elephants!

When he reached a distance of two hundred meters from the city, Hannibal waved his hand to signal the infantry of the Holy Order behind him to stop; Then, behind Hannibal, a general on a war horse, rode to fifty meters below the city wall, and shouted to the defenders on the wall:

"We are not the troops of the Kingdom of Cyrenaica, and we have been sent by the Kingdom of Cyrenaica to fight against you; General Hannibal, from the Kingdom of Carthage, wants to meet the leader of your army, and hopes that your army will open the city gate and let it pass! ”

At this time, the defenders of the city walls had just sent to inform their chiefs in the city, and they had no right to decide such a matter; Still, the defenders on the walls were familiar with Hannibal's name. Therefore, after the general had finished speaking, the general of the defenders on the city wall replied mildly:

"This general, we little soldiers have no right to open the gates at all; Moreover, we don't know if the city is really General Hannibal, and none of us know General Hannibal. However, the head of my family knew General Hannibal; The leader of my family will soon come to the city wall, and when the time comes, the leader of my family will give the general an answer, and I hope that the general will not embarrass me and other soldiers! ”

The attitude of this general defending the city is quite good; Hannibal's generals asked themselves how they could have such a good attitude if they were the defenders on the city walls, and if they could not take the initiative to attack in the face of a sudden army.

The reply of the defenders on the city wall not only convinced Hannibal's generals, but also succeeded in greatly changing Hannibal's impression of them. From the very beginning, the emissaries of the Kingdom of Cyrenaica have been begging Hannibal to help the Kingdom of Cyrenaica destroy the rebels; Hannibal, as the greatest patriot of the Carthage Kingdom, naturally could not have any good feelings for the rebels.

As a result, Hannibal only intended to take this rebel army of war elephants for his own use, but did not really think of including this rebel army into his own army; But the rebels' performance on the walls turned Hannibal's view of the rebels upside down, and could an army without excessive ambition and politeness be a vicious rebel army?

Hannibal was never a man who relied only on rumors, he believed more in his own eyes; So, Hannibal reserved his opinion about this group of rebels. But it is undeniable that in Hannibal's heart, a seed of affection for this rebel army has been planted; This has laid a good foundation for the next negotiations between the two sides.

The defenders on the walls did not keep Hannibal waiting, and less than three minutes later the rebel leader came to the walls; This person is not as big and three rough as Hannibal imagined, but a rather temperamental and elegant young man. The first impression is not that of a rebel leader, but of a noble son from a big family.

After carefully observing Hannibal, who had caught up with the city wall two hundred meters away, he instructed his guards: "It is really His Excellency Hannibal, the god of war, who has come, open the gates of the city at once, and let His Excellency Hannibal and his army enter the city!" ”

As soon as the leader's words fell, a general beside him immediately stood up and dissuaded: "Chief, even if the other party is really Hannibal, the god of war, we can't open the city gates!" You know, General Hannibal is the god of war of the Kingdom of Carthage, how could he take the initiative to come to us? It must be the royal family, asking him to exterminate us; We must not be careless! ”

Faced with the dissuasion of his generals, the personable leader replied with a smile: "Since General Hannibal has already said that he is not here to fight us, then what are we worried about? Isn't Hannibal, the god of war, still worthy of our trust? There is no more trustworthy person in this world for me than His Excellency Hannibal! ”

When he had finished speaking, the chief smiled and led the men down to open the gates. Under Hannibal's expectant gaze, the gates of the city suddenly opened, and it was the leader of the rebels who stood in the middle waiting to greet Hannibal!

Although Hannibal did not know this temperamental rebel leader, this did not prevent Hannibal from recognizing his armor; The fiery red armor that this leader is wearing doesn't look like an ordinary product, so how can it be difficult to guess his status?

Still, Hannibal was shocked by the chief's actions; Hannibal really didn't expect that he not only opened the city gate unguardedly, but even took the initiative to stand at the city gate to greet him, which undoubtedly made Hannibal feel shocked, but also had an indescribable pity in his heart.

Of course, Hannibal himself was not a stingy man; Therefore, he didn't really enter the city with the two thousand Holy Order infantry behind him. After Hannibal ordered the captain of the Templar infantry brigade around him to lead the Templar infantry to rest on the spot, he himself went single-handedly towards the open gate.

When Hannibal rode his horse to the gate of the city, the rebel leader immediately took the initiative to meet him, took the reins of Hannibal's horse, and then said respectfully: "General Hannibal, I have admired the general for a long time; This is the second time I have met the general, and it is also the first time I have officially met the general, and Moffett is really honored! ”

"Chief Moffett, you mean we've met? Or have you seen me and I haven't seen you? But I don't remember myself coming to the kingdom of Cyrenaica; Have you been to Carthage, or have you been to Sicily? "The words of the chief of your Moffitt have puzzled Hannibal; So, he couldn't help but ask what was confused in his heart.

Hannibal's accident was, of course, something Moffett had anticipated; However, Moffett is not a person who likes to sell off. So, after Hannibal asked his question, Moffett smiled and explained: "Your Excellency General has said a lot, you have indeed not been to the Kingdom of Cyrenaica, and I have seen you in Carthage. ”

Speaking of this, a remembrance appeared in Moffett's eyes; Then, still with great sincerity, he continued to Hannibal: "Three years ago I had the privilege of going to Carthage with the elders of my family to do business; It happened that His Excellency was giving an inaugural speech as an archon in Carthage. I was deeply moved by your 'Patriot's Values' speech and deeply admired you.

It is precisely because of your guidance that I have made up my mind to give up everything in my family, stand up from the ordinary inaction, and work hard for my people! Perhaps, you have seen it all the way here; The Kingdom of Cyrenaica is a very divided country; The ruling nations of the north have all the good things, while we, the ruled nations of the south, live in misery.

In order to save my nation, and to allow all southerners to live like the northerners, I officially stood up and declared war on the decaying royal family of the kingdom of Cyrenaica! Nor did I unify the kingdom of Cyrenaica and push my people toward the ambition of dominating the nation; I simply hope that my people can be liberated from oppression. (To be continued.) )