Anchelepersonepiùeroici, devonoancheprestareattenzioneallastrategiaquandosicombatte (even the most valiant men must be strategic when fighting)

- Homer (ancient Greek blind poet, author of the Homeric epics)

Time passed minute by minute, and everyone still didn't come up with any good solution; Gradually, Oscar couldn't sit still and began to walk around the study. The others were also scratching their ears and cheeks, and an impatient mood began to spread throughout the study.

Suddenly, there was a rush of footsteps outside the door; Without waiting for everyone to react, the old butler walked in with Calle and Charles. ignored the old housekeeper's faux pas, and did not praise the two masters of the house; Oscar directly handed the secret letter on the desk to the old butler. After reading it, the old butler handed it to Kale, and after reading it, the faces of the two were as serious as everyone else.

The last one to get the secret letter was Charles, and after reading the secret letter, Charles not only did not look as solemn as everyone but laughed. Before Oscar could speak, the grumpy lieutenant of the First Army, Licini, drew his short sword and pointed it at Charles and said angrily: "What are you?!" How dare you be so presumptuous in the study of the Augustus family at such a time! ”

Seeing this scene, Oscar glanced at Charles thoughtfully, and said sharply to Licinius: "Licinius! Retire! The head of the Charles family is an ally of the family, and a trusted one; Otherwise, I wouldn't have invited them to our council. Don't hurry up and apologize to the head of Charles's family. Oscar's half-reprimand, half-explaining, made Licinius reluctantly put away his dagger.

Then, Licinius leaned sideways and said sorry to Charles. And Charles was so knowledgeable that he didn't even dare to say it. After Licinius's toss, the restless atmosphere in the room was alleviated a lot; Oscar was not as impatient as he was just now, and asked Charles very calmly: "After reading the secret letter just now, the head of the Charles family not only did not feel worried, but laughed heartily, presumably there must be a good solution to the current problem." “

Following Oscar's words, everyone turned their eyes to Charles, who was smiling; Licinius's eyes, in particular, were full of doubts and disbelief. Charles didn't care about everyone's eyes, and said to Oscar very respectfully: "Your Excellency is right, the contemptible people do have a way to deal with this crisis. Coincidentally, just yesterday all the merchant ships and escorts under the name of the contemptible man returned to the Roman harbor; Moreover, the contemptible people like to plan ahead when they are young, so they began to load the supplies that were supposed to be delivered to the Augustus family in a month's time yesterday.

If nothing else, all the supplies should be loaded by this time! Moreover, the elite army transported by the Augustan family from Crete has also cruised the Tyrrhenian seas; Therefore, the situation in front of them did not cause much damage to the Augustus. It's just that the corresponding battle plan was advanced by a month, which just saved a lot of long nights. "Hahahaha, good! Good! Good! I didn't expect that this time, my Augustus family, would be able to save the day, and it was all up to you, Lord Charles! I won't say much about the rest, as long as the Augustus family exists for a day from now on, I will definitely guarantee the safety of your Richard family! Oscar was very excited to hear Charles's words and immediately assured Charles.

Without waiting for Charles to thank him, Luquis next to him asked aloud: "Even if we can go to sea immediately, but the Julius family has been on the move for five days, can we catch up?" Luquis's words made the hearts of everyone present tense again, and everyone wanted to hear an affirmative answer. Facing everyone's expectant eyes, Charles said slowly: "If you depart from the port of the Latin province now, you will probably arrive in Sardinia with the Julius family; I'm talking about another way, though. The massive legions will begin to board the ship tonight, and will arrive in Sardinia at about the same time as the Julius family; Until then, His Excellency Oscar could send a confidant general to the Tyrrhenian Sea on a clipper to join the Cretan army.

With the 2,500 defenders of Sardinia now caught off guard, they are no match for the 1,000 elite divisions of Crete, as long as we occupy Sardinia before the Julius family creates a fait accompli; So even if the Julius family wants to do something to the family's vanguard garrison, they must also consider the family reinforcement legion behind them. “

Charles's words dazzled everyone present! Yes, it is not that there is no problem in taking Sardinia before the Julius family, only after the occupation of Sardinia still has the strength to deter the Julius family can Sardinia be truly occupied and preserved. This Charles is the real old man! So, Oscar immediately ordered:

"Baylis, you lead the four generals to lead the wolf legion to stand by in the barracks, strengthen training, and ensure the combat effectiveness of the wolf legion; Once the family occupies Sardinia, you will return with your legions on board. Then I will join you in the middle of the army, and we will gather our strength to launch an attack on Lower Sicilya. Licinius, you lead the four generals back to the camp at once; The First Regiment will go to the harbor tonight to board the ship and set off. Go for it."

After the generals had gone out, Oscar then said to his two younger brothers: "Now you can't see the situation of the family, and I won't say anything more; Remember the task I gave you, especially Tuka, don't be impulsive when you encounter trouble, if you don't understand anything, you can ask the old butler. Well, go down as well. Tuka and Raqqa looked at their eldest brother and tried to say something, but in the end they left without saying anything.

After these people were gone, Oscar said to Charles and Carlis, "Master Charles, I will leave everything to you tonight; I'll go out at once to do some errands, and when I'm done I'll leave for the port, and you go to the port with Lucis to get ready; Later, Luquis and I set out first, and took a clipper to join the Cretan army.

And, after tonight's affair is over; Calle, you and Charles will start preparing for the transfer of the family estate. Whether you are going to Sardinia or Crete, you need to prepare in advance. I won't say much else, just know it in your heart. This step is taken, either our family will be ruined, or we will create brilliance together. All right, go too. ”

Looking at the only remaining old butler, Oscar sighed and said, "Old butler, I won't say much about you; The Star of Casa will be handed over to you, Tuka is impulsive, you should teach him more, and if he says anything angry, you should not be surprised. I'm leaving. Seeing the tears glint in the old butler's eyes, Oscar walked towards his room.

After putting on the armor of the leader of the House of Augustus, which had only been worn once during the enthronement ceremony, in the room, Oscar walked out of the room and took one last look at the Star of Casa before stepping out the door. Riding a warhorse, Oscar rode towards the Maxentius family's mansion.

After arriving at the Maxentius family's mansion, he explained his identity to the guards at the door, and immediately a butler came out to welcome him into the mansion and led him all the way to the living room. In a few moments, the leader of the House of Decius came out with Madame Honoria (the others had their own mansions); Looking at the neatly draped Oscar, the two obviously felt a little shocked, and hurriedly asked Oscar what happened.

briefly told the Julius family about sending troops in advance, and then Oscar said that he was also going to send troops in advance; And I'm leaving tonight, so I have no choice but to postpone the engagement ceremony. To this, Decius did not say anything; After all, this is the common interest of the Augustus family and the Maxentius family, so they agreed to Oscar's approach and asked Oscar to hurry back to prepare.

However, Mrs. Honoria suddenly stopped Oscar and said to Oscar: "Although you men have to think about the family, this matter is unfair to Prisca; You have to understand how much this will hurt her and how uncomfortable it is for her to feel in her own heart. So, before you go, go see Prisca for yourself and explain it to her yourself. ”

With that, Mrs. Honoria asked the maid to take Oscar and walk towards Prisca's room. Oscar thought about it for a long time on the way and didn't understand what he was going to say to Prisca, although the two were basically a quasi-couple, but they hadn't met and spoken together; What do you want Oscar to say? What can you say?

In desperation, Oscar came to Prisca's room, considered it for a while, and knocked on the door. Prisca in the house hasn't slept yet, and she's still fantasizing about her engagement in five days! She is about to become the envy of all the girls in Rome, and she will be the mistress of the Augustan family in the future! Thinking about it, Prisca's face blossomed. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, who could it be so late?

The person who appeared in front of Prisca after opening the door turned out to be Oscar! The handsome face, tall body, mighty armor, and sunny temperament made Prisca blush at once, and stammered and asked, "O, Oscar, why are you, why are you here?" Looking at the blushing beauty in front of him, Oscar's heart beat rapidly, and he even stammered: "I, I, I'm here to see you." ”

After saying that, the two of them had nothing to say and just stood at the door. In the end, it was Oscar who thought that time could not be delayed; After sorting out his thoughts, he said to Prisca: "Something suddenly happened today, so I must lead the army to the battle tonight, and the wedding date will be postponed, and when I come back, I will definitely compensate you for the biggest wedding in Rome." After finishing speaking, Oscar took Prisca into his arms and said affectionately: "Wait for me to come back." ”

Looking at Oscar's figure in the distance, Prisca mustered up the courage to shout at Oscar's back: "I'll wait for you!" After saying that, his eyes were wet with tears. At this moment, a sentence came out of the hearts of the two at the same time: Perhaps, this is love at first sight.