Lafacciadipericolo, nonvièalcunrischiodiapparecchiatureper (In the face of danger, be prepared to be safe)

- Aesop (Greek fabler)

Seeing the two younger brothers walk out of the room, Oscar got up directly and got dressed himself and said to Luquis: "Uncle Luquis, tonight I will inherit the family and become the new leader; You are your father's closest comrade-in-arms and one of the most important members of the House of Augustus. My father once told me that if something happens to him one day, I will ask you to tell me everything. Now, is that okay? With that, Oscar looked at Luquis expectantly.

Luquis was not surprised to hear Oscar say this, but calmly turned around and closed the bedroom door tightly. Then he walked up to Oscar, knelt down on one knee, cut his right palm with his short sword, and swore to Oscar: "I swear only by everything I have, I, Luquis, will always be loyal to the House of Augustus, and to His Excellency the Leader of Oscar, until death!" “

Luquis's behavior startled Oscar, and Oscar was shocked and said, "Uncle Luquis, why did you suddenly swear a blood oath?!" How could I not believe what you say? You don't have to! "No! It's not a matter of trust, it's a promise I make to my leaders. It is also the responsibility of my life to fulfill my duties. What I say next, no third person knows except your father and me; Only the leader of the House of Augustus is qualified to know all this. I know because I do a lot of things myself, and there are some things that your father told me personally on his deathbed on the battlefield, let me tell you after you say this. "Uncle Luquis, you mean, there are still many secrets in the Augustus family, don't you? So what exactly are these secrets? Why didn't my father tell us? Oscar listened to Luquis's words and asked suspiciously. Now Oscar feels that he really doesn't know a lot of things in the memories he has gotten, what secrets is hidden in this Augustan family?

Hearing Oscar's question, Luquis was not surprised, but just sighed and said, "The reason why I don't let you know is that I am afraid that you will accidentally leak it; And just one of these secrets is enough to bring extinction to the Augustus family! "How is that possible?! What kind of secret can make our House of Augustus extinct? Will anyone still be able to take the city of Rome? Oscar asked, disbelieving. So what if the four great Roman families besieged the House of Augustus? Luquis said indifferently. Oscar's pupils opened slightly, and he said in surprise: "How is this possible, our family has such a good relationship with the Maxentius family, and the four major families themselves are not united?" ”

"So, listen to me well; These are the core of the House of Augustus. Our House of Augustus is a family without ambition in the eyes of the world, and this is only an illusion; We're just secretly accumulating strength, not like the other four major families. Do you know several of the biggest enemies of the republic? "Of course, we know that the Gallic barbarians in the north, the Carthaginians in North Africa, and the Greek city-states and the Macedonian kingdom in the Greek peninsula are also threats and potential enemies to us." "Yes, these are the enemies of the republic. However, it is not necessarily the enemy of our House of Augustus. On the neutral island of Crete, our family and Sparta of the Greek city-states secretly established a base of military cooperation in Crete, to which we supplied them with advanced Roman armaments, and they provided us with advanced warships and warship construction technology. Moreover, we secretly recruited a large number of Cretan archers and Spartan hoplites, as well as Greek pikemen, to form an army of five brigades. Of these, except for two brigades, which must be stationed at military bases, the other three brigades can be mobilized at any time. "How is that possible? How could the family cooperate with the Greeks, and even if they did, no one would control there? Who knows if those armies are still loyal to us? Also, these troops are far away in Crete, how can they be mobilized? Even if the family cooperated with the Greeks, where would the money come from to hire and maintain those armies? "This is exactly what I want to go on, the family also secretly smuggled with the Gauls and Carthaginians, making high profits by smuggling high-end luxury goods and strategic goods. Moreover, the army of Crete is not a mercenary; Rather, it was cultivated little by little by the family over two hundred years, and it was a family private army whose loyalty was even higher than that of the Wolf Legion. As for the transfer, the largest pirate group in the Love Sea, the Black Reaper Pirates, is the result of the family's deal with Sparta. A full 3 five-column battleships, 15 three-column battleships, 20 double-lined battleships, and 20 battleships are ready to serve the family.

Oscar, you have to understand that there is no eternal hatred between families, only eternal interests. Do you think we're the only ones like this? Is the republic a republic of the Romans, or a republic of the four great families? Even if the high-ranking and rich people knew that we were smuggling things from Carthage and Gaul, wouldn't they be eager to do so? Everybody is doing these things, but we're just doing it bigger and better. Therefore, as long as we are exposed, it will bring disaster to the family; Not because we betrayed the republic, but because they were jealous of us. “

Hearing Luquis's words, whether it was Oscar, who was once dedicated to the republic, or Bai Feng, who grew up under the red flag, it was a huge impact. He didn't expect that under the calm and calm on the surface, there would be such turbulent waves! However, if you think about it, you will see that what Lucis said is not without reason; Isn't even socialist New China innumerable smuggling and treason? Perhaps, existence itself is a kind of rationality.

Luquis has been observing Oscar's expression since he finished speaking, and found that Oscar's expression has changed from the beginning of the entanglement, to the later thinking, to the current relief. This pleased Luquis, who knew that the young man in front of him had accepted all this, and was not resistant; As long as he goes through a period of training, this young man will definitely become a qualified family leader! Thinking of this, the corners of his mouth inevitably showed a smile.

"Uncle Luquis, what are you laughing at? Haven't you told me who is in charge of the Cretan army and the Black Reaper Pirates? Are they trustworthy? Oscar, who came to his senses, also smiled and asked after seeing Luquis's smile.

Luquis immediately restrained his smile and replied, "I laugh because you have come to your senses, which shows that you are not a pedantic person, and I believe that the family will be more prosperous under your leadership." Also, within the family, there has never been a Black Reaper Pirate Regiment, only the Black Reaper Fleet! They themselves are elite divisions that have always been highly disciplined. The Black Reaper's fleet has always been under the command of your second uncle, Calis Augustus, and the Cretan Legion is under the command of my brother Lucas. “

"My second uncle? Your brother? I don't even know about these people? "Your second uncle is a child born to your grandfather in Crete, so it's normal that you don't know. But your father knows, and he has sworn allegiance to your father and family. As for my brother, we were raised together by the head of the family, your grandfather; We look exactly the same, except that I'm short-tempered and fit to be a general; He has a gentle personality, and he is suitable to be a governor in both civil and military affairs. "Haha, Uncle Luquis, your words are a little sour! Did my grandfather say that? "You guy, you're going to be the head of the house soon, and you're not serious, do you want to be beaten?!" Annoyed and angry, Luquis almost beat Oscar, but Oscar quickly told Luquis to let him go. Just as Oscar was about to let Luquis go out to prepare for the enthronement ceremony, Luquis suddenly became serious again.

Luquis took out a black glowing token from his body and handed it to Oscar, saying, "This is the token of the head of the family, which your father gave me before he died. Tonight you will find time to go to Crete after you inherit the head of the family and inherit the true inheritance of the family. Also, the Wolf Legion isn't in a good situation, so you should go to the Legion Garrison outside the city after tonight. Regardless, the Wolf Legion is still one of the family's greatest strengths. Okay, I'll go back to the legion station first, and you can behave well tonight."

With that, Lucis opened the door and walked out. After Oscar was left alone in the bedroom, Oscar played with the cold token in his hand and found that on the front of the token was an eagle, engraved with the word Augustus; On the back is a wolf, engraved with the words "leader first". Thinking of the conversation with Lucis just now, Oscar said to himself: "It turns out that this is the real Augustus family!" Lao Luo, you did a good job this time. If it's really a world based on the Roman Total War, this hides strength, then I've really sent it! “

At the same time that Oscar sighed, it was still in the sky before; Lao Luo's figure appeared again, looking at the direction of Oscar, Lao Luo smiled mysteriously and said into the air: "You think everything is too simple, the test has just begun!" With that, he disappeared into the air again, leaving only an invisible ripple to prove that someone had just been there.