We have the right not to say anything about things, and we have the right to keep our souls from being harassed; For things themselves do not compel us to form a natural capacity to judge.

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

Speaking of this, Oscar said, "So, at that time, you thought that the Carthaginians might have known about our plan of attack for a long time; Even the exact date of our landing was known, and you escaped from Parma in disguise to inform us of this. That's why you're sneakily peeping around the Samonai Legion, isn't it? ”

The messenger nodded like a chicken pecking rice, and then said, "Leader, I found another thing on the way back to the port from Parma. "Oh, what's the matter, you tell me about it." Oscar also asked curiously. The messenger approached Oscar's side, and then said cautiously:

"I found that the more than 5,000 defenders in the city of Parma were all slingers composed of new recruits, and the real elite defenders of the three thousand Balearic were not in the city of Palma at all; Instead, they are secretly stationed in a forest outside the city of Parma! On that day, after escaping from the city of Palma in disguise, I chose a forest path back to the port in order to avoid being visible on the avenue.

Unexpectedly, I found well-equipped patrol soldiers in the woods; I was so frightened that I hid until I heard the small talk of the patrolling soldiers. The defenders of Parma were made up entirely of recruits, who were tasked with attracting the attention of the family's army, led by the Legion Commander Brialos; The real 3,000 elites were ambushed in the woods under the leadership of Governor Siodicris, and once the family army launched a siege battle, they took the opportunity to kill from behind and flank the family army on both sides! ”

It was the news from the messenger that really shocked Oscar and the generals; The information about the attack on the Balearic by the forces of the House of Augustus was not top-secret, and could easily be obtained by the Carthaginians on the Balearic Islands in their dealings with the merchant ships. But the disposition of the Carthaginian garrison reported by the envoy is extremely valuable information, if it is really as the envoy says; Even if the Augustan army did not suffer many casualties due to its absolute superiority in numbers, it was difficult to completely annihilate the defenders.

This also means that the 3,000 elite defenders under the leadership of Siodicris will become a thorn in the back of the Augustusian family; It is possible to attack the Augustus family at any time, not to mention, but it is enough to plunge the elite army of the Augustus family into an endless jungle quagmire. The dense jungles of the Balearic Islands will be the best cover for the 3,000 defenders. The superior forces of the House of Augustus were also completely ineffective; This is nothing short of a disaster for the Augustus family, who want a quick victory.

Thankfully, the House of Augustus still had such a bold and careful emissary; As a mere civilian, he reconnoitred the enemy's situation in the Balearic Islands, which was densely populated with enemies, regardless of his personal safety. Don't think that Oscar is blind when he believes in this messenger, and don't think that this messenger is suspicious; Oscar believes in the loyalty of every military academy graduate and academy graduate to him. They are the talents that Oscar has personally formulated plans and spent money to cultivate, and they are also the people Oscar trusts the most.

Looking at the still dusty-faced and dirt-covered messenger, Oscar smiled and helped him up, then patted him on the shoulder and said, "Nepos, you did a good job this time; From now on. You are the highest-ranking emissary of my Augustan family, the lieutenant general of the same legion, and all the emissaries and diplomatic work of the family will be entrusted to you. ”

Speaking of this, looking at Nepos, who was trembling with excitement, Oscar extended his voice and said, "However, before that, you have to complete two more things; First, lead us to the destruction of the Carthaginian army in ambush in the jungle. Second, continue your mission to the Kingdom of Spain. When you return to Sardinia, you start a new job; What do you think? ”

"Of course! Doing our best for the leader and the family is the highest wish of every member of the Augustan family! Nepos hurriedly agreed. No wonder Nepos was so excited. You must know that when he was in the academy, Nepos was just an ordinary student who could speak well; Now that the most outstanding Dulles in the first phase of the academy is just a county official (Tahiti itself is a secret), how can he not be excited not to be excited when he can climb to the position of lieutenant general of the legion and almost enter the upper echelons of the Augustan family?

Of course, all this is not only because of Nepos's outstanding performance, but more importantly, the Augustus family has just become a new independent power; Although the Augustan family, which lacks background, is definitely ranked among the top three in Rome in terms of military strength, it is extremely lacking in other talents. Therefore, Oscar had to find a talent and quickly promote one, and when the power of the Augustus family was stabilized in the future and the official class was perfected, it would not be easy to make such a leap forward.

But. In any case, Nepos' performance still satisfied Oscar; After asking Nepos to go down and tidy up his appearance, Oscar began to negotiate with Mary, Licinius, and Antio about the next specific battle plan. Since the 5,000 defenders in the city of Parma are all recruits, the top priority is to deal with the 3,000 Carthaginian elites who are ambushed in the jungle first!

In this regard, Marie's advice was: "I don't think the key to this battle of Balearic is not the attack on Parma. It was how to annihilate the three thousand Carthaginian defenders who were ambushed in the jungle; Moreover, it must be annihilated, otherwise the remnants of the fleeing army will still seriously threaten our rule in the Balearic Islands.

Therefore, my idea was to encircle Parma with the cavalry of General Licinius five hundred meters outside the city of Parma, and to completely cut off the connection between the two Carthaginian defenders; Secondly, my Guards Infantry Corps will serve as the main interceptor force to stand outside the jungle. The real main force of the annihilation battle will be completed by the Samonai Legion, which is proficient in various combat techniques.

Because cavalry legions and infantry legions were not suitable for fighting in dense jungles, cavalry needless to say; The hoplites and archers of the infantry regiments simply did not play their due role in the jungle, but only increased casualties. Only the soldiers of the Samonai Legion can burst out more powerful in the jungle where the formation cannot be used, and only the Samonai Legion can completely annihilate this enemy army. ”

Mary's opinion was also Oscar's idea, and the original intention of the establishment of the Samonai Legion may have been something else; But the reason for keeping the establishment unchanged is that its individual combat ability can play a huge role in many special times, such as siege warfare, street warfare, jungle warfare, and so on. Needless to say, now is the time for the Samonai Legion to show its prowess.

However, after all, after thirteen days of sailing, there was no rest; Moreover, at this time, the army had just landed, and the defenders were on the strictest guard, which was not suitable for an attack. Thereupon. Oscar and the generals agreed to rest today; Early tomorrow morning, Licinius and Mary will lead their respective legions to Parma, while Antio will be in charge of encircling and annihilating the 3,000 defenders in the jungle with 8,000 soldiers of the Sammonay Legion.

There was nothing to say all night, and at five o'clock in the morning, the sky was still gray. The trumpet of assembly sounded in the barracks of the House of Augustus; A pair of soldiers stood in their positions neatly clothed, and then Licinius and Mary set off with their respective legions, while Oscar and Licinius led 8,000 soldiers of Samoni's legion to the ambush under the guidance of Nepos.

Originally, Oscar did not intend to go in person, and Mary and Licini did not agree to Oscar's risk; However, after thinking about it, Oscar still felt that he would go in person. The main reason is that Oscar is worried that Antio will be hot-headed and forget to command the army as soon as he encounters a battle, and finally let some of the defenders escape. However, Oscar also made it clear that he would not rush to the front line in person; Mary and Licinius agreed to Oscar to go to the jungle in person.

The size of the army of 8,000 men was not huge, but when it entered the jungle, it was unusually large; Mainly in the jungle with trees, the limited forces are infinitely dispersed. Oscar walked on the left flank with 3,000 soldiers, Antio on the right flank with 3,000 men, and in front of him were the gladiators of the 2,000 Samonai legions, who were the most skilled in bow and javelin shooting; Their mission was to eliminate the Carthaginian defenders' patrols as quickly as possible.

At this time, the sky outside the jungle is still gray, and the jungle is even more invisible; In such an environment, it was simply impossible for ordinary soldiers to find the traces of gladiators. Gladiators, on the other hand, relied on instinct and keen hearing to detect the presence of enemies. The first patrol was spotted when Nepos reminded Oscar that he was less than five hundred meters from the ambush barracks.

However, the patrol had starved twenty slingers too much; They were sleeping peacefully by the trees when they were found by the gladiators. The gladiators quietly came to their side, two gladiators in charge of a slinger; It was very easy to wipe all the necks of the first wave of patrolmen.

Six successive waves of patrols were easily dealt with by the gladiators who opened the way, and at this time the army was only a hundred meters away from the ambush barracks; The ambush camp was set up in an open field in a jungle and was heavily garrisoned. Although the whole jungle was pitch black, the barracks were illuminated by torches; Everything within the fifty meters of the barracks was under the noses of the slingers patrolling back and forth, and it was almost impossible to sneak through from this fifty meter distance.

If the defenders found their tracks, it would be difficult for the gladiators, who lacked heavy equipment, to break through the heavily defended barracks in a short period of time; That meant that the elite slingers in the barracks could deal a heavy blow to the gladiators for plenty of time. In order to reduce casualties, Oscar ordered Antio to surround the barracks in a semicircle with three thousand gladiators and one thousand long-range gladiators from a hundred meters away from the left flank of the barracks; Oscar himself, on the other hand, led an army of equal size to surround the barracks in a semicircle from a hundred meters away from the right flank of the barracks.

Just twenty minutes later. Eight thousand soldiers of the Samonai regiment completed the siege of the entire barracks; The 2,000 gladiators in charge of long-range strikes were arranged on the entire circular encirclement, except for 500 at the front and rear entrances of the barracks. It may be that the patrol who has not returned for a long time has alerted Siodicris, or it may be that normal drill time has come; Soon a trumpet sounded in the barracks, and all the soldiers in the barracks began to assemble.

Subsequently. Two troops, consisting of about two hundred slingers and one hundred infantry, came out of the barracks and marched towards the outskirts of the barracks with torches; Looking at the enemy forces that were getting closer and closer, Oscar decisively gave the order to attack. The six thousand gladiators in charge of the final fight remained motionless, while the two thousand long-range gladiators fired their arrows and javelins at the enemy as they walked out of the barracks under Oscar's orders; The 600 enemy troops in front and behind were instantly killed and wounded under the blows of a thousand archers and javelinmen, and hurriedly withdrew to the barracks.

At the moment when the attack was officially launched, Siodicriz also reacted to the attack of enemy troops; He immediately ordered his slingers to enter the commanding heights of the barracks and attack the darkness in the distance. The blind attack of the slingers did not inflict many casualties on the gladiators. Instead, gladiator archers in the shadows could easily shoot slingers on the high ground with their bows and arrows. (To be continued.) )