Giudiziogeneraleeprudenteène cessarioper (Judgment and prudence are essential talents of a general)

- Tacitus (Roman historian)

Mary did not answer Oscar's words directly, but drank all the wine in the cup in one gulp, and said to Oscar: "Oscar, Joan of Arc has been burned at the stake in full view; There is no Joan of Arc in this world anymore, there is only the pirate Mary. I'm tired of living a life of deceit, I just want to live an easy life like I am, okay? ”

While Oscar was speaking, Mary had already drunk the bottle of wine, and she was drunk; Oscar had to echo and say, "Of course you can!" I don't know any General Joan of Arc, I only know the beautiful Miss Mary. But then again, why did you take the name Mary; It's cheesy and unpleasant, so it's better to call it something like Anna or Simmons. ”

Mary replied with a drunken smirk, "Joan of Arc's name is also ugly, more unpleasant than Mary, isn't it?" Mary Reed is the name of the girl who died for me, she died for me in the name of Joan of Arc, and I lived for her in the name of Mary; That's why. With that, Mary lay her head on the table; She was drunk and unconscious.

Looking at Mary drunk at the table, Oscar admits that he is moved by this strange woman with a rough fate; Of course, tempting is not crooked! Although our Oscar is a virgin in two lifetimes, he can't take advantage of the situation to attack a drunk, unconscious woman; That's a brute, our Oscar is just a literate pervert.

Without further thought, Oscar walked over and picked Mary up horizontally and walked towards his bedroom; The bedroom, which had once belonged to the governor of Lower Sicilia, now belonged to Oscar, and the bed was covered with sheets and bedding that Mary had made for herself. Oscar gently placed Mary on the bed, then covered her with a thin quilt and walked out of the room.

Soon, Oscar returned with a basin of water. After wringing out the towel and wiping Mary's face little by little, Oscar folded the towel into rectangular strips and placed them on Mary's red face to remove the heat. Oscar gently reached out to smooth Mary's loose hair, and then silently kissed Mary on the forehead; After saying goodnight, he left the room.

As soon as Oscar closed the door, Mary opened her eyes; Looking at the washing water next to the bed and the towel on his head, as well as the caress of his hair and the kiss on his forehead that Oscar just now. At this moment, Mary was really drunk. However, when it comes to the thought that Oscar actually left himself in his bed, he himself is gone; Mary couldn't help but curse with a smile on her face: Fool.

This night is a sleepless night for many people. Oscar and Mary are sleepless for each other, and Bayliss and the other generals are preparing for tomorrow's escort; Shi Xiu and Anne were also thinking about their hearts on their respective flagships. But the dreary and brightest place was Hannibal's legionary tent.

On the north bank of the Gardus River in the province of Lower Sicilia, after receiving 10,000 reinforcements from Mahalba and a large quantity of supplies, Hannibal tripled the camp of his legions; Even so, with the severity of Hannibal's administration, there was no sound in the vast barracks except the footsteps of the patrolling soldiers and the crash of their armor.

In the large tent of the Chinese army in Hannibal's military camp, Hannibal himself sat neatly dressed at the main general's table, and below him were his second brother Margo, the cavalry general Hasduba, and the general Mahabal, who had just arrived three days earlier. These three men were the best of Hannibal's army, and they were all known as famous generals; At the same time, they are also Hannibal's three most trusted generals.

As night fell to-day, the Numidian cavalry, who patrolled the outskirts of the barracks, captured several Iberian infantrymen who had escaped from Lillian; Without interrogation, they told Hannibal everything they knew. Hannibal did not blame them for the crime of escape, and it was not a shame to escape from the battlefield where the main generals had been killed one after another; Hannibal made them join his own army.

But not punishing them doesn't mean that Hannibal doesn't have to worry about it. Although he received 10,000 reinforcements from Mahabahar; However, Messina in Upper Sicilia had recently been reinforced with four full legions, plus two of its own legions stationed in Messina. Now there were six fully loaded legions on the opposite side of Hannibal, and the Roman army numbered more than 25,000!

Moreover, the Greek city-states, which were originally in the same camp as Carthage, also fell to Rome; The 6,000 elite Greek legions are also eyeing themselves. What is even more terrible is that the southern part of Lower Sicilia behind him also fell; The 5,000 Carthaginian army was killed and wounded, and the consuls and governors were killed one after another. To put it bluntly, Hannibal's legions are now a bit embattled; If the opponent is not defeated in a single battle, Hannibal's army will collapse because it has run out of food.

The dreary atmosphere in the military tent made Hannibal's irascible second brother Margo feel very uncomfortable, and he scolded indignantly: "If it weren't for the two fools, Hanno and Teages, who lost Lilibi for some reason, how could we be in such a predicament?" But a Roman army of about 30,000 and a Greek army of 6,000 people, if there is enough food and grass; We'll be able to wipe out this piece of waste in one battle! ”

In the face of Margo's irritability, Husky Duba comforted him: "Actually, we are not in any crisis; I believe in Hannibal, he can solve all problems. There was never a battle that Hannibal could not win, we just had to wait for his command; Don't worry about it that much. Mahabar also nodded in affirmation, and said:

"We don't have to think about things so badly. The enemy army was a multi-legion coalition of less than 40,000 men, not to mention the non-subordination between Rome and Greece; Even Rome's 30,000-strong army is a full seven legions! They belong to different families, and these families are also full of contradictions; They can't fight us together.

And their reluctance to bring these legions together will only disrupt their own position. Moreover, of their seven legions, except for the Wolf Legion that had just captured Lilibal, four of the other six legions were reorganized after our annihilation five years ago, and the other two legions were even newly formed recruit legions a month ago.

We are different, our 15,000 elite divisions are all lions of a hundred battles who follow His Excellency Hannibal in the southern and northern wars; We can easily defeat them on the battlefield. The only thing we lack now is a chance to fight them; Soon, we'll have a chance to fight them. Because the sheer number of armies can blind and self-confident our enemies, who will choose to believe in their numerical superiority and ignore our qualitative superiority. ”

Mahabal's words made Margo and Husdhuba nod frequently, and even Hannibal looked at Mahabal with an appreciative face, and couldn't help but praise: "Mahabal, you are really a great general!" I left you in Iberia, and you not only helped me to secure Carthage's position in Spain; I also exercised myself beyond my expectations. Now, I can confidently and boldly put the army under your command; You make me very satisfied. ”

Hannibal's praise flattered Mahabal a little, knowing that the person in front of him is not a person who praises others easily; If he says hello, it means you're doing a really good job. Margo and Hushduba also looked at Mahabal with envy, they had not been praised by Hannibal so much. The expressions of the two were seen by Hannibal, and Hannibal also said comfortingly:

"Margo, Husky Durba, you're doing a good job; You have followed me from Spain to Sicily, to Carthage, and back to Sicily. Since I became the commander of the legion at the age of 25, you have fought side by side with me for seven years; I am grateful for your great contribution to me and the Legion, and even more so for your sweat and blood for the Kingdom of Carthage.

This time our enemies are bigger and stronger than ever, but I firmly believe that they are only strong to prove our invincibility to the world. You don't have to worry about the enemy forcing us to run out of food and grass without a fight, and the commander of the other side is our old adversary, Cornelius, the leader of the house of Scipio; That's what we call Scipio the Old. He will use his stupidity and incompetence to establish the invincible prestige of my Hannibal and your legions.

I had already thought of all the battle plans, and the fall of Lilil made my plan even more perfect; The reason why I didn't tell you before was so that you could think for yourselves, think for yourselves. One day, you will all be the only generals under my command of Hannibal; I hope you can do better. I can promise you that in five days, we will deal with them; Win like never before! ”

Hannibal's words made the three of them immediately excited, and they would not question Hannibal's words. From the age of nine, every word Hannibal said had been fulfilled; He never deceived his subordinates with false promises. This is Hannibal, who has unparalleled charisma and great fighting power; He can make soldiers and generals unconditionally believe in him, support him, and fight for him; Or even die for him!

The dreary tent became warm after Hannibal's words, and the three generals were already thinking about what kind of posture they should use and what kind of armor they should wear to meet the battle. Victory seemed undoubted, and merit was within reach; The only thing missing now is to go to war!