Youth is not a time in life, it is a condition of the soul. It has nothing to do with plump cheeks, red lips, or silky knees. It is a kind of quiet will, the ability to imagine, the vitality of feelings, and it is the new blood of the fountain of life.

- Seneca (famous Stoic philosopher of ancient Roman times)

When Flavies received the report from Calabes, he didn't know what to say; Originally, he thought that Calabis was too cautious, and the Julius family had conquered even two provinces in Gaul in the mountains, so how could they not deal with a primitive tribe in a small Alps?

Unexpectedly, this small primitive tribe has such great ability; It is incredible that 15,000 hoplites of Gallerius were annihilated in just a few hours! More importantly, at this time, the Julius family had only occupied the three provinces for a few months, and the foundation had not yet stabilized; Once the news of the fiasco of this battle spreads, I am afraid that there will be a rebellion in the territory!

Flavies had to block the news of the defeat as much as possible, but this time Gallerius led his army on an expedition was not a normal military operation; Rather, it was a deliberate show of force by the Julius family. Originally, Flavies was counting on this to be a sure war, so from the beginning of the expedition, he made a lot of propaganda throughout the area ruled by the Julius family.

Now, the result is a great victory for the barbarians in the Alps; If it is not remedied in time, it is small to be laughed at by other forces, and it is true that the territory within the family is unstable. If the unruly Gauls knew about the defeat of the Julius family in the Alps, they would surely toss a new mess if they were not willing to lose.

Moreover, after all, the matter was carried out with great fanfare, and it was impossible to solve the problem by concealing it for a while and a half; Sooner or later, the news of the defeat will still get out. The only solution was to complete the conquest of the Alpine barbarians before the news of the defeat of Gallerius' army spread; In this way, even if the clues of defeat are revealed, no one will investigate them deeply.

As soon as he thought about it, Flavis knew that it was ultimately up to Karabes to settle the matter; Although Calabis had previously disapproved of the large army attacking the Alpine barbarians. But this also shows that he understands the situation of the Alpine barbarians, otherwise how could he make such a suggestion?

To put it another way, Carabes was not only the only one to speak out against the Alpine barbarians, but he was also the best general of the Julius family to date; The Gallic War had just ended. If it weren't for Carabes's ability to turn the tide of the war on his own, how could there have been a great victory for the Julius family?

Time was pressing, and Flavies did not have time to delay and hurried from Milan to the military camp of Calabes, taking advantage of the darkness of the night. Having accepted the defeat of Gallerius and the remnants of his army, Calabis also knew that the war against the Alpine barbarians was probably in his hands.

Although he had previously made a clear proposal against attacking the Alpine barbarians. But the Julius family's conquest was too much fanfare; If it does not end in victory, the impact on the Julius family will be far-reaching and detrimental. In order to salvage the situation, Flavis will definitely ask himself to personally lead his army to launch an attack on the Alpine barbarians.

The crux of the matter is not Flavies' willingness, nor is it whether Carabes is willing; Rather, it lies in the idea of the Alpine barbarians. Whether they are a vicious tribe of robbers entrenched in the interior of the Alps, or a tribe of barbarians who rob to survive; This is the key to solving the problem.

If their identity is the former, it means that Karabes can only solve the problem by means of war; Moreover, such a war is still an extremely asymmetrical war. The enemy is the natives who have lived in the interior of the Alps for hundreds of years, and the invaders themselves are completely ignorant of the terrain of the interior of the Alps.

Even if the three legions under the command of Calabes were mainly Gallic barbarians, it was impossible to win easily with them; If the Gallic barbarians had been able to deal with this branch of the Alpine barbarians, the Alpine barbarians would not have been active today. After all, they also robbed the Gallic barbarians.

If they were the latter, the conquest could have been settled without war; Because of these barbarians, their primary purpose is to survive, as long as the Julius family can guarantee their living space, what problems can not be negotiated and resolved?

Carabes himself was more inclined to the latter, because of the analysis of the actions of these Alpine barbarians; They did not rob the grain convoy of their own army in the first place, but they did so after their own army had been stationed for a long time. Moreover, before they could do so, the Gallic barbarian tribes that had lived near the Alps had migrated long ago.

According to Calabes's own speculation, the reason why the Alpine barbarians ran out to rob the grain convoy of the Julius family; And not because they are bloodthirsty and aggressive. It may be that they can't support themselves by production in the Alps alone, so they have no choice but to get out of the Alps and live by plundering.

Of course, these are just Karabes's guesses; This doesn't have to be the case. However, in order to avoid a repeat of the mistakes of Gallerius with his own army; Nevertheless, Calabes sent a considerable number of scouts into the interior of the Alps along the route of Gallerius' army. to reconnoiter the terrain and situation inside the Alps.

Just as Calabis was preparing for the next battle, Flavis also hurried to Calabess's barracks; However, at this time, more than a full day had passed since the defeat of Gallerius. Looking at Gallerius, who was in the military tent with his head down and not speaking, Flavis also sighed helplessly.

Immediately, Flavis asked Calabes, who was silent, "General Calabes, if I let you lead an army to attack the Alpine barbarians. How much more troops do you need to help you completely eliminate these barbarians and complete your family's plan of conquest? ”

"Alas, I can't escape if I should come!" Looking at Flavis, who was looking at him with a look of hope, Carabis couldn't help but sigh in his heart. However, on the surface, Karabes still replied with a blank frown:

"Your Excellency Flavis Leader, I still stick to my previous opinion, it is difficult to succeed in attacking the Alpine barbarians with a large army. But now that the war has begun. Then you have to fight it. If I were to fight, I wouldn't need a single soldier to support me, just my own army. But ......"

"But what? General Carabes, in spite of his words, will certainly satisfy any request of the General if I can; As long as the shogun can conquer the Alps in the shortest time possible! Flavies saw Calabes' difficulties. Quickly patted his chest and promised.

"It's not a requirement, but I personally don't think it is necessary to solve the threat of the Alpine barbarians by fighting; We could have brought the entire Alpine barbarian tribe under the rule of the House of Julius. As for the specific operation, I hope that Your Excellency will leave it to me with full authority; Within ten days, I will definitely give His Excellency and the family a satisfactory result. ”

Before Calabes's words could be heard, Gallerius objected with a hideous face: "Absolutely not! These abominable barbarians. I can't let them go by burying my 15,000 hoplites alive by avalanche! I will never allow you to bring them under the rule of our House Julius! ”

When Gallerius had spoken, Carabis simply shrugged helplessly and said no more; Instead, Flavis turned pale and said coldly to Gallerius:

"Your Excellency, General Gallerius, if it weren't for your command error, how could the family have lost fifteen thousand hoplites? Also, these fifteen thousand hoplites are not your army, but the army of my family Julius! I will not punish you for this defeat; It's not because I don't want to punish you, but because this defeat can't be declared public.

But. From now on, you don't want to go out alone to lead the army; Unless you can repent and turn your ways, you will be an ordinary legion commander for the rest of your life! As for my promise to General Calabes; That's not something you can interject. You will go out for me right away and reflect on it, get out! ”

Flavis, who has never been easily angry, let alone angry with the generals of the family, is today a rare angry at Gallerius; Gallerius walked out of the tent with a pale face and blank eyes. Flavies looked at Gallerius, who was walking out of the tent step by step, turned to Carabes, and continued:

"General Karabeth, you can rest assured; I'll leave the affairs of the Alpine barbarians to you. I don't care what you do, and I don't interfere with any of your decisions; As long as the end result does not jeopardize the core interests of our Julius family. I will admit all your promises to the barbarians. And there is only one thing I want, and that is to solve this barbarian problem as soon as possible. ”

Calabis received the result and promise he wanted, and he also swore an oath: "Your Excellency, Leader, rest assured, if negotiations can solve the problem; Results can be obtained within a maximum of five days. If negotiations do not solve the problem. Then I will also personally lead the army to solve the problem in the shortest possible time at all costs! ”

"Good! Then I'm waiting for your good news in Milan! However, you can also rest assured; If it can really only be solved through war, no matter how many troops and weapons and equipment you lose in the war, I will replenish it to you after victory! Flavies is also a timely manifestation of his art of buying people's hearts.

For this, Carabis was naturally a false grateful; After discussing the affairs of the meeting, Flavis left the tent of Calabes. Before returning to Milan. Flavies still went to the military tent of Gallerius; Looking at Gallerius, who was sitting in the military tent with a gray face, Flavies said soothingly:

"Come, Gallerius, you see; The reason why I rely on Calabus is only because of his ability. However, the people I can really trust and regard as confidants are the veterans of your family; Don't you understand how important this victory is to us? We must compromise on this, even if we forget hatred! ”

Flavies' words finally restored the original sparkle in Gallerius's eyes, but he still didn't quite understand Flavies's words; So, puzzled, he asked, "But, Your Excellency, is it rare that we can't let Karabes directly solve this barbarian tribe by military means?" Why do we have to bring them under our rule? ”

"Well, after all, I am asking General Karabes to do something; If I don't respect General Carabis as much as possible, and if he only delays the attack on the barbarians a little, then we may not be able to cover up your defeat. At that time, this defeat will cause an uproar in the three newly occupied provinces; That's what we really can't accept. ”

Flavies' sad face made Gallerius even more ashamed of himself, and he felt that without his own failures, His Excellency could not have been so embarrassed; It was even more impossible to plead with that Karabeth in a low voice. At this moment, Gallerius felt that he had to become stronger, so that he could be a support for his leader and family, rather than a burden! (To be continued.) )