If you want to gain knowledge from reading that you will always remember, you should spend more time studying the works of undoubtedly gifted writers, and constantly draw nourishment from them. 『，

- Seneca (famous Stoic philosopher of ancient Roman times)

In fact, whether it was Hannibal standing on the city wall, or Juguda, who was preparing to set off in the barracks; Both of them knew in their hearts that if they could not reach a consensus on the matter of dealing with Thuguta today, then everything would be nothing. Hannibal could not really let Jugurdah continue to reign in the Sahara, and Jugurdah knew that Hannibal would not let him go.

The chances of survival are always up to you, and since Jugurdah and the Sahara kingdom had chosen the wrong side in the previous war, they had to bear the consequences for such mistakes; There is no unearned benefit in the world. If Jugurdah had not carried his own and the heads of his four thousand soldiers to make way for the Carthaginian army, then Hannibal would not have let these heads remain; That's strength.

The Himika brothers did not ask Hannibal about the reason for Juguda's departure, because it seemed to them that Hannibal always had his own reasons for doing things; If everyone can understand Hannibal's intentions, isn't everyone Hannibal?

This night's rest was a routine respite for the Legion of the Order, but a heavenly treat for the seven thousand defenders of Qusel; This was the first time since the outbreak of the war between Numidia and Carthage that the defenders of Qusayr were sleeping in the barracks with peace of mind, and the walls were not equipped with even the most basic guards, and everyone was enjoying the quiet sleep of the victors.

For these soldiers who have been conscientiously guarding Qusel. The glory of the victors and the rewards of the generals are always illusory; It's a real pleasure to be able to leave everything behind and get some sleep after months of mental stress. Hannibal came from a noble military family. Crawling around in the barracks since childhood; He couldn't understand this kind of soldier's mentality.

This is why Hannibal arrived at Qusayr after the arrival of the army. There was no lavish reward for the meritorious soldiers, nor did they gather them to inspire them; Instead, it is simply to let every Qusayr defender put down everything in his hands and sleep well, and a general who can understand the needs of the soldiers is a good general, and Hannibal knows the importance of this.

After a night's rest, early the next morning Hannibal marched in the direction of Tapsus with the brothers Sakarb and Himika, as well as the Legion of the Templars and seven thousand Iberian infantry. According to the report of the scouts this morning, the whole territory of Baisassine had been recovered by the Carthaginian cavalry; The 20,000 cavalry of Kelimis and Gisken were already concentrated in Tapsus, just waiting for Hannibal's arrival.

After several days of marching, Hannibal arrived at the city of Tapsus with his three generals and 17,000 troops under his command; They came out to greet him with the exception of Kellymis and Gisken. There were also the defenders of Tapsus, Vimina, as well as Mahabal and Abidos. At this point, the elite main army and main generals of the entire Carthaginian kingdom were all concentrated in the city of Tapsus.

In addition to the Templar Legion of Sakaber, which was not in the system of the Carthaginian kings, the Kellymis and Gisken each had 10,000 elite shield cavalry; The Himica brothers also had 7,000 Iberian infantry under their command, and Vimyna had 10,000 elite Tapsus defenders under their command, with a total strength of 47,000!

Based on such an absolute superiority of forces, Hannibal had already made a plan in mind for the next counterattack on the Numidian army; However, on the surface, everything still needs to be negotiated together. Although Mahabal was a general who obeyed his word, Sakab was also obedient to himself, and Kelimis and Giesken were convinced; But Vermyna's opinion is still important.

If it weren't for Vimyna's ability to turn the tide and hold Tapsus at the critical moment of the Carthaginian kingdom, Hannibal would not have had time to complete his strategic plan; If it weren't for the fact that Vimilis had argued with the Senate for Hannibal's return to the homeland. Hannibal would not have been able to return to his homeland to take power. Therefore, it is public and private. Hannibal had to respect Vermyna's opinion.

Looking at Vimyna and the others who greeted him, Hannibal completely lost the frame in front of Juguda, but took the lead in jumping off the war horse to meet Vimyna and the others and said: "General Vimyna has worked hard! Half of the victory in this war with Numidia was the result of the bloody battles of our Carthaginian warriors, and the other half was the work of the victorious efforts of the general Vermyna! ”

Both the generals behind Victoria's Secret and Hannibal maintained their affirmation of Hannibal's words; Vimyna himself excused himself with great humility: "When it comes to the merits of the great war, it is General Hannibal who bears the brunt; If it weren't for the genius of General Hannibal, the future of our Kingdom of Carthage would be in doubt, so how could we have the great victory we are in now? ”

When the armies of Kelimis and Gisken arrived at Tapsus, they naturally told Vimyna and others in detail about Hannibal's genius command on the Western Front; On the one hand, the generals lamented the reversal of the situation in the Carthaginian kingdom, and on the other hand, they were convinced by Hannibal's command ability.

Many things are not very thrilling to say in Kelimis and Gisken, and there is nothing out of the ordinary; Even on the surface, the main reason for the great victory on the Western Front was the outbreak of contradictions within Numidia. However, the generals present were not novices to the battlefield, and they naturally understood that these things were easier said than done.

That's why they were heartily convinced by Hannibal; In the past, Hannibal had fought against the Spaniards or the Romans overseas, and the generals had only heard of Hannibal's abilities for a long time. Now, when Hannibal actually fought a war that was happening around them, they realized how powerful Hannibal was.

This also led to the fact that after Victoria Smith finished saying his words, Abydos, who had been acting as Victoria's deputy, also said: "General Hannibal is simply the god of war in the world, I believe that as long as General Hannibal exists, we Carthage can defeat those enemies with bad intentions one by one; General Hannibal is the greatest gift of the gods to us in Carthage! ”

Such extremely explicit compliments directly made the atmosphere of the scene warm up all of a sudden. Other generals behind Vermyna also praised Hannibal's abilities and his importance to Carthage; Hannibal, who was flattered by everyone, couldn't resist. I had to smile bitterly and said:

"The generals' compliments are simply tormenting my Hannibal. Everyone is the backbone of Carthage, and General Vermina is the supernatural giant of Carthage; You are the most important people in our Carthage, and the most meaningful people. Without your presence, I, Hannibal, alone would not have been able to win the war, even if I had the power to reach heaven! ”

Seeing that everyone wanted to continue to say something, Hannibal hurriedly waved his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and then said helplessly: "Even if we want to praise each other, let's go back to the city and talk about it; It's not a problem for everyone to block the city gate together and praise each other! The people who don't know. Thought we're fighting here?! ”

Hannibal, who was rarely witty, won the laughter of all the generals present, and then Victoria's Secret took the initiative to signal Hannibal sideways to take the lead into the city; Hannibal stepped forward and grabbed Vermyna's arm and dragged her side by side into the city. The rest of the generals automatically formed two columns, and followed the two of them towards the city.

With the departure of the generals, the army that had been stationed near the city gate naturally dispersed; Hannibal's 17,000-strong army was also stationed in the city's barracks under the guidance of the defenders of Tapsus. The other generals at all levels also knew that Hannibal had important matters to discuss with the commanders of the various armies, and they all went to the barracks to deal with military affairs.

The last generals who entered the palace of the governor of Tapsus were only a few people; In addition to Vimina, who entered the Doge's Palace with Hannibal, there were six others, including Mahabal, the Himika brothers, Abidos, Kelimis, and Gisken. When the eight men entered the hall of the Doge's Palace, they withdrew all their attendants and subordinates; The discussion of the next step of the battle began.

Looking at the high-ranking generals who were gathered together, and the Vimina sitting beside him, Hannibal said loudly with a spring breeze on his face: "Generals. Although we have almost fought the Numidian War, it is not time to relax. The main army of Tsuguta, entrenched in Tripoli, is still strong. We need to wipe him out once and for all to achieve the final victory!

Therefore, we are gathered here today mainly to discuss the next strategic planning; Not only do we have to win the war, but we also want to build a solid position for the Carthaginian kingdom as the overlord of North Africa! If you have any ideas, don't be afraid, just speak up. If we can, we'll use it, and if we can't, we'll find another way. ”

Hannibal's words made the generals present feel their blood boiling, and let Carthaginian return to the position of hegemon in North Africa, which was the desire of the Carthaginians, especially the Carthaginian army, for decades; Unexpectedly, a war that was originally in danger of annihilation was turned into a war by Hannibal to return to the position of hegemon. Thinking of this, how can the generals not be in a hurry?!

Only Vimyna felt worried from Hannibal's words, Hannibal was indeed the consul of Carthage at this time, and the supreme commander of the Carthaginian king's **; However, Hannibal had previously returned Carthage to the Senate in exchange for the Senate's unconditional support for Hannibal during the war.

But now? Hannibal's actions, though not beyond the authority of the consuls, were contrary to his agreement with the Senate; Vimini knew that such a thing, if known to the senators, would once again lead to a struggle between the Senate and Hannibal. Vermila did not know if this was Hannibal's deliberate or unintentional move; But Victoria Mini won't make her voice heard about it.

The other generals didn't have as much thought as Vimy's, and Abydos happily said first: "General Hannibal, I think we should completely destroy the Numidian demon king Zuguta, and then completely occupy the entire Numidian kingdom; In this way, North Africa will become our backyard and we will no longer have to worry about the enemy behind our backs! ”

"No, you can't!" As soon as Abydos's opinion was finished, Kelimis and Himika objected in unison. Ignoring Abydos's ugly face, after Kelimis and Himika glanced at each other, Himika said calmly:

"General Abydos, we have no other meaning than to oppose this proposal, but we really cannot carry out a total occupation of the kingdom of Numidia. If we occupy the entire territory of the Numidian kingdom, then the herdsmen and nobles of the Numidian nation will become the most restless part of our Carthaginian kingdom.

When the time comes, the limited strength and wealth of our Carthaginian kingdom will be dragged into the quagmire of endless rebellion; Once we are in such a predicament, then our kingdom of Carthage will face an unprecedented crisis. If it weren't for the fact that the nommillary people of Numidia were so difficult to rule, our ancestors would have included Numidia in their kingdom territory long ago. ”

Himika's analysis is exactly what Hannibal has in mind, which inevitably makes Hannibal look up at Himika and Kelimis; Abydos also looked ashamed after Himika's analysis. After Himika's words were finished, Kelimis continued Himika's words and said:

"In view of this situation, I personally think that once the big picture is settled, the best thing we can do is to occupy a limited part of the land of the Kingdom of Numidia, and then divide and conquer the rest of the Numidian territory. In this way, the strength of the Numidian nation can be weakened to the greatest extent, and the strength of our Carthaginian kingdom can not be damaged. ”

As soon as these words came out, not only Hannibal's eyes lit up; Vimyna also glanced at Kellymis in shock. Perhaps, it was not only the Romans who produced many talents, but also the Carthaginians who had no shortage of excellent generals! (To be continued.) )