Laguerranonpuòmaideterminareinanticipoqualepartitotenderebbeabilanciare (It is never possible to determine in advance which side the scales of war will favor)

- Seneca (Roman philosopher, tragedy writer, statesman)

Instead of running away from the question, Decius smiled and said, "I knew you wanted to ask this question; And, you two are upset that I pamper them extraordinarily, right? In fact, these are the means to protect you. When I adopted them, I wanted them to be sacrificed as your shield in due time; The reason why I love them so much is to make the world think that I really like them, and that's it.

Do you really think that with just a few words from them, I will let them go to the battlefield to rob them of military merit? Before this Armageddon, I was not very optimistic about the army of the Republic; Because our opponent is not an ordinary general, but Hannibal, who is called the god of war. Anything that happens to Hannibal is possible, and going to war means being at risk; However, such a great battle must be participated in by the four major families of Rome. If the two of them had not gone, one of your two brothers would have gone with the army.

The result? Of the four great Roman families, Scipio, who suffered the most losses, lost two members of the bloodline, including the family leader; The other two families, the Julius family, lost their own heir, and the Brutus family lost the second son of the leader. What about us? The fact that we have only lost two adopted sons has not fundamentally weakened our strength.

And, do you know why Iulianus and Kaisso wanted to go to war as legion commanders? It was I who secretly arranged for men to incite and instigate them. Otherwise, how could the two of them, who were timid and fearful, take the initiative to ask to fight Hannibal? Only if they go, there will be no objection from the other families and the senate; Because they are also members of our Maxentius family, and the two adopted sons whom I love the most! “

Decius's explanation made Sevio and Marcus completely confused, and the two never thought that the father who doted on his adopted son on the surface would actually use his adopted son as a shield for his son! With Decius's usual care for Julianus and Kaisso, not to mention outsiders, even the two of them don't believe it! This is the real cunning of the old treacherous! No, it's a good idea!

use superficial family discord to win everyone's trust; and then protect your family members in the cold eyes of others. Decius's licking of calves made his two sons feel guilty; Because they have been dissatisfied with their father behind their backs, and even feel that their father is old and unconscious. Now, the truth of the matter lies in front of the two of them; The two are ashamed of their misunderstanding of their father, but also excited by their father's good intentions.

After explaining the matter of his adopted son, Decius did not end the conversation there; It's about another person. "Marius was a former general under Scipio the Elder, and has been in the family's Eagle Legion since he married your sister six years ago; In six years, he progressed step by step from captain to lieutenant general of the corps, then to corps commander, and finally to the current administrator of the Republic. What do you think of this brother-in-law of yours? ”

Sevios thought for a moment and said, "Marius is usually silent, and we don't know what he has in mind; However, he should be loyal to his family. After all, both his position as captain of the legion and the position of administrator were given to him by our family Maxentius; Without our strong support for him, he would not have been able to get to where he is today. ”

"Not really, Marius should not be as simple as we think; He has seen many things more thoroughly than anyone else. But he was never willing to really contribute to the family, as if nothing in the Maxentius family had anything to do with him. I don't think he's such a simple person; His heart was not grateful to our family at all. Marcus said.

Decius shook his head with a wry smile, and said helplessly to his two simple sons: "You all think of him too simply. The love union between him and Portia back then, if nothing else, should have been his own intention; He deliberately approached Portia in order to break into our Maxentius family. He even secretly advises Yulianus and them, instigating those two fools to compete with you for family power; For himself, in fact.

I had discovered his abnormality three years ago, so I secretly arranged for intelligence officers to investigate him; Recently, I finally figured out all the details of him. He was also born into a noble family, but he was just a down-and-out little nobleman; His sister was the wife of Vibius of the House of Julius. However, he himself did not serve the Julius family willingly.

In general, he is a selfish man; He tossed between the Maxentius family, the Julius family, and the two ambitious fools in order to expand his own power. Therefore, in the past six years, no party has suppressed him, and in order to win him over, he has been given a higher position and greater power. He is the real cancer within our Maxentius family; It's what you need to be wary of! ”

There was something about Marius that caught the two of them off guard; They never imagined that the brother-in-law they had always regarded as a relative was actually a traitor within the family! To say that a traitor is a bit of a misnomer, because Marius never became a member of the Maxentius family at all; He's a spy from the outside world at all! Such a thing was really unacceptable to Sevious, and he even had a painful look on his face.

Seeing the performance of his eldest son, Decius sighed and said, "Sevie, you are too affectionate; This is a disadvantage, but it is also an advantage. I hope that when you become the head of the family in the future, you will take good care of Mal, who is your younger brother and the closest person to you. Marl, you must also assist your eldest brother with all your heart; It is only when you are united that we in the Maxentius family can never fall. ”

Decius's words penetrated into the softest hearts of the two brothers, and too much deceit had made it impossible for them to maintain a good state of mind; But the most sincere family affection between brothers still makes the two feel warm. So, in the witness of my father; The two brothers' hands were clasped tightly together. Seeing this scene, Decius finally let go of the worries in his heart; As long as the two brothers work together, the Maxentius family will definitely be able to survive better!

While the father and son were talking in the secret room, the eagle in the backyard of the family mansion took off again with a new mission; However, this time the destination was Sardinia, the Augustan family.

In the days that followed, the senators were in full swing in the city of Rome and throughout the Latin provinces to recruit new soldiers; Due to the tense situation, the previous method of recruiting soldiers on the basis of property hierarchy has been completely abandoned. In order to recruit the army faster and more, countless people were recruited into the army regardless of property rank or status; Even many able-bodied slaves and docile gladiators were recruited into the army.

And our Oscar and his fleet are already approaching Sardinia, and the Augustus reforms will soon be officially coming; Originally, Oscar did not intend to implement reforms so quickly. However, this battle of Lilibal completely woke up Oscar; Oscar knew he was running out of time. Neither Hannibal from the outside, nor other families from within, would give themselves and the Augustans much time; He must implement reforms as soon as possible and improve the strength of the Augustus family as soon as possible.

May the inhabitants of Sardinia not stand in the way of the reforms of the House of Augustus; Otherwise, for the sake of the family's rise, they can only be eliminated at once. Every reform inevitably brings with it countless killings and purges from within, and Oscar had already purged once during the occupation of Sardinia, so naturally he would not mind doing it again; All their own enemies must pay with their lives for the rise of House Augustus!

On the afternoon of September 24, it was only a two-hour flight from Sardinia; Two hours later, the expeditionary fleet was back to its starting point. Of course, the size of the fleet at this time was much larger than it was at the time of departure; With the defection of Anne and Shi Xiu, the Augustan family's fleet has begun to take shape. Soon, the House of Augustus will usher in even greater development; At that time, it will be the real explosive growth of the family's strength.

Oscar knew that there would be a series of things to deal with after returning to Sardinia, so he wanted to have a good talk with Shi Xiu before leaving. Since returning to the fleet after the defeat, Oscar has not had the opportunity to talk to Shi Xiu in private; And Shi Xiu is also deliberately avoiding Oscar. seems to have sensed something, today's Shi Xiu uncharacteristically did not continue to hide from Oscar; Instead, after taking care of the fleet's affairs, he took the initiative to come to Oscar's cabin.

When Shi Xiu came, Oscar was writing in the cabin, and when he found Shi Xiu coming in, Oscar immediately hid a small piece of silk in his arms. Shi Xiu not only did not remain silent about Oscar's small actions, but joked: "Why did you hide things when you saw me coming, it can't be a love letter to Mary, right?" ”

"How is that possible?! How could I write love letters to Mary, it's just my own random graffiti; It's really not worth seeing, I'm ashamed to show talent to put it away! In the face of Shi Xiu's ridicule, Oscar replied without blushing and heartbeat. Shi Xiu smiled disdainfully, and then said, "It's about to be your Sardinia; Haven't you been wanting to talk to me lately? I'm here now, so say whatever you want. ”

Shi Xiu is still as straightforward as ever, and Oscar certainly won't be pretentious; After standing up and closing the hatch, Oscar pressed Shi Xiu on a stool in the cabin, then sat down on the bed and said, "I know you must have misunderstood something when you came back this time, and I admit that I do like Mary; Moreover, I can also tell you that Mary is not an ordinary person, she is the talent that I and the Augustus family need. Therefore, I will keep Mary with me both in public and private; However, I can guarantee that nothing happened between me and Mary, really! ”

Oscar's honesty caught Shi Xiu off guard, and Shi Xiu had to say helplessly: "The matter between you and Mary is none of my business, how can I have the leisure to take care of your affairs." I just don't want to see you play with Mary's feelings; Whatever Mary's original identity was, it didn't change the fact that she was once a pirate. You are the leader of the top family of the Roman Republic, the House of Augustus, and the most powerful young unmarried man in Rome; In the future, your wife will definitely be the daughter of a wealthy family in Rome, and what will Mary do then? ”

This question is very realistic and sharp; But Oscar already has the answer!