True beauty comes from one's own inner beauty. The whole cause of this beauty comes from itself, and the outward beauty does not become the cause of its beauty. Nothing is made better by people's praise or worse by people's disparagement.

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

Everything that happened at the gates of Carthage was taken for granted, and the senators of the Senate easily surrendered all power in the kingdom of Carthage; In other words, from the moment Hannibal returned to Carthage, Hannibal was the supreme uncrowned king of the Carthage Kingdom. the frenzied support of the people, the blind worship of the army, the unification of Carthage, and so on; Now it's all Hannibal's own, and all Hannibal needs to do is defeat the Numidian army once and for all!

At this time, in addition to the 2,000 infantry that Hannibal had just brought back, there were also 20,000 newly formed shield cavalry in the barracks outside Carthage; General Vimina was leading General Pomica and 20,000 troops in Baisasian in Baissasien to meet the attack of the main Numidian army led by Zuguta, and General Amikas and General Abydos were leading the newly formed infantry corps and elite legions in the western town of Afrika to confront the 35,000 Numidian army on the opposite side in the western town of Lavala.

After a simple handover of power to the senators, Hannibal began his own military arrangements; First, Hannibal summoned the commanders of the two cavalry legions, Kelimis and Gisken, as well as Mahabal, to the Carthaginian consul's residence. Also attending the Hannibal military conference were three senatorial deputies of the Senate and General Shimiko (brother of Himika, representative of the Southern Front) and General Admentus (deputy general of the commander of the Western Front, Commander of the Western Front, Adjutant of the Commander of Amikas' corps, representative of the Western Front).

The meeting was convened on the night of Hannibal's return to Carthage, and Generals Himicus and Admentus were also ordered by Generals Vermina and Amikas to return early to wait for the delegates to obey Hannibal's orders; Hannibal was pleased with the performance of the two commanders, but this was not the time to lose time. After all eight of them had sat down in the conference room, Hannibal said directly in a commanding tone:

"Ladies and gentlemen, from now on I will be the supreme military commander of the Kingdom of Carthage; At the same time, I will also be the consul of the Kingdom of Carthage. But, in order to ensure that I have enough energy to deal with the army of Numidia on the battlefield; Therefore, I have decided to delegate all the administrative powers of the kingdom itself to the Senate. The next person personally went to the battlefield to direct the battle. I will leave the continued expansion of the Carthage territory, the building of weapons and equipment, and the logistics of the Senate to the Senate; Three representatives, are you okay with that? ”

Hannibal's order was a surprise for the three representatives of the Senate! They had no idea that Hannibal, who had been suppressed and excluded by them, not only did not settle accounts after the autumn, but returned the power of the kingdom to the Senate; This made the three representatives who originally thought that tonight was more auspicious and less auspicious couldn't help but be grateful to Dade and said:

"I am so grateful to Lord Hannibal for his trust; We, the Senate, will definitely do everything you have arranged in the rear! Our Senate has gone too far in the past, and we are grateful for the magnanimity of His Excellency Hannibal; We won't let you down! ”

Don't say these words of gratitude. No matter what has ever happened between us; After all, we are all Carthaginians, all pillars of the Carthaginian kingdom. Now the kingdom is in danger of survival, if we continue to fight among ourselves; The one who sees the joke will always be our enemy; I also hope that you will not disappoint me this time, because our enemies are much stronger than us, and if we are not careful, we will be doomed. All. For Carthage. ”

"Rest assured, Your Excellency, that we will endeavour to do everything you have arranged; All for Carthage! ”

In fact, the reason why Hannibal was so magnanimous to the senators of the Senate is not that Hannibal really didn't mind what the Senate had done; However, now is really not the time for infighting, and the kingdom of Carthage cannot withstand infighting. In order to better gather the manpower and material resources of the entire Carthaginian kingdom to deal with the kingdom of Numidia, Hannibal could only choose to re-hand over power to the Senate; After all, the senators of the Senate are the ruling class of the entire Carthaginian kingdom, and only they can integrate the resources of the Carthaginian kingdom.

Never underestimate these calculating politicians; Although their actions made Hannibal hate them, their influence and ability should not be underestimated. At the very least, they and their families are the ones who can control every resource in the Carthage lands; Without their full support, Hannibal would never have been able to unify the Kingdom of Carthage on his own. Forced by the situation. Hannibal had no choice but to compromise with them in exchange for their wholehearted support for his plan.

After dealing with the internal senate problem, Hannibal officially began to announce his military arrangements; I saw Hannibal ask Mahabal to take out a huge map, and then pointed to the distribution of military strength on the map and analyzed: "Now the number of troops attacking us in the Kingdom of Numidia is 85,000, of which 50,000 on the southern front and 35,000 on the western front; Although there was not much difference in the number of armies on the two battlefields, there was a huge disparity in strength.

Of the 35,000 Numidian troops on the Western Front, only 5,000 were the former standing army of the Numidian Kingdom, and the remaining 30,000 troops were newly recruited recruits; Among the 30,000 recruits, except for the 10,000 javelin cavalry, the combat effectiveness is considerable, and the 20,000 infantry do not even have the most basic weapons and equipment. The combat effectiveness is basically negligible. That is, the truly combat-ready part of the enemy forces on the Western Front was only fifteen thousand people; There is also a lack of good generals to command.

The commander of the Numidian army on the Western Front was Jubal, the commander of the garrison of the former Numidian province, and the commanders of the two recruit corps were the confidant generals Abdeshim and Gillen of Zuguta; Nominally the commander of the 35,000-strong army, both Abdeshim and Gillen disdained Jubal's orders by virtue of their status as Turguta's confidants. This Jubal is not a trivial person. With the support of his own command, Masiwa and Abbascantas, the trio fought fiercely for military power.

And Sephax, the governor of the province of Numidia, though he had a wealth of experience and experience, was also a wise man; In the face of the struggle between Jubal and Abdeshim, and Guillen, he only handled internal affairs on his own, and did not participate in the fight between the three generals at all, neither reconciling nor provoking. Let's look at the Numidian army on the Southern Front; Of their 50,000 troops, there were 14,000 elite Ahmad legions and 5,000 elite Juguda legions. There are also 12,000 javelin cavalry with good combat effectiveness.

In addition to this, the remaining more than 20,000 infantry; The combat effectiveness was also more than a cut ahead of the Numidian army on the Western Front. According to the latest intelligence from General Verina. The three legions of recruits under the command of Thuguta were reorganized after the last sneak attack and heavy losses; Then they took part in the Battle of the Great Leptis and completed the unified configuration of all weapons and equipment. This means that the number of these three recruit corps is only 20,000; However, the combat effectiveness was much stronger than that of the two full-fledged recruit corps on the Western Front.

In view of this, I felt that the war plan should be adopted first in the west and then in the south; I myself led the Carthaginian reinforcements to the Western Front to meet with General Amikas and launch an attack on the Numidian army on the Western Front. And the defense on the southern front was left to General Vermyna. In order to strengthen the forces of General Vermina; I will send the Abydos Legion on the Western Front to the Southern Front to support General Vermina. I believe that with the ability of General Vermina, the 25,000 most elite troops in the Carthage Territory will be able to drag Tulguta. ”

As soon as Hannibal's plan was stated, Admentus, the general of the Western Front, objected: "General Hannibal, there were only 20,000 troops on the Western Front; The 15,000 recruits were not much stronger than the Numidian recruits, and only General Abydos's legion was quite combative. Once the Abydos Corps was drawn to the southern front. So what army will we take on the Western Front to attack the Numidian army on the opposite side? Although the two cavalry legions in the kingdom have been recruited, it is still some time before they can form combat effectiveness. ”

"Yes, if the army of the Western Front draws the Abydos Corps, its combat effectiveness will be drastically reduced; It is better to leave the Abydos Army on the Western Front as soon as possible to assist His Excellency the General in completing the attack on the Numidian Army, so that our Southern Front Army can also obtain the main reinforcements of His Excellency the General earlier. As a general on the Southern Front, Himiko also agreed with Admentus's opinion from the perspective of the overall situation of the kingdom.

Hannibal only smiled at their suggestion, and then said, "I am glad that you can consider the overall interests of the kingdom at the risk of your own safety in times of crisis; However, I also want you to rest assured that the fact that I have made this arrangement shows that I am completely sure. The Numidian army on the southern front was the main force under the command of Zuguta. I can't let Victoria's Secret fight with more than 50,000 Numidian elites with only 15,000 recruits and 4,000 veterans at his disposal; The transfer of the Abydos Legion had to be carried out.

Not only that, but the two thousand of the best Iberian infantry and five thousand bows and arrows that I brought back this time will also go to Tapsus under the command of General Mahabar to assist General Vermina in defending against the elite army of Tsuguta; Although I have strengthened the Southern Front, the total strength of the Southern Front is only 26,000, but my request is that General Vermina hold Tapsus for at least three months. Until then, General Vermina will not have any more backups; In addition to weapons and equipment, food and grass, I will not send a single soldier to the southern front. ”

"How is this possible?! It is almost impossible for the 26,000 army alone to hold out for three months under the onslaught of the 50,000 elite divisions of Turguta! You must know that the generals under the command of Zuguta are not Jubal and the like, but a group of famous generals composed of the famous Numidian general Ahmed and the Saharan mighty general Juguda; Plus the three rookie generals who are said to have reformed themselves and become Ahmed's disciples. How could General Vermilia hold out for three months under their rotational attacks? Himicio exclaimed.

The astonished Admentus also said in confusion: "Yes, it is really unlikely that General Vermyna will hold out for three months; Even if the army under General Vermina could hold out, reinforcements from the rear would not be able to send it. The massive cavalry of Numidia would encircle the whole of Tapsus like an iron barrel. Moreover, our war on the Western Front could be resolved in three months; Why did General Vermila let him defend the city alone for three months? ”

It was not only these two men who were surprised, but Mahabal and Kelimis and Gizken also looked at Hannibal in confusion; Hannibal looked meaningfully at the people in the room, his eyes sweeping over the generals' expressions. Then he said with a serious face: "I will settle all the battles on the Western Front within two months at most, but General Vermina will still hold on to Tapsus for three months; What you feel is impossible is not necessarily impossible for General Vermyna.

Since General Vimini had been able to attack Zuguta's 100,000 army with an army of 5,000 before, he had also achieved the record of losing 1,000 of his own 1,000 and inflicting 20,000 on the enemy; Then I believe that he can continue to work miracles, do you think that 'General Tiebi' is really just talking? Don't always ask me why I don't support the southern front, I don't want to repel the Numidian attack, nor defeat the army of Zuguta; What I need is to always be afraid of Numidia. Let Numidia never again dare to be our enemies of Carthage! (To be continued.) )