History is the witness of the times, the torch of truth, the life of memory, the teacher of life and the messenger of the ancients.

- Marcus Tulius Cicero (Roman statesman, orator, orator, jurist, and philosopher)

Of course, the real secret covenant is not something that can be finalized by two people in a few words; Also, places like public baths aren't suitable for talking about too many confidential things. Therefore, the secret appointment between the two will be discussed in detail with Oscar after Anthony's brother Marcy arrives in Sardinia; In this regard, Oscar raised his own question: "That is, what would you do if I didn't agree to come to the massage room with you just now?" Will you continue to work with me? ”

Anthony not only did not answer Oscar's question, but let out a burst of laughter; When Oscar felt inexplicable when he was laughing, Anthony restrained his laughter and said to Oscar seriously: "If you don't come with me today, then you are not Oscar!" Or rather, you can get this short victory by luck; Victory by luck can never last long, only absolute strength can bring permanent victory. ”

After speaking, Anthony pushed open the door of the massage room and staggered to the bathroom to change clothes; Only Oscar was left in the massage room to continue to reminisce: victory by luck can never last long, and only absolute strength can bring permanent victory. It seems that this Anthony is not an opportunistic person; The person who can believe in such a sentence is definitely a doer who puts strength first.

When it was eight o'clock in the evening, the three Oscars walked out of the royal public bath to go home; In the carriage, Quintus asked Oscar about the time of his trip to Sardinia. Oscar took into account the training of the recruit corps, as well as the progress of building weapons and equipment; It was finally decided to officially set off on October 25. However, taking into account the limited transport capacity of the fleet; It may be necessary to go in three batches.

In the end, Oscar decided to make his 1st Eagle Banner Regiment and Quintus' 5th Eagle Banner Regiment the first batch of transport troops; The 6th Army Corps (formerly the 1st Army Corps and its replenishment) and the 11th Army Corps served as the second batch of transport troops; The Falcon Legion, supported by the Maxentius family, and the Boar Legion, supported by the Scipio family, served as the third transporting force.

The Falcon Legion of the Maxentius family itself is part of the covenant between Decius and Oscar, so naturally there is no doubt; Then how could another army of wild boars of the Scipio family emerge? It turned out that this was also a sign of the unity of Scipio's family; After the tragic Battle of Lili, Scipio's family suffered heavy losses both in terms of its members and its army.

In the case that the strength of the family cannot be restored in a short period of time. Increasing the strength of the family as much as possible has become the common goal of all the people of the entire Scipio family; In this deployment of various legions, due to geographical location, the task of the 10th and 15th legions of the Scipio family is to garrison the mainland, just like the 4th Eagle Banner Legion and the 14th legion of the Maxentius family.

Not bad. From the perspective of preserving strength, stationing on the mainland without going to the front line to fight the enemy can indeed preserve the strength of the family to the greatest extent; However, this also fundamentally limits the improvement of the strength of the family army. Without experiencing war, the Recruit Legion is always a Recruit Legion, and cannot grow into a strong elite legion; Even the Maxentius family sent their own family private army to the Sardinian front. Could Scipio not take action?

Moreover, Quintus was also the commander of the Fifth Eagle Banner Regiment and the deputy commander of the Combined Sardinian Legion; Is it just that he has only one Fifth Eagle Banner Legion under his command? What's the difference between that and a normal corpsion commander? The current so-called Eagle Banner Legion is nothing more than a recruit corps under the banner of an excellent legion that has been destroyed, and there is no substantial difference between it and ordinary legions at all; The only difference may be that the soldiers are paid twice as much as the average legion, and that's it.

Therefore, it was not only to train the combat effectiveness of the family's private legion, but also to enhance the status of Quintus in the Sardinian Combined Legion; Quintus's eldest brother, the new head of the Scipio family, Lord Julianus, decisively sent the new boar army to Oscar's command. Nominally, it was naturally the Scipio family who sacrificed the interests of one of their own families for the sake of the overall situation of the republic, and died for the republic.

In this regard, Licinius also put forward his own opinion at that time, and he actually asked Quintus stupidly: The four major families of the republic have been in the same spirit for hundreds of years. Why didn't Scipio send his own legions to the front line of the House of Julius with Gaul, or the front line of the House of Brutus on the Greek Peninsula? Regarding the question raised by Licinius, Oscar chose to ignore it directly; This Licinius is really sometimes smart, sometimes confused!

It was Quintus, who helplessly explained to Licinius: "The so-called four families are in the same spirit, but because the four families are similar in strength, no one dares to easily fight with any other family; Otherwise, once the two families compete, it will only be the sandpiper and the clam competing for the fisherman's profit. Therefore, the four major families have been at peace with each other for hundreds of years. Afterward. The Maxentius family gradually weakened; The other three are also suppressing them, intentionally or unintentionally.

In desperation, the Maxentius family supported the Augustus family, which was still very weak at the time, as their family's vassals in the army; Unexpectedly, the Augustus family was out of control, and with the acquiescence of the Maxentius family, it developed unusually rapidly. In fact. This balance is very difficult to break; Because everyone is similar in strength, and for the sake of the stability of the republic, they will not do anything drastic.

However, a battle of Liliba changed everything; The Scipio family, which was already faintly the first family under the leadership of my father, instantly became the weakest of the four families, and the Augustan family also rose to prominence in an instant, becoming the fifth largest family whose strength was not inferior to the four major families. In addition, the development momentum of the Augustan family is still strong. another marriage with the Maxentius family; The four great families finally recognized the status of House Augustus.

However, even in the midst of such internal and external troubles; It is also impossible for the major families in Rome to really abandon their own careful thinking and work in unison. So, once we, Scipio, sent the legion to the command of the family of Julius or the family of Brutus; Although the combat effectiveness of this legion will be increased rapidly, this legion will also become the legion of other families sooner.

Even if we had a good and loyal general as the commander of the legion, even all the captains and centurions would be loyal warriors to our house of Scipio; Then they will also become cannon fodder for other family armies on the battlefield. This is not the case under His Excellency Oscar; His Excellency Oscar is a merciful to our Scipio family, and the life of my Quintus is His Excellency Oscar's coming down from the battlefield.

Moreover, I myself am the deputy commander of the Combined Legion of Sardinia and can take care of our family's Wild Boar Legion; With His Excellency Oscar's character, at least there is no need to worry about the risk of the Boar Army becoming cannon fodder. Most importantly. The opponent of the Combined Sardinian Legion was Hannibal; Our mighty Scipio family was ruined by Hannibal, and this is what Hannibal owes us, and we must do everything we can to defeat Hannibal with our own hands and avenge our family and father! “

Quintus's tirade explanation made Licinius nod his head as if he didn't understand; But. Quintus's admiration for the Oscars made Licini very satisfied. In Licini's mind, the image of the Oscar is infinitely tall; Anyone who utters slanderous or unfavorable remarks against Oscar is an enemy to be eliminated by himself, and conversely, anyone who expresses admiration for Oscar is a friend of the Augustan family.

Unlike Licini's innocence, Oscar's heart is much more complicated; These are the things that Scipio was concerned about. Oscar naturally understands it. Moreover, Scipio's family was not as tragic as Quintus suggested; The financial and material resources of the Escipio family could definitely form more than five boar legions of the same size at any time. Why did Scipio's family suffer such a devastating blow and still rank among the five great families of Rome?

Could it really be that the so-called republic was in the midst of internal and external troubles, and the other families allowed the Scipio family to breathe for the sake of the stability of the republic? Of course not! The loss of Upper Sicilya, the destruction of the two legions, and the death of Scipio the Elder were indeed very heavy losses for the Scipio family; But it will definitely not break the Scipio family, which has stood in Rome for hundreds of years.

For Scipio, as long as their roots in Campania are not lost, as long as their family's heritage in Capua remains; No matter how heavy the losses they have endured, they are still the mighty Scipio family. The factors that determine whether a family is strong or not are not just those strengths on the surface; The real deciding factor is their heritage.

If the other three families really thought that Scipio was no longer able to fight after this battle, they launched a gradual annexation of Scipio; So. In the next moment, the Scipio family could use all their strength to instantly recruit more than ten legions in Campania to fight against the other three families. Even if they succeeded in completely eliminating the Scipio family in the end, it would only be a lose-lose outcome, and it would only be a loss for the aliens who were eyeing them.

Of course, Oscar himself is not a good person; At the very least, the reason why Oscar agreed to Scipio's family to send the Boar Legion to Sardinia was also to control the legion himself in the future. For Oscar, as long as his reform plan and military academy plan in Sardinia can be implemented smoothly; No matter how many legions other families send, they will eventually become the pockets of the Augustan family, is there anything wrong with that?

The five families of the Roman Republic, who were ostensibly united and working together, were just five warlords with their own plans; Everyone thinks about the interests of their own family, and as long as they ensure the interests of their own family, they will consider the interests of the so-called republic. This determined that the five families were united. Not only will it not increase the strength of the Roman Republic, but it will reduce the overall strength of the Republic because of their own evil intentions.

However, these are all floating clouds for Oscar; As long as he firmly controls the three legions of his family, the two legions of the Scipio family, the one legion of the Maxentius family, plus the Samonai legion, the lion legion, the guards cavalry legion, and the guards infantry legion prepared by his family. Once these ten legions were officially formed. has enough combat power; Then soon he will become the leader of the most powerful military bloc in the Mediterranean!

Whether it was the Roman Republic, or the Kingdom of Carthage, or the Kingdom of Egypt, the Greek city-states, the Kingdom of Macedonia, the Kingdom of Spain, the Barbarians of Gaul, or the Kingdom of Numidia; Never before in these countries could a single person, including the king, have full control over such a large number of armies, and the clique rule of the nobility and the limitations of the era greatly reduced the power of the rulers, and provided an opportunity for the rise of the Oscar and Augustus families. (To be continued.) )