Intempodiguerra, dobbiamosempreessereprontiadaffrontarel'improvvisaedimprevedibilefortunaincidente (In times of war, we must always be prepared for sudden luck and unforeseen accidents)

- Polybius (ancient Greek historian)

After the three female pirates arrived at Oscar's ship, Oscar waved the crew to silence them; Then, Oscar turned around and motioned to Licinius to lead the three to the cabin conference room. After the four of them entered the cabin under the gaze of everyone, Oscar himself stood on the deck of the ship and took the opportunity to speak loudly to all the soldiers and crew members who had just cheered for him:

"My people, whether you are soldiers from House Augustus, or sailors who were once loyal to House Richard; At this moment, you are all part of my family Augustus. It is your luck and my honor to witness the glory of belonging to the House of Augustus with my Oscar!

Regardless of the past; From now on, each and every one of you will be part of our House of Augustus! Soldiers, I will lead you to the battlefield and let you win one glorious victory after another with me! Crew, the Richards are already part of the House of Augustus, and you have become part of the House of Augustus; I will lead you across the Mediterranean and make every ship flying the flag of Augustus a forbidden place for pirates!

Perhaps, in the days to come, some of you will die in battle, and some of you will be wounded; I can't guarantee that each and every one of you will be able to live out your old age at home. However, I can assure you: I will make each and every one of you a hero when you live and a martyr when you die! If you live, we will enjoy the glory of the victor together; You are wounded and disabled on the battlefield or killed in battle, I will support your parents, care for your children, and distribute land for your family in the territory of the House of Augustus!

I can do everything I can for you guys! And all I need is that when I'm at the forefront of the battlefield, you can follow me closely! I need you, and the House of Augustus needs you; Each and every one of you is an indispensable and important member of my House of Augustus! From this day forward, you are willing to follow in my footsteps, in the footsteps of the House of Augustus; Do you want to create our own era with me? Tell me if you'd like to! ”

The more he talked, the more energetic Oscar kept waving his right hand, and at this moment Oscar was already immersed in the world that belonged to Augustus, and his face was flushed without knowing it. Even Oscar, who has always had a good mind, is so out of shape, not to mention those ordinary soldiers and sailors. Everyone is feeling the excitement of the future depicted by the Oscars, and the heart of the Oscar leader who is even more lofty is feeling the importance of himself.

If you want to describe the hearts of these sailors and soldiers in one sentence at this moment, the most appropriate one may be: the soldier dies for his confidant! At least at this moment, even if Oscar asked these people to die for themselves and the Augustus family, they would not hesitate; This is the charisma of leadership, this is the horror of faith. At this moment, Oscar won the hearts of everyone and became the highest faith of everyone present.

So, when Oscar's last sentence "Tell me, if you want to" yells out; Everyone present used all their strength, raising their right hands like Oscar, and shouted at Oscar in unison: "I do!" I do!! I do!!! ......" The shouts of everyone on the six transport ships plus the four escort twin battleships not only pushed the atmosphere of the entire fleet to the peak; It also terrified the pirates on the pirate fleet 300 meters away!

The pirates had been terrified of Oscar's fleet with devil's fire, and now they saw these ordinary sailors so warlike in the face of their own strength (the pirates didn't know that there was an elite army of the Guards on board); The last bit of hope in the pirates' hearts was shattered. At this moment, these pirates no longer have the slightest intention of being hostile to the House of Augustus.

Of course, for Oscar himself, his speech and declaration were mainly to buy people's hearts; In order to ensure that in the next battle in Lower Sicily, the sailors of these transports could serve the Augustus family loyally. As for the loyalty of the Guards, Oscar didn't have to worry about it, otherwise how could they become Oscar's own Guards?

However, Oscar didn't tell a lie! For the soldiers of the family who died and were wounded in the battle for the Augustan family, the new reform plan has already formulated compensation measures; For the reward of the meritorious, that is the general rule of every force. Oscar just told them in advance with an oath. Moreover, Oscar himself has a characteristic; That is, you will be immersed in the world you describe, and the language is very incendiary.

In this way, Oscar's passion and words will naturally make everyone believe in him. You must know that in such an era, it is an era when professional soldiers are just emerging; The so-called pension system was not born at all. For the average person, if they are intact, they can support their families; Once the breadwinner of the family has a disability or injury, then the family may face the crisis of family bankruptcy.

That's why Oscar's pension system makes these people so excited. After all, accidents are everywhere in everyday life; Not to mention the battlefield where the sword does not have long eyes! Oscar's move not only solved everyone's worries, but also made everyone willing to sacrifice their lives for him and the Augustus family. Because this is an era that pays attention to gratitude and retribution, and the person who dies for his confidant!

As for the change in the hearts of the pirates, it was a pure accident. Oscar's focus is only on the three female pirate leaders; For these ordinary pirates, Oscar didn't have that much leisure to think about their thoughts. However, whether the process is intentional or unintentional; The results are all the best. A pirate fleet that surrenders to one's own heart is better than a pirate fleet that surrenders with bad intentions, isn't it?

Moreover, Oscar has already figured it out at this time; Why can everyone be so confident, why do the pirates dare not attack their own fleet again. In fact, the reason is very simple, except for Oscar himself, no one else knows that the oil for the Roman fire has run out! So, with the terrifying lethality of the Roman fire, would anyone who had seen it dare to be their enemy at sea? The answer is necessarily no.

Also, the reason why the three female pirates teamed up to surrender Oscar probably knows. For several years, the Republic and the Carthaginians had been at war in the Mediterranean. From the Second Punic War five years ago, to the Battle of Kannai three years ago, to the Battle of Sardinia, the Battle of Sicily a few months ago, and finally the occupation of Sardinia by the House of Augustus.

The war between the Republic and the Carthaginians for supremacy in the Mediterranean seriously affected the normal maritime trade of the entire Mediterranean, and when Oscar led his army to occupy Sardinia, it was discovered that the maritime trade in the Mediterranean had shrunk significantly. Even the port of Sardinia, which is a transit point in the Mediterranean, does not see many merchant ships and transports a year. So, as you can imagine; How bad was the living conditions of the Sicilian pirates, who lived by plundering ocean-going merchant ships.

Since the predatory pirate way of survival is no longer viable, the small pirate forces must have turned to the various countries and city-states along the Mediterranean coast, surrendering to them in exchange for a chance to survive. However, for large pirate forces; Especially the so-called ten pirate forces in Sicily, their range of options is much smaller.

This is because their strength is too strong! Even the weakest of the ten pirates had several warships and three rivets; This is already something that the average small city-state does not have. At present, there are only three companies in the Western Mediterranean that have the technology to build three warships: Rome, Carthage, and Greece; The kingdoms of Numidia and Spain simply did not have such construction techniques, let alone the Gallic barbarians.

Under such circumstances, it would be impossible for the countries and city-states without the triremes to accept the surrender of this large pirate force like a time bomb; And Rome, Carthage, and Greece had too deep hatred with the Sicilian pirate forces. Whether it's the three countries or the pirates; will not accept compromises with the other party. So, the Sicilian pirates, who were at their peak, really came to the point of life and death.

Oscar's own analysis of the Pirates of Sicily is indeed insightful! But were Oscar and his own House of Augustus willing to accept the voluntary surrender of the pirates? You know, the Augustus family didn't have any naval power on the surface; How could Oscar guarantee that he would be able to control the surrendered pirate force? Is it rare to rely on the deterrence of Roman fire alone? What if they were only here to steal the secrets of the fire of Rome?

Also, the House of Augustus was, after all, part of the Roman Republic; How could the pirates believe that the House of Augustus would not settle accounts and hand over all the pirates to the Senate of the Roman Republic for trial? There will always be an ulterior secret behind the seemingly simple, what is Oscar's choice?

Everything is covered by the calm and calm on the surface, and what kind of turbulent waves will be under the clouds?!