In this chaotic secular world, it is also a state to be able to learn to treat everything around you with a normal heart. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

- Plato (one of the greatest philosophers and thinkers of Western culture)

After the meeting began, Oscar didn't say anything superfluous, and went straight to the point:

"Ladies and gentlemen, the situation on the North African continent is now completely out of control; Our former ally, the Kingdom of Numidia of His Excellency Adheba, has completely destroyed Jugurda's forces and seized two provinces belonging to the Kingdom of the Sahara.

I think you should know what that means, too; With the current development momentum of the Numidian Kingdom, and the Carthaginian Libyan Alliance, which is not in line with each other, the future situation in North Africa is really not optimistic.

If we do not suppress the Numidian kingdom now, then in five years at most, the Numidian kingdom will be strong enough to challenge the Carthaginian Libyan alliance; At that point, it's too late for us to do anything about it.

Therefore, we must act now, and we must not give the kingdom of Numidia a chance to rise; Otherwise, we will never have the right to speak on the North African continent, which is absolutely unacceptable to us! ”

In his speech, Oscar used the word 'was' to describe the alliance between the Augustus family and the Adheba forces, which means that within the Augustan family, the alliance between the Augustus family and Adheba has officially broken down.

Even if the two sides will continue to maintain a superficial harmony in the future, it will be perfunctory; To put it bluntly, the strong rise of the Kingdom of Numidia has completely brought the alliance between the House of Augustus and the Kingdom of Numidia to an end.

a mighty Numidian kingdom, with a Carthaginian kingdom that lost Hannibal; Between the two, Oscar's choice will only be the latter, and it cannot be the former at all.

Regardless of whether the Augustan family can enter the North African continent or not, even if the Augustan family cannot enter the North African continent in the end; Nor could the House of Augustus allow the emergence of a hegemonic state on the North African continent that would be large enough to unify the entire North African continent.

The enterprising kingdom of Numidia is definitely a more perfect ally than the extravagant and corrupt kingdom of Carthage; However, the root of the problem lies in the strength of the House of Augustus, which formed an inevitable conflict with the future development of the Numidian kingdom.

The territory of the House of Augustus seems to be huge and the development potential is very good, but it is not as good as imagined; The reason is also very simple, who made the territory of the Augustus family all islands scattered in the western Mediterranean?

Unless the Augustus family can maintain a strong naval power and firmly hold the position of overlord of the Western Mediterranean; Otherwise, sooner or later, the scattered island territories will become the fatal flaw of the Augustus family being broken one by one.

And the current development momentum of the Numidian kingdom is not at all comparable to the corrupt and sluggish kingdom of Carthage, let alone the poor and weak kingdom of Libya; The war for hegemony between these three has been without suspense from the beginning.

If the Kingdom of Numidia had successfully achieved the hegemony of North Africa, Adheba would have swallowed up all the prosperous homeland of the Carthaginian Kingdom without hesitation; Then, the Libyan region, which belonged to the Kingdom of Numidia, was recovered.

The province of Tripoli, which has long since lost its autonomy and is isolated from the Numidian Kingdom and the Libyan region, will certainly be taken over by the Numidian Kingdom; At a rough count, the kingdom of Numidia would have a huge territory of eight provinces!

You must know that in the entire North African continent, excluding the three western provinces of the Kingdom of Egypt, which are generally not counted, there are only nine provinces of land; In other words, as long as the Kingdom of Numidia can defeat the Kingdom of Carthage, then the Kingdom of Numidia will dominate all of North Africa!

Such terrible consequences were unbearable for the House of Augustus; Because of the powerful strength that a unified North African continent can burst out, it is not at all comparable to the current Augustan family.

If that time comes, as long as Adheba is willing; In just a few years, the Kingdom of Numidia was able to build a fleet larger than the House of Augustus, and compete with the House of Augustus for supremacy in the Western Mediterranean.

In view of this, it is impossible for the House of Augustus, who dominate the Western Mediterranean, to allow the emergence of any power on the North African continent that might unify the continent; No matter what kind of relationship this force has with the Augustus family, it will never be allowed!

All the members of the House of Augustus who are participating in this emergency meeting today are the most elite members of the House of Augustus; With their wisdom, they can easily think of all the ins and outs.

Therefore, Oscar stopped talking after saying something straight to the point, but quietly waited for them to give their respective suggestions; This time, it was Quintus who was going to be sent to North Africa first.

I saw that after listening to Oscar's opening remarks, Quintus put down the information in his hand and suggested directly to Oscar:

"Leader, I don't think we in the House of Augustus can afford to allow the kingdom of Numidia to flourish on the North African continent; But we also do not need to intervene prematurely in North Africa with the use of force.

After all, even the kingdom of Numidia defeated the army of Jugurdah and annexed the entire kingdom of the Sahara; Nor will the Kingdom of Numidia be able to surpass the Carthaginian Libyan League for a few years.

Moreover, we of the House of Augustus have only experienced a large-scale decisive battle; Under such a premise, for us in the House of Augustus, rest and recuperation is the most important thing, and we must not let the affairs of North Africa delay our own development.

Therefore, we in the House of Augustus cannot directly use force to interfere in the affairs of North Africa; We should use more tactful methods, such as secretly supporting the Carthaginian Libyan Alliance, or propping up other powers to suppress the development of the Numidian kingdom.

This is the best way for us to be Augustus; If it really comes when the kingdom of Numidia can no longer be suppressed, or if our Augustus family is recuperating, then it will be the time for us to intervene by force! ”

As soon as Quintus's suggestion was finished, the top prefect of the Council, Vipsani, stood up in favor of it:

"Leader, General Quintus's advice is more realistic; With the current strength of our Augustan family, it is simply not enough to support the price it takes to send a large army to intervene in North Africa by force, and we cannot even get the most basic food and grass materials.

From the Battle of Balearic, to the Battle of Betica, and finally to the just-concluded Battle of Zama; In less than a year, we of the House of Augustus have waged several great wars, and each time we have paid a huge price.

On the surface, we have won several great wars in quick succession, expanding the territory of our House of Augustus outward; The strength of the entire House of Augustus is also rising, becoming more and more powerful.

In fact, our strength has not become stronger; The newly occupied provinces have not yet been integrated by us, and the cost of the war has also depleted our family's coffers and grain depots.

It is no exaggeration to say that if there is no minimum of three years for our Augustus family to recuperate, then the newly occupied provinces will only be a heavy burden for our Augustus family, not the basis for strengthening our strength.

Therefore, during these three years of recuperation, we of the House of Augustus must try to avoid the outbreak of war; Otherwise, once the war breaks out, we must build more weapons and equipment, use more food and grass materials, as well as the compensation of the dead soldiers, the treatment of the wounded soldiers, etc., these practical problems will completely drag down our Augustus family! ”

Vipsani's words are by no means alarmist; The dangers of reckless militarism are definitely not as simple as Vipsani describes. Oscar, as a modern person, certainly knows this in more detail; He also understands that this war cannot be fought.

Since it is impossible to use force to intervene, there is only one way for the Augustians to use it, and that is to secretly aid the Carthaginian Libyan alliance and let them stand in front of the Augustians to resist the offensive of the Numidian Kingdom.

As long as the Carthaginian Libyan Alliance can successfully suppress the Kingdom of Numidia for more than three years, the Augustan family, which has eased up its strength, can officially start its own family's North Africa strategy; At that time, the lose-lose North African continent really doesn't have to worry about it.

However, even if it is secretly supported, it is necessary to negotiate a support method; Otherwise, it is very likely that the hard-won resources of the Augustan family will be wasted, and the expected assistance effect will not be obtained.

So, Oscar commanded to Nepos, the supreme officer of the Foreign Minate:

"Nepos, immediately after this meeting, you organize a mission to the kingdom of Carthage with great fanfare; Signed an armistice with the Kingdom of Carthage, and invited the Kingdom of Carthage and the Kingdom of Libya to enter into full-scale maritime trade with our House of Augustus.

These are the terms that our Augustan family has long negotiated with the Carthaginian Senate, and after you go to the Carthaginian Kingdom, you will definitely easily sign an armistice with the Carthaginian Kingdom; Once you've signed it, you can sign a secret agreement with the Senate in Carthage.

We, the House of Augustus, are willing to provide the Kingdom of Carthage with 30,000 excellent weapons and equipment, and in return, we need the Kingdom of Carthage to provide us with 30,000 war horses; In the current situation, the Kingdom of Carthage would not refuse this secret treaty.

These weapons and equipment are taken from the old weapons and equipment of the legion in our stockpile, and before you set out, you set out with 30,000 weapons and equipment; When you come back, you will also come back with your war horse, and I will arrange a fleet to escort you. (To be continued.) )