Grandericchezzaèla forza trainante della guerra (Great wealth is the driving force of war)

- Cicero (ancient Roman statesman, orator, writer)

Looking at the old butler who came in a hurry, a hint of foreboding rose in Oscar's heart. Sure enough, the news brought by the old butler was another worrying news; If Marcus's gaffe was an accident, then the performance of the other three has to be worrying. Tonight is a sleepless night for many people; What kind of surprise will you give yourself at tomorrow's Senate meeting?

The first day of this crossing brought me so much that it was even more wonderful than the ordinary life of twenty years on earth. The days ahead will definitely be exciting, which makes Oscar look forward to his future life a little more and worry a little less.

In an ordinary house in the east of Rome, two young men who had just been smiling mysteriously in the VIP hall were chatting. I saw a slightly thin young man smiling at another sturdy young man and said, "Octavian, do you say that the four major families are going to attack the Augustan family again?" I always feel like I'm getting fast. ”

The young man named Octavian shook his head and replied, "No, Antony. I think the contradictions between the four major families are much sharper now than before; Moreover, the Augustus family is very closely connected with the Maxentius family, and it is not so easy to separate. Moreover, the Maxentius family is now inseparable from the support of the Augustan family; Otherwise, the Maxentius family would soon be annexed by the other three. ”

"yes, it doesn't matter. Anyway, none of these people in the four major families have a good thing, so don't mention them. Octavian, do you still have money? Lend me some more money. ”

"No! You borrowed money either to drink or find a woman, you already owe me 12 gold coins this month, who knows when you will be able to pay it back! Don't borrow! ”

"You stingy! It's a shame that I hid an extra gold coin myself, otherwise I would really have no wine to drink. I'm going to drink, are you going? ”

"Don't go! Go early and come back early, I'm going to sleep. ”

………………

In Marcus's consul's mansion, after the four of them returned from the carriage, they went straight to the study, and then took out a map of the republic and spread it on the desk. The four of them looked carefully around the map for a while, and Marcus took the lead in speaking: "I don't think there is any need to take any action against the Augustus family for the time being, after all, the current Augustus family does not have the strength to be our enemy; Moreover, the current situation in the republic is indeed not suitable for excessive internal friction. We need to focus on first removing the threat around the Republic, then assessing the Augustans and finally deciding what to do with them. What do you think? “

After thinking all the way to calm down, the current Marcus has completely lost the gaffe just now, and his words not only reflect the overall situation that he should have as an archon, but also set a main theme for the next actions of the four major families. The other three agreed; Undoubtedly, the next step is to discuss concrete actions.

This time, it was Vibius, who was relatively militarily literate and whose family province was close to the Gallic barbarians, who spoke first: "I think that the main enemies that the republic has to deal with at present come from three aspects: the northern Gaul barbarians, the Greek peninsula powers, and the Carthaginian forces. The best defense is offense, and I advocate that our four major families launch an offensive on three sides at the same time to gain a strategic advantage in one fell swoop. "Then tell us what you think. What kind of preparation is needed and how can the attack be launched? Gaius, who was also the lieutenant general of the legion, said.

Vibius gathered his thoughts for a moment and said to the map: "First of all, our current military strength is not enough to support this kind of defensive attack; At the very least, we need to expand the strength of five legions to ensure our superiority over our opponents in military strength. After all, our army is scattered in combat, and it is certainly not enough to rely on one corps to attack on one aspect, and expanding our army is our first step.

After the completion of the expansion, we will conduct training for a maximum of three months, and before the onset of winter, we will launch an attack on the enemy on three fronts at the same time, and when the enemy has reacted, we have already gained the strategic initiative; And the arrival of winter gives us time to rest and prepare for the enemy, which will be our advantage. Here's my specific plan:

On our side, we commanded two legions, one on the Etruscan and Ubrian fronts against Gaul, and the other on the assault on the kingdom of Reguria; After conquering the Kingdom of Regulia, he gained a geographical advantage and fought against the Gallic barbarians. If it is impossible to win, then use the geographical advantage and seasonal advantage to fight a defensive war with Gaul; As soon as they had a chance to win, they would march straight into the Veneto and Yamanai Gauls of Gaul, completely expelling the Gallic barbarians from the Italian peninsula and ensuring that there would be no war in the north.

The Brutus family also commanded two legions, one on the southern coast of the mainland to prevent possible naval attacks and landings in the Greek city-states; The other main army crossed the strait and attacked the kingdom of Epirus on the Greek peninsula. With the strength of the Epirus Kingdom, it can't withstand the attack of a legion at all, and it can be taken in a month at most. After the garrison of Epirus, the embankment of the Greek city-states and the Macedonian kingdom against a possible attack; If allowed, you can also take the opportunity to attack the Dalmatian kingdom north, and the three brigades can capture the next kingdom.

Scipio's side was relatively easy, they could concentrate two legions in Upper Sicily, and then attack the Greek city-state of Greater Sicily first; With the distance between mainland Greece and Greater Sicily, two legions were enough to conquer Great Sicily before Greek reinforcements arrived. Once Great Sicily is taken, Carthage's Lower Sicilia will inevitably be difficult to preserve; Even Hannibal's legions could only hold out for a while longer and could not fight to the end. If the whole of Sicily could be occupied, then there would be no need to worry about Carthage from now on; Carthage was locked away forever in North Africa. ”

After listening to Vibius's overall plan, Marcus immediately raised two questions: "First, even if the Scipio family conquers Sicily, the existence of Sardinia will still be a springboard for Carthage to attack the Republic. Second, don't we, the Maxentius family, have an offensive direction and an offensive opponent? ”

Before Vibius could reply, Gaius replied preemptively: "For the first point, this task is entrusted to the House of Augustus; Now that it has been decided not to target the Augustus family for the time being, then they should continue to work for the Republic, isn't this exactly what little Oscar wants now? secondly, the responsibility of you, the family of Maxentius, is more important; In all the newly occupied provinces there was a need for a large number of republican immigrants.

Even according to the scale of 20,000 immigrants in a province, at least 60,000 or even more immigrants are needed; How to mobilize and carry out the migration is the main task of your Maxentius family. Moreover, the first step of the expansion itself requires you to organize a vote in the Senate and get the citizens of Rome to come forward for military service as quickly as possible.

There is also the issue of interests, you don't have to worry about it at all, except for Sicily, which is more prosperous, the others are backward kingdoms, and the profits are not large. However, once a family occupies a new province, it must pay the Senate two hundred thousand gold coins or its equivalent. If the family did not wish for the province, the Senate took it personally. If any family violates the sub-joint agreement, the three families will be jointly sanctioned! All right? ”

Since this has been said, Marcus also agrees; Because the value of 200,000 gold coins is already a tax for more than ten years in an ordinary province. This condition is already advantageous for the Maxentius family, who can directly benefit without paying casualties. Moreover, they have their own ideas; The relationship with the House of Augustus could have been strengthened and deepened in another way. Each family has its own interests, and the established policies of the family must not be arbitrarily changed because of anyone's words.

With no objection from everyone, the four agreed to the discussion on behalf of their respective families. After these things were discussed, another matter had to be brought to the table; Although this matter is something that no one is willing to take the initiative to mention.

This time, it was Marcus who spoke first: "What do you think of the Carters family and the Richard family that intelligence shows that they are the descendants of the Gabriel and Uriles families back then? Aulus hurriedly said, "Our family intelligence system has confirmed it. But now that the war is imminent, both the weapons and equipment of the Carters family and the ships and warships of the Richard family are urgently needed. Therefore, I suggest that the purge of these two families should be carried out after this combat operation is over. "Okay! I agree with Aulus; Don't startle the snakes first, and then clean them up after the war. Even if the gold treasure trove back then was nothing, the wealth and industry of these two families were enough for our four major families to digest for a long time. After thoroughly accepting these two families, our four major families will improve their strength by a bit, which is a good thing for everyone. So, you must not let them go! Gaius Scipio said viciously.

After this matter was also agreed, all three quickly left the consul's mansion in Marcus; At this moment, everyone began to look forward to the next day's Senate meeting.