The enemy is in us, and we should fight against our own extravagance, ignorance, and criminal behavior.

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

In order to make the upcoming graduation ceremony more magnificent, and to be able to make all the graduates of the first batch of Augustan Military Academy remember these two months of military school life; Oscar decided to have all six legions of soldiers participate in the graduation ceremony. On the day of the graduation ceremony, the adjutant generals of the six regiments were responsible for leading the regimental officers and soldiers to form a neat phalanx on both sides of the center of the barracks; The 270 trainees stood neatly in the center.

Oscar, along with Luquis, Quintus, and other legion commanders, all stood on the general's stand in the center of the barracks; As the trumpets of victory in the Roman legions were sounded, the soldiers of the six legions sang the Roman military anthem made by Oscar, the Light of Rome, together with the cadets. The mournful singing and muffled sound of the horn rendered the atmosphere in this barracks very heavy, as if everyone present was brought to the battlefield.

After the singing and trumpets were over, Luquis first stood up and said to the more than 40,000 people below: "Soldiers of the Roman legions, today is the graduation ceremony of the first cadets of the Augustan Military Academy; It is also a moment for us to witness the beginning of an era together. I believe that these cadets who have excelled in the military academy will also become your most trustworthy centurions and captains on the battlefield; Lead you to victory after victory.

As commanders and commanders, we can't share weal and sorrow with every soldier, but we can train centurions and captains for you who can share weal and woe with you. Tomorrow onwards, those whom you once knew will appear to you in a new light; And students, I hope that when you win victories in the future, you must remember that you were personally cultivated by His Excellency the great Oscar leader of the House of Augustus. Now, I would like to invite our Excellency Oscar to give a speech to the graduation ceremony! “

As Luquis finished speaking, Oscar stepped to the front of the stage; When Oscar's tall body appeared at the forefront of the students' field of vision, the students sincerely gave their warmest applause to the principal and leader who had been sharing weal and woe with them. Oscar hurriedly pressed his hand down and motioned for the students to stop and applaud; After the applause completely stopped, Oscar began his speech: "Thank you! Thank you so much! Thank you! Thank you, General Luquis, for the introduction! Thanks also to General Quintus, General Mary, and the faculty and staff of Augustus; You have always been excellent administrators of this proud military school. He was also an outstanding mentor to the newly promoted officers of the Augustan army. Congratulations to the graduates of the first class of the Augustan Military Academy on taking on the mission of the military soul of the Augustan family.

Five months ago, when I first spoke in the barracks, we still had more than 10,000 soldiers stationed in Upper Sicily. Preparations are also underway to increase the number of troops in Sicily. And the center of our war was Hannibal, the excellent commander of the Carthaginians, who launched the Third Punic War against us. Moreover, our republic is embarking on a long journey out of the most serious crisis since its founding.

Five months later, just as you graduated, things had changed. We have been expelled from Upper Sicilia and are gradually losing victory in the Carthaginian War. After all this. We have adjusted our focus to the important source of the strength of the Republican ** team, which is to continuously improve the combat effectiveness of the legion.

In fact, Rome is in a strong position in many ways compared to the rest of the world. There are those who hold a different view, who believe that Rome is weakening or losing its world leadership, who either misread the history of the Romans or are mired in partisan politics.

If you think about it, our army was once invincible, and the chances of any country posing a direct threat to us were extremely small; And the current crisis is a far cry from the dangers we faced during our founding days. At the same time, our wealth remains the largest in the world. The quality of weapons and equipment is also among the best; Our corps is gradually growing in number and combat effectiveness. From the barbarians of the north to the nations of the south, we are a great nation that no one has ever been able to beat.

However, today's world is changing rapidly. This brings us a crisis and a new hope. The defeat in the decisive battle of Liliba made us clearly realize that we still have shortcomings in ourselves, and that we still have enemies around us who can threaten us; But it's not just that we face it. From Gaul to Germania, the new barbarian nations are competing with us; In addition, the Greek states were seeking to gain more benefits from the Roman Republic. The burden of how to make a difference in the new grim situation of the Republic will fall on the shoulders of you brave and fearless warriors.

The question before us is not whether Rome is in the lead, but how she will face the nations; It's not just that Rome can survive and thrive. It is how she can eliminate all the threats that threaten her in the world, and this is the question you will face in the future. This problem is not new. At least, since the creation of the republic, there have been some voices of caution. expressed opposition to Rome's involvement in external disputes that were not directly related to its national security or national interests.

Now, those who call themselves realists argue that Rome doesn't bother with the conflicts that took place in Sicily, Sardinia, and Greece. Indeed, after enduring wars and multiple challenges from within the country, this view was shared by many Romans. This is not unexpected.

However, interventionists have a different view on this. They believe that ignoring these conflicts will ultimately endanger us, and that Rome will be able to defend itself most thoroughly by eliminating all threats throughout the world and saving us from falling into chaos. And if the Republic were to do nothing about the fall of Sicily or Hannibal's provocations, it would not only be contrary to our ancestors, but would also intensify these acts in the future.

While both sides hold true from a historical perspective, I don't think they adequately reflect the needs of the current situation. Obviously, isolationism does not work for Rome today. We cannot turn a blind eye to what is happening in other parts of the world, let alone ignore what hurts our interests outside our homeland.

As the Punic Wars crossed the border, so did the war-hardened Carthaginians' ability to attack the Republic. Hannibal of Carthage was increasingly interested in attacking the Republic itself; Whether in northern Sicily, the Greek peninsula or the north, there is an increasing number of people plotting against the Republic. If we sit idly by, it will ultimately endanger the very existence of the republic.

Moreover, look beyond these narrow theoretical frameworks. I think there is also a real common concern - the enduring personal interest of always ensuring that future generations grow up in such a world. There, there would be no wars and threats from the Romans; The identity of the Romans would be the greatest glory.

Therefore, all these are the driving forces that drive us to keep improving and improving ourselves; What is our ultimate goal? Is our goal war? No. Our goal is peace. However, now we have many enemies; So much so that they all want to destroy our Republic, so much so that we have to choose to go to war with them in order to maintain the peace that the Republic wants.

Today, you graduated; Graduated from the Augustan Military Academy, which I built with my own hands. Why was this Augustan Military School built? Because I want to increase the fighting power of every Roman legion, because I want to strengthen every legionary officer. Because I'm going to try to keep every Roman alive on the battlefield! We have many enemies, but we Romans are more!

From the original Roman city-states, to the later Kingdom of Rome, to today's Roman Republic; We Romans have never been afraid of challenges, nor have we been afraid of strong enemies. If Carthage and Hannibal want to invade our Rome, if the Greek nations want to plunder our wealth, if the northern barbarians want to enslave our families; Yes, of course they can think like this, and in fact they always want to.

But can we, as men in Rome, allow them to do so? Since they want war. Then we will give them war; Whether our opponents are the mighty Carthage and Hannibal, the historic Greek states, or the brave northern barbarians. As long as we, the Roman men, are still around, as long as our Roman legions are still around; Then we can only choose not to die.

Today we are holding the graduation ceremony of the first cadets of the Augustan Military Academy in the military camp in Sardinia, and I hope that after the graduation of the 10th cadets of the Augustan Military Academy, we can hold the 10th anniversary of the Augustan Military Academy in the city of Carthage; My students, my soldiers, tell me, do you have such ambitions? Do you have the courage? “

The more Oscar spoke, the more excited he became, and the last question was simply a roar; And such an angry roar undoubtedly ignited the blood of all the students and soldiers present. Now. Whether it was the graduates of the Augustan Military Academy or the officers and men of the six legions in the barracks, they did not hesitate to raise their weapons; shouted at Oscar: "Victory!" Win!! Win!!! “

At this moment, the nightmare that Hannibal brought to the Romans vanished in the hearts of the soldiers of the six legions; For the students and soldiers present. Whoever the enemy is, everyone must win for the sake of Rome and their families! After the exciting speeches, Oscar held a sword presentation ceremony for the students and presented the top 10 students with a personal token souvenir of Oscar.

In the sword awarding ceremony, Oscar first awarded the "saber" to the ten best performing students, which is a special short sword that Oscar ordered Vipsani to build; Two lines of words are engraved on the two sides of the hilt, which are "The First Term of Augustus" and "Presented by the Rector Oscar". The sword is engraved with the words "success, benevolence".

Originally, the arrangement of the sword awarding ceremony was that Oscar himself personally awarded the sword to the top ten students, but it really came to this moment of sword awarding; Seeing that the other 260 students who got along with him day and night were about to graduate and go to the battlefield, Oscar temporarily decided to teach each student a sword with his own hands. Oscar picked up a saber and walked up to one student after another and put the saber at their waists. And for each of them, he put together some armor and a word of warning: remember the school motto of love and sincerity, protect yourself on the battlefield, and take care of each brother.

When Oscar finished teaching the last student a sword, he returned to the podium again; Next is the student representatives toasting the Oscars. Afterwards, Mary asks Oscar why he had already arranged to give swords to only ten people, and then Oscar suddenly decided to give swords to everyone; Oscar just smiled and didn't answer. Mary, of course, didn't know why, but Oscar knew that this time he was giving the sword was of great significance; Because after Oscar put the saber on the cadets with his own hands and gave them a word of advice, their reddened eyes told Oscar how worth it all.

(To be continued.) )