There is nothing more beautiful and pleasant in the world than friendship; Without friendship, the world seems to have lost the sun.

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

A hurried knock broke the joyful atmosphere in the conference room, and Oscar, in order to calm the mind, ordered the knocking guards to come in before the generals had dispersed; It turned out that it was not something urgent about Hannibal that had happened, but that the emissary sent by Oscar to the Kingdom of Numidia had returned. Come back and come back, but he asks the guards to meet Oscar immediately, saying that there is a most urgent matter to report to Oscar; Of course, the guards did not dare to delay and immediately came to report to Oscar.

The most urgent thing? Could it be that something happened to the Kingdom of Numidia? Oscar and the generals looked at each other and couldn't understand the point, so Oscar immediately asked the guards to bring the messenger to the conference room. The messenger who came to the conference room was indeed an anxious look, and without waiting for Oscar to ask, he took the initiative to speak:

"Your Excellency, I have not been received by King Siepusa I since my mission to the kingdom of Numidia; But I witnessed first-hand the factional strife and chaos in the kingdom of Numidia. As a result, just as I was about to return to Sardinia, Siepusa I died! At the same time, the southernmost kingdom of Numidia, the Sahara, was officially incorporated into the Kingdom of Numidia; Its king, Jugurdah, also became the Saharan governor of the Numidian kingdom.

Not only that, but the Kingdom of Numidia launched a war of annexation against the Kingdom of Tripolitania in order to connect its native possessions with the Libyan provinces in the east; However, in order to prevent the Numidian kingdom from completely encircling the Carthaginian kingdom itself after the annexation of Tripolitania by the Numidian kingdom, the Carthaginians had already formed a confrontation with the Numidian army on the border of the provinces of Afrika and Baisasian.

At this time, the death of Siepusa I also put his brother Adheba and his uncle Gutha in a struggle for the throne; Conditioned on the neutrality of the newly joined Saharan province and Jugudah, Zuguta, who had firmly held power in Numidia, expelled Adheba to the northwestern province of Mauritania. In order to win the support of our Rome, Adheba has personally led a fleet with a large number of gifts to the open sea on the western coast of Sardinia, waiting at any time to negotiate an alliance with His Excellency! ”

The news brought by the messenger was like a bomb still in the crowd, completely shocking every general and Oscar present; King Siepusa I, who had always advocated tolerance for Carthage, had died, and it was even more gratifying that Numidia had taken the initiative to take action against Tripolitania. Tripolitania was originally the backyard of the Carthaginian kingdom, once the Numidian kingdom launched a war of annexation of Tripolitania; The Kingdom of Carthage will definitely not sit idly by, and the two countries will definitely enter into an army confrontation next. And even soon a war will break out between the two countries!

However, the current kingdom of Numidia is much stronger than before; The Kingdom of the Sahara was originally a small and extremely powerful military state, and its king, Jugurdah, was also a brave commander on the battlefield. Coupled with the fact that Zuguta himself had banished his rival Adheba to remote Mauritania, the new Numidian king already had four provinces in charge of the Numidian kingdom's territory and army.

The Kingdom of Carthage before it called Hannibal back to Carthage. It is absolutely impossible to defeat the united kingdom of Numidia. You must know that although the infantry of the Kingdom of Numidia is not outstanding, its cavalry is a powerful force in the countries bordering the Mediterranean. Had it not been for Hannibal's own considerable number of Numidian mercenary cavalry, he would not have won several major battles with the Romans.

Now it is rare that a violent conflict has broken out between these two countries, and Oscar and his generals are very happy; Once the war between Numidia and Carthage broke out, the Carthaginian Senate would surely recall Hannibal of Sicily to Carthage. At that time. Sardinia was completely relieved of the military threat of Hannibal; And had plenty of time to prepare.

Moreover, what made the generals even more happy was that there were also very sharp contradictions within Numidia! Since Adheba chose to come to the Augustan family with a large number of gifts after his expulsion, it means that the Augustus family can obtain a large number of high-quality Numidian horses through Adheba; Even Oscar felt that he could knock out a batch of Numidian elite cavalry that had already taken shape from Adheba's hands.

Therefore, on the basis of this consideration, the generals were unanimously in favor of an alliance with Adheba; The Augustan family can rely on their own advantages and Adheba's disadvantages in exchange for more of what the family wants. So, after a brief consultation; Oscar decided to go to the waters off Sardinia to negotiate with Adheba together with Quintus and Licinius, escorted by Shixiu's fleet.

While leaving for the Adeheba fleet, Oscar also asked the envoy for specific information about Numidia. The Kingdom of Numidia was originally a state formed by the Berbers mainly inhabitants of agriculture and nomadic and semi-nomadic herders who mainly engaged in animal husbandry. The residents mainly grow wheat, barley, rye, grapes, beans, vegetables and olive; Nomadic democracy involves raising cattle, sheep, donkeys, horses, mules, and camels. Traditional handicrafts include pottery and weaving, and can be used to make all kinds of large containers for storing grain and wine, as well as a variety of small and delicate cups, plates, lamps, candlesticks, etc., and weaving various carpets, tents, blankets, and other items.

Numidia's most famous light cavalry was adept at reconnaissance, pursuit, ambush, and quick attack; Their armament was rudimentary: two or three javelins, one light spear. There is only one leather shield for protection. But each man had two or three interchange mounts, and the Numidians could jump from one horse to another at high speed; Lets out a wild roar and can charge several times in a row. Of course, if it is a formal battle, they should have infantry support behind them to provide cover in the event of a retreat.

According to the emissary, the Numidians were "dark-skinned people, dressed in shorts and sleeveless tunics, and rode strong and swift North African ponies." No halters, just a short bridle, or shouting and roaring. But Oscar believed that this was not what they had dressed as Hannibal's mercenaries when they fought Rome in Sicily. to a relatively cold climate. Presumably, they would have been cloaked or skinned like Hannibal's soldiers.

According to the emissary, the Numidians were once made up of two main tribes more than a hundred years ago; The eastern ones are called the Masili tribe. The western ones are called the Massesili tribe. In the early part of the First Punic War, the eastern tribes of Masili briefly allied themselves with Rome under the leadership of King Gara, while the tribes of Masesili in the west allied themselves with Carthage under the leadership of King Hephis.

However, by the time of the Second Punic War, the eastern tribes of Masili had turned to an alliance with Carthage under the leadership of the new king Messineszar. The Masesili tribes in the west turned to the Spanish alliance. When the war ended, the victorious Carthaginians united the two tribes under the leadership of Messineszar, king of the Masili tribe. By the time of Messineszar's death, Numidia had expanded from Mauritania to Carthage, and to Libya in the east; And so it goes. The only land territory in Numidia was Tripolitania, which completely surrounded Carthage.

After Messineszar's death, his throne was succeeded by his son Mississa. During his lifetime, Mississar's two sons, Adheba and Siepusa I, and one of Messineszar's illegitimate grandsons, Zuguta (according to Numidian custom, the status of bastard grandsons was revered), was successfully united by Mississa. But when Mississar died, a conflict broke out between them; So after the sudden death of Siepusa I, Adheba entered into a fierce rivalry with Tulguta.

However, the difference in strength between the two sides is still too great; After the wise declaration of neutrality by the Sahara province and General Jugudah. The remaining four provinces were quick to make their choices. The most prosperous provinces of Numidia and Gaturia, as well as the provinces of Libya, all announced their support for the enthronement of the venerable Zuguta as king of Numidia by order of the governor, with the exception of the Mauritanian province of Mauritania, where only Adheba's relatives were governors.

Of course, the reason why Adheba was able to start a battle for the throne with Tulguta was not an incompetent mediocrity; The two elite Numidian legions founded by the former Numidian king Messineszar chose to pledge allegiance to Adheba and Zuguta, respectively. Moreover, allegiance to the mighty Turguta was to the weaker infantry legions; Allegiance to the weakened Adheba was a powerful cavalry legion.

In order to be able to gather more troops to confront Carthage, Tulguta completed his plan to conquer Tripolitania; Wisely choosing to avoid civil war, he banished Adheba and his cavalry regiment to Mauritania, who supported him, after taking the throne himself. In fact, this is not to say that Tulguta was a magnanimous man; It's just that he doesn't want to consume his strength by a civil war with Carthage when a major war is about to break out.

You must know that Messineszar was the first king in the history of the Numidian Kingdom to truly unify Numidia, and he was a heroic man of great talent and dominance; The two elite legions he founded with his own hands should not be underestimated. Tulguta was well aware of the fighting power of the Ahmad Legion under his command, and that this 16,000 men were enough to defeat the other Numidian armies with more than 40,000 troops head-on; One can imagine the combat effectiveness of the more elite Salah legions loyal to Adheba.

One thing is certain, however, if Tulguta defeats the forces of the Kingdom of Carthage, or completes the conquest of the Kingdom of Tripolitania under the pressure of the Kingdom of Carthage; Then wait until he stabilizes the newly occupied Tripolitania. Elite divisions will be assembled to launch an attack on Adheba's Mauritania to complete the great cause of the reunification of Numidia.

Needless to say, the Adhebachi were not fuel-efficient lamps either; If Zuguta were defeated at the hands of the Carthaginians, he would not hesitate to send troops to seize the throne of Numidia. Even if Tulguta wins. He will also gather all his strength in Mauritania to fight against Zuguta; Therefore, in order to be able to have more strength, and in order to obtain an ally worthy of trust, Adheba took the initiative to find the Romans on Sardinia.

Unfortunately, his wishful thinking was not always possible; Because while Oscar chose to form an alliance with Adheba, he also secretly decided in his heart that once Zuguta faced a disadvantage on the battlefield with the Carthaginian kingdom. The House of Augustus would inevitably form an alliance with Tulguta and support Turguta in the war with the Kingdom of Carthage. It's not that Oscar is two-faced, it's just that Oscar knows that the enemy of his enemy is a friend.

With the emissary's explanation and Oscar's own reflections, Shi Xiu's fleet finally approached Adheba's fleet after sailing for more than an hour; Since receiving the messenger's information last night, Oscar hastened to the dock overnight with Quintus, Licinius, and Shi Xiu, and it has been early morning of the 16th since they arrived at the open sea. In the slowly rising sun, Oscar met his gaze on the deck with an armored general in the opposite fleet.

(To be continued.) )