So from now on, you should retire to your own little world, don't be overly nervous, don't be impatient, be calm and self-controlled, and face life like a person, a human being, a citizen, and an earthly mortal. > it, w·w-w=.=

- Marcus Aurelius (the only philosopher-emperor in Western history)

After thirteen days at sea, the fleet led by Oscar himself finally appeared off the coast of the Balearic Islands; Looking at the Balearic Islands, which were just one step away from him, Oscar knew that the rise of the House of Augustus depended on the outcome of this war. If the Augustus family can successfully occupy the Balearics, then the next Betica strategy can also be successfully implemented; The Augustans could have completed the strategic layout before Hannibal settled Numidia.

If the Augustus family could not successfully occupy the Balearics, they would even be entangled in a struggle with Siodicis on the Balearic Islands; Not only would a lot of time be lost, but the elite army of the House of Augustus would also be stuck in the great quagmire of the Balearic Islands. When Hannibal completely eliminated the Numidian threat, the Augustans would face the dilemma of not being able to succeed each other.

The ordinary army of Sardinia had no experience of war and was completely powerless to launch a counteroffensive against Sicily, and the elite army with war experience and the best weapons and equipment was trapped in the Balearic Islands; At that time, the Augustan family will not only lose the dominant position in the war, but will be in a situation of passive beating.

Hannibal had plenty of time to complete his preparation plan, and then expand his army and build ships in a step-by-step manner; The new elite army he had honed on the battlefields of Carthage would greatly increase the military strength of Hannibal's army. More importantly, an all-out war between Numidia and Carthage was enough to give Hannibal complete control of the de facto power of Carthage.

If the Augustans were unable to occupy the Balearic Islands and Betica before the end of the war in North Africa, they dared to complete the strategic layout and war preparations before Hannibal in advance; It would not be possible to launch a counteroffensive against Sicily at the end of the war in North Africa, which meant that the war between the House of Augustus and Hannibal would lose over time. >＿﹎8＿ｗ=ｗｗ．

Before the formation of the new pattern of Rome, the war between the House of Augustus and Hannibal was not a war between two families, but a war between the Roman Republic and Hannibal; Standing behind the House of Augustus and supporting the House of Augustus was the entire Roman Republic. But with the formation of a new pattern of Rome, the entire Roman Republic has been completely torn apart; This meant that the House of Augustus could no longer obtain the manpower, material and financial resources of the entire Roman Republic to wage war against Hannibal.

On the contrary, Hannibal returned to Carthage to fight the war against Numidia; Once Hannibal won the final victory, then Hannibal would become the undisputed de facto ruler of all of Carthage. This also means: Hannibal could use the manpower, material and financial resources of the entire Carthaginian kingdom to expand his military power and launch new attacks against the House of Augustus and Rome.

In the past, when Rome gathered the power of the whole country, it did not defeat Hannibal, who occupied a corner, but now it is the Augustan family that occupies a corner of the land to fight against Hannibal, who has the support of the whole country; I am afraid that the outcome of the war will not need to be thought about, and Hannibal's advantage will be greatly magnified. And there is only one way to avoid such an outcome. That's the House of Augustus preemptive!

As long as the Augustans could completely occupy the Balearic Islands and the province of Betica before Hannibal settled the Numidian kingdom, then the Augustians could expand their strength and compress Carthage's power while training a large number of middle- and lower-ranking officers and armies with war experience; And these people will be the key to the final victory of the House of Augustus.

Once the Augustans had taken the lead in completing these plans, Oscar would launch a counterattack on Sicily before Hannibal had completely settled Numidia or integrated the Carthagenian lands; At that time, if Hannibal had remained in Carthage and had not been at war, the whole of Sicily would have fallen into the territory of the House of Augustus. The Carthaginian army would be blockaded in North Africa.

If Hannibal brazenly returned to Sicily and fought a decisive Armageddon with the armies of House Augustus; At that time, it was absolutely impossible for Hannibal to obtain the support of the entire Carthage except for part of the elite of the Carthaginian land, and the Augustan family would form an absolute superiority over Hannibal in terms of the number and quality of the army, and the victory would be more in favor of the Augustan family. > itw·w-w·.·

Here, of course, Oscar also chose a potential lethal ally for the House of Augustus; As long as this ally is willing to make some limited alliance with the House of Augustus, then Hannibal will not escape the final defeat even if he has the ability to reach the sky! As for who this ally is, it's still too early, and Oscar won't send someone to contact them yet; When the day of the decisive battle really comes, it is time to look for this ally.

In order to be able to make this potential ally play a huge role, and to be able to allow the Augustan family to fully grasp the initiative in the war; Oscar set the most suitable time for the Augustans to counterattack Sicily when Hannibal had just settled the kingdom of Numidia. The Carthage land was just in the midst of a triumphant reconstruction. But in order for the war to unfold according to Oscar's ideas, the Augustus family's plan for the Balearic Islands and the Betica plan for the attack must be successful!

In fact, it wasn't just Oscar who understood the significance of this expedition; Generals such as Luquis and Quintus, who remained in Sardinia, and Marie and Licinius, who went on the expedition, also understood. Therefore, everyone acquiesced to the fact that Oscar personally served as the commander of the expeditionary corps; They also have their own efforts to help Oscar complete the current Balearic War.

When Oscar and the others were still slowly advancing towards the Balearic Islands in the open sea, Shi Xiu took the lead in taking all the warships under his command to the ports of the Balearic Islands; There were also four transport ships with a full load of 2,000 soldiers of the Samonai Legion, and Antio, the deputy general of the Samonai Legion, who was originally on the same ship as Oscar, served as the temporary commander of the 2,000 soldiers.

Oscar originally intended to appoint one of the two thousand Samonai Legion soldiers as a temporary commander, responsible for leading the two thousand Samonai Legion soldiers to the Balearic port and complete the control and occupation of the Balearic port; Antio, however, objected. He insisted that a captain was not enough to carry out Oscar's orders meticulously, and that he had to command it himself.

At the repeated request of Antio. Oscar agreed to Antio's request to take the initiative; In this way, Antio went with two thousand of the most elite soldiers of the Samonai Legion in the direction of the port of the Balearic Islands. Shi Xiu's thirty warships only rushed forward, and some of the indigenous people near the Balearic port immediately scattered; Antio took the opportunity to lead his army to the port.

The imaginary battle for the port did not explode, and the Balearic port was completely empty and vacant; There was no one near the harbor except for the indigenous people who had just fled. Antio had to give up the idea of a big fight. Honestly, with two thousand soldiers of the Samonai Legion, he waited in the harbor for the arrival of Oscar's main army.

The situation in the port was soon informed by the flagbearer on Shi Xiu's flagship in the language of Oscar and the others; For unknown reasons, Oscar had no choice but to order his troops to sail towards the port, and ordered the order of landing on the island was still the Samonai Legion first, followed by the Guards Infantry Legion, and the Guards Cavalry Legion last. However, Oscar and the generals boarded the 6th in advance of the army to understand the specific situation on the island.

When Oscar and the generals arrived at the mooring platform in the harbor on a battleship. Naturally, the situation in the harbor is also present; Such a Mediterranean transportation hub-like port is uninhabited by no people, not even the most basic port porters. It's just weird. Still, Antio captures an agent who is said to be from the enemy army; Oscar immediately decided to interrogate the so-called spy himself.

When this so-called spy was brought up by Antio, Oscar and the others looked at each other; Because this spy is some kind of enemy agent? It's the same envoy sent by Oscar to the Kingdom of Spain before! Looking at the messenger in front of him, who was like a flower child, it was too far from the personable, handsome and dashing messenger when he came out; But the question arises, didn't he go to Spain? How could he appear in the Balearic port so down, and was arrested by Antio as a secret agent.

The messenger knew that he was saved at the first sight of Oscar, and he also cried with joy and said to Oscar: "Your Excellency, I have finally waited for you to come; I almost thought I'd never see you again! "This messenger was also one of the first cadets of the Academy of the Augustan Family, and loyalty was assured; So, Oscar looked at his pitiful appearance and asked helplessly:

"Didn't I send you to the Kingdom of Spain? How did you get this picture and end up on the Balearic Islands? Could it be that some pirates have robbed your merchant ship on the road? As soon as Oscar's words came out, the dignified seven-foot man actually began to cry bitterly; I saw him wiping his tears from his eyes. While explaining to Oscar:

"Leader, I was not robbed by pirates, but by the navy of the Balearic Islands! Ever since I boarded a merchant ship for the Kingdom of Spain, I have tried to avoid encounters with pirates; I didn't expect to run into the naval fleet of the Balearic Islands. Although they only have a few ships, they are enough to capture our small fleet. ”

"Why did the naval fleet of the Balearic Islands capture your small fleet? Aren't they afraid of causing public outrage across the Mediterranean countries? "It's Mary who is asking at the exit this time.

The messenger hesitated for a moment and replied, "Actually, they are not prisoners, they just brought our fleet to the port of Balearics, and then bought all the supplies on board at a high price; Then let these sold fleets leave on their own. Originally, the men of these fleets were still angry, but under the attack of the Carthaginians money, they all left the Balearic Islands with a smile on their faces. ”

The envoy's explanation made Oscar even more curious, and Oscar couldn't help asking: "Since everyone else sold the goods at a high price and left." Why did you stay? And made such a mess of myself. This time, the envoy did not hesitate, but said with an excited face:

"I was about to leave here, but it dawned on me that the Carthaginians had bought goods that could be used for war; For example, grain, iron tools, war horses, and so on. So, I think it may be that the Carthaginian army on the Balearic learned of our plan of attack in advance; At that time, I quietly excused myself to go to the toilet and stayed in the port.

After a few days of observation in the harbor. The Carthaginian armies on the Balearic were already ready for war; Even they're constantly recruiting new recruits! Just three days ago, all the people of the port of Balearic were evacuated to the province of Palma by order of the Governor; All the supplies were also gathered in Parma. At that time, I followed the crowd to Parma, and when I arrived in Parma, I realized that Carthage had gathered more than 5,000 troops in Parma! (To be continued.) )