Esercitoenormechevasempreapasticciare (A large army is always inevitable of chaos)

- Euripides (one of the three great tragic writers of ancient Greece)

After relieving his doubts, Oscar didn't say anything more, and Licinius walked back to where he had stood before, and the two of them were on the deck enjoying the sea view leisurely. Suddenly, Oscar turned to Licini and said:

"Licinius, you are also a veteran of more than ten years of service in the Wolf Legion; Moreover, I once followed my father and Luquis in the southern and northern wars. You tell me what kind of man Hannibal is in your heart; And what kind of legion is his legion. I want to hear your truest thoughts. ”

After speaking, Oscar looked at Licini with sincere eyes; Licinius met Oscar's gaze and said calmly: "Hannibal Baka, a famous Carthaginian general in North Africa, a military strategist, is undoubtedly one of the greatest military commanders in the world today. As a young man, he marched into Spain with his father, Hamilcar Bacca, and made a lifelong vow to be a lifelong enemy of Rome and to protect Carthage. He received rigorous and arduous military training from an early age, and distinguished himself in military and diplomatic activities.

His childhood was during the first "Punic War". Because we Romans called the Carthaginians Punics, the war between us was called the Punic Wars. After Carthage's defeat to Rome in the First Punic War, Hannibal's father, Hamilcar Barca, conquered the Iberian Peninsula in order to improve Carthage's prospects. Hannibal, who was only 9 years old at the time, begged to go with his father, who ordered him to kneel at the altar and swear that when he grew up, he would become an enemy of Rome.

At the age of 25, the young Hannibal became the supreme commander of the Carthaginian forces in Spain. Although young, he grew up to be a strong-willed and military-talented man nurtured by his father. Because he followed his father since he was a child and was tempered by many years of military camp life, he has perseverance and hard-working spirit, and is brave and good at using soldiers. In peacetime, he lived a simple life and shared weal and woe with the soldiers; During the war, he was a pioneer and was deeply supported by the soldiers.

Someone once wrote of him: "There is no kind of toil that can make him physically tired or mentally depressed." Whether it's the heat or the cold, he can stand it. Whether in cavalry or infantry, he always left the others far behind, the first to enter the battle, and after the engagement, the last to withdraw from the battlefield. ”

When Hamilcar was killed in battle, his son-in-law, Hasdruba, succeeded him as commander-in-chief. Hasdruba adopted a strategy centered on diplomacy, focusing on consolidating Carthage's economic and trade base in Iberia and establishing the city of New Carthage in Iberia. At this time, Hannibal was the commander of his cavalry unit and accumulated a wealth of experience in cavalry command. Hasdrubal was assassinated by the Celts, and Hannibal took over the military with the support of the army, and was subsequently officially appointed to the Carthaginian government.

Over the next two years, Hannibal consolidated his momentum and completed his conquest of the Iberian Peninsula south of the Ebro River. Five years ago, Carthage, in order to take revenge on the Republic, declared war on the Republic to kick off the Second Punic War. In this case, Hannibal decided to lead his army against Upper Sicilia of the Scipio family on the island of Sicily, bringing the war to enemy territory.

As soon as Hannibal came to power, he actively prepared for war against Rome. Not only did he draw up a detailed battle plan rarely seen in the history of warfare, but he also secretly sent many secret emissaries to win over the Greek city-state of Syracuse, which was disgruntled with Rome, to his side.

The republic intended to divide its forces into two routes: one from Upper Sicilia to attack Carthaginian Lower Sicilya; Landing all the way from Lower Sicilia to pin down Hannibal's army. But Hannibal surprisingly avoided the main forces of the republic, and at great risk, led a large army to attack the Upper Sicilia of the republic from the trail, and unexpectedly dealt a heavy blow to the republican **. The republican ** team was caught off guard, and the battle plan was all disrupted.

During the battle, Hannibal adopted a roundabout tactic, set up an ambush on the shore of Lake Trasimeno in central Sicily, and brought the army of nearly 20,000 men from the four reinforced legions of the Republic into a gorge surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing the lake on the other, and Hannibal's army ended the battle in less than three hours. The Republic suffered heavy losses, the consuls were killed, 11,000 were killed, 5,000 were captured, and only 2,000 broke out of the siege and fled into a nearby village.

Hannibal's soldiers pursued them relentlessly, and all the Roman republicans surrendered on the condition that they were disarmed. Hannibal treated the captives differently, ordered all the soldiers of the Roman army to be shackled, and immediately released the Italians, who had no citizenship of the Republic. Hannibal took advantage of the contradictions between the four great families of the republic in order to weaken the republic. At the same time, he formed an anti-Roman alliance with Rome's neighbors on the Mediterranean coast. ”

Hearing this, Oscar interrupted Licinius's narration and asked suspiciously, "Aren't we only five legions?" Since it lost four legions at once, why didn't Carthage attack the republic itself? In the face of Oscar's question, Licini said calmly: "Except for the Wolf Army, the other four major legions were all reformed five years ago; The Wolf Legion also landed in Lower Sicilia that year, completely destroying the supplies of Hannibal's legion. Therefore, Hannibal could not afford to fight again, so he could only choose to retreat to Lilibal and wait for help from his homeland. We, the Wolf Legion, also survived this great battle and met Hannibal's Legion. ”

Oscar nodded, indicating that he understood; and motioned for Licinius to continue. Licinius continued: "At this time the republic finally realized the enemy it was facing, and the Senate elected Fabian as dictator. Fabian adopted the strategy of fortifying the walls and clearing the wilderness, not fighting Hannibal head-on, in order to drag Hannibal down. Faced with this, Hannibal resorted to plundering and raiding the Republic's supply bases, provoking the Republic and forcing us to fight. Fabian was dismissed from his post when it expired, and in the spring of the same year Hannibal raided Messina, an important granary and supply base for the Republic in Sicily, inflicting great losses on the Republic and the Scipio family.

The republic, under the influence of the new consuls, decided to fight Hannibal in a decisive battle. Three years ago, the famous Kangnai War broke out. At that time, the Roman army had 8,000 infantry and 6,000 cavalry, while Hannibal had only 4,000 infantry and 1,400 cavalry. After 12 hours of fierce fighting, the Republic was defeated, losing more than 12,000 men, while Hannibal lost less than 1,600 men, creating a glorious example in military history of winning more with less.

Two years earlier, Hannibal had been elected supreme administrator of Carthage and had introduced many major reforms; But these reforms were met with strong resistance from the aristocratic oligarchs. Half a year earlier, they had joined forces against Hannibal and framed the Republic for a new Punic War. They wanted to take the opportunity to send Hannibal to Sicily and plot with the Republic to assassinate Hannibal; The Republic certainly welcomes this.

As a result, the Wolf Legion, which had always been intact, became the only option; However, what everyone didn't expect was this. When Hannibal arrived in Sicily with his legions, he was not at all afraid of the ambush of the wolf army; Hannibal's legion, which numbered less than 3,000 men and 12 war elephants, easily defeated the Wolf Legion and even killed the clan leader.

At that time, if it weren't for the Richard family's fleet risking their lives to save them, I am afraid that the wolf army would not be able to escape even half of them, and would only be wiped out as in the Kangnai War. Immediately after that, the Senate of Carthage took advantage of the situation to show that the Republic had been plotting against Carthage; Hannibal and his legions were left in Sicily in the form of senate orders. Hannibal didn't need to say anything more, and was stationed in Sicily. “

Licinius's long narrative did not surprise Oscar, for the simple reason that this is simply an otherworldly version of Hannibal on Earth; Moreover, it is basically the same as plagiarism. Oscar is completely understandable about this; Because there was no Hannibal in the world of total war in Rome! Carthage is also a weak vegetable that can be abused by any force, and since there is Hannibal in this world, it is naturally similar to that on the earth.

Of course, if this speculation is true; Then the youngest son of the third son of the family of Julius, Vibius Julius, is named Caesar! Also, the eldest son-in-law of the Maxentius family is named Marius! Could these men, like the namesakes on Earth, become heroes of Roman history? You know, there were no such people in the total war of Rome; But there is a ...... in this world and on earth

Oscar, whose brain was a little messy, didn't think much about it, but continued to ask absentmindedly: "Shouldn't Hannibal's personality continue to attack Upper Sicilia of the Scipio family after defeating the Wolf Army?" Why did he stop again? It's not like Hannibal's doing. To this, Licinius replied: "Yes, Hannibal is ready to continue the attack; But his legion was only about 2,000 men left. The Wolf Legion also inflicted some losses on his legion, otherwise the Wolf Legion would not have escaped the slaughter of Hannibal's cavalry, even with the support of the Richard family fleet. Moreover, at this time, the wild boar army of the Scipio family was also restored to its establishment, and it had a little combat effectiveness; Garrisoned in Messina.

More importantly, the Senate of Carthage really did not want to see Hannibal do his work again; Hannibal's offensive could only be delayed by replenishing Hannibal with new troops. Now, Hannibal's regiment is once again on standby; Therefore, our battle against Hannibal's legions will surely be supported by the Scipio family. After all, Hannibal had been stationed near the territory of the Scipio family, and the Scipio family would be crazy to destroy him. “

After Licini's words, Oscar nodded, indicating that he understood. Seeing Oscar's absent-minded appearance, Licinius knew that the leader was thinking about the problem and did not say anything more; Just stood quietly behind Oscar.