Abandon your friends in an emergency, not to be trusted. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

- Aesop (Greek fabler, Phrygian)

The Augustan Empire did not pay much for its attacks on the kingdoms of Carthage and Numidia, even if it was bloodless; In the process of invading the Carthaginian kingdom, Rakka led four legions did not pay the price of casualties, and the casualties paid by Quintus and Spartak were only two or three thousand.

The cost of two or three thousand soldiers in exchange for the occupation of seven provinces on the North African continent was simply the best deal in the world; What's more, the Augustan Empire also used the captured and surrendered army to form a new nine legions, which will soon become the new combat strength of the Augustan Empire, and Oscar is not satisfied.

After the settlement of the Carthaginian Kingdom and the Numidian Kingdom on the North African continent, the entire Western Mediterranean completely became the world of the Augustan Empire, and the Augustan Empire once again had a stable rear; It stands to reason that the next goal of the Augustan Empire should be to help Cleopatra regain the position of pharaoh of the Kingdom of Egypt.

With nine new legions formed on the continent, the Augustan Empire was able to devote enough troops to help Cleopatra return to the Kingdom of Egypt; Even if Ptolemy XIII of the Kingdom of Egypt fought a full-scale war with the Augustan Empire, the Augustan Empire would have enough military strength to defeat the entire army of the Kingdom of Egypt and then send Cleopatra to the position of pharaoh.

However, before that, the Augustan Empire would need at least three months or more to put the nine newly formed legions in order; Anyway, there are still nearly eight months left before the one-year time agreed between Oscar and Cleopatra, and Oscar is not in a hurry.

More importantly, the last remaining Cyrenacan Republic on the North African continent was the last barrier that separated the Augustan Empire from the direct border with the Kingdom of Egypt; As long as the Augustan Empire could wipe out the emerging Cyrenaic Republic, the Augustan Empire would be able to directly border the core of the Kingdom of Egypt in the Libyan region.

In this way, it would also be more convenient for the Augustan Empire to help Cleopatra return to the Kingdom of Egypt; In addition to this reason, the Augustan Empire had another more important reason to destroy the Cyrenaic Republic, that is, how could other powers be allowed to exist on the North African continent of the Augustan Empire?

Even the once powerful Kingdom of Numidia and the Kingdom of Carthage, which once dominated the North African continent, have been wiped out by the Augustan Empire one after another, how can the Augustan Empire leave the weak Cyrenacan Republic to continue to exist?

Morpheus, who founded the Cyrenanian Republic, was an outstanding commander, and his command was only twenty or thirty thousand so-called elite divisions with light infantry as the main force; However, the Augustan Empire has assembled a full five powerful legions in the Tripoli region, and if the Cyrenaic Republic makes a wise choice, Oscar does not care that the Augustan Empire has one more Duke of Cyrenaica.

Otherwise, the armies of the Augustan Empire would have expanded the territory of the Augustan Empire; With the strength of the Cyrenaica Republic, they simply could not stop the elite army of the Augustan Empire with five legions, and the resistance was only in vain.

Although Oscar did not feel that Little Hanno was worthy of the title of a Grand Duke, the Augustan Empire did not care about the glory and wealth of one or two Grand Dukes; Since Hanno the Younger wanted to be knighted, Oscar generously satisfied him, and personally ordered a luxurious Grand Duke's mansion to be built for him in the ancient city of Syrac.

In addition to Hanno the Younger, who received the title of Grand Duke, Adheba's wife and children were also personally received by Oscar; In particular, Adheba's eldest son, who was already nine years old, was also canonized by Oscar as the Grand Duke of Numidia of the Augustan Empire, and Oscar believed that the Augustan Empire could make a mere nine-year-old child eventually become a loyal fan of the Augustan Empire.

In fact, Oscar himself still admires Morpheus in the Cyrenacan Republic very much; The fact that he was able to grow from a rebel general to the founder of a country is enough to prove his talent and ability, and such a talented person Oscar naturally wants to use it for his own use.

Therefore, before formally ordering the troops of the Augustan Empire to attack the Cyrenacan Republic, Oscar also asked Nepos's Foreign Affairs to organize a delegation of thirty people to go directly to the capital of the Cyrenacan Republic to meet Morpheus on a transport ship; Oscar was willing to offer Morpheus the title of Grand Duke in exchange for the surrender of the Cyrenaic Republic.

In addition, the army under the command of Morpheus will also be reorganized into several legions of the Augustan Empire, and only these legions need to receive three months of training from the Augustan Empire, and Morpheus can continue to lead these legions to fight for the Augustan Empire; That is, as long as Morpheus is willing to surrender, he can not only get the title of Grand Duke, but also retain the command of his army.

In all fairness, Oscar's offer to Morpheus was already the best the Augustan empire had ever offered; Unfortunately, Morpheus still had no intention of accepting this condition, and he was not even interested in meeting the envoys of the Augustan Empire, and the envoys of the Augustan Empire did not see Morpheus himself from beginning to end, but only received Morpheus's explicit refusal.

When the emissaries of Augustus' empire returned to Syracuse, Oscar, who learned of Morpheus' refusal, was not angry, he only regretted Morpheus's choice; Subsequently, Oscar gave orders to Quintus and Spartac, who were stationed in the Tripoli region, to attack the Cyrenaic Republic, with Quintus as the commander of the army and Spartak as Quintus's deputy.

After giving the order to attack, Oscar felt that the conquest of the Cyrenacan Republic by the Augustan Empire was only a matter of time; No matter how powerful Morpheus is, in the face of absolute strength, any strategy is just a paper tiger.

After putting this matter aside for a while, Oscar, who had been busy with the affairs of the Augustan Empire for some time, could finally spare an afternoon to talk to General Vermina and General Ahmet; As the most outstanding generals of the Carthaginian Kingdom and the Numidian Kingdom, these two people are naturally the existence that Oscar is trying to woo.

As long as they were willing to surrender to the Augustan Empire, Oscar was even willing to grant them the title of third-class duke and make them the only generals of the Augustan Empire; It's a pity that in the face of the olive branch sent by Oscar, Viminina and Ahmet still chose to refuse in unison, and they were unwilling to serve the Augustan Empire.

Oscar had not had time to persuade the two generals before, and now it is rare to squeeze out a little time to make good use of it; In order to create a good atmosphere for the upcoming meeting, Oscar deliberately looked for a Greek-style garden as a place to entertain Vimina and Ahmed, and both Vermina and Ahmed's wives were invited here.

As it turned out, Oscar's persuasion was meaningless, it was just a waste of each other's time; Victoria's Secret's Ahmet had no intention of surrendering to the Augustan Empire, let alone serving the Augustan Empire.

However, after Oscar's good words, the two finally agreed to Oscar's minimum requirements, that is, to go to the Augustan Military Academy as a tenured instructor and give lectures to the cadets of the Augustan Military Academy; The price Oscar paid for this was to grant the eldest son of the two of them the title of First Earl, and they themselves would not accept any knighthood from the Augustan Empire.

In any case, Vimina and Ahmet finally served the Augustan Empire in disguise; Even if they can't fight for the Augustan Empire, as long as they are willing to pass on their lifelong knowledge and experience to the cadets of the Augustan Military Academy, the price Oscar pays is also worth it, maybe there will be a few ironclad generals of the Augustan Empire born in the Augustan Military Academy!

After solving the matter between Vimina and Ahmed, Oscar is stuck in a busier life; The territory of the Augustan Empire expanded by seven provinces at once, and the army was also expanded by nine legions, so all aspects of affairs were naturally busy, and Oscar, the emperor of the empire who did it himself, did not touch the ground.

In addition, Cleopatra and Mary and other four daughters have been pregnant for nearly seven or eight months, and their high bulging bellies seem to prove that Oscar is getting closer and closer to the great role of father; Recently, no matter how busy Oscar is during the day, he will accompany the four girls to dinner at night, and then talk to them one by one.

Just when Cleopatra, who was the first to be pregnant, was about to give birth in a month, Oscar received good news from the North African continent; Quintus and Spartak had successfully captured all of Morpheus' Cyrenaic Republic, and Morpheus himself fought to the death on the battlefield until the last moment, and was finally defeated and killed.

In this war against the Cyrenacan Republic, the army of the Augustan Empire did not capture too many enemy soldiers, but its own casualties were as high as 10,000; Even this does not change the basic fact that with the fall of the Cyrenaic Republic, the entire North African continent has become the territory of the Augustan Empire!

In addition to rewarding the meritorious soldiers, Oscar also issued new orders to all the armies and generals of the Augustan Empire in North Africa; The Ninth Legion at Numidia and the Seventh Legion at Carthage, together with the Sixth Legion at Cyrenaica and the 1st Cavalry Corps, which was about to reinforce North Africa, would form the Augustan Empire's garrison on the North African continent. (To be continued.) )