I'm not a wise person, I'm just a wise man. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

- Socrates (famous ancient Greek thinker, philosopher, and educator)

With Nat's words as a foreshadowing, the atmosphere in the conference room was somewhat relaxed, and the sense of urgency brought about by the surprise attack of the Kingdom of Spain was also dissolved.

However, it is still impossible to relax at this time, after all, the war is not as simple as words, and it is impossible to go as smoothly as Nat predicted, and there are many specific problems that need to be solved by the Augustan family.

First of all, it is the selection of the expeditionary corps and the appointment of the commander-in-chief; secondly, it is a strategic choice after landing on the Iberian Peninsula; Finally, and most importantly, how to make Mary's identity appear to the Spaniards again.

For the first question, Oscar does not intend to consult with the family members; In fact, as early as after the end of the Battle of Zama, Oscar discussed with Quintus and Luquis the choice of military commanders to implement the North Africa strategy and the strategy of the Iberian Peninsula in the future.

At that time, Oscar and the two generals negotiated the result, that is, Quintus led his army to North Africa, and Luquis led his army to reinforce the province of Betica; Each of them will take on the responsibility of executing the future strategy of the House of Augustus.

Later, with the further development of the situation; The changes on the North African continent contributed to the fact that Quintus led his army to the North African continent half a year ahead of schedule, and now the two legions led by Quintus have already landed in North Africa.

If the Augustus family had continued to follow their plans, it would have been half a year before Lucis led two legions to reinforce the province of Betica; Unfortunately, contrary to others, the Kingdom of Spain took the initiative to launch a sneak attack to change all this.

The current Augustus family is facing a situation that dooms the Augustus family to embark on a two-front battle path that Oscar originally tried to avoid; Such a situation may be regarded as the worst situation for the Augustus family at present.

After the last decisive battle of Zama, except for the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th legions, the Augustus family maintained the integrity of the legions, and the other participating legions suffered considerable losses; And these battle losses need time to rest and replenish.

After the Sixth Legion went to North Africa with Quintus, the legions of the Augustus family stationed in Sicily are still fully organized and have sufficient combat effectiveness, and the other legions are still in the period of recuperation.

Those regiments that have rested, the recruits who have been replenished to them are still training, and the weapons and equipment are also being replenished and repaired; The reason why Oscar originally set the time for Quintus and Luquis to go on the expedition half a year later was to replenish all the soldiers and equipment of the expeditionary corps.

However, the idea is beautiful, but the reality is cruel; The changes on the North African continent and the active attack of the Kingdom of Spain have disrupted the Augustan family's policy of wholeheartedly resting and recuperating, and Oscar can only do his best to fight!

After some careful consideration, Oscar directly announced the order to the family members present:

"Although the initiative of the Kingdom of Spain to provoke war this time was completely unexpected by us, it is impossible for our Augustus family to change the established strategy; This time, our Augustus family reinforces the army of Betica, which is still under the command of Luquis.

In addition, the two reinforced corps will also be composed of the first corps, which is currently the most complete and in the best condition, and the Samonai corps, which has a good supply of troops and easy to replenish weapons and equipment.

Luquis, after today's meeting is over, you will go with Raqqa and Antio to the barracks to organize the army to the port; We will board the ship and depart for the province of Betica in the shortest possible time to avoid further deterioration of the situation in the province of Betica.

Of course, in addition to the two legions led by Luquis, I myself will also go to the Illyrian Peninsula with the family guard and Mary; There is something about Joan of Arc, which will be handled by me personally. ”

Oscar's appointment of the commander-in-chief and the choice of the expeditionary corps did not cause dissatisfaction among the generals below; After all, Luquis is indeed the only best commander of the Augustus family who is currently qualified to command other legion commanders, and the First Legion and the Samonai Legion are indeed the best legions to go on the expedition.

In fact, if you consider it only from the point of view of combat effectiveness, the Guards Infantry Corps and the Guards Cavalry Corps will not necessarily be worse than the First Legion and the Samonai Legion; Even the combat effectiveness of Hannibal's army is quite good.

However, the consideration of combat effectiveness was never Oscar's first consideration, and the grasp of the overall strategy of the Augustus family was the most important factor in Oscar's choice to go to the army.

Although the two Guards Legions were very combative, the newly formed Hannibal Legion was also quite good; However, it was almost impossible for Oscar to send the three legions to the Iberian Peninsula, nor to get them out of Sicily anytime soon.

After all, Sicily is still a newly occupied territory occupied by the Augustan family, and the foundation of rule is still very weak, and it is necessary to ensure that there are enough troops to maintain the stability of Sicily.

And Hannibal's legion, formed by the remnants of Hannibal's army, does not look like an army loyal to the family of Augustus; Until the loyalty of this legion is determined, Oscar simply cannot send this legion into battle.

That is to say, among the legions remaining in Sicily, Hannibal's legion needs to be guarded against, and the Seventh Legion is still in the heavy wounds, at best, it can shoulder the task of maintaining stability in Sicily.

The remaining two Guards Legions, their task is to be optimistic about Hannibal's Legion and not give Hannibal's Legion any chance to rebel; In addition, maintaining the stability of Sicily and defending Sicily are also their responsibilities.

Of course, the responsibility for the defense of Sicily was mainly entrusted to the naval fleet of Nams; The task of the two Guards Corps in this regard is only to prevent accidents.

If it is only such a simple calculation, the four legions that are still remaining in Sicily are the last four legions of the Augustan family that cannot move; The limit of the Augustus family's troops, that is, the two legions that Luquis is about to take out.

In fact, the Augustus family also had a cavalry corps led by Hannibal's old general Hasduba; It's just that that the legion is a pure cavalry legion, which is not at all suitable for the terrain of the Iberian Peninsula, and Oscar has no intention of sending them out for the time being.

In any case, the Augustians still need to leave behind a mobile force with sufficient combat power in Sicily; The cavalry corps led by Hasduba played the role of this mobile force.

All of the above are factors that Oscar considered in making his decision, and they are also things that the members of the Augustan family know very well; However, their acquiescence to this matter does not mean that they will approve of Oscar's decision to go to Betica Province in person.

Therefore, after Oscar finally proposed that he would take the family guard and Mary to the province of Betica, Vepsani and other members of the Augustan family immediately raised objections, and they firmly opposed Oscar's risky behavior.

In the face of the family members who joined forces to oppose his personal trip to Betica Province, Oscar was not excited, but asked those family members who opposed him unhurriedly:

"You are all opposed to me going to Betica in person, but do you think it will be easy for us Augustus to smoothly absorb the troops loyal to Joan of Arc without me going to Betica in person?

I believe in the love of the Spaniards for Joan of Arc, and in the fact that Mary could successfully assemble a large number of Spanish troops; However, the process of co-optation inevitably involved inevitable personal interests and the commitment of the Augustan family to them.

There are things about these things, even Luquis can't decide; Opportunities in war are always fleeting, and we do not have time to waste in such negotiations, let alone enough capital to bear the consequences of defeat.

I must personally go to the province of Betica, and only my status can ensure that the Spanish generals and governors who wish to surrender can negotiate with our family of Augustus without any worries.

As long as we can solve the problems of Spain smoothly, then the whole Iberian Peninsula will belong to our family Augustus; Coupled with the presence of Mary, the Iberian Peninsula will quickly integrate into our Augustan family and become a stronger and more solid support for our Augustan family, don't you know what this means to our Augustan family?

Don't always think that the leader of the family should stay at the back for fear of death, for when Lilibal fought the decisive battle, I personally led the Wolf Legion to fight Hannibal in a bloody battle; For the sake of the future of the Augustus family, I must go on this trip to Betica. ”

Oscar's questioning completely dismissed the opposition of the family members, and Wipsani and others could only reluctantly agree to Oscar's personal visit under Oscar's sharp questions; In fact, as we all know, Oscar's personal visit to Betica played a very important role in promoting the implementation of the Augustus family's strategy on the Iberian Peninsula.

Only the existence of Oscar himself can justifiably show those Spaniards the special relationship between the House of Augustus and Joan of Arc, and can also make those Spanish generals and governors surrender to the House of Augustus without worries.

The opposition of Vipsani and others is only out of concern for Oscar's safety; Or, really, as Oscar said, he has personally fought on the battlefield, not the kind of family leader who is high in the rear! (To be continued.) )