Whoever gives up his freedom, which is richer than wealth, for fear of poverty, will be a slave forever.

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

Soon, Shi Xiu's fleet stopped less than a hundred meters from Adheba's fleet; The size of the entire Adheba fleet was not very large, escorted by only twenty transports and six double battleships. After the Augustus family's fleet came to a complete halt, Adheba took the initiative to take his generals Salah and Bashirek to Oscar's flagship in a small boat to show his sincerity.

When Adheba and his party boarded the flagship, Oscar took Quintus and Licini to meet them; Adheba's first impression of Oscar was that he was a bold man. I saw that he immediately opened his arms enthusiastically and had a very friendly meeting etiquette with Oscar after seeing Oscar, not to mention what kind of thoughts he had; At least this kind of hospitality also made Oscar have enough affection for him.

No wonder this person can save his life under the absolute disadvantage, and he can also obtain the power of a province; Even kidnapped the most elite cavalry corps of the Numidian Kingdom. This Adheba was so warm and generous on the surface, no matter what was going on in his heart; At least he has left a very deep impression and goodwill on the people around him, which can't help but make Oscar think a little more highly of him.

After a brief greeting, Oscar took Quintus and Licinius to invite Adheba and his party into the conference room on the flagship; After all six of them sat down, Oscar officially began the talks with Adheba. First of all, Oscar welcomed with a smile on his face: "Thank you very much Prince Adheba for taking the initiative to come to Sardinia to have a sincere relationship with our Rome, in order to show the sincerity of our Augustan family; I have specially prepared 3,000 barrels of the best wine from Sardinia for His Excellency Prince Adheba to show that our Augustus family will have a lasting friendship with Prince Adheba! “

Oscar's large price directly made the three of Adheba a little confused; In particular, General Bashirek, who followed Adheba on the ship, asked in surprise when he heard Oscar's words: "Didn't the messenger of your family tell Oscar about the current situation in Numidia?" Why would His Excellency Oscar be so generous in giving such a valuable gift to my prince? You must know that the fine wines of Sardinia are highly sought-after in the entire Mediterranean countries! “

Although Bashirek's words are too straightforward to tell the truth, they also speak to Adheba's heart; The current Adheba is not the brother of the king who once dominated the kingdom of Numidia, but a frustrated man who has been banished to a remote place by the new king. This time he came to negotiate the alliance with the Augustus family, which was just Adheba's helpless request, but he didn't expect Oscar and the Augustus family to give him so much respect; At this moment, Adheba's heart felt that there must be something strange, but also some indescribable touches.

Looking at the unpredictable faces of the three Adheba. Oscar explained with a smile: "Everyone who comes is a guest; Since Prince Adheba has chosen our Augustus family as a possible ally to negotiate, we Augustus naturally can't neglect our guests. These 3,000 barrels of wine are nothing more than a hundred thousand gold coins worth of money in my eyes, and how can they be compared to the friendship of Prince Adeheba? ”

Oscar's words of praise did not make the three of Adeheba show a grateful look, but made the faces of the three even more lonely; I saw Adheba pick up the wine on the table and drink it down. He sighed helplessly and said: "I didn't expect that His Excellency Oscar, who has always had nothing to do with my Adheba, could treat me so sincerely when I was down, while those who I once regarded as my best friends left me one after another when I lost power; This is really warm and cold, and the world is impermanent! However, I, Adheba, am not a stingy person; Your Excellency Oscar, all the 5,000 horses in my fleet are yours, and that's my return gift! ”

It may be that Oscar's actions touched Adheba's heart. It may also be that Adheba has experienced too much sophistication after losing power; In short, Adheba, who was in a momentary mood and lost his temper, not only gave Oscar the 2,000 war horses that were originally gifts, but also gave Oscar the 3,000 war horses that he intended to trade with Oscar. And his Salah and Bashirek also chose to remain silent under the gift of Oscar's 3,000 barrels of wine.

However, Oscar is not a greedy person; Previously, Oscar knew through the messenger that Adheba had prepared 2,000 horses for the Augustus family, so he specially prepared 3,000 barrels of wine worth the same value. Unexpectedly, Adheba actually gave him all the war horses he brought here, and Oscar immediately refused:

"I appreciate Prince Adheba's kindness, but I can't accept this great gift; The messenger had already told me the purpose of the five thousand horses, so I would only accept two thousand of them. As for the remaining three thousand war horses, we of the Augustus family can buy them at our expense; But I must not let His Excellency Adheba suffer. And. Also, in the current situation of His Excellency Adheba, as a friend, these three thousand war horses are absolutely unacceptable to me. ”

Oscar's words of resignation not only did not make Adheba take back the war horse, but made Adheba's good impression of Oscar even deeper; I saw Adheba indifferently waving his hand at Oscar and said: "Your Excellency Oscar, you don't need to be polite, the war horse is an inexhaustible resource in our Numidiana; Your three thousand barrels of Sardinian wine are worth more in Numidia than five thousand horses. Besides, no matter how down-and-out I, Adheba, am still the Prince of Numidia in Mauritania; If you look up to it, I'll take it! “

Adheba's words are indeed true, the war horse, which is an invaluable strategic material for Rome, is only an inexhaustible livestock in Numidia; And even if Adheba is now down, there is no pressure on Mauritania alone to provide tens of thousands of horses. Therefore, Oscar had to accept the five thousand horses at Adheba's insistence.

After the exchange of gifts between the guests and the hosts, Oscar and Adheba began formal negotiations on the covenant; Because it was Adheba who took the initiative to form an alliance with the Augustan family, Adheba took the lead in making his own request: "Your Excellency Oscar. I am now trapped in this corner of Mauritania, and there is no other army under my command other than the elite army of Salah and the 3,000 cavalry of the Mauritanian army.

More critically, Mauritania has only a large number of wild animals in addition to elephant herds, camel herds, copper mines, and timber; We can use these to train elephant cavalry and camel cavalry, but we don't have the ability to build enough and high-quality weaponry. So. I hope that the House of Augustus can provide us with enough weapons and equipment and other supplies that we lack.

And. Our kingdom of Numidia has never had a strong infantry; So I also hope that His Excellency Oscar can support us with a full Roman legion and a considerable number of experienced centurions and captains to help us build a strong infantry army. Of course, we're also prepared to pay a huge price for it; His Excellency Oscar may prescribe his own terms to our request. “

As soon as Adheba's conditions were made, the three Oscars frowned; The appetite of the Numidians was simply too great, and they wanted not only high-quality weapons and equipment, but also a fully formed Roman legion to fight for them. Even a large number of experienced mid-level officers are offered. It's like a lion opening his mouth! However, Oscar saw his opportunity in such conditions; So, after thinking about it, Oscar replied to Adheba:

"We can do both of these things with an elite Roman infantry corps and a large number of experienced mid-ranking officers, but only on the following terms: the legions we send out must form a combined corps with a certain number of Numidian troops. And the supreme commander of this combined legion must also be the general of our family Augustus; Because we have to make sure that our legions are not used as cannon fodder. Of course, our legion will carry out the orders of His Excellency Adheba not excessively, and I will send three hundred centurions and above to assist you in training the Numidian infantry in this combined legion.

Secondly, the armament we provide cannot be the best for our own use; We can only provide you with weapons and equipment that are not used in active legions. And, while we provide these things; His Excellency Adheba needs to pay us the family Augustus at least ten thousand horses and ten thousand herdsmen's population, as well as at least three thousand elite Numidian javelin cavalry. “

In the face of Oscar's harsh conditions, Adheba said calmly: "Okay! We also don't need the weapons and equipment of the Roman legions, because the standard equipment of the Roman legions is not suitable for us Numidians, and it is very unsuitable for the terrain of our Numidian region; All we need is the Augustus family to help us build our own Numidian weaponry. As for the Roman legions and the three hundred centurions, we need at least three years of hire, how about it? “

Adheba's last request hit Oscar's heart, so Oscar easily agreed; If there is no three-year period. How could these three hundred centurions and captains control the Numidian army belonging to Adheba? It turned out that the reason why Oscar agreed to Adeheba's lion to open his mouth was not only to get enough horses and cavalry, but also to indirectly use this opportunity to control a Numidian force loyal to him; This is what Oscar really planned.

After the terms of the alliance were very quickly agreed, Oscar began to discuss with Adheba about the specific formation of the Combined Legion, as well as the arrangement of generals and the date of hiring. The final combined legion was 20,000 men, including 7,000 Roman standard legions, and Adheba provided a 6,000-strong Numidian infantry legion named the Desert Legion; A cavalry corps of 7,000 men was also provided, also under the command of the Combined Corps.

It's just that the army of thirteen,000 men provided by Adheba was just a simple soldier; The Augustans also need to provide weapons and equipment, as well as complete relevant training. Among them, the specific establishment of the desert legion is: 2,000 archers, 2,000 desert infantry, and 2,000 Numidian infantry; And the establishment of the cavalry corps was: 4000 javelin cavalry and 3000 long shield cavalry.

The supreme commander of the Combined Legion will be the commander of the Roman legion sent by the House of Augustus, and the commander of the desert legion will be the captain of the former Mauritanian legion, Sinrida; The last cavalry corps was led by General Bashirek under Adheba as the commander of the corps, and General Lilias under Oscar as the lieutenant general of the corps. The two will command the Javelinmen and the Shieldriders respectively, and it will be up to Adheba to decide which cavalry to command.

The Augustan family will send troops to June this year, when Adheba will also hand over the 3,000 elite Numidian javelinmen and their families to Oscar; And before that, starting next month, the Augustus family will provide Adheba with 3,000 infantry cavalry weapons and equipment every month. Adheba would also provide the Augustan family with 1,000 horses and 1,000 herdsmen and their families every month. (To be continued.) )