If you keep tightening the string too tightly, your bow will break quickly.

- Fedrus (Roman allegorist)

Oscar's words can be regarded as a positive indication of his attitude towards himself and the Augustan family; Hanno Jr. was also visibly shocked by Oscar's straightforwardness. I saw little Hanno looking at Oscar in disbelief, and said in a trembling voice full of disbelief:

"Oscar...... Your Excellency Oscar, this ...... This...... Is it all true? Is your Augustus family really willing to give us support in terms of food, grass, salary, weapons and equipment, and help us Hanno family build their own army? You know, it's not a small cost, it requires a lot of money! ”

Hanno Jr.'s reaction was completely within Oscar's expectations, and if Hanno Jr. was indifferent to this, then he wouldn't be Hanno Jr.; It's just that how to make little Hanno and the Hanno family cooperate with the Augustus family willingly, it still needs to be well grasped.

So, Oscar also looked at Little Hanno with a solemn face, and said in a serious tone: "Your Excellency Little Hanno, since I am willing to say this, it means that I am ready to help your family." Needless to say, I also know that the cost of helping your family is astronomical; So, we want to give it all back! ”

Hearing Oscar say this, little Hanno's heart was much more steady; If Oscar really expressed his willingness to help himself and his family seize the throne of the Carthage Kingdom for free, it would really make little Hanno unbelievable. Now that Oscar has made it clear that he wants to be rewarded, Hanno Jr. feels more convinced of Oscar's proposal.

In fact, Hanno the Younger's heart was also full of ambition for the king of the Carthaginian kingdom; How many men can refuse such a temptation? Not good for Tulguta, not for Adheba, not for Juguda, not for Oscar, and naturally not for little Hanno; Since you can't refuse, you can only plunge headlong into it!

Little Hanno's eyes were once again full of lust for power, he struggled for a long time, and asked Oscar with burning eyes: "As long as our Hanno family can get the full support of the Augustan family, we will definitely be able to regain the glory of our ancestors!" I just don't know, how much does the Augustan family need in return afterwards? ”

In the face of little Hanno's forbearance, Oscar relaxed; I saw Oscar smiling and leaning back in his chair, and said lightly: "Your Excellency Little Hanno, the reason why our Augustan family is willing to give such strong support to your family is also because the current Carthage Kingdom is too aggressive, which seriously affects the interests of our peace-loving families.

As long as your family, having seized the supreme power of the Kingdom of Carthage, you can recognize the legitimate rule of our House of Augustus over the Balearic Islands and the province of Betica and Sicily, and put an end to the war between the House of Augustus and the Kingdom of Carthage; We, the House of Augustus, can fully support your family! ”

"Your Excellency, what your family asks for is something that our family can only do after we have really seized the supreme power of the Kingdom of Carthage; If our family fails, won't all your family's investment be in vain? Do you think it's worth it? Oscar's requirements are not too harsh, and can even be said to be extremely lenient, but Hanno Jr. is puzzled by this.

"Little Hanno, there are not so many ifs in the world; I firmly believe that with the strong heritage of the Hanno family, coupled with the ability of His Excellency Hanno the Younger and the strong support of our Augustan family, His Excellency Hanno the Younger will one day become His Majesty the King of the Kingdom of Carthage! ”

His Majesty the King of the Kingdom of Carthage? Your Majesty! This sentence instantly dispelled all doubts of little Hanno, who was still a trace of hesitation in his heart, and he couldn't wait to put the crown of the Carthage Kingdom on his head.

However, before that, the specific things that should be discussed must be clarified; Otherwise, how could the Hanno family do everything safely? Little Hanno couldn't wait to say to Oscar: "Your Excellency Oscar, I can accept all the conditions of the Augustan family on behalf of the Hanno family, but I don't know how your family's assistance can be realized?" ”

"There is no point in asking for our aid now, our family's aid will not be able to reach your family until your family is transferred to the province of Baisassien. It is only as long as your family enters the province of Baissasien that we can deliver aid to you by means of trade transport.

As soon as we have made a concerted effort to eradicate Hannibal, we, the House of Augustus, will immediately sign an armistice with the Carthaginian Senate; When the time comes, your family will mediate to help us achieve our goals. After that, trade between you and my family will begin, and we will use commercial trade ships to send aid to you.

The specific assistance, I have planned as follows: we of the House of Augustus will be the first to provide your family with 10,000 sets of well-built weapons and equipment and 100 capable centurion-level officers; Your family will build their own army based on them. After your family has tens of thousands of soldiers, we will continue to provide your family with 1,000 sets of weapons and equipment every month; What do you think? ”

The price of Oscar's aid is not high, but it is definitely not low; In order to hide people's eyes, the weapons and equipment provided by the Augustan family to the Hanno family cannot be the Augustan family's own standard weapons and equipment, but must be the traditional Carthaginian Kingdom weapons and equipment, which is enough for the Augustan family's weapons and equipment building factory to worry about.

As for the hundred centurions who came to the aid of the Hanno family, Oscar knew that it was impossible for the Hanno family to reuse them; But with no one available to the Hanno family, this hundred centurions would inevitably become the main middle-level officers in the Hanno family's army. Even if the Hanno family wants to train talents to replace these hundred centurions in the future, it will not be possible to do it for a while.

Such an aid program is absolutely beneficial to the Hanno family; Of course, there is something about food and grass and military salaries, but it is just Oscar's casual talk. The Augustus family itself is now worried about gold coins, how can there be extra funds to support the Hanno family, isn't that nonsense?

Even so, such conditions were favorable enough for the Hanno family; In the process of listening to Oscar's answer, little Hanno also nodded frequently with great satisfaction. It wasn't until after Oscar finished speaking that little Hanno asked Oscar with joy:

"Your Excellency, such a great assistance from your family is too precious to our Hanno family; It's just that if all of our family's weapons and equipment rely on your family's delivery, what should we do if something happens and our family can't get your family's assistance in time? ”

Before he had even begun to develop in the province of Baissasien, little Hanno was already thinking about the future of his family's power; However, such a good ambition is what Oscar likes very much. After all, only little Hanno was too eager to give the Augustus family more opportunities to act according to their plans.

Moreover, for the question raised by Hanno Jr. in this regard, Oscar can also immediately give the answer he wants; So, Oscar replied without thinking: "Your Excellency Little Hanno, don't worry, in order to prevent such a thing from happening, in the first batch of assistance sent to your family by our Augustus family, I will add fifty skilled craftsmen to help your family build their own equipment." ”

Such an arrangement, on the surface, was a loss for the Augustan family, but it was not; In the future, after the Hanno family is transferred to Baisasian, its family power will usher in a very rapid development. At that time, it will not be difficult for the Hanno family to establish their own weapons and equipment production base, after all, these forging technologies are not secrets.

Rather than this, it is better to have the Augustan family help the Hanno family to establish their own weapons and equipment production base directly from the beginning; In this way, the Augustan family can know the Hanno family well in terms of the Hanno family's weapons and equipment, which can also give the Augustan family a detailed understanding of all the military strength of the Hanno family.

Little Hanno, who still didn't understand this, was even more happy after receiving Oscar's affirmative answer; Immediately, Oscar and Hanno Jr. began to discuss in more detail under these general guidelines. For example, what kind of weapons and equipment are used by the Augustus family to help the Hanno family, what kind of weapons and equipment are used, what craftsmen need to be good at, and so on.

The meeting between Hanno Jr. and Oscar lasted from eight o'clock to more than eleven o'clock at night, and the secret agents for more than three hours allowed the two to finalize all the details in all aspects; When little Hanno left the Governor's Palace late at night with excitement on his face, Oscar also showed a very satisfied smile on his face.

On this night, the covenant that would affect the fate of the Kingdom of Carthage and the House of Augustus was made in secret; It's just that this so-called covenant is the beginning of its demise for the Carthaginian kingdom, but for the Augustan family, it is the beginning of the real glory!

More importantly, it was the signing of this covenant that won the most precious time for the strong rise of the House of Augustus; It also allowed the Augustus family to have the most favorable situation when implementing their North African strategy. And the Hanno family, in the years to come, because of this covenant, became one of the most important families of the Augustan family! (To be continued.) )