Thirty-two, the shijie who was shaken (1)

North Africa, Cyrenaica (Benghazi in modern-day Libya).

The glorious sunset slowly sets, and its afterglow colors the clouds in a red color; And in the fading sky, the little starlight was already blinking happily. The gentle sea breeze blows across the dry desert coast, bringing fresh air with a salty and wet smell.

The dark green waves of the Mediterranean, gently lapping against the cedar wood side, rolled up the white foam, and slowly retreated.

More than 50 triremes, the overlords of the Mediterranean, quietly anchored in this desert harbor, letting the tide ebb and flow around them.

In Greco-Roman times, this type of triremes was the capital ship of the Western maritime powers of the time. It is about forty meters long and five to eight meters wide. Each battleship was crowded with about two hundred sailors. Samurai and sailors were housed on the deck, and oarsmen hid below deck. Divided into three staggered tiers, each holding a long oar, the oarsmen paddle in unison to the rhythm of the drummer. When these dense oars stretched out together, the whole battleship looked like a centipede floating on the sea.

The reason for the arrangement of so many oarsmen on a single ship was to increase the speed of such a ship in order to launch the most popular ramming tactic of the time, the bow of the triremes, which had a huge spire several meters long, covered with bronze or iron sheets. When the ship rushes at full speed towards the enemy, the spire can smash through the opponent's side in one fell swoop. Once flooded, the ship would either sink. Either run aground and lose combat capability...... But the problem is if the ship is not fast enough. The ramming becomes a broadside battle, and only at a speed of more than 10 knots can there be enough impulse to break through the side of the enemy ship.

Therefore, in order to enhance the driving force of the battleship and maximize the power of ramming tactics, the triremes were born crammed with oarsmen.

Triremes had two sails, but in general. It is mainly propelled by oarsmen. When all the oarsmen are paddling with all their might, the speed of the triremes can burst to 14 knots. At the time, this was an astonishing speed - a behemoth of nearly 50 tons rushed towards the enemy at a speed of more than 7 meters per second. It can produce a huge impulse, and even the strongest wooden planks can be vulnerable to its metal angles of attack.

From Greco-Roman times to the medieval Republic of Venice, this oared warship has been roaming the Mediterranean. Fight for power. Until the era of the Industrial Revolution. It was completely eliminated by the steam engine ship and unwillingly withdrew from the stage of history.

However, while the trirem may seem powerful, it takes a lot of money to build such a ship, and a lot of people to make it work. With so many people on board, it took up a lot of space. As a result, the amount of fresh water and food that could be stored on the ships was extremely limited, usually only enough for three days. Not to mention crossing the ocean, you can't even make a direct flight from Athens to Egypt, and you basically have to dock every evening. If they could not dock in time to replenish supplies, all the officers and men of the ship would die of starvation and thirst.

Moreover, the cost of running these ships was very high - the cost of living for so many oarsmen alone was terrible - and it could not be used for anything other than combat. Therefore, in peacetime, countries are often reluctant to spend so much manpower and material resources to let these warships wander around idlely, leaving only a small number of warships for patrolling and expelling pirates, and then pulling most of the warships ashore and mothballing them, probably not touching them again for more than 20 years. By the time they were next activated, they were often decayed and destroyed, reduced to a pile of dry firewood...... So I had to build a new fleet. To make matters worse, the structure of such warships was very fragile and far less reliable than that of ordinary merchant ships due to the fact that there were too many holes in the side of the ship to accommodate the oars. When a storm comes, it is almost certain that a boatload of people will be buried at the bottom of the sea.

Therefore, such warships rarely dare to sail in the open sea, and most of them rotate along the coastline in order to dock at any time to avoid the wind and take water to buy food. As soon as they can't see land, the crew is terrified...... If such a triremes warship, which is as fragile as a toy and has a low freeboard that makes people panic, is put on the vast ocean of the eastern shijie, then there will be absolutely no other end except to be smashed by the waves and swept away by the storm.

Fortunately, while navigators from all over the rest of Shijie were struggling in the rough seas, the ancient Greeks and Romans were able to play war games in the calm bathtub of the Mediterranean, with their fragile triremes, one of the least turbulent seas on earth. With the exception of a few "furious" winter days, there is hardly much wind and waves throughout the year. The early navigators only needed to rely on very primitive shipbuilding jishu and very rough shipbuilding materials, and they could meet the needs of sea crossing and long-distance voyages here.

For example, the Egyptians could sail as far as Greece with boats tied to light reeds. The simple merchant ships made by the Cretans with ropes and planks were already across the Mediterranean in prehistoric times, except that each ship had to prepare a large number of scooping utensils so that it could be scooped out while leaking, so that the water could be drained faster than or equal to the leaking rate, so that the ship could continue to float on the sea......

Therefore, a triremes with a fragile structure like this, if placed on the ocean with high winds and rough seas, is just a toy that will be beaten into sawdust by the wind and waves in an instant. And in the Mediterranean, a unique bathtub, it is an invincible weapon for galloping on the battlefield.

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Although the main Roman republican army had been defeated at the Battle of Pharsalus, their navy was still very strong. With these fifty triremes anchored in Cyrenaica alone, it was a formidable liliang at sea.

And the commander of this fleet, Marcus? Cato, the most famous moralist and the most incorruptible and honest politician of the Roman Republic, was also a resolute and indomitable leader. and the leadership core of the aristocratic republican wing of the Roman Senate, which later historians generally called Cato the Younger in order to distinguish him from his great-grandfather, Cato the Elder, who vowed to destroy Carthage.

In the view of little Cato, who was born into a famous family, the integrity of personality is more important than anything else. There is no room for any compromise.

After the Battle of Pharsalus and the Republican Trend was gone, many prominent Roman politicians, such as Brutus and Cicero, once again fell to their knees at Caesar's feet and begged for mercy. At that time, little Cato, who was stationed in Macedonia, took more than 10,000 troops with great difficulty, and broke through the siege and interception of Caesar's subordinates. Then let the soldier act as the oarsman. Set sail from Greece and retreat all the way to Cyrenaica in Africa.

However, for them, the remnants of the republicans. The autonomous city-state of Cyrenaica (which was isolated between the desert and the sea before Egypt was annexed to Rome was only nominally incorporated into Roman territory, was in fact completely laissez-faire. There is no permanent local administration) is not a suitable place to rest: since Pompey's defeat at Fasalus. The political winds have shifted throughout the eastern Mediterranean coast – all on the side of the victors, and the Cyrenacans are no exception.

As a result, Cato Jr. found that his gang clearly represented the Roman Senate, but they were unpopular everywhere. At the beginning of the disembarkation, it was found that the Cyrenacans had been talking about Caesar's exploits all day long, and believed that Caesar was following Cato the Younger's ass and was about to come after him...... Although the city-state of Cyrenaica did not have the courage to take the initiative and destroy the 10,000 Roman republican troops. But he was afraid of angering Caesar, so he closed the gates. The closure of Cato and his gang meant that his fleet could only anchor in the wilderness, and the soldiers could only find the dilapidated houses in the small fishing villages on the outskirts to rest, and even it was difficult to collect food supplies, so they could only buy them with silver coins through the hawkers at high prices.

What's worse is that Pompey's eldest son, Grous. Pompey, as history calls him Pompey the Younger, insisted on commanding fleets to harass the Spanish coast, waiting for an opportunity to contact some of his father's remaining old forces there. Cato the Younger, on the other hand, wanted to bring his army to the Carthaginian homeland of Utica (in present-day Tunisia), where there was also a complete republican army under the Governor of Africa, and had just fought a beautiful war of annihilation a year earlier, completely annihilating three legions under the command of Caesar's general Curio, and interrupting Caesar's tentacles to the southern African continent.

(Caesar is very similar to Napoleon, he is an almost invincible genius, but most of the generals under his command are mediocre people, and they always lose more than they win when they fight independently, and as soon as they leave Caesar himself, they will drop their chains in various ways, forcing Caesar to act as a firefighting team and clean up the mess for them everywhere.)

Here's how much his men messed up when Caesar went after him to Egypt, and almost turned the republicans around. ）

In Cato Jr.'s view, as long as the two armies converged, his "orthodox government of the Roman Republic" would have the capital to counterattack Italy.

Other short-sighted colleagues, not resentful of the cold reception they had received in this part of Cyrenaica, wanted to wage war on the spot, break down the walls of Cyrenaica, and plunder the treasury of Cyrenaica in order to replenish their increasingly scarce salaries and provisions...... But they completely forgot that Caesar's army was behind them.

--Cyrene's closed gates, the hostile gaze of the locals, the constant quarrels of his colleagues, the near-collapse of the battle...... All this upset little Cato. But out of his love for the republican system and his hatred for Caesar, Cato the Younger persevered with all his might, striving to maintain peace within the army while trying to extract some supplies from the municipalities of Cyrenaica.

However, with the news of another earth-shattering news from Egypt to the east, all the difficulties seemed to be solved.

Although this news in the eyes of little Cato, no matter how you look at it, it feels ridiculous, or strange.

“…… What the? Father is dead?! And he was killed by a string of meteors that fell from the sky?!! How is this possible?!!! ”

On the deck of the battleship, which fluctuated with the waves, after hearing the latest information that little Cato had told him, little Pompey immediately jumped to his feet in disbelief.

“…… I also found it hard to believe, but that's what the intelligence came from Egypt! Cato, who was nearly half a hundred years old, sighed, "...... Youngster. Please suppress the grief in your heart for a moment and listen patiently as I finish speaking. Your father is dead, but so is Caesar. As they fought in Alexandria, an incredible group of meteors rained down from the sky and razed half of the city to the ground. The Egyptians said it was a punishment from the gods, and I can't be sure what it was, except that Pompey and Caesar were both dead, and they died together in Egypt......"

“…… Oh...... No...... Father ...... "Little Pompey fell to his knees weakly on the deck. I couldn't cry for a while.

However, the republican generals who arrived from other warships were overjoyed.

“…… That's great! Cato! Caesar is dead! Here comes our hope! ”

He served as Caesar's lieutenant general in the Gallic Wars for many years. But Labinus, the cavalry commander who had returned to Pompey's tent on the eve of the civil war, suddenly exclaimed with joy on his face, "...... Caesar died, and the rebels were like corpses with their heads cut off. Even though there are many people. It's no match for us! After all, we have a legitimate righteousness, and all the Romans recognize in their hearts that we are the legitimate government!

Well, Marco of Italy. Antony is just a reckless man, he may be very good at marching and fighting, but he is completely imbecile politically, and he will never be able to control the mess of Rome! Spain's Lepida was a master of politics and was opportunistic. It's a pity that he lacks assertiveness and has never been able to win the hearts of the military! Not to mention the Calvinus of Asia. Most of his subordinates were Pompey's old troops who surrendered to Caesar on the battlefield of Pharsalus, and now that Caesar is dead, as long as we let little Pompey bluff a few times in the past, there will definitely be a large number of defections! By the way, Cicero seems to be in Port Brindisi, Italy! Can you let him act as an internal response in Italy and respond to our counteroffensive?! ”

“…… Ahem, please be quiet, Rabinus. I have another piece of good news to announce. Little Cato waved his hand, and waited until everyone was quiet before he said calmly, "...... Upon receiving the news of Caesar's death, the city council of Cyrenaica immediately changed its attitude and offered us some wheat and military pay free of charge, and accepted our wounded soldiers here for treatment and recuperation, hoping to obtain our forgiveness in exchange for our forgiveness - after all, they had to protect themselves in the midst of the turmoil, and they were even more afraid of Caesar's might......"

Everyone nodded their heads together, saying that they would not make more trouble and embarrass the Cyrenacans at this time - although there were no shortage of chicks among the republican leaders, it was impossible to laugh at what had happened to Cyrenaica these days. But at least at this moment, their minds had already flown to the city of seven hills in central Italy, and they had no intention of staying in this desolate desert for long...... Well...... As for the neglect and cold reception in Cyrenaica? After returning to Rome and regaining power, it's not too late to settle accounts slowly!

“…… However, this year there has been a severe outbreak of famine everywhere in Africa, and even Egypt has starved to death in this bread basket, so the Cyrenacans have not much food to eat, probably enough to sustain our army for two or three months. Therefore, our army cannot afford to linger too long in this small place of Cyrenaica, and you may not be eager to set sail at anchor! ”

Cato Jr. smiled and added, "...... Graus (Pompey the Younger), you take the fleet to Asia Minor and see if you can bring back the part of the soldiers who surrendered to Caesar at the Battle of Pharsalus! Labinus, you take your Gallic cavalry to Carthage, with Publius, governor of Africa? Vanus's army has joined up and prepared to counterattack Italy from North Africa, and the Cyrenaica City Hall will provide you with enough transports! As for the rest, go to Sicily, Greece, Syria and Southern Italy to contact the old ministry! The time has come for a full-scale counteroffensive! ”

“…… What about you? Cato? Little Pompey asked, confused, "...... Where are you going? Or stay in Cyrenaica? ”

“…… I'm going to go to Egypt to collect the bones of your father and Caesar, and give them a funeral worthy of their identity - Caesar is our enemy, but he is a great Roman, and we can't let his body be desecrated by a foreigner and left to rot and stink in this foreign land of Egypt...... Glaus, don't convince me, I know that I am not at the helm of an army! I don't need it for the war now! ”

Little Cato stretched out his hand to stop Little Pompey's rebuttal, shook his head and sighed, "...... Whether or not you can become a good general depends on talent, just like your father and Caesar, two people who are extremely talented in military affairs, they only need to look at the position of the enemy to catch the enemy's weaknesses in a moment, they can instantly decide what action they should take in a given situation, and understand where their soldiers and horses will be in danger of being subverted. Not with me, for if you give me a resourceful lieutenant and a brave chief centurion, I will probably be able to serve as a basically qualified legion. But let me make my own plans and fight Anthony and Lepida on the battlefield...... I knew I wasn't in the heat enough.

So, please use your talents to the best of your ability and organize the army to launch a counterattack! And I'm going to do what I have to do......"

“…… Your self-knowledge is admirable, but I think you're too self-deprecating. Rabinus said with admiration, "...... But the problem is that the wind is not in the right direction! Cato! It's a south wind! It will only blow the battleship to Greece and Italy! And Egypt is east of Cyrenaica!

“…… Then rip off the sails and paddle! Cato Jr. raised an eyebrow disapprovingly, "I'll sit in the paddler's seat myself!" (To be continued.) )

PS: The fourth volume of "Actress in Space" involves sensitive issues and was forcibly deleted, if you want to read the full version, please join my QQ group: The Shore of Daming Lake. Or log in to the public network disk http://pan.baidu.com/share/link?shareid=4000227102&uk=1208851623

http://pan.baidu.com/share/link?shareid=4000227102&uk=1208851623

In addition, the author was very devastated by this catastrophe, and the codeword lacked motivation and was ready to rest for a few days. August 1 will be opened again, xiexie everyone understands.