Augustus Road

Soon after, in the harbor of Cyrene, Gable's newly built lighthouse on Chio Island used complex semaphores to dispatch various ships to enter the port. Then the fully equipped Thirteenth Legion, plus a thousand-man brigade of the Twelfth Legion, arrived at the dock. Getting on the ship, this operation was an exercise for Lepidus' fleet, which was to transport all 7,000 people to the province of Gaul and return to Caesar's command.

Lepidus, who was standing on the watchtower outside Barka, ordered Sabo to count the supplies and weapons left in the area. The most elite main force was the soldiers who had been brought to Gaul before. Now that they were all gone, Lepidus took Petnev. Si and Hebrida and other key lieutenants and centurions stayed behind, and only Tagus was allowed to lead the team. Before leaving, he specifically asked the Spanish warrior to be smart and "the fleet sailed around Sicily to Sardinia." , then arrive in Liguria and go ashore directly to the winter camp in Milan. Be sure not to dock anywhere in Italy, lest you be intercepted privately by Crassus or Pompey. Even if you arrive in Gaul, don't be careless and encounter him. Everything is discussed by you, Milou and little Hortensius, plus the committee of soldiers who serve the statue of King Numa. Even though Caesar entrusted the deputy general to command the two legions, he obeyed on the surface but secretly maintained the semi-independence of the base. Be smart when executing orders and take responsibility for the survival of both legions."

To put it bluntly, these two legions are my standard bloodline of Lepidus. Even if they are auxiliary legions that may be disbanded at any time, they must be firmly held in our hands and cannot be dismantled and consumed. In addition, Lepidus will also attach cavalry The main group and all the auxiliary groups were detained, that is, the elite cavalry and archers, and he had no idea of ​​sending them to Caesar. Not only that, he also obtained Caesar's order to recruit troops. Continue to use his name as a cover. Recruit powerful long-range troops in Crete, Rhodes Island and other places to strengthen yourself.

As for the Aesios, they all changed their uniforms and joined the Cyrene legion, using Macedonian training methods. In this way, Lepidus had two legions in hand, plus several auxiliary brigades.

"We may receive an order to attack from Brindisi at any time, so there can be no slack in winter training. Our route is like this, because the fleet was formed relatively late. We lack experience and cannot sail along the Libyan coast for a long time, because It was difficult to obtain supplies, so I had to use "stepping stones" to march safely within the territory controlled by the Republic. After careful observation by the astrologer and helmsman, I arrived at Crete in one go when the wind direction and weather were favorable. Delegating manpower, a supply station was established at the port of Commerce on the south coast, and the personnel of the Chamber of Commerce gathered a large amount of supplies there, mainly military shoes, sweatshirts, feed and food, and then Crassus took care of the money. Sailing to the island of Rhodes, we then disembarked from the city of Ephesus in Asia, and headed east across the plains of Sardis and Lydia, entering the Kingdom of Galaxia, where we and General Crassus were to assemble. "At the Tower. In the small room inside, Lepidus was explaining the march plan to all the core generals. At this time, the chief lieutenant Petheneus asked, after gathering in the Galaxia Kingdom, should we directly cross Anatolia as a partial division? Asia, enter Armenia?

"Temporarily follow Crassus, build military stations along the road, advance to Syria, and then worship the Temple of Diana on the Euphrates River, and mobilize people from various vassal countries to participate in the war. Be ready to join forces with Seleucia and Babylonian rebels at any time to overthrow the Parthians. King Asia." This is Lepidus' general plan. "Once the situation stabilizes, I will ask General Crassus to establish a solid defense line along the river bank, secure the city with peace of mind, and win over the opposition. I will lead you north to Eubotius. Ya, accept hospitality, and then pass through Armenia and garrison at a key point between the two great rivers (Euphrates and Tigris). In this way, within two years, Parthia will inevitably collapse. "

That was the vision. After receiving the order, the generals dispersed and took up their duties. Sabo stayed. He said to his superiors, there are two people you must meet.

On the school field in the center of Barka City, two guys with very different shapes were riding a tall and splendid horse. Lepidus took a closer look, and the two men immediately stepped forward to salute the commander-in-chief. It seemed that this was The person Sabo was talking about was a tall man with blond hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and a high bun on the back of his head. He called himself Tony Hanske. He was a Germanic Sewer who lived in the Rhine. On an island in the river, he was captured in the previous Gallic war and was retained because he was proficient in horse domestication; the other was a local Greek in Libya named Tobias, who was originally a horse dealer who traveled between Spain and Africa.

"What kind of horse is this?"

"It's a local Berber horse. We are preparing to cross-breed it with Spain's good horses and Boer horses to obtain a better breed, so we overstepped our bounds and asked to see you, hoping to get money to build a stable." Tobias said respectfully He said politely, and then Lepidus pointed to the horse and asked what its name was, and the answer was "Calf". At this moment, the owl next to the commander-in-chief suddenly felt jealous, and kept rubbing its beautiful nose and head towards Lepidus. After sniffing and sniffing, Lepidus slapped the owl away, and then asked Tony, in your opinion, what do you think of this kind of local horse? Tony answered honestly, it is better than the ponies of Gaul and Germany, tall and powerful, It is as fast as the wind and has strong explosive power, but it is not docile enough. Using javelins and chopping swords on it always feels unstable.

"It is said that the Parthians successfully bred the best Persian horses, which can walk on the most fragmented and rugged terrain. Although they are not as wild as this Berber horse, they are obviously more durable and resilient." Tobias hurriedly explained, "In addition, the Parthians also invented new bows and arrows. It is said that the enemy can be shot and killed before they hear the sound of the bowstring whistling."

Is that so? Lepidus pondered for a moment and asked Tobias to tell the truth, the more serious the better.

"Excuse me, according to the information my friend brought back from Mesopotamia, the range of that bow exceeds that of the Cretans, twice that of the Nubians, and three times that of the Gaul archers. The power of the arrowhead can tear apart anyone and horse, and they have extradited a new demonstration warfare method from the Seres Empire in the east, using some kind of terrifying musical instrument, which can shock the war horses and make them flee in terror." This is the truth Tobias learned.

In this case, even if Crassus recruited archers and slingers from Asia Minor and Syria, he would still be no match for the Parthian cavalry. No, I must prepare for a rainy day and start with the simplest aspects. The so-called war musical instrument of the Seres Empire is really miserable, it is just a bronze drum. (To be continued...)