Three Kingdoms Eschatology

Spartacus gritted his teeth and said bitterly: "There is no way, we can only survive with broken arms, otherwise the whole army will be wiped out. I hope these brothers can understand us. Freedom has a price."

Chapter 1051 Water and White Bread

On the plain near the beach of Messina, lingering smoke lingers, but the sound of killing is no longer there.The rebels trapped in it also hoarse their voices and dried up their mouths, and no longer shouted loudly when fighting.However, according to Feng Yu's instructions, Feng Yujun tried to avoid hand-to-hand combat with them, but gradually tightened the encirclement to trap these rebels tighter and tighter.

In the end, more than 600 rebel generals were trapped on an isolated small mound near the mountains.This small mound is only two to three hundred paces in size and only ten or so tall. It is easy for Feng Yu to completely capture it.

In fact, there is no need for a strong attack, just a few fires can burn all the rebels hiding on the mound into coke.Because the mound is full of dry grass that has turned yellow and withered.

But Feng Yujun only besieged but not attacked, and the small mound was surrounded as airtight as an iron barrel.The rebel army on the mound made two attempts to break through, but each time they left dozens or hundreds of corpses without gaining anything.

On the mound, the two leaders of the rebel army who had the highest rank and were elected as the interim supreme commander by the remaining soldiers were discussing in low voices.

One person said: "Brother, if we continue to be trapped on this mound, we will either die of starvation or thirst. Since we are all dead, it is better to fight to the death. It is better for us all to die in battle than to die of starvation and thirst. We kill One is enough money, killing a pair can earn another!"

The other person shook his head and said, "No, we'll stay here for as long as we can. These enemy soldiers seem to be besieging us now, and what Commander Hannibal needs is time to deal with these enemies. It is much more useful for us to delay their time than to kill a few more of them!"

Although the two had different views, neither of them talked about the possibility of surrender.At this time, Feng Yujun's voice came from the foot of the mountain:

"Rebels on the mountain, listen, our general said, as long as you put down your weapons and surrender, your safety will be guaranteed. Those who surrender will not be killed. Give you an hour, we will set fire to the mountain, and you will all be killed Burn to death."

After hearing this, the two chiefs looked at each other and smiled, but the smiles were obviously mocking sneers.A reply quickly came from the hill, although the voice was very low due to hunger and thirst, but it was sonorous and powerful:

"Burn it if you want, what a waste! If we were afraid of death, we wouldn't follow Hannibal to fight. If this life is entrusted to your slaves, then it's better to let the god of death take it away!"

When Douglas heard this, his face turned red with anger, and he said to the commanding soldiers beside him: "Send an order, set fire, burn all these lowly slaves who don't know the heights of heaven and earth, and violate the empire, and send them to Purgatory!"

The commanding soldier was about to turn around to give the order, but a voice came, "Wait!" Douglas saw that it was Feng Yu who had spoken.He hurriedly replied: "General, these bastards don't want to surrender, we don't need to waste time with them anymore, burning them all to death is the most convenient and quickest way."

Feng Yu shook his head and said: "It is easy to kill them, but it is very difficult to eliminate the tens of thousands of rebellious slaves on the island. And even if we can kill them all, who will farm and produce in the future?"

Douglas was at a loss when he heard this, and froze for two seconds before he frowned, and said in a stupid way: "General, you are still doing..., you still want to use them as slaves? These cheap things are the same as eating human flesh." They can no longer be dogs, so they can only be slaughtered to set an example for other dogs. Even if we sell them far away, it is not feasible. First of all, because they are dishonest, we need to send heavy troops to escort them. Secondly, even if we let go, they will definitely resist and flee in the hands of the new owner, which will smash the signboard of our army."

Feng Yu continued to say indifferently: "Using them doesn't necessarily mean continuing to make them slaves." Let's talk and stop explaining to Douglas, but whisper a few words to himself.

A few moments later, a group of more than a hundred Feng Yujun soldiers carried loads and buckets up the mound, and the leader of the group was still holding a white flag.

The rebel generals on the mound suddenly became tense, and the two leaders shouted in succession to get the soldiers ready for battle.Their crossbowmen had no arrows left, and they put the last few arrows on the scorpion crossbows, fully drawing the bowstrings.Just when they were about to shoot arrows.The opponent waved the white flag vigorously and shouted loudly: "Don't shoot the arrow, we are here to bring you water and food."

One of the two chiefs said, "What are these Roman troops trying to do?"

Another person sneered and said, "It's easy for them to kill us now, they just set fire to it, why bother. I think they should see that they can't force us to surrender, so they thought of a trick. We don't care what they think, come up and kill one by one , kill them first!"

"Hey, if that's the case, let them bring up water and food. Didn't you say that we should delay their time as the main strategy? Wouldn't we be able to delay their time if we were full? Then they really set fire to it, and it would not be too late for us to rush down the mountain and fight them desperately."

"Well, this is the most appropriate way!"

Just as the two agreed on a countermeasure, the soldiers of Feng Yujun, who had reached the half slope of the earth, shouted again: "In order to avoid misunderstanding, we will not come up. The water and food are here, and you can get them yourself. We promise I won't cast cold arrows at you."

After all, these more than a hundred people left their burdens on the gentle place on the slope and left.After a quarter of an hour, more than a hundred people came down from the top of the mound and picked up the food and water in a swarm.

The two chiefs opened the covered wooden barrels and bamboo baskets with their own hands, and they saw that there were clear water and freshly baked white bread inside.After the two looked at each other again, one of them said vigilantly: "There will be no problem with the water and bread. Just in case, should we let a few people eat first, and let the big guys eat it if there is no reaction?" ?”

The other person glanced around and saw that those hungry and thirsty people were all staring at the wooden barrels filled with clear water, and their eyes seemed to burst into flames.People can go without food for a few days, but short-term lack of water and thirst can make people crazy.

Seeing this situation, the leader said: "Hey, they want us to die, why is poisoning so troublesome, just burn this small mound with fire. Let's rush down the mountain and fight them desperately, at most we can Injure more than a dozen of their lives. They don’t need to spend so much energy and spend so long with us in order to reduce such a small number of casualties. Don’t think about it, the brothers will all come to eat and drink, and fight with them when they are full! Even if it is true It’s poisonous, we also admit it.”

Chapter 1052 Anthony from the Mountain

On the mound, the leader's voice just fell.Those hungry rebel soldiers rushed forward like wolves and tigers, scooped water from buckets with various containers, and gulped it into their mouths.After they had finished drinking, they realized that they were hungry, so they grabbed the white bread with burnt yellow spots in the bamboo basket and gnawed it.

In less than half an hour, all the water and bread were gone.Many people hiccupped and sat there holding their knives and guns.The two chiefs had also eaten and drank enough, waiting for the next trick the enemy would play.They thought that someone from Feng Yu's army would come out again to persuade them to surrender, but to their surprise, the enemy army under the small mound remained silent, and just continued to surround the mound unrelentingly.

Suddenly, one of the leaders felt dizzy. He opened his eyes as much as possible and looked around.I saw another leader lying down on the ground, and many soldiers were staggering and limp on the ground.He shouted: "No, it's really poisonous..." Before he could finish speaking, he collapsed to the ground and passed out.

Under the mound came the sound of Feng Yujun's attack horn, and thousands of soldiers shouted this, rushing towards the mound densely.By the time they reached the top of the mound, most of the rebel soldiers had fallen unconscious.Although a very small number of soldiers were not unconscious, they already felt weak and couldn't lift their swords or guns at all.The one who was barely able to lift the sword was lightly picked up by Feng Yujun's soldiers with a spear, and then the weapon in his hand was removed, and he was captured with his hands tied.

At this time, Feng Yu also walked up the hill.Dian Qing beside him was still complaining: "My lord, I still think they should be burned to death. Why bother, let's use up all the Mafeisan of our military doctor now, In the future, additional food will be allocated to feed these slaves who cannot be used or sold.”

Feng Yu waved his hands and said, "Don't be so wordy, just do whatever you want."

Soon, the more than 2000 rebels were tightly tied up.After another hour or so, they woke up one after another.After some of them figured out what was going on, they began to curse.But before they could curse a few words, they were escorted down batch by batch.According to Feng Yu's order, they will be escorted to an outlying island less than ten miles away from here and held together.That small island is more than twenty miles away from the Apennine Peninsula or the main island of Sicily. It is impossible for ordinary people to swim so far even if they rely on buoys.

Feng Yu summoned Simmons again, and whispered in his ear: "From now on, this unnamed outlying island will be the place where these rebel prisoners of war are specially held. This island is of great importance, and you will take three hundred people with you." The brigade has full authority to manage this outlying island and these prisoners of war. Remember three principles, one is that the soldiers should not abuse them for no reason. Otherwise, with your more than 200 people, you will not be able to restrain thousands of people who are angry with bare hands. There are more captives to be taken to the island. Second, the leaders and ordinary soldiers among them must be detained separately. Third, we must attack them, otherwise when their number increases, there will still be chaos. Remember these three points .”

Simmons scratched the back of his head with his hands in confusion and said, "I can understand the first two, but the last one, what's more important is to attack the heart. I can't."

Feng Yu smiled and said: "You can't, but someone will. In a few days, someone will land on the island to assist you, and he will bring a group of craftsmen." What Simmons said was even touched by Monk Zhanger Without thinking, he just wanted to ask a question, but Feng Yu said: "You don't need to ask any more questions, you will naturally know when the person comes."

……

After everything was settled, Feng Yu stayed in the Strait of Messina for another day.When he was about to march again along the coast to Palermo, the capital of Sicily, his soldiers rushed to report that another army of unknown origin suddenly appeared from the mountains and appeared near the Strait of Messina. On the shore plain.However, the number of this team does not seem to be large, only a few hundred people.

Feng Yu let out a cry of surprise, then flew on his horse, and surrounded by the personal guards and generals, he left the camp and galloped towards the southwest.They fought for less than a hundred battles, and sure enough, they saw a team of hundreds of people in the distance stopped by their own patrol team of hundreds of people.

Feng Yu thought to himself that there was no fighting between the two sides, so this team of hundreds of people must be friendly troops, at least they must have indicated to Feng Yufang's patrol team that they were friendly troops.Thinking of this, he said to himself in amazement: "I never thought there would be a Roman army in Sicily."

Feng Yu hurriedly rode his horse and whipped his whip, and rushed over quickly.Seeing him coming, the centurion of the patrol team quickly saluted him, and then introduced: "Report to the consul, this officer claims to be Anthony, the commander of the No. 20 Ninth Legion of the Roman Empire in Sicily. Lord Protius. But he has no paperwork to prove his identity."

As soon as Anthony heard Feng Yu's official title reported by the centurion, he immediately asked Feng Yu: "I think this Your Excellency is His Excellency Feng Hu, the consul of the newly created Milanese Legion who is well-known in the Roman government and the public."

Feng Yu nodded and said: "It's my servant" and then asked: "Can you tell me the full name, age and occupation of your cousin."

The man replied without hesitation: "My cousin is Pershing Proseus, the Roman censor, and he is 47 years old." Then he explained to Feng Yu: "I am indeed the commander of the No. 20 Ninth Legion. The relevant documents and seals that can prove my identity were lost during the war. But it doesn’t matter, you can find anyone who has lived in Rome for many years in the early years, and it is very likely to know me, because I was the chief justice in Rome in the early years .”

Feng Yu smiled and said: "No need. If you are pretending to be a rebel, it is unlikely to know such detailed information about your cousin. It is also unlikely to know your past experience. Before I came to Sicily, I told the imperial officials in Sicily The general has learned about it from the information. So it is unlikely that you are impersonating."

After hearing Feng Yu's words, Anthony couldn't help praising: "Your Excellency Feng Hu is indeed wise, no wonder you can make so many achievements not long after you first came to Rome."

The two sides continued and began to talk.Only then did Feng Yu know the general experience of Anthony in Sicily.

It turns out that Anthony's No.20 Ninth Army was originally stationed in the city of Nicosia in central Sicily.But then the city was overwhelmed by the rebels, and the legion was almost wiped out.Anthony fled into the nearby deep mountains and old forests with more than a thousand remnants.The day before yesterday, the messenger he sent to Rome to communicate with the imperial court discovered Feng Yujun's arrival and hurriedly turned around to report to Anthony.Only then did Anthony bring someone over to find out the truth.

Chapter 1053 Anthony's Proposal

When Anthony and Feng Yu returned to the coastal camp, they raised their eyes and saw Feng Yu's soldiers lined up, waiting to set off, so they asked, "Where is your army going?"

Feng Yu replied truthfully: "We are planning to go straight to Palermo along the coast, and we are going to recover there first. It was originally the capital of Sicily, and occupying it has important political significance. In addition, there is an excellent deep-water port, a well-established Water supply facilities and granaries. So after occupying Palermo, it can be used as the base camp for the army to recover the entire Sicily."

After a few breaths of silence, Anthony said: "I don't think it is the best choice to recover Palermo along the north coast."

"Oh, how do you understand the words of the legion commander? Do you have a better opinion?" Feng Yu immediately asked.

Anthony began to talk about it endlessly.It turned out that after Hannibal and Spartacus integrated the various rebel forces, they swept across Sicily, unstoppable.However, they did not seem to have the intention of controlling the entire territory of Sicily. Instead, like locusts passing through the territory, they captured all the gold, silver and food, killed all the nobles, liberated the slaves, and engulfed the common people.Then the whole army turned to the next target. Under normal circumstances, they would not garrison soldiers and horses in the captured cities, and a very small number of soldiers and horses garrisoned were not for operating and managing the city, but only as sentry bases.

Feng Yu interrupted Anthony's words and said: "I have learned about these situations from the prisoners. Let the army commander say what he wants to say."

Anthony then turned to the topic and said: "So, now the bandit army seems to have swept across the entire Sicily, but they actually have full control over Palermo. At the same time, the coast from here to Palermo looks like It is flat, but dangerous from a military point of view. For a long distance, there are cliffs on the left and the ocean on the right. Such a narrow area is easy to defend and not easy to attack.

Combining the above two reasons, my suggestion is that your army directly pass through the mountainous area in the northeast corner of Sicily, occupy and control the hinterland of Sicily and a large area in the south, and then march towards the northwest corner where the bandit army is entrenched with Palermo as the center. Gradually tighten the encirclement.Finally wiped out in one fell swoop.On the contrary, if you follow the original plan of Your Excellency General, firstly, it is very likely that you will encounter a solid defense line set up by the enemy at a critical point on the way; Mo, it is impossible to wipe them all out.They will scatter and fly to other places like flies that have been dispersed. "

Feng Yu smiled, but thought to himself, how can I, who has been fighting for half my life, not understand this truth?But according to your style of play, you need hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, and even if I count the auxiliary corps, I can only use about [-] soldiers and horses.So these are just words on paper.

But Feng Yu still responded politely: "What the army commander said is also very reasonable. I have thought about this too, but look at me, besides guarding the Strait of Messina and the pontoon bridge, I also guard the prisoners. There are only thousands of troops left. Even if there are no rebels in the hinterland and south of Sicily, or if the rebels are completely undefended, how can my thousands of people occupy such a vast area with a radius of hundreds of miles? Yes, the mountains in the northeast corner are so steep, how can we guarantee that the bandit army will not set up an ambush in it?"

Anthony said dumbly: "What? The government office and the Senate only sent you, a large army, to quell the chaos?"

Feng Yu sighed and said: "Maybe it's because of the long distance. When they urgently dispatched me to set off, they didn't know the fact that Sicily was completely swept by the bandit army. I have sent a messenger to report the situation to the city of Rome. Even so, at least After one or two months, the army will arrive one after another. With enough troops, we can take the whole of Sicily steadily, inch by inch. But we can't just sit here and wait for a month or two, let the bandits There is such a long time to re-plan and redeploy. Then the consequences will be unpredictable. That's why I want to take Palermo first, so that the bandit army cannot establish a solid base."

After hearing Feng Yu's words, Anthony was dumbfounded.After pondering for a few seconds, he nodded and said: "It turns out that Your Excellency General has such concerns. However, Your Excellency does not fully understand the situation in Sicily. Although the bandit army swept across the entire Sicily Island and most of the garrison on the island was defeated. But they However, they collapsed and did not disperse. Many legions, like our 29th Legion, fled into the mountains and countryside when they saw that they could not resist the enemy. Many brigades have now returned to the towns where they were stationed. To tell you the truth, the general Your Excellency, if you have not received the news that your army has landed in the Strait of Messina, you are now preparing to return to the city of Nicosia, which is located in the interior of Sicily, with the remnants of your army. To rebel against the supreme commander, as long as these forces on the island are integrated, without waiting for a large number of reinforcements to arrive, they will be able to control most of the island, and even form a siege to the northwest corner where the bandit army is entrenched."

Feng Yu's heart moved when he heard this, he had never heard of this situation.He thought that even if the Roman army on Sicily was not completely wiped out, the few remaining people would hide in the deep mountains and forests and dare not show up again, or they themselves became bandits.Unexpectedly, there are still a large number of officers and soldiers who still maintain the organizational system.

But he verbally questioned: "But how many troops are left in these troops? Will the soldiers still obey orders? How many civilians are there in the cities they recovered? If there are no civilians to provide food supplies, what is the meaning of reoccupying these cities?" Not too big."

Anthony replied with a serious face: "General, I can assure you that most, if not all, of the army still regard themselves as Roman soldiers, and of course they will obey the general. Of course, their number is not many, but It is still possible to recruit soldiers from the common people. In the cities that were captured by the bandit army, most of the free people and citizens were unwilling to be coerced by the bandit army. They would often follow the army and retreat into the mountains. Many civilians even spontaneously formed The militia, dealing with the bandit army. But the original Sicilian governor and high-ranking officials have all died. Sicily now lacks a commander to integrate all the forces against the bandit army. Your Excellency, General, came at the right time."

Feng Yu's expression also became solemn. When Anthony spoke, the calculations in his mind had been crackling several times.Having made up his mind, he asked Anthony: "Then according to the estimate of the legion commander, how many soldiers and civilians are there in Sicily standing on our side?"

Chapter 1054 Change Strategy

Anthony seemed to have already calculated it, so he answered Feng Yu's question without hesitation: "Before the rebellion, there were a population of over 3 in Sicily, most of whom were slaves. This also included more than [-] regular troops. The rest of the population were Local free people and imperial citizens. Of course, there are also several security army regiments composed of these local civilians. After the rebellion until now, excluding the dead population, there should be only a thousand or so regular soldiers left in the regular army, basically all of them are my subordinates The civilian population, including security forces, should be able to remain at least [-]%, or about [-] people."

Feng Yu nodded and said: "The enemy army originally had more than 3 people, plus the loss in the Battle of Messina just now, the total is now only [-] to [-] soldiers and horses. And there are still soldiers on the side of the empire on the island." With a population of [-], plus the more than [-] troops I brought, there are a total of more than [-] troops. In this way, we can fight against them on the whole island."

Speaking of this, Feng Yu stopped talking again, he stood upright, looked at the mountains in the distance for a long time before making up his mind and said: "Okay, Captain Anthony, I will take your suggestion and control the northeast of the island first. , the central part, and the southern three areas, forming a confrontation with the bandit army. Then we will move forward step by step to encircle the northwest corner where the bandit army is entrenched."

Before Feng Yu said these words, he had actually made several calculations in his mind.According to his previous plan, the Senate and Alexander may not hand over Sicily to him after he pacifies the entire Sicily with various reinforcements.And if he can really quell the rebellion by himself, then the city of Rome will inevitably appoint him as the governor of the province of Sicily according to the usual practice.This will lay a solid foundation for him to finally take control of the highest power in Rome and implement his own reform plan.

Seeing that Feng Yu had been persuaded, Anthony was overjoyed.Hastily took out a map from his pocket, and said to Feng Yu: "This is a distribution and contact map of the forces resisting the bandits on the whole island, and it can just be used by the general now."

Feng Yu immediately asked him to spread the map on the ground, and then squatted on the ground with the generals, discussing the entry plan in the open air and the sea breeze.

When the sun was slanting to the west, Feng Yu's army, who had been waiting impatiently for most of the day, finally set off.This time they did not walk along the coast, but under the leadership of Anthony, they plunged into the mountains in the northeast corner of Sicily.

Looking at the lofty mountains on both sides of the rugged road, Feng Yu said worriedly: "I am still worried that the bandit army will hide in the mountains and launch an ambush against our army."

Anthony said with a relaxed face: "Don't worry, commander, there are at least a dozen groups of our troops in this mountain area. They are all the same as the following, our defeated troops or civilians who retreated from the central plain to the forest. Although they are To fight, and dare not launch an attack on the enemy's large army. But they will launch a surprise attack on the enemy's small army, and we will exchange news. If the bandit army really wants to ambush us in this mountain forest, they must Break it into pieces, divide it into many small troops, ambush in the mountains and forests along the way, and then surprise the people and horses we pass by. Just like the Battle of the Teutonic Forest. But in this way, the small troops they separated will be attacked Attacking from behind our friendly troops hiding in the mountains."

Feng Yu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I'm relieved now. These brigades in the mountains should stay where they are for a while. I will support them in continuing to consolidate their camps in the mountains to strengthen our defense against the Northeast. Control of the mountainous area. I believe that when the bandit army is completely defeated by us one day, there will be a small number of remnants who will break through and flee into the northeast mountainous area."

Not long after Feng Yu's army entered the mountainous area in the northeast corner of Sicily, the sun was already setting.The countless tents outside the city of Palermo were drawn into long shadows by the sun that was about to sink into the sea.At this time, a small group of rebel soldiers patrolling the outskirts of Palermo suddenly became alarmed, because an army brigade appeared in their sight.

But they didn't get nervous for a long time, and everyone regained their composure, because they found that it was their own people who came.One of the leaders said: "It seems that General Spartacus' troops have returned."

The rest of the soldiers immediately chattered away.

"Didn't it mean that they crossed the sea as the vanguard? From this point of view, they should have failed and failed to cross the sea."

"It should be. Look at their disheveled and dejected looks. They must have suffered a defeat. It must be that the government army dispatched a large army to intercept us in the Strait of Messina."

"Hey, I said earlier, what about the Apennine Peninsula. We will occupy all of Sicily, and it will be enough to form a country of our own."

"You know what! What's the use of occupying an empty island? Where do we get our food and drink? Who will grow food? Who will be a soldier? Who will be an official? Who will be a king? These things need to be discussed Get up, do you think the tens of thousands of us can still get together?"

At this time, a gloomy voice sounded behind them: "What are you talking about? You forgot the military order issued by the general recently --- you are not allowed to discuss major military affairs and strategies in private?"

As soon as everyone heard the voice, they immediately became submissive, and the head of the patrol team immediately saluted the people behind, then cleared his throat and said, "Everyone must strictly abide by the military order, and we must not talk about major military affairs with each other, we will continue to patrol. "

The patrol immediately slipped away, and the person who spoke came forward surrounded by all the soldiers.He was none other than Mossolis, the Sicilian mercenary leader who had been beaten head-on by Feng Yujun.

At that time, he fled back to Sicily in desperation with a small number of remnants. Because too many soldiers were lost, the Sicilian mercenary regiment was seriously injured, which caused him to be devastated.But soon, his luck turned.A slave uprising broke out in Sicily, and he and the Sicilian mercenaries were naturally and inevitably involved in this historical wave.

At first, he didn't act immediately, but patiently observed the situation.When he judged that the slave rebel army would form a torrent that no one could stop, he took the remaining Sicilian mercenaries and cast them under Hannibal's command.After all, both he and the mercenary group had certain military qualities and long-term war experience, far beyond the reach of ordinary members of the slave rebel army.Therefore, he soon gained Hannibal's attention and appreciation. In addition to serving as the commander of one of the five legions of the rebel army, he also served as the inspector of the entire army.Its status in the rebel army is second only to Spartacus.

At this time, Spartacus has brought the remnant soldiers to the front of Mosulis...

Chapter 1055 Differing Opinions

Mossolis raised his head, squinted his eyes and glanced at Spartacus, and then forced a smile on the corner of his mouth and said, "Hey, the second general is back." Then he pretended to be puzzled and asked: "Didn't the second general lead the way across the sea with more than ten thousand troops? Why are you back now? Has the plan changed?"

In fact, Mossolis had heard the news of Spartacus' defeat a long time ago, and asking so knowingly was obviously with the intention of humiliating Spartacus.

Spartacus also ignored Mossolis, passing him with a straight face.Mosolis thought he had stung the other party, and became proud.But in fact, Spartacus ignored Mosolis completely because he was in a bad mood and he didn't care about Mosolis at all.

Spartacus came to the original Roman Governor's Palace in Palermo, which had been requisitioned by Hannibal as his own residence.When Hannibal saw Spartacus, he asked in surprise: "Brother, why are you back? Didn't you send a messenger to tell me that you are going to use the terrain on the north bank to intercept the Roman army?"

Spartacus sighed and said: "Brother, I am incompetent. When I attacked the pontoon bridge laid by the enemy army on the sea of ​​Messina, I failed repeatedly. Unexpectedly, the main force of the enemy army who had already left suddenly came back. The opponent is well-equipped. The combat power was fierce, and our army was quickly divided into two, cutting off the return of our soldiers in front. In this unfavorable situation, in order to prevent the entire army from being wiped out, I had to order the entire army to retreat."

Hannibal frowned immediately when he heard this, and asked, "How many soldiers and horses do they have?"

"There are only ten thousand people in total."

Hannibal gasped even more, since he started the incident, he had never seen such a capable Roman army.He couldn't help but said, "Can thousands of people stop your troops?"

Spartacus said: "Brother does not know that this Roman army is far from the Roman soldiers we have encountered before. Not only are their morale and fighting spirit higher than the Roman soldiers we have seen before, but their weapons and equipment are also different. than ordinary Roman soldiers. Each of them was equipped with a powerful and fast-firing crossbow."

While speaking, Spartacus took out a sample of Feng Yujun's crossbow gun and showed it to Hannibal.Hannibal held the crossbow in his hand and kept trying to figure it out.Spartacus continued: "This is definitely not an ordinary Roman soldier, because I have never seen many of them. They are not any race from my Mediterranean coast, and they are not even Indians from the far east. They are yellow-skinned, black-haired, have small, dark eyes, and noses that are shorter and smaller than normal."

Hannibal shot two cold eyes and said: "Liang people! They must be the new Roman legion commander named Feng Hu from Liang. Mossolis told me about this!" After finishing speaking, he ordered the soldiers to say: "Go, call Mossolis quickly."

Not long after, Mosolis also came to the governor's mansion.He opened his mouth and asked Hannibal: "Why did the general summon me..." Before he could finish speaking, Hannibal handed him the crossbow and said, "Look, is this what you once called? The arrows used by the soldiers under Feng Hu's command."

Mossolis looked at it and immediately said: "Yes, these are the arrows used by Feng Hu's troops. The infantry of their regiment generally use a long-range weapon similar to a crossbow. What? They prevented the second general from crossing the sea. No wonder."

Hannibal smiled wryly, "He didn't stop us from crossing the sea, he even led troops across the Strait of Messina."

The hall suddenly fell into silence.After a long while, Hannibal broke the silence and said, "Now that we are unable to cross the sea, Rome will definitely use more force to blockade Sicily. Our tens of thousands of troops are squatting in Palermo, sitting on the mountain, what should we do? "

Spartacus said: "After Feng Hu's army crosses the sea, some troops need to stay to guard the Strait of Messina and the pontoon bridge. There are not many troops who can really attack us. Why don't we give up our plan to cross the sea and attack the Apennines. Concentrating our forces will After Feng Yu is driven out, he will establish a new country in Sicily on the spot."

Hannibal frowned upon hearing this, but did not say anything.Spartacus explained again: "Brother, it is more important to find a way out for these tens of thousands of brothers than to avenge our enslavement by the Romans."

Hannibal sighed heavily, then looked around, and found that there were still some guards and waiters waiting beside him, so he waved his hand to signal them to retreat.When only Hannibal, Spartacus, and Mossolus were left in the room.Hannibal just spoke to Spartacus and said:

"Brother, if only you said it was so simple. Founding a country? What kind of country? Since ancient times, countries have been composed of the same nation, at least there must be a core nation. For example, Rome, although now the country is thousands of miles away, including There are various ethnic groups in the Mediterranean Sea. But their core race is still the [-] Roman tribes among the Latins. Look at our tens of thousands of horses. Orthodox Romans who became slaves. How do you say we should build a country? After the founding of the country, who will be the nobles? Who will be the king? Who will be the local officials?

Mosolis said disapprovingly: "Naturally, the general will be the king. Of course, the nobles should be the general's confidantes, and the local officials should be selected according to the rank in the army. The soldiers are of course these soldiers. Farming the land and harvesting food, part of it will be borne by retired soldiers who are civilians, and they will share part of the land according to their heads. Of course, this manpower is not enough... But after we have firmly occupied Sicily, we can capture some people across the sea to serve as slaves. "