Three Kingdoms Eschatology

The Cyprus soldiers on the shore became tense, and under the command of the generals, they urgently dispatched soldiers to the pier.The dozen or so small patrol boats remaining in the pier also left the shore one after another, and greeted the incoming boats.

Old Hatulel said to the slightly panicked subordinates around him: "Don't panic. We don't know whether the opponent is an enemy or a friend. We can't hide from the enemy. If it is a friend, there is no need to be nervous."

At this time, all the people on the shore were attracted by a huge multi-masted galleon that sailed into the harbor first.The ship was about as long as the largest galley warship they had ever seen, but it was as tall as a three or four story building, making it a colossus.The strange thing is that there seems to be no standing oarsmen on this ship, and it travels entirely by sail.

Soon, the giant docked and fell off the gangplank from the side of the ship.A group of heavily armed soldiers walked down the diving board surrounded by one person.The Cypriot soldiers gathered on the pier were about to step forward with their knives and guns, but they were stopped by the old Haturel: "No need. Since they have docked like this, it means that they want to be friends with us, not enemies. !"

Seeing Feng Yu, Old Hatuler gave a surprised cry and said, "What is your identity? Your Governor Feng Hu didn't come in person?"

After Feng Yu gave him a heart-protecting gift, he said, "I'll tell you the truth about Governor Hatulel, I'm Feng Hu." But he thought to himself, it seems that Shirley never told her father this secret.

After hearing this, old Hatulel laughed loudly: "Governor Feng Hu, it is not an exaggeration to describe your courage as a liger and a leopard. I really didn't expect that you came to visit Cyprus in person last time. I think, since you come Then Augustus must not be able to come to Cyprus."

Feng Yu nodded indifferently and said: "Your Majesty Hatulel's guess is right. Half a day ago, our fleet and August's fleet had a decisive battle in the strait. Now in the port of Mel on the other side, probably one can be used. Most of their more than 800 warships have sunk to the bottom of the sea. In other words, no one in the entire Mediterranean can threaten the island of Cyprus."

Little Hatulel, who had been stunned by their conversation, finally couldn't help it: "What? The huge fleet of Augustus was completely wiped out by your fleet. I know that you have a total of about [-] warships in Sicily. No , This is impossible! Augustus has [-] warships, including about [-] warships taken from us. And our Cyprus warships also have secret weapons on them. You can't deal with them at all!"

Now it was Feng Yu's turn to feel puzzled, and he asked back: "Our fleet has indeed completely wiped out the two fleets of Augustus, with a total of more than [-] warships. Besides, it has also arrived at their Port of Mel. , Destroyed the remaining dozen small boats and the entire port facilities in the port. If you don’t believe this, you can send scouts to verify it. What is the secret weapon you are talking about?”

Little Hatuleer replied: "Our warships are all equipped with giant Greek kerosene flamethrowers. If this thing is used, one ship can at least top two of ordinary ships. No warship can stop it The raging flames are roasting. Are they useless when you play against them?"

Feng Yu was also quite surprised and said: "I haven't seen them use this thing. But I have captured more than a dozen warships that belonged to Cyprus. You can tell when you ask the prisoners."

Soon, a captive was brought before them.The answer turns out to be that Augustus’s Asia Minor didn’t have workshops that mass-produced Greek fire oil, so there wasn’t that much Greek fire oil available.Secondly, kerosene is usually injected into the Chinese year of the fire-breathing cabinet before the war, otherwise it is very dangerous.And Augustus didn't expect that there would be today's big battle, so Greek fire oil was not injected into these giant fire-breathing cabinets, and naturally they would not be useful in battle.

Little Hatuleer shrugged his shoulders and said to Feng Yu: "Your Excellency Feng Hu, this is your luck. If these giant fire-breathing cabinets are used in this battle, you may not be the winner. These fire-breathing cabinets can spray long For more than ten battles, the flames that can melt steel can be said to be invincible."

Hearing this, the expression on Feng Hu's face also changed slightly, but he said in his heart --- when my new fleet comes out, your giant fire-breathing cabinet will be almost like a fire stick.At this time, old Hatulel said: "Everyone, stop blowing the cold wind on this pier and gossiping. Let's go back to the mansion and talk about business." After that, old Hatulel respectfully invited The posture brought Feng Yu onto the red carpet.

After Feng Yu got into the carriage, a large number of Sicilian soldiers who had landed followed closely behind, escorting the carriage to the Governor's Palace in Cyprus.Dian Qing and Dian Wei, who were by Feng Yu's side, were still holding sweat tightly in their hands.Although a large number of soldiers came ashore, they were all soldiers on warships, not professional infantry.And the number is just over [-] people.Only one-third of the strength of the security corps in Cyprus is less than one-third.

If old Hatulel had really moved his mind, it would be extremely dangerous to rely on such a small number of people to return to the port.But Feng Yu himself had a relaxed expression, as if he was sure that the Hatulel family would not have any ill intentions towards him.

When everyone sat down in the lobby of the Governor's Mansion in Hatulel, Feng Yu looked up and saw that Shirley was also on the list...

Chapter 1137 Alliance Federation Marriage

In the lobby of the Cyprus Governor's Mansion, the old Hatulel took a sip of juice made from olive grapes, put down his glass and said to Feng Yu: "Your Excellency Feng Hu, let's get straight to the point. Now, the entire Eastern Mediterranean is only Your warships and warships can gallop freely. This Cyprus is already in your pocket. Then, how do you plan to deal with Cyprus, Your Excellency?"

Feng Hu smiled calmly: "Your Excellency, I want to correct you. It is not my warships, or even His Majesty Alexander's warships that can gallop across the Eastern Mediterranean, but that the command of the Eastern Mediterranean is now in Roman Sicily. In the hands of the Navy."

Old Hatuler stroked his beard. He didn't quite understand Feng Hu's words, thinking it was Feng Hu's official words.Feng Yu went on to say: "As for Cyprus, since you are legally appointed by the Roman government, then you are naturally the Governor of Cyprus. Naturally, the Security Corps is still under your command and management. In short, everything remains the same. It's just..."

Old Hatulel did not expect such a good thing, and when he was about to open his mouth to express, he heard Feng Yu spit out the word "just". Knowing that his words had changed, he hurriedly said: "Your Excellency Whatever you say, just speak your mind, and I will listen attentively."

Feng Yu said bluntly: "You and I know the actual situation of Rome today. His Majesty Alexander is already a nominal consul, the emperor of Rome. He can barely protect himself now. Local officials like you and me If we want to keep one side safe, it is impossible to fight alone. Therefore, we must form a solid and reliable alliance to support and rely on each other. This alliance is not only Cyprus and Sicily, but we must try our best to unite as many comrades with lofty ideals. We will also take on the mission of revitalizing Rome when necessary."

Old Hatulel answered without hesitation: "Ah, being able to form an alliance with Governor Feng Hu is exactly what I wish for. However... since it is an alliance, there should be an agreement among the members, Various conditions, rights and obligations. I don’t know if His Majesty Feng Hu needs us in Cyprus..."

He still thought that Feng Yu would ask for something from Cyprus, so he asked this question.Feng Yu waved his hand and said: "Your Excellency, this agreement is definitely necessary. But there is no rush for now. After I contact enough allies, we will jointly draft an agreement document. That document not only stipulates that our alliance members The various rights and obligations between them will also lay the foundation for the future of Rome."

"Future Rome?..." Harturel muttered for a while, but he didn't care.He is more concerned about what will happen to his Cyprus at the moment.He immediately said to Feng Yu: "In any case, I believe in the character of Governor Feng Hu. Then we will verbally agree on the alliance relationship now. In the future, as long as we in Cyprus can be used by you, we will definitely make this effort."

At this time, Shirley, who was sitting a little further away, asked, "What kind of future Rome should Governor Feng Hu say?"

Feng Yu didn't want to talk about this issue in depth, but now a beautiful woman asked him, he still gave a little answer: "I think the future of Rome should be a unified country with decentralized power. The title of Roman Emperor should become history."

Little Hatulel, who hadn't spoken for a long time, exclaimed: "Are you going back to the republic era?" Old Hatulel also shook his head and said, "Actually, you are not the only one who has this idea, Governor Feng Hu, since Caesar, There are many people who have this kind of thinking, and they are called retro-stylers. But this kind of thinking is not feasible, otherwise why they have not succeeded in the past few hundred years. Well, the people who assassinated Caesar are the republicans, that is, the future The retro faction, what will happen to them..."

Feng Yu interrupted him and said: "No. Although the Roman state system I advocate is similar to the republic era, it is not retro. Although the title of Roman Emperor is no longer there, the post of consul still exists. Decentralized power There will also be clear laws to bind the agreement. And not only between the Senate and the Consul Office, the provinces will also exercise powers similar to the country but at a lower level. Each province exists like a small country. I will like this The national system is called the Federation."

Although Feng Yu's simple words could not make the people in the room understand thoroughly.However, each province can have independent powers similar to the national level, which is very much in the old Hatulel's mind.He saw Shirley muttering to herself in a low voice: "Federation, Roman Federation. The word Federation comes from Greece..." Suddenly he had an idea and smiled and said to Feng Yu: "Your Excellency Feng Hu, I wonder if you are married in Rome? "

Although he asked this question abruptly, Feng Yu naturally understood what he meant, and immediately replied truthfully: "To be honest, I not only have a wife and a concubine in Liang State, but I am not single." There are many concubines in Liang Guo, and there are seven or eight of them whose names he can remember.Even in Rome, Bonnie was by his side day and night.

Shirley blushed a little when old Hatulel asked her a question, but she felt a little bit disappointed when she heard Feng Yu say that.Old Hatulel nodded unsurprisingly and said: "I should naturally be able to think of this. How can a person of your age and status not be married yet. However, what I am asking is whether you have a wife in Rome. If If you are not in Rome, and your Excellency has no intention of going back, according to our Roman customs and laws, you are still single, and you can still marry a woman."

Feng Yu said: "But I also have a daughter in Rome...how should I say..."

Little Hatulel asked: "Is it a female slave? Oh, this is too normal. Who in Rome has never had a relationship with a female slave before marriage?"

Feng Yu shook his head and said: "It's not a female slave either, it was before, but not now. I have released her freedom. It's just that she voluntarily stays with me."

Little Hatulel continued to ask: "Then have you performed the ceremony? I mean the marriage ceremony in the god's mansion?"

Seeing Feng Yu shaking his head and denying it, the old Hatuler laughed loudly: "It's just a cohabitation, it's nothing. As long as you don't dislike it, my daughter can still marry you." After finishing speaking, he put it away again. He said solemnly with a smile: "Young man, this is not just a simple marriage. It involves the strengthening and trust of our relationship."

Feng Yu nodded and said: "In that case, I am willing, but it also depends on Miss Shirley's own will." Shirley stood up at this time, raised her blushing face and said: "Rome and the Eastern World you came from Although there are differences in marriage customs, it is still the same that parents and parents make the decision. However, I would like you to be my future husband."

Old Hatulel slapped his thigh and said, "That's it, that's it. We'll take care of this big event in the past two days."

Chapter 1138 Mallor of Sardinia

Sicily, fifty miles west of Palermo.A local Sicilian fishing boat was pulling a net. The owner of the boat looked at the sun that was about to set in the west, and shouted loudly: "It's getting dark, we will return after we cast this last net."

Just as their fishing nets were thrown into the sea, one of them pointed to the distance and said, "Look, there are a lot of boats coming!" The boss of the boat looked over, and under the setting sun, there were indeed layers of black silhouettes of masts and sails. Standing at sea level.Another companion said: "So many ships cannot be merchant ships. There is no such a large caravan. Could it be our Sicilian fleet?"

The boss of the boat changed his face at this time: "Impossible. They are coming from the west. Don't worry about so much, hurry up and walk away!"

"Boss, but this net has just been cast..."

"Idiot, do you want your life or your fish? Stop talking nonsense and hurry up!"

When they hurriedly put away one of the two sets of fishing nets, the boss of the boat heard a whistling sound in his ear, followed by a loud sound of heavy objects entering the water, and a puff of water rose within a few feet from the side of the boat. A column of water several feet high.

"Let's go! The rest of the fishing nets are gone!" The boat boss shouted loudly.Everyone was in a hurry, raising the sails, raising the sails, and pulling the oars, and started the boat.But the opponent's seven or eight warships had already arrived at a high speed, and the stone bullets fired by the ballista continued to shoot.With a muffled bang, a stone bullet hit the deck of the fishing boat, making a big hole.The splashed sawdust cut a gash in the face of the boss of the boat, and blood flowed out.

At this time, someone on the other side stood on the deck and shouted: "The ship in front stops, if you don't stop, we will set fire bombs to burn you clean." The boss of the ship saw the speed of the other party, and his ship could not escape Lose.I had no choice but to respond: "Don't chase, don't throw fire and stones. We stopped, we stopped."

"You, who are you?" When the other party jumped onto the deck, the captain asked tremblingly.

The other party asked fiercely with a scarred face: "How the hell are you qualified to ask? Tell me, what do you do and where do you come from?"

"We are fishermen from Sicily, we are all citizens, free people..." Before he could finish speaking, Scarface cursed, "You are the ones from Sicily who will be killed." Knocked down to the ground.The rest of the soldiers behind him also raised their butcher knives and rushed into the cabin with shouts.There were continuous screams on the fishing boat, and soon the deck in the cabin was full of corpses, besides the fishermen, there was also a soldier stabbed to death by a harpoon.Not far away, galley warships passed by the fishing boat one after another...

In a room of the Governor's Mansion in Palermo, Shirley, who was sleeping, was suddenly awakened by a loud noise from the window.It was the sound of nearby wood breaking.She sat up all of a sudden, only then did she hear the noise coming from a distance outside.Feng Yu, who shared the same bed, seemed to wake up earlier than her. He put his arms around her shoulders and said, "I'm here, so don't be afraid."

Then Feng Yu asked the guard on duty outside the door: "What happened?", and the voice of response came immediately: "Report to the governor, this movement only started two or three minutes ago, and I don't know what happened."

At this time, there was another noise of footsteps outside the door, and then another voice reported: "My lord, the north gate of Palermo City has been attacked by an enemy. The enemy is a fleet from the sea. In the night, there is no It is not clear how many ships there are. But the defenders at the wall estimate based on the frequency of ballista firing and the number of ballistas generally equipped on Roman warships, they have at least a hundred warships."

"Are they Roman warships?"

"Yes, the guards at the top of the city discovered that their warships were typical Roman galley warships by the light of the fireballs. Besides, besides Roman warships, what kind of ship can be equipped with so many ballistas?"

At this time, Shirley also put a nightgown on her body and was wearing a belt.She and Feng Yu said at the same time: "It's Malo from Sardinia!"

Dressed up and dressed, Feng Yu came to the head of Beicheng City under the guard of his attendants.At this time, the ballista projectiles of the enemy ship were still firing continuously.Especially those incendiary bombs are particularly conspicuous when they are like meteors passing by in the dark night sky.Zhao Yun, who just came to Feng Yu's side, said bitterly: "Later, when they land, I will definitely kill them all!"

Feng Yu said: "I'm afraid they won't land and attack the city. They are probably just testing us this time."

Zhao Yun asked in surprise, "Trying what?"

"Naturally, it is to test how many ships we have available. If I am not mistaken, these warships should belong to Malor, Sardinia."

"Mallor? By the way, these days, in some towns on our west coast, fishermen have come to report the disappearance of fishing boats one after another. Some survivors have also confirmed that they have been attacked by unknown galleys. And they The location of daily salvage operations strictly abides by the regulations of the Sicilian Governor's Palace, and is not close to the waters near Sardinia. This must have been done by Mallor. He must have gotten wind of our sea battle with Augustus in the Eastern Mediterranean , Knowing that our battleship is empty, that’s why we have the courage to provoke.”

Feng Yu snorted coldly and said, "If it's really Mallor, he's not only here to provoke, he wants to extend his sphere of influence to the Eastern Mediterranean. If possible, he even wants to capture our Sicily Island. "

Feng Yu guessed right.With a huge fleet, Mallor, entrenched in Sardinia, is the overlord of the Western Mediterranean.Previously, he would try to avoid conflicts with Feng Yu.This is because he is not sure that he can eat Feng Yu in a short time.If there is a long-term maritime conflict with Sicily, it will only be harmful to him.Because in this way, the trade route leading to the Western Mediterranean will be interrupted. First, he will not be able to collect taxes, and second, he will also cut off supplies.

But when he heard about the fierce battle between the Sicilian Fleet and Augustus in Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean, there were not many ships left, so he took the opportunity to extend his power to the Eastern Mediterranean.If it succeeds, not to mention the expansion of its own power base, it can increase the extra income several times every year.So he launched the first step of action --- temptation.Let's see how Sicily can react now.

At this time, at the head of the northern city of Palermo, Dian Qing suggested to Feng Yu: "Master, there are still fifty warships and warships in the military port to the west, why not send them out in the dark. The crossbow on our ship The concentration of artillery is more than enough to deal with these hundreds of ships. Besides, they are only here to test and will not fight us head-on. They will overestimate the number of our ships because of the concentration of ballistas. This can at least stop them for a while."

Feng Yu shook his head and said, "No! You don't need to dispatch so many..."

Chapter 1139 Mallor Going East

The sky was already bright, and more than a hundred Mallor warships moored north of Palermo City were still bombarding Palermo City intermittently.Last night, more than a dozen Sicilian warships were killed from the naval port west of Palermo, but such a small group of ships was quickly repelled by their overwhelming numbers.

On their flagship deck, a commander-level fleet commander chewed dried olives, carefully observed the city with bloodshot eyes, and said: "Send the order, stop the bombardment, and the fleet will all evacuate." Not long after, with the sound of the conch horn, more than a hundred warships turned their bows and headed towards the depths of the sea to the west.

Although it was bombarded by ballistas all night, it looked like the northern part of Palermo was in a mess, but in fact there was not much loss.Ballistas are not artillery after all. Stone bullets weighing dozens of kilograms can penetrate a one-inch-thick plank, but they can't do much damage to the stone and wood buildings in the city.The fire ignited by the kerosene bombs in the city was also extinguished in time by the defenders in the city with soaked sackcloth or sandbags.

Feng Yu at the head of the city looked at the enemy ships going away, and said in a deep voice to the people around him: "Move all the ocean-going galleons in the Red Sea Fleet stationed in the canal area to the port of Pozzallo in southern Sicily."

Simmons asked inexplicably: "I understand what the governor means. Your act of showing weakness last night was to lure the main force of Mallor's fleet into the Eastern Mediterranean, and then cut off their retreat and wipe them all out. But now Liang Guo's Red Sea Fleet in the canal area is not very large, less than [-] warships and warships. Among them, there are more than ten ocean-going galleons. Although these giants are powerful, a lone leopard cannot defeat a pack of wolves. That Mallore's fleet has thousands of galleys, large and small."

A strange smile appeared on the corner of Feng Yu's mouth and said: "These more than [-] giants were transferred to create a new fleet. Even if Mallor's thousand warships come to fight at the same time, there is nothing to be afraid of. "

……

More than 700 miles west of Sicily is Sardinia.Although its area is slightly larger than Sicily, unlike Sicily, Sardinia was originally just a deserted island attached to the Transgaul province.There are only a few towns on the island, and the population is naturally very sparse.After Mallore ruled here, the island was developed to a certain extent.A coastal town in the southeast, Mulaweila, will be used as the "capital" for construction.

At this time, the city of Murahweila.In a military barracks, Mallor and his cousin Anthony were watching a regiment drill equipped with new main battle infantry weapons.This new infantry weapon is naturally the individual ballista introduced by Feng Yu.

While Anthony lamented the power of this individual ballista, he couldn't help but said worriedly: "This thing is good, but there is one flaw. It requires two consumables to use it. One is naturally the ballista it consumes. We can self-sufficiently imitate the crossbow gun by using the wood and iron resources on the island. Another consumable is the string bar on it. If it is used repeatedly for a long time, the elasticity will lose and must be replaced. But this thing can only be used by merchant ships. Trafficked in from the east. If we have an all-out confrontation with Feng Hu in Sicily, even if according to the plan, we can control some strategically located islands in the Eastern Mediterranean within a short period of time, and gain control of the Eastern Mediterranean routes and even canals. But Feng Hu himself is from If the nobleman of Liang State uses some method to make Liang State prohibit the import of these strings to the west, won’t our individual ballista become a stick of fire in the near future?”

Mallor chuckled twice and said, "Brother, I have thought about all the things you think of, brother. To tell you the truth, I have had people hoard a large amount of stock in the warehouse, at least enough for two or three The need of the year. As for how the situation will evolve in two or three years, we can’t control that far. In addition, if Liang Guo really embargoes this kind of thing, it will actually do us more good than harm, because as far as I know, other people will also Aurelian in Egypt even got a new type of ballista from the Liang Kingdom. If it is really out of stock, I have stock here, but they don't, what will happen?"

Anthony immediately said understandingly: "If this is the case, brother, I will lead a legion to reunify Rome, and then I will support you as the emperor of Rome." Mallor and Anthony immediately laughed complacently.

At this time, a commanding soldier rushed into the school grounds and reported: "Your Excellency General, our army's fleet heading to Sicily has returned."

Mallor said with a solemn expression: "Quickly ask their commander to come to see me and let him report the situation in person."

When Mallor learned from the fleet commander that the fleet bombarded outside Palermo for a night, the opponent only dispatched more than a dozen warships and was easily repelled.He proudly said: "It's as I expected. Feng Hu only has a hundred warships left, and some will be allocated to the canal area and the Eastern Mediterranean. He doesn't have much sea power in Sicily. If it weren't for his The infantry on land is too strong. Now I have the confidence to win Sicily. However, as long as we control the Eastern Mediterranean, we will block Sicily for a long time. It will still be a matter of time!"

After finishing speaking, he ordered the commanding soldiers: "Send an order to summon all the generals above the thousand commanders to come to our government for a meeting to discuss the planning of the eastward advance!"

……

At the southern tip of Sicily, twenty or thirty miles away from the port of Pozzallo, dozens of fishing boats are casting nets for fishing.Usually there are not so many fishing boats here, but because of Sardinia's continuous harassment of Sicily, many fishing boats in the northwest of the island turned to the east and south.At this time, there was a sudden rumbling sound of thunder on the distant shore.

An old fisherman who was collecting his nets muttered: "It's really strange today. The thunder rang several times, but the sky is still sunny and there is no rain." How did he know that the muffled thunder did not come from nature at all. sound effects, but artificial.

On the outskirts of Pozzallo, there is a large lush forest designated as a military restricted zone.However, a large area in the middle of the forest has been cleared and leveled.A large area of ​​houses has also been built, with seven or eight tall chimneys emitting thick smoke.On the other side, there are more than a dozen cannons waiting to be tested.It is home to Sicily's secret cannon and powder workshops, as well as the cannon testing grounds.For this project, the University of Sicily and the largest private iron foundry on the island of Sicily have drawn personnel to participate.

At the moment, Feng Yu was also present, and the surveyors in the distance had returned to report the test data to him.A lead bullet weighing more than ten pounds was shot 120 shots away, piercing through a two-inch thick plank and punching a hole two feet deep in the mud.

Looking at the slender, tapered, pitch-black barrel, Feng Yu secretly sighed --- from the original copper cannon to the prototype of this cannon, it took two or three hundred years in the original world.Under his prompting, the scholars of the University of Sicily and the craftsmen of the foundry completed it in less than two years.Of course, gunpowder is still the original black powder.Due to the level of metal craftsmanship, the quality and range are still inferior to the cannon smoothbore cannons from the 300th to [-]th centuries in the world.

Chapter 1140 Buying an Island

Early morning in the southern waters of Sicily.On the misty Mediterranean Sea, three Sicilian patrols of medium-sized warplanes are returning to Pozzallo.Because of the fog, they sailed cautiously and slowly.

But they were lucky, and the fog cleared away when the sun was a pole high.The headed centurion was shouting happily: "The fog has cleared, we can completely turn the sail..." Before he finished speaking, he was stunned.Less than a hundred battles ahead, a large number of hundreds of warships and warships suddenly appeared.The masts and sails are layered on top of each other, covering the sea in front of them like covering the sky and the sun.

Seeing their sails and flags, the centurion shouted out of his wits: "It's an enemy ship from Sardinia! Get back!" Before he could finish speaking, a stone bomb was thrown at the three warships overwhelmingly. When it came, white waves a few feet high were stirred up in the sea.With a bang, the tail deck of the rearmost warship had been pierced by stone bullets with a large hole.The three sails were full of sails, and everyone in the cabin was struggling to row and oar, letting the ship flee to the north like flying.The few enemy ships that rushed over to bombard them obviously didn't pay attention to them and didn't chase them.It's just that the people on the deck of the enemy ship couldn't help laughing and whistling when they saw the Sicilian patrol boats running away.

These seven or eight hundred enemy ships continued to march eastward in a big way.They are what Mallor calls the Armada.Under the personal command of Mallor, they will advance towards the Eastern Mediterranean. They will first capture Crete, which belongs to Achaia but is almost ungarrisoned, then take Cyprus, and finally seize the canal area.

Of course, a fleet like this with galley warships as the main warships does not have long-distance endurance.So they will also occupy a series of small islands along the way or strongholds along the coast of the mainland as stepping stones.In addition to seven or eight hundred battleships, most of Anthony's infantry regiments were also reproduced in the fleet.It can be said that the army and navy of Sardinia have all been dispatched.

For Mallor, any large island in the Eastern Mediterranean was more fertile than barren Sardinia.Moreover, the Eastern Mediterranean route is even more profitable.Moreover, it is very convenient to enter the densely populated Aegean Sea from here, and even the rich and populous Achaia Peninsula that originally belonged to Greece.

There is much more room for maneuver here than in Sardinia, a deserted island surrounded by strong neighbors.Therefore, when he marched towards the Eastern Mediterranean, he was determined to abandon Sardinia. The reason why he still kept some troops in Sardinia was purely to prevent the possibility of setbacks in the "in case" and to leave a retreat for himself.

Two days later, Mallor easily captured Malta, a small island two hundred miles south of Sicily, and used it as a supply base.Five days later, this overwhelming number of warships appeared on the westernmost coastline of Crete.

Achaia is nominally the area under the control of the influence represented by the chief elder Gaius. This Senate force and Augustus jointly supported a puppet emperor.Use this as a weak link between the two forces.Otherwise, according to Augustore's character, he would have declared himself emperor long ago.

Although Gaius controlled Achaia, a land consisting of a large number of islands and peninsulas, he had no naval power.Without sea power, a large island like Crete, which hangs alone in the sea, cannot be maintained.Therefore, there are not many garrisons on Crete, and there is only one security corps that is not even full.

In this way, Mallor easily landed on the island of Crete.However, he did not immediately march to Mysina, an important town on the island only tens of miles away, but instead sent an envoy to Achaia to visit Gaius.

When Gaius heard that Mallor had invaded his island of Crete, he jumped up and scolded his mother angrily, accusing Mallor of forgetting the friendship he had in Rome.But he can't do anything about Mallor, he can't compete with Mallor who has more than a thousand warships for Crete.At this moment, Mallor's emissary came to visit him.

Let me explain the purpose of coming here with some polite words, saying that General Mallor's visit to Crete was not to plot against Achaia, but just hoped to gain a firm foothold in the Eastern Mediterranean with the help of Crete, so he wanted to buy Crete with money. In Te Island, we will still be allies in the future, and we will jointly deal with the pro-Alexander forces.

Gaius got excited when he heard this, and asked, "How much does Mallor want to spend to buy Crete. This is a big island with a radius of a hundred miles."

The envoy stretched out five fingers and said, "General Mallore can give five thousand gold, of course five thousand gold is not much. But we can only give so much money at the moment."

Gaius thought to himself -- five thousand gold is enough to buy five big manors.At least one hundred large manors can be built on the island of Crete.Who would do such a loss-making business.But now that others have stationed troops on the island, they have to sell it if they don't.It is better to be able to recover five thousand gold than to be occupied by a large island for nothing.So he agreed: "After all, we have an old friendship with General Mallor. Now General Mallor and his fleet want to find a suitable place to stay. Then we will reluctantly part with each other and give Crete to you." .Then, how will you deliver the five thousand gold?"

Mallor's envoy smiled and said, "Can you give it to your lord now?" Gaius said in surprise, "There are only three of you, and you haven't brought any luggage. Where did you get the five thousand gold coins..." Before he finished speaking, The Mallor emissary has pulled out a large stack of large bonds from the package.

This almost made Gaius' nose crooked. If he hadn't been patient, he would have ordered the guards to drag the three of them out and chop them up.Gaius was so not only feeling teased but also reminded him of something that pissed him off.

In the short two months since the attempted assassination of Alexander, Rome has undergone earth-shaking political changes.Although the bonds are unregistered, the Roman government represented by Alexander continues to recognize bonds, and the black market in Rome and around the world is still trading, but the bond exchange in Rome has long been closed, and the current situation in Rome has caused the credit of Alexander's government to increase. discount.Therefore, the prices of bonds in various issues have fallen repeatedly, and have already fallen below less than one-third of the face value.After Gaius exchanged his family property into bonds, he was one step too late when he exchanged it into real money on the black market in Achaia, resulting in heavy losses.

Gaius stood up with a cold snort, and went back to the back room with a livid face.Mallor's messenger seemed to have expected this, and waited casually outside the house.Half a quarter of an hour later, a servant of Mingaius came to them, took the stack of bonds from them, and said, "Go back. My master has promised your general."

Chapter 1141

Mallor seized the entire island of Crete from Gaius without bloodshed, and immediately became complacent.His eastward march temporarily stopped in Crete.There are more than a dozen large farms distributed from west to east on Crete. Some of these farms belong to Gaius, and some belong to slave owners in Achaia who belong to Gaius.But now their land and slaves are counted in the five thousand gold coins, which were stolen by Mallor.Consolidating the rule in Crete, assimilating these farms and workshops, with tens of thousands of people on the island, is Malor's top priority.