Qiang Qin

The southern tip of the Apennine Peninsula, Sicily.

The hurricanes on the sea are one after another. This super storm is formed after the warm current from the Atlantic Ocean enters the Strait of Gibraltar. For the Mediterranean Sea, which is being affected by the cold current from Siberia in the north, the intersection of cold and warm air currents is the most terrifying and terrifying thing.

In Palermo, a small port at the eastern end of the island, more than a dozen ships without flags are mooring in the port to avoid the wind and waves. On the messy pier, there are all kinds of goods piled up, such as Tibetan silver flowers from Carthage, rum and Ivory, wine from the Iberian Peninsula, and silk from the Orient, enough to carry six large merchant ships.

On the edge of the low pier, in a small wine built against the mountain, the cheers, shouts and women's screams were deafening.

"Brothers, have a good drink, and when this storm passes, we'll go out to sea and grab another drink, haha!" The pirate leader, Greer, was a strong man with a big beard. He was in his thirties, The body is strong, the nose is red, and the protruding muscles on the arms show strength beyond ordinary people.

"Boss, there are already a lot of goods on the pier, should we make a move earlier, so that the brothers can have a good time." Beside Greer, a half-bent thin pirate asked respectfully.

"No hurry. Chief Crassus has an order. The Qin people are secretly building warships around Troy. Let's go and capture the yellow-skinned monkeys' warships. When the time comes, we will return to the Grand Fleet and wait for the Grand Consul to grant manors and slaves." There are also beautiful Gaul women——!" Greer laughed loudly.

"Gaulic woman, I want ten, no, twenty." The skinny pirate shouted excitedly, with a pair of triangular eyes showing obscene light.

"Pichus, you're a skinny guy, you can handle twenty women, so forget it, how about sharing fifteen for your brothers?" The thin man's rhetoric caused a burst of laughter among the pirates.

This group of Palermo pirates.It was the culprit who repeatedly robbed merchant ships of money and goods in the Eastern Mediterranean. They were originally a squadron of the Roman Navy fleet. They were secretly dispatched to Sicily by Crassus three months ago. A fleet of skeleton pirates appears in the Mediterranean.

The raging storm lasted for more than 20 days.At the beginning of March, the Greer pirate fleet finally set sail again, heading towards the Aegean Sea and the east coast of Anatolia. Greer was very confident in this voyage, in the past few sea trips.It can be said that his pirate fleet traveled across the sea without encountering any opponents.

This time, of course, it was not a regular meeting. Based on Greer's experience, the so-called new fleet of the Qin people could not be built within four or five years. It took only half a year to build the Qin fleet. The possibility of a decisive battle with him.

——.

Constantinople.

The meeting of the senior generals of the Qin State's Western Expeditionary Army was being held, after Li Yuan returned from Chang'an to the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea.Convene the generals to make important military deployment adjustment decisions.

From defense to offense.

It is the general tone of this meeting.

After a winter of dormancy, Li Yuan not only looked rosy, but also full of confidence. The third batch of reinforcements arrived.The tense Great Qin Western Expeditionary Force had the strength to go further west. Facing the provocation of the Romans, Li Yuan shouted for the first time the slogan of a decisive battle against the city of Rome and the capture of the Colosseum.

Ray was agitated.As a young general who first came to the West, he met many famous generals of the Qin Army who were only known by name but not in person, Luo Jia who commanded the cavalry, and Li Zhongxiang who was famous in the Western Regions.There are also Gan Yong, Huan Chu, Cao Xin, Zhou Ping, Yang Yu and other 28 famous generals of the Great Qin that have been recorded in history.

"One day, I, Lei Bei, will also be one of them. One day, Lei Bei's name will be embedded in Daqin's merit list; one day, the people of Daqin will remember my meritorious deeds." Traces!" Lei was heartbroken, beside him, Li Shang, one of Huainan Eight Horses, was also young.

"Your Majesty, if we want to compete with Rome, we must first obtain maritime supremacy in the Mediterranean Sea. Otherwise, even if the Jews, Greeks, and Egyptians form an alliance with us, they will have doubts and will not work hard. More seriously, this For some time, the pirate fleet supported by the Romans has been rampant, and the merchants will not be able to survive if they don’t attack them.” Huan Chu, the guard of Dongyang City, said worriedly.

Dongyang is located at the hub of the Western Silk Road. During this period, the goods transshipped from Haifa Port decreased significantly, and the passing Jewish merchants complained even more.After forming an alliance with Qin, the Jewish merchants had already obtained the benefits of tax reduction and exemption, but now they obviously forgot about this, and they begged Qin to do something for them?

Li Yuan sneered, nodded and said: "General Huan is right. Dongyang City's low tax policy has been implemented for a year. After you go back, you can raise the tax rate by one level. If the Jewish businessmen make trouble, tell them. The tax collected will be used by our Daqin army to combat pirates."

"In addition, the situation in other cities will also be implemented accordingly. As for the fight against pirates, let General Gan Yong talk about the countermeasures in detail."

Li Yuan's words lifted the spirits of the generals of the Qin army, and the murderous look revealed from the words made them feel that this time, Li Yuan really made up his mind to fight the Romans.

Hearing Gan Yong's words, Hu Zhe and Luan Bu took a step forward and unveiled the sand table model of the routes covering the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Nautical charts are necessary for naval battles. Not only can it help one's own fleet occupy a favorable position, but it can also avoid the enemy's pursuit when the battle is unfavorable. Judging from the map of the sea area shown by Gan Yong, he and his soldiers have not stopped advancing these days. pace.

"Your Majesty, all generals, please take a look—this is a map of the sea area in the eastern Mediterranean Sea centered on Crete, Greece. Based on the analysis of the robbery of merchant ships in the past few times, the activities of the pirate fleet are mainly concentrated in the Peloponnese. At the southern tip of the peninsula, there are several small islands here with many harbors, which are suitable for concealment. The pirates may hide nearby in advance, and when they find merchant ships passing by, they will suddenly plunder, so our battle plan is——!"

Gan Yong's tone was calm, and there was no other expression on his dark face except calmness, but as soon as he finished speaking, all the generals of the Qin army who heard it changed their faces.

A net is exhausted!

The plan Gan Yong and the others made was to wipe out the pirates in one fell swoop. How is this possible?With the current strength of the Qin fleet, it is lucky to be able to maintain a confrontation in naval battles. If the tactics are used properly, it can at most defeat a few enemy ships. As for the complete annihilation, it is completely impossible.

"Your Majesty, the pirates have succeeded several times. They are very arrogant now. I am sure that as long as we put enough bait, those pirates will definitely come here." Gan Yong said resolutely.

Li Yuan pondered for a while, and asked: "I basically agree with your plan, but it is not easy to encircle and wipe out a notorious pirate fleet. You must be cautious in choosing the location of the ambush. It is not based on trust and understanding." People, if you can use them, you don’t need them. As for the cooperation of the Tianlei Army, there is no problem. I will draw 1000 people from the Central Army and give them to you. As for how to use them, it’s up to you, but there is one thing, this battle can only be won. , can't be defeated——!"

"The last general waits to obey the order! I will take the lead in this battle, and I will never withdraw my troops unless I decapitate the enemy's chieftain!" Gan Yong, Hu Zhe, and Luan Bu responded excitedly.

Thunder Army troops.

It has always been the most mysterious branch of the Qin Army. His organizational system and number of people are the most hidden among the tribes. In the cold weapon era, gunpowder weapons were mixed in, which is cheating in itself. If the method of making gunpowder is revealed If the opponent masters this cutting-edge technology beyond the times, the Qin army will lose its final trump card.

Therefore, in terms of the number of times the Tianlei troops are used, Li Yuan has always used them whenever he can.But once it is used, it will be earth-shattering, and it must be a destructive blow.

A pirate fleet is just a puppet driven by the Romans. Scipio released it to attack merchant ships. The purpose is to attack the prestige of the Qin army, and the second is to take a look at Qin's trump card. If it is not for the great Qin navy, it is indeed lacking in strength. Well, there is no need for the Tianlei Army to show their whereabouts now.

Of course, in order to boost the spirit of the soldiers and maintain the confidence of the alliance forces, Gan Yong planned this encirclement and annihilation operation is necessary. The decisive battle with the Romans is imminent. Even if the Tianlei army is exposed, it is nothing. If the battle can be ended perfectly However, even if the Romans knew that the Qin army had a secret weapon, there was nothing they could do in a short time.

——.

March [-]th.

In order to cope with maritime operations, Cao Xin's army sent more than [-] soldiers out of Constantinople and marched westward along the mountains and hills in the Balkans. This action of the Qin army alarmed the Roman general Peterus who was guarding the western part of the peninsula. As an old opponent, no Roman general knew the strength of the Qin army in Constantinople better than him.

Throughout the Balkan Peninsula, the Gaul Legion has about [-] soldiers. However, due to the military system within the Roman Republic, the Gauls do not belong to the direct line of Rome, but are mercenaries. Peterus cannot count on it, and Scipio Being able to send troops to reinforce themselves in a short period of time, after all, weakening the strength of the Gauls is also what the Romans hope.

The most practical possibility is that Scipio will wait until Peterus' troops are almost as good as the Qin army before sending troops. At that time, the Gauls and Qin people who will lose both cannot be the Roman army with strong troops and recharged their batteries. opponent.

"Hey, if it doesn't work, let the Thracians take the lead for a while. Anyway, these simple-minded barbarians are useless. Don't they want to regain the lost land and city? Then show it well." Peterus After thinking and thinking, he finally made a judgment that he thought was feasible.

After the surrender of the Thracians in Adheria, the rest of them scattered, and a considerable part of them defected to the Romans. They were regarded as slaves of the Gauls in peacetime. Now this slave army will be sent to the battlefield to become the two great powers. Conquest cannon fodder. (To be continued..)