Chapter 7: Silver Tongue (Part 2)
"I'm just a woman, if you don't mind my humble opinion." Cornelia raised the corners of her mouth. She seemed to always be a young girl in front of the old general.
"Of course, of course, tell me your opinion, my dear." The lock of hair on his forehead was fluttering, Pompey shouted, standing in the wet sand washed by the sea with his hands spread out.
"I always believe that the words of a spy are never as trustworthy as the words of a general. Generals are all citizens of the regular republic. They have courage and morality. No one knows what spies are for." This was Cornelia's answer, but she then added shyly, "Of course, this still requires a meeting of your generals before they can make a truly wise decision."
Pompey smiled and nodded.
However, at the next joint meeting, most of the generals, including Tullas, Afranius, Sulpicius, etc., did not advocate Pompey going to Greece because they all had their own selfish motives, such as Tullas Lars wanted Pompey to stay in his jurisdiction, so that it would be extremely easy to promote his position, and the status of his African province's war zone would naturally increase; while Afranius They believe that only if Pompey stays here, the most precious fighting force they rely on, the King of Juba of Mauritania, can accept the dispatch of Rome. It is well known that this chief is unruly and murderous, and only Pompey's reputation can be subdued. Live him.
As for Sulpicius, he was not interested in fighting in other areas. He wanted Pompey to stay in Africa, in order to recruit enough troops and ships as soon as possible to counterattack Sicily as soon as possible. Back on Italian soil. March on Rome. Take back your own political power and drive out Caesar's dirty veterans from the Juilliard Hall. "The solution to the problem should be straightforward. Our goal is the city of Rome, so just go there, it's that simple!" This is Sulpicius Si’s latest mantra.
The generals soon began to quarrel fiercely because of their own agendas and motives, but they had one thing in common. That is, they do not agree with Pompey going to Greece. I believe that if Pompey had gone to Greece when he escaped from Brindisi, Gabinus and Marcellus would not let him go. "As for Asia Minor, Egypt And in the east, Scipio is stationed there, and as for the frontline battlefield, it is enough to have Gabinus. It is not necessary for you to go there again. "
Amid the quarrel, Pompey sat tiredly in front of the sand table. He stared blankly at the miniature mountains and rivers carved in wax in front of him, his eyes becoming more and more unfocused. He is old, although he is only a few years older than his opponent Caesar, but - slowly, the sand table expands, and the artificial landscape above becomes real, with the continuous surging ocean, the steep cliffs, and the screaming seabirds in the wind. Soaring around, at the port of Brindisi, various ships, sampans and even things made of door panels and pontoons were filled with soldiers rowing together with the oarsmen. Even though the cold wind on the sea was biting, they still They did not dare to wear armor and helmets, but tied them together with the equipment on a separate sampan. People wore undershirts, because no one was not afraid of being fully armed. If a wave came, they would have no strength to struggle. In the abyss, not even the body can be found.
Even so, the scene in the entire port and even the sea in front was spectacular. Anthony could be said to have achieved the ultimate. He sat on a sampan by himself. The feeling after getting on it was probably something he would never forget for the rest of his life. As long as there were insignificant waves, all the scenery was spectacular. Everyone seemed to be in an earthquake, shaking up, down, left, and right, but after the damn wave passed, even though he was wet all over, he could still sit on a simple bench. After a while, Anthony got used to it, and instead shouted loudly. The chant started, "Work hard! It's northwest wind now, we really can't wait for the real west wind, so we have to keep the course."
But there were still two ships, which did not carry horses or soldiers, because Antony planned to use them as tows and anchors after arriving on the other side. Unfortunately, precisely because of their lightness, the northwest wind quickly destroyed these two ships. The ship blew away from the route set by Anthony and drifted aimlessly towards Corfu.
Over there, in darkness, Maximus's fleet sailed over, carrying 400 cavalry and 1,000 light infantry, about 60 ships, and halfway around the Peloponnese Sea Marcus the Great: He collected thirty ships from Crete and Rhodes, and after quelling the local unrest, he immediately went to Greece to help in the war.
After capturing the two empty ships, interrogating the crew, and determining the wind, Maximus immediately learned that Antony was crossing the sea in large numbers, and he immediately joined Marcus's fleet and rowed hard against the wind. , heading towards the sea to the north.
When Antony's sampan could see Maximus's fleet in the distance, the distance between them was only a few stadia, and this number was also the distance between him and the shore. , "The soldiers are ready to fight, and the oarsmen keep rowing!" When it came to this, Anthony could only shout like this. In fact, it was a bluff. What could a soldier without armor use to fight the enemy, let alone the power he relied on? All I have to hold on to is my pitiful board and skin.
The soldiers could clearly see that the enemy fleet was pressing down like mountains, and there was still two furlongs of sprint distance. As long as they crossed this period, Maximus would order a terrifying angle collision, or raindrops. Spilling rockets and pots of fire to completely destroy Antony's fleet.
"Is there really no luck from Hercules today?" Anthony thought to himself. At this moment, he suddenly saw the seabirds above his head suddenly grow wings with difficulty and start to stay in the air in groups - the wind direction suddenly changed!
The northwest wind suddenly turned into a strong southwest wind. Before Maximus could give the order to lower the sails to engage in battle, the sails were instantly swelled, carrying all the ships, and rushed towards the cliffs and reefs on the shore at a lightning speed...
There was chaos below. All the ships and sampans of both sides were blown to the same reef beach at the same time. At this moment, Anthony's simple ferry worked wonders. The soldiers could easily jump into the shallow water and climb ashore. They grabbed any weapons, hooks, long sickles and short swords. Maximus's tall ship was smashed on the rocks in the hurricane. The oarsmen and soldiers fell into the water with the deck fragments. What was hooked up were dead bodies and those who were still half-breathed.
Maximus's own flagship was also stranded between two cliffs. After he fled to the shore in a panic, he ordered his subordinates to set fire to the flagship. As for Marcellus, he had no experience in naval warfare and lost his flagship. He was stuck on a narrow beach surrounded by cliffs and could not move forward or backward. In the evening, both of them were surrounded by Antony's soldiers and had no choice but to surrender. (To be continued...)