Capture the city of Pella and end Macedonia, the military power in the east. The support rate in the country is getting higher and higher. The Roman nobles, who hope to gain benefits from the expansion, begin to call on the old consul Fabian to give up his position, plus Cleopatra.

Terra's daily entanglement made Scipio's self-confidence more and more inflated.

The threat of the Qin people was gradually forgotten by Scipio. After all, it was impossible for an outsider from the far east to establish a long-term foothold in the Mediterranean area.

Look back to Egypt.

After Hannibal proposed an alliance request to Li Yuan, he immediately set off back to Carthage without wasting any time. For him, the time to regain power had come. The surveillance of the Romans and the heavy gifts from the Romans made it difficult for him to regain power.

The Carthaginians felt humiliated, and Hannibal, who was welcomed by the ordinary people, did not lack supporters.

Northern Africa.

A large group of Carthage uprising teams composed of black slaves began to converge on the city of Carthage from all directions. This was an expected and unexpected popular awakening movement.

And its origin.

It was because Hannibal's cronies were deliberately spreading the news that Rome was going to increase taxes. The humiliation of the second defeat, the glory of the past, and the plundering of a large amount of wealth made the Carthaginians remain silent.

broke out.

April 24th.

The people of Carthage marched into the capital in a huge procession. Along the way, various manors responded, especially in the handicraft workshops in Carthage. A large number of young craftsmen took to the streets, shouting Hannibal's name.

They want to welcome their hero back again——.

The Roman supervisory officials were alarmed.

Most of the people Fabian trusted were old and experienced bureaucrats. They were good at dealing with political intrigues, but when dealing with emergencies such as popular riots, they often had few methods and lacked the courage to stand up.

Only two days.

The consuls and tax collectors sent by the Romans were all driven away, and Carthage returned to the embrace of freedom. When Hannibal returned to the city and stood in front of the temple again, tens of thousands of Tyrians cheered.

.

"To the people of Carthage, and to the brothers who fought alongside me and never abandoned me, I, Hannibal Barca, am back again. The Romans cannot defeat us, because we have a reliable and powerful person again.

Our ally - the Great Qin from the East." Hannibal raised his right hand high, clenched his fist and shouted.

"Da Qin, Da Qin!" the Carthaginians shouted repeatedly, although many of them had no idea what the word Da Qin meant.

"Do you know? The army of Qin Dynasty has conquered Egypt, and on the Balkan Peninsula, they also made the Roman Gallic legions flee in panic. From today on, we Carthaginians will no longer fight alone or without reinforcements.

, you no longer have to worry about retaliation, because Rome is in danger, and they have no time to take care of themselves under the attack of the Qin army, so we have to take action to reorganize a Carthaginian army, are you willing to join? "

Hannibal's words of encouragement were like a storm, heating up the hearts of Carthage who had been cooling for a long time.

Public opinion is boiling.

The strength of the motherland.

It is the foundation for gaining peace and wealth. As the Carthaginians reminisce about the past, they sigh that time has passed. Now, the opportunity for revival is right in front of them, how can they not be excited.

In just ten days.

Hannibal formed an army of 20,000 people, including about a hundred merchant ships. Although the turning, tonnage and ramming capabilities of merchant ships were not as good as those of warships with ramming angles, they were of this era.

Naval battles basically remained within the scope of continuous battles. For the Carthage Navy, which only had ten coastal boats, they could not wait to requisition any ships.

April 30th.

At the same time that the Roman fleet sailed out of the Adriatic Gulf, Hannibal, who officially took over as the administrator of Carthage, ordered the entire newly formed Carthage navy to be dispatched, with more than 150 large and small ships, and about 100 soldiers and sailors.

More than 3,000 people pulled anchor and followed the hurricane blowing from the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, heading straight for Egypt.

wind.

It's in God's mysterious hand.

Controlled by people with different thoughts, the Carthaginian fleet sailed smoothly towards the road of recovery. When they arrived at the sea not far from Alexandria, the Roman fleet was blocked by headwinds. The fleet commander

To be on the safe side, Crassus decided to temporarily turn east and sail to the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Aegean Sea to rest.

This decision prevented the entire fleet from sinking at sea due to a storm, but not long after, Crassus was dismissed from the post of admiral because of this seemingly correct decision.

Carthage and Rome.

They were competing to blockade or support the Egyptians. If both sides arrived at the same time, the Carthaginians' plan to blockade the port would be ruined by the Romans, and they would use bulky merchant ships to fight against the Roman elite fleet. Needless to say, the result was that the Carthaginians would

The Taiji people have no chance of winning.

——.

Alexandria.

Scorching in the scorching heat, the city was surrounded on three sides, and only the side facing the port could give this isolated city with a population of hundreds of thousands some comfort.

From March to April, for a full month and a half, the Qin army's blockade became increasingly tight. On the land passage, there were still a few places that could escape the Qin army's scouts. However, as the Qin army conquered various parts of the Nile River,

As the war progressed, the flag of the Ptolemaic Kingdom had faded away in the eyes of ordinary Egyptians.

Ptolemy V waited patiently.

However, the Roman reinforcements he hoped for have not yet appeared. Not only that, but even Queen Cleopatra seemed to have disappeared. She gave the same reply to his urging: the Roman fleet was already on the way.

"**, don't think that you can continue to be queen if you leave me. The Romans just treat you as a plaything." Ptolemy V felt resentful in his heart.

One's own family knows one's own affairs.

What kind of temperament did Cleopatra have? He knew very well that this woman was just a political marriage to him, and there was no relationship at all. At most, she was optimistic about the position of the queen. Now that the country was about to collapse, this woman was just afraid

He had already had the idea of ​​hooking up with the Romans.

"Your Majesty, something bad has happened. The harbor has been blocked by the Carthaginian fleet. Our ship cannot get out." Just when Ptolemy V was anxious, another piece of bad news came.

"What are you talking about? Carthaginians, where did they get their fleet? Wasn't their fleet taken away by the Romans?" Ptolemy V asked in disbelief.

"Your Majesty, it's not a warship, it's a merchant ship. Hundreds of merchant ships are blocking the exit of the port. Are they all Carthaginians?" General Ptolemy who reported the news stammered.

"Carthage, don't they want to live? When the Roman army arrives, these disobedient bastards will be thrown into the sea one by one to feed the fish and shrimps." Ptolemy V was shocked and angry.

The news that Philip IV, an old friend, had been killed by Scipio had reached Egypt. The two brothers who had formed an alliance, Antiochus III and Philip IV, left one by one. This made Ptolemy V

The world has a premonition of impending disaster. Will the huge empire founded by Alexander the Great really lose its last bit of flesh and blood?

——.

News of port blockade.

Even the disaster spread quickly throughout the city.

The already restless city residents became even more emotionally unstable. They could endure being oppressed by heavy taxes and living without dignity and freedom, but they could not endure starving to death day by day.

The few supplies brought by ships were divided by the huge number of people in the city, and there was almost nothing left. In addition, part of the provisions that had to be set aside for the royal family and part of the army, the remaining ordinary people could really get it.

Not many, in Alexandria, people selling their children for food can be seen everywhere on the streets.

Early May.

An unexpected popular riot broke out suddenly.

Nearly 30,000 hungry urban civilians spontaneously took to the streets and began a democratic awakening movement against hunger and privilege. The original intention of this urban uprising was just for the people to have a mouthful of food to avoid starving to death.

, Ptolemy V, in a rage, suddenly made a mistake and ordered the army to be dispatched to arrest and suppress the rioters.

On the 9th, a bloody conflict broke out. Nearly a thousand unarmed Alexandrian civilians were killed by the army, and countless others were injured. On the 10th, the angry civilians organized an even larger and nearly militia.

A team of 60,000 people. This time, they were no longer bare-handed. The owners of the handicraft workshops opened their warehouses. The workers held their usual work tools in their hands. The civilians held up the only thing at home that could hit people, shouting and running.

Then, proceed towards the palace of Ptolemy V.

All the way.

The uprising team was like a snowball, getting bigger and bigger. This time the troops stationed in the military camp did not obey Ptolemy V's orders as before. This was not because the general was unfaithful, but because he was unable to control an army that was already demoralized.

The ranks of deserters are growing.

On the 12th, Alexandria was occupied by the uprising team. Ptolemy V hid in the strong pyramid in the city, closed the tower door, and tried to resist. This weak king was still there at the last moment of the country's destruction.

He fantasizes that his beautiful queen will come back with reinforcements one day.

On the 13th, the Egyptian civilian uprising team elected two representatives and arrived at the Qin army's camp for negotiations. Under the dual pressure of the Qin army and the Carthage army, these Egyptians, who had little ambition in the first place, only demanded that the freedom of the residents of Alexandria be preserved.

At the same time, the Qin army had an obligation to help them resist possible future revenge from the Ptolemaic Kingdom and its allies. The Egyptians were well aware of the deep-rooted fear of the Ptolemaic Kingdom.

Li Yuan was naturally very happy to be able to surrender a great city without spending a single soldier. This civilian uprising in Alexandria also gave him a further understanding of Western concepts of democracy and freedom. (To be continued...
Chapter completed!