The bells of the Mediterranean sea battle have ceased.

The new fleet that the Romans had hastily assembled ceased to exist under the attack of the combined naval forces of Qin and Carthage. The Roman navy, composed of merchant sailors and mercenaries, was obviously weaker in combat power, and their end was...

Like the Roman Republic, a great sunset country, it was about to wither before it was fully open to the public.

The Roman fleet was almost completely wiped out in the waters off Corsica. This battle quickly spread from Genoa to the entire Apennines. The Roman authorities who were going all out to deal with the Qin army's eastern offensive were shocked. Without the protection of the navy, the entire peninsula

The peripheral protection of the Qin Kingdom will become fragmented, and the Qin naval fleet may carry soldiers to land on the Roman mainland at any time and at any time.

Faced with such a critical situation, Scipio could no longer afford to sit on the front line in the Alps. After hurriedly instructing Pompey to defend the area, he returned south with more than 20,000 elite troops.

In the eighteenth year of the Qin Dynasty, it was the beginning of summer.

Port Bell, the capital of the Roman province of Iberia, lost its maritime supplies and fell. About 3,000 Roman troops guarding the city laid down their weapons and surrendered to Qin general Li Zhongxiang.

During this surrender process, the arrogance of the Romans was once again revealed. They stubbornly insisted on excluding the Carthaginian side. This made Hannibal, who was determined to take revenge, very angry. Subsequently, the Carthaginian army

A massacre was carried out in the northeastern part of Iberia, and nearly tens of thousands of Roman dependents were beheaded.

Under the bloody storm, the Roman Republic was in crisis.

Faced with the severe situation, Scipio convened an emergency Senate meeting in Rome. At this meeting, Scipio proposed that he serve as the Speaker of the Senate. This proposal was passed with almost no resistance.

, As a result, Scipio, the Roman military strongman, finally combined military power and political power into one body. The Roman republican system also ceased to exist at this moment, and was replaced by the new dictatorial system of the Roman Empire.

Republic and dictatorship.

They are two important comparative indicators in the process of human history.

At the beginning of human civilization, collective deliberative institutions such as the Roman Senate greatly promoted the social development of that time. It was also through the republican system that the Romans gradually developed from a weak and small city-state into a Mediterranean city.

The most powerful country in the area.

However, with the further development of social economy, especially in the face of the oppression and attack of the powerful Qin Dynasty in the East, the shortcomings of the Roman republican system were undoubtedly revealed. The most important point was that Rome was slow to respond to important national decisions and repeatedly lost military and battlefield

initiative.

October to November.

For a whole month, Scipio ordered to shrink his troops and defend against the Qin army's attacks. On the other hand, he quickly started military reform measures at home.

In this reform, Scipio and his cronies made great determination. Many of the measures at the military and military-industrial levels were related to the Qin State. Even if they were in a hostile relationship, the Romans finally had no choice but to face the facts.

If they don't admit it, they must learn from the strengths of their enemies in the east, otherwise they will really destroy the country.

At the military level, Scipio decided to change the army from phalanx to legion combat formation. This change was also the prototype of the formation of the Roman infantry legion in history. The weapons of the soldiers were no longer provided by the soldiers themselves. Instead, they imitated the Qin army.

The method is uniformly produced by the country's department that specializes in manufacturing weapons.

Short sword, heavy javelin.

These two weapons, which can give Roman soldiers their advantages in close combat and long-range strikes, were recognized by Roman generals such as Scipio, and were uniformly equipped in the army. The weapons of Roman soldiers before were mainly spears and bows. Swords and

The javelin was only an auxiliary weapon, and now that the spear was replaced by the heavy javelin, the long-range strike capability of the Romans was greatly improved. It is conceivable that when the two armies faced off, the overwhelming forest of Roman javelins would bring great harm to the opponent.

How much pressure comes.

In addition, the new dagger issued by the Roman army was about two feet long and two inches wide. It was very heavy and the sword head was very sharp. The hilt could be made of wood, bone, ivory or metal. The functions of this dagger

, is better at assassinating than slashing, and its power is better reflected in close combat.

In terms of defensive weapons, the Romans also imitated the Qin shield style and changed the original round shield into a strong oblong convex body. This kind of shield is more in line with the characteristics of the human body. When erected, it can almost cover most of the body.

Covering it can easily block the Qin army's crossbow arrows.

In addition to improvements in weapons, the most obvious change in the Roman army's recruitment was the addition of two fixed arms: the standing army and the reserve young soldiers.

Under the original compulsory military service system, Roman soldiers farmed in peacetime and went on wartime expeditions, and had little opportunity to conduct intensive tactical training. But now, the Romans have decided to follow the Qin army's example and adjust all existing front-line soldiers into standing armies. These

The soldiers' equipment, food, baggage and supplies are all reissued by the state, and are no longer borne by the soldiers' personal families. At the same time, in order to reward the soldiers for their achievements in fighting for the country, the Roman Empire will also cooperate with the Qin State.

Like the military title system, soldiers who have made military exploits are commended.

The young reserve soldiers are mainly composed of teenagers who are between thirteen and sixteen years old. Although these teenagers are not physically mature, they have a strong sense of patriotism under the encouragement of the imperial propaganda machine, especially towards

Scipio, the military leader, loved him from the bottom of his heart. Therefore, training these young soldiers was crucial for Rome to change the unfavorable battlefield situation in the next few years.

The Romans' militarized reforms were carried out in a hurry under the oppression of the Qin army. The Qin State was also aware of these changes in the Apennine Peninsula. However, Li Yuan was more concerned about the northern foothills of the Alps.

arduous battle.

The winter snow in the Alps was extremely thick this year. The Qin army encountered great difficulties in advancing, especially heavy weapons could not be transported up. This made the various Qin armies who could only fight with light weapons face great difficulties.

When looking at dangerous passes, one can only look at them with excitement.

After Scipio returned home, the 100,000 Roman troops commanded by Pompey, the remaining Roman general, tightly strangled the important passes in the northern mountains. Their existence was like invisible chains, tying up the Qin army.

During this period, the Qin army tried to break through one or two passes, and then went around the enemy's rear to shake the entire Roman defense line, but the results were always unsatisfactory. (To be continued...
Chapter completed!