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- Chapter 48
Agostino was shocked by the aura of Xue Rengui and couldn't help but be stunned. Once upon a time, the proud Romans also had such a time. When they swept across Europe, Asia and Africa, the huge Roman Empire they created was almost the entire The world trembled under their feet, and the Romans at that time were proud.
The Roman Empire originated on the banks of the Tiber River in Italy. At the beginning, it was just a small state. It truly rose to prominence in the 2nd century BC. Its territory stretched from Britain in the north, to Libya and Egypt in the south, to Spain in the west, and to Syria in the east. area. What is impressive is not only its vast territory, but also its long-term vitality: from the conquest of Italy in the 3rd century BC until the barbarian invasion in the 5th century AD, the Romans have been galloping on the stage of human history for thousands of years, and their empire is strong. Lasted for nearly 5 centuries.
This extraordinary process of expansion was carried out through continuous interactions with neighboring countries, large and small, powerful city-states such as Carthage in North Africa, monarchs such as the successors of Alexander the Great in the East, and many tribes occupying Spain, Gaul and other places. The war was completed until Rome had no more rivals.
At that time, the territory of the Roman Empire included many countries in later generations, such as England, Wales, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Turkey, Greece, Albania, Yugoslavia, Israel, and Lebanon. , Tunisia, Germany, the former Soviet Union, Morocco, Algeria, Syria and Egypt.
After its rise, the Roman Empire was good at turning its strength and prosperity into tangible entities. Grand public buildings were both for enjoyment and for showing off. Roman architecture is "the soul of Rome in stone." Its overall planning is harmonious and unified, with complex structure, diverse types, large scale and wide range of uses. Rome's natural volcanic ash concrete and excellent arch structure technology provided the prerequisite for the realization of its magnificent and colorful architectural masterpieces.
Just one glance at the map reveals something surprising. The center of the Roman Empire was the Mediterranean Sea, the largest inland sea in the world. In empires such as China or Persia, an army could march unimpeded overland from one end of the empire to the other, but in the Roman Empire this was unlikely to happen.
Rome¡¯s central location was extremely advantageous for its rise to world dominance, and this view holds true in the context of the Mediterranean. The heart of Rome was in central Italy, and Italy was at the center of the Mediterranean. Therefore, Rome's empire was both maritime and land-based.
Many of Rome¡¯s victories were achieved on land, but Roman expansion also relied on control of the seas. It was not until after ruling the Mediterranean that the Roman army began to cross the Alps and conduct large-scale expansion to the north.
The Mediterranean Sea gave the opportunity for goods and ideas to circulate between different regions that had previously been isolated to a certain extent. The imperial profits obtained through plundering and taxing the defeated and surrendered areas could also be transported to Rome in a much easier way than by land transportation.
Equally important, Rome could ensure that it had an adequate supply of food from afar, with grain shipped along the coast from Sicily, Africa, and Egypt, allowing the city's population to reach an unprecedented size.
As the original source of the empire, the small city-state on the Tiber River also influenced the development of the empire in two important aspects. First of all, in the initial stages of its expansion, Rome was ruled not by kings, emperors, or generals, but by a republic composed of a senate of nobles and an assembly of plebeians.
The existence of the Senate of Nobles and the Assembly of Commoners gives the empire flexibility and stability, which are often not available in empires founded and ruled by individuals. Alexander's vast empire lasted only ten years before it fell apart upon his death. It was not until the end of the 1st century BC that this political system in the city of Rome finally collapsed and gave way to the principal system.
Another amazing thing about Rome was its ability to accommodate others, which further enhanced the empire¡¯s resilience. As a city-state, its citizens fought alongside their allies, but unlike the Greek city-states, Rome was willing to open its citizenship to outsiders.
At the beginning of the 1st century BC, a war between Rome and its Italian allies enabled all free people in Italy to obtain citizenship and gradually changed the nature of the Roman state. One of the consequences was that the ruling elites of various countries who submitted to Rome became part of the imperial ruling elite. Therefore, instead of leading their own people to resist Rome, they became supporters of the Roman regime. Some of them were able to enter the Roman Senate, and some even became heads of state.
The lasting peace and prosperity have accumulated the domineering style and tolerance of the Romans. The people in the conquered areas were generously granted Roman citizenship. Each region enjoyed varying degrees of freedom and autonomy. The economies of each province and Italy developed together.And coming from behind, the empire was dotted with cities, whose density and scale were still very eye-catching even in the modern world of later generations. Hundreds of broad and solid avenues centered on Rome, radiating to all parts of the empire, forming a transportation network that extended in all directions. They are not only channels for rapid response to rebel areas, but also smooth channels for frequent economic and cultural exchanges between various places.
Ships from all over the world shuttle through the Mediterranean waters, and exchanges and exchanges have become the theme here. The Roman people enjoyed the wealth from all over the world, and the people of other countries also felt the unique cultural temperament of the Romans.
The Roman Empire was founded by violence, and even after its establishment, symptoms of violence were always present. The most enduring and striking relics of Roman power are its amphitheaters, the most famous of which is Rome's local Colosseum. But an empire cannot survive solely on violence. The more vested interests subjects enjoy in an empire, the more willing they are to support it.
The Roman historian Tacitus recorded how the conquered British chiefs slowly began to appreciate Roman culture, speaking Latin, wearing Roman robes, visiting bathhouses and enjoying sumptuous banquets.
The Pantheon is the highest representative of Roman dome technology. The space of the round sphere naturally reflects the vastness and harmony of the universe. Seven great gods and some minor gods from all over the empire are enshrined in it, which reflects the religious tolerance of the early rulers of the empire. .
The Roman nation is a pragmatic nation. While conquering the Greeks with force, the Romans were conquered by the Greek culture. They learned and absorbed the achievements of the Greeks in almost all cultural fields, and based on their own needs, created unique cultural models, especially in fields closely related to real life, such as architecture, agriculture, military, law, etc. Unparalleled achievements have been achieved.
The rapid rise of the Roman Empire was not only due to its own system, but also because they had a powerful army.
The ancient Greeks said that a mob is no more an army than a pile of building materials is a house.
Some people say that the key to maintaining a strong military lies in tight organization and discipline. However, the real horror of the army is that the army exists for war. It is either fighting a war or preparing to fight a war. Everything else is secondary.
Before the famous Battle of Cannae in history, the Roman general Paulus once said this: "When you enter the battlefield, please remember that the life and death of the entire country depends on you, not an army. life and death. If this decisive battle fails, then our motherland will no longer be able to resist the powerful enemy, because she has poured all her strength and spirit into you, and you maintain her only hope. The time to sacrifice your life to serve the country has come, Please do not let down the expectations of your motherland."
These words well explain the relationship between the army and the country. The army is all the strength and spirit of the country. Once the army is eliminated, the country will no longer be able to resist a strong enemy.
There is no doubt that the Romans liked war, and they were also willing to participate in war. In addition to their responsibility to the country, there was another reason, which was profit.
As Julius Caesar said: "War gives the conqueror the power to make any demands on the conquered."
When the war finally comes to an end and the winner is decided, what fate awaits the defeated?
??????????? If you rank them on a scale of three, six, or nine, you can come up with countless examples, but even the best of them will not be better than before the defeat. A typical example of a king's head is that after his head was chopped off, he put it in a bag full of human blood, and then he was scolded, "I will quench your majesty's blood thirst today."
The aristocracy will either "thousands of young and middle-aged aristocrats be executed to compensate the victors who died in battle", or "the children of the aristocrats will be reduced to Tang slaves, and their innocent women will be reduced to Tang maids".
As for the ordinary civilians and soldiers, they were "cut off without a single body, and the corpses were supported by each other. Men's heads were hung on the sides of the horses, and women were carried on the back of the horses."
Even if you can save your life temporarily, you still have to "frustrated for a few moments, and you will kill the captives at will. You must use the sword of the pavilion, and my cao will not kill you. How dare you cherish your life, you can't stand his scolding. Or add a stick, and the poison and pain will be combined." Next. In the morning, I will cry and walk, and at night, I will sit in mourning. If I want to die, I can't get it, if I want to live, I can't get anything."
So, being conquered is a disaster.
The devil war has come ruthlessly to the human world. Human beings have no choice but to kowtow and surrender and worship it as a god. From the God of War Mars to the Lord of Hosts, Islam claims to ascend to heaven immediately if you die by the enemy's sword. Even Buddhism has its Vajra. War has been integrated into any kind of human spiritual consciousness and has gone hand in hand with the development of human society. All human groups, in order to protectTo protect themselves, they prepared their armies for war.
"The great affairs of the country lie in sacrifice and military affairs", "If you don't teach the people to fight, you are abandoning it."
If you don't want the enemy to tie the war horse to your fence, if you don't want your life and death to depend on the interests of others or even an occasional act of mercy, if you don't want to raise your head to look at the conqueror, you will be whipped, if you don't want to eat rice, you will become a criminal. , if you don¡¯t want others to break into your home and legally rape your wife and daughter, then the only option is to build an army for self-defense, or more radically, build an army for expansion.
Only the dead can see the war end.
The ruthless rotation of the God of War's wheels crushed almost all nations that were not good at fighting and unwilling to fight, turning them into the dust of history. Those who are lucky enough to survive will be thrown into a small corner that no one knows about to survive.
Once upon a time in the ancient Mediterranean, Rome, a powerful empire that everyone knew about, arose. As a branch of the Latin people, the Romans, who claim to be descendants of the God of War, started out in a mere Roman city. With a rock-like stubborn fighting spirit and a strong determination to fight to the last man, they have always stood firm in the constantly war-ridden Mediterranean, defeating a Another powerful enemy, until he established a great empire that was unprecedented and unprecedented.
Latins, Gauls, Carthaginians, Germans, Greeks and many other powerful nations and countries fell at the feet of the Romans and became stepping stones for Rome's advancement.
Looking through the history of the rise of Rome, people see countless glorious victories and equally countless miserable defeats. To put it bluntly, Rome was on the verge of extinction more than once.
Looking at the history of the rise of Rome, there were really big battles and small battles every day. The Romans just kept getting stronger and stronger, destroying one enemy after another. They were simply monsters like Hydra, and they cut off a head immediately. Another one will grow, and its vitality is no less than that of Xiaoqiang.
If you forget to fight, you will be in danger; if you are eager to fight, you will perish!
This is an old saying in China, but it does not work when applied to Rome. Rome was founded on war. For hundreds of years, Rome became stronger and stronger as it fought. The more wars it fought, the bigger and richer it became. There is no such thing as a warlike nature. It is clearly warlike. It will prosper, it will be strong if it is warlike, it will prosper if it is warlike. Instead of talking about war-like people who are destined to perish, it is better to say that only by sacrificing everything to war can the country be prosperous and the nation prosperous.
Agostino still feels proud when he occasionally thinks of the glory of the Roman Empire, but this kind of glory can only stay in the depths of his memory.
The powerful Roman Empire no longer exists, and those pride and glory have long been trampled on the earth by reality and turned into nothingness.
Agostino no longer remembers it. It probably started from a certain day. The Romans suffered repeated defeats, and their magic that became more and more courageous suddenly failed.
In the Battle of Teutoburg Forest, the Romans were defeated by the German Arminius, losing more than 20,000 soldiers. In the history of Roman expansion, this was not a traumatic loss. Canni, Araucio, Calle, just thinking about it, you can find several examples of defeats with more serious casualties. If you are willing to look through those historical materials, Agostino believes that you can find more. The Romans endured all these defeats and eventually came back.
But the Battle of Teutoburg Forest became a decisive battle. After this defeat, the Roman expansion to the other side of the Rhine was terminated, not for a few years, but completely terminated.
Augusta was in great pain after receiving the report, but he and his successors did not organize a counterattack. Throughout the entire Roman Empire, although there were occasional wars, it never expanded here again.
Compared with the more tragic Battle of Cannae, the performance of the Romans was completely different. After the Battle of Cannae, the Senate issued a decree prohibiting the use of the word "peace" throughout the city, and memorial services must end within a few days. This law clearly reflected the Romans' firm determination and will to fight to the end.
In contrast, Augusta tore his robes, banged his head against the wall, and shouted: "Varus! Give me back my legions!" This kind of weakness and incompetence was simply unworthy of his ancestors. Zong.
No matter how you look at it, the battle of Cannae, which almost determined the fate of the country and the nation, was far greater than the Battle of Teutoburg Forest in terms of importance and losses.
In the Battle of Cannae, the Roman army of 70,000 was completely annihilated, all local field armies were disintegrated, allies continued to rebel, and the country's annihilation was imminent.
In comparison, although the defeat of Teutoburg suffered heavy losses, the losses were less than half of Cannae. What's more, Rome at that time was no longer what it used to be. Its territory, population, and economic power were much stronger than before. I don¡¯t know how much stronger the Republic of China has become.
The situation after the war made the Romans embarrassed, but it was definitely not serious enough to destroy the country. At most it's like this?If the Germans take advantage of the victory and pursue it, the Romans will have no troops to mobilize, and Rome, the capital of all nations, will once again face the dilemma of another barbarian Gauls approaching the city. Don't say that the Roman city defenses were strong. Even if Rome fell, the Roman Empire would not be destroyed.
So, something must have gone wrong, causing the Romans, who were extremely tough, never gave up until they achieved their goals, and were unfazed by repeated defeats, to suddenly become discouraged?
In fact, the reason is very simple. At that time, the Roman Empire's finances had reached the point of depletion. They had no money. Without money, they naturally could not organize an army to take revenge. How could they fight a fart war?
The Roman Empire's investment in a soldier was very high. First of all, it needed to recruit soldiers, so it needed some soldier recruitment offices and some imperial officials responsible for recruitment, plus some publicity expenses such as the glory of being a soldier. In addition, each Soldiers have to pay a settlement fee.
Second, the recruited people cannot be called soldiers yet, so they need to be trained. Of course, during the training period, a coach must be hired and the soldiers must eat, drink and defecate. If you want to ignore training, you can recruit professional mercenaries. Naturally, military pay is much higher. According to historical experience and lessons, mercenaries are not as cost-effective as the local army, so let¡¯s leave them alone for now.
Third, after training, soldiers still need military pay to maintain their lives and weapons and equipment to arm themselves. Swords, guns, swords and halberds, spears, bows and arrows, etc. These things are consumables and will be consumed in large quantities in real wars, even in large quantities. At the Battle of Cr¨¦cy, the feathers of the arrows fired by the British even "whitened the earth."
Fourth, pensions for soldiers¡¯ casualties.
Fifth, soldiers¡¯ pensions.
Don¡¯t look at these expenses. It¡¯s simple to say that when the country is fully mobilized and the number of troops reaches a certain level, these consumptions become horrific expenditures that are enough to drag down any country¡¯s finances. A war is more expensive than a long-term victory. This is by no means an empty statement.
For example, in history, when Henry II was still the Duke of Normandy and the Duke of Anjou, he personally led his troops to fight for the British throne. Before the battle was fought, his soldiers ate up all his belongings. Poor Henry had to ask his enemies for money before he could cross the sea and return home in despair.
This is the situation the country is facing. To establish and maintain the army in the above way will cost a lot of money. In fact, it will cost a lot of money. If we rely on an understanding of the data, we can infer that a country dominated by agriculture cannot establish a large-scale army relative to its population.
Of course, if the Roman Empire did not implement a professional military system, but implemented a compulsory military system like most dynasties in Chinese history, then most of the first cost could be saved. The government issued a decree that every family would be given one of three to go to the war. If you don't go, it's against the law! OK, the first cost savings is down.
Investment in equipment can be solved in the same way. The country orders all soldiers to purchase their own equipment. In the same way, for short-term operations, soldiers can even be required to prepare their own food.
As for training, the government requires you to train yourself. In this way, the second cost issue will naturally be solved.
?Then what¡¯s left is military pay, pensions and pensions.
This problem is easier. The military salary does not need to be high, it can even be very low. You only need to promise the soldiers that "after the city is broken, they will be plundered."
As for pensions and pensions, they can be paid with small pieces of land, or even not paid at all. The imperial officials can just say, "It is your duty to serve as soldiers."
It's simple. You can build an army without spending any money. Compared with the previous empire that spent a lot of money on every cost, the army you can build with the same money can be several times or even dozens of times that of theirs. many.
The question is, can the army built in this way be able to fight?
These soldiers who were forcibly recruited did not have a cent to settle down and still worked hard for the country. Any sense of national honor was illusory. Only the gold coins they actually held in their hands were real. It is very likely that the soldiers who came here felt sad. If you are unwilling to do so, your morale will be low, and there will even be many "Xinfeng Broken Arms".
It¡¯s even more miserable to bring your own weapons and equipment. It¡¯s easy for rich people, but what about people without money?
No money means no money, you can¡¯t afford equipment!
Training is even more of a problem. Soldiers who have not been trained may not even be able to form a formation. Even if the government orders its own training, the question is, is this order effective?
To sum up, this army, which was built with almost no money, needs morale but not morale, equipment but not equipment, discipline but not discipline, and training but not training. Even if the number is ten times that of the opponent, does it make sense?
Anyone with any sense can see that numerical superiority in this kind of army is meaningless. In other words, unless these disadvantages can be offset, such a huge army is nothing more than waste.
Can I offset it without spending money?
The answer is yes!
If the social atmosphere of a country advocates force, everyone believes that "warriors are more valuable to the country than the best orators" and "sacrifice for the country is sweet and glorious."
??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? out out of the common people are in awe when they see returning soldiers. Children of nobles even see going to the battlefield as a way to continue their family's glory and flock to them, so morale won't be a problem.
¡°If the state enforces military training, or simply makes martial arts a common practice among the people, and people advocate physical exercise, then training costs can be greatly reduced.
Just like the current Tang Empire, the Tang people advocated force and had a strong sense of honor.
The Roman Empire was also such a country. At the beginning of its rise, the Romans were surrounded by enemies on all sides. Their great sense of crisis forced them to rely on mass mobilization and their cheap and efficient army.
In 295 BC, during the Third Samnite War, Rome stood on the verge of destruction, and a powerful enemy was about to attack the city. The army commanded by the famous Samnite general Agnatius united the tribes of central and northern Italy to fight against Rome, and in an ambush, they annihilated all the army commanded by the Roman consul Scipio Barbatus. Faced with the critical situation, the Romans immediately mobilized and gathered tens of thousands of troops in a short period of time, eliminating the favorable situation of the Samnites.
In 216 BC, Hannibal defeated the Roman army at Cannae and annihilated eight main Roman legions. Coupled with previous victories, the Romans had lost at least twelve legions. However, the glory of this victory was useless, because the war potential of the Romans was not so much exhausted as it was just beginning to exert force.
The Romans integrated their troops in a short period of time, prevented their allies from defecting, and expanded their troops frantically. Just five years later, the Romans already numbered twenty-five legions.
In the final analysis, the Romans had excellent mobilization capabilities and huge war potential. In other words, the Romans' soldiers were very cheap, and their financial income was enough to buy one batch of armies and another batch of troops, and throw them into the war indefinitely until they finally won. .
However, Rome¡¯s effective war system brought victory, but the victory eroded the system itself. The huge war gains eventually destroyed all Rome¡¯s war advantages against its neighboring countries. The gap between the rich and the poor inevitably caused by the war has widened, and the majority of civilians are no longer able to purchase equipment, which eventually becomes a unified purchase by the state.
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????¡ Wealth made the upper-class nobles become greedy and lustful, and internal conflicts gradually intensified. Common people were no longer willing to serve as soldiers, and finally they recruited barbarians to serve as soldiers. As you can imagine, settlement and recruitment fees cannot be saved.
The price of building an army became more and more expensive, and every defeat of the army caused heavy losses to the imperial treasury. Eventually, after weighing the benefits and costs, the empire began to stop expanding.
The Romans saw that it was not Rome that had cheap soldiers now, but the barbarians around it. The empire turned from expansion to self-defense, and the war turned from offense to defense. The Romans no longer sought war, but avoided war.
When Augusta tore his robes, banged his head against the wall, and cried hoarsely, his Roman Empire was no longer the Roman Empire it once was.
During the Third Samnite War, faced with a critical situation and relying only on the city's own human resources, the Romans mobilized 10 legions and about 40,000 people. After the Battle of Teutoburg Forest, Augusta ordered conscription. Men under the age of thirty-five were drafted once in ten, and men over the age of thirty-five were drafted once in fifteen. Those who refused to comply were deprived of property. Even so, not many people are willing to serve as soldiers. The Rome where all the people were soldiers has become a Rome where "one out of ten, one out of fifteen" cannot be achieved.
The Roman Empire once dominated the three continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa, turning the vast Mediterranean into its own "inland lake." The city of Rome has majestic buildings and a large scale. It is made of marble of the same color. This "eternal city" can be passed down for generations. Unexpectedly, the eternal foundation declined rapidly. Until 395 AD, the empire's top officials had internal strife, and then split into two parts. You lived yours, and I lived mine. In fact, they were two countries. By 476 AD, the Western Roman Empire finally Killed by the Germans.
A huge empire that dominates the world rises and falls suddenly.
Why did it die so quickly?
Some blame the Roman Empire for its luxurious baths. At first glance, it sounds completely irrelevant. But if you think about it carefully, what the "luxury bathroom" represents is the collective decadence of the public spiritual life of ancient Rome and the large-scale degeneration of social culture. There is an old Chinese saying: "The greatest sorrow is the death of the heart." The heart of Rome died in the sensuality of collective participation.
The ordinary residential area in Rome is dilapidated and has no housing.Health facilities. It turns out that they moved these things to the streets. To put it bluntly, they are public facilities. The most interesting thing is the magnificent toilets. These "places of reincarnation of grains" are all made of exquisite marble carvings, and the walls are decorated with statues of mythological stories and battle heroes. I don¡¯t know what it feels like to be so convenient in such a place.
The toilets are so luxurious, and the public bathrooms are even more jaw-dropping. There is a "Bath of Caracalla" in Rome, which covers an area of ??120,000 square meters and can accommodate 2,300 people bathing at the same time. In addition to providing hot baths, cold baths and tepid baths, it also has a gym, lounge, garden and library. These facilities are comparable to the luxury baths of later generations.
In public places, you should naturally be careful of secular etiquette. Originally, there were relatively strict regulations in this area: nudity and mixing of men and women were prohibited in bathing areas.
Unfortunately, by the end of the Roman Empire, these dogmas had become a piece of paper. Luxurious bathrooms have almost completely become a place for adultery and theft. Whenever a prostitute takes a bath, people around her are laughing and talking obscenely.
Even if a good woman appears, the strange man will let the slave girl scrub and massage him unscrupulously, not caring at all that the strange woman is next to him.
Like banquets and bathing, these daily activities are combined with fornication. In ancient Rome, ordinary people ate twice a day, but princes and nobles had to eat four times, of which dinner was the most formal.
The banquet of the tyrant Nero is a typical example of this kind of banquet. This kind of banquet is full of wine, food and sex. The host showed off the beauty of his wives and concubines at the banquet, dazzling the guests. At the same time, a goddess was serving the wine. Even Cicero, the always rigorous Roman statesman, orator and philosopher, was served by goddesses at dinner, caressing their beautiful breasts while eating.
In addition, incidents of public incest and incest in ancient Rome appeared one after another. The infamous "Flower Festival" is one example. According to Tacitus in the Chronicles, this flower festival, also known as the "Venus Festival", began during the reign of Emperor Galba as a celebration to honor the goddess Flora. Flora was the favorite concubine of Emperor Tiberius. The emperor often had her scratches and bite marks on his shoulders and arms, which shows the fierceness of this woman and the closeness of their relationship. After this woman died, she dedicated all her huge inheritance to the Roman citizens, so people built a temple for her and respected her as a goddess.
It sounds nice, but it¡¯s actually a ¡°prostitute¡¯s day¡± in disguise. Every year from April 26 to May 23, the nearly month-long "Flower Festival" is equivalent to a legal carnival for prostitutes.
It is said that during this period, 200,000 prostitutes flooded the streets of Rome. They were all gorgeous, naked and erotic, and used hot and lustful expressions to flatter the public, especially those who were smiling. of men.
There is also a celebration ceremony, where hundreds of prostitutes are tied with drag ropes into a huge bouquet, and the bouquet surrounds a huge phallus. They inserted the penis into the body of the god Flora worshiped in the temple, and she also had an imitation of the female vagina. In full view of the public, Yin and Yang finally completed their peace, and immediately, the girl's silk skirt display was staged in the amphitheater. Her beautiful body is still exposed, sexy and naked. Prostitutes outside, in order to attract business and customers, will not hesitate to provide free "Venus services" to stranger men who are salivating.
The whole Roman society was filled with an atmosphere of drunkenness and dreams. Who still thinks about life and promotes progress?
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Soon, the Roman Empire was hollowed out, and even the most basic abilities of the whole body were lost. From the inside out, the top-down moral decay and behavioral depravity were quickly reflected in Rome's comprehensive national strength. In August 410 AD, the Visigoths easily captured Rome, known as the "Eternal City". This historic city immediately fell into a sea of ??fire and turned into ruins.
Some historians have commented that the fall of Rome was mainly due to its immorality. This is not unreasonable. The Romans were rough and indulgent. They not only indulged in sexual desire, but also indulged in all other aspects of lust, including "wine, sex, wealth, and energy". Sometimes they were even debauched to the point of flooding.
The Byzantine Empire can be said to be the successor of the Roman Empire. In the early days, the Byzantine Empire also inherited the powerful force of the Roman Empire. It spanned Europe, Asia and Africa, and was invincible. In history, the process of the rise of the Roman Empire repeated itself.
But what happens next?
The nobles of the Byzantine Empire have also fallen. Their luxurious life has made them forget the hardships of their ancestors' entrepreneurship. They only know how to enjoy, but do not know the responsibilities of being a noble.
If Byzantium now had as powerful a force as the Roman Empire, how could Agostino endure the huge anger in his heart as he does now?
The glory of the past has long gone, and the huge empire that shocked the world has long become the dust of history. Although Agostino had a hundred or a thousand unwillingnesses in his heart, he had toWithout facing reality, compared with the newly powerful Tang Dynasty, the Byzantine Empire can only survive in the cracks.
"General! As far as I know, the territory of the Tang Empire is extremely huge. Egypt is just a barren land. Except for the banks of the Nile River, there are deserts everywhere here. I don't understand why you are so persistent in such a barren soil. It is unreasonable to include it in the territory of the Tang Empire, even at the expense of enmity with its allies!"
Seeing Agostino's tone softening, Xue Rengui felt even more contemptuous in his heart. A soldier who could not safeguard the dignity of his country would not be respected by him.
"General Agostino! First of all, I want to correct something. The occupation of Egypt is not my personal wish, but the will of His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. I have no right to question it. As a soldier, all I can do is obey , and implement it at all costs. Byzantium can question our country¡¯s decision, but it has no right to interfere. After all, this is not Byzantine territory right now!¡±
Agostino argued: "But your goal is the entire African continent, so why are you unwilling to use Egypt to help your allies? This is our common interest!"
Hearing this, Xue Rengui stood up and raised his voice: "Every inch of the Tang Empire's territory is the core interest of the Tang Empire and is not for sale. As a soldier, my robe and I will defend it at the cost of our lives." It, General Agostino, on this issue, is different to discuss, well! I know that Constantinople is now facing the threat of great cannibals, if you don't want Yezid to put him in Egypt If your troops are also mobilized back to join the war against Byzantium, please stop talking, we are going to chase those escaped cannibals now, this is the only thing we can do for you now!"
Xue Rengui¡¯s fierce retort left Agostino speechless. He could only look at Pienaar as if asking for help, but to his disappointment, Pienaar was unwilling to look at him.
Pienaar's mood at the moment was also filled with endless sadness. The power he once had was long gone. Both the Eastern Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire were inevitably in decline.
Now in this world, the Tang people belong to that nation full of honor and self-discipline. The Romans have long fallen behind the Tang people in their indulgent and luxurious life, unable to catch up.
Agostino left, leaving with a sense of loss, knowing that the Byzantine Empire would no longer have their Egyptian province, and Pienaar also left with him, since learning that Justinian II had been killed , after Leo III came to power, he wanted to go back, not to beg for mercy from his new master and win favor. As a soldier, he still had a sense of honor. When his motherland faced a crisis, he had to go back.
In fact, Xue Rengui didn't even know why Du Rui was so enthusiastic about occupying Egypt. In his opinion, it was really too much to waste a lot of manpower and force and fight against the Byzantine Empire just for such a barren land. Some gain outweighs the loss.
¡°However, Xue Rengui is a strictly self-disciplined soldier. He never questions the orders issued by the court, just like he has been marching towards the bitter cold land in the north for more than ten years.
"Send the order, prepare the army, march westward, and pursue Mubak!" - Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report
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