The bells of the naval battle for supremacy in the Mediterranean ceased. The new fleet that the Romans had hastily assembled ceased to exist under the combined maritime power of Qin and Carthage. The Roman navy, composed of merchant sailors and mercenaries, was obviously weaker in combat power. Their end was Like the Roman Republic, a sunset country, it was about to wither before it was fully open. The Roman fleet was almost completely destroyed in the waters off Corsica. This battle situation 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 peripheral protection of the entire peninsula would become fragmented, and the Qin navy fleet would be at risk at any time. It was possible to carry soldiers to the Roman mainland anywhere. Faced with such a critical situation, Scipio no longer cared about sitting on the front line of the Alps. After hurriedly asking Pompey to defend it with all his strength, he returned south with more than 20,000 elite troops. In the eighteenth year of the Qin Dynasty, summer began. 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 Massacres were carried out in northeastern Iberia, and nearly tens of thousands of Roman adherents 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 Speaker of the Senate. This proposal was passed with almost no resistance. ,thus. Scipio, the Roman military strongman, finally combined military power and political power. At this moment, the republican system of Rome ceased to exist, and was replaced by the new dictatorial system of the Roman Empire. Republic and dictatorship. are two important comparative indicators in the process of human history. ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????¡ It gradually developed from a weak and small city-state into the most powerful country in the Mediterranean. 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 is that Rome was slow to respond to important national decisions and repeatedly lost military and battlefield initiative. October to November. For a whole month. On the one hand, 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 industry levels were related to the Qin State. Even if they were in a hostile relationship, the Romans finally had to admit in the face of facts that they had to learn from the strengths of their eastern enemies, otherwise, they would 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. Soldiers' weapons are no longer provided by the soldiers themselves, but are made uniformly by the state's specialized weapons manufacturing department, following the Qin State's military manufacturing methods. 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, bows and arrows, swords and The javelin was only an auxiliary weapon, and now that the spear was replaced by the heavy javelin, the Romans' long-range strike capabilities were greatly improved, as you can imagine. When the two armies faced each other, the overwhelming forest of Roman javelins would put great pressure on their opponents. In addition, the new short sword issued by the Roman army was about two feet in length. The sword was about two inches wide, heavy, and had a very sharp point. The hilt can be made of wood, bone, ivory or metal. The role of this short sword is better at assassinating than slashing. 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 the improvements in weapons, the most obvious change in the Roman army's recruitment is the addition of two fixed branches: 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, with little opportunity to conduct intensive tactical training. But now, the Romans have decided to follow the example of the Qin army and mobilize all existing front-line soldiers.As a standing army, the equipment, food, supplies and equipment of these soldiers 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 also Like the military title system of the Qin State, the meeting will commend soldiers who have made military exploits. The young reserve soldiers are mainly composed of teenagers who are over 13 years old and under 16 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. Qin was also aware of these changes in the Apennines. 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. This made the various Qin armies who could only fight with light weapons face great difficulties. We can only look at the dangerous pass 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 go around the enemy's rear to shake the entire Roman defense line, but the results were always unsatisfactory.