"refugee?"
Nero asked the soldier who came to report in confusion.
The soldier turned his head and looked tentatively at Animusfia's face.
Animusfia frowned slightly, then returned to normal and nodded to the soldier.
The soldier who received Animusfia's approval breathed a sigh of relief and spoke frankly to Nero.
"The refugees said they were coming from Florence and wanted to take refuge in Rome and Pisa."
Are you here already?....
From an angle that Nero couldn't see, Animusfia sighed.
Although the speed of the refugees' escape was slightly beyond Animusfia's prediction, their appearance was still reasonable.
If possible, he still did not want these refugees to have direct contact with Nero.
Perhaps it would have been more convenient to burn them all to death in the city.
But now the deal is done, Nero already knows about the existence of these people.
"Why? Isn't Florence a very prosperous city? Even if the war burns there, you won't be able to escape from the city, right? If it's to avoid the enemy - well, tell the people that the enemy has been captured by the Governor He Yu has been annihilated, and there is no need to flee anymore.”
Nero said, puffing out his bulging chest.
So the problem to be dealt with now is to divert Nero's attention.
There are some things that it would be better for her not to know.
"No... Your Majesty, the refugees said that Florence... has been razed to the ground by fire."
The soldier hesitated.
"What? Fire?"
"Well... they said that as soon as Caesar's army entered the city... the city of Florence was inexplicably ignited with fire, and the fire could not be extinguished. In the end, Florence was razed. For the sake of level ground…”
Without waiting for Nero's reaction, Animusfia took up the conversation.
"I'm afraid it's the result of the [United Empire] rebels burning, killing, and looting in the city. Like the sacrificed soldiers, this is also a part of the war. Don't take it too seriously, Your Majesty, we will continue to discuss Rome's preparations for counterattack. "
But Nero was not so satisfied with Animusphia's explanation.
"Hmm... As expected, I still want to go to Florence to see it in person..."
"That's not necessary, Your Majesty. The top priority now is to return to Rome and prepare for a counterattack."
"but----"
"His Majesty."
Animusfia looked straight at Nero.
"Hmm..."
Nero had no choice but to nod and agreed to Animusfia's "request".
"You should also retreat and notify the military formation in front to ignore the refugees and continue marching."
Animusfia looked at the soldier who was still standing aside.
"Ah, um, yes!"
The soldier who came back to his senses stretched out his right hand to salute Nero and Animusfia, and then trotted back to the formation in front.
"....Governor."
"What's the matter, Your Majesty, is there anything I can do for you?"
After changing her previous inhumanity in commanding the soldiers, Animusfia once again returned to the image of a loyal servant in front of Nero.
"At least, I want to meet those refugees...and then bring them back to Rome to settle down."
"You don't need to worry, Your Majesty. I will inform Lord Seneca to do these trivial matters. Just come back to Rome with me. If you are really worried, I will take care of it myself. Just use That move just now.”
Animusfia stretched out her index finger and shook it slightly, indicating her magic.
Nero finally nodded obediently:
"Hmm, then leave it to the Governor."
"Then let's hurry up and get on our way, Your Majesty, if we wait any longer, your fleet will have to return to port."
Animusfia said with a smile.
Animusfia's original plan was just to let the legions in the camp steal Octavian's warships. He was even prepared for the entire legion to be broken up and placed on different ships.
If that were the case, he would have chosen to stand still, wait until Octavian returned to their port in Gaul, and then wait for an opportunity to steal the ship and sail the warship back to Rome.
However, Octavian directly trusted the entire legion and moved it into his own warship.
Then Animusfia would naturally not let this opportunity pass by.
Rather than saying that he stole Octavian's ship, it is better to say that Octavian simply gave the ship to Animusfia.
The fleet will arrive at the port much earlier than he expected.
In fact, in terms of speed alone, even if Animusfia had withdrawn its troops early and brought the entire Romagna First Army back, it still could not be compared with ships sailing on the sea.
However, thanks to the "all roads lead to Rome", the Romans built roads extending in all directions with Rome as the center in order to consolidate their rule in Italy. The land journey from Pisa back to Rome was not much slower than the sea journey.
Finally, after getting rid of the refugee episode, Animusphia and Nero returned to Rome, and followed the Tiber River down to the coastline southwest of Rome, where the army was stationed.
Seneca had been waiting here for a long time.
Rows of small sailing boats like canoes line the harbor.
Any inexperienced child can tell that this is just a "ship" made by hollowing out a strong enough log and sharpening the two ends.
I'm afraid no one can cross the sea with this kind of thing. Even if it doesn't carry anything, it may not be able to float to Gaul.
"Teacher! What's going on?"
Nero pointed to the ships in the harbor that could barely carry even one person.
"Not to mention that you are so young and don't even have oars. How can you be a battleship?"
"But the design drawings given to me by Lord Animusfia are like this, Your Majesty."
Seneca said quite innocently.
To be honest, he didn't know about this kind of superficial wood - yes, these so-called ships could only be counted as wood in Seneca's eyes.
Seneca had no idea how to use the wood to fight.
But the good news of Animusfia and Nero in the past few days has been sent back to Rome. Since it was Animusfia's order, Seneca complied with it for the time being.
If it weren't for such a perfunctory ship, he wouldn't have been able to build hundreds of them in such a short period of time.
"If you really want to ask, you still have to ask His Excellency the Governor."
Seneca turned his attention to Animusfia.
"Governor, is this really what you ordered?"
Animusfia nodded in disbelief.
"But?"
Nero pointed to the canoes in the harbor who were almost rebelling against the rising tide.
"Can these really be used in combat?"
"Of course, Your Majesty."
"But they don't even have oars. Isn't that what a battleship should be like?"
Nero then pointed at the warships, which were dimly blocked by the setting sun. The oars arranged high and low rested quietly on the sea surface like centipede or centipede legs.
Those were the ships that Animusphia had stolen from Octavian Augustus just after returning to port.
For Nero, who lived in the Mediterranean area, sails were a dispensable thing, and oars were the truly indispensable thing for a ship.
Although there have been several tragedies in the past where Roman legions were wiped out by storms in the Mediterranean, people who have lived in this sea area for thousands of years believe that this Mediterranean Sea is the calm "Pacific Ocean".
Long before the rise of Rome, the Greeks relied on their oars to travel throughout the Mediterranean, even reaching the Black Sea in the east.
It's no wonder that Nero regarded "oars" as the top priority of his warship.
However, Animusfia's purpose in asking Seneca to build these ships was not to carry people.
Octavian's ships are enough for him to transport the troops of two legions. If it is really not enough, just make one more trip.
"These ships are used to attack enemy ships, Your Majesty."
Animusfia pointed to the sulfur and hay piled by the port.
"You just need to load those things into these small boats and set them on fire - imagine how spectacular it will be when all these fire ships rush towards the enemy when the war begins."
Animusfia narrowed her eyes and imagined the scene that was going to happen on the sea in front of her.
"But who can control these boats, these pieces of wood... How can the boats rush towards the enemy?"
Seneca couldn't help but ask the question that he had been wondering since he supervised the construction of the ship.
"Don't you see those sails, Lord Seneca."
Animusfia turned to Seneca with a hint of reproach.
"Only by sail————?"
"Only by sail."
Animusfia nodded confidently.
"Not to mention whether there will be wind in the battle that day, even if the wind direction is correct, these small boats will not be able to catch up with the enemy ships."
Although Seneca didn't know much about military affairs, he still had expectations about whether the ships he personally supervised could catch up with the galleys, which often had dozens of oars.
"Do you doubt me, Lord Seneca?"
Nero actually held a rather pessimistic attitude.
But she still chose to trust her governor.
After all, Animusfia has never failed her until now.
"Please trust me and prepare for war, Your Majesty."
Animusfia bowed deeply to Nero.
"The time when we will have a decisive battle at sea with Lord Octavian is not far away."
