"But there are not many regions left for the Romans to conquer now. To the west of the Iberian Peninsula is the sea, to the south of the Mediterranean is a vast desert, and to the east of it is largely desert as well, leaving only Armenia and the Parthian Kingdom.

However, the Parthian Kingdom is very powerful, and if the Romans want to conquer it, they must first consolidate their newly acquired territories in Little Asia and Syria. Only after meticulous preparations might they dare to launch an attack, which will take quite some time..."

"Let's take a look north of the Mediterranean!" Maximus's finger forcefully pointed on the wooden table: "To the west and in the central region, there are vast lands inhabited by Celts and their branch, the Gaul. To the east live us Illyrians and you Dacians, and further north are the Germanic tribes...

Such an expanse of land has not yet been conquered by the Romans. Do you think the Romans won't be greedy?! Won't they wage wars against us to gain achievements and wealth?!—"

Maximus pounded the table, startling Brebishta and Deqineu. He said with an angry and stern voice, "Of course the greedy Romans will do this! And they've already started! Ulysses Caesar was a former governor of Rome; a few years ago, he became the governor of the three provinces of Western France, Northern Italy, and Illyria. He brazenly launched an invasion against the Gauls, and within a few years, he conquered most of the Gaul tribes, turning countless Gaul warriors into Roman slaves, and many Gaul tribes were forced to surrender their accumulated wealth over the years...

That Caesar was not satisfied with conquering Gaul, he even led his army into the land of the Germanic tribes! Once he conquers the entire west, the Roman swords will surely be pointed east at us! This may happen in the next few years, or it might be in the next few decades!...

But I do not wish to live on with a fluke, living in humiliation with my tribesmen until the day of destruction comes! To prevent our tribe from being destroyed, and our tribesmen kneeling like cattle and sheep before the Romans, enslaved by them until death! I must prepare the tribe now for a decisive battle against the Romans; we Nix people would rather die in battle than become slaves of Rome!"

"We Dacians are no different!" Brebishta, fired up by Maximus's words, couldn't help but roar in anger.

Deqineu coughed a few times, saying solemnly, "Though we Dacians are inland, we occasionally have Greek merchants coming to trade, so we know about a few years ago when that Roman General named Pompey conquered many powers in the east, and we also know the Romans are currently fighting against the Gauls...

In reality, the Romans not only incited the Odryssians to harass our territory but after defeating the Paphlagonia Kingdom, they also occupied most of the coastal areas of the Yoke Star Sea, which is very close to our territory and poses a significant threat to us!...

However, as you said earlier, Rome controls the entire Mediterranean and is so powerful—if we rush to war with Rome, we could be wiped out in a moment!"

Maximus gave Deqineu a deep look, pressed lightly on the map he had drawn, and said confidently, "The Romans are indeed powerful, but they are not without flaws. Although they control vast territories, the truly loyal Romans are only those in Rome and the Roman citizens confined to the colonized towns they established around the Mediterranean.

There are about two to three million of these Romans, although they are more than us Nix people, they are far from being comparable to the population of all the different races around the Mediterranean.

And Rome cannot effectively govern the provinces it controls because they only know how to extract wealth from the provincial people and force them to fight for them. The provincials have long harbored resentment against Rome, merely feigning compliance out of fear of the might of the Roman Army.

You should know... Even among those Italians who were conquered by Rome early and are closest to Rome, there are some ethnic groups discontent with the Romans, like the Samnites and Marsi... Once given the opportunity, they would certainly cause trouble for the Romans.

So if the Romans were to suffer a significant defeat and their military strength greatly weakened, then I believe those provincials and Rome's controlled subordinate forces would all rebel, causing fires of war everywhere around the Mediterranean, leading to the fragmentation of Rome's provinces, and its power would naturally cease to exist.

But how can we make the militarily strong Romans suffer a major defeat?—"

Maximus deliberately paused, sweeping a glance at the three people listening intently, and then slowing his speech with a clearer tone, "Actually, there is a significant defect in Rome that has existed since it was still a small city-state and has now become a tremendous threat to the whole nation—that is the conflict between the nobles and the plebeians!

For a long time, the Roman nobles have held most of the power and wealth, while the plebeians, who are the main force of the army, have long been fighting and shedding blood and sweat, but receiving very little in return, so they are very dissatisfied with the nobles.

You should know that Rome does not have a king now; its highest authority is the Senate, where hundreds of elders debate and make laws for Rome, most of whom are of noble birth, hence the demands of the plebeians are often not passed.

A long time ago, plebeians forced the nobles to yield by collectively leaving Rome and refusing to fight for Rome to meet their demands. But this method no longer works because the land Rome controls keeps expanding, its population keeps growing, and Rome is getting wealthier. The nobles can use their wealth to hire vagrants with no land or home as soldiers to fight for Rome, eliminating the need to concede to plebeians. They even publicly kill those officials who dare to speak up for the plebeians...

Of course, the plebeians would not resign themselves to being oppressed by the nobles. As Romans, they still have the right to elect and recommend officials at various levels in Rome, which is why those Roman Generals who excel in war and are not from traditional noble backgrounds have become the favorites of the plebeians.

The plebeians promote these generals to key positions in Roman politics, and these generals, in return, use their power to seek benefits for the plebeians.

But the nobles will not share their acquired benefits with the plebeians; both sides refuse to yield, ultimately leading only to resolving their conflict through war. So a few decades ago, a civil war broke out in Rome, killing many, and the nobles emerged victorious.

But the plebeians have not yielded. This time they have chosen a new leader to fight for their rights, and that person is Caesar!—"

"The same Caesar fighting against the Gauls?!" Brebishta asked in surprise.

"Yes, him! During Rome's previous civil war, the two generals supported by the plebeians were his uncle and father-in-law. Because of this, he was persecuted by the nobles in his youth and had to flee to the East. Even when he returned to Rome later, he never changed his preference for the plebeians.

The Roman nobles fear him greatly, but because he allied with the most powerful men in Rome—Pompey and Crassus—they can do nothing about him. So they eventually allowed him to become the governor of the three provinces in Northern Italy. Now he has waged war against the Gauls and by making use of this war, is desperately expanding his army, which probably fills the Roman nobles with even more fear because it threatens their control over Rome.

They will certainly devise various ways to strip Caesar of his rights and dismantle his army. But Caesar, who has struggled to get where he is, will not comply easily, so the tension and conflict between the two sides will only intensify!—"

Maximus suddenly raised his voice by an octave, forcefully swung his right fist to demonstrate his confidence: "I can predict that within ten years, Rome will undergo another civil war, more brutal than the last! The Roman civil war will certainly deplete Rome's power immensely. I will seize this advantageous timing to lead an army to launch an attack on Rome!—"

Maximus gazed intently at Brebishta, extending his hand with a sincere and infectious tone, "Today I have come here mainly to form a military alliance with you—the great King Brebishta of Dacia—so that when the time comes, we can deliver a fatal blow to Rome, thereby completely eliminating the threat Rome poses to our respective tribes, allowing our descendants to live freely and comfortably on this land!"

"Leader Maximus—" Deqineu attempted to speak again but was stopped by Brebishta's outstretched hand.

This Dacian king seemed to have flames burning in his eyes, his expression resolute, his voice like a bell, "Leader Maximus, you have the courage to fight against the Romans; I, Brebishta, am not a coward. I am willing for Dacia to ally with the Nix against Rome and together smash Rome to pieces!"

"Great! With your support from Dacia, I am even more confident of defeating Rome!" Maximus said with visible delight, then seized the opportunity to add, "Then from today, Nix and Dacia will form a military alliance, using this segment of the Danube River flowing from north to south as the boundary, with the east belonging to you Dacians and the west to us Nix. The two tribes will live in harmony, strengthen exchanges, develop together, and enhance military strength... When the time comes, we will join forces to attack the Romans. What do you think?!"

"Good, I agree!" Brebishta blurted out, but he then thought of something and amended, "But I have another proposal. If the Taurisci continue to aid the Boyi in opposing you Nix, I support Nix in eliminating the Taurisci and incorporating their land into the Nix tribe. We Dacians are also willing to send troops to assist."

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