one second, Gaius thought to himself, but he had to answer, and he sensed from Claudius' previous statement that the truth would be more valuable to him than sycophancy. "In my opinion, Tiberius was very competent," Gaius replied carefully. "His real strength was that he maintained good supply and morale. The men liked him, and he looked after them."
"B b but?"
"His campaigns were mainly defensive, which limits what can be said."
"And J J Julius?"
"He had great natural ability, and he moved with great speed," Gaius said. Where was all this going? "He had some marvellous victories, but for many of them, he had to."
"M meaning?"
"In Gaul, he was often out of supply," Gaius said. "He had to win to eat. Yes, he had a brilliant win at Pharsalus, but Pompey should have cleaned him out at Dyrrhachium."
Claudius thought for a moment, then said with a slight smile, "And G Germanicus?"
"Little Boots' father," Gaius said slowly, and when Claudius nodded in agreement, he said, "The troops liked him even more than Tiberius. They almost revered him, which meant that he had to have been an impressive leader, and he won a triumph, and that takes some doing, but . . ."
"B b but?"
"His campaign in the East was less than successful," Gaius shook his head.
"And your p pick of Roman generals?"
"Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus," Gaius said simply, pleased to comment on someone not in the Imperial Family. "He defeated a truly great opponent, taking advantage of a careless habit. He knew Hannibal would start with elephants, and he turned the elephants to Hannibal's disadvantage. You know what with?" Gaius smiled.
"T tell me."
"Sound and sunlight," Gaius smiled. "The use of sunlight was truly brilliant."
"There c could be other n natural things to use, y you know."
"Oh, there are. There're hills, rivers . . ."
"I m mean, like the sun. L like fire. Th the Greeks thought about using giant m m mirrors to burn sails on ships, and th throwing b burning s sulphur, and . . ." He paused, then added, "Th there must b be more."
"I suppose."
"Y you would d do very well by Tiberius if you thought of something," he added. "It'd p p please him to think his G G Greek was useful."
"That's easier said than done," Gaius remarked.
"I d doubt everything's been th th thought about," Claudius shrugged. "I m m mean, nobody's thought v very much about . . . w well . . y you know."
Gaius was not sure that he did, but he agreed.
"Y you m must write to m me," Claudius said. "Tell me w what you're d doing. I would like to know wh what it's like out of Rome."
"I'll write," Gaius nodded.
"P p promise!"
Gaius looked at him, and suddenly realized this required a genuine commitment. To slight someone in the Imperial Family could be very bad for one's career. Claudius might not seem important, but the slight would be felt more strongly if he thought he was being ignored because of his awkward appearance or stutter. "I promise," Gaius nodded.
"One more thing!"
"Yes?"
"S send reports to Little B boots. Flatter his ego, b b but don't overdo it. G gaius is v very intelligent, and he respects honesty in th the flattery."
"I'll do that too. Is it important?"
"Y you recognized him as the next P princeps ," Claudius pointed out. "Wh who else is th there?"
"You mean, remind him who I am, just in case?" Gaius said.
"L look like y you'll serve him, even b before you h have to," Claudius grinned.
Gaius suddenly found a new respect for Claudius. He was clearly a long-term planner, and he understood very clearly the intrigues of the Imperial Family, and so he should, having learned from the great Augustus, possibly the greatest manipulator of all time. And while nobody seemed to take much notice of Claudius, he appeared to be able to arrange some things quite well. And Gaius certainly knew better than to irritate even the least significant of that family. He chatted for a while with Claudius, becoming quite surprised at how much Claudius appeared to know, then
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