Chapter 1119
"Dido is not happy about this either, but she said that the King of Devers wrote her a letter, hoping that she would not stop Hanno and the others from escaping to the Eastern Mediterranean. Otherwise, when the news of their deaths reaches Carthage, the Carthage nobles will panic, and the alliance between Carthage and Diónia will be in trouble … Oh, the King of Devers also promised that even if Hanno and the others escape to Tyre, they will not be able to escape Diónia's punishment. But that is not now …"
"What does that mean?!" Hasdrubal blinked and asked in surprise, "Does the King of Devers intend to declare war on Persia?!"
"It's not impossible." Kisego seemed to have noticed Hasdrubal's words as well, and had analyzed it carefully on the way back. He said, "Eastern Phoenicia is a vassal state of Persia. If they send their fleet to participate in the war in the Western Mediterranean, it is equivalent to Persia declaring war on Diónia. However, both sides have tacitly not mentioned this until now. However, when the war in the Western Mediterranean was about to end, Persia had sent messengers to the King of Diónia to stop the war against Carthage. It is said that they even threatened the King of Devers, but the King of Devers firmly refused. The King of Devers is a strong-willed man. I'm afraid he still remembers this matter … "
"Fighting against Persia!" Hasdrubal leaned back in his chair, his eyes filled with infinite longing. He said excitedly, "Daring to fight against the mighty Persia, this is the bearing of a rising kingdom! Looks like I need to make more achievements here, so that I can lead my army to seek revenge on Hanno in the future! "
… …
Five days later, in the early morning of the Daolian Barracks in the territory of Florentia, sentries were patrolling on the walls.
"Look! There's an enemy! "shouted a sentinel, pointing to the front.
A cloud of black smoke rose from the mountains in the north …
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a plume of black smoke rising from the mountains in the northeast, and then from the northwest …
In a short period of time, there were at least six or seven spots of black smoke rising into the sky as far as the sentries could see. They were all from the sentry towers built in the mountain ridges around the camp. Usually, it was rare to see two plumes of black smoke at the same time, but today's situation was unprecedented.
"Quick, inform the commander that the Gauls are invading!" the patrolling officer said nervously.
Not long after, the alarm in the barracks rang.
The soldiers quickly put on their armor, picked up their weapons, and ran out of the dormitory.
The civilians in the civilian district also received the emergency notice. They quickly packed their important belongings and fled to the nearby city of Florentia.
Escorted by his subordinates, Hasdrubal climbed to the top of the northern wall and saw tens of thousands of Gauls pouring out of the mountains, charging towards the barracks in a black mass.
It was the first time Hasdrubal had seen such a large number of Gauls, but he was experienced in battle and did not panic. Instead, he said calmly, "Inform all the soldiers to prepare for defense! At the same time, send messengers to inform the other two barracks to hold their positions and not to help each other! "
"Yes, sir!"
"Send messengers to Rome immediately. Inform the governor of Rome, Asistes, that the Gauls are invading Etruria, and ask for reinforcements!"
"Yes, sir!"
After making the arrangements, Hasdrubal looked at the nervous soldiers around him and shouted, "Soldiers of the border legion, they say that the Gauls are scary, but we have defeated them many times! They may have a lot of soldiers now, but these natives are not good at sieging cities. We have strong defenses and enough food. As long as we hold our ground for ten days to half a month, the kingdom's reinforcements will arrive. Then, we can work with them and destroy the invading Gauls. You have done a great service, and the kingdom might reward you by shortening the time you can become an official citizen! "
"Roar! Roar! Roar! " The soldiers roared excitedly.
… … …
In the evening, a banquet was about to be held in the residence of the assistant governor of Rome, Cloto Catax, to celebrate the prince's promotion to the governor of Venus.
All the invited guests had arrived, except for the most important guest, the governor of Rome, Asistes, who had yet to arrive, so the banquet had not yet begun.
However, the guests knew that Asistes was busy and never attended any banquets. He only agreed to come this time because of Cloto Catax's special status. It was an honor to be able to attend, so the guests waited patiently with anticipation.
At the head of the banquet, Cloto Catax was having a pleasant conversation with his brother-in-law, Patroclus.
Since Patroclus became the commander of the 14th Legion last year, the two families, who were originally relatives, had more contact with each other now that they lived close to each other.
At this moment, a man rushed into the hall and said loudly, "Sirs, we have just received news that the Gauls have invaded the Etruscan territory. Lord Asistes has ordered you to go to the administrative office immediately to discuss countermeasures!"
Everyone recognized that this was the clerk of Asistes, so naturally, the order he conveyed would not be false. There was an uproar at the banquet, but no one rushed to leave. Everyone looked at the host of the banquet.
Cloto Catax stood up without hesitation and said, "The invasion of the Gauls is a big deal, we have to hurry to the administrative office!"
Then he said to the servants, "Pack all the dishes and send them to the administrative office! Everyone may be busy until late into the night. How can we eat without dinner? "
The servants hurriedly went to work, and the guests praised Cloto Catax for his thoughtfulness as they followed him out of the residence.
In the inner room, Dido was also entertaining the families of the guests. She said it was to celebrate her husband's promotion, but to her, it was also a celebration of Hanno's expulsion and Carthage's joining the Diónia Alliance.
When the news from the hall reached the inner room, the women looked panicked. Only Dido remained calm. She comforted the crowd loudly, "Madams, there is nothing to worry about! The Gauls' army is far away in the north of Etruria, and our border legions are keeping them in check. Our Rome region and the surrounding allies will soon organize a large reinforcement army to cross the Tiber River and repel the Gauls who have invaded Etruria. In the south, the Kingdom will soon send more reinforcements after receiving the news. The Gauls will not be able to set foot in Rome at all. Don't worry! "
With Dido's comfort, the wives of the officials not only gradually eased their panic, but also ate happily.
… …
The administrative office of Rome was also located in the city of Rome, only two blocks away from the city hall. When Cloto Catax, Patroclus and the others entered the meeting room, Asistes was giving orders to the officials under him.
"Immediately go to Selce and inform the Walsi to send reinforcements according to the covenant and fight with our army against the invading Gauls!"
"Immediately go to Forentirum and tell the Hernici that the Gauls are coming. Let them gather their troops and gather in Rome!"
"Immediately go to the Sabines and tell them to send reinforcements as soon as possible …"
… …
After receiving the orders, the officials hurried out of the meeting room. They did not even have time to return home. They acted as messengers, mounted their horses, brought their attendants, and rushed to their destination in the dark of the night.
When Asistes saw Cloto Catax come in, he said to him seriously, "I'm sorry that your banquet can't be held. And with the enemy at hand, Rome is short of manpower. As the adjutant of the administrative office of Rome, you have basically taken charge of the main government affairs of Rome for more than a year, so I have no choice but to ask you to temporarily suspend your post in Wei Ai and help me manage Rome for the time being. At the same time, take on the heavy responsibility of providing logistical support for the army! "
After Asistes took office as the administrative office of Rome, the Devers did not remove him from his original position as the administrative office of Rome. Instead, they let him continue to hold the post. However, Asistes did not forget himself because of the power in his hands. Instead, he made a decision that Cloto Catax would gradually take over the administrative affairs of Rome, citing that he had to manage the administrative affairs of the entire region and was too busy.
But he never expected that a year later, the Devers would transfer Cloto Catax to Wei Ai.
"I am willing to listen to your arrangement, Lord Asistes. I will contribute my greatest strength to resist the Gauls and defend Rome!" Cloto Catax said firmly.
The Asistes had expected Cloto Catax to answer like this. He immediately arranged for the young man to lead a group of officials to count the material reserves in Rome over the past few years, estimating how much food and materials could be transferred to supply the army.
After receiving the task, the Asistes turned to Patroclus and asked, "I have sent someone to inform the Latin Alliance, the Volsci, the Hernici, the Marsi, the Eacquis, the Sabines, and the other forces that are allied with us to send reinforcements to resist the Gauls together with us. Based on past experience, how long do you think it will take for them to gather their troops in Rome?"
Due to the increasing frequency of Gauls invasions in the northern territories of Etruria in the past two years, Patroclus had organized military training with the armies of his allies after he came to Rome. Generally speaking, the alliances were quite cooperative.
Patroclus thought for a moment and said, "The Latin, the Volsci, and the Hernici are closer to us, so their troops will come faster. They can arrive in four to five days. The Sabines, the Eacquis, and the Marsi are further away, so it will take at least eight to nine days. However, now that the Gauls are about to invade, I think they will speed up the process of gathering their troops. What is the situation in the north now? "
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