Chapter 691
Printos was stunned, but he did not decline. "Okay!"
He then said to his adjutant, Aristonos, "I need your help!"
Aristonos looked at Amyntas.
Amyntas waved his hand and said, "You are under his command now."
"Yes!" Aristonos answered and immediately brought the messengers to Printos's side.
"Go and inform the Wolsey people in Satia and Polevernham immediately. Tell them that we are intercepting the soldiers of Rome who are robbing the food supplies. The Roman army is likely to come out of the camp and fight us. Ask them to gather their soldiers and get ready. Once we have a large-scale battle with the Romans, ask them to come and support us immediately!"
After Printos gave the order, the two messengers immediately rode away.
Printos then asked Aristonos, "Did you bring the recording board?"
"Yes." Aristonos took out a small square wooden board painted black and a white pen from behind the padding on the horse's back. This was the standard equipment of the adjutant of the legion. It was to prevent any mistakes in conveying the orders issued by the commander during an intense battle. At the same time, it could also be used as a tactical display board. Aristonos had been in the General Staff Headquarters, so of course he knew how to use it.
"Mark the camp of Rome. Satia is about two miles to the south, Polevernham is about 16 miles to the south, and the camp we are building is eight miles to the southwest …" Printos was indeed the brain of the General Staff Headquarters. He had just arrived at Wolsey yesterday, but he had already memorized the situation.
Aristonos listened to Printos while he used a white pen to mark each location on the board with the Rome camp as the center and wrote the distance numbers.
Amyntas listened to a few words. With his character, he would not have the patience to analyze and calculate these numbers. He only wanted the final result, so he quickly walked away and looked to the north, anxiously waiting for the news brought back by the scouts.
On the other hand, Ledes' cavalrymen were vigilantly watching the Roman camp in the east to prevent the Roman cavalrymen from suddenly attacking and threatening the safety of the generals.
In fact, Amyntas did not have to wait for long.
Not long after Ledes sent out the cavalrymen, the cavalry brigades and companies that were sent out earlier came back to report the situation of the enemy. "Legion Commander, the Third Company of the Second Cavalry Brigade has spotted more than a hundred Roman soldiers in the south."
"How far?"
"About ten li!"
"Legion Commander, the First Company of the 4th Cavalry Brigade found about 100 Roman soldiers 11 miles north."
…
As more and more cavalrymen came back to report, Amyntas's face was filled with joy. He shouted back, "Printos, there are more than a thousand Rome soldiers outside, right?"
"According to the current statistics, there are already more than 1,500 people," Printos immediately said.
Aristos, the adjutant, also presented the recording board. The board was filled with white words on a black background. It was filled with the symbols of towns, camps, armies, and distance numbers.
Amyntas glanced at it and felt dizzy. He stopped looking at it and said excitedly, "There is no need to wait for the other scouts to report back. There are more than 1,500 Roman soldiers. The Roman generals will not give up on them easily. Capture them and lure the Roman army out. We will fight them here! "
Amyntas stared at Ledes and Printos with determination.
Printos did not hesitate at this moment. He immediately replied, "We should inform the First Legion immediately. Speed up the march and intercept the Roman soldiers before they return to the camp!"
"Also, tell the First Legion that if any brigade, company, or division is late, they will be severely punished according to the military law!" Amyntas said again. There was a hint of murderous intent in his stern tone.
"Yes!" Aristos, the adjutant, looked a little ferocious when he gave the order to the messenger.
"Amyntas." Ledes rode on his horse and said to him with a solemn expression, "I am going to the north now. Organize my cavalry and try to delay the Roman soldiers who are collecting food outside to return to their camp!"
"Thank you!" It was rare for Amyntas to express his gratitude. Although the Ministry of Military Affairs had given the overall command of Wolsey to Amyntas before he came, he and Ledes were both legion commanders after all. In fact, as the founder of Diónia's cavalry, Ledes had the potential to command all of Diónia's cavalry.
"You don't have to thank me. I'm doing this for the sake of the First Legion," Ledes said with a straight face, "After I leave, you have to be careful of your safety!"
After receiving Ledes' reminder, Amyntas and Printos also left the Roman camp with a small number of cavalrymen.
… …
The First Cavalry Legion departed from Selce and began to attack the Roman cavalries that were patrolling in the area. The First Cavalry Legion's goal was to clear the surroundings, hide the eyes and ears of the Romans, and protect the First Cavalry Legion's camp. In the end, they even circled to the north of the Roman camp.
In contrast, the First Legion's marching speed was much slower. When Amyntas was planning to "lure the snake out of its hole", the First Legion had just arrived at the selected camp. The soldiers had just put down their armor and weapons. Under the command of their officers, they picked up pickaxes, wooden frames, and other tools and began to dig trenches according to the layout of the camp designed by the engineers after surveying the terrain.
At this moment, the messengers sent by Amyntas arrived.
After receiving the order from Amyntas, although the captains were puzzled, they did not hesitate to blow the bugle to assemble.
"Captain, are we going to attack the enemy's camp by putting on our armor and weapons?" A company captain asked doubtfully.
Patroclus shook his head. He really did not know what was going on in front of them. The order given by Amyntas was a little vague, so he could only say, "Tell our brothers to hurry up and get into formation. We, the Sixth Brigade, cannot fall behind the other brigades!"
"Don't worry about it, captain. Our brothers will not embarrass you! "The company captain immediately responded in a serious tone.
Although Patroclus was young, he had a high prestige among the soldiers. He had made many military achievements and was known as the Kingdom's hero. Now, he had another identity that the soldiers respected. He was the son-in-law of the great King of Devers.
Six heavy infantry brigades, one light infantry brigade, one light armor brigade, including the engineering battalion (because they had to consider the possibility of attacking the enemy's camp), and a hundred scouts, totaled more than 8,000 soldiers. They lined up in several columns and began to march northward at a normal speed under the lead of the cavalrymen.
At this time, the soldiers did not feel dissatisfied because they had to march again. Since the terrain in this area was flat, and the late autumn weather was relatively cool, the First Legion's two-hour march was very relaxed. The soldiers who were still quite energetic were talking excitedly. "Will there be a battle next?"
After marching for more than 20 minutes, Amyntas' messengers arrived again. This time, the order was much clearer. Everyone, march quickly to his position, and intercept the Roman soldiers who left the camp to plunder!
Ctessus, Patroclus, and the other captains were all excited. They quickly gave the order. The bugle sounded hurriedly, and the messengers galloped between the marching columns.
Soon, the shouts of the officers rose one after another, and the rumbling of footsteps could be heard.
… …
After the Roman army led by Camillus occupied Antium and Astura, they did not clear the many Volsci villages in the area behind them in order to quickly advance to Satia.
Since the Volsci reacted quickly, Satia and Polefonum had stationed their troops there. Now that they were prepared, the Roman army had no choice but to build a camp and confront the enemy in front of them.
At the same time, Camillus repeatedly sent various Roman platoons to the rear to collect provisions. On the one hand, it could reduce the pressure on the army's food supply, and on the other hand, it could take the opportunity to clean up the Volsci villages that might be a potential threat. For example, they could capture the young and strong men in the villages and crush the resistance of the Volsci during the process of collecting provisions.
Camillus was a platoon leader in Rome. Early in the morning, he was ordered to lead his platoon to the north to collect provisions.
Due to the previous attempt to gather food, the villages near the Roman camp had already been looted clean, and the people had all run away. Hence, Camus' squadron, like the other squadrons, had to travel for nearly ten miles to the north before they found a village that could be harvested.
He immediately led his soldiers and rushed into the village like a wolf among a flock of sheep. After killing more than a dozen Volsci soldiers, Camillus' operation to collect provisions became smoother.
Just as the soldiers were holding the Volsci's carts full of provisions and some of the looted carts, a Roman cavalryman arrived. "Officer Camillus orders you to return to the camp immediately. The enemy is attacking!"
Although Camillus regretted that there were still a lot of provisions that he did not load, he did not hesitate and immediately gathered the soldiers scattered in the village.
At this time, he saw a lot of black cavalrymen coming from outside the village.
They did not look like Volsci cavalrymen! Camillus was confused, but the Roman cavalrymen who could answer his doubts were nowhere to be found.
Camillus was not nervous at all. He was used to the incompetence of the Roman cavalrymen. He calmly ordered 120 Roman soldiers to protect the carts filled with provisions. He also grabbed a few Volsci soldiers to lead the pack beasts. The group of people left the village unhurriedly.
The black cavalrymen quickly surrounded them and circled around them.
Camillus asked the soldiers to be more vigilant, but he was not too worried. As a veteran, he had seen the attacking methods of the Roman cavalrymen and the cavalry of other forces. He knew that in front of the Roman soldiers with shields, the cavalry's thrusts would not only be useless, but it would also cause them to fall off their horses.
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