Chapter 777
Ledes did not hesitate and said, "The enemies in the granary will soon be eliminated. Half of your men will monitor the enemy on the wall to prevent them from sneaking out of the city. The other half will be ready to put out the fire."
Kucius immediately returned to his legion. Soon, nearly a thousand soldiers jumped off their horses, took out their linen bags, and began to fill them with soil. After receiving the order from the Devers last night, the two legion commanders took into account the possibility of the enemy burning the granary. After all, it was not easy to carry earthen jars, and soil was everywhere.
After a while, more than 200 palace guards also arrived on horseback. The two legion commanders were surprised. "His Majesty is here so soon?!"
"His Majesty is worried that the people of Rome will guard the granary and send troops out of the city to fight you, so he asked us to come as reinforcements. The light infantry is also rushing here," Martius replied.
Ledes pointed to the top of the city with contempt. "His Majesty is too worried. In fact, the timid people of Rome do not dare to go out of the city at all!"
At this time, the battle cries in the camp disappeared. The gate was opened, and the cavalrymen immediately rushed in with sacks filled with soil.
Ledes saw the third platoon commander rushing over. He quickly asked, "How are the casualties?"
"… 32 of our brothers died, 67 were injured, 15 of whom are seriously injured …" The third platoon commander looked slightly depressed.
"So many casualties?!" Ledes did not expect that they would lose nearly a hundred men even though they had the absolute advantage in numbers. It made his heart ache. The 1st Cavalry Legion had suffered a great loss in the battle against Wolsey's Cetia. Although Turií had sent some soldiers to replenish their numbers after the battle, the legion was not full.
"What about the enemies inside?" He asked with hatred.
"All dead. No one surrendered."
Ledes did not say anything and strode into the granary camp.
Inside the gate, he saw a Roman soldier leaning against the wall. There were four sword wounds on his chest, and blood kept gushing out, dying his whole body red. He was motionless, and his eyes were closed. He was still holding a spear in his hand. He was like a statue, and there was a bright red tassel on his helmet. Obviously, he was an officer.
Ledes stopped and sized him up.
Unexpectedly, the seemingly dead Rome soldier suddenly opened his eyes and stared angrily at Ledes. He struggled to stab the spear in his hand.
"Commander, be careful!" The cavalry behind him immediately rushed over.
"Don't move!" Ledes waved his hand to stop them, then stood still on the spot, staring at them with a sharp gaze.
Gaius, the Rome platoon leader, wanted to raise his spear, but the spear that was usually as light as a feather was now as heavy as a thousand pounds. The little strength he had accumulated was gone with the gushing blood. He could only stare angrily at the enemy's leader, but his eyelids were getting heavier and heavier. He wanted to roar, but blood suddenly gushed out of his mouth …
Looking at the other party lying down, Ledes was silent for a moment, then he strode in.
… …
Seeing the big city standing in the distance, the Devers could not help but rein in their War Horse. Rome was the first and only great empire in the history of the West that turned the Mediterranean Sea into an inland lake. Many thrilling stories about it had been circulating among the people for thousands of years. Many poems and articles praising and describing it had been written by literati! It was a dream in the hearts of countless ambitious Westerners in his previous life, a dream about unification …
In his previous life, Dyvers did not have the opportunity to visit this great city that could be called the starting point of Western European civilization. But now that he was here, what he saw was not a Rome that had lost its prosperity and had become a historical relic. Instead, it was a simple city that had just risen in the early days of the Republic. Although he had learned about this city in detail many times from the intelligence reports, he could not hide the excitement in his heart.
"Go!" The Devers kicked the horse's abdomen, and the War Horse neighed and galloped forward.
"Your Majesty!" The people around were shocked and hurriedly chased after the Devers, but they soon felt relieved because a group of cavalry came to greet them. It was the palace guards that were sent out previously. They quickly surrounded the Devers.
As soon as the Devers saw Martius, they immediately asked, "Has Ledes and his men seized the river port and the granary?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Martius replied, "The First Cavalry Legion and the Second Cavalry Legion seized the river port and the granary without much resistance from the Rome soldiers. They also put out the fire in the granary in time. Now the two commanders, Ledes and Kuzius, are counting the supplies there. They will report to you about the specific situation."
"That's good!" The Devers breathed a sigh of relief. The first step was successful, and it gave him more confidence to capture the city.
"Let's go and see the city of Rome!" He pointed to the front with great ambition.
… …
The people of Rome on the western wall of Rome saw the billowing dust and smoke rising in front of them, extending out of their sight. They could not help but feel nervous because they knew that the army of Diónia was coming!
Then, they saw hundreds of cavalrymen galloping over and standing a hundred meters away from the city wall. This team of cavalrymen held up two large flags, which were very different from the flags of the Diónia cavalrymen they saw before. The flags were shining with golden light. In the middle of the cavalrymen was a general with a golden helmet and a long feather crown. Under the slightly western sun, he was particularly dazzling.
"Maybe the King of Diónia is here." Some of the senators whispered with uncertainty. No one objected to this. They silently looked at the man who they suspected to be the King of Diónia. He was pointing to the front and saying something to the people around him. Oer laughed.
Scipio The Great spat and suddenly took the long shield of the soldier next to him. He pulled out his sword and knocked on the shield. At the same time, he shouted, "Rome! Rome! Rome! … "
The soldiers followed the commander of the city guards and knocked on the long shield rhythmically, shouting …
Soon, the senators also joined in …
… …
Seeing that the city wall in front of them sometimes caved inwards and sometimes protruded outwards, the entire wall was bent and uneven. Klotokatax couldn't help but say, "What an ugly city wall!"
The Devers replied with a smile, "The reason why the city wall is so badly built is that after the Romans drove away the Celts in the north, they were eager to rebuild the city of Rome. They did not plan the whole city at all. They only did it to meet the needs of the citizens of Rome at that time. For example … "
The Devers pointed to the protruding city wall on the left near the Tiber River and said, "If I remember correctly, behind the city wall should be one of the seven hills of Rome, the Raventine Hill. And over here … "
The Devers pointed to a large section of the city wall on the right that was also protruding outwards. "And behind this section of the city wall is the largest slum in Rome."
"Did the people of Rome not think about how to defend the city if they were besieged in the future?!" Martius did not know much about Rome before, so he was surprised. He did not expect the people of Rome to be so short-sighted.
"But they built the city wall very high, and the trench in front of the city seems to be very wide …" Cloto Catax looked at the towering city wall in front of him and estimated that it was probably no less than 15 meters high.
At this time, the staff officer Tormid said, "Your Royal Highness, the height of the city wall is useless. Its walls are crooked, which is good for our soldiers to avoid the concentrated long-range attacks of the Rome from above. It is also not good for the people of Rome to quickly reach the destination on the wall and reinforce. Moreover, although there is a trench in front of the city, there is no antelope. As long as the trench is filled, our siege equipment can easily be pushed under the city … "
Over the years, although Tormid did not participate in the battle, he had decades of mercenary career, and later worked in the Ministry of Military Affairs, so he had enough experience. Therefore, Crotocatax listened carefully and asked for advice from time to time.
The Devers did not disturb them. Instead, they carefully observed the defense situation of Rome.
"Rome!!! Rome!!! Rome!!! … "
At this time, thunderous shouts came from the city wall. It was orderly and grand, and it gave the Devers the feeling that the countless Rome soldiers on the city wall had merged with the city wall.
He turned around with a solemn expression and said, "Although the city wall built by the people of Rome is not very good, looking at the situation, I am afraid this siege will not be easy."
Tormid, Martius, and the others expressed their agreement.
At this time, a scout galloped over. "Your Majesty, the three legion commanders, Amyntas, Matonis, and Lizaru, have arrived with their troops!"
When the Devers heard this, he looked around and smiled. "It seems that we have won. Shouldn't Amyntas lose something?"
Everyone laughed out loud.
The Devers looked at the approaching troops in the dust behind them and said, "Tormid, immediately inform the legion commanders … Hmm, and ask the captain of the mountain reconnaissance team, Izam, to come here immediately!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
… …
Over the years, although the river port of Rome had been expanded many times, it only had five or six docks. The port area was not large, and it was far smaller than the granary next to it. The only thing that interested the Devers was that they found a lot of wood in the warehouse in the port. "After the legions have settled down, inform the engineering camp to transport them away and use them to set up the camp or make more siege weapons."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Tormid quickly asked the advisors to write this down.
The Devers looked down at the sparkling surface of the Tiber River in front of him. The water was calm and deep.
He then shifted his gaze to the distance. The wide surface of the river made the opposite bank seem vague. He turned his head to look upstream. To his disappointment, there was only the river in his sight. He did not see the bridge connecting the north and south banks.
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