Chapter 791
However, Mejus was more cautious. He first reminded Paulus that it was because of their hasty attack when the Diónia landed that they suffered a crushing defeat, which led to the dangerous situation that Rome was in today. Therefore, he suggested that because these reinforcements were the greatest hope of the people of Rome in the city, but the number of 8,000 soldiers was still not enough, they needed to gather more soldiers in order to be more confident in defeating the Diónia in one fell swoop. This way, not only could they save Rome, but they might also be able to drive the Diónia out of the interior. Therefore, they should continue to march eastward to meet up with the reinforcements from Prinister, Gabi, Bonet, and other city-states.
Both sides had their own opinions, but they were unwilling to split their troops into two, because that would only weaken the offensive power of the army and lead to the failure of their respective plans. In order not to waste precious time, they could only make a decision and let the soldiers make the choice.
Nearly 3,000 Latin reinforcements did not matter, but more than 5,000 Rome citizen soldiers had moved to the three towns west of the Latin region because of the distribution of land, but there were still relatives and friends in Rome that they cared about. Moreover, they knew that there were not many citizen soldiers in Rome. If they delayed and allowed the city of Rome to be breached, the land that they had just obtained would eventually vanish into thin air. Therefore, most of the soldiers were eager to defeat the Diónia's attack, so they supported Paulus's opinion.
Mejus felt very regretful, but he still sincerely wished Paulus well. Then, he only led a team of guards and quickly rushed to the east.
Paulus quickly assembled the troops. Although he was anxious, he still remained clear-headed. He knew that although the Diónia camp in front of him was still very simple, it might take a lot of effort to breach it. Time and soldiers were the most precious to him now, so he decided to bypass the camp and go straight to the city.
Just as the army was advancing, a scout who had risked his life to evade the enemy cavalry and returned with injuries brought back bad news: there were 5,000 to 6,000 Diónia infantrymen and many cavalrymen in front of them.
Paulus was shocked. He did not expect that Diónia would retain so many soldiers to defend the city when they were attacking.
But he immediately calmed down. The situation had developed to this point, and there was no way to retreat. He could only lead the troops and attack without hesitation. Only by defeating the enemies in the way could Rome have hope!
He ordered the army to stop advancing and get into formation immediately.
Paulus had learned his lesson this time. He cautiously shortened the length of the formation and increased the thickness of the formation. He also arranged more than a thousand light infantry soldiers from the Latin reinforcement army in the center of the formation, protected by the heavy infantry soldiers … After the formation was completed, the entire formation was shaped like an oval.
When the Dionysian Army entered the Rome soldiers' field of vision, a loud bugle sounded from the opposite side.
The Diónia soldiers were the first to attack the Rome army.
At the forefront were the cavalry legions on the two flanks. Tens of thousands of horses galloped forward, and the sound of their hooves was like thunder, stirring up dust and covering the sky. The distance of a few hundred meters was covered in the blink of an eye.
The Rome soldiers on both flanks were terrified when they saw the behemoths charging at them with great strength.
But in fact, this was just an illusion. The Diónia cavalry did not have the ability to break through the heavy infantry formation head-on. When they passed by the two flanks of the Rome army, they threw the short spears in their hands.
After all, these Rome soldiers had fought with the Diónia cavalry once before. After being reminded by the platoon jarls, they raised their shields to defend themselves.
At the same time, the light infantry in the formation also shot the arrows in their hands at the Diónia cavalry that galloped past.
For a time, the Rome soldiers fell to the ground after being hit by the spears, and the Diónia cavalry fell off their horses after being hit by the arrows.
Just when the Diónia cavalry brushed past the flank of the Rome army and rushed to the rear, the Diónia infantry had already approached them. The Rome platoon jarls hurriedly shouted, "Be careful of the javelins! Raise your shields and defend!"
Cloto Catax followed his comrades around him and threw the javelin in his hands. After that, he hurriedly threw the second javelin almost without taking a breath.
At this time, the screams that came from the opposite side made him excited. However, before he could savor the so-called sense of accomplishment, the soldiers in front of him had begun to charge at the enemy. He immediately led the palace guards and followed up.
Even though the rain of javelins caused some confusion in the Rome army, when the Diónia soldiers began to charge, the Rome soldiers also raised their shields and spears and strode forward.
One side fought bravely with the belief of protecting their homeland and driving away the invaders, while the other side shouldered the safety of the entire army and fought desperately to stop the incoming enemy. The two armies collided violently, and each of them stabbed their spears at the enemy.
At the same time, the Diónia cavalry turned around and rushed to the rear of the Rome army.
"Turn back! Turn back! " Under the command of the Rome platoon jarls, the heavy infantry platoon at the rear of the Rome army turned around and faced the cavalry. They raised their shields and got into a defensive stance. The Rome light infantry in the center of the army also turned around and nocked their arrows. The javelins and arrows crisscrossed in the air once again …
… …
While the Rome soldiers were fighting against the enemy, the people in the city were not idle either. They were organized by the senators to constantly transport all kinds of depleted defensive supplies to various sections of the city wall. At the same time, they also carried a steady stream of wounded soldiers into the city.
Seeing their loved ones injured or even dead, the people of Rome were sad, but they did not have time to cry. They had to seize all the time and do their best to help the army defend their homeland. Less than an hour after the enemy began to attack the city, the situation had become a little grim.
"General Marcus reported that the enemy's offensive is fierce. In order to stop the enemy from attacking the city, the soldiers have paid a lot of casualties. They hope to get reinforcements!"
"General Servius reported that the army he led is doing its best to defend the city against the enemy's attack, but they can't stop the enemy from using siege weapons to continuously destroy the city wall. He hopes to send more soldiers to the back of the city to form a defensive formation to prevent the wall from collapsing and stop the enemy from breaking through!"
"General Pullo reported that the enemy has used warships to build many pontoon bridges on the Tiber River, so their attack is not limited to the pontoon bridge. Now the soldiers are doing their best to defend the entire embankment, but the enemy's offensive is fierce. If the battle continues, the soldiers' physical strength will not be able to support it. They hope to get more reinforcements!"
…
The Senate of Rome originally put Scipio The Great in charge of the defense of the entire city, but after the siege began, Scipio The Great found it difficult to control the battle defense of the entire city of Rome. This was because the city of Rome was too big, and the city wall was too long. Moreover, the streets in the city were winding and uneven. It took more time to convey orders and send reinforcements. So he decisively handed over the command to the Senate and focused on dealing with the siege of Diónia in the south.
The Senate quickly completed the handover of command. In order to better coordinate and organize the defense of the city, the senators came to the Square of Rome to work. The military command was mainly handed over to Potitus, Maruginense, and a few other senators who had served as senators many times. Not only because of their seniority, but also because as senators, they often led troops to war, so they had more combat experience.
But even Potitus, who had served as a senator five times and promoted Camillus on the battlefield many times, had never experienced and seen such a siege war: countless powerful ballistae, huge siege towers, spliced wooden carts that could hide people, strange trench filling methods, terrifying bow in the abdomen, pontoon bridges built by warships … What was even more terrifying was that the Diónia soldiers who attacked the city were not only well-trained, but also brave and valiant.
According to Potitus' past experience in sieging a city like this, with tens of thousands of soldiers guarding it, without hundreds of thousands of people, it would be impossible to take it down without two or three months to half a year's time.
But it had been less than two hours since the start of the battle, and the defending troops seemed to be unable to hold on.
The senators were also panicking. At this time, they could no longer care about the interests of the clans and private interests. They organized the slaves in their respective families, and at the same time, informed the clans to take action. All the men and slaves who could pick up shields and spears were summoned to the Square of Rome. There were about ten thousand people, and they were urgently organized, equipped with weapons, and then sent in waves to the urgently needed battlefield …
The Old Square of Rome, which was usually spacious, was crowded and noisy at this time. On one side, the senators were urgently training the newly formed troops, and on the other side, the people were helping the wounded lying on the ground.
Looking at the nearly ten thousand troops that were densely packed not long ago, there were only a little more than a thousand people left. The slave soldiers were not used to wearing helmets. They shook their heads from time to time, and their eyes were blank as they held their weapons … Potitus suddenly had a very uncomfortable feeling in his heart. He tightened the back of the chair with his hand and said with difficulty, "Send the last thousand or so people to Scipio The Great. Although he did not send anyone to ask for help, the other troops have encountered difficulties. It is not easy to defend the south. I know Scipio The Great. He must be doing his best to avoid making things difficult for us … "
"Alas, Rome has not experienced an enemy siege for decades. The people lack the experience of defending a city! What's more, the enemy is Diónia! " Ambustos sighed regretfully, "It's all our fault for only focusing on expansion over the years, and not properly replanning and repairing the city's defenses!"
These words made the senators next to him feel the same way. If the crooked walls of Rome were pulled out and built straight; if the bricks and stones of the walls were pieced together more closely and the gaps were filled with stone paste; if the walls were built on the northern embankment of Rome; if deer abatis had been placed on both sides of the trench; if the streets in the city had been planned to be convenient for traffic … I am afraid that defending the city today would not be so difficult!
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