Chapter 823
When the Dionysian Army first established the ballista unit, a legion of ten ballistas was only equipped with one observer, and they were all from the Diónia Academy. This was because they needed to accurately calculate the landing point and firing curve, which required deep mathematical knowledge and fast computing ability. More than a decade later, a ballista could be equipped with one observer, which proved the achievements of the Diónia Kingdom in civic education.
At this moment, the ballista operator had adjusted the settings of the ballista under the guidance of the observer. He pulled open the spring arm, quickly inserted a small stone bullet, and fixed it on the smoothbore wooden arm. Then, he pressed the firing button, and the copper ring that fixed the stone bullet and the iron hook that pulled the spring arm sprang open at the same time. The spring arm quickly retracted, and the powerful torque pushed the stone bullet out of the ballista, whistling as it flew towards a Rome ballista that was slowly moving forward.
"Ballista! Diónia's ballista! " The Rome soldiers who were pushing the ballista saw the black spots flying in the air, and they shouted in panic. They wanted to push the ballista to avoid the black spots, but the heavy ballista moved slowly, and the stone bullets arrived in the blink of an eye. They hit the ballista not far away from the ballista, splashing dust all over the Rome soldiers.
The Rome soldiers were still in shock when they saw eight or nine black spots flying out from the top of the city wall and attacking the other ballistas. Although none of the black spots hit the ballista, Titus, who was watching from the rear, was shocked. He never thought that the Diónia would leave so many ballistas in a small city like Ostia, and they even placed them on the top of the city wall to attack their own ballista. He had never seen such a defensive method before.
Just when he was hesitating whether to withdraw the ballista, the second round of ballista attacks from Diónia had begun.
Ten more stone cannons were fired. Finally, a Rome Ballista was hit. Although only one of its arms was broken, the ballista was a relatively delicate siege weapon. Once its balance was broken, it could not be used again unless it was repaired. After the people of Rome got their hands on Carthage's ballista, they tried to replicate it and made some progress. However, when it came to making the core components, such as metal ratchets, chains, and metal cylinders, they were not as detailed as Carthage's ballista. While they were still improving their technology, the people of Diónia arrived. So, one of Carthage's ballista was broken.
Titus could only anxiously order, "Withdraw the ballistae!"
When the Rome's ballista troops retreated in panic, another ballista was destroyed by a stone bullet fired from the top of the city wall.
Titus looked at the ballista troops retreating in panic, then looked up at the sky that had begun to be dyed red by the setting sun. Then he looked at the densely packed enemies on the top of the city wall. Soon, his eyes moved down and stared at the densely packed antlers in front of the trench. After a while, he retracted his gaze and turned to look at the soldiers behind him.
These citizens of Rome from the colonies had put on their armor and picked up their weapons. Although they were a little tired from the long march, their eyes were full of fighting spirit as they stared at Ostia. Their desire to retake their motherland filled them with strength. Their fighting spirit also influenced Titus, allowing him to suppress the concerns in his heart. Although he had observed that Diónia's defense against Ostia was relatively tight, he did not have time to let the soldiers recover their strength and prepare for a more comprehensive siege. He had to retake Ostia before the reinforcements from Diónia arrived. Therefore, he could only rely on the vigorous fighters and large numbers of his soldiers.
"Inform all troops to prepare for attack!" Titus said in a deep voice.
The messengers galloped through the battle formation on horseback. The platoon leaders shouted for the soldiers under them to get ready. The soldiers stood up one after another and carried the ladders and javelins that had been made in advance from the pack carts according to the previous arrangement …
After a moment of commotion and clamor, "Woo!" The bugle sounded, and the Rome army let out a deafening roar. Then, under the leadership of the platoon jarls, the soldiers began to march towards the east and south of Ostia. The sea was in the west, the Tiber River was in the north, and there were lakes and swamps in the southeast as a barrier.
Titus subconsciously clenched his fists as he looked at the enemy surging towards him like a tidal wave.
The 300 Diónia archers at the top of the city wall began to nock their arrows when they saw that the enemy was about to enter within 100 meters of them.
The ballistae and crossbowmen at the top of the city wall had already begun to fire stone bullets and iron arrows at the enemy below the city wall. Although the swarming enemies had a high hit rate and they died horribly, a round of attacks only killed a dozen people. For the tens of thousands of Rome soldiers, it was just a small splash. It could not stop the advance of the Rome army at all.
But it did not take long for the Rome soldiers who rushed to the front to scream in pain, "Ah! Give me a hand! My foot! My foot is cut! "
"Beware of traps! There are sharp nails buried in the ground! "
…
As the Rome soldiers screamed and screamed, the advance of the entire army was hindered.
While some Rome soldiers went to help their wounded comrades, some carefully observed the situation on the ground and moved forward cautiously, arrows rained down from the top of the city wall. Although most of the soldiers at the front were heavy infantry of the Rome army, they did not have the time to use their shields to defend the top of the city wall due to the traps under their feet. As a result, they suffered more casualties.
To make matters worse, they were blocked by the traps, which gave the ballistae and crossbowmen enough time to unleash their lethality.
Titus was very anxious when he learned about the situation at the front. He realized that he had underestimated the defense of this small city by the Diónia army.
He took a deep breath and calmed himself down. "Hurry up and pass the order to the attacking army. Don't be in a hurry to advance. Remove the traps first!"
The messenger galloped away, and soon, a scout galloped over. "General Titus, the citizens of Adium have arrived!"
Titus was overjoyed. Just as he was about to reply, another scout arrived. "General Titus, the citizens of Antium have arrived!"
While Titus led his army to the west, Camillus sent messengers to the Rome Colony City and the Latin Alliance in the west of Latin, hoping that they could send people to assist the army in attacking Ostia. Now, these towns had responded to Camillus's request.
Troops from the towns in the west carried supplies and gathered at the rear of the Rome army.
A look of joy appeared on Titus' face. He hurriedly expressed his gratitude to the leader and sent his capable subordinates to organize hundreds and thousands of people to set up bonfires in the surroundings. They began to build camps and tents, preparing for a prolonged battle.
Teris watched from the east gate tower of Ostia as the archers and ballistae continued to attack the Rome soldiers who were approaching the trench. The other soldiers also began to throw javelins at the city.
The whole of Ostia had two gates, the east and the south. Previously, Teris had his men block the south gate, leaving only the east gate open for scouts and messengers to pass through. Traps were laid on both sides of the road leading out of the city, making the road very narrow. The Rome soldiers had to line up in long and narrow lines to avoid the concentrated attacks of the soldiers on the city walls. The trench was full of wounded soldiers.
Teris was not excited about the result of the battle. He saw the bonfires lit behind the enemy's army and the continuous arrival of the Rome soldiers. He realized that the battle would become more difficult. The first order that came to his mind was to have the reserve troops completely block the east gate with wood and stones.
… …
In Rome, the citizens of Rome who went to the square to apply for citizenship of Diónia formed a sharp contrast with the nobles of Rome who cried because their loved ones were taken away. The citizens of the city were restless between the two extremes of ice and fire.
The Devers returned to the Senate, hoping for a moment of peace. Unexpectedly, the governor of Rome, Asistes, came to them in a hurry.
"Your Majesty, since you went to worship the temples in Rome, the number of citizens of Rome coming to the square to apply has increased sharply. Now, the number of registered citizens has exceeded a thousand!" The Asistes reported the good news to the Devers excitedly because it meant that the attitude of the citizens of Rome towards Diónia had changed.
The Devers replied with a smile, "I saw it when I passed by the square. It's a good thing, isn't it?"
"Your Majesty, there is one thing that I have to ask you." The Asistes continued, "Some citizens of Rome are asking about it. Their loved ones are in the army of Rome outside the city. They want their loved ones to become citizens of Diónia instead of fighting with us. They hope that they can go out of the city to persuade them."
"Oh?" The Devers' interest was piqued. He stroked his chin and thought for a while. He then turned his head and asked, "Clotho, what do you think?"
Cloto Catax, who was standing at the side, immediately replied seriously, "Father, judging from the situation in the square these two days, we should believe what they said. We should allow them to go out of the city and persuade their loved ones to submit to the kingdom. This way, we can shake the enemy's fighting spirit, weaken their power, and strengthen our power at the same time! Even if some of them are deceiving us and just want to escape from the city, they are all old people, women, and children. In general, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages … "
The Asistes looked at Cloto Catax. When he was in Turií, he had been a guest at the Devers's mansion many times. From time to time, he could see the eldest son of the king. Cloto Catax was humble and polite, and he treated people warmly. He left a good impression on the Asistes, but this time, he found that he had become much calmer.
The Devers nodded and said approvingly, "Clotho is right. I will allow them to go out of the city, but not all of them. Only the old people in the family can go out. The women and children must stay in the city … Also, I will take this opportunity to send the gift I promised to Camillus."
At this point, a mysterious smile appeared on his face.
。 Literature Museum.
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