Chapter 828
"Sir Dictator, I have implemented strict control over the legion I lead according to your orders. I have isolated all those who have come into contact with the rebel soldiers and issued an order, 'Anyone who spreads and discusses this matter will be severely punished!' Now the situation is temporarily under control," Licinius reported to Camillus.
Before Camillus could speak, Quintus rebuked, "Licinius, you still have the nerve to say that the situation is' under control '? If it weren't for your lax management of the legion you lead, how could the camp be in chaos tonight? It has brought great trouble to our entire army! Dictator, I think Licinius should be punished first! "
"I didn't manage the legion strictly?! Let everyone be the judge. From the beginning of the expedition until now, who led the legion that was always criticized by Sir Dictator because of military discipline? " Of course, Licinius could not allow Quintus to slander him, so he said sarcastically, "You should be thankful that the legion under my command happened to fall into the trap of the Diónia, so there was no major turmoil in the camp! If it were the troops led by you, I'm afraid the entire camp would have fallen into chaos! "
In fact, what Licinius said was not unreasonable. The legion he led was in the southeast corner of the camp, and the troops led by Quintus were in the center. If Quintus' soldiers knew about this, the news would soon spread in all directions, and it would be difficult to control.
But Quintus did not think so. He thought that Licinius was humiliating him. He immediately pointed at Licinius and scolded angrily, "You damn commoner, I'm afraid you've been dissatisfied with us for a long time! This time, the damn Diónia gave you a chance, so you deliberately let the commoners in the legion go so that they could return to Rome and rob our land and wealth! "
Faced with such slander, Licinius was so angry that his face turned red. "Shut up, you thug in the eyes of the commoners! If it weren't for the greed and brutality of nobles like you, who forced the commoners into a corner, how could they be so easily tempted by the Diónia and betray Rome! … "
The two former military and political officials who had once worked together and fought side by side actually started cursing at each other in the tent.
Seeing this situation, the generals in the tent all had ugly expressions.
"Enough, all of you shut up!" It was Camillus's roar that stopped the two of them from arguing. Camillus rarely lost his temper, but tonight, he was obviously angered by the irrationality of the two of them. He pointed at the two of them with trembling hands and said, "It seems that the Diónia's attempt to sow discord has finally worked. Even the two of you are quarreling because of this. It's impossible to take back Rome now!"
When Quintus and Lysinius heard this, although they still glared at each other, they could not help but feel a little ashamed.
At this moment, Aulus asked worriedly, "Honorable Dictator, the hateful Diónia is quite vicious in implementing such a measure in Rome! Once the news spreads, most of the commoners and soldiers will want to escape, and the nobles will be worried about their families in the city. I'm afraid they won't listen to our orders with ease. What should we do?! "
As soon as he finished speaking, Frius also said eagerly, "The news in Rome has not only spread to the soldiers under Lysinius. I'm afraid the people outside the camp have also learned about it. We can't completely block the news. In a few days, I'm afraid it will spread throughout the army!"
"Forbid the soldiers from contacting the people, and try to persuade the people to temporarily live near the city of Prinister …" Camillus made a decision with a solemn expression. This was obviously contrary to the order he issued a few days ago. He sighed helplessly, "Even so, it can only be for a while. In order to prevent the morale of the army from wavering, we must lead the army to leave Rome!"
"Leave Rome?!" When Quintus heard this, he immediately objected loudly, "That's impossible! The soldiers have worked hard to rush back from Helniki, hoping to take back Rome! Rome is right in front of them, but you want them to leave. I'm afraid no one will be willing to obey this order! "
"If we don't leave, are we going to let them attack the city?! With the current situation of the army and the current situation in Rome, we have no chance of winning the city of Rome! "
Lysinius' words made the generals in the tent sad. They had already learned from the commoners and soldiers that the Diónia had taken cruel measures against the nobles in Rome, the surrender of the commoners, and the retreat of the senators to the Capitoline Mountain with only a few troops. The Diónia had basically taken control of the situation in Rome.
A sorrowful atmosphere began to pervade the tent.
At this time, Camillus said in a deep voice, "I want everyone to pay attention. Although we have secretly sent Titus to lead the army to attack Ostia, the soldiers should be aware of the departure of such a large army. If the Diónia learn about this from the soldiers who have escaped into the city, then our plan to capture Ostia will be exposed. In order to prevent the reinforcements of the Diónia to Ostia, we must lead the army to leave Rome and go to Ostia. This will greatly prevent the soldiers from escaping, and we can recapture Ostia faster! Although the soldiers are emotional, I believe that the strict military law and your ability can make them obey orders! "
The generals looked at each other. Although they all looked troubled, no one expressed any objection. At this moment, they all knew in their hearts that this was probably the best way in the current situation.
"After capturing Ostia, what should we do next?" Aulus continued to ask.
"After capturing Ostia … negotiate peace with the Diónia, or depending on the situation, besieging the Dionysian Army here … then attack Rome with full force." Camillus's tone was not very sure, and his expression was a little hesitant, showing that he was also a little confused.
After all, these political measures implemented by the Diónia in Rome clearly showed that they did not just want to teach the people of Rome a lesson and ruthlessly plunder them, but had a long-term goal. If they wanted to reach peace talks and make the Diónia withdraw from Rome, it would probably be very unlikely. But attacking Rome might cause the soldiers to split, and the current Rome army could not afford a defeat.
Camillus was good at military affairs, but weak in politics. Otherwise, he would have been easily expelled from Rome when he captured the city of Venus, which the other Rome senators could not capture for many years, and won great prestige. During the last time he was the dictator, Marcus led the civilians in a fierce confrontation with the nobles, and he could not mediate the conflict between the two sides. In the end, when others avoided him, he actually signed his name on the arrest order of Marcus, and in the end, he also acquiesced to the Senate killing Marcus, causing him to be insulted by the civilians every day for a period of time. Now, King Dioria used more intense political means to intensify the conflict between the nobles and the civilians in Rome. Camillus, who had suffered greatly in this aspect, now had to face this problem. Not only could he not think of a good way to solve it, but he also felt a little afraid.
"I hope that in the next period of time, everyone will treat the soldiers equally, and not cause any more conflicts!" Camillus continued to emphasize that this was the only way he could take. His serious eyes swept across every general in the tent, and stopped on Quintus for a while.
Quintus snorted, but did not say anything to refute.
Everyone could hear the reluctance in Camillus' words, but in the face of the current difficult situation, they also could not come up with a better way, so although they remained silent, they tacitly agreed with Camillus's plan in their hearts.
A guard broke in and broke the silence in the tent, "Sir Dictator, the troops stationed at the river port have sent a messenger to report that dozens of ships have appeared upstream on the Tiber River, lit with torches, loaded with soldiers, and sailing downstream!"
The faces of everyone in the tent changed, and a sentence emerged in their hearts at the same time: The people of Diónia really want to reinforce Ostia!
… …
After Titus found that the front of Ostia was full of traps, he did not rashly order the army to continue the attack. Instead, he sent all the heavy infantry with long shields to protect themselves. Despite the rain of arrows and stone bullets fired from the top of the city wall, they patiently cleared the traps on the ground. Although they paid the price of some casualties, most of the traps in front of the trench were cleared by nightfall.
Since Ostia was only a small city, and the Roman army only needed to attack the east and south sides, the length of the city wall was less than two miles. So Titus divided the entire army into five waves, taking turns to attack. When the first wave of soldiers attacked the city, the other troops would lie on the ground at the back to rest as soon as possible to recover some of the physical strength they had consumed during the day.
When the Roman soldiers filled the trench and rushed to the bottom of the city, while the Diónia defenders were fighting the Roman soldiers who were attacking the city, Titus ordered his men to drive a pack of carts to the trench. He then unloaded the tarred wood in the carts and lit them with fire. The fire provided illumination for the Roman soldiers to continue the attack.
In addition, Titus also came up with a clever trick. When a wave of soldiers suffered a setback and had to retreat, he did not immediately send a second wave of soldiers. Instead, he quietly pushed the ballistae forward. As the fire only illuminated the bottom of the city, the wilderness 100 meters away began to be shrouded in darkness. The Diónia ballistae at the top of the city wall could not see far away, so naturally, they could not fire accurately. On the contrary, the Roman ballistae could see the situation at the top of the city wall. So when they entered the firing range (200 to 150 meters away from the city wall), they began to fire stone bullets. Although most of the stone bullets hit the wall, the splashing stone chips caused a certain amount of damage to the densely packed defenders at the top of the city wall.
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