Chapter 837
"Martonis, don't spout nonsense. It's not that we can't take down Capitoline. His Majesty ordered us to besiege it temporarily and forbid us from attacking!" Epitenis scolded angrily.
"The situation in Rome is still unstable. If the two sirs leave with their armies, what if Rome falls into chaos?! Therefore, we, Legio III, can only fight! "Lizaru interjected.
…
In order to fight for the opportunity to fight, the commanders started arguing with each other.
Tormid saw the Devers frown and tried to stop them. "Sirs —"
"Your Majesty, the Second Legion, Legio III, and the Reserve Brigade all have important missions and can't be mobilized easily. I'm willing to lead the army and take down Caesrella in a day! At the same time, we can take down Wei Ai! "
Martonis and the others immediately stopped arguing. Everyone's eyes focused on the speaker. The person who spoke was Printos, who had been sitting quietly at the side.
"Printos, now is not the time to brag. We are having an important military meeting!" Martonis looked at him as if he was looking at an idiot and could not help but mock him.
"I can swear to Hades in front of Your Majesty!" Printos said seriously.
"If our army can't be mobilized, how are you going to take down Caesrella and Wei Ai?" Epitenis looked at him with interest.
"Are you going to use the Mountain Brigade?" The Devers's voice came from the seat of honor.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Printos said respectfully, "For the past two days, the three commanders, Martonis, Lizaru, and Epitenis, have been busy with military affairs. I have nothing to do, so I led a team of scouts to secretly explore the environment and terrain around the north bank of the Tiber River. Although Caesrella is located on a mountain, it's not too difficult for the scouts to climb over it.
According to my long-term observation, even during the day, there are no sentries on top of the walls of Caesrella, and the defense is relatively lax … Maybe it has something to do with its long-term friendship with Rome, and the fact that it has maintained peace for more than a decade, so the possibility of a successful surprise attack is very high. "
"I remember you were in the Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade for a few years, and you even made some achievements …" Devers looked at him and said slowly.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"If that's the case, it seems like you're not boasting. Caesrella City can indeed be climbed. Are you preparing to launch a surprise attack at night?" The Devers scanned the crowd and asked thoughtfully.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"What about Vicky? Are you going to ambush them with the Mountain Recon Brigade? "Devers asked.
Printos said calmly, "Let the people of Rome attack, Your Majesty."
The Devers's eyebrows twitched, and then he squinted his eyes. He understood that the "people of Rome" that Printos mentioned was the reserve force that had just been formed by the civilians of Rome in the city. It had increased from a few hundred people a few days ago to more than 2,000 people. For this reason, the Devers also promoted a few more capable and loyal civilians of Rome to be Sextus's assistants.
"Let the civilians of Rome in the city attack Vicky?! That's impossible! " Marton Ness clearly expressed his objection, "The order in the city of Rome is not very good now, and it's caused by the civilians of Rome. Yesterday, a few civilians of Rome attacked the patrol team! It's too risky to let such an unstable reserve force attack Vicky! And according to the report from the scouts, although there are not many Rome soldiers in Vicky, the defense is relatively tight. With more than 2,000 civilians of Rome who have not received formal military training from Diónia, it's impossible to attack Vicky! "
"Master Marton Ness, after interrogation, the arrested people of Rome have been confirmed to be the hangers-on of the nobles of Rome." As the adjutant of the administration of Rome, he was responsible for the order and security in the city, so he was in charge of the patrol office and the court.
"The small nobles and hangers-on in the city have not been cleaned up yet. Doesn't this mean that the members of the reserve force are very complicated? How can we use them with confidence?" Marton Ness replied, unwilling to be outdone.
Asistes interrupted, "In the past two days, I have talked to Captain Sextus of the reserve force of Rome and several team officers. They said that the soldiers are eager to perform meritorious deeds in order to get more rewards. If we don't dare to use them boldly and still have doubts about them, I'm afraid that their expectations of us will turn into resentment, which is not good for us to govern the city!
They dare to take the risk of betraying the army of Rome, escaping here, and pledging allegiance to us … I believe that most of them really want to join the Kingdom of Diónia. Even if a small number of them have ulterior motives, so what? We can expose them through the battle. Even if the siege fails, we have discovered the hidden danger and made the civilians of Rome more loyal. This is a good thing! "
"Master Asistes is right! In the long run, our army can't stay in Rome forever. In the future, the main force to fight against the surrounding forces will be the citizen army of Rome made up of the citizens of Diónia. Why don't we take advantage of the time when our legion is here to train them? "Nicomacus also suggested.
At this time, Printos further explained, "Your Majesty, I'm not asking the reserve force of Rome to attack Veai City. I'm asking them to use their identity to attack Veai City."
After listening to Printos, the Devers had a rough idea of what to do. He asked, "You want them to pretend to be the reinforcements of Rome?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Printos explained seriously, "We all know that in order to cross from the south bank of the Tiber River to the north bank, in addition to the two bridges in the city of Rome (the Bridge of Rome and the Bridge of the River Island), there is also a bridge in the city of Ferdenae upstream. Since the last attack on Veai City failed, they have been locking the city gate. Our cavalry has been patrolling the north bank of the Tiber River for the past two days, but we haven't seen any soldiers of Rome entering Veai City through the city of Ferdenae upstream. Therefore, Veai City is likely to not know that the civilians of Rome have joined the Kingdom of Diónia. We can let the soldiers of Rome who escaped back to Veai City pretend to be their reinforcements and trick them into opening the city gate …"
"Bang!" The Devers slammed the table and praised loudly, "Very good! Printos, your plan is very good! Veai City is on the east side of the north bank of the Tiber River, and Casrella is on the west side of the north bank. If we can take down these two towns at the same time, we can form a triangle with the city of Rome and support each other. We can build a barrier to the north of the city of Rome. In the future, whether it is the Etruscan – Roman coalition that attacks from the north, or the Roman – Latin coalition that crosses the river from the upper reaches of the Tiber River, they will have to overcome this barrier first. At that time, the Legio III that you lead, Lizaru, do not need to be so passive in defense. You can completely free up most of the soldiers to be put into other battlefields … "
When the Devers said this, Lizaru's face lit up.
"I've decided to take Prinples' suggestion and let the reserve force of Rome attack Veai City."
"Your Majesty, who are you going to send to command?" Tormid asked.
"Just like what the Asistes said, since these civilians of Rome have joined the Diónia, we have to be bold and use them. Otherwise, they will be no different from the nobles of Rome. I think … let Sextus be the commander of the attack on Veai City," the Devers said decisively.
"Sextus is a good young man from Rome. Ever since he was elected as the officer of the Aventinmo, he has been actively helping us to appease the civilians of Rome who have escaped," the Asistes interrupted.
"For these people of Rome who have sincerely joined our side, we have to be bold and give them more chances. Even if we fail to attack Veai City, at least we have a group of tested and loyal civilians of Rome!" The Devers' words were agreed with by the Asistes and the other administrative elders.
"But we must seize Casrella, and we must seize it in the shortest time possible!" The Devers' tone suddenly turned tough. He said, "The Rome army led by Camillus is continuously attacking Ostia without caring about the casualties. Yesterday, the clippers reported that most of the trenches outside Ostia have been filled up, and many parts of the city walls have collapsed. Soon, we will no longer have the geographical advantage, and we will have to fight the people of Rome head-on … We have the initiative in the war.
There is no need for us to fight a mad dog that is about to die and increase the casualties of our soldiers. So, we do not have to defend Ostia. As long as we seize Casrella, we can use its port as a transit station to connect to the port of the river in Rome. Although it is further away from Ostia, the sea trade in Casrella is prosperous. Its port must be bigger and more complete than Ostia, and it will not be threatened by the people of Rome. So … "
The Devers looked at the advisor that he thought highly of. He raised his right fist and waved it. "Printos, you will be in charge of the plan to attack Casrella. If you have any needs, just tell us. We will try our best to solve them, but I hope you can do it as soon as possible … No! Seize it within two days. Can you do it?! "
Printos thought for a moment, then said in a firm tone, "Your Majesty, I am willing to accept this task!"
His words made Matonis, Lizaru, and Epicthenis look at him with admiration. Tormid looked at him with a complicated expression. The Devers had given him two days, but according to Printos's plan, there was only one night left. Could he make it in time? Even they, who had been on the battlefield for a long time, could not guarantee it.
"Very well, I will wait for the news of your victory!" The Devers smiled. He readily agreed to Printos' request to leave the meeting and make preparations. He watched him leave with an appreciative gaze.
At this time, Tormid asked, "Your Majesty, are you going to evacuate the troops in Ostia after capturing Casrella?"
。 Literature Hall.
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