Chapter 858
"Of course I understand what they want." The Devers smiled confidently. "They want to be the heroes of Rome again, so I'll give them this chance. Let's see if their dream can finally come true!"
Hearing this, Henipolis was immediately relieved of his worries, and wished that he could immediately describe this scene and use it as an important source for his biography.
On the other hand, Publius had mixed feelings. On the one hand, he was happy that he had fulfilled his promise and put an end to his worries. On the other hand, he was also impressed by the Devers's generosity and heroism. He did not have any hope for the remaining forces of Rome.
In fact, what they did not know was that the Devers made this decision mainly because of the following factors: First, Capitoline Mountain was located in the city, and there were as many as five to six thousand people on the mountain. If they really starved to death because they ran out of food, he was afraid that it would cause a plague, which would bring great trouble to the Dionysian Army during the war. It was also not conducive to the rapid restoration of the prosperity of Rome.
Second, the death of thousands of people in the city was too tragic. Not only would the Devers feel sorry for them, but it would also affect the people of Rome who had already surrendered to Diónia. It would affect their impression of the Kingdom of Diónia, which would not be conducive to their integration.
Third, he learned from Publius that most of the noble soldiers in Camillus's army had their families on Capitoline Mountain. When they had them, it would be easier for Diónia to deal with the Rome army that had retreated to the city of Saturnicum.
… …
After getting the consent of the Devers, Publius went up the mountain again, and the two sides quickly reached an agreement.
The next day, the people on the mountain were sent back down the mountain, and the senators of Rome allowed a team of Diónia soldiers to enter the mountain to supervise the whole process according to the agreement (mainly to see if the senators of Rome abided by the agreement and only left 500 people behind).
The people of Rome who came to the foot of the mountain were escorted by the Diónia soldiers (more often than not, they had to support them) to the designated place to be imprisoned. There was sadness on their faces, but there was more relief on their faces. After all, the days of starvation were finally over.
The commoners of Rome also came to the square to watch the fun. When they saw the families of the nobles that they had envied in the past now had withered faces and were in a trance, they could not help but sigh.
Potitus, Marugilleressis, and the other elders of Rome, as well as the remaining hundreds of Rome soldiers, stood on the top of the cliff and watched their loved ones step into the area occupied by the enemy. Until the entire Capitoline Mountain became empty and quiet again, they still stood like stone statues for a long time …
After a long time, the coughs of a few elders broke the deathly silence.
Scipio The Great shouted at the soldiers, "Citizens, we must defend this place with all our might! Guard the temple of our Rome! Wait … wait for the final victory to arrive! "
"Roar!!!" The soldiers roared in unison, but their roars were more tragic.
… …
Aquilonria, one of the three major towns of the Hilpini (the other two being Beneventum and Abenilum), was located more than 50 miles northwest of the city of Venosa in the Kingdom of Dionia's Pucheti region (this was just the distance in a straight line, but in fact, the distance was double the distance on foot). It was less than 50 miles southwest of Asculum in the Downey region. In the past, it had been the forward base for the Hilpini to invade the lowland areas of Apulia (including this time), and it had benefited from it. It had become the most powerful tribal settlement in the southeast of the Hilpini territory, and it had also become a powerful barrier to the southwest of the Hilpini tribe.
Its city was built on a hill up to 500 meters high, and it was surrounded by continuous mountains with an average height of about 300 meters. It would take a lot of effort for the army to reach there, let alone attack.
Since Alexis had made up his mind to take Aquilonria, he naturally made meticulous preparations. He transferred the light infantry and light armor brigade of the 11th Legion, then two heavy infantry brigades, light armor and light infantry brigades of the 10th Legion, plus the engineering battalion, medical battalion, supply battalion, and the mountain reconnaissance team. There were more than 6,000 people in total. He also had a large pack carrying enough food for the army for more than ten days, and ten Abenilomians sent by Gherni as guides.
At dawn, he led the army from Venosa and headed north to the south bank of the Orfanto River. They then marched upstream along the Orfanto River Valley. Their march was relatively smooth, and they were not harassed by the Samonai.
It was understandable. In the previous two battles, the Samonai were seriously injured, and now they were concentrating their main forces to attack the Campania Alliance. There were not many young and strong tribesmen left in the territory who could fight. Therefore, this smooth march boosted Alexis's confidence in taking Aquilonria.
In the afternoon, the Dionysian Army arrived at a bend in the upper reaches of the Orfanto River. This was where the Orfanto River converged with a larger tributary, so the terrain was flat and the area was relatively open. It was also ten miles south of the city of Aquilonria. This was also the camp that Alexis had chosen after learning about the surrounding terrain from the Abenilomian guides. This was because the north side of the bend was facing the narrow lowland between the mountains (this lowland was also tens of meters high). Through it, they could get close to the mountains where the city of Aquilonria was located.
Therefore, he ordered the army to seize the time to build a camp on the south bank of the bend.
The whole army immediately began to work according to the previous division of labor. The engineers surveyed the surrounding terrain and determined the area for the camp. The soldiers used sickles and axes to cut down the weeds and trees in the area. Then, they leveled the ground and built wooden fences. Most importantly, they tried to burn the grass in the swamp area to smoke away the mosquitoes that were hiding in it. Fortunately, the Orfanto River was not a large river, and it rarely flooded. Therefore, the swamp area of the bend was very small. However, the fire and smoke would definitely attract the attention of the surrounding Samonai tribes. In order to ensure that the soldiers had enough rest and health, and that they had enough strength and energy to deal with the difficult battle that was coming, Alexis felt that it was worth it.
In order to build a preliminary camp and lay a good foundation for the next attack, at dusk, Alexis even ordered people to light up the camp around the camp to light up the soldiers' hard work.
The soldiers also knew that this was not a normal place. The terrain was unfamiliar and complicated. Not only were there wild beasts, snakes, and insects in the mountains, there were also fierce enemies. Therefore, there was no need for the captain to urge them. They ignored the tiredness and built the camp. They knew that only by building a good camp could they sleep well in this dangerous mountain range.
After dusk, the camp began to take shape. A wooden fence was built on the outside, and a simple circle of deer abatis was set up outside the fence. Inside the fence and at the four corners of the camp, there was a patchwork of sentries. Inside the camp, there were rows of rectangular tents. These tents were sewn together with animal skin. They were strong and had a large coverage area. They could completely cover the space inside the tents. Not only could they prevent snakes and insects from biting them, they could also shelter them from wind, frost, rain, and snow. Each tent could accommodate a small team of soldiers to rest. This was similar to the barracks in the army's territory. This way, familiar comrades could also relax and quickly sleep in an unfamiliar battlefield environment. This also made it easier for the squad leader to manage the camp.
One company occupied an area within the camp. There was a relatively large gap between them and the other company's tent area. Six companies were arranged in a ring, surrounding the medical camp, engineering camp, and supply camp in the middle. (Usually, because of the heavy smell and noise of the pack beasts in the supply camp, the pack beasts were usually arranged at the side of the camp. But this time, because the camp was not perfect and its defense was weak, it was easy to be attacked if it was placed outside the camp. Also, fighting in the mountains made it difficult to transport food. Pack beasts were very important.) At the very center of the camp was the commander's tent. Outside of the tent was a large brazier. The continuously burning flame allowed the officers and soldiers in the camp to find the commander even in the dark.
While the soldiers were building the camp, Alexis specially arranged for a company to have enough rest. When all the soldiers began to sleep, this company began to stand guard, keep watch, and patrol the camp in the dark.
Lakelessis, a Mesapian, was the flag bearer of the Turís victory two years ago. Now, he was already a captain of a company. As the commanding officer on duty tonight, he ordered the four squads under his command to stand guard in the east, west, south, north and south of the campsite. He also solemnly instructed the four squad leaders, "You must keep your eyes open and observe any abnormalities outside the campsite. Report immediately if you find anything unusual! If anyone is careless or even sleeps, I will definitely punish them according to military law. There will be no mercy! "
After arranging the tasks, he personally followed the first team to patrol the north side of the camp. This was because he knew that the possibility of enemies appearing in this direction was very high.
Late at night, the soldiers had already entered dreamland, but it was not quiet outside the camp. The howling of wolves in the forest, the croaking of frogs by the river, the chirping of birds in the swamp, the chirping of insects in the grass, and the gurgling of water … This was the most beautiful melody of nature.
But this harmony would soon be broken. The water birds would slap the water in panic, the frogs would stop chirping in alarm, and there would be noisy footsteps on the other side of the river …
"Company Captain, there are enemies!" The soldier on the sentry tower warned.
"Don't worry, first see how many enemies there are!" Lakelessis said calmly. He couldn't disturb the commander's rest just because there were a few enemies. That would only give Alexis the impression of incompetence.
。 Mobile version of the fastest updated website:
Comments