Chapter 922
From them, the defending soldiers learned that Antium had been captured by the Dionysian Army, and Saturnicum was the only two Rome towns that were still resisting. This caused a stir in the hearts of the soldiers.
Under such circumstances, Quintus took the liberty of hiding from Camillus and disregarding the opposition of the other generals. He secretly led 4,000 soldiers out of the city at night in an attempt to attack the Diónia camp, hoping to win a victory to boost the morale of the soldiers.
However, not long after they left the city, they were discovered by the Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade's hidden sentries outside the camp.
The Devers quickly mobilized the army to encircle and suppress them.
Quintus saw that the situation was not good and hurriedly ordered a retreat. He personally led the army to stop the pursuing army. In the end, he died on the battlefield. Nearly half of the army he led were either killed, wounded, or captured. The failure of this sneak attack caused a great blow to the morale of the Rome soldiers. They began to doubt Camillus's words, "As long as we hold on, our chance will come …", which they firmly believed in before.
In September, when the people of other city-states were rejoicing, the city of Saturnicum seemed lifeless. The sentries on the city wall rarely patrolled back and forth. Most of them were leaning against the city wall, leaning or sitting, lost in their own thoughts. They rarely even talked to their teammates.
On the streets of the city, filthy vomit could be seen everywhere, and soldiers lying on the sides of the road in twos and threes. The area outside the barracks for wounded soldiers in the square was packed with people. They ignored the pungent smell and the flying mosquitoes and insisted on seeing a doctor. Their heart-wrenching coughs could almost be heard throughout the entire square …
In the bedroom of the Castellan's mansion, Camillus suddenly opened his eyes in a nightmare.
The confidant slave who was standing restlessly in front of the bed immediately shouted with joy, "Sir, you are awake!"
Camillus moved his neck with difficulty. He looked around and whispered in a hoarse voice, "… Water … water …"
The slave hurriedly picked up the water bottle that had been prepared, then held his head with one hand and fed him water.
After Camillus drank some water, he felt a little better and asked in a low voice, "… how long did I sleep this time?"
"Two … two days." The slave said with a slightly dejected expression.
Hearing this, Camillus's face darkened. The time he spent unconscious was getting longer and longer, and he felt as if his organs were starting to decay. This gave him a sense of urgency.
"What's the situation outside?!" As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized that he was being silly. How could a slave know this? So he changed his words and asked, "Where is Lucius?"
"Master Lucius is sick." The slave's body trembled.
Camillus was taken aback. He was more concerned about Saturnicum than about his son, so he asked, "Go and get … Titus."
Titus was temporarily in charge of the army for him, and often reported to him.
"Master Titus is sick too. He hasn't come to see you for two days," the slave said urgently. His face was pale.
"Even Titus is sick?!" Camillus was stunned again. Decades of experience in the war had given him a sense of vigilance. He immediately asked, "And … who's sick?!"
"Lord Licinius! Lord Servius! I heard that there are many soldiers! Lord, could it be … could it be … "The slave's face was filled with panic and fear, but he did not dare to say the word.
Camillus's face was frighteningly pale. He said in a deep voice, "Go get all the generals who are not sick … cough cough … immediately!"
… …
"You suspect it's the plague?!" Hearing the word from Mejus' mouth, Camillus suddenly opened his cloudy eyes, and his dry throat let out the loudest sound he had ever made since he woke up. Even though he had a trace of suspicion before, he still did not want to believe it was true.
"Lord Dictator …" Mejus, who had been on the battlefield for a long time, looked very panicked at the moment. He said with a trembling voice, "… In my decades of military career … I have seen one or two plagues … and this time … this is very similar to the previous ones … the same fever … headache … vomiting … diarrhea … weakness … and soldiers are constantly showing the same symptoms …"
Camillus closed his eyes in pain. Mejus, Aulus, and the other generals did not speak anymore. They all looked helplessly at the old man who had completely lost the ability to move.
After a long time, Camillus slowly opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling. His face was full of sadness. He murmured, "The great Jupiter! Are you going to give up … give up on Rome?! "
As soon as he finished speaking, all the generals in the room shed tears.
Camillus turned his head with difficulty and looked at the generals surrounding his bed. His expression was terrifyingly calm. Surrender to Olivia …
Aulus, Mejus, and the other generals were shocked when they heard this. They subconsciously objected loudly, "Lord Dictator, we must not surrender! We can still continue to fight … "
Camillus let out a long sigh and said in a low voice, "Before the plague spreads to the whole city … Surrender to Diónia … At least we can save the lives of some people … This is my … Camillus's last order as the dictator of Rome …" After saying this, he closed his eyes. Two streams of turbid tears flowed down his face.
The room was silent.
After a while, the generals walked out of the bedroom. Each of them was thinking about their own matters and walked out of the governor's mansion in silence.
"Are we really going to listen to the dictator's order and surrender to Diónia?!" A general finally could not help but ask loudly.
"What else can we do if we don't surrender?! We are trapped in the city with nowhere to run. In the end, we will only be infected by the plague. Our souls will not be able to find peace after we die! " Another general could not bear the pressure in his heart and lost control of his emotions. He raised his head and looked at the sky. He loudly questioned the god he worshipped, "Jupiter, aren't you the protector of Rome? Now that Rome is about to fall, where are you?! "
When the others heard this, no one went to stop their colleague's blasphemous behavior. Instead, they looked even more sorrowful.
At this time, Aulus suddenly said, "The plague can infect the soldiers of Rome. Of course, it can also infect the people of Diónia! We can use the opportunity of surrendering to let the Diorians also get infected by the plague. Maybe this will be a turning point for Rome! "
Mejus and the others were stunned. Their eyes immediately lit up. The main force of the Dionysian Army was under the city. If they were infected by the plague and most of the soldiers died, would they still have the ability to control the Latin region that they had just conquered?!
… …
In the big tent of the Diónia camp, the Devers were reading a battle report that had just been sent from Campania. Soon, a smile appeared on his face.
"Your Majesty, is it Alexis who sent good news?" Heniboris asked softly with some curiosity.
"The great leader of the Pentney has sent a messenger to Alexis, asking for a truce and peace! The Kautini have also sent a messenger to Zantiparis, expressing the same intention. "The Devers patted his arm lightly with the letter in his hand. His tone was very light.
"There are no Caraceni?" Heniboris asked.
"Among the four major Samonai tribes, the Caraceni are the most conservative and stubborn, but they are also the weakest. This time, their losses are not small. They think that we can't do anything to them because they are hiding in the mountains. Hmph, don't forget, without the help of other tribes, the neighboring mountain tribes, such as the Maxi and the Hernici … will be very willing to settle old scores with them. "The Devers smiled contemptuously." At that time, the Caraceni will take the initiative to find us. "
As he spoke, he handed the battle report in his hand to Heniboris, then asked Crotocatax beside him, "Crotocatax, how do you think we should deal with the two Samonai tribes, Kautini and Pentney?"
Since the Devers had already described his initial plan of dealing with the four major Samonai tribes, Crotocatax had also thought about it carefully these days. Therefore, in the face of the Devers' test, he said with some confidence, "Father … The Samonai were once our allies, but they tore up the alliance, started a war, and wantonly plundered the people of the kingdom and the allies … Therefore, this time, we must increase the punishment and control of the Samonai tribe to prevent them from rebelling again in the future!
My suggestion is that the chief of Pentney and Kautini must go to Turií to receive severe punishment, and the other tribal chiefs must also be punished accordingly. At the same time, the tribes must offer hostages.
Like you said before, father, the Pentni and Cautini tribes must become the vassals of the Kingdom. All the land of Cautini that we have now will belong to the Kingdom. The Cautini tribe will only keep the land north of the Volturno River as a buffer between the Kingdom and the Sidisini, Oronchi, and other mountain tribes. The new chief of the Cautini tribe must be chosen from the original Naconia tribe.
We have not captured much of Pentney's land, but Pentney must cede the mountains adjacent to Downey so that we can build a city there …
Also, these two tribes must not restrict the priests of the kingdom from building temples in the mountains, and must not restrict the people of the kingdom from trading with the Samonai tribes … "
"Your Majesty, Prince Clotho's explanation is very comprehensive and meticulous!" Tormid praised.
The Devers smiled and nodded, "It seems that after the last examination, although you have been busy with me in Latin these days, you have also been thinking about how to deal with the Samonai tribe. In this suggestion, you have completely considered the problem from the perspective of the kingdom's interests. The plan you gave is more detailed, specific, and operable. Very good!"
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