ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1118 The youngest commander
As the administrator of the region, Asistes was not surprised. He pondered and said: "If all the allies provide full support, there will be about 6 to 3 people. Even half of it will be [-] to [-] people. Plus With our own army, I think it is possible to defeat the invading Gauls with only the strength of the Roman region. This was also the goal that His Majesty hoped to achieve when he established the Dionian League in central Italy."

Having said this, Asistes looked at the young legion commander in front of him and said solemnly: "Of course, Lord Patroclus, you are now the highest military commander in Rome. In terms of military matters, The decision is yours.”

"I also think that the military strength in Rome alone is enough to fight against the invading Gauls!" Patroclus said very confidently: "However, to assemble such a large army to fight, Master Asistes will need to provide sufficient resources. Logistics support and weapons reserves will do."

"You can rest assured that I will do my best to ensure the army's operations." Seeing that the young legion commander not only agreed with his opinion, but also had strong fighting spirit, Asistes was happy and immediately promised: "And, just now, I have sent a messenger to Thurii to inform His Majesty of the 'Large-scale Gauls' invasion'. I believe that soon, the kingdom will concentrate more manpower and material resources to deal with this Gauls' invasion, so you Don’t have any worries at all. First lead the army to prevent the Gauls from invading our territory, and then find a way to repel them..."

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In the next few days, the allied armies of the Holy Kingdom of Dionia near Rome arrived one after another. The first to arrive in Rome were the Latin allied armies, because they were closest to Rome, and they were also tortured by the Gauls. Therefore, more than 1 troops were dispatched.

This makes Patroclus very happy, because in recent years, Dionia has used towns such as Rome and Viai to have closer and closer relations with the neighboring Latin allies through trade, transportation and other means. In fact, in During the military training of the No. 14 Legion, he would also ask citizens of the Latin Confederacy to join from time to time, and this was implemented. Therefore, among the allies near Rome, the Latin Confederate army is the most familiar with Dionysian military tactics, and their soldiers Forming the majority among the Allied forces made it easier for Patroclus to command the battle.

Next arrived were the Volscians and Herniki, who showed great enthusiasm, but due to heavy losses in the previous war, their population was unlikely to change in just a few years, so fewer than 5000 soldiers were sent. people.

Then came the Sabine army, the Aequi...

The Etruscan allies did not send troops, but wasted no time in letting the people in the territory withdraw into the city.While strengthening the city's defense, they also sent messengers to Rome every day to urge Dionia to go north for reinforcements as soon as possible.

Although within a few days, 3 Dionian soldiers from the Roman area had gathered in the Roman military camp, and the Latin Allies, the Volscian Allies, the Herniki Allies... joined one after another, the total The strength of the army exceeded 5, but Patroclus still stood still.

However, Asistes could not sit still and hurried to the military camp: "Captain Patroclus, now there is news from the north that the Gauls have crossed the border defense line we established. Hasdrubal The situation of the border legion led by the Lord is unknown. However, the Gauls quickly captured Florentia, and then moved south in a large scale, launching attacks on Felanora (felathri) and fufluna (fufluna). Randomly plundering villages and towns along the way, killing Etruscan people... The envoys of the Etruscan allies block the door of the regional administrative office every day. If you don't send troops to go north, I'm afraid the Etruscan envoys will come en masse Thurii, you have filed a complaint against us to His Majesty!"

It seems that Asistes has some resentment towards Patroclus, even omitting the respectful title "my lord".

But after hearing this, Patroclus seemed calm. He said calmly: "Lord Asistes, judging from the current situation, the Etruscans' fear of the Gauls has deepened. Marrow, they have been completely panicked and lost their normal reason and judgment.

However, as the main force resisting the Gauls, we Dionia must remain calm enough, analyze the current chaotic battle situation, and find good enough fighters before attacking, instead of hastily heading north to engage the Gauls hastily. , otherwise once the attack is frustrated, it will undoubtedly greatly dampen our morale and affect the stability of Rome..."

After all, Asistes was a mercenary. He followed Davos to fight in Persia in his early years. It was not that he did not understand military affairs, but he had been engaged in government affairs for the past 20 years, and during this time, bad news kept coming from the front, and The Etruscan envoys constantly harassed him, and he was inevitably angry because he was responsible for the entire region. At this time, after Patroclus reminded him, he came to his senses.

But Patroclus's words contained a lesson. As a dignified regional administrator and important minister of the kingdom, Asistes was a little embarrassed. If it were someone else, he might have to yell a few more words to save some face, but on the other side The person sitting was the son-in-law of His Majesty King Davos, who was highly regarded by him, so Asistes could only suppress his dissatisfaction. After a while, he finally said in a low voice: "What are your plans?"

"Sir!" Patroclus saw that Asistes was a little angry, but he didn't care too much. Although Asistes was a higher-ranking official, the No. 14 legion was not under the jurisdiction of the regional administrator. , and Patroclus was reminded by his wife Cynthia before taking office that he had always deliberately avoided being too close to Asistes, but considering that Asistes was following His Majesty when Dionia was established, A confidant with high qualifications, he still softened his tone: "Although there is no specific news, I don't think the Gauls can capture the Florentia military camp and the military base in just a few days. At the Lucca military camp, Master Hastrubal should still be holding on tenaciously.

If the city of Florentisa can conscientiously implement the defensive measures we have formulated for it before, it will be impossible for the Gauls to attack its city.It is a pity that under the protection of our border army for more than a year, they lost their vigilance. After receiving the warning, they were still slowly opening the city gate to take in the fleeing people.But when the Gauls bypassed the military camp, quickly marched towards Florentia, and rushed to the city in a short time to launch the attack, they panicked again and did not close the city gate immediately, causing Gaul to People followed the refugees and rushed into the city..."

After Patroclus told the true reason for the fall of Florentia, he sighed again and said regretfully: "The Gauls occupied Florentia, and they had the Etruscan empire." We have a foothold in Leia and have a relatively sufficient supply of military rations. According to the information currently obtained, we know that there are about 4 Gauls, and their morale is high. If I lead the army across Taiwan at this time, He rushed to the north of Etruria to fight with him. Even if he could win, he would definitely suffer heavy losses. It would be better not to go north to avoid arousing the vigilance of the Gauls, and at the same time wait for the subsequent allied forces to join together, and More material reserves..."

"You don't have to worry about military supplies, Crotokatax has been working hard to prepare!" Asistes reminded in a serious tone: "But just letting the army stay in the barracks and wait is not the answer. If the Gauls conquer other Etruscan city-states again, I’m afraid we won’t be able to account for our Etruscan allies and other allies!”

"Legion No. 14 is only responsible to His Majesty and the Kingdom!" Patroclus replied lightly.

When Asistes heard this, he was a little angry: "But you are now the commander of the entire northern Dionia coalition! Protecting the Etruscan allies is the responsibility entrusted to you by His Majesty!"

"Yes." Patroclus said seriously: "That's why I have to be cautious and wait hard for the opportunity! Master Asistes, don't be anxious, you only need a big victory, any accusations and resentments It will all disappear."

Seeing how stubborn he was, Asistes was so angry that he said: "Okay, then I will wait for your victory!" and then left with a flourish.

Back in the administrative hall, when Crotocatacus reported his work to him, Asistes still talked about the matter with resentment, and said angrily: "When dealing with Patroclus in normal times, I feel that he He is still a very talkative person, but why does he become so stubborn and unable to listen to suggestions at such a critical moment! He controls the entire northern coalition of Dionia, I am really worried! "

After hearing this, Crotocatacus comforted him and said: "Sir, you govern this huge area of ​​Rome, and at the same time you have to take care of the friendly relations with the surrounding allies. You have such a heavy responsibility. Now that you have been invaded by the Gauls, you have already It threatens the safety of the people in the entire central region and is likely to destroy the stable order that you have worked so hard to establish here over the past few years. I have seen that you have not slept well during this period, which shows that you are under a lot of pressure. How big!

As the commander of the legion, Patroclus looks young, but it is not because he is my brother-in-law that my father made him the commander of the No. 14 legion, giving him the ability to command the coalition forces in a state of emergency and resist the high tide. The rights of the Lu people, but because he is one of the most outstanding candidates among the younger generation of generals in the Dionia army. His father, who has always been good at employing people, placed him here. He must have thought that he had the ability to take on this job. heavy responsibility.

In fact, he was under a lot of pressure.Every time I delivered supplies to the military camp and went to see him, he was either assigning tasks to other generals, listening to reports from sentinels, or looking at the map alone, and had no time to say a word to me.

If you think about it, you can understand that the Roman area is the northernmost territory of the kingdom, and reinforcements are unlikely to arrive in a short time. The coalition led by Patroclus is the only force to resist the Gauls at this time. If he leads the army with the same height, If the Gauls suffered a defeat in battle, the Gauls might take the opportunity to rush into the Roman area... So he remains cautious, which I think is understandable..."

(End of this chapter)