ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 782
"Yes, Your Majesty the Dictator! We will definitely arrive in Rome tomorrow night!" Quintus and Licinius stood up immediately and made a loud promise.

"After arriving outside the city of Rome, you must clearly see the battlefield situation. Do not attack rashly, but put pressure on the Dionysian army so that they dare not attack the city of Rome with all their strength..." Camillus patiently warned his men, Then he said in a deep voice: "I will do my best to lead the army to arrive the night after tomorrow, meet you, and then fight to the death with the Dionians!"

When the generals in the tent heard this, their previous uneasiness after learning the news turned into excitement...

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In the dark night, when everything was silent, most of the Roman people in the city and the Dionian soldiers outside the city fell asleep.But outside the northeastern city wall of Rome, hundreds of soldiers quietly came out of the camp of the Dionysian First Legion.

They wore black linings, black cloth headbands, leather shields and daggers tied tightly to their backs, and a small bag of beef jerky tied around their waists.In this dark night, they moved quietly southwest and passed through the open Mars Place.

Mars Square was originally a wide wetland caused by the long-term flooding of the Tiber River. Servius, the sixth king of Rome, drained and filled the wetland and finally obtained this vast flat land and gave it to this place. The flat area was named Mars Square.The name of the Roman god of war shows that this flat land was originally used to gather troops, but later it was also used as a voting place for the citizens' assembly. After all, there was not such a large open space in Rome to accommodate all the citizens.But after the arrival of the Dionian army, the Romans retreated to the city, and Mars Square was left vacant because it was located outside the northern city wall.

When the group arrived at the edge of Mars Square, they saw the towering city wall in front of them and the dark mountain behind the city wall - the Capitoline, a hill that occupies an important position in the hearts of the Romans.

After these people determined their location, they quietly followed the direction of the city wall and turned westward.

Not long after walking, they heard the sound of running water, and the Tiber River was in front of them.

These people immediately dispersed and groped for it on the river bank. Soon someone shouted in a low voice: "Captain, here!"

The person who was called the captain was none other than Izam, the captain of the Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade. He walked over quickly.

There were two thick wooden pillars erected where the soldier was standing. They were driven deeply into the ground, and the part exposed above the ground was only half a person's height. There were wooden boards between the wooden pillars, leading to the river, and then broke off in the middle. , this is a destroyed wooden bridge.

Izam cast his sight forward, and there was a vague outline of land less than 20 meters away from the river bank. He knew that it was the island in the middle of the river called Tiberina by the Romans. When the Dionian army arrived, Before Rome, the Romans evacuated the inhabitants who lived on the island and destroyed the wooden bridges leading to it on both sides.

If the Romans on the island hadn't been evacuated, maybe we could have discovered our actions at this moment... Izam only had a thought in his mind, and then whispered: "Quickly bring the rope and tie it to this wooden post!"

More than a dozen people carried a large bundle of ropes as thick as gun barrels, and tied one end of the ropes firmly to the wooden pillar.

"Is Terentus ready?" Izam asked in a low voice.

"Captain, I can't wait!" A strong soldier responded with a slightly stiff voice.

"Okay, it's up to you!" Izam hammered his strong chest with his fist, then turned to the other soldiers and said, "Tie him up."

The team members wrapped the other end of the rope around his waist. Instead of carrying a leather shield and dagger, he carried a rope hook, an iron saw, and a large iron pliers.

After the rope was tied around his waist, the team members tugged on it and it felt very strong.

Izam looked at the warrior from Messapi with great expectation and encouraged: "Hades will protect you, go ahead and become a hero of the kingdom like Sekerian!"

Terentus solemnly performed a military salute.

Yizham and the team members also solemnly returned the gift to him.

Terentus put the backpack made of inflated sheep belly under his arm, then grabbed the rope with both hands, and walked backward step by step towards the river.

The coldness of the river water suddenly tightened his skin, and the slippery river bottom made it impossible for him to stand upright completely. During the day, the Tiber River seemed to have a gentle flow, but when people walked into the river, they felt its momentum. However, Terentus rushed downstream involuntarily. Fortunately, the rope around his waist held his body. His teammates were releasing the rope bit by bit like a tug-of-war, which made him You can slowly walk downstream...

Not long after, he saw that the river bank in front was no longer flat, but turned into a seven or eight-meter-high embankment, which stood straight beside Terentus.

Terentus, who had observed the terrain beforehand, knew that this meant that he had passed the walls of Rome.

Although the man was still by the river, the water had become deeper and his feet could not reach the bottom. Fortunately, the buoyancy of the sheep's belly allowed him to float on the surface of the river and slowly float downstream.And Terentus kept his eyes wide open, staring ahead.

Not long after, he saw the Roman Vertebral Bridge lying on the river in front of him, which the captain had emphasized many times, and he suddenly felt happy.

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The ropes that the mountain scout team members were holding onto were very tight, but suddenly they became slack.

The team members were also delighted: It should be time!
Yizam always looked solemn, and then asked in a deep voice: "How long is the rope?"

The team member responsible for counting next to him replied: "Nearly 250 meters."

"It should be here by then." The reason why Izam was so sure was because he had learned about it in detail from Valquez and several other former Roman citizens.

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At this moment, Terentus was hugging the bridge pillar closest to the embankment, turning his head to look at the embankment. Through the thin moonlight of the crescent moon in the sky, he could vaguely see the embankment near the Vertebrae Bridge, about four meters away from the river. There is a big dark hole.

Terentus was overjoyed again. He knew that he had found the famous drainage system in Rome called the Maxim Sewer, which the captain had mentioned.

So, he untied the pickaxe hanging from his waist, untied the wrapped cloth strips, and kept pulling the rope with the other hand frequently.

Soon, his teammates who got the signal pulled him back.

He took the opportunity to paddle hard with his hands and feet and got close to the embankment.

After a while, the rope was lowered bit by bit, and he was washed down the sewer by the current. It was easy to distinguish here because it had an unpleasant smell, and there were wet water marks on the embankment, which was covered with moss.

Terentus immediately raised his pickaxe and struck it hard.

The tip of the pickaxe dug into the crack of the stone.

He grabbed the pickaxe with one hand and pulled the rope hard with the other hand. This was to tell his teammates to stop letting go of the rope and tighten the rope to keep him in this position.

Then, he patiently unhooked the rope from his body, grabbed the head in his hands, estimated the distance, and threw it over his head.

He heard a crisp "clang" sound coming from above his head. He screamed secretly and hurriedly dodged. The iron hook stuck to his body and fell into the river.

so close!Terentus did not immediately pull up the rope hook that fell to the bottom of the river. Instead, he stayed on the embankment and carefully observed the movement on the Vertebra Bridge for fear of being heard by Roman patrol soldiers.

But he obviously underestimated the Tiber River. Although it seemed to have a calm flow, far less turbulent and roaring than when Sekerian crossed the Craty River, the river water hit the bridge pillars and embankments over the years, making a deep and heavy sound. , enough to absorb any thin sound produced near him.

After a while, when there was no movement on the bridge or the shore, Terentus threw out the rope hook in his hand again. First he heard a smaller crisp sound, followed by a low muffled sound.

The rope hook didn't fall off!Terentus felt happy, stretched out his hand and pulled hard. The rope was very tight, and it seemed that the rope hook was very secure.

He pulled out the pickaxe vigorously, hung it back on his waist, then grasped the rope hook with both hands, and slowly climbed up.This section of embankment is where the sewer sewage is discharged, and it is relatively slippery.Terentus slipped several times and hit his body against the stone wall, but he refrained from making a sound.

Finally, he climbed to the sewer exit and grabbed the iron grate blocking the exit with both hands.

The Maxim Sewer was originally a drainage ditch dug by the Romans to drain the flooded river water in the lowlands between the hills. This project happened to be built under the order of Talwin, the last Roman king. Its original starting location was In the Roman Forum next to the Senate.

With the improvement of the city of Rome and the increase in population, drainage and desilting were no longer necessary. However, the discharge of domestic sewage became a matter of concern to the public. Therefore, every household began to dig drainage ditches in front of their homes, and they were similar to the original large drainage ditch. Connected, all kinds of sewage generated by the house every day are discharged into the Tiber River through the gutter.Over time, there are more and more drainage ditches, longer and longer, all over the entire city of Rome, and their lines are extremely intricate.

The Romans continued to discharge dirty water, sewage, feces, urine, and even various kinds of garbage, which often caused the drainage ditches to be clogged, the smell was high, and occasionally led to the outbreak of epidemics. Later, a senator named Maximus The elders of the Roman Empire put forward a proposal: to establish a new department and send special city-state officials to manage the drainage ditches in the city of Rome.

The proposal was passed almost unanimously.As a result, the drainage ditches were dug wide and deep, stone slabs were laid on the ground, and they were dredged regularly... From then on, the drainage ditches became sewers, and the Romans also created a god for this complex sewer system-Clo Cloacina.

The outlet of this sewer is as tall as a person and is almost circular. The iron gate is firmly welded into the stone wall. Each iron rod is as thick as an adult's finger. However, this iron gate is obviously old and has rust on it, especially Below the iron fence, there are pits and uneven thicknesses corroded by the sewage discharged every day.

(End of this chapter)