ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 826 Dilemma
"Your Majesty the Dictator, I have, in accordance with your order, implemented strict control over the regiment I led, isolated all those who had come into contact with the rebellious soldiers, and issued an order, 'Any dissemination and discussion of Everyone involved in this matter will be severely punished!' Now the situation is temporarily under control." Licinius reported to Camillus.

Before Camillus could speak, Quintus criticized: "Licinius, you have the nerve to say 'under control'. If you hadn't laxly managed the legions you led, how could this have happened today?" The explosion in the camp at night! It has brought huge trouble to our entire army! Dictator, I think Licinius should be punished first!"

"Did I manage the legion laxly?! Let everyone comment. From the time of the expedition to the present, the legion led by someone has always been criticized by the dictator because of military discipline!" Of course Licinius could not allow Quintus He poured dirty water on himself, so he taunted: "You should be grateful that the legion under my command happened to suffer the tricks of the Dionians, so the camp did not cause big turmoil! If it were you who led it troops, I’m afraid the entire camp will fall into chaos!”

In fact, what Licinius said was not unreasonable. The legions he led were located in the southeast corner of the camp, while the troops led by Quintus were located in the center of the camp. If Quintus' soldiers really knew this, If something happens, the news will spread in all directions very quickly, and it will be difficult to control.

But Quintus didn't think so. He thought that Licinius was humiliating himself, so he pointed at Licinius and scolded angrily: "You damn commoner, I'm afraid you've been dissatisfied with us for a long time. This time the damn Dionians gave you a chance, so you deliberately let go of the civilians in the legion, so that they can return to Rome and rob us of our land and wealth!"

Faced with such slander, Licinius flushed with anger, so he said without hesitation: "Shut up, you are a thug in the eyes of the common people! If it weren't for the greed and cruelty of nobles like you, who forced the common people to despair, How could they be easily tempted by the Dionians and rebel against Rome!..."

Two former military and political officials who had worked together and fought side by side actually began to curse each other in the big tent.

Seeing this situation, the generals in the tent all looked ugly.

"That's enough, shut up!" It was Camillus's roar that made the two stop their quarrel. Camillus rarely lost his temper, but tonight he was obviously very angry at the two people's irrationality. , with trembling hands, he pointed angrily at the two of them: "It seems that the Dionysians' instigation of discord has finally worked. Even you are quarreling because of this. It is simply impossible to take back Rome!"

When Quintus and Licinius heard this, although they still stared at each other, they could not help but feel a little ashamed.

At this time, Aulus asked worriedly: "Dear dictator, the hateful Dionians implemented such measures in Rome, but they were quite vicious! Once the news spread, most civilian soldiers wanted to escape, The noble soldiers are worried about their families in the city and may not obey our orders with peace of mind, what should we do?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Frius also said eagerly: "The news in the city of Rome was not only passed to the soldiers under Licinius, but the people outside the camp probably also knew about it. We simply cannot completely tell them. The news is sealed, and in a few days, it will probably spread throughout the army!"

"Forbid the soldiers to have contact with the people, and try to persuade the people to temporarily live near the city of Pliniste..." Camillus made the decision with a solemn expression. This was obviously contrary to the order he issued a few days ago, and he had no choice but to do so. He sighed: "Even so, it can only be managed for a while. In order to prevent the morale of the army from fluctuating, we must lead the army to leave the city of Rome!"

"Leave Rome?!" When Quintus heard this, he immediately objected loudly: "This is impossible! The soldiers came back hard from Herniki, just looking forward to taking back the city of Rome! The city of Rome is right in front of you, you But let them leave, I’m afraid no one is willing to obey this order!”

"If we don't leave, should we let them attack the city?! With the current situation of the army and the current situation in the city of Rome, we have no chance of conquering the city of Rome at all!"

Licinius's words made the generals in the big tent look sad. They had already learned from the civilian soldiers they had captured before: the cruel measures taken by the Dionysians against the nobles in Rome, civilians Due to their submission and the fact that the senators retreated to the Capitoline Mountains with only a small number of troops, the Dionysians had basically taken control of the situation in Rome.

A sad atmosphere began to permeate the big tent.

At this time, Camillus said in a deep voice: "I hope everyone will pay attention. Although we secretly sent Titus to lead an army to attack Ostia, the soldiers should have been aware of the departure of such a large force. If The Dionians learned about this situation from the soldiers who fled into the city, then our plan to capture Ostia will be exposed. In order to prevent the Dionians from reinforcing Ostia, we must lead a large army Leaving Rome and going to Ostia can greatly prevent soldiers from escaping and recapture Ostia faster! Although the soldiers have emotions, I believe that strict military law and your ability can make them obey orders. !”

The generals looked at me and I looked at you. Although all of them showed embarrassment, no one expressed any objection. At this moment, they all knew in their hearts that this is probably the best way under the current situation.

"After capturing Ostia, what should we do next?" Aulus asked next.

"After capturing Ostia... negotiate with the Dionians, or depending on the situation, the Dionian army besieging here... then attack Rome with all its strength." Camillus' tone was not very sure, and his expression There was some hesitation, showing that he was also a little confused.

After all, the political measures implemented by the Dionians in Rome clearly showed that they did not just want to teach the Romans a lesson and rob them severely, but had a longer-term purpose. They wanted to reach peace talks and let It may have become very slim for the Dionians to withdraw from Rome.However, attacking the city of Rome may cause divisions among the soldiers. Today's Roman army cannot withstand a defeat.

Camillus was good at military affairs but weak at politics.Otherwise, when he captured the city of Viai, which other Roman senators had been unable to capture for many years, and gained great popularity, he would have been easily expelled from the city of Rome.During his last term as dictator, Marcus led the civilians to fight fiercely against the nobles, and he was unable to reconcile the conflicts between the two sides. In the end, when others were afraid to avoid him, he actually signed the order to arrest Marcus. He took his own name, and finally acquiesced in the Senate's murder of Marcus, which led to a period of time when he was reviled by the civilians every day... Now, King Diolia uses more intense political methods to intensify Rome When Camillus, who had suffered a lot about the conflict between nobles and common people, had to face this problem head-on, not only could he not think of any good way to solve it, but he also felt a little fear in his heart.

"I hope that in the next period of time, everyone will treat the soldiers equally and stop stirring up conflicts!" Camillus then emphasized that this was the only method he could take, and his serious eyes swept across the tent. Each of the generals stayed on Quintus for a while.

Quintus snorted, but made no rebuttal.

Everyone heard the reluctance in Camillus' words, but in the face of the current huge difficulty, they could not come up with a better way, so although they all remained silent, they all agreed with Camillus in their hearts. Si's plan.

A guard broke in and broke the silence of the big tent: "My lord, the army stationed at the river port sent a messenger to report that dozens of ships appeared on the upper reaches of the Tiber River, lit with torches, full of soldiers, and are heading downstream Drive away!"

The faces of everyone in the tent changed color, and a sentence came out in their hearts at the same time: The Dionians really want to reinforce Ostia!
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After Titus discovered that the city of Ostia was full of traps, he did not rashly order the army to continue the attack. Instead, he sent all the heavy infantry with long shields for protection, braving the rain of arrows fired from the city. and stone bullets, and patiently cleared the traps on the ground. Although some casualties were incurred, the traps in front of the trench were generally cleared when night fell.

Since Ostia is only a small city, and the Roman army only needs to attack the east and south sides, and its city wall is less than two miles long, Titus divided the entire army into five waves and attacked in turn. When the first wave of soldiers attacked the city At that time, other troops were lying on the ground in the rear to rest and recover as soon as possible some of the physical strength consumed during the day.

After the Roman soldiers filled up the trenches and rushed to the city, while the Dionysian defenders were fighting with all their strength against the attacking Roman soldiers, Titus asked people to drive pack cars one by one to the trenches. Then the tarred wood was unloaded from the cart and lit with fire. The fires ignited everywhere provided light for the continuous attack of the Roman soldiers.

In addition, Titus also thought of a clever trick: when a wave of soldiers was frustrated in their attack on the city and had to retreat, he did not immediately send a second wave of soldiers, but quietly pushed the ballista forward. The pile just illuminated the city, and the wilderness a hundred meters away began to be shrouded in darkness. The Dionysian crossbowmen at the top of the city could not see clearly in the distance, and naturally could not carry out accurate bombardment. Instead, the Roman crossbow troops could see To clear the situation at the top of the city, they began to fire stone bullets after entering the shooting range (200-150 meters away from the city wall). Although most of the stone bullets hit the city wall, the stone debris splashed against the city head was intensively defended. The army caused some damage.

　Thanks to Gelao Yiren and Phantom.Reward!Your support is my motivation to write! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)