ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 851
The indifferent expression on Camillus's face did not change much. He turned his head and asked: "Titus, what do you think of the current war situation?"

"Master Dictator." Titus looked solemn. He looked at the others, hesitated, and then said: "I think... this may be a conspiracy of the Dionians!"

As soon as these words came out, the other generals were surprised, but Camillus remained unmoved.

Titus explained with a worried expression: "Before, we sent reinforcements at the repeated begging of the messenger from Gabi City. Now that the troops of the Latin Allies have gathered here, the Dionians did not attack Gabi City in a large scale at all. Instead, they are building and fortifying the camp, looking more like they are waiting for us to attack.

If the Dionians never attack Gabi City, it is likely to cause a long stalemate, and the situation will be unfavorable to us, because the soldiers of the allies will be dissatisfied with us; if we choose to attack directly, the Dionians may even Just holding on to the camp will put us at a disadvantage in attacking. Don't forget the painful lesson that the attack on Ostia City taught us!But if we retreat like this, we will lose our prestige among the Latin Alliance..."

"But...even if we initially knew that this was the Dionian's plan, we had to send reinforcements! Who told us that we are the leaders of the Latin Alliance? According to the alliance, we have the responsibility to protect the security of their territories. In the current predicament Now, we cannot lose the trust of these allies..."

Camillus sighed, and the dullness on his face made it impossible for the generals to see the fluctuations in his heart: Since the Dionians launched a large-scale attack on the Latium area, the army he led has been passive and has been restrained step by step. , In fact, he has already fallen into today's predicament without having a direct battle with the Dionia army. The king of Dionia is really a terrible person!
"Since the Dionians want us to take the initiative to attack, then we will attack, but we must have reservations..." Camillus finally said.

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"Your Majesty, the Roman army has been dispatched!"

"Quick! Immediately inform Amyntas, Olivers, Ledes and Cucius to assemble their legions and wait for my order, ready to attack at any time!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Also, send a fast horse immediately to inform Prinist and Signia!"

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"Generals, the Roman army has left Tustron and is rushing towards us." Printors' words made several legion commanders look happy.

"This big fish has finally taken the bait, and our hard work these days has finally paid off!" Trotilas said excitedly.

"This time, we will return the grievances of being forced to retreat in Ostia!" Matonis was full of pride.

"It's best to completely keep the Roman army here, and the subsequent battles will be easy to fight!" Epithenes, the temporary commander of the reserve brigade, had a bigger appetite and thought further.

"Captain Sextus, do you have any suggestions?" Printors looked at the only silent general in the tent.

Sextus is called captain. In fact, the number of Roman reserves now composed of Roman civilians has exceeded 6000. Sextus holds the position of captain and does the work of legion commander, but the Roman reserve The reserve force is only a temporary establishment and will be abolished when the war ends.Although Davos already has the idea of ​​building a legion in Rome, it will be impossible for Sextus to serve as legion commander by then. Even the legion captain will be embarrassed. After all, he does not understand Dionia yet. The military system and tactics still need to be reworked to convince the soldiers.

"I have no objection. Commander, please give the order!" Sextus said in a deep voice.

Crotocatacus, who was standing aside, looked at the Roman who was only a few years older than him. He could understand what Sextus was feeling at the moment, but just as his father said to him: only Let these Romans fight more, and they can break their ties to the past.

Printors coughed, then looked at the generals and said loudly: "Generals, please follow the previous deployment to meet the invading enemy!"

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Tustron was less than 30 miles away from the city of Gabi, but the Roman army was not marching very fast. It was after noon that they arrived at the Dionysian camp, and then the sound of bugles and drums sounded loudly, allowing the city of Gabi to enter the city. The defenders were very excited after hearing this: "The Roman reinforcements are coming!!!..."

However, the Roman coalition did not immediately launch a fierce attack on the camp. The army temporarily stopped advancing. The soldiers began to eat rations to replenish the energy they had previously consumed. Then the soldiers began to slowly approach the camp in a loose queue.

The Roman coalition soldiers walked cautiously, as if they were exploring traps on the ground. In fact, the Dionysia military camp had no other defensive facilities except trenches, sentry towers, and wooden walls.

At the rear of the team, the temporary army commander Titus repeatedly told his reconnaissance officers: "Let your men keep their eyes open. Once you find anything abnormal around the battlefield, report it immediately, especially in the direction of Rome! "

Half an hour later, the Roman coalition soldiers approached the trench and the attack on the camp began.

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"Notify all troops and prepare to leave the city!" Davos, who was at the southern city of Rome, gave the order.

"Your Majesty, the messenger sent by Printors just now said that the Romans' offensive was not violent and they did not devote their main force to the attack. Should we wait a little longer?" Tormid reminded.

"It's been so long since the Romans attacked. I'm afraid it will still be like this if we wait any longer." Davos said firmly: "What's more, the action has already begun over there, and the Romans may notice it at any time. , if you miss this time, the Romans will not be fooled again!”

"Understood, Your Majesty." When Tormid responded, the three legion commanders Amintas, Olivers, and Lizaru had already turned around and headed down the city.

Davos looked at the last legion commander beside him and said solemnly: "Geogris, the security of the city will be left to you. You must assist Asistes and control the city of Rome!"

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty!" Georgris put his legs together and hit his left chest with his right fist.

Davos reached out and patted Geogris on the shoulder hard, then turned and went down to the city.

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In the large tent of the Roman military camp sat Camillus, Lucius and Quintus.

At this time, Quintus was complaining to Camillus: "Master Dictator, I really don't understand, since you have decided to abandon Gabi and withdraw the army, why do you still attack the enemy camp and let our precious Soldiers’ losses were in vain?!”

"We need to let the allies know that the Romans have not given up on them and will still fight for them... Although this will cost us some casualties, it is still worth it..." Camillus explained.

"In fact, we still gave up on them!" Quintus still looked dissatisfied: "When we withdraw to Satnicum, Gabi City will probably be captured by the Dionians soon. Will the other Latin allies Won’t you lose confidence in us?!”

Camillus was silent for a while and whispered: "... At least we have made efforts, which can give them some confidence... The Dionysians are cautious in using their troops and have always attacked Rome with large forces. Towns, we never dispersed our troops and looted everywhere... With our current strength, we can no longer have too high expectations. We can only hold on to the three colonial cities of Vilitre, Satnicum, and Antium. , to wait for the situation to change, and then unite with the Latin allies to attack the Dionians!..."

"What change in the situation?" Quintus frowned.

"Yesterday, Pantheus in Antium sent someone to tell me that a Phoenician fishing boat broke through the interception of the Dionian warships and entered the port, bringing a message, 'The Carthaginian senator The court appointed Mago as the military commander, and he will lead an army of no less than 10 to attack Sicily again!'" As Camillus spoke, his voice unconsciously became louder.

"An army of 10 people!" Quintus was delighted when he heard this, then frowned and said angrily: "Carthage sent an army to attack Sicily before, but it did not impose much force on the Dionysians at all. We were defeated due to pressure, but we made wrong judgments. The Carthaginians should bear the greatest responsibility for our current situation! Now that the Carthaginians have launched another attack, we should not rely too much on them. !”

Quintus' words made Camillus feel pain in his heart. He should bear the main responsibility for his misjudgment of the situation. Quintus was expressing his dissatisfaction with him in a subtle way.

Lucius did not allow others to criticize his father like this, and immediately said loudly: "Quintus, don't forget that you supported my father's proposal at the beginning, which was to 'concentrate our forces and quickly eliminate the Herniki people in a short period of time'" ', you are the most active one!...Now that the Carthaginians can attack Sicily again, isn't it good news for us?! Could it be that you have a better way to quickly change our predicament? ?! And this time the commander of the Carthaginian army is Mago, who is an experienced Carthaginian general and hates the Greeks extremely. He will never show mercy to the Dionians!..."

"Okay, you two, stop arguing." Camillus waved his hand: "Quintus is right, we can't blindly trust Carthage, we still have to see the development of the battle..."

"Now that the enemies of Rome have come out, our goal has been achieved, and it's time for the army to retreat." Camillus continued calmly: "Titus knows what to do."

(End of this chapter)