ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 856 Marching to the Samone Mountains
"Of course I understand what they think." Davos smiled confidently: "They want to become the heroes of Rome again, then I will give them this opportunity and see if their fantasy can finally come true!"

After hearing this, Henepolis immediately lost his worries and wished he could immediately describe this scene as important material for his biography.

Publius had mixed emotions. On the one hand, he was happy that he had fulfilled his promise and settled his worries. On the other hand, he was also heartbroken by Davos's magnanimity and heroism, not to mention the struggle of the remaining forces of Rome. Hold out any hope.

In fact, what they didn't know was that the reason why Davos made this decision was mainly because Davos considered the following factors: First, Capitoline Mountain is located in the city, and there are as many as 6000 or [-] people on the mountain. , if he really starved to death because of running out of food, he was afraid that it would cause a plague, which would bring huge trouble to the Dionysian army during the war, and would not be conducive to the rapid restoration of prosperity in the city of Rome;

Second, the deaths of thousands of people in the city were too tragic. Not only did Davos himself feel unbearable, but it would also make the Romans who had surrendered to Dionia feel miserable, thus affecting the development of the Kingdom of Dionia. The look and feel is not conducive to their integration;

Third, he had learned from Publius before that the families of most of the noble soldiers in the army under Camillus are on the Capitoline Mountains. Once they have them, Dionia will be even more powerful. So that they can deal with the Roman army retreating in Satnicum.

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After getting Davos's consent, Publius went up the mountain again, and the two sides quickly reached an agreement.

The next day, the people on the mountain were sent back down the mountain, and the Roman senators also followed the agreement and allowed a detachment of soldiers from Dionia to enter the mountain to supervise the entire process (mainly to see whether the Roman senators complied with the agreement, leaving only 500 soldiers) people).

The Roman people who came to the foot of the mountain were escorted (more often supported) by Dionysian soldiers to the designated place and imprisoned. There was sadness on their faces, but it was more of a kind of relief. After all, the days of starvation finally passed up.

Roman civilians also came to the square to watch the excitement. When they saw the noble family members that they had envied in the past, now they all looked haggard and in a daze. While they felt happy, they also felt sad.

Potitus, Marugiressis and other Roman elders, as well as hundreds of remaining Roman citizen soldiers, stood on the top of the cliff, watching their relatives enter the city occupied by the enemy, until the entire Capi The empty silence on Mount Torin returned again, and they still stood like stone statues for a long time...

After a long time, the coughs of several old senators broke the deathly silence.

Scipio shouted to the soldiers: "Citizens, we must defend this place with all our strength! Guard our Roman temple! Waiting...waiting for the final arrival of victory!"

"Roar!!!..." The soldiers roared in unison, and the roar was more tragic.

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Aquilonia, one of the three important towns of Hirpini (the other two are Beneventum and Abenirum), it is located in the city of Vinosa in the Puchetti area of ​​the Kingdom of Dionia It is more than 50 miles to the northwest (this is only a straight-line distance, in fact, the walking distance is doubled), and the distance to the southwest of Askrum in the Downey area is less than 50 miles. It also benefited from the forward base of the Pini people's invasion of the Apulian lowlands (including this one), becoming the most powerful tribal union settlement in the southeastern part of the Hirpini territory, and also the Hirpini tribe. Strong barrier to the southwest.

Its city is built on a hill with a height of 500 meters, and is surrounded by rolling hills with an average height of about 300 meters. Let alone attacking, it will take a lot of effort for the army to get there.

Since Alexis was determined to capture Aquilonia, he naturally made careful preparations. He mobilized the light infantry and light armored brigades of the 11th Legion, and then added two heavy infantrymen from the 6000th Legion. The brigade and the light armored and light infantry brigade, plus the engineering battalion, medical battalion, supply battalion, and mountain reconnaissance team, have a total of more than [-] people, and there is also a large number of pack teams, which can supply the army with more than ten people. Food for the day, and ten Abeni Roma sent by Gairni to serve as guides.

At dawn, he led his army from Venosa, headed north to the south bank of the Ofanto River, and then marched upstream along the Ofanto Valley. The march went smoothly along the way and was not harassed by the Samnites.

It is understandable if you think about it. The Samnites were severely damaged in the first two battles, and now they have concentrated their main force to attack the Campania League. How many young and middle-aged people are left in the entire territory who can fight.Therefore, the smooth march along the way made Alexis even more confident in taking Aquilonia.
In the afternoon, the Dionysian army arrived at a bend in the upper reaches of the Ofanto River, which happened to be the confluence of Ofanto and a larger tributary. Therefore, the terrain was relatively flat, the area was relatively open, and it happened to be in It is ten miles due south of the city of Aquilonia. This is the campsite Alexis selected after he learned about the surrounding terrain in detail from the Abenirum guide before setting off, because the northern part of the river bend It also happens to face the narrow lowland between the mountains (the height of this lowland is also tens of meters), through which one can approach the mountain ridge where the city of Aquilonia is located.

Therefore, he ordered the army to build a camp on the south bank of this river bend as soon as possible.

The soldiers of the entire army immediately began to act quickly according to the division of labor in advance: the engineers surveyed the surrounding terrain and determined the area of ​​the main camp; the soldiers used sickles and axes to cut the weeds and trees in the area, then leveled the ground and built Put up a wooden fence... The most important thing is to burn as much thatch as possible in the swamp area on the shore to smoke out the mosquitoes hiding in it.Fortunately, the Ofanto River is not a big river and rarely floods, so the swamp area in the Reach is very small, but the fire and smoke will definitely attract the attention of the surrounding Samonite tribes, but in order to ensure that the soldiers have adequate rest and Being healthy and having enough strength and energy to cope with the tough battle ahead, Alexis believed it was worth it.

In order to initially build the camp and lay the foundation for the next attack, Alexis also asked people to light fires around the camp at dusk to illuminate the soldiers' hard work.

The soldiers also knew that this place was no other place. The terrain was unfamiliar and complex. There were not only wild animals, snakes and insects, but also fierce enemies in the mountains. Therefore, there was no need for the team officers to urge them. They were building the camp regardless of fatigue, because they knew that only by building a good camp , they can sleep well in this dangerous mountain.

After evening, the camp began to take shape: a wooden fence was built on the outside, and a simple deer camp was built outside the wooden fence. A pieced-together sentry tower was erected inside the wooden fence and at the four corners of the camp. A rectangular tent, these tarpaulins sewn with animal skins are strong and have a large coverage. They can completely cover the space inside the tent. They can not only prevent snake and insect bites, but also protect against wind, frost, rain and snow.Each tent can accommodate a squad of soldiers to rest, just like the army camp in the territory. This allows extremely familiar comrades to relax and sleep quickly in an unfamiliar battlefield environment, and it is also easier for the squad leader to manage.

One brigade occupies an area in the camp, with a large gap between it and the tent area of ​​another brigade. The six brigade are arranged in a ring, surrounding the medical battalion, engineering battalion, and supply camp (usually because of the supply camp) The pack animals inside have a strong smell and are noisy, so they are often placed on one side of the camp. However, this time because the camp is not perfect and the defense is weak, it is very vulnerable to attack when placed outside the camp. Moreover, when fighting in the mountains, it is difficult to transport food. Pack animals are extremely important). In the center of the camp is the commander's tent. A large brazier stands outside the tent. The continuous burning flame allows the officers and soldiers in the camp to burn fire even in the dark. Find the commander's location.

While the soldiers were building the camp, Alexis specially arranged for a company to take a full rest. When all the soldiers in the army began to sleep, the company began to stand guard, watch, and patrol the camp in the dark.

Lacailesis, a native of Messapé, was the flag-bearing hero in the triumphal ceremony of Thurii two years ago and is now a company captain.As the commander of the company on duty tonight, he assigned his four squads to be responsible for standing guard in the four directions of the camp, east, west, north, and south. He also solemnly told the four squad leaders: "Be sure to keep your eyes open and observe what's going on outside the camp. If anything is abnormal, report it immediately! If anyone is careless or even lazy to sleep, I will definitely punish them with military law without mercy!"

After arranging the mission, he personally followed the first detachment to patrol the north of the camp because he knew that there was a high possibility of enemies appearing in this direction.

Late at night, the soldiers had already fallen asleep, but there was no silence outside the camp. There were howling wolves in the forest, frogs croaking by the river, birds chirping in the swamp, and various insects in the grass. The sound of singing and gurgling water... This is the most beautiful melody of nature.

But this harmony will soon be broken. The waterfowl slapped the water surface in panic, the frogs stopped their chirping alertly, and there were noisy footsteps on the other side of the river...

"Company Captain, there are enemies!" the soldier reminded on the sentry tower.

"Don't be anxious, first see how many enemies there are!" Rachaelesis said calmly. He couldn't disturb the commander's rest just because there were only a few enemies to harass him. That would only leave Alexis with a lot of trouble. Impression of incompetence.

　Thanks to Sniper No. 11 for the tip!Your support is my motivation to write! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)