Rome must fall.

Chapter 115 A battle that determines life and death

Maximus nodded, turned around and said: "Argo, go and call me immediately...the man named Demorius!"

While watching Akago leave the military tent, Maximus had a thought in his mind: Although what Quintus and Frontinus said were reasonable, the feeling of passively complying with their requests was too much. Oh no! Should more civil servants like Volenus be invited to military meetings in the future? This would make it easier for disagreements to arise and enable one to make decisions calmly...

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Cnaeus Cornelius Rentulus Clodianus, because he was born into a noble family in Rome, carried out the annihilation of the rebel army with Publicola, another consul with a relatively ordinary birth. During the plan, his task was relatively easy. He only had to guard the Ascoli line and wait for Publicola to lead his army through mountains and rivers to drive the rebels into the encirclement. Then they would launch an attack together to completely eliminate them and share the glory of victory. .

However, when the news that Publicola annihilated one of the rebels alone reached his ears, he couldn't sit still: we agreed to act together, but you Publicola secretly took it first Part of the fruits of victory, now the whole city of Rome is full of praise for you, but it is mocking me for being greedy for life and afraid of death, and standing still! You also said that these cheap slaves are fierce and tenacious and have caused a lot of casualties to your troops. Please tell me not to act rashly... Do you think I am a fool? Do you want me to watch you take all the remaining military achievements as your own and make me a joke in Rome? !

Clotianus was very angry, but he did not openly fall out with Publicola. Instead, he played a trick: he first wrote to Publicola, perfunctorily saying that he would continue to implement the plan and ask him to Don't worry, then pay close attention to the movements of the rebels, and at the same time secretly formulate a plan to annihilate the rebels independently, and as a consul and the prestige of the Cornelius family, order the Brindisi fleet to fully cooperate with your actions …

At this moment, when he was following the team on his horse, he was still thinking back to his skillful transportation of troops by sea last night. Although there was a small accident along the way, the whole process was relatively smooth. By the time the uprising was eliminated, Army, this will definitely become a story that the Roman people talk about, and it will also greatly enhance his prestige.

He was still thinking about how to publicize his glorious deeds when he returned to Rome. He came from the front and reported: "Your Excellency, the consul, the rebels are arrayed on the other side of the river!"

The rebels didn't escape! ...Claudianus' first reaction was joy. He had previously received a report from his subordinates in Castrum that he had discovered enemy cavalry spying on them. Because he was worried about the rebels escaping, he also urged the troops to speed up their march.

Hearing the news, he breathed a sigh of relief and immediately issued an order: "Notify the entire army to slow down the march!"

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

Crotianus turned back and said: "Bubulius, this rebel army is very bold. Do they think they can stop my attack?!"

Clodianus' aide Bubrius responded disdainfully: "Your Excellency Consul, lowly people often don't know themselves. They may think that with the Vomanus River as a barrier, we can only cross the river through the stone bridge to launch an attack. , which allows them to defend easily and be able to hold on until their reinforcements arrive... However, although the main force of the rebels is not strong in combat power, it is large in number. If they arrive in time before we defeat this rebel army, they will also give us It caused quite a bit of trouble.”

"Don't worry, the rebels will not hold out until that time, they will become my first fruit of victory!" Clodianus smiled confidently, and then he shouted loudly: "The messenger immediately called Antonius Come."

Antonius was the cavalry commander of this Roman army. He had participated in the counter-insurgency war in the Iberian Peninsula for many years. Although the Roman army was always defeated by Sertorius before Pompeii went, his performance on the battlefield was still good. Yes, and he was the patron of the Clodianus family, so Clodianus transferred him to his army as his deputy, using his rich war experience to win victory for himself.

"Antonius, that group of rebels did not escape. They formed a formation on the other side of the river to defend against our attack. It seems that we can implement the second plan." When Claudianus faced Antonius, he seemed Somewhat politely: "I will go to the lower reaches of the Womanus River to contain the enemy. You can lead the troops behind me to divert through the mountain road and raid the section of the river that can be easily crossed. What do you think?"

"I will obey your order." Antonius had no objection to this, because this was the plan he participated in formulating: "I have only one request, hand over all the ballistae to me."

"Of course that's no problem."

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There are a total of two bridges over the Waumanus River.

One is a stone bridge, more than 30 meters long and 4 meters wide. It is located on the north side of Matrinum City, more than a mile away from the seaport, and connects to the coastal road. Bounded by the bridge, the Womanus River to the east is deep and muddy, making it difficult to wade, while the water becomes shallower and narrower toward the west.

The other is a wooden bridge, less than 20 meters long and two meters wide, connecting the mountain road south of the middle reaches of the Waumanus River. The river section where the bridge is located is no more than knee-deep, and the river bottom is mostly pebbles, making it very easy to step involved.

The two bridges are about eight miles apart.

Maximus's army was based on the stone bridge. The First Army and the Second Army were deployed northward along the river. According to the depth of the Vomanus River, the array gradually changed from sparse to dense. The Third Army served as a reserve. Temporarily ranked in the rear.

Attumus's army centered on the wooden bridge and spread out to both wings along the river, leaving some soldiers as reserves.

The arrays of the two armies were not connected together. There was a gap of more than two miles in the middle. The gap was a rugged and winding section of the Waumanus River. It was also a place that often flooded when the water rose. There were large areas of muddy tidal flats on both sides. .

"Captain, I am also a member of our team, why don't you give me weapons?!" Casaridoa, standing at the back of the queue, complained.

"Shut up! I've said it many times, if you keep chirping, I'll kick you out of the team!" Staggs yelled impatiently.

"Captain, don't be so fierce! Little guy, don't be anxious. It's not easy to get weapons. When we are all killed in the battle, you can pick them up at will-"

"" Ramdorus, you crow's mouth, you are cursing us to die early! "

……

"...Shut up, everyone, there's a situation on the other side of the river!" Staggs' roar caused the noise in the team to disappear instantly, and everyone's eyes focused on the front.

I saw Hagux leading several rebel cavalry on the road on the other side of the sea and running towards this side. Behind them was a whole group of Roman cavalry in pursuit.

After the rebel cavalry stepped onto the stone bridge, they started shouting: "The Roman army is coming! The Roman army is coming!!..."

The shouts floated across the stone bridge and echoed over the rebel array on the river bank, causing a commotion. Under the shouts of the officers, the soldiers responsible for guarding the bridge began to tighten their formation and were ready to intercept the Roman cavalry.

However, the Roman cavalry was very cautious and did not pursue them across the bridge. Instead, they turned their horses and galloped towards the wheat fields beside the road, facing the rebels across the river.

Not long after, an eagle flag shining with golden light appeared in front of the coastal road, and then the brightly armored Roman army rushed toward the rebels like a long, winding red dragon.

Accompanied by military bands, the Roman army left the coastal road in an orderly manner and spread out north along the river bank...

Gradually, the dense and strong wheat waves were replaced by Roman soldiers with their heads held high. At a glance, the huge crowds of Roman soldiers dyed the other side of the river red, dense and impressive.

The noise from the rebel array gradually weakened, and the soldiers held their breath unconsciously.

Maximus was also a little frightened, but seeing the frail eyes of the soldiers around him, he realized that he had to do something, so he urged his war horse to pass through the gaps in the array.

At this moment, something unusual appeared in the steady stream of Roman troops entering the small plain on the other side of the river from the coastal road: thousands of refugees (mostly old people, women and children) with ragged clothes and skinny bodies. After being driven away, the crying people came to the front of the Roman array.

The Roman soldiers untied the ropes that tied them, and then said something. Then they saw these refugees shouting for help in terror. The rebel soldiers on the other side of the river could vaguely hear their heart-rending shouts. The names of the various leaders made some soldiers realize that these refugees should be those who had previously been attached to the rebel army in the south but were not included in the team and took the lead in evacuating north before the arrival of the Roman army.

A shrill scream sounded. It was a Roman soldier who pierced the thigh of a refugee with a dagger. Then one refugee after another was chopped down by the Roman soldiers. The continuous screams caused the refugees to move desperately towards Escape across the river...

Then, the killing began.

The Roman soldiers began to pursue. They stabbed with short swords or threw javelins, while the Roman cavalry directly drove their horses into the collision...

Soon, there were not many refugees left who had no power to refute and just wanted to escape. There were corpses lying on the river bank, and blood flowed into the river...

There was a big commotion in the rebel formation. Many people looked pale, and some wanted to rush out of the queue to rescue the refugees who jumped into the river and struggled desperately...

The team officers shouted loudly and tried their best to maintain order.

After the array returned to normal, Maximus took his attendants to the river bank. He took a deep breath, faced the rebel soldiers in front of him, pointed at the Roman army on the other side, and shouted loudly: "Brothers, we Why are we gathered here! It’s because the Romans took away our land, killed our relatives, and turned us into slaves and refugees, making it impossible for us to live! We have to take up arms in order to survive. Resist them!
  You have all seen that it is useless to kneel down and beg for mercy. They were slaughtered by the Romans like cattle and sheep, and their deaths were meaningless! The Romans want to kill us all, and we have no way out. We can only pick up weapons and fight them like heroes. I believe that it is not us who will be slaughtered in the end, but the Romans on the other side of the river who have died long ago! You said, right? ! "

At the last sentence, Maximus almost yelled with all his strength, and his outstretched arms were shaking. right! ! right! ! !
  "Kill the Romans!!! Kill them!!!..." The soldiers roared loudly, and the timidity in their hearts was replaced by anger.

Since the array of the army was more than three miles long, the sound could not reach far. Maximus walked along the river for a while and repeated his words. His followers followed him in unison to transmit the message for him, so the soldiers' roars continued like waves. The east side surged to the west side, and in the end Maximus's voice was hoarse from shouting.

"Your Majesty the Consul, the morale of these rebels seems to be..." Staff Bubrius approached Crotianus and reminded him in a low voice.

Crotianus smiled contemptuously: "Chickens and ducks crow loudly before they die, but they are just struggling to death. If you look carefully at their front ranks, they look like they have armor, but behind them there are It’s a mess, it’s just a bunch of rabble, how can they be my opponent!”

"Do you want to give the order to attack?"

Crotianus hesitated for a moment. He had just ordered the massacre of the refugees, hoping to frighten the enemy and even lure the enemy to attack, but the enemy was able to stabilize their formation in the end, which made him worry. After all, crossing the river to attack was not that easy.

"Let the soldiers rest for a while and recover their strength. After Antonius leads the army to the goal, we will attack together." Clodianus replied.

As soon as Maximus returned to the rear of the array, the scouts came galloping from the west: "Report to the leader, a large Roman army appeared on the other side of the wooden bridge of the Vomanus River!"

Maximus looked at Quintus solemnly: "It seems that Rome is really preparing to launch an attack from there."

Quintus said slightly worriedly: "I hope Attumus and the others can withstand it!"

"Keep an eye on the situation in the west and report back at any time!"

"Yes!"

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Attumus looked solemnly at the Roman army arrayed on the other side of the river, his eyebrows almost knitted together. He found that the number of enemy troops was much larger than his own, and he thought about how to attack the enemy. Maximus had the idea of ​​asking for help, but he was immediately suppressed: the Roman army guarding the Ascoli military camp was already stronger than them, and Maximus' side might not be easy either. Anyway, the Romans were attacking from both front and back, and this battle was inevitable.

Seeing that the Roman troops on the other side were already in formation, he asked the messengers to immediately notify the officers of each brigade to prepare for defense.

But the Roman army on the other side of the river did not immediately launch a cross-river operation, but placed a series of ballistae in front of the array...

(End of this chapter)