Rome must fall.

Chapter 221 Whistleblower
Under the fierce attack of the rebels, the Roman army was beaten back steadily.

Seeing this situation, Oakmar, who was in the rear, immediately followed Spartacus's pre-war battle plan and led more than 1000 cavalry to attack the left flank of the Roman army.

Crassus, who was at the rear of the military formation and did not participate in the battle, soon learned of the news and sent nearly 3,000 cavalry under his command to meet the enemy.

Although the Roman infantry were at a disadvantage, they did not collapse, but were desperately resisting. The horror of the eleven-stroke law had been deeply implanted in their minds. Death by the enemy's sword was just a loss of life, but if they suffered this The punishment of every law will also be deprived of one's own glory.

Because of this, although the Roman army was beaten back step by step, it never collapsed. On the contrary, Oakmar's cavalry faced the far superior Roman cavalry. Although they fought hard, they were eventually defeated. He himself He fell from his horse and was trampled to death by the horse's hooves.

The battle continued into the afternoon, when the left wing of the Roman army, which had the smallest number of troops and the thinnest array, finally could no longer withstand it and began to collapse.

However, before the soldiers on the right wing of the rebel army cheered, the sound of military trumpets was heard from the opposite side. The defeated Roman soldiers automatically ran to both sides. The Roman reserve troops who had been recharging their strength in the rear came up to block the attempt. Rebel soldiers in pursuit of victory.

This reserve force is the three most elite legions under Crassus. Today, Crassus is no longer the commander-in-chief who only had 8 legions at the beginning. During the year of competing with the rebels, he recruited many Magna Graecia. citizens, bringing the number of its soldiers to 8, and rigorously training them during the construction of the wall.

On the contrary, due to the destruction of Attumus's army and the attrition of breaking through the long wall, the number of warriors at the time of the battle had been reduced to less than 7, including some family members.

Crassus used miscellaneous troops recruited from Magna Graecia to form the left wing, which greatly consumed the vigor and physical strength of the rebel soldiers. Then he sent in his own elite troops, which not only quickly stabilized the front, but also began to gain the upper hand.

Just when Spartacus was about to reach out and pull up Hamilka, a Roman auxiliary soldier in the rear saw a gap in front and took the opportunity to throw his javelin.

Spartacus, who had been fighting fiercely for a day, was exhausted from his physical strength and his reaction became sluggish. He watched helplessly as the sharp spear point penetrated the tattered armor and pierced his chest.

The left wing of the rebel army was shaken and eventually collapsed. Only the center, because of the presence of Spartacus, still fought tenaciously even though it was surrounded.

"This rebel is called Cleonis. He is one of the main leaders of the rebels. He once had more than 1 rebels under his command. He said he wants to tell you an important secret about the rebels."

"Oh, the important secret of the rebels?!" Crassus suddenly became interested.

The Roman soldiers fighting around him were shocked by his bravery. When they heard the roar, they subconsciously retreated to defend themselves.

At that moment, he felt no pain, but what came to his mind was the warm picture of his tribe in the past...

The already tired right-wing fighters of the rebel army finally collapsed in the face of the enemy's fierce attack.

Spartacus died in the battle, the rebel army was completely defeated, and Crassus finally won the battle.

He slept until the afternoon of the second day, and then listened to his subordinates report the subsequent battle situation to him. One of the messages caught his attention: "Is there a rebel leader who wants to see me?"

The battle continued until evening. Hamilcar, who was so tired that he could not even hold his dagger, was chopped to the ground by the Romans. Spartacus, who was covered in wounds, roared angrily and wanted to save his closest comrade.

Not long after, the Roman cavalry chasing the defeated rebels returned and began to circle the right flank of the rebels.

The victorious Roman left-wing infantry and cavalry took the opportunity to suppress the defeated troops and attack the center and left wing of the rebel army.

Crassus finally breathed a sigh of relief. During this period, he had been tense. He was afraid that after more than a year of hard work, it would be in vain. The various armies were still chasing the defeated troops. Crassus had returned to his military tent and had a rare sleep. A restful sleep.

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As a result, Cleonis was soon taken into the military tent. This leader of the rebel army had led his army to fight the Romans many times. He also said boldly at a meeting of military governors, "We will stay in Italy until we are completely defeated." "Roman", at this moment, like a frightened quail, he immediately fell to his knees after timidly entering the tent: "The sinner Cleonis pays homage to the great General Crassus!"

Crassus didn't even look at him, and said coldly: "Tell me, what secrets do you know about the rebels' tricks?"

Cleonis swallowed, did not dare to raise his head, and bravely said: "General...if I tell this secret...can you reduce my punishment?" Crassus' face darkened: "You deserve it too. Bargain with me! Come on, take him down and hang him at the gate of the camp, and give him five lashes every hour until he dies!"

"General, spare your life!" Cleonis was so frightened that he quickly begged for mercy. Once a person's knees are weak, his waist can no longer straighten up: "I say! I say! I say everything!"

Crassus waved his hand to stop the guards who were about to catch Cleonis.

"General... General, you are brave and skillful in fighting. You first eliminated our army left in the Rejim area, and then defeated our main force here... But we still have an army that was hidden early, and you haven't noticed it yet. !”

Cleonis gritted his teeth. Even though he was in danger now, he didn't want to make it easy for Maximus, so he said in a more serious tone: "There are more than 2 people in this army. Its leader is called Maximus, and he is also A gladiator from Capua, this man was very cunning. He led his army to capture Pompeii and Sarapia. Later we went north to Rimini. He was unwilling to follow the decision made by everyone and stay in Italy. He led his army alone through the northern Italian provinces and entered the Gaul region——"

"I thought you were talking about some major secret, but it turned out to be this." Crassus laughed and said disdainfully: "I'm afraid you don't know yet. The rebels you mentioned were not able to escape Italy at all. Cassius, the governor of North Italy, had already annihilated them, and the news of the success had reached the Senate as early as last year. "

"How is this possible!" Cleonis wondered: "A few months ago, Maximus sent a pirate ship to Regim to tell us that he was living very well in the north! -"

"Shut up! A despicable traitor dares to question my noble master's words. Don't you want to live?" Quincyus, a trusted slave standing beside Crassus, scolded him sharply.

"But, Maxim is true -" Cleonis wanted to defend eagerly, but with a look from Crassus, Quincyus immediately drew out his dagger and pierced Cleonis' chest with one sword.

Cleonis fell to the ground dead with a look of astonishment on his face.

The guards entered the tent and dragged the bodies out as usual.

Crassus looked at the closed tent and waved, and Quincyus immediately stepped forward.

"Go back and give some money to the two soldiers outside the tent, and ask them to keep their mouths shut." Although Crassus' voice was soft, his face showed sinisterness: "Then you send someone to give them to them." I'm keeping a close eye on them, if they dare to talk nonsense, you will——"

"Yes, Master, I will make arrangements right away!" Kunkeus said knowingly.

Soon Crassus was the only one left in the military tent. He stood up and poured a glass of wine. Looking at the bright red wine in the glass, a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he murmured: "Escape to the Gaul mountains? No, all the rebels The thief has been eliminated, this war is over, and victory belongs only to me! ..." As he said that, he drank most of the glass of wine in one gulp.

The reason why Crassus was willing to lead an army to quell this rebellion was because he wanted to win triumphal glory for himself through victory in the war, thereby further gaining the supreme power of Rome.

For this reason, he even gave up his best skill - using money to bribe the enemy and induce civil strife. Although victory would be easier that way, the Roman Senate had always killed the rebellious slaves and did not bother to do anything. Compromise and negotiation, if he does that, not only will he be criticized by many elders, he will even lose his command.

Therefore, relying solely on frontal battles undoubtedly increased the difficulty. Fortunately, he finally completely defeated the main force of the rebel army in a battle and killed the bandit leader. Seeing that victory was within easy reach, how could he allow extraneous matters to arise and allow the war that should have ended to continue? extension, affecting his subsequent plans.

However, a piece of news the next day made Crassus furious: more than 5000 rebel soldiers fled north, and happened to encounter Pompey's army heading south, suffering a devastating blow. Pompey, who had already won the Spanish War, obviously wanted to add to his record of military exploits, so he immediately sent a battle report to the Senate, claiming that he had annihilated all the rebels.

In the following days, Crassus's guardsmen often heard curses such as "Pompeo is a liar! A thief!..." coming from the military tent.

In order to vent his anger and show the world his majesty as a true victor, Crassus erected countless crosses along the road leading to Rome and nailed more than 6000 captured rebel soldiers to the crosses. He died miserably in the wind, rain, exposure and hunger...

In June, Crassus led thousands of soldiers he had carefully selected who had performed outstandingly in the counter-insurgency war to station 6 miles south of Rome.

Pompey's military camp was not far away, but the two commanders had no intention of interacting with each other, so the soldiers on both sides had to turn a blind eye to each other.

The report on the application for a triumphal ceremony had been sent to the Senate long ago. After more than 10 days of waiting, the Senate finally sent an envoy to Crassus' military camp.

(End of this chapter)