Rome must fall.

Chapter 320: Driving away wolves and devouring tigers
Maximus leaned over to take a look. He saw that the place Quintus pointed to was near the northern end of Lake Gonami, on the west bank of the Sava River. It was the mark of a Segestica tribe, with a line of small words "more than 1000 people" written below it. This was not an exact number, indicating that the tribe had not yet had the First Legion's Centuriae stationed there. It was just the previous population number of the tribe provided by Cassinos and his men. After this war and the possible escape now, the tribe's population must be less than 1000 people now.

In any case, it is a small tribe, which is convenient for transforming into a camp and for relocating the small population in the tribe to other villages.

Maximus thought for a moment and asked, "Did you choose this tribe near the river because you thought it would be convenient to transport supplies and soldiers from Ophidilla to this camp in the future?"

"Yes, Chief." Quintus explained seriously, "You told me before that the terrain of the Gonamai Lake area is special, and the people there used to be a headache for the Segestica tribe. It will take us a lot of energy and time to conquer it. It is better to let the Gonamai Lake area serve as a buffer between us and the Brochi people...

Since we will not be marching to Lake Gonamai or even Brochi in the short term, we might as well spend more effort to build this tribe into a solid military camp. Usually, we only need to station a few hundred soldiers and a few cavalry to monitor the movements in the south. Once we find that the Segestica people in the south are trying to invade our villages, this military camp can directly send troops to repel them. If Brochi or Mazii's army attacks from the north, they can also hold the camp to delay the enemy's attack and give us time to mobilize the army to counterattack.

This camp is by the Sava River, and it is very convenient to transport troops and food by water, which can not only reduce food consumption, but also ensure that the camp will not be completely surrounded by the enemy, thus cutting off our connection..."

Maximus stared at the map, thought for a while, and said, "We can build a military camp here, but we have to relocate the people in this village first. We will hold an emergency meeting in the government hall to discuss this matter and make a decision...

After all the villagers have moved away, have the First Corps send 2000 soldiers to renovate the village as soon as possible. At the same time, your military department should also formulate a plan as soon as possible. How many soldiers should be stationed in this camp? From which units should they be drawn? How should they be rotated? ... Submit the garrison plan to me for review and approval. "

"Yes, chief."

"By the way, has the fleet you mentioned last time been formed?"

"It has been initially built. This fleet consists of 80 ships, with an average of 6 sailors per ship, for a total of 500 people. 80 of them are soldiers from our Third Legion. They were all sailors before, and this time they are the captains of each ship.

The crew members were all Skodish slaves who had just joined the tribe. They all had rich experience in following their masters in fishing and transporting goods on the Sava River for many years.

The captain of the fleet is Amphirtaas of the Third Legion, and I have already reported this to you, the leader."

"Yes, I remember." Maximus touched his chin.

Amphirtaes was a centurion of the Third Legion. He was born a slave sailor from Campania and had made some military achievements in the past. When he learned that the fleet was established, he took the initiative to join and serve as the captain of the fleet.

Although sailing on the sea is very different from sailing on inland rivers, and naval battles are also quite different from river battles, it is better than letting someone who can't even operate a ship be the captain. Moreover, since Amphitheatre has this interest, he will naturally be more proactive in studying the tactics of naval battles... So Maxivus finally agreed to let him serve as the captain of the fleet and entrusted him with the important task of ensuring the water safety of the Nyx tribe in the Sava River Plain.

Quintus added, "In the past two days, Anfiltaas has begun to lead the fleet to patrol the waters near Ophidilla day and night to ensure the safety of the Ministry of Works' bridge repair."

"Yes." Maximus nodded and asked, "How is the situation in the north today?"

"Still no movement," Quintus replied.

"Quintus, why do you think the Segestica tribe in the north has been so peaceful?" Maximus asked again.

The reason why he was so focused on the north was that according to the information he had learned so far, in the now severely damaged territory of Segestica, the north of Ophidiliya was the only area that could still send out 2000 to 3000 warriors.

After confirming the authenticity of this information, Maximus and the heads of various departments felt a little nervous. If the Segestica tribe in the north sent troops to harass the areas occupied by the Nix tribe, it would inevitably seriously affect Nix's transformation of various villages, so the soldiers of the Third Legion in the West Fortress of Ophidalia always remained on guard and ready to attack north at any time. If the Segestica tribe in the north sent ships down the river, it would pose a major threat to the bridge that Nix was building, so Quintus quickly established a fleet to prevent the invasion of enemy ships from the north.

However, Maximus took great pains to take all measures to guard against the Segestica people in the north, but the objects they were worried about never showed any abnormality, so it is no wonder that he was confused.

"Chief, I think the reason why the Segestica tribe in the north has remained calm is probably because they are worried about the Yapods." Quintus analyzed, "I heard from Cassinos that the Yapods are to the north of the Segestica territory. In the past, they often invaded and plundered the Segestica territory. After Andres became the chief, he led his army north to attack the Yapods.

The Yapods suffered a crushing defeat and lost part of the flat land in the upper reaches of the Sava River to Andres. After that, the Yapods never had any conflicts with Segestica again, but this did not mean that the Yapods forgot this hatred.

Before, when Kabudes formed an army to attack us, he did not ask the Segestica tribe in the north to provide more warriors. It is said that he learned that the Yapod people had unusual movements, so in order to ensure the safety of the north, he had to let those tribes preserve their strength as much as possible.

Now that the army of Segestica has been destroyed by us and the core area has been occupied by us, the Segestica tribe in the north is probably terrified. Once the Yapods attack, they will no longer have reinforcements and can only rely on themselves to resist the fierce Yapods...

In such a dire situation, they probably don't have the courage to provoke us again. Instead, they hope that we won't attack them and try to maintain the current calm situation, so as to scare the Yabod people and prevent them from acting rashly."

"Your analysis makes sense." Maximus stood up and paced, pondering, "...It is very likely that the Segestica people in the north and some of the Segestica people who have just become foreign vassals of the tribe are holding the same hope, waiting for the reinforcements of the Pannonian tribal alliance to drive us away and retake the territory of Segestica, then they will all be safe again..."

Maximus sneered twice. "But it's good this way. This period of calm in the surrounding area is just right for us to complete the annexation and integration of the core area of ​​​​Segestica! ... Quintus, the Yapods and the Segestica people lived in peace a few years ago, but this year there was a change. Do you think the Yapods know that Segestica has suffered a series of defeats and is about to be destroyed?"

"The Yapods only border a small part of the northwest border of the Segestica territory. The rest of the border is separated by countless mountains. The two tribes are enemies and have no contact at all. If the Segestica people are determined to block the news, it should be difficult for the Yapods to understand the situation inside the Segestica territory. If they really knew the current situation in Segestica, they would probably have invaded the Segestica tribe in the north long ago..."

Quintus hesitated for a moment and said, "But I think... the Yapods may have guessed something, so they made unusual moves to test us. Chief, last year some of the Skodischi slaves we rescued formed a team and made trouble in the territory of Segestica for several months. Later, Segestica specially formed an army to encircle and suppress them, and finally forced them to stay away from the core area of ​​Segestica and hide in the mountains in the north. Could they have had some contact with the Yapods?"

Master Quinto's words immediately reminded Maximus. He fell into deep thought, and a new plan was gradually forming in his mind. However, before that, he had to figure out one thing first.

"Marcellus, ride to Todlido tomorrow and ask the legion commander Torrelugo to help you find a soldier named Govis. Then ask him whether he had any contact with the Yapod people when he and his people were wandering in the territory of Segestica last year. If he says 'yes', bring him here."

"Yes, leader!"

..............................................................................

Today, the main hall of the main house of the Aldiyi main village was filled with elders from the subordinate tribes.

A few days ago, Alistarcus led the army to "recapture" the land along the Korana River, and then was busy every day helping the tribesmen who had fled before to rebuild their homes. He even had to discuss with the elders of other tribes, hoping that their tribes could provide more supplies to help the people of the Korana River better survive the winter.

In fact, the person who contributed the most in this process was Cleobrotus, but as the acting chief of the entire tribe, Aristakas naturally deserved most of the credit. Therefore, after initially completing the resettlement of the tribesmen, he requested to convene a meeting of tribal elders, hoping to take the position of the chief of Aldei smoothly with this credit.

(End of this chapter)