Rome must fall.

Chapter 56 Furius is eager to make meritorious deeds

"I understand." Cross suddenly understood and slapped his thigh fiercely: "Spartacus, you want to take advantage of the fact that the two enemy armies have not converged, take the initiative to attack, and eat this 2000-man army first. The vanguard and then the decisive battle with their main force will make it much easier to defeat them!"

"That's right!" Spartacus leaned forward, his big eyes flashing: "The Romans dared to divide their troops and march, because they must feel safe on their land, but when they approached us, they We will definitely regroup, so we can't miss this opportunity to defeat the enemy! My opinion is - we will gather 5 brigades early tomorrow morning, march north quickly along Agna Avenue, and try to seize The vanguard of the Romans, defeat them first.”

"Spartacus." Altonix asked hesitantly: "... More than 8000 of us are going north together. It is impossible to hide the enemy. What if they hide in the city for defense? You know, Garp Ya is not far to the north of the enemy's forward line."

Spartacus had already considered this. His eyes flashed with wisdom and he replied firmly: "It is precisely because Capua is not far from the enemy's forward troops. By the time we approach, I'm afraid they will have already We crossed Capua, but I'm afraid they won't have time to reach the next town, suessula, so we can meet them. The Roman army didn't stay in Capua last time, and it probably won't happen this time either... …

In case the Roman forward troops do not choose to retreat after learning the news of our approach and want to meet up with the main force as we expected, then we will continue to advance north and seek a decisive battle with the entire Roman legion. In short, we must not be passive Wait for the enemy to attack our camp before fighting him! "

"The Romans have nothing to fear. I agree with Spartacus's suggestion!" Enomuyi responded positively.

"I agree too." Cross then agreed: "Spartacus's plan will succeed. With the pride of the Romans, they will not choose to retreat after receiving the news of our attack."

The atmosphere in the hall became heated, and even the cautious Altonix did not object anymore.

Spartacus spoke again: "We sent out the entire army to attack the Roman legions, and the camp became empty. The Neapolitans may come to take advantage. I suggest that Maximus be responsible for guarding the camp. He only needs to guard the camp." In two or three days, we will return with our troops."

Maximus did not expect to be able to lead the escort and move with the large army. After all, the other teams in the supply camp were in the camp. It was natural for him to stay behind, so he nodded in agreement: "Okay, you can send troops without worry. I’ll guard the camp.”

Even Cross did not object to this. After all, when other leaders were going to war, no one else except Maximus could take on this important task.

"Although Naples's city guard is not strong enough, Maximus has too few soldiers. Just in case, I think it is better to return the more than 400 slaves that Maximus brought back today." Enter the baggage camp to strengthen the defense." Hamilka's words made Maximus feel happy.

"I think it's okay." Spartacus didn't care about this. He looked at everyone and said, "Let's vote on the suggestion I just made."

In fact, everyone has just reached an agreement, and the current voting is just a formality. There are 7 people in the hall, and 6 people have the right to vote (Maximus won the right to vote at the meeting of military commanders in early August because of his outstanding performance in the supply camp. , and Art Tumus only had the right to participate and make suggestions because he joined too late), and it was finally passed unanimously.

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After Valerius, the legal officer, became the commander-in-chief of the expedition against the rebels, he was flooded with guests. Many senators and nobles recommended his family's children to him, and he did not refuse any of them and included them in the expedition list.     But as a veteran, he was not completely confused. When he finished recruiting soldiers, he found that almost all of them were new recruits. Instead of rushing to go to war, he stepped up training for the entire legion to avoid suffering the same fate as Grabo.

He applied to the Senate that "more time is needed to train soldiers so that the rebellion can be suppressed more smoothly." After discussion, the Senate agreed.

But while he was immersed in leading the training of troops, the Roman people gradually felt the impact of the interruption of the Ania Avenue and the erosion of southern Campania on their lives, and Campania such as Naples and Capua The constant requests for help from various towns also put a lot of pressure on the Senate. Finally, they unanimously passed a resolution requiring Valerius to send troops immediately.

This sudden order caught Valerius a bit off guard. Since Grabo emptied the inventory of the Roman armory with several hands during his last expedition, he did not rush to replenish it because he still had a lot of time. Now the weapons and equipment of the entire legion are still lacking.

In order to avoid the Senate's dissatisfaction with him, Valerius had to let Forius, the broad military tribune of the legion, lead 2000 well-equipped soldiers to set off first.

Under Valerius' desperate urging, the Roman armory barely equipped the remaining soldiers with equipment the next day, so he asked the camp commander Cassinius to lead the remaining 4000 soldiers and set off quickly. And he himself led the cavalry half a day later, escorting the remaining legion supplies that were finally obtained, and marched southward in a leisurely manner.

A legion is divided into three parts, each separated by about half a day's journey. This is a taboo in the art of war. But Valirius was not too worried, because he had learned in detail about Grabo's battle with the rebel slaves. It was not until Grabo's army attacked the camp of the rebel slaves that the slaves were forced to come out to fight. This shows that those The rebellious slaves did not have the guts to attack on their own initiative. Moreover, he had already made an agreement with Furius and Cassilius in advance: to meet at Capua first, and then continue to advance towards the rebel camp.

Valirius's plan looked good, but he underestimated the rebels and the wrong person.

Furius, who once served as a financial officer and then became a Roman senator, was finally recruited into the army by Valerius as a broad military tribune due to the recommendation of Sulla the Younger.

The difference between the broad military tribune and the general military tribune is not only that there is a wide strip of cloth hanging on the tunic, but more importantly, it must be served by someone from the senatorial class. If something happens to the legion commander If something unexpected happens, he has the right to take over his position and command the entire legion. For such an important position, Valerius chose Furius, not only to take care of Sulla's face, but also because of Furius himself.

Furius was a financial officer in the Iberian province and worked under Pompey. Pompey spoke well of him. He had some military experience; during his tenure as a senator, he was not as aggressive as some young senators. Generally impulsive and radical, he behaves relatively steadily.

So Valerius believed that this steady young senator could carry out his orders well, but he forgot that Roman youths with noble backgrounds all had strong ambitions to pursue glory, and Furius was no exception. What's more, this feeling became even stronger when Furius spent time with Pompey, who was about the same age as him in the Iberian province. The reason why Furius keeps his peace in the Senate is because the Senate is a place where the old people are in power, and young people who show off will only offend people... But now, when the opportunity appears in front of Furius, He didn't hesitate to grab it tightly.

Valerius's order to Forrius to stop advancing after reaching Capua and wait for the troops behind to join him was forgotten by Forrius. He led the army and did not move after arriving at Capua. Stay, but continue marching south along Via Agna.

He believed that Grabo easily defeated the rebellious slave army with 3000 soldiers. He could do it even with 1000 fewer soldiers, and he would not make stupid mistakes like him. When the time comes, he can independently quell the slave rebellion, and he will definitely win over the Roman people greatly. The praise will be more conducive to his future development in the Senate...

(End of this chapter)