Rome must fall.

Chapter 72 Preparation before the raid (please subscribe)

"At sea, the Pompeii really didn't pay attention on land, because you don't have a fleet, and you don't occupy a port. The Pompeii don't think you can threaten its security from the sea. In fact, these seashores in Campania The towns had not been attacked from the sea for a hundred or two hundred years, and the defenses of their harbors were very weak.

Take Pompeii for example. There are five ports in its port area. The two built in the early days also had water gates. Later, due to the prosperity of maritime trade, the original ports were not enough to be used. Two more ports were built one after another, but they were just to facilitate entry and exit. It is convenient and trouble-free. There is neither a water gate nor an iron rope to intercept it. There are even no warships patrolling the periphery of the port area. The only person who can give advance warning is the tower keeper on the lighthouse. But if the ship is disguised in advance, he cannot immediately Can detect abnormalities. "

"Where is another port?" asked the attentive Maximus.

"That is the private port of the Vitius family. Only his family's merchant ships and merchant ships that have business cooperation with his family are allowed to enter and exit." Quintus said coldly: "This private port has a long breakwater and water gate. There is also a sentry tower on the embankment, and the defense facilities are quite complete, but it is a pity that it is useless to just defend this one..."

As soon as the old man mentioned the Vitius family in Pompeii, resentment emanated from his body. Maximus quickly changed the subject: "The problem of entering the port has been solved, but there is still another problem - we don't have a ship."

Quintus looked at him with a strange expression, as if to say: Young man, you are joking.

Aulus, the middle-aged man next to him, interjected: "I heard before that a large number of sailors and dock workers joined our team, causing the ports outside Naples to be almost deserted. Some sailors fled the port directly. You stole the boat in the port and rowed it to a beach very close to this camp. Then the boat ran aground there. Later you set up another camp close to the coast. The Neapolitans didn't dare to go there. Retrieve those stranded ships..."

After he said this, Maximus suddenly remembered: the camp closer to the coast was Attumus's fifth brigade. He had also mentioned to himself that he wanted to send soldiers to sail out to sea for fishing. , to help the rebels increase some meat reserves... But this proposal later fell through, and he did not ask the reason, but at least it made one point - there were ships in the Attumus camp.

Maximus put his hand on his chin, pondered for a moment, and said with a smile: "You are really amazing! I am really impressed that you were able to formulate such a thorough raid plan so quickly after knowing that I had few soldiers!"

Quintus heard the meaning of his words, his expression remained unchanged, but his tone became heavy, mixed with a little anger: "In the past few years, we have been thinking about revenge, and the plan to destroy the city and kill the enemy has already been conceived in our hearts. We have passed it tens of thousands of times, but due to concerns about the power of Rome, the small number of us, and the fear of involving our relatives and friends, we lacked the courage and never dared to take action...until you showed up and gave us hope. Originally, I wanted to wait until you passed by. After discussing and deciding to attack Pompeii, it was a pity that the plan for a sea raid was revealed——"

At this point, Quintus changed the topic: "But fortunately, Chief Maximus, although you are young and have few troops, you dare to lead a lone army to attack Pompeii. You are very courageous. If you implement this plan, you will successfully capture it." Go to Pompeii, I believe everyone in your team will be shocked by your reputation!"

Quintus's words touched Maximus's heart. The reason why he met these Lucelians by chance was to see if there was any chance of leading an army to seize Pompeii alone. Although Pompeii's high walls were strong, , but it is obvious that its troops are small and its combat effectiveness is weak. The supply camp is not without opportunities.

The reason why Maximus came up with this idea was mainly because Cross had ridiculed him at the meeting, which made him realize that even though he controlled the supply camp and was of great help to the rebels, it was very difficult for him to have no military performance at all. It was difficult for him to play a decisive role in the meeting of military commanders of the rebel army and in military-related issues, so he wanted to capture Pompeii alone and prove his military capabilities to Cross and others.

Maximus did not feel complacent because of Quintus' flattery. He suppressed his smile, sat back on the wooden chair, and said solemnly: "I have one last question about the raid plan you mentioned - how did you How can you convince me that this is not a conspiracy designed by you to annihilate my army?"

"Bullshit! Even if we were to die, we wouldn't be able to cooperate with Pompeii's enemies to frame you!" Aulus, a middle-aged man, shouted loudly.

Another middle-aged man, Scarpulla, replied sincerely: "It is easy to prove whether we have cheated. You only need to ask any Lucelia, and they will be able to tell you about us. Past experiences with enemies of Pompeii.”

"Chief Maximus, there are fifty-four people coming with me this time, plus our families, a total of one hundred and fifteen people. We will all stay in your camp. If you finally find out that this is Conspiracy, you can kill us and give your soldiers their lives!" Quintus looked firm and spoke shockingly.

Scarpulla immediately exclaimed: "Quintus, what if--"

Quintus interrupted what he was about to say with a serious expression: "Scapula, since we have all decided to join their team after revenge, wouldn't it be better to come here earlier to adapt!"

Scarpulla and Aulus looked at each other and finally said helplessly: "Okay, I'll do as you say."

Maximus saw this in his eyes and already had some concerns in his mind, and said, "Don't worry, I have to discuss it with my men first, and only after everyone agrees can I implement this plan."

"When can you give us a clear answer?" Aulus asked urgently.

"tomorrow."

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

After the three Quintus left, Maximus IV immediately summoned the three chief centurions, Phaesalus, Tolerugo, and Carminus (the number of soldiers in the previous escort increased sharply from more than 300 to 700) , Maximus asked these three to take charge of at least two centurions each. Logically speaking, their positions should be promoted to captains, but several leaders such as Spartacus and Cross already commanded troops far exceeding a thousand. people, but the military position is still the captain. In order to avoid being criticized, Maximus temporarily borrowed this name) and the leader of the military advisory group, Frontinus, discussed together.

The four of them were a little surprised when they heard Maximus say that he "wanted to lead the garrison guard to attack Pompeii independently." However, after hearing the plan of the sea raid, the four of them fell into deep thought. Carminus, who had stayed in the port of Naples for many years, had been to the port of Pompeii by ship many times before. He personally confirmed the authenticity of the situation in the Pompeii port area described by Quintus, which further proved this. feasibility of the plan.

Frontinus was surprised that the Lucelians actually defected to the rebels. While gloating at the misfortune, he was also surprised that the soldiers of the two armies who had fought like enemies because of the different Roman commanders they followed actually ended up working together with the rebels. Dafa sighed.

After a short period of deliberation, the three chief centurions finally agreed to implement the raid plan. This result was not surprising. During this period, they watched other large groups of soldiers boast about their victory over the Roman legions, and they trained even harder with their own troops. , but you can only live in the camp most of the time. Can you not feel aggrieved? They are eager to prove themselves.

After everyone reached a consensus, the next most important thing was to confirm the ship.

Maximus sent Vorenus to the camp of the Fifth Brigade to ask Attumus about the ships, lying that the baggage camp wanted to try fishing at sea to increase the variety of food for the soldiers.

Attumus had no doubt about this. He had planned this before and asked the soldiers to maintain the ships stranded on the beach. However, he was more aggressive by nature and had been busy training in order to prevent the brigade he commanded from falling behind other brigade. , in the end these ships never entered the sea at all, but this happened to make the nearby seaside towns relax their vigilance.

Volenus borrowed five single-masted cargo ships from the Fifth Group, and Maximus sent some sailor-turned-soldiers and carpenters to quietly go to the beach to inspect and repair them to ensure that they were safe during navigation. The construction team was also asked to build a five-meter-long wooden ladder.

After Maximus informed Quintus the next day that "the supply camp is ready to implement the raid plan he proposed," Quintus and others were delighted, and soon brought a group of family members to the supply camp camp in the early morning of the third day. , fulfilled their promise.

The raid on Pompeii was a bold adventure for Maximus, and it was also related to the life and death of the escort team. Of course, he was very cautious and once again summoned three senior centurions, Frontinus, Quintus and others to discuss it again. They spent most of the day confirming every detail of the operation, and finally decided to set the time for the raid late at night, when there was a moon and north wind. In this way, the Pompeii people would be unprepared, and even if they discovered the invasion and wanted to mobilize the army, it would be slow. , and with the help of the north wind, the troop transport can quickly reach the port of Pompeii along the coast.

The troops that attacked from the sea were determined to be most of the soldiers in the third and sixth centuries commanded by Carminus. They were all experienced sailors in the port of Naples and would not cause problems when sailing at night.

In addition, thirty Lucelias headed by Aulus will participate in the sea raid. Although they are slightly older, they are all experienced Roman veterans and can make up for the shortcomings of the new recruits under Carminus.

The total number of soldiers who raided the port from the sea was two hundred, and each ship accommodated an average of 40 people, which was far less than the load capacity of a single-masted merchant ship, thus ensuring its sailing speed.

Maximus was a serious person. After the operation was established, he listed several key points and required the soldiers participating in the raid to conduct simulation training until they were completely familiar with it.

Simulation training? ... Even Quintus, who has twenty years of military career, has never heard of this term, let alone others who are curious about it.

Maximus called the construction team and carefully arranged the training ground for most of the day. So when Carminus led the soldiers who were going to participate in the raid to the training ground, Maximus actually asked them to sit down in full gear. The rowing motion was repeated on the ground for a period of time before stopping. Then the six soldiers at the head of the team had to hug the wooden stick on the ground, run forward for tens of meters, and knock away the high and low stick in the mud in front of them. Then the whole team ran for more than 100 meters according to the prescribed route. They had to use the hammer to knock away another wooden board again. They came to two rammed earth mounds about three meters high and four meters apart, and climbed up. In one of the mounds, he put the long wooden ladder he was carrying between the two mounds, stepped on the wooden ladder, walked to the other mound, and then ran nearly 200 meters to fight with the soldiers waiting there. The battle, and the final victory, has just ended...

When the soldiers came down from the run, they were all panting from exhaustion. Some of them who didn't understand the reason even complained in their hearts: Leader Maximus was deliberately tormenting people!

But after Quintus watched it, he understood: This was the entire process of soldiers training to raid Pompeii.

"What's the use of training like this? It's just like a joke. On the day of the raid, the pressure of death will make them unable to even move their legs!" Aulus mocked from the side.

"No, I think it still works." Quintus said seriously: "Look at how they don't know how to effectively use the wood to hit the door. They will fall nervously when walking on the suspended wooden ladder, and they won't even be able to run until the end. They can’t pick up the sword and shield... Even though this is not a real battlefield, if they can continue to train in this way, they should be able to have some effect on the day of the raid.”

At this time, they saw Maximus walking to the front of the team and said loudly: "Brothers, I heard that everyone in your 3rd and 600th team actively asked to join this raid, and no one quit. , some people are still pestering Carminus because they were not selected, I am very happy about this, you are indeed men who dare to fight the sea!"

The soldiers held their heads high even though they were sweating profusely.

Maximus changed the subject: "However, your performance just now disappoints me. This training is not to tease you, but to simulate the entire process of raiding Pompeii. When the time comes, you will set off in a boat, fully armed, and row ten meters with the help of sails. Dori, rush into the port of Pompeii. Your actions will inevitably alert the sentries at the port. While they are sounding the alarm and summoning the army, you must quickly board the pier, use oak wood to knock open the port gate, and rush in. Enter the port area, quickly pass through the narrow alley, arrive at the designated building, open the door, quickly climb to the top of the building, set up a wooden ladder, under the wooden ladder is a ten-meter-deep cliff, you must quickly cross it to enter the city... …”

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  (End of this chapter)