Chapter 776: Siege Arrangement (I)

He looked back at the legates around him who were also observing the Tiber and said, “According to hearsay, the Tiber used to flood regularly over a hundred years ago, resulting in the river banks along the middle and lower reaches being filled with marshes and wetlands, especially in this area. As a result, no other race or power wished to build here. However, the Romans, who faced ostracism from the Latins, chose to establish their settlement here, and eventually, they became the overlords of central Italia.”

“But now that we’re here, it’s time for the hegemon to yield!” Amintas immediately said, feeling lively from receiving King Davos and his colleagues’ congratulations on his victory over yesterday’s battle.

“That’s our goal, but we must fight them to bring it to fruition.” Davos smiled slightly, and his eyes landed on the legatus of the Third Legion, “Litom, did you read the battle plan the messenger handed you in Lavinium last night?”

Litom immediately replied, “Your Majesty had ordered our Third Legion to cross the Tiber and camp on the north bank to block the reinforcements coming from the Etruscan city-state and the Roman colonies while also attacking the city of Rome from the north…”

“That is your Third Legion’s objective.” Davos nodded and pointed to the upper reaches of the river. He then said, “There is a bridge two or so kilometres from here that is an important road for communication between Rome and the Etruscan region. Since the Romans will probably not destroy it, you can launch an attack on the city of Rome through this bridge. But it doesn’t matter if the Romans had already destroyed that bridge since the Third Fleet would use their ships to build a pathway that would allow them to attack Rome. You have a heavy task since you need to hold off the Roman reinforcements and attack the city of Rome simultaneously!”

Davos paused momentarily and asked, “I recall the last battle report you submitted had a centuria blocking the attack of over five thousand Caudini warriors, which ultimately ensured we surrounded them and wiped them out. The name of the centurion who accomplished this feat was Tagru, right?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I hope your Third Legion would have a few more officers like Tagru, so your camp would become an iron wall and completely cut off Rome’s reinforcements from the north! At the same time, it would act like a sharp sword that would launch a fierce attack on the city of Rome from the north, striving to break through the enemy’s defence and open a gap for the whole army to attack!” Davos encouraged him loudly.

Litom, the youngest among the legates, was both excited and nervous about the earnest expectation of King Davos, “Your Majesty, the Third Legion will do its best to complete its mission! But…because I would need to fight on two fronts, my troops…are a bit insufficient.”

But before Davos could respond, Amintas exclaimed, “Your Majesty, a mission of such importance should be given to our First Legion! You don’t even need to send us additional reinforcements to complete the mission successfully!”

“No, this task should be given to our Second Legion! The First Legion is already short of soldiers from the successive battles, while our Second Legion remains complete!” Matonis shouted afterwards.

Litom immediately exclaimed after getting stimulated by the two legates, “Your Majesty, you can rest assured that our Third Legion can definitely complete this task!”

“The First and Second Legions both have important tasks, so you don’t need to compete with each other.” Davos waved his hand to stop Amintas and Matonis and then reassured Litom, “You don’t have to worry since the Third Fleet will work together with you. The marine under them isn’t weak.”

The overjoyed Litom quickly asked, “Your Majesty, when will the Third Fleet arrive?”

“The Tiber River is winding with many twists and turns, and since the Third Fleet also has to go upstream, they will take some time to arrive. However, with Hades’ blessing us with a tailwind and the help of slaves and labourers pulling the ship, they should arrive soon. At that time, you need to seize the opportunity to cross the river by ship, quickly build a camp on the north bank of the bridge, and assist the Third Fleet in levelling the riverbank so that they can push the warships onto it. Then, a quarter of the Third Fleet’s crew will merge with yours.” Davos reminded patiently.

“I understand, Your Majesty!” Litom suddenly remembered something and asked, “Your Majesty, if after we cross the river and find that the Romans have no defence on the bridge at all, can I just lead my troops to attack them?”

“We naturally can’t let go of such a great opportunity, and all our legions will cooperate with you to storm the city. However, I don’t think the Romans would make such a foolish mistake,” smiled Davos.

The group laughed as they went to the granary camp behind the port.

“Your Majesty, this camp has ninety large barns and ten straw shacks. The barns are filled with milled wheat; each barn holds approximately… thousand eight hundred kilograms. On the other hand, the straw shack also has lentils in addition to some fodders. We managed to save forty-five intact barns, four straw shacks and eight partially burnt barns…”

After listening to Ledes’ report, Davos praised, “It seems that all this milled wheat and fodders were intended to be transported to the Roman army in Hernici. Ledes, Kurcius, your two cavalry legions had arrived just in time to seize this grain, not only dealing damage to the enemy but also relieving our army’s food supply, which is a great feat!”

Kurcius interjected, “Your Majesty, we succeeded because we arrived much faster than the Romans expected, catching them off guard and unprepared. In addition, the Romans made their barns too sturdy and resistant to fire and moisture, which made it harder for them to set fire. Although the Romans had constructed their city wall carelessly, they took the construction of their barns seriously, which actually worked in our favour!”

The crowd burst out laughing again.

Davos said seriously, “It’s because of our sufficient preparations and the Romans not anticipating we would suddenly lead a large army to attack Rome directly that led to them making many mistakes. However, we must still be cautious and not give the Romans breathing time.”

The smiles on the legates’ faces disappeared as they nodded cautiously.

“Olivos!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“You will stay here with the Fourth Legion to protect the granaries and river port while also attacking Rome’s western wall tomorrow.” Davos pointed at the towering walls and asked, “Where do you think will be the best place to focus your attack?”

Without hesitation, Olivos pointed to the protruding wall on the right where the largest slum area in Rome that Davos had earlier pointed out, “There! It’s, of course, there! Its ugliness won’t allow me to sleep soundly unless I destroy it.”

Olivos’ sarcastic remarks made everyone burst into laughter again.

Davos nodded and reminded, “Just follow the plan we discussed last night. With the deep conflict between the nobles and plebeians in Rome, we must find ways to divide them so that they won’t work together to fight against us.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Olivos replied seriously.

After briefing the legates on the arrangements of the matters outside the western walls of Rome, Davos led them around the walls and rode east. The palace guards escorted them while the cavalry of the First and Second Cavalry Legions followed closely behind. Consequently, when the Roman soldiers on each section of the city wall saw the group of Theonian generals wearing magnificent armour and colourful plumes on their helmets appear a hundred metres below the city, looking and pointing at the city wall with a dozen military banners fluttering behind them, they did not dare to rush out to attack.

As the group surveyed the place while walking, they eventually arrived at the easternmost point of the Roman walls. At that point, Davos instructed,  “Amintas, you and the First Legion will encamp here.”

“Finally, it’s our First Legion’s turn. I thought you had forgotten about us, Your Majesty,” Amintas exclaimed, pretending to complain.

“I naturally won’t forget the First Legion.” Davos said seriously, “The First Legion, as the most powerful fighting force of Theonia, naturally has the most difficult task. From here, all the way to the walls by the Tiber is your area of attack, so you must exert enough offensive pressure on the Romans!”

“Your Majesty, rest assured that I will let the Romans know the strength of our First Legion. I will also attack the city of Rome from here!” Amintas said confidently.

“Furthermore, the Romans will likely flee from here once we breach the city since this wall section is the longest and has the least attacking force. Therefore, you must do all you can to intercept them!” said Davos seriously.

Amintas was taken aback and immediately replied, “There…definitely won’t be a problem!”

“Also, you should note that the camping location of the First Legion is the farthest from the other legions. And not far east from here are several Roman colonial city-states, so the Roman reinforcements would likely attack the First Legion,” Davos reminded seriously.

Amintas’ expression also became serious as he nodded.

“You will be stationed with the Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade, but they have important tasks to carry out and will not attack the city with you.”

After listening to Davos’ words, Amintas looked at Izam, who smiled back at him.

“Izam!”

“Here!” Said the middle-aged Carduchian with respect; he no longer seemed as high-spirited as when he was young.

“To avoid being seen by the Roman soldiers, you shouldn’t go near the Tiber when surveying the terrain during the day. Rome’s rainy season is from the twelfth month to the second month, which has already ended. Although Rome didn’t suffer from drought last year, our intelligence reports show that the number of times it rained here has decreased slightly compared to previous years. And as we have just seen downstream, the current is gentle, and there is a drop in the river’s water level, so your chances of success are good.”

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