ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 769 Defending Rome
During this short rest, Potitus also called his trusted slave: "Go home quickly and bring me some food." He said loudly, while using his hand to pound the crutch.

"Honorable master, what do you want for dinner?" the clever house slave immediately asked loudly.

"What an idiot. Have you forgotten all the things I like to eat? Do you want me to tell you one more time?" Potitus complained dissatisfied, while the slave nodded and leaned forward.

"I don't want the bread. My teeth are bad and I can't bite. Bring me a big bowl of hot porridge, and..." Potitus said, his voice getting smaller and smaller as if he was tired. .

The slave could only get closer and closer, and then he heard his master's whisper: "Immediately send someone overnight to inform Camillus about the news of the Dionian army's invasion of Latium!"

Watching the slaves leave the venue, Potitus was in a daze: Even if there is only a slight possibility, Rome cannot be harmed, and I can only wrong you, Camillus!But as long as I am here, no one will dare to accuse you in the Senate!

Potitus scanned the venue and found that no one seemed to notice his little movements, so he leaned back on the back of the ivory chair and closed his eyes to meditate.

At this time, the senators were discussing: Carthage had already gone to war with Dionia, and there were battle reports coming back from Sicily. Why did the Dionia not concentrate on dealing with Carthage and dare to send a large army to Rome? ? !
"Is it because Carthage has been defeated by Dionia, so Dionia can free up its hands and send troops to attack us?"

"That was just a small defeat. Carthage is a powerful country in the Western Mediterranean. How could it be possible to decide the outcome with Dionia in such a short period of time! I think it must be because the war has just begun, and Carthage is not They did not use their full strength to allow Dionia to deal with it easily, so they dared to send troops to attack us."

"We should send envoys to inform the Carthaginians to increase their attack on Dionia and fully fulfill their obligations as allies!"

"You said it easily, but how to notify?! The coast of Latium is now completely controlled by the Dionian fleet."

"There are many ways, as long as you are willing to use your brain, Abinius. Although the Dionian fleet blocked the coast of Latium, they did not block the coast of Etrunia, while southern Etruria There are many of our affiliated city-states, and the messenger can take their ships to go north, along the coast, and finally reach the coast of Iberia, where is the sphere of influence of the famous Carthage royal family, the Magonides, and their The patriarch was recently appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Carthaginian army, responsible for the battle against Dionia..."

"This is a good idea! As long as the Carthaginians know that Dionia actually sent an army to Rome, they will definitely increase their attack on Sicily. Dionia will have to deal with wars in the south and north, and it will definitely be unsustainable. , they must retreat from Latium to avoid being defeated by the Carthaginians."

"We cannot rely too much on Carthage. In fact, with the [-] citizen soldiers and allied troops we have now, and led by Camillus who is good at fighting, we can completely defeat the incoming Dionian army! …”

"Scipio is right! We are fighting on our own land. There is no need to be afraid of the Dionians. We should take this opportunity to defeat them, establish our reputation as Rome, and then completely control Latium!..."

In the fierce debate, the senators still approved the proposal of "sending an envoy tomorrow to go north to Etruria and take a boat out to Carthage to ask for help from Carthage." The idea of ​​​​Dionian army battle.

In the evening, news finally came back: the army of 25000 soldiers led by Paulus, Megios and Pantius was defeated by the Dionian army with almost the same number.

This bad news caused the entire Senate to fall into a long silence.

After a long time, some senators began to shout with guilt: The Dionysian army is so powerful, Camillus should immediately lead the army back to defend Rome!
A very few people even suggested that they simply negotiate peace with Dionia and return the occupied Volscian territory...

This was of course strongly criticized by most of the senators, and Apuleius and Marugineensis, who supported him, tried hard to comfort the panicked senators. Their biggest reliance was: there was no news from Ostia. came, indicating that it has not fallen into the hands of the Dionysians...

Potitus looked at the quarreling scene in the venue with cold eyes, without saying a word, but in his heart he felt lucky for the decision he had made before...

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On this night, not only the Senate was brightly lit with candles, but the Roman Forum was also full of people.

After receiving the emergency notification from the Roman patrol, countless people came out of their homes one after another and gathered in the square.

These people are mainly divided into two categories: teenagers aged 15 to 17 years old and elderly people over 50 years old.Because in addition to the 3000 young and middle-aged citizen soldiers stationed in the city of Rome, other Roman citizens suitable for military service had already followed Camillus to fight against Hernici.In addition, there were a small number of women wandering around the square, asking the Roman soldiers who maintained order about the "Dionian attack".

Compared with them who showed panic and anxiety, most of the old people gathered in the square looked calm. They had experienced many wars in their lives and had long been calm. The teenagers seemed very excited. They had long been eager to grow up and serve in the military. , like his father and brother, fight on the battlefield and win honor for himself.Therefore, although there are many people in the square, there is order and not chaos.

People came to the recruiting officer in turn and reported their names, clans, tribes to which they belonged, and their previous resumes in the military. The recruiting officer then assigned the applicants to a certain squadron and assigned them to a certain army based on this. Medium position.In addition, most veterans have their own armor and weapons, but only a few teenagers have them, so they need to be equipped.

Ambustus stood on the platform of the square and looked at the dark crowd below. He felt a little relieved and his original worries were relieved a lot.

"Father!" A clear voice sounded in his ears. He turned around and looked with a kind smile on his face: "Konia, why are you here?"

Ambustus's youngest daughter said with a worried face: "Stolo heard the patrol's notice and wanted to know if Rome is really in danger?"

"Don't worry, this is just a precaution. Let Stolo recover at home." Ambustus waved his hand and said with a relaxed look.

After sending away his little daughter, the people in the square gradually dispersed, but Ambustus's expression became more solemn. He couldn't help but ask the patrol captain Cassius: "Aventine area?" Have the people really been notified?”

"I can swear to Jupiter, I really sent a patrol to the Aventine area to inform the streets!" Cassius eagerly argued.

"Then why haven't they come yet?!" Ambustus was a little anxious. In his opinion, compared to these old people and children, the civilians and free people in the Aventine area should be the main force in defending the city of Rome.

Cassius smiled bitterly and said: "My lord, it's not like you don't know that the people there have either been fighting against our nobles and the Senate; or they are refugees who have only joined Rome in recent years and are not loyal enough to Rome at all -"

"Don't say any of this." Ambustus interrupted him and reminded him softly: "Now that the enemy is facing us, all Romans should unite..."

Ambustus suddenly stopped talking because there was a noise of people in the distance.He finally showed a smile: "Look, they are here!"

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Why did no news of Ostia reach Rome that night?This is because Davos implemented a strict land and sea blockade of the city of Ostia. After the city was broken, no one or a ship escaped from Ostia.And during the siege, he ordered Midorades to send all fast triremes to block the coastal waters of Ostia and not allow any ships to approach.At the same time, on land, he also sent out the mountain reconnaissance brigade to blockade the surrounding areas of Ostia, so that the spies from Rome and the Latin Allies could not understand the battle situation in Ostia. It was not until evening that he asked Iza Mu withdrew the reconnaissance team.Even if the Roman spies discovered something strange later, it was already the second day before they rushed back to Rome.

When Amyntas's messenger arrived at the city of Ostia, Daves was accompanying Midorades to the port.

"Your Majesty, in fact, you don't need to go to the port at all. We have made many statements to the workers at the port, and most of them have expressed their willingness to assist us..." Midorades persuaded Daves as he walked.

"Medorades, I believe in your ability to do things." Daves said seriously: "But you have to know that this is the first time that we Dionia has occupied the territory of the Latins. They are very strange to us. They are even more afraid of our strength. With me as the king personally coming forward, I can make them believe in the promises we have made and provide us with more help. And with their example, when we occupy other Latin towns, we can manage It’s much easier to get up.”

Midorades nodded in understanding. Knowing that Davos was determined, he did not dare to persuade him.

Of course, Davos did not expect a naval admiral to understand his approach from an overall perspective. After all, he was thinking of a big game, so he changed the topic and asked: "These workers and sailors at the port Where do they all come from?”

　Thanks to Thirteen Cats for the tip!Your support is my motivation to write! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)