Rome must fall.

Chapter 392 Gillicus's Oath
"Great! With the help of Gillicus, I believe our attack on Mazii will be smoother!" Carminus said happily.

Maximus smiled and said, "Oh, I almost forgot, when we captured the Eastern Stronghold of Ophidili, you and Gilicus worked very well together, Carminus. I believe you will work together happily this time as well."

"Gillicus is a very capable man and easy to get along with. I believe he will be of great help to us in capturing Mazii!" Calmilus said sincerely, and of course he also said this to Toleruge.

The Military Intelligence Department is a very special department in the Ministry of War. Legion commanders and officers rarely interact with them. They even rarely see the head of the Military Intelligence Department. They only see him when Maximus convenes the Ministry of War to discuss military plans. Apart from introducing military intelligence, Gilicus sits in the corner of the hall, looking at everyone, thinking about something...

Before, Toleruge didn't like dealing with such mysterious people, but after listening to the conversation between the two, he became interested in Gillicus.

The legion commanders left the main house of Brochi, and Peko pulled Aulus behind them. He whispered, "Next we will march to Andizeti. I have an idea."

"Tell me, what good ideas do you have?!"

Aulus once worked with Pequot in the Fourth Legion, and the two got along well. Especially when the Pannonian coalition attacked the Nix tribe in two directions, Aulus listened to Pequot's advice and finally defeated the coalition forces of Segestica and Deisitiatae with a smaller force. Although the Fourth Legion suffered heavy casualties, it also laid a solid foundation for Nix to annex the Segestica tribe later. The newly formed Fourth Legion also won the praise of Maximus and the Ministry of War with this battle, and made other legions dare not underestimate it... So when Aulus heard that Pequot had another suggestion, he immediately listened carefully.

"This time we attack Andizeti, I suggest we march in two directions." Pecot stretched out his hands and gestured in the air, "You take the Fourth Legion and the Wrath of the Giants, march along the Sava River, conquer the main force of Andizeti, and fight all the way to the Danube River to complete the mission assigned to us by the leader.

I led the Fifth Army directly to the southern border of Andizeti, and then along the border, I captured the villages and stockades of Andizeti...

By doing this, we can occupy more land in Andizeti in the shortest possible time. By the time the Skodischi tribe gathers its troops and wants to attack Andizeti, the southern border of Andizeti will have been controlled by us. Unless they want to go to war with us, the Nix, they can only watch us take over the entire Andizeti territory. "

Aulus was very interested, because after yesterday's battle, they had all read the records of the interrogation of the prisoners and knew that this time Andizeti and Mazii had done their best to support Brochi, but after the defeat, Andizeti's army suffered the heaviest losses.

Because if Andizeti's defeated soldiers wanted to escape back to their hometown, they had to cross the Sava River. However, after the battle began, the Nix fleet blocked the entire section of the river near Brochi's main camp, leaving most of Andizeti's defeated soldiers with no way to escape and had to surrender.

There were only about five or six thousand warriors left in the Andizeti tribe. With only a legion of six thousand heavily armored soldiers and five hundred crossbowmen, Aulus was confident that he could defeat any army in the Andizeti territory. Moreover, with the help of the Giant's Wrath and the well fence, even if Andizeti sent heavy troops to garrison the main camp, he was confident that he could capture it alone.

However, he still had a little worry: "If we divide our forces, I won't have to worry about food supply if we attack along the river, but if you lead the army deep into Andizeti's territory, how to ensure that the soldiers can get enough food supply is a problem that needs to be seriously considered. More than 6,000 soldiers consume a huge amount of food every day!"

Pequot had thought about this long ago: "I will ask the soldiers to bring enough dry bread for five days. We have just harvested the autumn harvest. Andy mentioned that the food reserves of each tribe should be sufficient. I will ask the soldiers to collect food on the spot during the march.

Of course, this method can only work in the short term. If it lasts for a long time, it may provoke resistance from the people of Andizeti, thus violating the leader's reminder to us before declaring war. Therefore, we still have to rely mainly on the transportation of the baggage train. My idea is...

On the way to the southern border of Andizeti, we will build several temporary camps, station a small number of soldiers there, and store military rations and supplies provided by the baggage train, which will be transported to my main force regularly..."

Aulus was not surprised by the method proposed by Pequot. At the military meeting held by the leaders before declaring war, they discussed the issue of "once the attack on Brochi is successful, how to ensure the supply of military food and materials when continuing to attack Mazii", and finally chose this method.

"I think we can do this." Aulus said cautiously, "But if we divide our forces, it will undoubtedly increase the transportation of the baggage train. We must first inform Lebilus so that he can prepare, and then report our new plan to the leader. I believe he will agree."

"Okay, I'll listen to you and do it this way."

……………………………………………………………………………………Still in the hall of Broch’s main house, Maximus summoned Gillicus alone.

The chief of the Military Intelligence Department usually had a gloomy look on his face, but today he looked full of energy and vitality.

"Gillicus." Maximus looked at him and praised him, "Your Military Intelligence Department has been working hard to collect intelligence about Brochi in the past few years, which has enabled us to know Brochi's situation very well and make full preparations. Only then was we able to capture Brochi so smoothly. You have made a great contribution!

Moreover, you also let your men lurking in Brochi often and secretly publicize the benefits of joining our Knicks tribe. I believe this will be of great help to us in pacifying and recruiting the Brochi people. If everything goes well, this will also be a credit to the Military Intelligence Department!
Next, I will ask you to personally assist Tolergo and his men to capture Mazii. If you can accomplish this successfully, I will give you credit! How about it, are you confident?"

Gillicus answered confidently: "Chief, although Mazii did not take in the refugees of Segestica like Brochi did in the past few years, and also strengthened the vigilance of the territory, it is difficult for our Military Intelligence Department to send people to lurk in their territory and find out their situation.

But I was born and raised in Mazii, and so are the men I brought with me. We know Mazii very well. Mazii is now a wolf without claws and trapped in a cage. My men and I will do our best to help the two legion commanders, Toleruge and Carminus, to successfully conquer the Mazii tribe and make the Mazii people sincerely submit to my Nix tribe! "

"Very good!" Maximus was about to praise him a few more times when he saw Gilichus kneel on the ground with a plop and kowtow heavily.

Then he looked at Maximus and said excitedly: "Chief, when I joined the tribe, you promised me that you would avenge me and bring back my wife... Although this was my motivation to work hard for the tribe, I actually didn't have much hope, because at that time our tribe was far less powerful than Segestica. If I want to realize my wish, I have to fight against the powerful Pannoni tribal alliance!
At that time, I had already felt the despair of ‘I would never see my wife again and would eventually die of old age in the Nix tribe’! ... Who would have thought that only four years would pass! In just four years! You led us to conquer Segestica, occupy Brochi, and will soon destroy Mazii! ! Chief, you really kept your promise! "

At this point, Gilicus raised his hands, palms facing the sky, and solemnly swore: "Merciful and great Goddess Danu, Gilicus swears to you sincerely! From today on, I, Gilicus, am a dog of Captain Maximus. I will always be loyal to him and willing to do anything for him, even sacrificing my life!"

After Gilicus finished his oath, Maximus stepped forward to help him up and said solemnly: "Gilicus, you suffered a disaster, but you never gave up. The Nix tribe can be what it is today, and you have made great efforts!
Those who work hard will naturally receive the attention of the goddess Danu, who will give you protection and make your wishes come true! When you bring your wife back, I will bless you and your wife in the temple!"

"Thank you, chief!" If Maximus hadn't supported him, Gilicus would have almost fallen to his knees again.

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

Rome gave Pompey enormous power to solve the increasingly serious problem of Mediterranean piracy. It took Pompey only three months to wipe out all the pirates at sea, destroy their bases, and end the maritime threat that had tormented the Roman Republic for decades.

This is a glorious victory!

Both the Roman nobles and civilians were very surprised, so when Pompey led his army back to Rome, the name "Magnus" resounded throughout the city.

However, Pompey did not indulge in this great praise. During his pursuit of pirates, he took time to visit the Greek Academy in Rhodes and listened to a speech by Posidrius, the most famous scholar in the entire eastern Mediterranean.

After listening to the speech, the two had a private conversation, in which Posidrius said two sentences that left a deep impression on Pompey.

One of his sayings is "Always act more noble than others", so he forgave the captured pirates, built a town specifically to accommodate the pirates, and named the town "Pompeiipolis", hoping that kindness and generosity would permanently bring glory to his name.

(End of this chapter)