Augustus Road

"Any combat system is good only because it conforms to the principles of war." - Jomini

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After the high priest heard what Matthias said, he suddenly laughed and said, "You still miscalculated. I still need the support of Queen Eubotia's legion and money to gain an absolute advantage in this war. . Now, if someone says something that they dare not say, how do you ask me to go there and ask for support from the queen? Will I be poisoned in Nicomedia or Tacton?"

After saying that, the high priest was worried and smiled bitterly at Matthias, which frightened him out of his wits. He hurriedly knelt at the feet of Lepidus, like a Jew worshiping the temple, begging for his trust and promising that he would never A second mistake will be made.

"Okay, it's okay, my child. After your father died in the war, I secretly vowed to cultivate you into an adult. Immediately, I am going to directly upgrade you to the status of a Roman knight and entrust you to go to an important administrative district to take charge of taxation. Work, you will shine in the Executive Yuan in the future." Lepidus sighed and helped Mattia up, "But you have to promise that there will be no mistakes in my long meeting with Adiana. It cannot affect my expedition."

In the Piraeus port of Athens, among the flat city walls and docks, countless ships are moored, ready to set sail. In front of the temple on the acropolis, Cassius was saying goodbye to Brutus, "Spring is short, so I must take advantage of the headwind situation of Lepidus' fleet in Cyrene as soon as possible to capture all the cities and towns in Rhodes." Port, to gain our advantage on the ocean!" Kaxiyue said confidently. said, shaking fists with Brutus. "The one who will shine on the battlefield in the future must be me, because I am a natural-born naval commander. And you, Brutus, will defend this ancient city and resist the attacks of enemies from all directions on land."

"Of course, no matter whether the enemy comes from Epirus, from Thessalia, or from Lepidus Castle. Or from the Peloponnese, I will definitely send them back in defeat, and Lepidus's front will be defeated by our The sincere cooperation is torn apart, so that he can't care about each other!" Brutus was also very heroic.

Then, Cassio nodded, put on his helmet, and walked down the steps. After walking a few steps, he turned around and looked at Brutus, "There is no need to continue running away this time Brutus. This land The ocean is the ideal burial place for all warriors, and we only need to leave documents to pass down our indomitable spirit from generation to generation.”

"Yes, Cassius, no matter what our personalities are, no matter where our warriors come from, may our spirit be passed down from generation to generation." Brutus, who was standing by the altar of the temple, responded with an enthusiastic voice, and then he chanted Greek verses were recited:

"Even if they sit and sigh and beg the gods, the children of such a father behave cowardly and deserve to be ridiculed. Where can such things be found among brave people? Now I declare that I will go for my brothers and myself. die."

At this time, the rest of the people, including Horace, Virgil, Synesis and other generals, shouted the following verse together, "By not fearing death, I have found the best treasure - a glorious death!"

Soon, the slogan "Glorious death" resounded through the Acropolis, through the port of Piraeus, through the towers and decks of every ship, and all the people, soldiers, slaves and oarsmen. , all shouting this slogan, steering the ship towards the blue Aegean Sea, and rushing to Rhodes Island further away.

On the way, Sabo's squadron from Lesbos caused small damage to Casillo's marching fleet, but it was nothing more than harassment. Casillo remained unmoved and continued to stick to his course without any hesitation.

Three days later, his fleet arrived at the city of Rhodes. Then Cassius separated the fleet from the army legion again, moved forward by sea and land, and quickly approached the city of Camelots, the last stronghold of the Rhodesians.

Over the past two months, the city of Camelot has suffered all kinds of bloody sufferings, but it still resisted tenaciously with its incomplete city walls and towers. All the Rhode Islanders moved their remaining ships , chained together, arrayed horizontally at the entrance to the city's narrow promontory, acting as floating bunkers. Famine and casualties plagued the country, but everyone firmly believed that reinforcements from the high priest would arrive. Since the beginning of spring, small fleets from Cyrene, with the help of brave sailors, have been supplying the city of Camelot one after another.

And this group of people gave the people of Rhode Island the greatest encouragement, "The legions of the high priests have gathered in Brundium and will come to Rhodes soon. In the past, you were under siege by Mithridates VI." You will survive now and in the future as a proud and unyielding country under the wings of the Republic.”

However, after the morale of the Rhode Islanders was high, the first thing they waited for was not the reinforcements from the high priest, but the reinforced Casio Marine and Army Corps. After the Republicans wasted several months in Epirus, they finally changed their tune and turned back. Come and deal with them. "If you want to gain glory, you must first pay the price and sacrifice!"

The Rhode Island warriors in the city of Camelot were quite tragic - they used chisels to scuttle all the large ships with decks and rams, and sank them into the sea at the headland port, acting as a barrier to the Cassius fleet. Then they spent all their financial resources and manpower to dig trenches and build new defensive walls near the city near Casillo's siege position. They also rejected Casillo's advice and vowed to fight to the end.

"Aim all the ballistas and trebuchets at the enemy's newly built city wall." Casillo carried the flag and came to the positions of the two legions. Among them, the sixth legion had been besieging this place for a long time, so Casillo Siyo exchanged camps with them with the fifth legion, preparing to take down Camelos in one go after the sixth legion rested for a few days.

Then he rode horses to the headland, and transferred to a small rowing boat. He carefully surveyed the river port of Camelot and discovered that among the sunken ships of the Rhode Islanders, there was a channel large enough for a three-row battleship. The ship passed through the gap, but the Rhode Islanders used iron chains and tied them between the masts of several sunken ships that were exposed out of the water, thus sealing this gap.

Casillo was determined to launch an unexpected surprise attack here. After returning to the camp, he selected three infantry brigades and hid them on twelve ships. They were hidden in a sheltered bay on the promontory in advance. They dragged their bodies to the beach and covered them with branches and weeds.

Then, in order to ensure that the city of Camelot could be captured in time, Cassio decided not to rely on his subordinates, but to personally lead all the surprise attack teams. He boarded the beach at night and conducted a detailed battle with eighteen centurions. After discussing and establishing the battle plan and signals, in the early morning of the next day, after the sea was surging under the darkness, he boarded the first ship that was easy to command, "This is my flagship, all the others The warships follow me, form a single column, and move on!" (To be continued...)