Augustus Road

"You mean, we chase him along the Arno Valley?"

"No, no, what we need now is to use a light-armed commando to block his way to Liguria. Then he will be surrounded by us, and we will completely defeat him near the Picenum area!" Claudius suggested.

Neruda touched his fat belly and thought for a while, and felt that there was really no way to live up to Cicero and Catiline. Although these two were mortal enemies, as long as I could go to Macedonia to scrape the land for a year in half a year, I would not care so much. So he hummed twice, "Claudius, I approve these matters, you are fully authorized to handle them, you have to forgive an old man whose legs are out of control."

After saluting and leaving, Claudius saw Carabis leaning on the wooden fence at the door of the tent. The two gestured, knowing that the previous plan was successful.

The words just recorded were all copied on a wooden board by Carabis, handed to Claudius, and read aloud in front of the commander.

At night, the assembly whistle sounded. In the torchlight, Claudius held up the commander's sign and read the latest order, "We now need a 'Cambigni' (a selected vanguard officer) to lead three battalions to perform a glorious and secret mission. As for the large army itself, it will be stationed there tomorrow. Because there are many farms and towns around, we need to obtain supplies for a total of two days." Hearing Claudius' words, bursts of joyful whistles were immediately heard in the queue. The so-called "supplies" meant looting farms and towns, and then handing over the spoils to the merchants accompanying the army in exchange for wine, gambling money and gourds.

As for the "glorious and secret mission" mentioned by the deputy general, sorry, everyone automatically gave way. There is no doubt that in the end, only two battalions were willing to perform this mission-the fourth battalion and the tenth battalion of the Second City Legion. "Senior Centurion, Milou Quintas, you have served in Spain before and have rich combat experience. I think you are the best candidate for this mission." Claudius looked serious, and then handed a camp flag to Milou.

"Sir, I swear to the God of War that I am willing to complete the mission at my death. But I need the best and lightest equipment in the barracks." Milou took the flag and asked.

In the camp, the soldiers were noisy, wearing helmets, putting on chain curtains, and fastening the buckles of military shoes. Tagus paced back and forth and shouted: "I reiterate that we will set off at the first moment after the morning star sets. Everyone check their equipment. I especially want to remind you to bring several things - bags of sheep cheese masa, money bags, pickaxes, mattocks, baskets, and two pairs of spare military shoes. Soon, there will be no ox carts or mule carts. Follow us on the road, and you have to rely on yourself for everything, rookies."

Weighing The officer also came over and shouted to everyone, "For this mission, each person will get 100 large drachmas. Now put them in your money bags. Pick them up with a pickaxe. Don't lose them, or they will be cheap for the guys around you." There was a burst of laughter in the camp. You know, it took a lot of money for these guys to obey his orders. He got some money from the military supply and paid some of it himself. Finally, he calmed down the emotions of these guys and made them willing to carry out the mission instead of clamoring to go with other friendly troops to "get supplies".

Under the dark night sky, the morning star twinkled. The two brigades kept silent and fully armed. They boarded a narrow path and went around the pass of the Arno Valley under the guidance of a Ligurian native herdsman.

The next day, seeing that Neruda's army stayed where it was, the rebels Catiline and Mannius also camped 80 furlongs away - now both sides need to recruit soldiers, collect food and rest, since you don't chase, I won't leave either.

But the two brigades of Carapis were still walking, and time was gained. The Ligurian herdsman who collected 800 sestis told him with certainty that by taking this road between the sea and the mountains, he could reach the valley pass one to two days earlier.

"You rubbish, can only fight in the streets of Rome? Then go back to your slums and continue to be scum and gangsters! You are not even as good as mules and castrated oxen, because they have two more hooves than you!" All the recruits walked through the deep, wet and cold mountain roads, their armor and clothes were soaked with heavy sweat, carrying full gear, step by step, and had to endure the scolding of the decapitation and centurion, "Eat, eat, keep going forward, the people behind will eat from the backpacks of the people in front!" Hearing this order, the soldiers carrying pickaxes in one hand and shields and javelins in the other did not stop, but stretched their necks, took out a piece of goat cheese from the open backpack of the guy in front, chewed it in their mouths, and continued to march.

Carabis, who was walking in the front, turned around and stretched out a few balls of massa to the soldiers in the front, "This stuff is not to my taste." A soldier with a face full of sweat and tide said.

"If you want to drink, let's talk at the pass."

As a result, one day later, when all the soldiers walked down a hillside covered with umbrella pines, they were staggered by a near-death state of fatigue. They could no longer maintain their formation and balance, and threw themselves on the sandy ground at the foot of the hillside. After taking off the backpack, pickaxe, and weapons, he began to hurriedly take off his worn-out shoes, put on new ones, and began to pass the water bottles around. We have arrived at our destination, the intersection of mountains, sea and land in the valley, where the Arno River flows into the sea, and with a curve, you can enter Liguria by going further north.

"Rest for a day (about an hour and a half), give them hot water and wine, and then start working." Karabis told Milu and Pope, then he took off his helmet, grabbed Massa and started gobbling it up. . When the time arrived, Milu took off the curtains, exposed his strong upper body, and shouted to the whole army: "Pour the hot water from the kettle on yourself!" The soldiers stood up one by one and followed suit, "Pour the hot water on yourself!" Rinse away all the cold wet water." Then, Milu took out a tube of olive oil and applied it on his body. "Apply it with your partner, focusing on the back, neck and armpits. It can prevent exposure to the sun. It can also prevent frostbite, which means, guys, we need to build a strong fortress in this area until late at night! "

Behind that pass, a fortress wall was built, because Calabis only had to block off the area about three stadias between the mountain and the mouth of the river. Therefore, what Pop advocated was to use the shortest possible time to create a simple blockade.