Augustus Road

The soldiers cut down pine trees and riveted them to each other with iron nails to form a fence shape of seven and a half Roman feet high. They then sharpened the bottom ends with swords and tools, inserted them deeply into the soft sand, and connected them closely with ropes. Joining forces together, they set up a winding line of defense. Then, the soldiers wielded pickaxes and shovels, dug two trenches in front of the fence, introduced water from the river next to it, filled baskets with soil, and transported it to the back of the fence. Along the fence, they piled it up and down. The slope - in this way, a temporary platform was actually formed behind the fence, and curtains, shields, javelins and pines were hung on the wooden stakes for the use of the defending soldiers. Calabis divided his troops into three waves, one on the stage for defense, one resting behind as a reserve force, and another wave of the most selected veterans, led by Tagus, hidden in the pine forest hillside on one side.

"This is really a standard blockade. Even the attack door is left at the corner." Milu and Karabis said, standing on the earth platform, holding on to the wooden stakes. The entire barrier is in the shape of a "concave" that is close together, and the door for entry and exit is open on the side. It is difficult for the enemy to find it from the front.

Calabis was always a little uneasy. He rubbed his hands and began to ask about Milu. Although he was confused by Claudius's behavior of staying in place, Catiline should not stop for too long. Maybe one day later, he The army will come to this pass. Catiline and Mannius now have two full legions, plus auxiliary and baggage troops, probably no less than 20,000 people. Can their own blockade of 800 new soldiers be able to withstand it? It's a big problem.

"Should we build another road and wall at the back?" Milu suggested.

Looking at the soldiers sitting and lying down to rest due to extreme fatigue on the platform and on the ground below the slope, Calabis sighed and said that it was no longer necessary. If there was another double wall, I was afraid that the soldiers would no longer have the strength to cope with the upcoming battle. . Finally, Calabis said, "Now, we can only hope that Catiline will really take this path, and that Claudius can really implement Weiwei's plan."

"It doesn't matter. War is always a game of gods. You can only hope for good luck. However, Calabis, I think your analysis of Catiline's march route is not wrong. Mars and Bellow Will protect us." Milu said with a very sure tone, his light blue eyes widened.

The sea water came and went, tossing and noisy repeatedly, sweeping the sandy land on the shore. When they got up in the morning and lined up to practice according to certain rules, several soldiers on guard shouted: "There is a situation, there is a situation." It's a situation!" Karabis and other generals immediately ran up the slope to the fence platform, and saw an umbrella pine with a flame tongue flag slowly falling down on a mountain a few furlongs away - - This is a signal sent by the sharp soldiers who have been arranged there to monitor the pass, indicating that the enemy's advance army is close at hand!

"Hey, give the order!" Several centurions gathered around Calabis.

"Put up the camp flag, one wave of troops will stand firm on the platform, and another wave will go out to form an array." Karabis waved his hand and shouted.

"Dudududu." The majestic horn sounded, and the soldiers of the two regiments marched, blowing the trumpets, and formed a formation in the open space between the trench and the barrier. At this time, Catiline's advance troops also appeared in the field of vision of Calabis and others. A group of Gallic mercenary cavalry carrying oval shields, plus some lightly armed skirmishers, seemed to be responsible for the role of vanguard scouts.

The expression on the horseback of one of the leading rebel centurions caught Calabis's eyes. He looked quite surprised - he didn't expect that the road to Liguria through the river valley would be blocked by Neruda. One of the troops was cut off. Moreover, there were actually six brigades of troops guarding this must-pass pass!

It’s not to blame the centurion for his misjudgment, because he couldn’t see clearly how many troops the opponent actually had through the barrier, but there were indeed six battalion flags of different numbers flying on the barrier, which were all borrowed by Calabis in advance. furnishings.

"Fire!" At this time, a torsion ballista on the platform suddenly tilted out a wave of gravel shells. The rebel scout team immediately exploded with the neighing of men and horses. Several guys without shields had their bodies cut off by stones. Various parts of the body bloomed with gorgeous blood mist, rolling to the ground. "Oh oh oh!" The soldiers of the two regiments under the barrier shouted, tapping their shields with their fighting swords, and trying their best to make a loud threatening cry.

Catiline's scout team was so frightened that they turned around, shouted to their mounts, ran back, and quickly disappeared from sight.

"Will Catiline's army attack soon?"

Milu looked at Calabis and analyzed: "If Claudius's team follows him, he can only try to capture our fortress in a short period of time, otherwise his army will be blocked. Die in this narrow pass, be blocked in front and behind, and suffer the fate of being completely annihilated - so, I guess - Catiline and Manius will either have the sense to turn back and take the way to Picenium immediately; , they will send their most elite troops to attack us."

About half a moment later, or in other words, when the huge golden eagle flag once used by Marius appeared in the eyes of all the soldiers of Calabis's fortress, Calabis's heart was twisted: Milu's second This judgment has become a fact.

Under the eagle flag, there were Catiline and Mannius in purple robes and armor, and several circles of armed slaves and followers, tightly guarding the symbol of power of the Roman legion. As for the rebels in the rear, they were not worth mentioning. They were all slaves, freemen and foreigners without armor or weapons, holding iron rods, daggers and wooden spears, in large groups, but they were just there to make up the numbers.

However, what was frightening was the neat five-cohort phalanx walking in front of the eagle flag. The first two and the third were all legion soldiers with neat armor and shields and swords. From a distance, many of them still had gray stubble - this was definitely the veterans of the former Sulla army who had returned to Etruria!

It seemed that Catiline had indeed invested the most precious elite of his army, the veterans. Prepare to smash my defense in one go.

Under the reflection of the blue sea and the sky, the noble golden light of the "Cimbri" eagle flag was particularly breathtaking, giving the opponent an invisible sense of oppression. Carabis's breathing became a little disordered, and he also clearly felt the timidity and confusion in the hearts of his soldiers: No matter what, these guys on the opposite side, although they are old, are monsters who have crawled out of the pile of dead bodies on the battlefield for decades. Their experience and ruthlessness are definitely not comparable to those of the rookies under my command.

As for the six camp flags, it’s okay to deceive and scare the opponent. It hasn’t scared Catiline, the madman, but don’t our own people know what’s going on?

But the situation did not allow Carabis to think too much. The noise sounded, and several rows of lightly armed skirmishers of the rebels rushed up in irregular formations, shouting, and when they reached a certain distance, they threw their hunting spears and light javelins outside the trench. On the ramparts, many new recruits couldn’t keep their cool and ignored the centurion’s orders at all, and also threw their javelins. The javelins from both places were very scattered, crossing each other and falling in the air. Many of them fell on the heads of the two recruits of the Karabis regiment standing under the barrier. The entire team began to stir restlessly!