Augustus Road

Manius took Catiline's arm and said bitterly: "Don't believe these irresponsible barbarians. As long as you send a jar of wine, they can pay you their son at any time. Even Tullus is now We don't know what happened to the city of Rome. We only know that his uprising failed. Catiline, my comrade, I plead again, charge the blockade in front again, and we will be done, instead of following. These barbarians with ulterior motives will turn back to Feiyumarbo. As far as I know, that place has already been occupied by Marcus Metra's army, and we are also followed by Neruda. This is very dangerous. We They will be attacked and defeated at any time!"

"Neruda, we have an agreement in advance. He will not make things too difficult for me. His previous performance has proved that this old friend's heart is still on my side." At this time, the Gallic envoy raised his hand He picked up the papyrus roll in his hand. Catiline saw clearly that there was indeed a seal stamped by Turus and the Allobrogis tribe. "Look, this is the voucher. We can really go to Modi." Yes, we should have gone to Gaul a long time ago, yes - there are a large number of foreign warriors there who are dissatisfied with the old Roman regime and are good at fighting for me. Manius, it's all because I trusted Lian Tulus too much before. , he constantly assured me in his letters that he could launch a successful insurrection and help me seize Rome, causing our stay in Etrunia to be wasted so long. Now, now that the friends in Gaul are clear. If we express our willingness to help, we must give up our illusions, change our ways, and go to Gaul unswervingly.”

"It's you who should give up your fantasy!" Mannius couldn't bear it anymore.

At this moment, a blond man with an ugly face in the rebel team gave one of the Gallic envoys a slight wink.

In front of the blockade barrier, hundreds of soldiers from the defenders lined up in a rectangular, dense and deep formation. In the smoke and dust, the flag officer and trumpeter were playing melodious sentimental tunes. Milu, Tagus, Pop, and Calabis, who was still bleeding from the corners of his mouth and nose, stood at the front of the team, their faces stained with dark dust, and holding fighting swords dripping with blood in their hands.

"As long as we persist for another half to one day, Catiline will have to retreat." Calabis said to his comrades next to him according to his pre-calculation.

"The premise is that we can persist for such a long time under the attack of the opposing veteran striker. Now we can only go head-to-head with them." Milu replied.

Karabis rubbed his nose again and muttered: "Isn't this why we are standing at the front of the battle?"

Then, they stood in the sea breeze and were blown for a long time. Catiline's position, which was a few furlongs away, began to gradually retreat. The defenders could not believe their eyes, thinking that it was the light caused by the sea water and the blue sky. In the hallucination, everyone stood at the fighting position, watching helplessly, still not daring to move, until the enemy on the opposite side retreated safely, taking the huge golden eagle flag with them.

It took a full two hours after Catiline's troops left before Calabis sent a ten-man team of leading soldiers to inspect the sentry.

At night, they were still standing in the sea breeze, their legs stiff, until the leading soldiers reported that the enemy had indeed withdrawn and turned back towards the river valley. No one said a word, they all collapsed on the ground

About half a market day later, Catiline's illusions were finally shattered. The so-called envoys from the Allobrogis tribe took advantage of the chaos of the march and slipped away on horseback along the mountain road. And when all the rebels arrived at the Feyumarbo Pass, just as Manius said, five entire brigades of elite soldiers were already stationed there, all from Marcus Metra's legion, and fortifications had already been built. The whole camp.

The Neruda army behind them was not as soft-hearted as an "old friend" and pursued them relentlessly. In the end, Catiline's rebels were surrounded between the mountains and the enemy's positions, sandwiched between the mountains. The long and narrow plain in the middle is called Pistonia. At this time, many weak-willed elements who originally wanted to follow Catiline to kill Rome and plunder a handful of people, including many slaves and even veterans, quietly slipped away with weapons on the way, and Catiline entered the room at hand. There are only a few thousand loyal fans left in the military, who are still accompanying them in life and death, but apart from their bloody bravery, their combat effectiveness is really worrying.

Catiline stepped on the small temporary platform, and the servants next to him raised the morale-boosting "Cimbri" eagle flag. This Roman reformer and radical, although hesitant and indecisive before, led to The consequences of the current desperate situation, but on the contrary, in this desperate situation, the blood of fighting until the last breath burst out. He spoke impassionedly to the whole army: "Yes, my friends, my soldiers, today's unfavorable situation, The responsibility lies with me. I trusted Lian Tulus's promise and rejected the advice of Manius, which led to the tragedy of the entire army being surrounded. I also know that words cannot make a person brave. The commander-in-chief's speech cannot help the flagging army out of the predicament, but I believe that taking up arms and fighting is the instinct in your blood, because we are engaged in a noble cause and are fighting for the republic, for freedom, and for survival. , but they fight for a handful of powerful people. Cowardice and despicability are their true nature. Do we fear such enemies? You could have died in exile, or you could have returned to Rome to beg for your life, but we all We are real men. We can never bear this kind of humiliation. Much greater than the warriors who stand their ground!”

Having said this, he suddenly drew out his sword and said, "Let bravery be your strongest barrier! Even if we are defeated here today, we must make the enemy pay the saddest and heaviest price. Don't be a prisoner, don't be like The animals were slaughtered like that, and let the enemy tremble at your proud fallen corpse!" At this time, all the rebels burst into tears, pulled out their swords or wooden spears, and shouted slogans in unison.

After finishing his speech, Catiline strode to his horse, untied its reins, and then stabbed its hindquarters with a sword. The horse wailed twice, ran around its owner twice, and After understanding his master's wishes, he swung his tail and ran towards the mountains in the distance. The other generals and soldiers followed suit and drove away their mounts and pack horses. The valley was filled with the echoes of galloping horses, indicating a fight to the death. determination.