Augustus Road

"Do not plunder money, do not rebuke others indiscriminately, but be content with your salary." John the Baptist said to a "good" Roman centurion

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Soon, both sides of the army were crowded at a meander of a slow tributary of the river. There was a simple bridge there. Looking across the bank, the sound filled the sky with noise. "Pop, look at the packhorses behind these cavalrymen. Timber and oars?" On the high hill, Lepidus pointed to the rear of the opposite queue and shouted with squinted eyes. When Pope and all the centurions gave a positive reply after looking around, Lepidus said, "Is it possible that the mercenary cavalry of Governor Caesar are going to Are you still carrying boats and oars in the city of Cadiz? This must be a barbarian army that hopes to plunder the entire Cadiz and prepare to cross the Strait of the Pillar of Hercules to Africa!"

A dozen trumpeters, beside Lepidus, blew loud and loud sounds together. The judgment that "there are Lusitanian barbarians ahead" instantly spread throughout the army, and a part of the heavy infantry team seized the two men who could control Asase. On the side high ground, some faster light-armed skirmishers set up a cordon along the river beach and began to fill "ammunition" into the scorpion crossbows and slings.

The barbarian cavalry on the opposite side also judged the hostility of the people and horses on the other side, and began to panic. They shouted to their horses to turn back, and ran towards the rear in a scattered and chaotic manner. The packhorses and mules in their baggage team were at a loss. , still staying in place.

At this time, a large group of Roman soldiers clamored, holding camp flags, and rushed towards the other side on the narrow bridge. "Asshole, which group is this?" Lepidus pointed at the brave backs of the group and shouted. , "Blow the bugle quickly to contact them to come back!"

"It's Hortensius's brigade. This guy is probably crazy about plundering the baggage." Pope was also very nervous.

But despite the trumpeter blowing his cochlea, Hortensius's brigade marched straight and fearlessly past the positions of other troops, crossed the bridge, and rushed to the other side in an instant. Then, surrounded by woodlands and river valleys, it was like a loud bang. With a thunderous sound, the Barbarian cavalry who had originally pretended to withdraw turned back to fight. At this time, Hortensius's men and horses did not even have time to line up for battle. They were all crowded around the Barbarian baggage train, and soon He disappeared into the smoke and dust raised by the hooves of the opponent's fast horses and the blood rain caused by the dagger.

Lepidus' face was ashen. On the opposite bank, a barbarian warrior wearing bladed armor proudly stabbed Hortensius's head with a javelin. He rode back and forth, loudly mocking and provoking the stupidity and cowardice of the Roman soldiers. All barbarians The cavalry formed a deep formation and stared at the frightened recruits.

At this moment, Lepidus felt for the first time that Lusitania was a beautiful wasteland of flesh and blood, where he could encounter the danger of being killed at any time.

"I emphasize here again that I don't care what other legions and other brigades are doing, but now on the battlefield of Lusitania, private attacks and plundering are not allowed. All the spoils of defeating the enemy and the city will be achieved three times. Distribution, 70% will be put into the legion's treasury, and a unified distribution will be made every three months, and the treasury will be used to bear the pensions of the deceased. Do you really think that there will be no need for those who died in this place? There is a living example of blood today? Lepidus stood among all the centurions and angrily announced the new order, "The whole army is now setting up camp around the cordon. Someone must be responsible for the post day and night. Those who are slack will be punished with confinement and hard work at the least, and at the worst they can be on the spot. execution."

Pope privately reminded us, Caesar is still waiting for us in Italy. Do we need to escape from the entanglement as soon as possible? Lepidus said angrily, they were entangled across the river, how could it end so easily? I will consider crossing the river as soon as possible.

After nightfall, Lepidus ordered everyone to light torches. Hortensius's son, Hortensius Jr., was punished in place of his dead father. Together with the remnants of the brigade that crossed the river, he dug trenches and worked naked. Lepidus even stood up. He set up a "fake camp" and lined it up with the real camp behind it, and asked Popper to lead people to build a simple bridgehead with bricks and wood on his own side of the bridge to prevent the enemy from attacking. Then he sent someone to ride to the city of Cadiz with the token and the consul's order.

The Lusitanian barbarian cavalry also dug trenches and built camps on the slope of the valley on the other side. Although they were barbarians, these residents of the Iberian Peninsula were no strangers to civil engineering in the civilized world and built camps. It came in a decent manner, not only setting up sentries and hidden sentries, but also setting up a spacious exit for the cavalry to attack the Romans who might cross the river at any time.

The next day, Lepidus's troops did not show any signs of forcible crossing. Lepidus ordered the bridgehead to be used as the core, and built walls about five Roman feet high along the river banks on both sides, and laid ballistas and rocket launchers behind the walls. Then he asked the veterans to They stayed at the camp, while the new soldiers were divided into several teams, led by experienced centurions, scouting along the river bank, surveying everywhere for Asase that could not be forcibly crossed. This kills two birds with one stone. It can not only keep the veterans' energy before the decisive battle, but also try to train the recruits' determination and interest in performing tasks.

The barbarian cavalry saw all this and showed a high degree of vigilance. Wherever Lepidus's scouts went, they followed them on the other side to block any surprise attack from Lepidus's army. The two sides kept monitoring each other and wasted time until the hired people from Cadiz arrived. There were about 2,000 of them, all of whom were shipwrights, civilians, and freed slaves. Lepidus carefully divided them into four teams, and every two quarters of an hour, a team would enter the camp from the back door or side door. Then he strictly ordered them to immediately accept basic formation training, and gave them broadswords and shields, promised them a considerable reward, and asked them to follow his actions.

The next day, behind the bridgehead and the wall, Lepidus's army suddenly launched a group of slings, javelins and rockets at the opposite bank, and launched a wave of fierce attacks every once in a while. The barbarian army's position was filled with smoke, but the Lusitanian warriors remained highly calm. They held their posts in the camp and dispersed. Both the men and horses were crouching behind the fortifications, ready to deal with the Romans' strong attack across the river. And a group of Romans did hold up their shields and push simple rafts made of sheepskin bags, and began to cross the river in the shallows near the bridgehead.

At this time, the barbarian sentinels on a wooden tower shouted and shouted. They found that behind the wall on the opposite bank and between the valleys, a Roman light-armed guerrilla army with flags suddenly appeared. There were five or six battalions, and they quickly marched towards the entire river upstream.

It turned out that the attack here at the bridgehead was purely a feint. The Romans were going to send people to go around to somewhere upstream to let the main force cross the river. This was exactly a strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking the west. (To be continued.)