Augustus Road

After hearing the news, Lepidus led the entire army to the camp of Little Hortensius in less than a day. The camp was constructed in the barbarian way: in front of the wooden wall, there was a surrounding trench, dug from the trench. The excavated soil was then piled along the wooden wall to form a slope half as high as a man, with sandbags and wood piled on top for the purpose of projecting skirmishers; inside the wooden wall was a double-story building, with one and a half layers buried underground to store water and food. In this place, there is a layer of trees on the ground, and there are passages connected to the wooden walls for soldiers to rest and monitor.

Little Hortensius indeed obeyed Lepidus' request. When the Sinclair warriors' phalanx clamored for challenge under Asa City, he maintained considerable restraint and calmness because he saw the dire situation of the Sinclair people after entering this area.

Mukuas, the chief of Sinclair, was deceived by the false information spread by the messengers. He believed that the small Roman army was still besieging Asa and other three settlements, so he led 1,500 people, most of them light cavalry, across the border. Snowfields and mountain passes came to attack the Romans, but when he arrived here, he discovered that of the three settlements and towns, Asa had been completely destroyed and turned into a camp for Roman soldiers; while the remaining two settlements, walls and supply warehouses All were demolished and plundered, leaving only more than a thousand men, women, and children with basic rations and clothing, shivering in the cold wind and huts. When they saw Mukuas, they collectively wailed, begging the other party to take them away, and said All of this was the work of a vicious financial officer of New Rome with black hair, dark eyes, and yellow skin.

The chief wearing the horned helmet was in a very conflicted mood. This time he went into battle with his light cavalry. The supplies were not much to begin with. Now he encountered the hungry and cold residents. Should he take them with him or not? If they are not taken away, the glory of the Sinclair tribe will be greatly affected; if they are taken away, the supplies will not last more than two days, and they may be pursued and ambushed by the Romans, and the losses will be even greater.

Moreover, the main force of Rome has arrived, six to seven hundred people, which does not seem to be a lot, nor does it look like a regular legion. Qing Yishui is in the style of our Celtics, and Lepidus' main force relies on lakes and small camps. This eliminated the worries on the left wing. He arranged the left, center, and right wings in parallel as recommended in the patron's book. Then he took out Hortenhuis Jr.'s Centurion as a reserve team, and strengthened the right wing. Projection skirmishers are attached to ala cavalry. In addition, Lepidus arranged the left wing, center and right wing in a diagonal line. The left wing was at the end and farthest from the enemy, which could avoid the enemy's light cavalry and slingers.

A row of trumpeters blew a loud and sharp sound, and the Romans moved forward slowly and cautiously. This eagerness for a decisive battle caught Mukuas's mind. His advantage was originally conducive to a quick battle. , since the Romans are at a numerical disadvantage, then I will help them!

The horns of the barbarians also sounded, and thousands of light cavalry swooped over like a swarm of wasps. Splashes of snow foam flew everywhere. Lepidus' retinue waved flags, and all his troops stopped and knelt down. They raised their shields to the top of their heads and stopped within the shooting cover of the small camp. Then the stones from the light soldiers hit the front line of the barbarian light cavalry like raindrops. Many people were knocked off their horses, but the brave and incomparable The Sinclairs were still charging forward in twos and threes, but when they rushed in front of Lepidus' infantry, the Roman soldiers maintained a tight line and the courage to engage in battle. Under the constraints of discipline and stimulation of rewards, even though they had been beaten before The freed slaves could also form a dense formation, and collectively stretched out the Celtic swords that shimmered with the snow like a forest, forming a light belt that frightened the horses. In the face of the "feeling of fear", Sinclair The tribal light cavalry could only circle back and forth around the parallel lines of Lepidus' array, enduring the hits of javelins and stone bullets flying from the direction of the small camp.

Finally, after several clashes back and forth, the Sinclair horses were extremely tired. After returning to the opposite position, they began to dismount one after another. Relying on the settlement without walls, they also formed a dense infantry square formation, preparing to regain their energy. Then use sharp blade assault to defeat the Romans.

Just as Mukuas was riding a horse, holding the tribal totem high, and galloping back and forth to boost morale, he suddenly heard the sound of wheels on the snow on the side. Yes, that's right - when the barbarian soldiers turned their attention to When the sound is coming from the direction they see:

On the snow, a group of Roman cavalry with flags sandwiched four standard Celtic chariots in the middle. Where the iron hoops and axles vibrated, a rumbling sound was made, which was particularly exciting for the spirit and ears. Four chariots and two four-wheeled chariots were each fixed with copper chains on their hatches - two double-armed ballistae! On the two two-wheeled chariots stood the gunners, who looked pale and motion-sick. Behind them were packhorses carrying stone bullets and javelins...

This was Lepidus' novel idea in advance. The mules and horses in the Roman army used to transport the ballistae. At that time, the ballistae was still disassembled and loaded on horseback. It would undoubtedly cost a lot to unload, assemble and then shoot. time. Lepidus, who had worked as a camp slave before, knew this very well. He briefly recalled the emergence and development of artillery in human history. At the earliest, there were no wheels, and they could only be fixed in place, with a big, black and rough appearance. As the requirements for fire cover and mobility increased, wheels and axles were gradually added to accompany the infantry and cavalry, and they became increasingly lighter and more adaptable to the requirements of field battles.

A ballista that cannot move quickly will reduce its combat effectiveness by at least three to four times.

When they reached the shooting distance, the Celtic chariot stopped at the sound of the trumpet, and the gunners jumped down in a hurry. Then the yoke of the four-wheeled chariot was untied, and the copper chain on the ballista was loosened. The gunners began to take out stone bullets from the packhorses. According to the teamwork arranged by Sabokemus in advance, they adjusted the position of the ballista and the four-wheeled chariot, aimed at the still stunned Sinclair phalanx, and then in one go, they torqued and installed the stone bullets, and ejected them with a whistling sound - two stone bullets whizzed over the heads of the Sinclairs at a distance of nearly seven or eight Roman feet, flew to the other side of the phalanx, and smashed out two rolls of snow and soil "waves".

The artillerymen, who had been carefully trained in advance, quickly reloaded their ammunition and corrected their direction in a short time. Two more stone bullets flew out, whizzing over the enemy's head, breaking a flag of the Sinclairs, and then flew to the other side again...

Now, not to mention the Sinclairs, even Lepidus felt that it was too much. He vaguely felt that in this era, innovation was not as simple as a new idea. From now on, his "cavalry cannon" had serious defects in its structure - due to limited conditions, if the chassis of the four-wheeled vehicle was not to be destroyed, it had to be designed high, and then the crossbow installed on it had a high shooting angle, and the stone bullets flew over the enemy's head, and there was no way to accurately aim. (To be continued.)