Augustus Road

Finally, the Sinclair people regained their composure. Under the command of Chief Mukuas, a group of light cavalry rushed towards Lepidah's "proud work". The artillerymen could only climb back onto the two-wheeled carriage in embarrassment, and the other military slaves were in a hurry. He re-fixed the ballista with a copper chain, and then connected it to the yoke. Under the cover of several Ala cavalry, he turned around, and then left the battlefield amidst the roar of the wheels!

At this point, the first battlefield practice of the "Lepider Cavalry Artillery" started in a vigorous way, got stuck in an unexpected way, and was driven away in an embarrassing way.

Well, summing up experience and lessons and making improvements is a matter for the future. At least the appearance of this cavalry cannon made the Sinclair people feel very unhappy. They felt that the performance of this Roman army was extremely strange and disappointing compared with other Romans. I was extremely uneasy, not knowing what trouble would happen soon. In addition, the sky was gloomy at this time, the lead clouds were hanging down, and the cold wind was raging again, sweeping large chunks of snowflakes on the ground, making it difficult to discern the direction, so the two sides could only temporarily stop fighting. Lepidus let his men blow the horns easily and retreated the team in an orderly manner to the small camp, where there was sufficient grain and charcoal for heating and keeping out the cold.

But the experience of the Sinclair people was very miserable. They wore Iberian jackets, walked in the snow, stayed with their fallen horses, and huddled together to keep warm. The settlement they were in had no food, Lacking water, and having no walls or trenches to protect against wind, snow and enemies, Mukuas could only ask everyone to light torches and burn the wood removed from the houses for warmth. Everyone walked in circles and drank the wine they brought with them. , and wipe the bodies of the mounts with wine to prevent them from falling to death. No matter what, even if all the people in these two settlements were left to freeze to death, Mukuas was determined to escape tomorrow or the day after!

Just at night, Lepidus found a young noble hostage from the cell of the small camp. He came from the further distant Octelabo (the settlement that the Sinclair people relied on at the moment was Elisana). Lepidus protected him after the war. On the condition that the tribe can get sufficient clothing and food rations, he is asked to send a message to the settlement and let them wait for his signal to act.

At the same time, Lepidus asked Sabocaimus and Hortenhuis Jr. to lead two selected centurions along the lakes and dense forests to block the Sinclair people's passage back to the tribes. Then, at dawn, Lepidus suddenly launched an attack on Elizabeth. The Roman soldiers approached the Sinclair warriors who had been tortured in the wind, snow and cold that night. The trumpeters gathered together and blew sharp and terrifying sounds. Because of the sound cast by the moon, the shadow of the Roman soldier was pulled forward very long. This caused panic and misjudgment to the Sinclair people. They were unable to discern the real distance of the Romans, only the illusion of shaking snow and shadow. Here, he threw the javelins in his hands randomly, but they all landed at the feet of Lepidus' soldiers. Then Lepidus' skirmishers and infantry rushed forward and threw several waves of unstoppable javelins. The Sinclair tribesmen and horses screamed sadly. A large area fell, and at this moment, a large group of people lighting torches suddenly appeared in the direction of Octelabo. The shouts were like a sea wave. Then Mukuas, who was worried that he had fallen into a trap and a flanking attack, mounted his mount. Shamefully, he began to run away.

These Sinclairs who were fleeing randomly were killed in the passes and dense forests by two centuries under Sabocaimus. These soldiers were hidden in the woods on both sides, and they were in groups of two holding spiral spear points. The Celtic spear was stabbed in the direction of the figure and the fire outside the forest. Once the spiral spear tip penetrated the body of a person or horse, it would cause a tearing wound, a wound that was enough to make people sick - when Mu After all the soldiers around Kuas fled, he followed the moon shadow and the rising dawn to the end of the pass. When he found an obstacle made of fallen trees, he could only abandon his horse and use his hands and feet to He climbed over and continued to escape on foot.

In the morning, when the battlefield was counted, Lepidus received the report that he had killed more than 300 barbarians, captured nearly 500 horses, and more than 100 seriously injured Sinclairs, who were sitting or lying on the snow, sprinkled with He oozed dark blood and slowly died like a dark statue.

About half a market day later, Mukuas burned down his camp and fled to Lusitania. The strength and prestige of the Sinclair tribe were completely destroyed. The other nine small tribes under it were all destroyed. They all sent envoys begging for peace, lying at Lepidus' feet, willing to provide blood tax for the governor's palace in far Spain. Lepidus also ordered each of their tribes to hand over a hundred strong men and ten noble hostages. Being detained in the winter camp of Chimera, although these tribes felt that it was a bit harsh, they had no choice but to comply respectfully.

When he returned to Chimera, Lepidus had nearly a thousand Iberians in his hands. He would half-jokingly tell Sabo that he had finally completed a quarter of Caesar's mission. These Iberian warriors Most of them brought their own equipment. Most of them wore half-armor made of light leather. There was only a round bronze breastplate with a belt on the chest. They wore leather or copper helmets and held Spanish broadswords and small round swords. Sabocaimus called them ae, or "Setrates", a type of Spanish short-shield infantry who served Rome in the Punic Wars. Their battle formations focused more on tactics than Roman infantry. Flexible surnames and tough surnames.

"These Settratae soldiers need to be supplemented by our sergeants, and they need to be taught to abandon the barbarian's aggressive habits and learn to be perseverant and obedient, just like my slave-born soldiers." Then, Lepidus asked Sabokemus to divide the 1,000 Settratae soldiers into two detachments, each with 500 people, so that they can cooperate with each other to implement tactics, and asked his subordinates to train these Settratae soldiers effectively in Chimera for a month.

"Mr. Treasurer, will we advance to the west of Vituni in a month? There we will encounter more bandits and Lusitanian enemies." On the parade ground of the winter camp, looking at the barbarian soldiers marching in formation, Sabus asked Lepidus.

Lepidus used a gilded baton to instruct the training sergeant for a few words, and then said: "No, we will go to Betenari at the end of winter. You will go back to Italy in the next two days to help Habaluka cash in the spoils and then stuff them into the soldiers' baggage."

What? Betnali, that is the heartland of Spain, northeast of New Carthage and Sagentum, but, but there are no barbarians hostile to Rome there, and the settlements and towns there are nominally still under the jurisdiction of the province of Near Spain, and this is also true. The chiefs and elders there are all loyal to Pompey's family or subordinates. Now as a treasurer under Caesar, what are you doing there? (To be continued.)