Augustus Road

"They know no fatigue or weariness, and no one is seen loosening his belt or shoelaces.?..." - The description of the Assyrian army in the Bible

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The commander-in-chief was so vigorous in enforcing military discipline that it was completely different from the situation in Masseria. The Sixth Legion and the fleet were suddenly in a state of inexplicable discipline. The soldiers and crew consciously camped outside the city and never touched the market or brothels. Everything seemed to be in Rome. The citizens and elders of Cadiz were inexplicably happy. Many people had similar thoughts in their hearts, "Sure enough, our province belongs to His Excellency Caesar."

The next day, the elders of Gadiz and Hisparis Island in Italy, as well as many surrounding towns, sent envoys to express their sincere allegiance. Gadiz in Italy promised to send 10,000 bushels of wheat soon, and Hisparis handed over all the six ships that Varro ordered them to build for use by Lepidus' army. Even the priests of the Temple of Mercury arrived in the city, saying that they would not only bless Lepidus' expedition on behalf of the gods, but also give one-fifth of the temple property to fund the army's logistics.

In less than two days, all the southern Lusitania changed their flags, but in the face of more and more barbarian chiefs and city representatives who requested to meet, Lepidus left Matthias and Paulus to preside over the heavy work of the meeting, and asked them to treat everyone fairly and kindly, which was in sharp contrast to the previous high-pressure policy of Governor Varro in the province. Update Corduba Pursuit Then, Lepidus threatened in the camp to prepare large-scale equipment and go north to seize the provincial capital of Orcresi, but secretly appointed Angondinus as the vanguard, cavalry captain Hanske as the assistant, and Sabo as the supervisor and guide. Gathering two thousand cavalrymen, including the Matthias, they went into battle lightly, carrying three days' rations, bypassing the fortress in the north of the province, and directly from the central hinterland, they quickly pursued Varro's two legions heading to Corduba. "Remember, just harass their baggage rear guards, hold on tightly, and show our presence in Spain - I will lead the main force to follow. The distance will not exceed thirty Roman miles. As for Combano's 27th Legion, let him be arrogant in the north of the province!"

After learning that Lepidus had captured Cadiz. Sure enough, Combano was very powerful. In the past, he used guerrilla harassment tactics, but now he openly pulled out all the infantry and wantonly attacked those small towns that were still loyal to Pompey. The timid ones protected themselves and paid tribute, and the brave ones defended the city. Combano gathered people and horses to besiege. After the city was broken, no one was left alive, and tribes loyal to Caesar from all over the country kept coming to surrender. The team quickly expanded to nearly 5,000 people, including 2,000 cavalry. As a result, Varro's remaining troops in Olcresi City retreated and dared not attack. Update on the pursuit of Corduba At the same time, the Governor of Lusitania was still struggling to move towards Corduba City, which was located in far Spain. Earlier, an envoy was sent to "welcome" the Governor. In fact, he was secretly monitoring and observing the changes in the situation: because in Ilerda, Caesar, who had received the strength of two elite legions, regained the initiative on the battlefield. It was said that Afranius also felt that he could not hold on and was ready to surrender or withdraw his camp. All the cities in the Spanish province, whether they were barbarians or Roman colonies, began to plan for their own future.

Now the focus is on the actions of Varro's two legions. One is the "colt" legion recruited by Varro from the Roman colonial cities in the province, and the other is the "minotaur" legion recruited from the vassal cities of Spain. In addition, before the expedition, Varro also forcibly recruited 30 Spanish Celts from infantry teams to join the army as auxiliary allies, so he had nearly 30,000 people on hand, which was still very impressive at first glance.

But the larger the army, the greater the pressure on logistics. The supply road to the west of Orcre had been riddled with holes by Compano, and the previously stockpiled supplies were all abandoned in Cadiz due to Varro's "divine judgment", and all fell into the pocket of Lepidus. So when the army was halfway through, a large number of "allies" began to flee. They carried weapons and either went up the mountain to become bandits or went to join Caesar's side. The remaining two legions also began to become violently unstable. "The soldiers seem to be planning a rebellion." This was the warning from the former tribune and military commander Gallius to Governor Varro.

At that time, Varro was sitting next to his mount, his head full of weak sweat. Several young slaves were using olive oil to wipe his back and armpits. The old man was exhausted from the long journey and his head was dizzy. He said to Gallius: "It should be not far from Corduba, right?"

"It's about four to five days' journey." Gallius tried to make his words and speculations as accurate as possible.

"Once we get there, there will be plenty of supplies. Encourage those lowly and dirty soldiers. They are only interested in profit. It is always good to give them some sweet treats."

"Excuse me, Your Excellency..." Before Gallius could tell the truth, the Corduba envoy next to him volunteered, saying that as long as the Governor sent cavalry to escort him and rush to his city first, he would tell the Council of Elders and use the city's savings to entertain the entire team.

"That won't do, sir. We need a hostage to threaten Corduba. If this guy runs away, our army will be passive." Gallius whispered to Varro again, but the governor ignored his opinion and immediately dispatched a hundred cavalrymen, plus two allied infantry teams, to accompany the envoy into Corduba with light equipment, on the grounds that "Corduba is a city far away in Spain, and Pompey has been operating it for many years. Who dares to rebel?"

Just as the envoy had just left for less than half a day, several scouts of the rear guard brought bad news: "Our rear guard was attacked by enemy cavalry of unknown origin, many allied auxiliary troops fled, and the remaining baggage was burned and looted!"

Damn it, these barbarians don't understand the importance of obligations and responsibilities! Varro cursed in panic, but soon consoled himself by saying, "It's okay, don't panic, this is just a group of horse bandits under the command of that Compano. Gallius, take all the ala cavalry and rush to the rear guard to stabilize the situation."

Galius, who was ordered, took 600 cavalrymen and rushed to the battlefield. Within his sight, the entire rear guard team had completely collapsed. The formation of the military slaves and auxiliary soldiers could no longer be closed. The enemy cavalry chasing and killing everywhere were not lightly armed green forest horse bandits as Varro said, but strong regular cavalry wearing fine chain mail, carrying bows and long swords.

Immediately, the cavalry under Gallius began to be timid, and they asked the officers whether they should request reinforcements from the main force in the rear.

"Send a messenger, but all of you follow me to engage in battle first, and try to weaken the enemy's momentum." Gallius shouted, then raised his sword and ordered the cavalry to form a diamond formation so that it would be easy to observe the enemy situation on all sides, and rushed towards Lepidus' cavalry.)