Rome Must Fall

"At sea, the Pompeii really didn't pay attention on land, because you don't have a fleet, and you don't occupy a port. The Pompeii don't think you can threaten its security from the sea. In fact, these seashores in Campania The towns had not been attacked from the sea for a hundred or two hundred years, and the defenses of their harbors were very weak.

Take Pompeii for example. There are five ports in its port area. The two built in the early days also had water gates. Later, due to the prosperity of maritime trade, the original ports were not enough to be used. Two more ports were built one after another, but they were just to facilitate entry and exit. It is convenient and trouble-free. There is neither a water gate nor an iron rope to intercept it. There are even no warships patrolling the periphery of the port area. The only person who can give advance warning is the tower keeper on the lighthouse. But if the ship is disguised in advance, he cannot immediately Can detect abnormalities. "

"Where is another port?" asked the attentive Maximus.

"That is the private port of the Vitius family. Only his family's merchant ships and merchant ships that have business cooperation with his family are allowed to enter and exit." Quintus said coldly: "This private port has a long breakwater and water gate. There is also a sentry tower on the embankment, and the defense facilities are quite complete. It's a pity that just defending this one is of no use..."

When the old man mentioned the Vitius family in Pompeii, resentment emanated from his body. Maximus quickly changed the subject: "The problem of entering the port has been solved, but there is still another problem - we don't have a ship."

Quintus looked at him with a strange expression, as if to say: Young man, you are joking.

Aulus, the middle-aged man next to him, interjected: "I heard before that a large number of sailors and dock workers joined our team, causing the ports outside Naples to be almost deserted. Some sailors fled the port directly. You stole the boat in the port and rowed it to a beach very close to this camp. Then the boat ran aground there. Later you set up another camp close to the coast. The Neapolitans didn't dare to go there. Retrieve those stranded ships..."

After he said this, Maximus suddenly remembered: the camp closer to the coast was Attumus's fifth brigade. He had also mentioned to himself that he wanted to send soldiers to sail out to sea for fishing. , to help the rebels increase some meat reserves... But this proposal later fell through, and he did not ask the reason, but at least it explained one thing - there were ships in the Attumus camp.

Maximus put his hand on his chin, pondered for a moment, and said with a smile: "You are really amazing! I am really impressed that you were able to formulate such a thorough raid plan so quickly after knowing that I had few soldiers!"

Quintus heard the meaning of his words, his expression remained unchanged, but his tone became heavy, mixed with a little anger: "In the past few years, we have been thinking about revenge, and the plan to destroy the city and kill the enemy has already been conceived in our hearts. We have done it tens of thousands of times, but due to concerns about the power of Rome, the small number of us, and the fear of involving our relatives and friends, we were not courageous enough and never dared to take action...until you showed up and gave us hope. Originally, I wanted to wait until you passed by. After discussing and deciding to attack Pompeii, it was a pity that the plan for a sea raid was announced——"

At this point, Quintus changed the topic: "But fortunately, Chief Maximus, although you are young and have few troops, you dare to lead a lone army to attack Pompeii. You are very courageous. If you implement this plan, you will successfully capture it." Go to Pompeii, I believe everyone in your team will be shocked by your reputation!"

Quintus's words touched Maximus's heart. The reason why he met these Lucelians by chance was to see if there was any chance of leading an army to capture Pompeii alone. Although Pompeii's high walls were strong, , but it is obvious that its troops are small and its combat effectiveness is weak. The supply camp is not without opportunities.

The reason why Maximus came up with this idea was mainly because Cross had ridiculed him at the meeting, which made him realize that even though he controlled the supply camp and was of great help to the rebels, it was very difficult for him to have no military performance at all. It was difficult for him to play a decisive role in the meeting of military commanders of the rebel army and in military-related issues, so he wanted to capture Pompeii alone and prove his military capabilities to Cross and others.

Maximus did not feel complacent because of Quintus's flattery. He suppressed his smile, sat back on the wooden chair, and said solemnly: "I have one last question about the raid plan you mentioned - how did you How can you convince me that this is not a conspiracy designed by you to annihilate my army? "

"Bullshit! Even if we were to die, we wouldn't be able to cooperate with those enemies in Pompeii to frame you!" Aulus, a middle-aged man, shouted loudly.

Another middle-aged man, Scarpulla, replied sincerely: "It is easy to prove whether we have cheated. You only need to ask any Lucelia, and they will be able to tell you about us. Past experiences with the Pompeii people.”

"Chief Maximus, there are fifty-four people coming with me this time, plus our families, a total of one hundred and fifteen people. We will all stay in your camp. If you finally find out that this is Conspiracy, you can kill us and give your soldiers their lives!" Quintus said with a firm expression.

Scarpulla immediately exclaimed: "Quintus, what if--"

Quintus interrupted what he was about to say with a serious expression: "Scapula, since we have all decided to join their team after revenge, wouldn't it be better to come here earlier to adapt!"

Scarpulla and Aulus looked at each other and finally said helplessly: "Okay, I'll do as you say."

Maximus saw this and had a plan in mind. He said, "Don't worry. I have to discuss it with my men first. Only when everyone agrees can we implement this plan."

"When can you give us a clear answer?" Aulus asked anxiously.

"Tomorrow."

………………………………………………………………………………

After Quintus and the other two left, Maximus IV immediately summoned the three chief centurions, Phesalus, Toleruge, and Carminus (after the number of soldiers in the guard team increased sharply from more than 300 to 700, Maximus asked these three to command at least two centuries each. Logically, their positions should be promoted to captains, but although the forces commanded by Spartacus, Cross and other leaders have far exceeded a thousand, their military positions are still captains. In order to avoid criticism, Maximus temporarily borrowed this title) and the head of the military advisory group, Frontinus, to discuss together.

Hearing Maximus say "I want to lead the baggage battalion guard to attack Pompeii independently", the four were a little surprised, but after hearing the sea raid plan, the four fell into deep thought again.

Carminus, who had been in the port of Naples for many years, had been to the port of Pompeii by ship many times before. He personally confirmed the authenticity of the situation in the port area of ​​Pompeii described by Quintus, and thus proved the feasibility of this plan.

Frontinus was surprised that the Lucernes actually joined the rebels. While gloating, he also lamented that the soldiers of the two armies who had fought like enemies because of the different Roman commanders they followed ended up working together in the rebels.

After a brief thought, the three chief centurions finally agreed to implement this raid plan. This result was not surprising. During this period, they watched other large groups of soldiers boast about their victories over the Roman legions, while they led their troops to train more diligently, but could only live in the camp most of the time. How could they not feel aggrieved? They all wanted to prove themselves.

After everyone reached a consensus, the next most important thing was to confirm the ships.

Maximus sent Vorenus to the Fifth Battalion camp to ask Attumus about the ships, and lied that the baggage camp wanted to try to go fishing at sea to increase the food variety of the soldiers.

Attumus had no doubts about this. He had planned to do so before, and asked the soldiers to maintain the ships stranded on the beach, but he was strong-willed and kept busy training in order to prevent the brigade he led from lagging behind other brigades. In the end, these ships never went to sea, but this also happened to relax the vigilance of nearby coastal towns.

Vorenus borrowed five single-masted cargo ships from the Fifth Battalion. Maximus sent some sailor-born soldiers and carpenters to the beach quietly to inspect and repair them to ensure that they were safe during navigation. At the same time, he asked the construction team to build a five-meter-long wooden ladder.

The next day, after Maximus informed Quintus that "the baggage camp was ready to implement his proposed raid plan", Quintus and others were delighted and soon brought their families to the baggage camp on the morning of the third day to fulfill their promise.

Raiding Pompeii was a bold adventure for Maximus, and it was also related to the life and death of the baggage camp guard. Of course, he was very cautious. He summoned three senior centurions, Frontinus and Quintus again to discuss for most of the day, confirming every detail of the action. Finally, he decided to set the time of the raid in the middle of the night when there was a moon and north wind, so that the Pompeii people would be unprepared. Even if they discovered the invasion and wanted to summon the army, it would be slow. Moreover, with the help of the north wind, the troop transports could quickly reach the port of Pompeii along the coast.

The troops raiding from the sea were set to be most of the soldiers in the third and sixth centuries led by Carminus. They were all experienced sailors in the port of Naples and would not have problems sailing at night.

In addition, thirty Lucernes led by Aulus will participate in the sea raid. Although they are slightly older, they are all experienced Roman veterans, which can make up for the lack of new recruits under Carminus.

The total number of soldiers who raided the port from the sea is 200, and each ship can accommodate 40 people on average, which is much less than the carrying capacity of a single-masted merchant ship, so as to ensure its sailing speed.

Maximus is a serious person. After the action was established, he listed several key points and required the soldiers participating in the raid to conduct simulation training until they were fully familiar with it.

Simulation training? ... Even Quintus, who had a 20-year military career, had never heard of this term, not to mention that others were curious.

Maximus called the construction team and spent most of the day making elaborate arrangements on the training ground. So when Carminus led the soldiers who were going to participate in the raid to the training ground, Maximus actually asked them to sit on the ground fully armed and repeatedly row a boat. They stopped after a while. Then the six soldiers at the head of the team had to hold the battering ram on the ground together, run forward for dozens of meters, and knock open the wooden board that was firmly rammed into the mud in front of them. Then the whole team ran more than 100 meters along the prescribed route, and had to use the battering ram to knock open another wooden board again, and came to two rammed earth piles about three meters high and four meters apart. They climbed up one of the piles, placed the long wooden ladder they were carrying between the two piles, stepped on the ladder, walked to the other pile, and then continued to run nearly 200 meters, fighting with the soldiers waiting there, and finally won, and then it ended...

When the soldiers came down from the run, they were all panting from exhaustion. Some of them who didn't understand the reason even complained in their hearts: Leader Maximus was deliberately tormenting people!

But after Quintus watched it, he understood: This was the entire process of soldiers training to raid Pompeii.

"What's the use of training like this? It's just like a joke. On the day of the raid, the pressure of death will make them unable to even move their legs!" Aulus mocked from the side.

"No, I think it still works." Quintus said seriously: "Look at how they don't know how to effectively use the wood to hit the door. They will fall nervously when walking on the suspended wooden ladder, and they won't even be able to run until the end. The sword and shield cannot be picked up... Although this is not a real battlefield, if they can continue to train in this way, they should be able to have some effect on the day of the raid. "

At this time, they saw Maximus walking to the front of the team and said loudly: "Brothers, I heard that everyone in your 3rd and 600th team actively asked to join this raid, and no one quit. , some people are still pestering Carminus because they were not selected, I am very happy about this, you are indeed men who dare to fight the sea! "

The soldiers held their heads high even though they were sweating profusely.

Maximus changed the subject: "However, your performance just now disappoints me. This training is not to tease you, but to simulate the entire process of raiding Pompeii. When the time comes, you will set off in a boat, fully armed, and row ten meters with the help of sails. Dori, rush into the port of Pompeii. Your actions will inevitably alert the port sentries. While they sound the alarm and summon the army, you must quickly board the dock, use barwood to break open the port gate, and rush through. Enter the port area, quickly pass through the narrow alley, arrive at the designated building, open the door, quickly climb to the top of the building, set up a wooden ladder, under the wooden ladder is a ten-meter-deep cliff, you must quickly cross it to enter the city... …”

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