Chapter 43 Preparations for Both Sides Before the War

.. , the Mediterranean hegemon of ancient Greece

Camillous analyzed seriously: "More importantly, their heavy infantry is not much different from our heavy infantry in equipment, and even the formation and tactics are very similar to ours, but their heavy infantry is similar to ours. Heavy infantry can invest in javelins. At the beginning of the engagement, our young soldiers were routed by the javelin attack of the other side! And I also noticed that there were many flags in the Dionysian army, which they used to communicate Not only the bugles, but also the snare drums and flags were given orders, so Dionysian squadrons were more closely connected, and the speed of carrying out orders was faster than ours..."

After listening to Frius, his expression was a little frustrated, and he said with a little doubt: "So, our army is not as good as the Dionysians?! Maybe... Maybe, this army is the strongest in Dionia. Our troops, other troops may not have such a strong fighting power and fighting spirit!"

Camillous had no illusions, he said frankly: "Judging from the organizational ability and fighting level shown by this Dionysian army, I am afraid that other Dionysian armies will not be too weak. Otherwise, it is impossible for Dionia to become a powerful kingdom in just a few years, and the Kingdom of Dionia owns the entire southern Italy, and their number of soldiers is more than ours... Provoking such a powerful The opponent, it will be a big trouble for Rome!" Having said this, Camillous looked worried.

Frius suddenly thought of something, and cheered for himself and Camillous: "Don't forget, we still have a powerful ally Carthage! They have made a promise, as long as Dionia dares to declare war on us, They will declare war on Dionysian! With Carthage attacking from the south, Dionysian cannot have any more troops sent here. To fight on our land in Latium, which we Rome occupy Advantage!"

Camelus hesitated.

At this time, the adjutant walked into the tent with a solemn expression: "Two military and political officials, the casualty statistics of the army have come out. A total of 4,460 of our heavy infantry are missing, 4 of our cavalry are missing, and 740 of our light infantry. Missing, a total of 56 people did not return to the camp..."

"56 people! It's already half of the number of people in the camp!" Frius's surprised expression was a little exaggerated. He then realized that Camelus was next to him, and said quickly: "Actually, there may not be so many casualties and prisoners. Some soldiers may run away, and when the enemy retreats, they will return, so the sentinels of the camp should pay attention to screening, and at the same time arrange the troops, always ready to help them return to the camp..."

Although Camelus had expected it long ago, this huge number still made him feel unbearable. He couldn't help coughing repeatedly, and the adjutant hurriedly stepped forward to beat him on the back.

After a while, Camelus recovered his strength, his face darkened, and he said in a low voice: "This battle caused so many casualties to the soldiers, it was all my command's fault! I want to tell the elders. The hospital wrote a letter, asking for punishment!... And I also want to remind them,

Be alert to the Dionysian army and use your troops with caution! "

Hearing Camelus' words, Frius was relieved. Although he respected Camelus, it didn't mean that he wanted to bear this failure together with Camelus. The fiasco affected his future career in Rome, but he still pretended to be righteous and said: "Camillous, how can this be your responsibility alone?! You and I are both commanders of this army. , the decision to go out to rescue this time is both you and me—"

Camillous waved his hand: "Don't say it, it's all my fault! I underestimated the Dionysians, otherwise, after receiving the food-raising troops, I should lead the troops back immediately..."

"War can't be left to chance!" Camillous sighed deeply with remorse, and then reminded: "We not only lost so many soldiers, but also some soldiers were injured, and in a short time Unable to go into battle to kill the enemy, the number of soldiers in the camp that can fight is greatly reduced. Frius, I suggest you strengthen the defense of the camp tomorrow, no matter how provocative the enemy is, never leave the camp to kill the enemy!"

No matter how young and vigorous Frius was, the performance of Dionia's army really shocked him. How dare he risk his career and the lives of his soldiers, so he nodded his head: "You are right, Camillous, We should hold the camp until Quintus and the others arrive!"

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For the Volsci, it was their rare victory over Rome in a decade, even though they were not the main force in the fight. When the Romans, who had no hope of breaking through the siege, finally had to surrender to the Volsci warriors, or the Volsci warriors wounded and captured the lagging Romans during the pursuit, the faces of the Volscis who were returning the Romans were full of expressions. Pride of victory.

But Wolsey's executives knew exactly who brought the victory. Led by Toulouse, the consul of Selsche, and Cartemontaros, the consul of Bollefernum, they found the people who were treating the wounded. Soldiers of Armintas.

"General Amintas, I really didn't expect that you led the army to reach Wolsey just now, and brought us a rare victory the next day! It can be seen that Dionia is really helping us! Thank you very much. You! Thank you very much!" Toulouse said in a sincere voice.

Catemuntaros immediately took over the conversation and expressed his apology excitedly: "Please forgive my previous prejudice, when Toulouse told me that 'Dionia only sent an army of 10,000 people', I also I once complained, 'Only 10,000 reinforcements can play a role in the invasion of tens of thousands of Roman troops! But you and your soldiers have proved the strength of the Dionysian army with heroic performance, please accept me to you Respect!"

The consul of the important town of Wolsey immediately respectfully extended Wolsey's most honorable etiquette to Amyntas.

Amyntas hurriedly helped him up, and said humbly: "I'm just a warrior, it's my mission to obey the kingdom's orders and fight the enemy! If you want to thank you, you should thank King Davos who sent us here. His Majesty!"

"The most right thing we Volsi have done over the years is to ally with the great Dionysian, and we are honored to fight alongside the warriors of Dionia! Defeat the Romans together!" Antium ex-consul Coronas exclaimed.

"That's right! That's right!..." Other Wolsey executives also responded loudly.

Hearing these sincere words and looking at their excited expressions, Amintas suddenly realized that the victory of the First Army with such a great sacrifice is of great significance!

At this time, Catemuntaros made a sincere request to the commander of the Dionian First Army: "General Armintas, because the Romans have suffered this defeat, their strength in the camp has been Not much more, we decided to attack the Roman camp next, to completely destroy this enemy, and hope to get your help!"

Amyntas was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said bluntly: "I don't think the decision to attack the Roman camp now is a good idea!"

Regardless of whether the Volsci looked good or not, he continued to analyze it seriously: "I carefully checked the Roman camp today, and their defense is quite tight. And after today's battle, I found that the Romans were very strong in combat, even if We relied on a large number of people to eventually win this camp, but our losses must be great, can you afford such losses now?! It is said that the Romans have another army with a larger number, and they will soon be They will arrive, so what will we do to defend against them when the number of people has dropped sharply due to continuous fighting?!"

Amyntas' words were like pouring a can of cold water on the Worcey executives present, allowing them to temporarily calm down from the ecstasy of just winning.

And Tulus, who originally did not agree to attack the Roman camp, took the opportunity to ask: "General Amyntas, what advice do you have for the next battle?"

Amyntas thought for a while and said, "We should adopt a defensive strategy, relying on the defense of towns, to kill a large number of Roman soldiers."

"Defense?! That will only allow the Romans to take our towns one by one. The loss of Vilitre is proof that the Romans now have a strong siege ability!" Doubts and concerns arise.

Amyntas, who is usually irritable, did not get angry at the moment, he explained patiently: "When I marched through Setia before, I observed this town, its defense facilities are too simple, of course it is easy to be broken. You can take advantage of the victory of this battle and the spare time that another Roman force has not yet arrived to speed up the improvement and reinforcement of the defense of the city, and it will certainly cause great trouble for the Roman siege!"

"General Amyntas, how should we improve the town's defense?" Toulouse immediately asked humbly.

"First of all, the trench should be dug deep and wide, and the bottom of the trench should be deeply buried with pointed wood, making it difficult for Roman siege soldiers to pass through it. Set up dense deer villages between the trench and the city wall, so that even if the Romans pass the trench, they will carry It will take a lot of time for siege equipment to reach the city. Our bows, arrows, javelins and stones can kill the enemy to the greatest possible extent. Outside the trenches, we also need to set traps, and the traps are carefully set. "..." Amintas explained in detail, while drawing on the ground with a dagger, and surrounded him with the senior Volsey who were listening attentively.

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When the First Legion sailed to the Latium area, Carthage, who had received the news, of course, had to dispatch an army as promised to declare war on Dionia. However, in the Senate of Carthage there was a heated debate on this issue.

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