Chapter 109 The Army of Dionia Is Here

At this time, the sentries in the city of Adi also heard the footsteps of "crashing, splashing", but they did not arouse their vigilance. After all, Adi was far away from the center of the Latin city-state, and also far away from the eastern Heniki, Equus, and horses. Westerners, except for some territorial conflicts with Wolsey in the past, it has rarely had any major wars. And now there are Antium and Satnicum, which belong to Rome, blocking it to the south. During this time, the war in the south has subsided. The Adi people think they are very safe, and they never thought they would be enemies. It was the Roman army that was mobilizing, so no scout cavalry was dispatched at all.

After passing through the city of Adi, the first and third legions of Dionia began to approach the coast. This black army was only discovered by the passing Latin merchant ships and caravans. They were shocked and hurriedly went to the neighboring towns to report to the police. The police merchant ship turned around and headed south, ready to inform Antium, which was heavily guarded.

In fact, there is no need for this anymore. After Paulus, the defender of Antium, was restless at the top of the city for more than two hours, he finally decided to send a small number of reconnaissance cavalry again to venture out of the city to probe the Dionian army again. trend.

At this moment, his subordinates suddenly shouted: "General, fireworks are lit on the port lighthouse!"

Paulus was startled and looked back quickly, only to see a straight plume of black smoke rising from the direction of the port.

Is there an enemy attacking from the sea? ! Paulus's heart tightened again, and then he saw cavalry rushing towards the city, shouting from under the city wall: "General Paulus, countless warships and troop transports have appeared on the sea outside the port! !"

Paulus was shocked: Did the Dionians want to repeat the last time they took Antium? !

"Immediately dispatch 500 light infantry and 2,000 heavy infantry to rush to the port for defense!" He gave the order to the adjutant without hesitation.

"Yes, General!"

After Paulus finished speaking, he quickly went down the city, mounted his horse, and rushed to the port with the escort.

There has been panic in the city, especially the serious congestion at the gate of the inner city leading to the port. Countless people from the port are scrambling to flood into the city, and some even shouted in panic: "The enemy's army is coming! Run!  …”

Paulus and the escort took great pains to squeeze out, and they rushed to the towering lighthouse on the breakwater.

When he got to the lighthouse, he was impressed by what he saw in his field of vision: it was past noon, the sea outside the port was sparkling, and in the distance there were boundless sail shadows, beyond his sight, Connecting with the sea and sky far away... These sailboats have a characteristic, their sides are glowing with golden light,

Very dazzling.

Although the Romans had a weak navy and almost never fought large-scale naval battles, they had rich experience in the Paulus Wars who had served as military and political officers for several times, and they often humbly asked Camillous for advice, so he could judge that it was Most of the terrifying fleet this time are troop transport ships, because the troop transport ships have a characteristic. After the soldiers board the ship, they should hang their shields on both sides of the hull. It can also defend against long-range attacks by enemy ships, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone, so it has almost become a common tradition for troop transports in Mediterranean countries.

How many reinforcements did the Dionians send? ! ! While Paulus was shocked, he asked with a slightly trembling voice: "Have the iron chains of the port... been put down?"

"It's pulled up."

"Where's the sentry tower on the wave breaker? Are the soldiers already in place?"

"Don't worry, General, the archers have already boarded the tower, and the asphalt, arrows, and rags are all prepared."

"That's good!" Paulus felt a little comfort in his heart, and he added: "The army in the city will arrive soon, you don't have to panic."

"General." The person in charge of the port said: "According to the observation of the lighthouse sentry, this huge fleet is probably not aimed at Antium, it should be heading north!"

Paulus was stunned and looked at the sea in the distance again: although the fleet was too far away, it was difficult to see clearly, but compared with some ships escaping to the port of Antium, the white sails showed only The side, plus the flashes at the sides, and the distance between the fleet and the coast during the time they spoke, didn't seem to have changed much... Apparently, the Dionian fleet was continuing to sail north!

"Are the Dionians going to land on the coast north of Antium?" Paulus whispered uncertainly.

The port manager reminded him: "General, if the Dionians landed in the north, it would be better to land in the south. The last time they landed on the south coast was Antium, which they finally occupied."

Only then did Paulus remember: There is a low hilly area between Antium and Adi. Although it is relatively flat, it is obviously not convenient compared to the south, so...

When Paulus thought of this, his face suddenly changed: the Dionians were preparing to land on the coast further north, attack the Latin allies, and even attack the weakly defended hinterland, and finally approach Rome...

Thinking of this, Paulus broke into a cold sweat, because he immediately thought: The Dionian army from the south that appeared in the early morning was probably to meet this huge fleet, and they had already passed through Rome in the This blockade set on the border of Wolsey has entered the hinterland of the Latin city-state region! !

It's no wonder that Paulus didn't think about this aspect beforehand. He still had the original message in his mind that "Dionysian's army in Wolsey only has nearly 10,000 people", and he did not get Dionysian to send more troops to Wolsey. (because the Third Fleet has completely blocked the sea route to the south of the Latium area during this period), so in his subconscious mind: an army with a small number of superiors passes through the blockade and penetrates deep into the enemy's rear, even if it can occupy It is not easy to escape the fate of being encircled and wiped out even if it is cheap for a while. This kind of invasion tactics is suitable for the fast-moving and light mountain races, but it is not suitable for the regular Dionian troops, which are mainly heavy infantry.

Although he had been taught a lesson by the Dionysian navy before, it was impossible for Paulus, a former Roman military officer who was accustomed to traditional land combat, to free his imprisoned brain so quickly.

"Send a reconnaissance cavalry immediately to track along the coastline to find out where the convoy landed, and then report it immediately!" Paulus ordered urgently: "Send a messenger to inform Satnicum and Willett Ray's defenders, tell them that Dionia's army has entered the hinterland of the Latium area, and that their navy is going to land on the coast, so that they are ready to attack! And... and send a messenger to quickly rush to Rome, inform the Senate and prepare them!"

……………………………………

The combined forces of the 1st and 3rd Dionian corps passed through the small Latin town of Lavinium by the sea.

Although this city is small, it has a very important position in the hearts of the Latins, because in the legends of the Latins, they are the powerful city-state of Troy in Asia Minor in the Mediterranean Archaic Age, second only to Hector. Descendant of the hero Aeneas (he is said to be of the Trojan royal family).

After Troy was occupied by the Greeks, Aeneas took part of the Trojans, fled to Italy by boat, landed in the Latinum area, was welcomed by the Latin king, and married his daughter Lavigne to him, so Egypt. Neas built a new city on the Latin coast and named it after his wife, which is where Lavinium came from. Later, the son of the two built a new city near the volcanic lake, Lake Alba, north of Lavenim, called Alba Longa, and the city became the center of the Latin people until the royal family's The twins born to Princess Sylvia wandered into the wild, fed by she-wolves, founded Rome, and ultimately destroyed Albalonga.

Although Lavinium is the origin of the Romans, it is really a small city-state with low walls and few residents. The sentries were trembling with fear, and the people in the city were even more terrified.

However, the Dionian army did not stop marching, and they continued north along the coast.

"The two legionnaires, the First Cavalry Corps and the Second Cavalry Corps have rushed back—" Before the scout's words could be finished, the rumbling of horses' hooves sounded behind him.

"Amintas, Lizaru, our cavalry corps is back on time!" Ryders shouted right away.

"How's it going?" Amintas asked.

"At least before we left, we didn't see any troops from Antium and Satnicum leaving the city." Ryders patted the horse's neck and said with a little self-satisfaction: "During this period, they sent a number of troops out of the city. There are few scouts, but none of them escaped our interception. Where are you? Have you reached your destination?"

"It's already past Lavinium, it should be almost there." Amintas wiped the sweat from his face, then waved his hand, and said with a slight complaint: "We started to gather and set off before dawn, and it has been I’m afraid I’ve walked seventy or eighty miles since I stopped, my brothers are already very tired, if it weren’t for the fact that we’ve been walking on a flat road, the task that Your Majesty has given us, I’m afraid we wouldn’t be able to complete it at all.”

"I don't think the brothers will complain." Ryders looked at the tired-faced legionnaires passing by, and said with relief: "To be able to participate in the battle that is about to begin, they should be very happy. excited."

"Not only are the soldiers excited, we are also very excited!" Lizaru interjected.

Several legion commanders looked at each other and laughed.

The Dionian army finally stopped advancing. Under the command and arrangement of several legion commanders, 20,000 legionnaires laid out a four-mile-long, eight-column-thick army formation with their backs on the silver-white flat sandy beach.