Chapter 161 Camelus Surprises

Davos touched his chin, thought for a while, and said, "Monitor secretly first, don't disturb them, and report to me immediately if there is any situation."

"Yes!"

"Amelius, the intelligence you have collected during this time has helped the army win one after another. After this war is over, the kingdom will reward you and your subordinates!" Davos praised without hesitation.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Amelius looked excited, his eyes narrowed.

Davos looked at him, smiled and said, "It's been a busy day, so you're hungry. It just so happens that I'm going to have dinner soon, let's have it with me."

"Ah?! This... this! Yes! Yes!..." Amelius was so excited that he was incoherent.

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At this time, in the temporary camp of the Roman army outside Prinister, the Roman dictator Camillous was discussing the next battle plan with his generals.

"Lord Dictator, you told us not to attack Rome, but to attack Ostia?!" Minusius looked at Camillous in surprise.

Apart from Titus being thoughtful, the other generals were equally astonished.

Camelus saw it in his eyes and said in a deep voice: "To be precise, we should have put on a posture to attack the city of Rome, but sent troops to capture Ostia first!"

Before waiting for the generals to ask, he continued to explain: "We all know that it is very difficult to storm the city. It took us more than ten days, and we also paid a lot of casualties. And there are at least 50,000 Dionian troops in the city of Rome. We all know that their fighting power is very strong, and the Roman city walls are so tall and thick. Relying only on our army, which is slightly larger than the opponent's, to attack the city of Rome, I am afraid that it will be difficult to retake Rome..."

"Lord Camillous!" Minusius interrupted him loudly, calling his name, and snarling: "As the dictator of Rome, you have the only powerful force in your hand that can save Rome. Looking forward to your taking back our homeland. You are already afraid before you fight the enemy. Are you still the hero who saved Rome?! Where has your courage gone?! Are you still worthy of being the commander of this army? !..." Perhaps it was precisely because of the depth of love that he blamed him, and Brother Minu couldn't control his temper completely, and his face was full of anger.

"Minusius, how can you speak to the dictator in such a tone!" Oulus, a relative of the same clan, immediately criticized the young man.

Camelus was not angry,

Instead, he explained patiently: "Because the army we command is the last hope to save Rome, we need to be more cautious. Otherwise, if we fail, it will become more difficult to retake Rome again—"

"The Dionysians can capture our Rome in one day...why can't we?!" Minusius said angrily.

Lucius finally couldn't help but retort: ​​"When the Dionians attacked the city of Rome, most of them were old people and young people, as well as free people and slaves, and if we attacked the city, we would face trained Su's Dionysian army! Moreover, according to the situation reflected by the defeated soldiers, the Dionysians have produced a lot of powerful siege equipment, including a lot of ballistas, and we are now the most powerful siege equipment. Equipment—ballistas were given by the Carthaginians!”

Minusius was stunned for a moment, and then retorted: "Didn't the defeated soldiers say that there are two gaps in the southern city wall! Moreover, our citizens are still standing on Capitoline Hill. As long as we attack the city with all our strength, they can Attack the Dionians in the city, and then take back Rome together!"

"Young man, the siege battle is not as easy as you think, why don't you sit down and listen to the dictator's words?!" Titus exhorted with a serious expression. His reputation is not low, and he was one of the main generals in the attack on southern Etruria, and played an important role in several key victories.

Camelus didn't care, he looked at Minusius with a slightly worried look, then looked at the generals, and said sternly: "According to the previous information, this army of Dionia is led by them. The king, led by Davos, who was called the 'invincible general' by the Greeks, has just occupied Rome, and their morale is high. Since they are good at attacking cities, I am afraid their ability to defend the city is not weak. Maybe they are expecting us to go. Attack the city, thereby demoralizing our soldiers, so we must be careful! However, this Dionysian army that has occupied our Rome still has its shortcomings, and its shortcomings are - Ostia!"

Camelus said loudly and pointed to the small port city on the map: "The reason why the king of Dionia dared to go deep and attack Rome alone is because it has the advantage of water, and Dionia's warships are ready at any time. Soldiers and supplies can be transported to Rome through the Tiber, and they are not afraid of being besieged by us, but if we take Ostia—"

"Even if Ostia is occupied, the mouth of the Tiber is so wide, and Dionia's fleet is so strong, it is impossible for us to block the entire river!" Minusius retorted.

"Of course it can be done! Because if the cargo ships want to cross the Tiber River upstream to Rome, unless they encounter a strong east wind, they can only rely on trackers. The occupation of Ostia will cut off the source of trackers. If our ally Kathrela also acts on the north bank of the Bo River, we can basically cut off the support of Dionysian ships to Rome, and let Dionia's army in Rome fall into a real siege!" Titus Apparently, he understood the intention of Camelus' request to capture Ostia.

Minusius had already approved Camelus' proposal by this time, but he was still stubbornly looking for loopholes in this plan: "But...since Ostia is so important, I'm afraid there will be strengthened defenses there, and Rome's The Dionian army will also send reinforcements..."

Titus smiled: "Ostia is a small city, the city wall is only more than three meters high, and the Dionysians strengthen the defense, it is impossible to turn it into a ten-meter high like the Roman city wall in a short period of time. , it is much easier to attack it than Rome, and the Dionians need reinforcements, which can weaken their strength in Rome."

Titus' explanation not only dispelled Minusius' anger, but also relieved some of the doubts of other generals.

Camelus cast an approving look at Titus, and then said: "In order to make the Dionysians in Rome unaware of our true intentions in a short period of time, and to retake Ostia as soon as possible with fewer casualties is the best, so I made a plan like this-"

Camelus looked around the crowd, listened carefully to them, and then said: "Tomorrow our army will arrive outside Rome, start building camps, block the enemy's entry and exit, and occupy the river port outside Rome, Titus, you will lead the way. An army of 25,000 of our colonial city soldiers and allied citizens marched silently and rapidly westward to storm Ostia!"

"Yes, Lord Dictator!" Titus knew why Camillous emphasized that he was leading the army of the colonial city and the allies, because if it was the army of the city of Rome, they were eager to retake their homeland, so they might resist the order , or even if they obey, their morale will be low.

The other generals also knew this, and Licinius said with some concern: "Lord Dictator, the Dionians may notice the obvious difference in our numbers and take precautions as soon as possible."

"The Dionians are blocked in the city, they can't see the real thing. We can disguise the people who are stranded here and arrange them in the rear of the army to confuse their eyes..." Camelus said calmly. said.

"I think this plan can be implemented." Titus immediately agreed.

"I agree too!" Other generals also expressed their opinions one after another.

"What if the Dionians find a problem and go out of the city to fight with us instead?" the quick-thinking Meliusius found a loophole and reminded.

"That's what we hoped! Even if the 40,000-odd Roman soldiers are less than the other side, their belief in taking back their homeland will make up for the gap, not to mention that there are still our troops on Capitoline Hill, Titu. The troops led by Si will also return in time, the Dionians will inevitably be defeated, but we can easily retake the city of Rome!" Licinius said confidently.

Minusius was finally speechless.

At this time, Camillous looked at him and said: "At the same time as we march to Rome tomorrow, we will also send messengers to cross the Tiber River to contact the colonial city on the north bank and the Etruscan allies, and let them cooperate with us. Leave this task to Minusius."

"Me?!" Minusius was a little surprised. After he contradicted Camelus several times, Camelus also gave him a heavy responsibility. .

"You are the best candidate!" Camelus said sincerely, without resentment at all because Muliusius scolded him: "I believe you can urge them to send an army to control the north bank of the Tiber River!"

"I will definitely complete the mission!" Minusius replied with excitement and a firm tone. After all, as a young citizen who had not served in the military for a few years, he could not lead thousands of people in the next battle. troops, but he wanted to do more to save Rome, a task that suited him best.

"Since everyone has agreed to this plan, then next..." Camelus began to make more detailed arrangements for the generals for tomorrow's action.

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The next morning, Davos received the news from the scout: Camelus' army was marching towards Rome.

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