Chapter 202: Marching to the Samone Mountains

"Of course I understand what they want." Davos smiled confidently: "They want to be heroes of Rome again, then I'll give them this chance to see if their fantasy can finally come true!"

When Henepolis heard it, he immediately stopped worrying, and he wished he could immediately describe this situation and use it as an important material for his biography.

Publius was in a complicated mood. On the one hand, he was happy that he had fulfilled his promise but had his heart set on it. On the other hand, he was also heartbroken by Davos's mind and arrogance, and he was even less concerned about the struggle of the remnants of Rome. hold any hope.

In fact, what they didn't know was that Davos made this decision mainly because Davos considered the following factors: First, Capitoline Mountain was located in the city, and there were five or six thousand people on the mountain. If he really starved to death because of the lack of food, he was afraid that it would cause a plague, which would bring great trouble to the Dionysian army during the war, and would not be conducive to the rapid restoration of prosperity in Rome;

Second, the death of thousands of people in the city was too tragic, not only Davos himself felt unbearable, but I am afraid that it would also make the Romans who had surrendered to Dionia feel the desolation of rabbits and foxes, thus affecting the love of the Kingdom of Dionia. perception, is not conducive to their integration;

Third, he had learned from Publius before that the families of most of the noble soldiers in the army of Camillous are now on the Capitoline Mountain, and when they have them, Dionia will be even more To deal with the Roman army retreating in the city of Satnicum.

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After getting Davos' consent, Publius went up the mountain again, and the two sides soon reached an agreement.

The next day, the people on the mountain were sent back down the mountain, and the Roman elders also, according to the agreement, allowed a detachment of soldiers from Dionia to enter the mountain to supervise the whole process (mainly to see if the Roman elders abide by the agreement, leaving only 500 people).

The Roman people who came to the foot of the mountain were escorted (more often helped) by Dionysian soldiers to the designated place and imprisoned. There was sadness on their faces, but it was more of a lightness. After all, the days of starvation finally passed. .

The Roman civilians also came to the square to watch the excitement. When they saw these noble families who they envied in the past, now their faces are haggard and their minds are in a trance.

Potitus, Marujiressis, all the old Romans, and the remaining hundreds of Roman citizens stood on the top of the cliff, watching their relatives step into the city occupied by the enemy, until the entire Kapi Empty silence was restored on Mount Tolin again, and they were still standing like stone statues for a long time...

a long time,

The coughing sounds of several elders broke the dead silence.

Scipio the Great shouted to the soldiers: "Citizens, we will defend this place with all our strength! Defend our Roman temple! Waiting...waiting for the final victory!"

"Roar!!!..." The soldiers roared in unison, and the roar was more tragic.

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Aquilonria, one of the three major towns of Shilpini (the other two being Beneventum and Abenerum), it is located in the city of Vinosa in the Puchetti region of the Kingdom of Dionia It is more than 50 miles northwest of it (this is only a straight-line distance, in fact, the walking distance is doubled), and it is less than 50 miles southwest of Askurum in Downey. The advance base of the Pini invasion of the Apulian lowland region (including this one), it also benefited from it, becoming the most powerful tribal joint settlement in the southeastern part of the Shilpini territory, and also the Shilpini tribe Strong barrier to the southwest.

Its city is built on a hill as high as 500 meters, surrounded by continuous mountains with an average height of about 300 meters. Not to mention the attack, it will take a lot of effort for the army to get there.

Since Alexis was determined to capture Aquilonia, he naturally made some careful preparations. He selected the light infantry and light armour battalions of the 11th Corps, and then added two heavy infantry from the 10th Corps. The brigade, light armoured and light infantry brigade, plus engineering battalion, medical battalion, transport battalion, and mountain reconnaissance team, totaled more than 6,000 people, and there was a large pack team, which carried more than a dozen packs that could supply the army. food for the sky, and ten Abene Roma sent by Garni to serve as guides.

As soon as the day dawned, he led his army from Venosa, north to the south bank of the Ovanto River, and then along the Ovanto River Valley, marching upwards, and the march went smoothly, without being harassed by the Samonais.

If you think about it, it is understandable that the Samonais were severely injured in the first two battles, and now they are focusing their main attack on the Campania Alliance. How many young and middle-aged people can still fight in the entire territory. Therefore, the smooth march of this road gave Alexis more confidence in winning Aquironia.

In the afternoon, the Dionysian army arrived at a bend in the upper reaches of the Ovanto River, which happened to be where Ovanto and a larger tributary converged, so the terrain was relatively flat, and the area was relatively open, and it was just in the middle of the river. The distance of ten miles to the south of the city of Aquironia, this is also the camp that Alexis chose after learning about the surrounding terrain from the Abenirum guide in detail before departure, because the north of this bay area It is also facing the narrow lowland between the mountains (the height of this lowland is also several tens of meters), through which it can be approached to the bottom of the mountain where the city of Aquironia is located.

So he ordered the army to hurry up and build a camp on the southern shore of the Reach.

The soldiers of the whole army immediately began to act quickly according to the previous division of labor: the engineer surveyed the surrounding terrain and determined the main area; the soldiers used sickles and axes to cut the weeds and trees in the area, and then leveled the ground and built Raise the wooden fence... Most importantly, try to burn the thatch in the swampy area on the shore and smoke away the mosquitoes hiding in it. Fortunately, the Ovanto River is not a big river and rarely floods, so the swamp area in the Reach is very small, but the fire and smoke will definitely attract the attention of the surrounding Samone tribes, but in order to ensure adequate rest and safety for the soldiers. Healthy, with enough stamina and energy for the tough fight that lies ahead, Alexis thinks it's worth it.

In order to initially build the camp and lay the foundation for the next attack, at dusk, Alexis also let people set fires around the camp to illuminate the hard work of the soldiers.

The soldiers also know that this is nowhere else, the terrain is unfamiliar and complex, and there are often beasts, snakes and worms in the mountains, as well as fierce enemies, so there is no need for the team officer to urge them. , they can sleep well in this dangerous mountain range.

After the evening, the camp began to take shape: a wooden fence was built on the periphery, a simple circle of deer villages was built outside the wooden fence, and a patchwork of sentries was erected in the wooden fence and at the four corners of the camp. It is a rectangular tent. These tarpaulins sewn with animal skins are strong and have a large coverage. They can completely cover the space in the tent, which can not only prevent snakes and insects from biting, but also block wind, frost, rain and snow. Each tent can accommodate a team of soldiers to rest, which is the same as the army barracks in the territory. This allows extremely familiar comrades to relax and sleep quickly in an unfamiliar battlefield environment, and it is also convenient for the team leader to manage.

One brigade occupies an area in the camp, and there is a large gap between it and the tent area of ​​the other brigade. The six brigades are arranged in a circle, surrounding the medical battalion, the engineering battalion, and the baggage battalion (usually because of the baggage battalion). The pack animals here have a strong smell and are noisy, so they are often arranged on the side of the camp, but this time, because the camp is not perfect and the defense is weak, it is very vulnerable to attack when placed outside the camp, and it is difficult to transport food when fighting in the mountains. Pack beasts are very important), in the center of the camp is the commander's tent, outside the tent stands a large brazier, and the continuous burning flame allows the officers and soldiers in the camp to be able to survive even in the dark. Find the commander's location.

When the soldiers were building the camp, Alexis arranged for a company to take a full rest. When all the soldiers in the army began to sleep, the company began to stand guard, watch and patrol the camp in the dark.

Raquelessis, a native of Mesapi, who was the flag-bearing hero at the Triumph of Turii two years ago, is now a company captain. As the chief officer of the company on duty tonight, he asked the four sub-units under his command to be responsible for the four directions of the camp's east, west, north, south and south respectively. If everything is abnormal, report the situation immediately! If anyone is careless or even lazy to sleep, I will definitely punish them with military law, and I will never show mercy!"

After arranging the task, he personally followed the first unit to patrol the north of the camp, because he knew that the enemy was very likely to appear in this direction.

In the middle of the night, the soldiers had already fallen asleep, but it was not quiet outside the camp. The wolf howled in the mountains and forests, the frogs croaked by the river, the birds chirped in the swamp, and all kinds of insects in the grass. The chirping and the gurgling sound of running water... This is nature's most beautiful melody.

But this harmony will soon be broken. The waterfowl slapped the water in panic, the frogs stopped chirping in alarm, and there were noisy footsteps on the other side of the river...

"Company captain, there are enemies!" the soldier reminded on the outpost.

"Don't worry, see how many enemies there are first!" Lakelesis said calmly, he couldn't disturb the commander's rest just because there were only a few enemies to harass him, that would only leave Alexis behind Incompetent impression.