Chapter 548: Chapter 416: Return to Italy
The Great Chief of the Yabode Tribe, Isidi, wearing a cow horn helmet and leather armor, lay under a big tree, taking a rest with a large sword and a wooden shield by his side.
The scout sent out came rushing up from the mountain: "Great Chief, the Roman convoy designated by the Nix people has arrived!"
Isidi’s spirit stirred instantly. He quickly stood up and shouted back, "Our target has arrived! Everyone get up quickly, rush down the mountain with me, and stop them! Remember! Don’t hit too hard at first, trap them first so we can lure the Romans out of the city!"
As soon as the words fell, the Yabod Warriors excitedly clamored, as it had been many years since they last raided.
On one hand, this was because the friendly Nix people kept supplying them with cheap goods they needed for living, so they didn’t have to risk their lives plundering trade routes; on the other hand, Caesar’s conquest of Gaul and its powerful army greatly intimidated the Yabode as well, so they dared not antagonize such a mighty Roman Governor at the risk of their tribe’s annihilation.
But now Caesar had led his army away, and their aiding allies, the Nix people, had also put forth a request. The restless factor in Yabodin’s blood began to stir again.
Compared to the overly excited warriors, Isidi still had to remain calm. He hadn’t forgotten his mission, so he told the scout: "You quickly go and inform the Nix people who came with us, tell them we’ve already gone down the mountain, and they should prepare quickly! Remember! As soon as the Roman Army shows up, you need to urge them to come down and encircle them! I don’t want our warriors to suffer more casualties, understand?!"
"Great Chief, I understand, rest assured!" the scout nodded heavily.
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"Sir, something’s wrong! Tullius’s convoy has been raided by the Yabode, and someone has been sent to request our assistance!"
Misines, the People’s Guardian stationed in Aquileia City, felt a stir upon hearing his subordinate’s report.
As the name suggests, Misines’ family were new Roman nobles, with no deep roots in politics. Therefore, with considerable ambition, he had mixed with Little Curio, Anthony, and others from a young age, gaining their support, successfully elected as Financial Officer, and smoothly entering the Senate. Later, he followed Anthony in siding with Caesar.
However, compared to his friends who mixed with him in the past, Little Curio was greatly used by Caesar, leading a large army to conquer Sicily and Africa; Anthony was sent to Rome and later led reinforcements to support Caesar. Even Lucius (Anthony’s brother), who was not as capable as him, was tasked to lead over ten troops to guard Illyria Province, while only he was dispatched to guard Aquileia.
Allegedly, he was entrusted with defending against Celtic invasions and safeguarding the eastern safety of Northern Italy Province, but everyone knew that of all the provinces under Caesar’s control, Northern Italy was the safest, having not seen war for years, so under Misines’ command were only four companies, mostly new recruits.
Watching his former friends all making contributions, Misines was a bit unwilling, but with Caesar’s power growing, he dared not show dissatisfaction.
However, now the opportunity has come!
Tullius was the largest arms merchant in the entire Gaul Province, the most important guest under Caesar, providing great assistance to the continuous military expansion of the Gaul Province, and held a certain influence in Caesar’s heart. Therefore, when Tullius personally led a convoy to Pula to transport weapons to Caesar’s army stationed in Brindisi, passing through Aquileia, Misines even sent a centurion team to escort him.
Now that he is in trouble, as long as he is rescued, Misines believes he will surely gain his favor, causing him to speak well of him to Caesar.
Moreover, the Yabod people actively started the conflict, which was beneficial. He could use this as a reason to recruit more soldiers, expand his army, and seize the opportunity to wipe out the Yabode tribe, earning some credit for himself.
To quickly eliminate the raiding Yabode and minimize Tullius’s losses, Misines insisted on leading half of the city’s troops (two companies) to their rescue, despite the objection of his camp commander.
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"I remember this stretch of road. After turning past the mountain pass ahead and walking a little further, we’ll be out of the hills. Am I right?" Second Legion Commander of the Nix Kingdom, Tini Bazus, asked loudly towards the guide beside him while looking forward.
"Yes, with just another ten minutes or so, we will enter the Roman’s Illyria Province, by the coast," replied the guide.
"How about that? My memory’s sharp, isn’t it? Over twenty years have passed, and I still remember the roads here clearly!" Tini Bazus boasted loudly to the Soldiers beside him.
He then laughed heartily and said, "I remember how embarrassed we were when we entered the mountains back then, but now we’ve returned! This time we will make the Romans pay the blood debt they owe us! Hey, Samoras, stop just keeping your head down and walking, say something at least."
"I’ve nothing to say. If the Romans come, just follow your orders and take the brothers to fight," Centurion Samoras grumbled.
Tini Bazus saw him only focused on walking and couldn’t help but remind him in a small voice, "You, all you do is drill in the training field or take care of your wife and kids at home, you care for nothing else! After finally encountering this war, you must earn more merits, raise your rank, and actively strive to increase your military position, at least be a Great Captain, so as not to disgrace your seniority in the Kingdom!"
"Oh." Samoras responded.
Tini Bazus looked at his thick-headed old comrade of many decades and sighed in his heart: three years ago, after he was promoted to Legion Commander, he had repeatedly submitted reports to the Military Department suggesting Samoras be promoted to Great Captain, but all were rejected by the Military Department on the grounds of Samoras’s insufficient abilities.
Just as he sighed, a reconnoitre came rushing up from the front: "Commander, the First Legion has already captured Tarsatica City.
Tarsatica is a small coastal city in the northern part of the Roman’s Illyria Province, and it’s not far from the mountain pass of the Nix Army, thus it was the first stronghold that had to be taken down.
Tini Bazus immediately turned to a messenger and said, "Quickly notify each company to speed up the march; we must reach Pula within two hours and take it quickly to avoid any accidents!"
"Yes, commander!"
Pula, an important town on the Istria Peninsula, is the only major port in the Northern Adriatic Bay. To prevent the Roman Army from landing there in the future and threatening the Nix Army’s logistical supply line, it also became a primary stronghold that had to be occupied first by the Nix Army.
Given the long-standing Roman attack plans of the Nix Kingdom, in townships like Tarsatica and Pula where conquests were planned, Onomabatis had established trading posts, gradually bringing in many personnel, leading to the easy capture of Tarsatica, a result of collaboration from inside and out.
Tini Bazus worried that once the Pula people heard of "Tarsatica’s fall," they would strengthen their defenses, thereby increasing the Second Legion’s difficulty in storming the city, so he urged the army to reach there quickly, leaving no time for Pula to prepare.
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Everything is proceeding according to plan. The Yabod people raided Tullius’s convoy, luring out Aquileia’s garrison, and together with the ambushed Nix Army, annihilated them, then swiftly rushed to Aquileia City to surround it.
Meanwhile, the main Nix forces successively passed through the constructed mountain paths into the Illyria Province, marched northward, and successively captured Tarsatica and the Istria Peninsula, joining forces with the Nix Army besieging Aquileia.
Two days later, Maximus led rear troops, kingdom officials, auxiliary troops, etc., and also arrived at Aquileia.
The vanguard had already set up a camp outside Aquileia City. Maximus did not first rest in the camp but instead, accompanied by Pekot and other Military Department officials and legion leaders, surveyed around Aquileia City, after which he entered the camp and immediately held a kingdom military meeting, inviting Germanic and Yabod leaders to attend.
Within the Central Army Tent, Third Legion Commander Stags introduced the previous battle situation: "... Isidi Leader led the Abert Warriors in attacking the Roman convoy, luring out about two thousand Roman Soldiers.
While the enemy was rescuing the convoy, I led the Soldiers out of the forest for a flanking envelopment, but although the cavalry in the Roman Army was not many, they were quite alert; upon seeing us, they immediately turned around to flee towards Aquileia without engaging in battle.
Since we had to climb over mountain ranges and ambush before, we were not equipped with cavalry, so we couldn’t block them off, but I split out a small force to pursue. By the time we eliminated the Roman reinforcements and arrived here, the city’s garrison had already raised the drawbridge, closed the city gates, and prepared for defense. However, because we pursued urgently, the enemy barely had time to let those outside the city refuge inside the city...
Based on captured interrogations, there are approximately only two thousand garrison troops left in the city, with more than six thousand permanent residents, at most one thousand five hundred able-bodied adults capable of combat—"
"Are you saying that there are about three thousand five hundred garrison troops inside the city now?" Pekot interrupted.
"Yes."
"Probably even more," Pekot shook his head and reminded, "Don’t forget Aquileia is a military fortress established for decades. The residents here have generational military experience and have been engaged in prolonged warfare with outlanders like us. I’m afraid that not only old men but even women could come on defenses under insufficient troop conditions.
Fortunately, you were cautious and didn’t give them time to allow those outside the city to hide inside; otherwise, we would face more significant trouble when attacking the city."
"The enemy has so few people, and we have so many. What’s there to worry about," someone shouted in the tent, "Tomorrow, let’s assault the city together. It’ll only take half a day to take it down!"