Chapter 22: Speed Drive (Part 1)
“But even in this hour of strife and tumult, a little boy can seize the opportunity to shine.” - Arymachus, poet of Alexandria
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"Naturally, I will return my favorite Calabia, wait for me to end all this, and go to the seaside palace of Nicomedia to reunite with you." After whispering this sentence, in front of the gate of Windibo City The high priest once again slowly placed the small wooden statues of his children in the shelf in the helmet carefully and solemnly, and then put it on. In front of him, the morning light and breeze were blowing various flags and military standards, " The whole army follows my order and attacks toward the northwest of the Munda Plain, towards the city of Uriah!" Lepidus pointed at the place where the sun rose with his gold-plated baton and shouted loudly.
At this time, all the generals, including the elders and chiefs of Windibo City, realized that the high priest had just used a cunning strategy to deceive the enemy before - everything he had done was just an illusion. He was unwilling to continue heading east to join forces with Petnaeus. This was all the smoke released by Lepidus, including raising wood and beasts of burden, including contacting tribal chiefs in surrounding areas.
When the little Thor was asked to take the main force to the hilly areas on the banks of the Xingilis River to stop him, he directly followed the plains between Ursau and the river bank, and drove directly to the city of Uriah upstream of the river.
The target he really wanted to meet was his "left hook" - the three legions commanded by Carlenus. After they passed through the city of Cadiz, they directly followed the east-west Baibatis River towards the hinterland. The core city of Corduba rushes.
Moreover, Lepidus has a huge appetite. He is not only concerned about the annihilation of the two legions of the Little Thunder God. And after rendezvous with Calenus. Capture of Kordoba. Then he cooperated with the northern armies of Vercingetorius and Itasos, and launched a combined north-south attack, completely encircling Raus' army in the triangle between the Bybatis River and the Xingilis River and annihilating it together.
"Whether it is Laus or Sextus, not a single young hero of the Pompeian family can be left behind. All of them need to be eliminated by force, otherwise the borders and oceans of the Republic will never have peace." Lepidus said to the city of Rome Cicero's personal letters. This is how he expressed it, without a trace of compassion. He also requested the same in his letters to the commanders of the various front armies.
As for the city of Windibo, Lepidus specifically handed over the defense to the surrendered general Machius, and also gave him all the troops of his three previous brigades. There were two main considerations in doing so: First, Machius Most of Uzbek's subordinates were Spanish barbarian soldiers, and their training and tactics were obviously different from his new army. There is poor coordination on the battlefield and it is difficult to match the pace; second. Marcius abandoned the defense of the fortress and surrendered himself. If the defeated general encounters his old master again, his mood and determination to resist are often stronger than others. "Dear Lord Marcius, now I have The military strength is also stretched thin, so you can only lead your original three brigades in Windibo. When defending the city, please remember that you only need to search for materials and money from surrounding towns and tribes. Don't let the chiefs and barbarian kings help in the battle. Teams come in because they are all erratic and unreliable.”
Of course, Marcius knew what it meant for the high priest to give him this task, but for now he could only carry it to the end. "Everyone, including the citizens of Windibo City, will renovate the city gates and towers for me. And deepen the trenches to protect the city, and prepare enough defensive equipment and supplies! We will stay here for ten to fifteen days. May the gods protect us. "
At the same time, Lepidus' advancing column was galloping quickly on the edge of the Munda Plain. The scout cavalry of Ursau Castle was the first to discover the whereabouts of this team. "Don't worry about these guys, we don't need to go harass and attack Ursau." Ershao City, because it is so strong, is not within the scope of my consideration. Everyone continues to advance rapidly. According to the requirements of the military code, all soldiers carry their equipment and advance at a speed of four Roman miles in one day. Every day I have to move forward. It’s about thirty to fifty Roman miles.”
This kind of speed is very demanding in the history of ancient marches. It should be noted that Caesar also had such requirements when he marched in Gaul. It is obvious that Lepidus wanted to temper the army to the point where it could compete with Caesar's elite troops. Even with "Mother" "Yeah." This cutting-edge firearm also has a new type of cavalry, but the training of the soldiers' physical fitness and literacy cannot be relaxed.
In this way, Ursau's scout cavalry rode on fast horses and foolishly followed the high priest's army for about ten or twenty Roman miles, but they were still unable to figure out their movements because the Munda Plain was too vast. ——This group of enemies may go around to the northern end of the Xingilis River and join the seven enemy legions coming from the east; they may also cross the Bybatis River diagonally from the northwest to join the three legions from the west. There are too many possibilities for enemies to merge. The security officers stationed in Ursau City did not dare to pursue, fearing that they would be ambushed and annihilated like Mukuas, but they also did not dare to let Lepidus go. They could only send a few messengers and rush to the small town. Thor's camp by the river informed the commander of the enemy's movements.
However, due to the lack of information, the guard officers did not know that Sextus had led the main force to the lower reaches of the river and was deploying defenses against Windy Wave. Therefore, it was not until dusk that the order was sent, and he ran to the camp to find out that the commander was not there. Then he ran again day and night, and finally found the little Thor at the beginning of the second sentry that night.
"Damn it, I was deceived by this guy again!" Sextus's face and neck turned red, and he roared. Then he turned around and said suddenly, "My brother is about to be in danger. No, I must also select cavalry and light infantry to catch up with Lepidus."
But his actions had been greatly delayed for a day. When the Lepidus army, which had rested on the roadside, started to get up and continue to rush towards the city of Uriah in the morning of the second day, they were already seventy Roman miles away from the Ursau Fortress and deep into the heart of the river triangle. This interspersed action was very successful. There was no enemy to intercept along the way.
"Audax, you take fifteen local Spanish noble youths in the army and ride to my front. Publicize the grace and prestige of the high priest and ask them to send troops to join the war as soon as possible. In this way, I can forgive everyone's crime of joining the Pompey party. There will be no reckoning after the war, but those who dare to hesitate or even resist stubbornly, such as the Sinclairs and the Ballantians, will end up like them." After Lepidus finished speaking coldly, he handed the book tube with his seal and documents to Audax, "You have to let everyone know whether to choose destruction or obedience." As a result, during the march of that day, tribes from the surrounding areas came to join the army continuously, some with hundreds of people, some with only dozens of horses, carrying the flags and totems of their respective tribes. Lepidus organized them all into the vanguard, "The target is the city of Uriah, the station of the Pompey party's pseudo-Spanish Sixth Legion." (To be continued..)