Chapter 23 Helispon's Veteran (Part 2)

As a result, Malcha became excited when he heard about this position. He held Calabis's hand and believed that the status of this "legionary envoy" was equivalent to that of the emperor's imperial envoy, and he was the highest authority of this team. He told Calabis without any ambiguity, saying in Greek: "I have plundered the entire kingdom, and every family with property has handed over one-twentieth of their property in exchange for fifty drachmas. At the end of the day, don’t worry about your military supplies and remuneration. The first priority is to go to the Scythian Gap Gate to defend against the cavalry of the Buffalo Taksheele.”

"You have to talk to our lieutenant about this matter." Karabis politely made a helpless gesture.

"Your lieutenant!?" Then, Malcha followed Calabis's fingers and saw Claudius jumping step by step towards the steps of the palace opposite. His inverted eyebrows almost drooped to his mouth.

On the mosaic tile-covered toilet in the Marcha Palace, in fact, the so-called toilet is a row of seats with holes for defecation, with water channels running underneath. Claudius's two long legs were shaking comfortably, and underneath The thunder and rain continued, and Malcha and a group of generals held back their surnames, stood in front of him, and repeated the questions they had just asked Calabis again and again.

"Your shallowness in tactics surprises me - well, well - since you know how to collect so much money, why don't you build a wall on the isthmus of Scythia? Well, well - or two, how could this be possible? Let the cavalry of Pontus break in!" Claudius scolded Malcha while grabbing the grain reincarnation thing, and then there was another gust of wind and rain. He let out a long sigh, and a palace eunuch handed him a Using a sponge, he raised his buttocks and began to wipe it with a squeaking sound.

"Yes, my father's cavalry advanced very fast. It is said that they used good horses as their own mounts and used inferior horses to pull heavy vehicles. When they rushed through the gorge gate, there were only my tax collectors in the villages and no soldiers. "Marza swallowed his anger and said to Claudius.

Claudius glanced at Calabis who was standing aside, and threw the sponge stick into the sand pit in front. "Envoy of the Legion, what do you think now?"

Everyone's eyes moved to Calabis. The legion envoy did not panic. He walked up to a general, took off his gold-plated baton, and then came to the sand pit where the sponge sticks for wiping buttocks were thrown. He started rowing, "This is the city of Ponticabion, and this is its acropolis. The two cities are separated by a bay, and the exits are blocked by iron cables. There is also a simple bridge connecting them - in my opinion, the acropolis More important than Ponticabion itself, we don't need to fear the Pontic cavalry coming from the Scythian Gap. They will only scatter and rob, and they have no weapons and cannot pose a threat to your city. On the contrary, they can guard it. This is not the case for the acropolis bordering the Cimmerian Strait, because the main army of the capital carries a lot of money and baggage. They will not circle the entire Myotis Sea (i.e. the Sea of ​​Azov) like the cavalry before attacking. The shortcut for us—them is to cross the Cimmerian Strait.”

After saying that, Calabis exchanged the gold-plated baton to the general. The general waved his hand in a hurry to express his refusal, indicating that I would give it to you.

"Envoy of the Legion, you mean that we only need to hold on to the Acropolis?"

"Yes, many of our four brigades are still new recruits. Fighting defensive battles based on the garrison city is the most suitable method for them." Calabis said with certainty, "As long as we repel the troops who cross the strait and approach the garrison city, The Pontic army will have no way out and they will all be captured by us."

Having said this, Karabis raised his baton again and made two sharp strokes in the sand pit, "I advocate that not only the fortress should be secured, but also in front of the acropolis, that is, on the narrow strip between the Cimmerian Strait and the Acropolis. On land, which is also where the main force of Pontus is most likely to land, dig two blockade trenches and add walls - just like what Crassus did against the sword-fighting slaves. "

Just when Claudius was about to applaud, Marcha expressed his disapproval with a sullen face: "There are only a few ruined quarries on this land, and the rest are forests and rocks, and the essence that supports wealth is in the peninsula." The vast land beyond Tikabion is full of towns, farms, workshops, and seaports, but now they are all exposed to the plundering of Taksheele's cavalry. I hope that my most respected ally will compromise-- —One brigade to guard the acropolis in the east, and three brigade to cooperate with my army to drive Taxile back to the Scythian Gap Gate!"

After walking down the steps of the palace, Calabis followed Claudius, who was touching his wristband, and suggested: "Your Excellency, you should stick to my plan in front of Malca. If we follow Malca's method, we will He fell into Mithridates' plan." But then he was suddenly startled, remembering that Claudius had passed through Pontus secretly before, and his heart was filled with the feeling of drumming: Apis, Milu and Tagu were playing dice before. Si actually stayed in Philiplon and came here after the winter camp was over. Now he and Claudius are the only ones in charge here. They are really "good teammates".

But Claudius's answer below makes some sense: "Okay, legion envoy Calabis, stop complaining. We have four brigades, nearly two thousand infantry, two hundred cavalry, three thousand military slaves, and two One hundred mules and horses, thirty oxen, and eighteen groups of crossbows. You have to calculate the daily consumption of food and fodder. The legion's treasury is still in Philiplon, but the money has been withheld by the generals of all parties. We can only rely on Malcha’s kingdom for support. Shouldn’t the guests do something to make the host happy at the banquet?”

These words made Carapis lose his temper. He could only stand on the steps and shouted: "In your opinion, who will guard the city and who will sweep the Pontic cavalry?" Claudius raised his finger easily and said: "I will hand over the command of the front line to you. I have some exchanges to do with the temple priestesses in the whole city."

"Damn it!" Carapis looked at the back of Claudius going to the small temple. He also knew what he was going to do. Now he threw a mess to him. He couldn't help but cursed. I will bury people in this pit you dug sooner or later, and the one I want to bury most is you.

Two days later, the "Eagle Flag" of the Thirteenth Legion - actually a gilded bull flag, symbolizing the incarnation of Jupiter, appeared at the gate of Ponticabion. Carapis, with a gloomy face, led three battalions of troops, followed by a group of Bosporus soldiers wearing various armors, and marched towards the Scythian Gorge.

The one left to guard the Acropolis was Pope, and Carapis trusted him. As for Claudius, he would rather he rotted into a pile of flesh in the small temple. (To be continued.)