Chapter 6 Expedition Planning (Part 1)

"Every time we shoot, the arrows fly far away, carrying our prayers, and no enemy can survive in front of us." - "Rig Veda"

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The two sides began to debate fiercely, and Curio remained silent. He has always been smooth in dealing with people and never offended anyone. He built a huge theater for Pompey and responded to all requests from Crassus and Caesar. In fact, Lepidus called him here to serve as a window, to understand Pompey's movements and to reveal his own movements to Pompey.

Now Lepidus is not afraid of Pompey and Cato the Younger at all. What does he have to fear? His wife and children are safely in the villas in Milan and Illyria, protected by his privately recruited soldiers, and he has also sent away his father in this world. As for Marcus, because of his previous public speech, Pompey and Cato the Younger not only did not dare to embarrass him, but also had to give him part of the inheritance to suppress the anger of the people.

In addition, Li Bi Da also understood the current situation. The probability of him stopping Crassus from going to the East to "seek death" was infinitely close to zero, and it was not in his interest to do so. In his eyes, Crassus, who was bound to fail or, to put it more seriously, to die, four years earlier than the real plane, what else could he have left for himself?

That's right, it was the seven legions he raised with his private money.

Even if they were annihilated, with my ability, it would be no problem to rescue two or three legions. Thinking of this, Li Bi Da smiled, and then he asked the slaves to put a huge mosaic map board in front of everyone, and calmly asked everyone to stop arguing and listen to his plan.

"Well. You asked me to sponsor Caesar 1,500 talents at one time. Let him privately recruit the 14th Legion. In addition, Lepidus' 13th Legion and the 12th Legion's chief thousand-man battalion must return to the legion system of the Gaul Province. Then Crassus the Younger will return 2,000 Aedui cavalry to my system, and together with the non-staff troops you, Lepidus, recruited in Cyrene and Egypt, we will go to war together." Crassus pondered. "That's right!" Lepidus pointed on the map board with his gilded baton. "I will return to Cyrene immediately. I still have nearly half a year to prepare. Excluding the 12th and 13th Legions, I still have the prototypes of three legions, which can be expanded at any time. Then in February of next year, I will lead these three legions along Crete and Cyprus to Cilicia in Asia Minor, and then pass through the Kingdom of Euboea. Yes, the queen there is an old friend of mine, and go north to Armenia to get reinforcements; as for you, take seven legions. Follow the same sea route to Syria to take over the position of Byblos. We will split into two groups. Your Excellency will go straight to Seleucia, and I will go south around the mountain road of Armenia to threaten the capital of the Parthians. and food supply." Lepidus then drew a few lines on the map board, "When the time comes, you will use the power of the Roman governor to mobilize all the manpower of the eastern vassal states to participate in the war, with the focus on the Kingdom of Gaelasia. When Tuna invaded the other side, this kingdom provided huge support in terms of grain and livestock, and I will mobilize the cavalry and supplies of Euboea and Armenia. In addition, I will immediately send people to establish three to five permanent supply stations in Crete, Cyprus and Syria for your march. "

Crassus, including Basatus and Ebro, nodded frequently. If Crassus, the consul, really picked Syria, then Lepidus's expedition plan would be perfect.

Now it was Curio's turn to make trouble. He began to question in detail, "I would like to ask, how many of the seven legions of the consul are combat-ready?"

This question embarrassed Crassus. He only answered vaguely that the generals and senior centurions of the legions were all reinstated from the retired resettlement areas of Etruria and Campania. As for the soldiers, there were three regular legions, and he would soon obtain the right to organize from the Senate and recruit in the Italian headquarters; and two auxiliary legions were privately recruited from Sardinia and Sicily; finally, the current governor of Syria, Byblos, had two garrison legions, who had just suppressed the Hassidic riot in Jerusalem and had considerable combat experience.

"That is to say, your army will come from three sources: one is the other army led by General Lepidus, one is the troops recruited from Italy and its surrounding areas, and one is the garrison troops in Syria. Sir, I have reason to worry about whether you can command the army. In addition, the Kingdom of Parthia is not comparable to the sword-fighting slaves of the past. It is a powerful country with the most powerful horses and bows in the world." Curio spread his hands and expressed his concerns, but his words were not so intense. In Crassus' ears, this seemed to be just a dispensable and cautious advice from a friend, which would be a touch of color to embellish his great expedition victory in the future. Li Bi Da observed the expression on the face of the Second Archon, and knew what was going on. He began to "round things up" directly. "Next year, after the Archon has collected all the weapons and supplies, I will open up the way ahead, and then first clear the enemy barriers around Syria and Mesopotamia, train the soldiers well, let them accumulate rich experience, and stay in Syria for the winter. In the spring of the year after next, the Archon and I will make a concerted effort to attack Parthia. I think the chance of winning is still 70 to 80% - even if we fail to give the enemy a decisive annihilation, your term of office is as long as five years. We can still rely on Syria and Armenia, nibbling at both sides, and we will definitely be able to open up a passage to the Seres Empire."

“No need to wait until next year!” Crassus, who was nearly sixty years old, stood up and said generously, “For this expedition, I am not worried about the strength of the Kingdom of Parthia. In the past thirty years, our Roman legions have been tired of easy victories and looting in the East. Most centurions have no pity for the enemies there. Even 100,000 of them cannot defeat a full legion of ours. The war against Pontus before has proved my point well. What I am worried about is that many Roman people still do not trust my military command ability and have always believed that I can only participate in Suppressing the uprising of the sword-fighting slaves, such as the "internal irregular war", said that I can only defeat the mob of slaves, so until now, I have not won a triumphal ceremony, so in the future when I stand in the rich city of Babylon in Mesopotamia, those people will certainly regret their past contempt for me. "

This Crassus is really crazy. He actually wants to end his term as consul in advance and go on an expedition to Parthia. He is really risking the world's disapproval to commit suicide. Lepidus rolled his eyes and then raised a difficult matter-how to bypass the Temple of Concord and the Centuriate Conference when you suddenly resigned from the most important consul? Of course, the most important thing is that you need to coordinate with the chief consul Pompey.

"Of course, I will have another secret meeting with Gnaeus Pompey and Caesar in the village of Russell. You will go with me at that time." Crassus said proudly. (To be continued...)