Chapter 24 Little Thunder God (Part 2)
It was about noon after the intermittent fighting that Caesar, who was sandwiched on the other side of the river, learned that the first three legions of his side had begun to pursue him. Without saying a word, he got on his horse and ordered all the chief brigades and auxiliary cavalry of the remaining legions to join forces. They immediately followed him and joined in the pursuit, while the others and the military slaves stayed in the camp to deal with follow-up matters. ?. .
The men of Sextus, together with the tenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth legions, fought bravely on both sides for half a day. Even within Caesar's pursuit troops, they began to admire each other. The Tenth Legion recognized the strong style of the two auxiliary legions, while the latter two envied the veteran elite of the Tenth Legion. When Sextus launched his seventh counterattack, Sexdelius, the commander of the Tenth Legion, was angry. He shouted to all his soldiers, "Is there really no feasible way for us to defeat the enemy's rearguard?" Are we really helpless? When Caesar comes to take over with the follow-up troops, those annoying new recruits will take away the credit and then laugh at our cowardice and incompetence? "
As a result, after hearing this, the infantry and cavalry soldiers all worked up and shouted the slogan "Never". Some of these three legions were baptized in the blood and fire of the Gallic War, and some came from the desert and Forged in the rain of Parthian arrows, when Phaobinas and Selha found Sekdelius, the three immediately began to negotiate. Finally, after Phaobinas calmly observed the battlefield situation, he proposed New pursuit methods. Immediately, the three legions selected all their cavalry, led by Cleitas, the chief centurion of the Sixteenth legion. Each cavalry was equipped with two or three light infantry from Nubia or Macedonia, carrying strong bows and throwing spears. , they no longer fought recklessly with Sextus, but followed closely behind a Roman mile. Then when the enemy's eight cohorts alternated positions, the cavalry and light infantry were divided into two, and one came forward with a cry. . Fight fiercely with the enemy's cavalry and bite them; the other group went around the hillside and quickly occupied the commanding heights while the leather shield soldiers were going downhill. Then their own light infantry followed up and started shooting fiercely down the hillside. In this way, the original rhythm of Sextus' subordinates taking turns to cover was disrupted. The eight brigades of leather shield soldiers moved uncoordinatedly and nestled together. Exposed to the rain of arrows - Sexdelius took the opportunity to order the flagbearer to raise the eagle standard, and the whole army attacked from the mountain and down the mountain, with Sextus riding his red pony. Back and forth, the scene evolved into the rhythm of a big melee. If it were an ordinary barbarian enemy, it would have collapsed long ago, but Pompey's subordinates are indeed battle-hardened, and they are defeated without chaos, even in the face of a cavalry charge. A skirmisher can calmly respond to a battle, and even a dozen or so people can form a group. Help each other. Or launch a counterattack.
This time, Libo and other generals who were running in front came. Worried about the safety of his son-in-law, he kept temporarily withdrawing other brigades, put aside the food and baggage he was carrying, and returned to fight to relieve the siege. As a result, Afranius insisted on continuing to move forward, and the equipment and baggage that had been left behind , fell on the shoulders of soldiers who had not yet had combat missions. In the end, even the strongest soldiers who had the easiest training in daily training were miserable. As for the allied troops and auxiliary soldiers from the Spanish natives, they were used to running around lightly on weekdays. Carrying these things was more uncomfortable than death for them, so the army moved at an extremely slow pace - in the whole day, they did not even go six Roman miles. ... Then he ordered several legions, mainly new soldiers, to take on chores, occupy the streams and start building forts. The three legions that had been fighting fiercely all day, except for the cavalry who continued to follow and harass, all returned to rest and treat the wounded. "These three legions added more troops." Rations and rewards, and no need to carry equipment for the future.”
After nightfall, the exhausted five legions of Pompey's army could only sigh in vain towards the distant destination of Taracho. Under Caesar's fierce pursuit, they could not even find a suitable flat area to camp near the water source. I can temporarily run to the foot of a mountain and spend the night in a hurry.
As a result, fierce and small-scale fighting broke out again the next day, because Pompey's army began to attack stubbornly again, and Caesar's army stubbornly pursued. This time, Caesar replaced the Seventh and Eighth Legions with two fresh substitutes, and it was a fierce battle. Pompey abandoned the previous day's camp in chaos and continued to flee eastward. Caesar then rushed in on horseback. He and his generals ran and surveyed carefully, and found that the other party had abandoned many packhorse corpses.
"They were drinking horse blood to quench their thirst, and many of these horses were killed with swords, which shows that they were running out of fodder and began to kill horses to reduce their burden." After making the judgment, Caesar called his lieutenant General Trureas He fetched the sand table and began to plan the next battle. "Thirty miles further ahead, there is a ferry crossing on the Epollo River called Corribelia. We must intercept them there!"
"But the enemy's rearguard operations are still very tenacious." Trureas said.
Caesar shouted, "Isn't Pompey's army such a tenacious enemy? The moment I crossed the Rubicon, I didn't expect them to suddenly weaken. Therefore, I need people who can skillfully command the cavalry to move all the cavalry." All the elite troops were assigned to him, regardless of casualties, and at the right time, he launched a desperate attack on Pompey's army and completely disrupted them. "
The coach's words were resounding, but the subordinates all looked embarrassed, because Caesar's request seemed not to select a commander, but to select a gladiator.
Finally, a tall blond young man from the Gallic aristocracy stepped out of the crowd and volunteered, "I am Vercingetorius of Alvini. I have some combat experience under General Lepidus, and I believe I can do the job."
Caesar stepped forward and gave Vercingetorix a warm hug. "The whole army can gather 2,000 fresh cavalry and give them all to you. Two or three days later, when we are close to Colliberia, it will be your turn to show your abilities, young man."
"Of course, I will not die. I will forge ahead and win. This is also a test for myself." Vercingetorix replied, as if he had made a great resolution. "In addition, sir, in your opinion, where is General Lepidus now? What is he doing?")