Chapter 28 Debate with Afranius (Part 1)

"Beautiful Greece, the sad remnant of glory. Gone, but immortal; great, though sunk." - Byron

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Finally, the exciting military trumpet sounded on the hill over there. Gallius' three battalions rushed out in time according to the order, bravely flanking the rear defense line of Pompey's army, and beat several allied infantry teams that had no intention of fighting to flee in panic. Peletaus was cautious, so he hurriedly The order to abandon the attack was given. The proud Pompeii veterans could no longer maintain their formation and retreated in a messy and dejected manner. They fought hard all day and advanced a little. Finally, they seized a river stream. Many soldiers buried their heads in it and drank greedily. After drinking the clear and cool water, their stomachs began to feel hungry again. Then, the words such as "leader", "obedience" and "glory" that originally supported their anesthetic psychology began to churn in their empty stomachs.

A soldier could not hold back and began to cry, followed by several people around him. Soon, the entire Pompeii army's position and formation were filled with the crying of soldiers. When they saw crows falling one after another and pecking at the bodies of their companions or enemies lying in front of them, the crying became even more miserable. On the hillside, many people in Lepidus's 27th Legion also cried.

"Everyone wants to survive!" This is the most direct voice of everyone on this fierce battlefield. They are in a standard "siege" situation. Sextus and Peletaus have to fight, while Lepidus, Gallius and others have to defend.

"Sabo, distribute all the money with the army, and no one is allowed to cry anymore!" Under the flag. Lepidus's cloak and armor were stained with blood and soot, but he still sat in front of the fascist and gave orders expressionlessly. "All centurions and decapitations, take turns to patrol the camp every half a sentry, to prevent the enemy from sneaking and escaping, and to prevent our soldiers from escaping - those who escape will be killed on the spot."

Over there, amid the thunderous crying, Sextus also took off his helmet, his curly hair was messy and horizontal, and he looked up to the sky and cried. Standing in the midst of the weeping crowd, he confessed to Peletaus: "Everyone sit down on the ground, maintain a funeral posture, and prepare to face Caesar's people tomorrow, surrender."

"Tomorrow, I will select four more battalions and charge again. The enemy's casualties have exceeded half. The last one rushing from the flank today should be their last reserve." Peletaus was very excited. As Pompey's oldest and most loyal old subordinate, he knew that if Pompey's youngest son really surrendered, then the family's reputation would be stained with a huge stain. "I understand your feelings towards the Pompey family. But now is not the time to care about these empty reputations. Although I respect people like Cato, I will never imitate him on the battlefield. What's the point of rushing over? The army is finished. Five legions and thirty battalions of allied auxiliary troops have long been lost. Even if we can rush over in the future, how many people can you and I bring back to Tarraco? Six battalions, four battalions. Or three? The shame we will suffer will be the same as a commander abandoning his soldiers on the battlefield. The whole of Spain will fall into Caesar's hands without any difference. It is better to fight hard and accept the judgment of fate with my comrades." Sextus said sadly. Then he sat down, used a branch to catch a little flame, burned his already bent dagger, and then inserted it into the soil. He continued in the wisps of green smoke, "There is no firewood, no fodder, and no wheat. It is meaningless to fight anymore, isn't it! The soldiers couldn't accept it, and they collapsed. My father's strategy was wrong from the beginning. He wasted too long in Italy and placed the elite troops in Spain and the East, which were not connected to each other, giving Caesar the opportunity to defeat them one by one. Yes - I am praising Caesar, the lustful old bald man. He did a great job and dispatched the legions in an orderly manner. First, he led the main force to block our steps in the Pyrenees, and then had people capture Masseria to obtain the sea route, detour to Lusitania, and cut off our retreat. Next, all that was left was to flee in a hurry. The province that my father had worked hard to manage for so many years turned out to be so vulnerable."...

In the flickering fire, Sextus' father-in-law Libo also sat on the ground, mumbling in silence. The wailing of the soldiers in the entire army made him upset.

Finally, after the resolution, everyone approved Peletaus' plan of "the last charge" the next morning, because the whole army collapsed in such a cowardly way, which was an absolute insult to anyone.

On the hillside, Lepidus also began to order the burning of the account books, official documents and soldier lists they carried, "If Caesar's main force has not launched a general attack the next day, we will all die here, and these things are unnecessary."

In the blazing fire, the generals were speechless, only Combano's eyes flickered, as if he was hesitating about something.

Suddenly, he pointed to the river and shouted, and several bonfires were lit in the dark night, "It's the Sixth Legion of Colliberia! They crossed the river to reinforce!"

Angondinus worked hard to raise some small boats that day, and then went back and forth overnight, sending three battalions of new forces one after another. Although there were only so many people, plus half a day's supplies, it brought a decisive morale boost to the entire army.

The delighted Lepidus had already calculated that these three battalions were enough - in the early morning, he immediately lined up the three battalions of the Sixth Legion along the hillside, all of whom were required to wear bright armor and hold sophisticated weapons and shields, while the soldiers of the 27th Legion all stood in the queue behind them, holding flags.

When Peletaus finally gathered his men and lined up in a dense formation and walked towards the hillside, the soldiers were shocked to find that the enemy still had a powerful backup: brand new faces, bright and neat armor, mixed with orderly camp flags and team logos, standing densely in front of them, like an unshakable iron wall.

Regardless of the centurions' scolding, the most experienced soldiers also lost confidence, dragged their bodies, and began to retreat continuously. Everything didn't matter, as long as this war ended soon!

In fact, only the first two or three rows were reinforcements from the Sixth Legion. The soldiers of the Twenty-Seventh Legion in the back had already lost the strength to continue fighting. They were just standing there for show, but they became the last straw that broke the camel's back for Pompeii's army.

Shouts and horse hooves came from the west - the four thousand elite cavalry of Vercingetorix and Dussonville also destroyed the wooden fence in Sextus' camp, captured and killed all the wounded, and rushed towards Pompeii's army from behind.

"Surrender everyone. I don't allow or need any of my men to lose their lives anymore!" Sextus raised the battle axe in his hand and shouted with all his strength.