Chapter 17: Rhode Islanders' Gratitude (Part 2)
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"Pergamum, Bithynia, Carlia, Sardis, and part of Lycodania. That's all the land in our hands now, and it's still very precarious. The entire Greek Macedonia was destroyed in one market day. Lost, Caesar is crossing the sea and heading here, Lepidus has also begun to build forts in Byzantium, and there is not much time left. Are you sure you can lead the fleet to intercept and kill Caesar? "The governor of Ephesus? In the mansion, Scipio paced back and forth uneasily, asking Cassio who was sitting next to him at the chart table.
Now, all the remaining elites of the republic, with four legions, are gathered in the city of Ephesus. According to Scipio's description, the condition of this group of people is very bad, their military pay is insufficient, and their training and morale are also low. It's very bad, and it has never won a battle until now. The three legions that Scipio brought to Greece were half disabled by Lepidus' ambush before they crossed the Ariacmon River. And the nine Macedonian legions commanded by Brutus, He also returned defeated at Taktun, where Adiana was guarding. In addition, the only reliable ally, Bosporus, also withdrew from Taktun to Sinop in the north, disconnecting them from each other.
But Casillo just stared at the chart on the table without saying a word.
Brutus over there began to get excited, and he proposed a desperate plan. He borrowed another one thousand to fifteen hundred talents of military supplies from the tax-farming knights in the provinces of Minor Asia, and then gave away all the slaves of all the people. Liberate, form a new legion of 4,000 to 5,000 men, gather five to six legions, take advantage of the unsteady opportunity of Caesar's landing ashore, launch a swift counterattack, defeat and kill him, and naturally disintegrate Caesar's camp.
In short, Scipio asked Casio to take responsibility at sea, while Brutus urged Scipio to launch an attack on land, and the two soon had a fierce dispute. Apis on the other side was covered in a cloak and looked very depressed and cold-mouthed.
"I am the father-in-law of the leader Pompey, am I not the eldest here?" Scipio became angry. He raised his title and identity again, "Besides. Shouldn't all Romans default to Metra and Scipio as the only two names on the battlefield?" As a result, before Brutus could sneer, someone beside him Cassius stood up and took the initiative to express his position and said, "I will immediately lead the seventy warships stationed in Caria and rush out together with Brutus to intercept Caesar."
Scipio's raised fist began to drop after hearing these words. Then he raised his chin and said arrogantly, "Very good, I will sit in Ephesus immediately to raise funds for the legion and fleet, and prepare to fight to the death with Lepidus' men!"
On the Aegean Sea, looking past, there are scattered and trivial small islands. Among the blue waves, a fleet flying the eagle flag is struggling to move forward against the wind. This is the fleet of the dictator Caesar. Most of them were flat-bottomed merchant ships temporarily recruited from Greek city-states. Caesar was sitting on the bow of the ship, loudly encouraging his followers and soldiers. "Hurry up, my comrades, citizens of Rome, Ephesus, the holy land of God, is being plundered and extorted by Pompeian bandits. Now they have deserted their relatives, and more and more noble kings are waking up. Refusing to act as Pompey's Creon any longer, they withdraw their servant armies and refuse to pay tribute to Pompey. So as long as we pursue bravely and quickly, the whole East and the Black Sea will soon return to the embrace of the Republic and give the drum beat. Beat with excitement!"
But not before Caesar's oarsmen cheered. From the far opposite side, there was a faint sound of violent drumbeats from others, and the silent cheers of the oarsmen and crew suddenly turned into exclamations - about twenty ships with decks and horns flying the enemy's flag. The boat is coming fiercely.
Under the flying flags and sails, Cassius and Brutus stood. As for why the former agreed to Scipio's request, he himself did not explain anything. Brutus, out of trust in this close friend, and Without asking, at this moment, the noble son of a republican family was even more excited, afraid, and hesitant because he had successfully captured Caesar's ship.
In terms of personal emotions, Brutus has never had any conflict with the father-like Caesar. He respects Caesar, loves Caesar, and admires Caesar's courage, determination and skill. He often hopes that it would be great if Caesar was a hero who safeguarded the republic. In that case, I am willing to die for this hero, no matter how tragic and tragic the death is. But now in terms of justice, he hopes that his sword can pierce the beating chest of a father-like person. Isn't this what a Roman citizen should do? The most upright Brutus would not interfere with personal affairs, but would be responsible for right and wrong.
For Casillo, who is familiar with this area of the sea, capturing Caesar's fleet is not difficult at all, because it only needs to cruise along the commercial routes in the sea. Anyway, the vast majority of Caesar's fleet is merchant ships and transport ships. .
"The entire fleet, turn around, aim at Caesar's flagship, use the bronze rammed ships to speed up the oar progress." Casillo issued the instructions skillfully, and the helmsman and rowers on his flagship shouted and started to operate. , then Cassius looked at Brutus and asked, "Are you ready to fight?" Brutus trembled all over, raised the sharp fighting sword in his hand, looked at the enemy and our ships on the sea, and then raised his head He shouted, "Of course I'm ready!"
"What a coincidence! Order all ships to avoid the enemy's attack - head for the unnamed island in the southeast." There was a panic on Caesar's deck. There were no crossbows, no club throwers, no long sickles and burning throwing pots commonly used by combatants. All soldiers only had standard shields, javelins and broadswords. Under the centurion's loud rebuke, they could only run around like headless flies. It was Caesar himself who was relatively calm and issued an order to retreat.
However, the personnel on his merchant ships had no experience in naval warfare. Many people ignored the flag signals from Caesar's flagship and continued to move forward in a daze. As a result, they were smashed to pieces by Cassius' ships amid the rumbling sound. Fortunately, most of the army soldiers and cavalry were not on them. Most of the ships were loaded with supplies, fresh water and horses. "Caesar, today, let's see how much the goddess of fate favors you!" Cassiyo on the bridge had a sullen face. The four-row rowing boat carrying a ram and a four-door crow bridge he was sitting on fiercely sank two enemy ships and then chased the wake of Caesar's flagship and pressed past.
Caesar's flagship was smaller, and after hard work, he finally rowed to the side of the nameless island. Then the crew on it found that this was actually a small island group. Around the core large island, there were many rocks between the size of reefs and small islands. The waves and currents inside were extremely chaotic and complicated. "Go in." Caesar said decisively. (To be continued)