Chapter 27: Never Leave Each Other (Part 1)

"If there were no Muslims, there would be no Frankish Empire; if there were no Mohammed, there would be no Charlemagne. ∮," - Pirenni's remarks on the dialectical relationship between Europe and the rise of Muslims

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This time, Carlenus and Angandinus had nothing to say. They just warned the young Caesar to adjust his troops first and break through the cavalry that Antony was guarding. Then he concentrated his troops to destroy the occupied troops. One of his camps, and then wait for an opportunity to seize the rest.

"Everyone, I have made a clear reconnaissance. There is only about one legion in Antony's fortress facing us now, and the rest have been led by him to besiege Decimus." Octavian was quite confident this time, and then Mei Senas stood up, showed and dictated the battle plan: split the forty-second and forty-third legions into several detachments to clear out Antony's peripheral cavalry, and then the sixth legion and the twelfth legion. The chief brigade is responsible for the sharp knife team that attacks the camp, and the other teams are responsible for containing the other camps.

That's it. Amidst the sound of trumpets and bugles, the two new legions, led by Pansa and Hedius, and guided by Octavian, suddenly charged out from the camps on the left and right wings and began to According to the pre-marked instructions, they began to drive away the small cavalry teams that attacked Anthony in various woods and hills. They asked the young soldiers to dress lightly and only carried javelins to continuously throw them. They also received support from the archers behind them. Anthony's The cavalry were dispersed and exhausted, so they fled in groups toward their own defenses.

Amidst the roar, the chief brigades of the Sixth Army and the Twelfth Army were led by Hebrida and Tagus. A neat attack team was lined up. Running fast. Following Anthony's patrol cavalry, they approached the camp in the middle of the Eighth Army at a staggering speed that was not inferior to horses.

Curio happened to be in the camp on his right wing at this time. Amidst the sound of warnings, he climbed up the tower in panic. Seeing that the camp in the center was in danger under the fierce attack, he asked the token officer beside him to ride forward quickly. Alert Anthony to ask for reinforcements, and also directly ask the soldiers to light beacon smoke to let the entire city of Mutina know. Octavian took offense.

At this time, the cavalry artillery of the Sixth Army and the Twelfth Army with iron shields also quickly advanced to an area of ​​about 300 Roman feet in front of the camp, where the engineers had already dug shallow ditches for shooting under the cover of shields. and surrounded by earth, then the cavalry artillery was in the center, and the rest of the infantry were scattered on the two wings. On one side, they poured lead bullets and stone bullets, while on the other side they continued to attack from both wings. Finally, the wooden fence and breastworks in front of the camp were completely broken, and then Heibrida was in front. Tagus followed and rushed in with his soldiers. The cavalry artillery also flexibly changed its direction and fired blocking shots at the ridge lines on both sides of the camp, killing and injuring many soldiers of the Eighth Army who came to reinforce from other camps, forcing them all to retreat and defend themselves. Soon after, the central camp declared its fall, and the two captured camp flags were sent to Young Caesar, who was supervising the battle behind them, making him very excited.

About a quarter of the day later, the 42nd Army and the 43rd Army also marched forward bravely and captured a camp each. In other words, the Eighth Army gave up on their own initiative. They realized that the enemy's strategy was to defeat them one by one, so they The Hedgehogs quickly gathered in the remaining strongholds and concentrated their forces to start a fierce resistance. The Eighth Army was also a veteran army of Caesar. They had fought all the way from the Gallic War and Civil War. They were defeated but not in disorder. They landed one after another with shields. After climbing up to the towers and walls, they also began to fire violently with ballistae and stick throwers. Since the seven camps were low in the center and high on both sides, they occupied a commanding position, which caused considerable damage to Young Caesar's army. .

"Hold on, the chief executive will bring the cavalry to reinforce us soon." Curio ran back and forth among several camps, constantly encouraging and arranging troops to support the crisis everywhere, while the two camps on the ridge over there The camps also resisted desperately under the leadership of their respective centurions, and there was no danger of falling for a while.

It was daylight, and Antony naturally saw the warning beacon. In front of the Ninth and Tenth Legions who came to "negotiate", he shouted, "This is a conspiracy of the Senate. For the safety of the hostages stranded in Rome, Young Caesar , had to attack us. Although I have no intention of fighting with Young Caesar, when the sword stabs at our necks, even if the owner of the sword is innocent, it will still endanger our lives, right? Whatever it is, let’s finish this battle first and then talk about it.”

"No, we will never fight Young Caesar. If his army attacks, we will surrender." The cavalry of the two legions said this, "But we are not opposed to you saving your life. Now do what you want to do. ! Just give us the son of General Lepidus." Then they drew their swords and asked Antony to hand over Leo.

"This is not possible. This child is mine. I need him to prove the covenant with Caesar and Lepidus." Antony immediately restrained Leo and drew his sword. "Listen Leo, you have to save me. , I know you will save me, right? I had a feud with your father, but now it’s gone, we will join hands and fight back together.” Anthony put his sword on Leo’s neck and whispered. Begging.

"Soldiers, the covenant was secretly determined by my father, Father Zhi and Young Caesar in advance. If you force it now, it will violate the covenant." Leo shouted like this.

Over there, Antony's general Venditis, who had been camping with the Fifth Legion, immediately realized that Antony was in trouble after learning about the situation sent by the token officer, and asked the Skylark Legion to arm themselves collectively, and then briefly told them, "The Ninth and Tenth Legions may have mutinied over the issue of rewards and held the chief executive hostage." Most of the Fifth Legion were straightforward Gauls, and they immediately dressed up and vowed to protect Antony's integrity and honor. Finally, everyone, including the most orderly Tarraco Cavalry Battalion, rushed out with Venditis.

Then, the Dalmatian Cavalry Battalion of the Eleventh Legion, who did not know what was going on, also rushed out, joined Venditis, and pressed towards the commander's tent, which was thirty stadia away.

In the smoke and dust, Venditis's cavalry came quickly. The cavalry of the Ninth and Tenth Legions besieging Anthony was small in number and did not want to engage in a large-scale battle with him, which would harm innocent people, so they withdrew. Anthony pulled Leo and ran down the hillside quickly, and then they each mounted the mounts sent by Venditis. Anthony looked at Leo with a complicated expression, and finally said, "Don't worry, I keep my word, but I will not accept such conditions if I lose the battle. Everything will be discussed after I win." (To be continued..)