Chapter 457: Rome Ends, Knicks Rise
Caesar looked at the Gallic cavalry going away and his expression eased a little.
"Caesar, is the situation on the left wing going well?" Brutus was very clear about the battle plan Caesar had arranged before the war. Seeing the Gallic cavalry that were supposed to counterattack on the left wing appear here, he felt a little uneasy. He seized the opportunity and asked carefully.
Caesar glanced at him, and Brutus was startled.
Caesar then looked forward again and sighed slightly: "We all underestimated the Nixes. They are well prepared for this war! The heavy cavalry that dares to charge, the iron men who are not afraid of being chopped by daggers, the cavalry that does not chase the defeated soldiers... It's too unexpected!"
Caesar took a deep breath, his eagle eyebrows suddenly raised: "But, that's all they can do! It's almost dusk now. As long as we hold out until night and both sides call a truce, I will be able to think of a way to defeat them tomorrow, and victory will eventually belong to Rome!"
After saying this, he rode his horse towards the wall of people at the gap in the army formation: "Citizens of Rome! Warriors defending their homeland! I am Caesar, I stand behind you and fight shoulder to shoulder with you!..."
Caesar's shouts were met with roars from the Roman soldiers, who were originally tired and nervous and instantly became full of fighting spirit.
Caesar rode around the human wall, shouting as he rode. After one circle, the momentum of the entire Roman team changed, and they seemed to have regained confidence in victory.
At this moment, a messenger came running over: "Mr. Archon, it's bad! Legion Commander Petius sent me to inform you that the left wing can no longer withstand the attack of the barbarians!"
"What did you say?!" Caesar was shocked and thought he had heard it wrong.
The messenger explained in a hurry: "After you left, the barbarian crossbowmen suddenly appeared on the left wing, causing great casualties to the 13th Legion's spear formation. The barbarian cavalry also took the opportunity to charge and completely defeated them. Moreover, the defeat of the 13th Legion also disrupted the second-line soldiers of the 7th Legion who rushed over to support...
Soon, several thousand barbarian infantrymen also circled our flanks and pressed forward. We no longer had any reserve soldiers and it was difficult to resist their attack... Some of the soldiers fighting on the front line had already begun to flee..."
Caesar felt as if his heart was being grabbed by someone, and it was so painful that he could hardly breathe: When he was on the left wing, there was a problem in the middle! He brought reinforcements to the middle, and there was another big problem on the left wing... In this battle, the Knicks were ahead step by step, and he was passive everywhere. This had never happened in previous battles!
Caesar forced himself to remain calm and shouted, "Quick! Gather the soldiers of the Eighth Legion and rush back to the left wing with me to rescue them!"
When Brutus heard this, he blurted out something similar to what Pertius said: "Caesar, if you leave, what will happen to the middle?!"
Caesar suddenly felt angry. He had not realized it before, but now he realized that none of his generals could carry the responsibility alone.
He barely suppressed his emotions that were about to explode, and wanted to encourage the other party, but suddenly he heard someone shouting in fear: "Cavalry! The barbarian cavalry is coming!!"
Caesar's heart tightened and he turned his head to look, only to see hundreds of barbarian cavalrymen holding swords and spears charging towards this side from the left wing. The dust they raised was blowing in the sky, making him suffocate.
At this moment, the Nyx heavy cavalry who had been watching from a distance and the Gallic cavalry who had been harassing them also saw the Nyx cavalry bypassing the fleeing soldiers on the left wing and rushing straight to the center.
When the Gallic cavalry leader Galadia saw this scene, his face suddenly changed. He immediately forgot the task assigned by Caesar and led his people to escape far away.
Originally, these Gallic cavalry were just cruising around the Knyx heavy cavalry without any fighting. Now, their movement would not be a hindrance to the Knyx heavy cavalry.
The captain of the heavy cavalry took the opportunity to shout loudly: "Brothers, have your horses rested?!"
Gennaro patted the neck of the warhorse under his crotch. The warhorse, which had just eaten a mixture of eggs, soybeans, a small amount of salt and a little water, made a loud and powerful "hissing" sound.
Genalo responded loudly like his other comrades: "We have all rested, and are waiting for you, the captain, to give the order to attack!"
"Alright! The cavalry brothers are coming, we can't just stand there and watch! Charge with me again and defeat the Romans completely!"
Gennaro raised his hammer, shouted excitedly with his comrades, and quickly formed a charge formation.
Soon, the terrifying rumbling sound of horse hooves sounded behind the center of the Roman army.
..................................................................
Finally won! ... After learning from the messenger that "the Romans on the left, center and right have all been defeated and the soldiers have begun to pursue them on all fronts", Maximus finally relaxed.
Even though he had been in control of the Knicks for more than 20 years and had been able to remain calm in the face of any unexpected events, he could not help but feel the surge of emotion this time: not only because he had defeated Caesar, but also because the victory in this battle was an important step towards the destruction of Rome!
He took several deep breaths, managed to calm down, and said, "Pass on my order, and tell all the troops to pursue the enemy with all their strength regardless of fatigue, and try to wipe out the enemy before night falls!
In addition, let me emphasize again that no matter who it is, as long as he captures the enemy commander Caesar, no matter what his previous rank was or how many military exploits he has made, he will be directly promoted to level three! "
Maximus's last words made everyone around him want to go down and give chase themselves.
“Also… send someone to tell Vercingetorix that Caesar’s army has been completely defeated by us, and he doesn’t need to rush to join us.
Let him lead his troops directly to capture Tortona, then Genoa, and then march to Rome along the coastal road. We will soon move to Bologna and attack south along the Via Carnia! "
..................................................................
Before the Roman army collapsed, Caesar's guards forcibly pulled him back. During this period, he encountered the pursuit of the Nix cavalry several times, and these guards stayed behind to intercept them desperately, which bought him some time to escape.
Caesar threw away his cloak, took off his armor, and even ventured into the mountains at night, thus escaping the pursuit, but he also lost his way and ran around in the dark forest like a headless fly.
Caesar, who was tired, hungry, and devastated by the defeat in the battle, suddenly fell to the ground while walking. His hands and feet twitched, his eyes rolled back, and he foamed at the mouth.
His followers were shocked and even desperate, thinking that Caesar was abandoned by the gods and had such a terrible curse, which was why he lost this important battle.
Only his trusted slave Poca protected him and told everyone: Caesar had suffered from epilepsy many years ago and would have attacks from time to time, and during this period he had won countless wars, so this was not a curse, but a gift from the gods.
But the crowd obviously did not accept his explanation, and when the next morning dawned, there were only a few people left following Caesar.
Fortunately, Galadia, who had escaped from the battlefield early yesterday, learned the news that "Roman was defeated and Caesar's whereabouts were unknown". After thinking about it, he felt that the Gallic rebels led by Vercingetorix regarded him as an enemy. If Caesar was gone, there would be no place for him and his people in Rome.
So he led his people back to look for him. On the way, he met an follower who had escaped from Caesar and learned about Caesar's approximate whereabouts.
After half a day's searching, he finally found Caesar and his companions who were trekking through the mountains.
Caesar had regained consciousness by this time, but was too hungry to speak.
Caesar wolfed down the dry food brought by Galadia, and learned from him that as of this morning, very few Roman defeated soldiers had fled to Tortola.
The reason is simple: Caesar led his army to line up in the east, while the Nyx army was in the west. With Tortona in the west, it became much more difficult for the Roman soldiers to escape back, and if they fled to the east, they would still be surrounded by the Nyx army and would eventually be trapped.
Caesar remained silent along the way.
Back at Tortona, although the Niccolo did not come to attack, the place was empty, and even the thousands of Roman soldiers who had stayed here before had fled without a trace.
Caesar and his companions did not dare to linger, and hurried south through the mountain pass.
When they arrived in Genoa, there were still soldiers stationed there, but they all looked very panicked. Caesar's arrival gave them a reassurance.
Caesar decided to abandon Genoa because he could not defend this poorly defended port with his current shortage of soldiers and generals.
However, before leaving by ship, he sent someone to notify Lucca, which was located south of Genoa and also on the Via Sculli, to strengthen the town's defenses in preparation for the barbarian attack.
Caesar did not land at the port of Ostia, but went quietly to Sardinia, where some of his troops were still left.
Here, he learned that the news of the disastrous defeat in the battle had reached Rome. The people in the city were very panicked, and rumors that "he had been captured by the barbarians and killed" were flying everywhere.
Caesar secretly summoned Trebonius, and after ensuring his loyalty, he asked him in detail about the training of the new legions, and then sent trusted men to take over these new legions.
The next day, Caesar led three battalions of soldiers to land at the port of Ostia and marched directly to Rome via land in a very high-profile manner.
Thousands of Roman people who learned the news rushed to the city gate to greet him. After they were sure that the person standing on the carriage and waving to them was Caesar himself, they did not question Caesar's failure. Instead, they excitedly thanked the gods for blessing Caesar's safe return.
Caesar gave an impromptu speech to the gathered crowd.
He first admitted that he had made a mistake. He did not know that the Nyx barbarians had been coveting Rome for a long time and had made sufficient preparations and secretly formed some new types of troops. He knew nothing about this and was therefore caught off guard.
He then confidently promised: Rome was the most powerful country in the Mediterranean, and one defeat was not enough to shake Rome's hegemony. Now he had found a way to deal with the Niccos barbarians. Once he reorganized his army, he would completely destroy the Niccos and Gallic barbarian armies that invaded Italy within a year.
Finally, he loudly and passionately declared that he hoped Roman citizens would actively sign up for the army, because he had already decided that after the invading barbarians were eliminated, all citizens who served would be given land, and all the land would be in Italy.
Caesar dared to make such a declaration without the approval of the Senate, and it was the most difficult issue of land distribution, which was absolutely taboo in Roman politics.
But no one doubted that Caesar's words were empty talk, because all the promises he had made before had been fulfilled one by one. With his current status, he had the courage and strength to fulfill it!
The people burst into cheers, singing and dancing as they led Caesar into the city, as if he had not lost the battle but returned in triumph. The atmosphere of panic that had previously permeated the city of Rome was swept away.
Then, countless citizens rushed to the military camp outside the city, eagerly inquiring about signing up for the army.
Caesar returned to his high priest's palace and refused any visitors on the grounds that he was "tired from the journey and needed to rest."
The conservative senators, who had learned of Caesar's defeat and his initiative to provoke disputes, were uneasy, especially when they learned of Caesar's declaration at the city gate, which made them feel that Caesar had become more arbitrary after his return.
However, Caesar's return did restore peace and tranquility to Rome, not only in terms of order within the city but also in the political arena.
Caesar rested at home for two days. On the one hand, he wanted to recuperate, as the days of defeat and escape had caused considerable damage to his body and mind; on the other hand, he needed to discuss with his generals to perfect the plan of forming a new army, strengthening the defense in the north, and ultimately defeating the powerful Nyx army, so as to submit it to the Senate.
Caesar had a premonition that the Nyx army had been planning the invasion for so long that after defeating him, they would definitely not stay in northern Italy as before, because there was no army in the south that could stop them. They would take the opportunity to move south and occupy more Roman territory, and might even want to get involved in Rome.
The situation is dangerous and time is pressing.
So on the third day, at Caesar's request, the Senate held an emergency meeting. All the senators in Rome were present, and Caesar was the last to enter.
When he sat in his own chair, before the meeting was announced, Cicero came over, followed by a number of people, all of whom were conservative senators.
Caesar was surprised.
Cicero hurriedly explained: "Respected Caesar, there is something very important that I want to let you know in advance! ... Well, originally Cato, Metellus and others were recruiting troops in North Africa in an attempt to fight against you. But after knowing that the barbarian army invaded northern Italy, repeatedly defeated the Roman army, and posed a serious threat to Rome, they felt that if the civil war continued, it would only weaken Rome's power and benefit the barbarians!
Therefore, they have written to you, hoping to get your forgiveness, cancel their treason charges, and allow them to return to the Senate. In return, they will also disband all the troops..."
After Cicero finished speaking, Longinus took out an envelope from his arms and said, "Caesar, it is true. Metellus has written to me, expressing his willingness to return to Rome!"
Brutus (another Brutus, the son of Caesar's lover Servilia) also rushed to say nervously: "Cat...Cato also wrote me a letter, this...this is his letter!"
"I have here a letter from Rabienus!"
"I have..."
Other elders also took out their letters.
Seeing that Cicero was leading the group and his favorite Brutus was among them, Caesar believed it for the most part and at the same time felt relieved: If Cato and his men could really surrender, he could concentrate all his efforts on dealing with the powerful Nicos!
"Brutus, give me Cato's letter." Caesar decided to read Cato's letter first, eager to know how his mortal enemy came up with this idea.
As Caesar unfolded the letter and read it carefully, he did not notice that these conservative senators were slowly surrounding him.
Longinus, who was standing behind Caesar, suddenly grabbed his toga with his left hand, quickly took out a sharp dagger from his arms with his right hand, and stabbed it into his chest.
Caesar let out a scream, which served as a signal, and all the conservative senators around him drew their daggers and stabbed Caesar.
Caesar fought back desperately, but was outnumbered. He was stabbed dozens of times and suddenly fell to the ground, one of which was stabbed by Brutus.
It took only a few minutes from the time Longinus took action to the time Caesar fell to the ground. Before the other senators in the meeting hall had time to react, Caesar fell in a pool of blood.
Cicero did not expect such a tragedy to happen before his eyes, and he stood there like a puppet.
This was the first time since the founding of Rome that a bloody murder occurred in the most sacred place, the Senate. Longinus and others who dared to defy the world were not immediately arrested and questioned. On the contrary, there was chaos in the Senate after the incident. Some senators, including Trebonius, felt that the situation was not good and began to quietly flee the venue.
After his success, Longinus even stood in the center of the meeting and proudly declared: "Ladies and gentlemen, by the will of the gods, we have eliminated the dictator Caesar, and Rome will regain its former glory! Cato and Metellus have led the army north by ship and will soon arrive to defend Rome. Don't worry about Rome's safety!"
Perhaps everyone was still in shock, or perhaps Longinus' words had an effect, the remaining senators in the meeting hall and the surrounding guards allowed the murderers to hold Caesar's blood-stained toga and rush to the Temple of Jupiter to offer sacrifice in a show of force.
Not long after, the slave Pocca, who received the news, bravely walked into the Senate with two of his companions, suppressed his grief, and carried Caesar's body back home.
..................................................................
After winning the battle, Nick's army rested for a day in Piacenza, then moved to Bologna and began to march south along the Via Cania.
Three days later, the entire army crossed the northern Apennine Mountains and entered the Roman Etruscan region. Blocking the army's way was the northern Etruscan town of Florence.
This was a Roman colonial city and also a populous town with a prosperous trade due to its convenient transportation with the northern Italian provinces.
While the Nic army was stranded in northern Italy, the Romans stationed a number of soldiers in the city and strengthened its defenses, hoping to hold the city and prevent the Nic people from rashly entering the core area of Rome.
Maximus' strategy was to surround Florence without attacking it, and to divide his troops to attack other towns to the south.
Previously, the Nyx army occupied the northern Italian province and expelled all the residents. Some went to Rome, and some stayed in various towns in Etruria because they were closer to their homes.
Maximus sent a large team of spies (most of whom were subordinates trained by Onomabaitis in Roman territory over the years, they spoke Latin and their appearances were not suspicious) to blend into the refugee tide, enter the Etruscan region, and live with the refugees in various towns.
With the exception of Florence and Lucca, these two towns had been transformed by Rome into temporary military fortresses to keep out barbarian invasions, and therefore were off-limits to outsiders.
These towns were seriously short of troops, their defenses had not been repaired for a long time, and with the support of others, the northern part of the Etruscan region was almost entirely captured by the Nyx army in just over ten days, and a large amount of food and supplies were raised, solving the problem of logistical supply.
Maximus then sent a troop to Lucca on the northwest border of Etruria to meet up with his Gallic allies.
At this time, Vercingetorix had regrouped more than 10,000 Gallic troops, reoccupied the empty Tortona and Genoa, and besieged Lucca.
He followed Maximus's advice and did not attack Lucca by force, but bypassed it and joined forces with the Nyx army.
Maximus left a small number of troops to continue besieging Florence, and the main force would accelerate southward together with the Gallic army, because he had received news: Caesar had been assassinated, the Roman people rioted, and Rome fell into chaos.
When the Nyx and Gallic coalition forces marched to the north of Veii, a large Roman army blocked their way.
It turned out that Longinus did not lie, and Cato and Metellus did lead their army north by ship.
However, when they set out, they did not know that Caesar had suffered a disastrous defeat in northern Italy. They only learned from secret communications with their friends in Rome that Caesar had led his army to leave Rome to fight the barbarians who had invaded northern Italy.
Labienus insisted that this was the best time to recapture Rome and defeat Caesar.
Under his strong instigation, Metellus and Cato reluctantly led their troops to set off, but their hesitation and fear of Caesar were evident from their repeated stops on shore in Sicily and Regium and the slow speed of the fleet.
However, after learning the news that "Caesar had been killed by Longinus", Cato and others were ecstatic. In just 5 days, they rushed from Regium to Ostia.
Then, following Caesar's example, they led their armies into Rome and quelled the chaos caused by the people who were angry about Caesar's murder.
During the entire process, Trebonius watched from the sidelines and did not lead the new troops to fight against the armies of Metellus and Cato.
Because he had reached a compromise with the conservatives led by Longinus in advance, the conservatives forgave his previous actions and believed that he was only forced to be a gun under Caesar's threat and not voluntarily.
The conservatives temporarily stabilized the Roman order, but they did not have time to eliminate Caesar's followers, and were unable to stop the large number of disappointed Roman people from fleeing south because the Nyx-Gallic coalition was already approaching.
Metellus and Labienus decisively led their troops north, trying to keep the enemy out of Rome.
Although they heard that the Nyx army was very powerful and had defeated the Roman army several times, including Caesar.
But according to the information obtained, the Knyx army had only more than 3 troops, and including the Gallic barbarians, it was less than 5 troops.
Metellus and Cato alone recruited 50,000 soldiers in North Africa. Together with the troops led by King Juba I of Numidia and the new legions trained by Trebonius, the number of soldiers reached 100,000, twice as many as the enemy.
Although more than half of them were new recruits, they were fully confident that they could defeat the invading barbarian army, win brilliant honor for themselves, and thus establish their important position in the Senate.
The Roman army came in full force, but Maximus did not rush to engage them. Instead, he retreated again and again to keep a distance from the enemy.
After learning the details of the Roman army, Maximus sent an envoy to sneak into the tent of Juba I, the King of Numidia, at night.
On the third day, the Nyx-Gallic coalition did not retreat, but instead took the initiative to deploy its troops, and the two sides launched a large-scale battle.
But not long after the battle began, the Numidian army suddenly turned against them, leading the Nyx army, which was supposed to fight with them, to attack the flank of the new legion led by Trebonius.
At the same time, several thousand Numibian cavalry raided the headquarters of Metellus and Cato, resulting in the death of Cato and the escape of Metellus.
The Roman army suffered a disastrous defeat. Under the relentless pursuit of the armies of Nyx, Gaul and Numidia, countless Roman soldiers were desperate and jumped into the Tiber River in panic, feeding the fish and shrimps...
Juba I rebelled against Rome because Maximus told him that this battle was very important. If Rome lost again, it would cease to exist! Is King Juba willing to join us in bravely destroying the hegemony of Rome, regaining independence for Nubia, and gaining a broader space for development, such as the entire North Africa and even Spain? Or is he willing to continue to be a vassal of Rome and perish with it?
Juba was a man with his own ideas. He hated that he needed to be recognized by Rome to inherit the throne. He hated even more that he, as the king of Numidia, had been tried and disgraced by Caesar. So later, even though he knew that Caesar was more powerful, he still chose to help Metellus, Cato and others for revenge.
Now that Caesar is dead, he is just following Cato's team out of habit. In fact, as a bystander, he has seen the current predicament of Rome, and Maximus' words have awakened him.
So he reached a secret agreement with Maximus.
The Roman army was destroyed and no longer had the strength to stop the advance of the Nyx and Gallic coalition forces.
They entered the city of Rome unhindered. Although most of the residents had fled south, a small number of them ran to the Capitoline Hill to hold their ground, attempting to repeat the history of being occupied and then recaptured by the Gauls hundreds of years ago.
Maximus ignored this and ordered his soldiers to empty the city of property, supplies and food, then poured oil and set fire to various places in the city.
In the blazing fire, the Senate, which controlled the life and death of all the nations and races in the Mediterranean, collapsed; the Forum of Mars, the place where a powerful army was built, became rubble; the twelve bronze columns that regulated the Roman order and safeguarded the interests of the powerful turned into molten copper; the Pantheon, which promoted the supremacy of Rome and unified the national faith, turned into ashes...
The fire burned for three days and three nights, and thick smoke rose into the sky. Residents of several nearby towns and cities saw the fire, which shook their faith in Rome.
When this news spread throughout the Mediterranean, it was like a torch that ignited the anger in the hearts of the various races oppressed by Rome.
The city of Rome, which had been founded for hundreds of years, has become a ruin. The nightmare that has been buried in his heart since his rebirth has finally disappeared. Maximus is convinced that the era of Rome has ended, and the era of the Knicks has just begun!
(End of this chapter)
Caesar looked at the Gallic cavalry going away and his expression eased a little.
"Caesar, is the situation on the left wing going well?" Brutus was very clear about the battle plan Caesar had arranged before the war. Seeing the Gallic cavalry that were supposed to counterattack on the left wing appear here, he felt a little uneasy. He seized the opportunity and asked carefully.
Caesar glanced at him, and Brutus was startled.
Caesar then looked forward again and sighed slightly: "We all underestimated the Nixes. They are well prepared for this war! The heavy cavalry that dares to charge, the iron men who are not afraid of being chopped by daggers, the cavalry that does not chase the defeated soldiers... It's too unexpected!"
Caesar took a deep breath, his eagle eyebrows suddenly raised: "But, that's all they can do! It's almost dusk now. As long as we hold out until night and both sides call a truce, I will be able to think of a way to defeat them tomorrow, and victory will eventually belong to Rome!"
After saying this, he rode his horse towards the wall of people at the gap in the army formation: "Citizens of Rome! Warriors defending their homeland! I am Caesar, I stand behind you and fight shoulder to shoulder with you!..."
Caesar's shouts were met with roars from the Roman soldiers, who were originally tired and nervous and instantly became full of fighting spirit.
Caesar rode around the human wall, shouting as he rode. After one circle, the momentum of the entire Roman team changed, and they seemed to have regained confidence in victory.
At this moment, a messenger came running over: "Mr. Archon, it's bad! Legion Commander Petius sent me to inform you that the left wing can no longer withstand the attack of the barbarians!"
"What did you say?!" Caesar was shocked and thought he had heard it wrong.
The messenger explained in a hurry: "After you left, the barbarian crossbowmen suddenly appeared on the left wing, causing great casualties to the 13th Legion's spear formation. The barbarian cavalry also took the opportunity to charge and completely defeated them. Moreover, the defeat of the 13th Legion also disrupted the second-line soldiers of the 7th Legion who rushed over to support...
Soon, several thousand barbarian infantrymen also circled our flanks and pressed forward. We no longer had any reserve soldiers and it was difficult to resist their attack... Some of the soldiers fighting on the front line had already begun to flee..."
Caesar felt as if his heart was being grabbed by someone, and it was so painful that he could hardly breathe: When he was on the left wing, there was a problem in the middle! He brought reinforcements to the middle, and there was another big problem on the left wing... In this battle, the Knicks were ahead step by step, and he was passive everywhere. This had never happened in previous battles!
Caesar forced himself to remain calm and shouted, "Quick! Gather the soldiers of the Eighth Legion and rush back to the left wing with me to rescue them!"
When Brutus heard this, he blurted out something similar to what Pertius said: "Caesar, if you leave, what will happen to the middle?!"
Caesar suddenly felt angry. He had not realized it before, but now he realized that none of his generals could carry the responsibility alone.
He barely suppressed his emotions that were about to explode, and wanted to encourage the other party, but suddenly he heard someone shouting in fear: "Cavalry! The barbarian cavalry is coming!!"
Caesar's heart tightened and he turned his head to look, only to see hundreds of barbarian cavalrymen holding swords and spears charging towards this side from the left wing. The dust they raised was blowing in the sky, making him suffocate.
At this moment, the Nyx heavy cavalry who had been watching from a distance and the Gallic cavalry who had been harassing them also saw the Nyx cavalry bypassing the fleeing soldiers on the left wing and rushing straight to the center.
When the Gallic cavalry leader Galadia saw this scene, his face suddenly changed. He immediately forgot the task assigned by Caesar and led his people to escape far away.
Originally, these Gallic cavalry were just cruising around the Knyx heavy cavalry without any fighting. Now, their movement would not be a hindrance to the Knyx heavy cavalry.
The captain of the heavy cavalry took the opportunity to shout loudly: "Brothers, have your horses rested?!"
Gennaro patted the neck of the warhorse under his crotch. The warhorse, which had just eaten a mixture of eggs, soybeans, a small amount of salt and a little water, made a loud and powerful "hissing" sound.
Genalo responded loudly like his other comrades: "We have all rested, and are waiting for you, the captain, to give the order to attack!"
"Alright! The cavalry brothers are coming, we can't just stand there and watch! Charge with me again and defeat the Romans completely!"
Gennaro raised his hammer, shouted excitedly with his comrades, and quickly formed a charge formation.
Soon, the terrifying rumbling sound of horse hooves sounded behind the center of the Roman army.
..................................................................
Finally won! ... After learning from the messenger that "the Romans on the left, center and right have all been defeated and the soldiers have begun to pursue them on all fronts", Maximus finally relaxed.
Even though he had been in control of the Knicks for more than 20 years and had been able to remain calm in the face of any unexpected events, he could not help but feel the surge of emotion this time: not only because he had defeated Caesar, but also because the victory in this battle was an important step towards the destruction of Rome!
He took several deep breaths, managed to calm down, and said, "Pass on my order, and tell all the troops to pursue the enemy with all their strength regardless of fatigue, and try to wipe out the enemy before night falls!
In addition, let me emphasize again that no matter who it is, as long as he captures the enemy commander Caesar, no matter what his previous rank was or how many military exploits he has made, he will be directly promoted to level three! "
Maximus's last words made everyone around him want to go down and give chase themselves.
“Also… send someone to tell Vercingetorix that Caesar’s army has been completely defeated by us, and he doesn’t need to rush to join us.
Let him lead his troops directly to capture Tortona, then Genoa, and then march to Rome along the coastal road. We will soon move to Bologna and attack south along the Via Carnia! "
..................................................................
Before the Roman army collapsed, Caesar's guards forcibly pulled him back. During this period, he encountered the pursuit of the Nix cavalry several times, and these guards stayed behind to intercept them desperately, which bought him some time to escape.
Caesar threw away his cloak, took off his armor, and even ventured into the mountains at night, thus escaping the pursuit, but he also lost his way and ran around in the dark forest like a headless fly.
Caesar, who was tired, hungry, and devastated by the defeat in the battle, suddenly fell to the ground while walking. His hands and feet twitched, his eyes rolled back, and he foamed at the mouth.
His followers were shocked and even desperate, thinking that Caesar was abandoned by the gods and had such a terrible curse, which was why he lost this important battle.
Only his trusted slave Poca protected him and told everyone: Caesar had suffered from epilepsy many years ago and would have attacks from time to time, and during this period he had won countless wars, so this was not a curse, but a gift from the gods.
But the crowd obviously did not accept his explanation, and when the next morning dawned, there were only a few people left following Caesar.
Fortunately, Galadia, who had escaped from the battlefield early yesterday, learned the news that "Roman was defeated and Caesar's whereabouts were unknown". After thinking about it, he felt that the Gallic rebels led by Vercingetorix regarded him as an enemy. If Caesar was gone, there would be no place for him and his people in Rome.
So he led his people back to look for him. On the way, he met an follower who had escaped from Caesar and learned about Caesar's approximate whereabouts.
After half a day's searching, he finally found Caesar and his companions who were trekking through the mountains.
Caesar had regained consciousness by this time, but was too hungry to speak.
Caesar wolfed down the dry food brought by Galadia, and learned from him that as of this morning, very few Roman defeated soldiers had fled to Tortola.
The reason is simple: Caesar led his army to line up in the east, while the Nyx army was in the west. With Tortona in the west, it became much more difficult for the Roman soldiers to escape back, and if they fled to the east, they would still be surrounded by the Nyx army and would eventually be trapped.
Caesar remained silent along the way.
Back at Tortona, although the Niccolo did not come to attack, the place was empty, and even the thousands of Roman soldiers who had stayed here before had fled without a trace.
Caesar and his companions did not dare to linger, and hurried south through the mountain pass.
When they arrived in Genoa, there were still soldiers stationed there, but they all looked very panicked. Caesar's arrival gave them a reassurance.
Caesar decided to abandon Genoa because he could not defend this poorly defended port with his current shortage of soldiers and generals.
However, before leaving by ship, he sent someone to notify Lucca, which was located south of Genoa and also on the Via Sculli, to strengthen the town's defenses in preparation for the barbarian attack.
Caesar did not land at the port of Ostia, but went quietly to Sardinia, where some of his troops were still left.
Here, he learned that the news of the disastrous defeat in the battle had reached Rome. The people in the city were very panicked, and rumors that "he had been captured by the barbarians and killed" were flying everywhere.
Caesar secretly summoned Trebonius, and after ensuring his loyalty, he asked him in detail about the training of the new legions, and then sent trusted men to take over these new legions.
The next day, Caesar led three battalions of soldiers to land at the port of Ostia and marched directly to Rome via land in a very high-profile manner.
Thousands of Roman people who learned the news rushed to the city gate to greet him. After they were sure that the person standing on the carriage and waving to them was Caesar himself, they did not question Caesar's failure. Instead, they excitedly thanked the gods for blessing Caesar's safe return.
Caesar gave an impromptu speech to the gathered crowd.
He first admitted that he had made a mistake. He did not know that the Nyx barbarians had been coveting Rome for a long time and had made sufficient preparations and secretly formed some new types of troops. He knew nothing about this and was therefore caught off guard.
He then confidently promised: Rome was the most powerful country in the Mediterranean, and one defeat was not enough to shake Rome's hegemony. Now he had found a way to deal with the Niccos barbarians. Once he reorganized his army, he would completely destroy the Niccos and Gallic barbarian armies that invaded Italy within a year.
Finally, he loudly and passionately declared that he hoped Roman citizens would actively sign up for the army, because he had already decided that after the invading barbarians were eliminated, all citizens who served would be given land, and all the land would be in Italy.
Caesar dared to make such a declaration without the approval of the Senate, and it was the most difficult issue of land distribution, which was absolutely taboo in Roman politics.
But no one doubted that Caesar's words were empty talk, because all the promises he had made before had been fulfilled one by one. With his current status, he had the courage and strength to fulfill it!
The people burst into cheers, singing and dancing as they led Caesar into the city, as if he had not lost the battle but returned in triumph. The atmosphere of panic that had previously permeated the city of Rome was swept away.
Then, countless citizens rushed to the military camp outside the city, eagerly inquiring about signing up for the army.
Caesar returned to his high priest's palace and refused any visitors on the grounds that he was "tired from the journey and needed to rest."
The conservative senators, who had learned of Caesar's defeat and his initiative to provoke disputes, were uneasy, especially when they learned of Caesar's declaration at the city gate, which made them feel that Caesar had become more arbitrary after his return.
However, Caesar's return did restore peace and tranquility to Rome, not only in terms of order within the city but also in the political arena.
Caesar rested at home for two days. On the one hand, he wanted to recuperate, as the days of defeat and escape had caused considerable damage to his body and mind; on the other hand, he needed to discuss with his generals to perfect the plan of forming a new army, strengthening the defense in the north, and ultimately defeating the powerful Nyx army, so as to submit it to the Senate.
Caesar had a premonition that the Nyx army had been planning the invasion for so long that after defeating him, they would definitely not stay in northern Italy as before, because there was no army in the south that could stop them. They would take the opportunity to move south and occupy more Roman territory, and might even want to get involved in Rome.
The situation is dangerous and time is pressing.
So on the third day, at Caesar's request, the Senate held an emergency meeting. All the senators in Rome were present, and Caesar was the last to enter.
When he sat in his own chair, before the meeting was announced, Cicero came over, followed by a number of people, all of whom were conservative senators.
Caesar was surprised.
Cicero hurriedly explained: "Respected Caesar, there is something very important that I want to let you know in advance! ... Well, originally Cato, Metellus and others were recruiting troops in North Africa in an attempt to fight against you. But after knowing that the barbarian army invaded northern Italy, repeatedly defeated the Roman army, and posed a serious threat to Rome, they felt that if the civil war continued, it would only weaken Rome's power and benefit the barbarians!
Therefore, they have written to you, hoping to get your forgiveness, cancel their treason charges, and allow them to return to the Senate. In return, they will also disband all the troops..."
After Cicero finished speaking, Longinus took out an envelope from his arms and said, "Caesar, it is true. Metellus has written to me, expressing his willingness to return to Rome!"
Brutus (another Brutus, the son of Caesar's lover Servilia) also rushed to say nervously: "Cat...Cato also wrote me a letter, this...this is his letter!"
"I have here a letter from Rabienus!"
"I have..."
Other elders also took out their letters.
Seeing that Cicero was leading the group and his favorite Brutus was among them, Caesar believed it for the most part and at the same time felt relieved: If Cato and his men could really surrender, he could concentrate all his efforts on dealing with the powerful Nicos!
"Brutus, give me Cato's letter." Caesar decided to read Cato's letter first, eager to know how his mortal enemy came up with this idea.
As Caesar unfolded the letter and read it carefully, he did not notice that these conservative senators were slowly surrounding him.
Longinus, who was standing behind Caesar, suddenly grabbed his toga with his left hand, quickly took out a sharp dagger from his arms with his right hand, and stabbed it into his chest.
Caesar let out a scream, which served as a signal, and all the conservative senators around him drew their daggers and stabbed Caesar.
Caesar fought back desperately, but was outnumbered. He was stabbed dozens of times and suddenly fell to the ground, one of which was stabbed by Brutus.
It took only a few minutes from the time Longinus took action to the time Caesar fell to the ground. Before the other senators in the meeting hall had time to react, Caesar fell in a pool of blood.
Cicero did not expect such a tragedy to happen before his eyes, and he stood there like a puppet.
This was the first time since the founding of Rome that a bloody murder occurred in the most sacred place, the Senate. Longinus and others who dared to defy the world were not immediately arrested and questioned. On the contrary, there was chaos in the Senate after the incident. Some senators, including Trebonius, felt that the situation was not good and began to quietly flee the venue.
After his success, Longinus even stood in the center of the meeting and proudly declared: "Ladies and gentlemen, by the will of the gods, we have eliminated the dictator Caesar, and Rome will regain its former glory! Cato and Metellus have led the army north by ship and will soon arrive to defend Rome. Don't worry about Rome's safety!"
Perhaps everyone was still in shock, or perhaps Longinus' words had an effect, the remaining senators in the meeting hall and the surrounding guards allowed the murderers to hold Caesar's blood-stained toga and rush to the Temple of Jupiter to offer sacrifice in a show of force.
Not long after, the slave Pocca, who received the news, bravely walked into the Senate with two of his companions, suppressed his grief, and carried Caesar's body back home.
..................................................................
After winning the battle, Nick's army rested for a day in Piacenza, then moved to Bologna and began to march south along the Via Cania.
Three days later, the entire army crossed the northern Apennine Mountains and entered the Roman Etruscan region. Blocking the army's way was the northern Etruscan town of Florence.
This was a Roman colonial city and also a populous town with a prosperous trade due to its convenient transportation with the northern Italian provinces.
While the Nic army was stranded in northern Italy, the Romans stationed a number of soldiers in the city and strengthened its defenses, hoping to hold the city and prevent the Nic people from rashly entering the core area of Rome.
Maximus' strategy was to surround Florence without attacking it, and to divide his troops to attack other towns to the south.
Previously, the Nyx army occupied the northern Italian province and expelled all the residents. Some went to Rome, and some stayed in various towns in Etruria because they were closer to their homes.
Maximus sent a large team of spies (most of whom were subordinates trained by Onomabaitis in Roman territory over the years, they spoke Latin and their appearances were not suspicious) to blend into the refugee tide, enter the Etruscan region, and live with the refugees in various towns.
With the exception of Florence and Lucca, these two towns had been transformed by Rome into temporary military fortresses to keep out barbarian invasions, and therefore were off-limits to outsiders.
These towns were seriously short of troops, their defenses had not been repaired for a long time, and with the support of others, the northern part of the Etruscan region was almost entirely captured by the Nyx army in just over ten days, and a large amount of food and supplies were raised, solving the problem of logistical supply.
Maximus then sent a troop to Lucca on the northwest border of Etruria to meet up with his Gallic allies.
At this time, Vercingetorix had regrouped more than 10,000 Gallic troops, reoccupied the empty Tortona and Genoa, and besieged Lucca.
He followed Maximus's advice and did not attack Lucca by force, but bypassed it and joined forces with the Nyx army.
Maximus left a small number of troops to continue besieging Florence, and the main force would accelerate southward together with the Gallic army, because he had received news: Caesar had been assassinated, the Roman people rioted, and Rome fell into chaos.
When the Nyx and Gallic coalition forces marched to the north of Veii, a large Roman army blocked their way.
It turned out that Longinus did not lie, and Cato and Metellus did lead their army north by ship.
However, when they set out, they did not know that Caesar had suffered a disastrous defeat in northern Italy. They only learned from secret communications with their friends in Rome that Caesar had led his army to leave Rome to fight the barbarians who had invaded northern Italy.
Labienus insisted that this was the best time to recapture Rome and defeat Caesar.
Under his strong instigation, Metellus and Cato reluctantly led their troops to set off, but their hesitation and fear of Caesar were evident from their repeated stops on shore in Sicily and Regium and the slow speed of the fleet.
However, after learning the news that "Caesar had been killed by Longinus", Cato and others were ecstatic. In just 5 days, they rushed from Regium to Ostia.
Then, following Caesar's example, they led their armies into Rome and quelled the chaos caused by the people who were angry about Caesar's murder.
During the entire process, Trebonius watched from the sidelines and did not lead the new troops to fight against the armies of Metellus and Cato.
Because he had reached a compromise with the conservatives led by Longinus in advance, the conservatives forgave his previous actions and believed that he was only forced to be a gun under Caesar's threat and not voluntarily.
The conservatives temporarily stabilized the Roman order, but they did not have time to eliminate Caesar's followers, and were unable to stop the large number of disappointed Roman people from fleeing south because the Nyx-Gallic coalition was already approaching.
Metellus and Labienus decisively led their troops north, trying to keep the enemy out of Rome.
Although they heard that the Nyx army was very powerful and had defeated the Roman army several times, including Caesar.
But according to the information obtained, the Knyx army had only more than 3 troops, and including the Gallic barbarians, it was less than 5 troops.
Metellus and Cato alone recruited 50,000 soldiers in North Africa. Together with the troops led by King Juba I of Numidia and the new legions trained by Trebonius, the number of soldiers reached 100,000, twice as many as the enemy.
Although more than half of them were new recruits, they were fully confident that they could defeat the invading barbarian army, win brilliant honor for themselves, and thus establish their important position in the Senate.
The Roman army came in full force, but Maximus did not rush to engage them. Instead, he retreated again and again to keep a distance from the enemy.
After learning the details of the Roman army, Maximus sent an envoy to sneak into the tent of Juba I, the King of Numidia, at night.
On the third day, the Nyx-Gallic coalition did not retreat, but instead took the initiative to deploy its troops, and the two sides launched a large-scale battle.
But not long after the battle began, the Numidian army suddenly turned against them, leading the Nyx army, which was supposed to fight with them, to attack the flank of the new legion led by Trebonius.
At the same time, several thousand Numibian cavalry raided the headquarters of Metellus and Cato, resulting in the death of Cato and the escape of Metellus.
The Roman army suffered a disastrous defeat. Under the relentless pursuit of the armies of Nyx, Gaul and Numidia, countless Roman soldiers were desperate and jumped into the Tiber River in panic, feeding the fish and shrimps...
Juba I rebelled against Rome because Maximus told him that this battle was very important. If Rome lost again, it would cease to exist! Is King Juba willing to join us in bravely destroying the hegemony of Rome, regaining independence for Nubia, and gaining a broader space for development, such as the entire North Africa and even Spain? Or is he willing to continue to be a vassal of Rome and perish with it?
Juba was a man with his own ideas. He hated that he needed to be recognized by Rome to inherit the throne. He hated even more that he, as the king of Numidia, had been tried and disgraced by Caesar. So later, even though he knew that Caesar was more powerful, he still chose to help Metellus, Cato and others for revenge.
Now that Caesar is dead, he is just following Cato's team out of habit. In fact, as a bystander, he has seen the current predicament of Rome, and Maximus' words have awakened him.
So he reached a secret agreement with Maximus.
The Roman army was destroyed and no longer had the strength to stop the advance of the Nyx and Gallic coalition forces.
They entered the city of Rome unhindered. Although most of the residents had fled south, a small number of them ran to the Capitoline Hill to hold their ground, attempting to repeat the history of being occupied and then recaptured by the Gauls hundreds of years ago.
Maximus ignored this and ordered his soldiers to empty the city of property, supplies and food, then poured oil and set fire to various places in the city.
In the blazing fire, the Senate, which controlled the life and death of all the nations and races in the Mediterranean, collapsed; the Forum of Mars, the place where a powerful army was built, became rubble; the twelve bronze columns that regulated the Roman order and safeguarded the interests of the powerful turned into molten copper; the Pantheon, which promoted the supremacy of Rome and unified the national faith, turned into ashes...
The fire burned for three days and three nights, and thick smoke rose into the sky. Residents of several nearby towns and cities saw the fire, which shook their faith in Rome.
When this news spread throughout the Mediterranean, it was like a torch that ignited the anger in the hearts of the various races oppressed by Rome.
The city of Rome, which had been founded for hundreds of years, has become a ruin. The nightmare that has been buried in his heart since his rebirth has finally disappeared. Maximus is convinced that the era of Rome has ended, and the era of the Knicks has just begun!
(End of this chapter)
