Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Chapter 856: Marching to the Samnites Mountains

“I naturally understood what they were thinking,” Davos smiled confidently, “Since they want to become heroes of Rome again, I'll give them this opportunity to see if they can make their dream come true!”

Upon hearing this, Henipolis immediately lost his worries and wished he could immediately describe this event as important material for his biography.

Publius, on the other hand, felt a complex emotion. On the one hand, Publius felt a sense of fulfilment and relief in keeping his promise and addressing his concerns. However, on the other hand, he couldn't help but be disheartened by Davos' mindset and arrogance, leading him to lose hope for the struggle of the Roman remnants.

But what the two of them didn't know was that Davos made this decision mainly because he considered the following factors: Firstly, Mons Capitolinus is situated within the city, with as many as five to six thousand people in it. He feared that allowing them to die from starvation would risk a plague outbreak, which would pose significant problems for the Theonian army during the war and hinder the restoration of the city of Rome;

Secondly, the tragic deaths of thousands of people within the city would be too much for Davos to bear. It could also dishearten the Romans, who had already surrendered, affecting their perception of Theonia and hindering their integration.;

Thirdly, Davos had previously learned from Publius that the families of most of the noble soldiers under Camillus' army were now on Mons Capitolinus. So, if he could take them, Theonia would have the advantage in dealing with the Roman army that had retreated to Satricum.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

After obtaining Davos' consent, Publius once again went up to Mons Capitolinus, and the two sides quickly reached an agreement.

The following day, the people on the hill began to climb down, and the Roman senators also allowed a platoon of Theonian soldiers to enter the hill according to their agreement in supervising the entire process(mainly to see if the Roman senators complied with the agreement of leaving only five hundred people).

The Romans who arrived at the foot of the hill were then escorted (mostly assisted) by Theonian soldiers to designated locations for imprisonment. Despite the sadness on their faces, they felt more of a relief. After all, their days of starvation had finally ended.

The Roman plebeians also rushed to the Roman Forum to watch. And when they saw those nobilities whom they envied in the past and now looked haggard and absentminded, they felt happy while also feeling sad.

Potitus, Maluginensis, and a group of Roman senators, as well as Roman soldiers, stood on the cliff top, watching their loved ones step into the enemy-occupied city until the entire Mons Capitolinus regained its emptiness and silence; they stood still like statues for a long time…

The deadly silence remained long until it was broken by the coughing of several old senators.

The older Scipio shouted to the soldiers, “Citizens, the next thing we must do is defend this place with all our might! Defend our temple! Wait…wait for the arrival of our victory!”

“URRAH!!!…” The soldiers roared simultaneously, but there was more melancholy in their roars.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Aquilonia, one of the three major towns of the Hirpini (the other two being Beneventum and Abellinum), is located more than twenty-five kilometres northwest of Aphrodisia in the Peuceti region of the kingdom of Theonia(this is only a straight distance, but the distance would double when travelling by foot). It's also less than twenty-five kilometres southwest of Ausculum in the Dauni region. In the past, it served as the forward base for the Hirpini tribe to invade the Apulia lowlands multiple times(including this time) and has also benefited through it because it has become the strongest joint tribal settlement in the southeastern part of Hirpini and a powerful barrier against the southwestern side.

The town was built on a mountain about five hundred metres high, surrounded by a mountain range with an average height of around three hundred metres. Not to mention attacking, it would take an army a lot of effort just to reach there.

Alexius had decided to take Aquilonia, so he naturally made some careful preparations. He drafted the light infantry and light-armoured brigade of the Eleventh Legion. Then he added two heavy infantry brigades, a light-armoured brigade, and a light infantry brigade of the Tenth Legion, as well as the engineering camp, medical camp, logistics camp, and a squad of the Mountain Reconnaissance Brigade, totalling over six thousand people. In addition, there were also many pack teams carrying food that could supply this army for more than ten days, and ten people from Abellinum were sent by Garni as guides.

Once dawn broke, he led his army from Aphrodisia, headed north to the south bank of the Ofanto River, and marched upstream. Fortunately, the Samnites didn't disturb them, which allowed for a smooth march.

That was understandable when you think of it. It was because the Samnites had suffered massive casualties in the first two battles and were currently concentrating their main force on attacking the Campanian League, so how many young and abled people could still fight in their entire territory? Therefore, Alexius became even more confident in taking Aquilonia because of how smoothly they marched!

After receiving a detailed briefing on the surrounding terrain from the Abellinum guide before departure, Alexius chose this location for the camp. It featured a flat, open area situated approximately five kilometres due south of Aquilonia. On the northern side of this land, there's a narrow lowland nestled between the mountain ranges, which are also several tens of meters high. Through this, they could reach the city of Aquilonia.

Thus, he began ordering the army to build a camp on the south bank of a bend in the river.

The entire army immediately began to act quickly according to the predetermined labour division: After the engineers finished surveying the surrounding terrain and determined the area of the main camp, the soldiers used their scythes and axes to remove the weeds and trees in the area, and then levelled the ground and erected wooden fences…most importantly to burn straws in the marshy area along the bank to smoke away the hiding mosquitoes. Fortunately, the Ofanto River wasn't big and rarely flooded, so the marshy area in the bend is small. However, the smoke rising from the fires would surely attract the attention of the surrounding Samnite tribes. But to ensure the soldiers were well rested, healthy, and had enough stamina and energy to cope with the gruelling battles ahead, Alexius believed that it was worth it.

Alexius also had them lit torches around the camp to illuminate the soldiers doing manual labour at dusk.

The soldiers also know that they are in an unfamiliar and complex location, with not only wild animals, snakes and insects in the mountains but also fierce enemies. Hence, the officers didn't even need to urge them as they all began building the camp regardless of their fatigue because they knew that they could only have a good sleep in this dangerous mountain range by building a well-defended camp.

The camp had taken shape by the evening, surrounded by wooden enclosures and a simple abatis set just outside. At each of the four corners of the camp, they had erected prefabricated sentry towers. Inside, a series of rectangular tents were neatly arranged. These hide-sewn tents were both sturdy and spacious, providing protection from snakes, insects, as well as the elements such as wind, frost, rain, and snow. Each tent could comfortably accommodate a squad of soldiers, much like the barracks in our territory. This arrangement allowed soldiers to stay with their comrades whom they were familiar with, allowing them to relax and rest on an unfamiliar battlefield while making squad management easier for the leaders.

Each brigade occupies its designated area within the camp, with a considerable gap between one brigade's tent area and the next. They organised the six brigades into a ring-shaped formation, encircling the central area containing the medical, engineering, and logistics camps. (Usually, due to the strong odour and noise of the animals of the logistics camp, they would often arrange them on one side of the camp. But this time, they couldn’t place them outside the camp because of the incomplete and weak defence of the camp. Moreover, transporting supplies and food is difficult when fighting in the mountains, so the animals are crucial.) At the centre of the camp is the command tent, with a large brazier erected outside. The continuous burning flames allow the officers and soldiers inside the camp to find the commander's location, even in the dark.

While the soldiers were building the camp, Alexius arranged for a centuria to fully rest so that when the entire army began to sleep, this centuria would start to stand watch, guard and patrol the camp in the dark.

Lakares, a Messapian and the flagbearer of the Triumphant Return in Thurii two years ago, was now a centurion. As the centurion on duty tonight, he put the four platoons under his command in charge of standing watch in each of the four directions of the camp: east, west, south, and north. He also instructed the four platoon leaders, “Be sure to keep your eyes open and observe all abnormalities outside the camp so that you can immediately report once you discover something!”

After arranging the task, he personally followed the first platoon to patrol the north of the camp because he knew there was a high possibility of enemies appearing in this direction.

Late at night, when the soldiers had already fallen asleep, the outside of the camp wasn't silent with the howling of the wolves in the mountains and forests, the croaking of the frogs by the river, the chirping of the birds in the marsh, the noises of the various insects in the grass, and the babbling sound of flowing water…all of those are the most beautiful melodies of nature.

But this melody was soon broken, as the bird in the river panicked and kicked the water surface, which made the alert frog stop croaking and was replaced by the noisy footsteps echoing across the river…

“Centurion, there are enemies!” A soldier from the sentry tower warned.

“Calm down, and we'll first see how many enemies would come!” Lakares said in a composed manner. He didn't want to disrupt the commander's rest over a few enemies, which might make Alexius doubt his competence.