Chapter 32 Aetius
"It's over. I can't run away."
Andrew's uneasiness beside me made me even more curious. I really wanted to know what the cannon fodder Andrew mentioned would be like. Could it be that they were like the Soviet Red Army later, who would charge blindly in the hail of bullets with a shout of "Ura"?
"Medius, you are too slow!"
A dissatisfied complaint came from the front. I was wondering who could complain in front of such a hot-tempered old warlord. Just when I was about to watch the show, I saw the old warlord smiling and saying, "I'm so sorry, sir, something happened last night, so I was delayed."
"Oh, those two hundred stinking beggars from Burgundy?"
I stood on tiptoe and took a look, and I saw the exact appearance of the man in front of the old governor, wearing a brass muscle breastplate with various carvings on it, which looked very three-dimensional, and a red cloak. He was an elderly middle-aged man, but compared with the old governor, the guy named Midius, he was still much younger. The brass breastplate with carvings already showed his extraordinary status, at least he was a legion commander.
"Hey, Andrew," I whispered to him, "You've been in the army for a long time. Do you know who that man at the door is?"
"You and I serve in the same army, don't you know?" Andrew asked me back.
"Oh, I forgot." Well, to be honest, I really don't know what the original owner of this body of mine did. "Don't you know that someone hit me in the head on the battlefield, it's normal that I can't remember it now."
Andrew looked at me helplessly and said, "Your soldiers in the first array are loyal followers of Aetius. I think even if you forget Tenea, you will not forget your glorious sun, Marshal Aetius."
"The great shining sun?"
This title scared me so much that I stuck out my tongue. But now I know that this guy is the famous "last Roman" Aetius. No wonder, the old governor Medius was as proud as a rooster in front of us, but he was like a dog wagging his tail in front of Aetius.
Continuing to listen to their conversation, I saw that when Aetius finished talking about the two hundred stinking beggars, the old warlord Medius' face turned pale. He stammered, "So, so, so you know everything."
"Ha, I sent scouts to follow you since you left Akwe-Sextia. I know everything you do."
Aetius was very proud, but he immediately frowned and looked at Medius seriously and said, "I also know that you were almost defeated by those two hundred Burgundian beggars in the early hours of this morning."
"I'm sorry, Lord Aetius."
This touched a sore spot, and Medius became a little uneasy. He lowered his head, not daring to look at Aetius, and said tremblingly: "Sir, there are actually more than 300 Burgundians."
"Oh, my dear Medius, you have more than a thousand people under your command." Aetius smiled at the old governor, pointed at us in front of him and said sternly: "But what about now? You brought half of the people with me. I will not investigate whether those who died were due to your wrong command. I am more interested in where the money bags of those dead have gone! It's already this late. Why are you still so greedy? Fortunately, you are not a noble yet, but you have almost collected the money to buy the title!"
The old warlord's face turned pale and blue, and his original arrogance disappeared without a trace. He was so old, but he was scolded by a boss who was much younger than him. This was not okay. After all, he was his boss, so he couldn't lose his temper. He nodded and apologized repeatedly for this position.
"Forget it, I think you don't need to apologize, and I won't pursue the money you embezzled from the dead!"
It seemed that Aetius had finished his temper and was in a much better mood. With a wave of his hand, the old warlord Medius secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps at this time, he was thinking that Aetius had spared him. However, judging from his solemn expression, the matter was not as simple as he thought, because Aetius had not finished speaking.
"Then you are here, just in time to fill the vacancy in my main attacking position today."
"Sir, do you want me to arrange the remaining five phalanxes into the front line of the siege?" It seemed that it was time to get down to business.
"That's right."
Aetius nodded.
“Damn it!”
When Andrew heard this, he clenched his fists in anger and glared at the old governor Medius with gritted teeth.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
Andrew explained to me in a low voice: "Don't you see that this is a case of officials protecting each other? As long as Medius arranges us to the battlefield, he will have nothing to do. Then what's next?"
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"Now we can waste the enemy's arrows, right?" I said.
"Yes, you are right, Luca." Andrew forced a very forced smile, but I knew he was not happy at the moment. But we can only stand here, like chess pieces that cannot take care of themselves, and in front of us is the person who holds the chess pieces and arranges them. We let him manipulate us, and even put our lives in the hands of Aetius, not knowing whether he will choose to keep them or squander them.
"It's getting late, and my frontline troops are waiting anxiously, Mr. Medius."
Aetius said, patting his red cape, and turned to walk away. The old governor Medius quickly turned around and waved at us. The following governor cavalry understood and rode to instruct us to follow Aetius's steps. Chess pieces are chess pieces. Once chosen, they can't escape the hands of the chess holder. We took steps and followed forward without giving us any rest time. We passed through the military camp built like a fortress, with tents neatly arranged inside, but we didn't see many soldiers along the way. They were probably waiting for us on the battlefield.
"It's terrible. It's terrible."
Andrew said, not forgetting to look at the military flag in his hand affectionately, and said to me: "If we don't tell the truth quickly, then our chances of survival will be almost slim."
A life-or-death struggle, what kind of battle can be called a life-or-death struggle? Full of doubts, the soldiers in front had already opened the other gate of the military camp, and a gorgeously decorated carriage was parked in front of the gate. Aetius boarded the carriage under the escort of the guards, turned his head and glanced at us, and fortunately his eyes fell on the flag of the Gemina Legion in Andrew's hand. Maybe he was very familiar with this flag, because this was the legion under his command, and it had just been destroyed. Such a lucky glance lasted only a few seconds, and he turned his head and sat down. Did he notice it or not? No one knew. The carriage started slowly, and I could see the black smoke floating in the air in front of me just by walking.
(End of this chapter)