Chapter 333: The Final Battle to Recover Ludugu Gaul (I)
Under the scorching sun, on the plain outside the city of Durokortolam, a large number of shirtless men were carrying wood and stones. They were sweating profusely, but they could not relax for a moment.
"Tiberius, my loyal friend." Behind the busy front, a guy with gray hair on his temples, he was wearing leather armor worn by Roman soldiers, and behind him stood many soldiers wearing similar clothes. He should be a commander, at least, he had no privileges in terms of dressing with the soldiers. This man was another comrade of Tiberius in the Bagauda Movement, known as Cautious Ska.
Sca was a Vandal, a former slave, who was a child because of Stilicho. He always insisted that he had seen Stilicho, in the midst of a sea of blood and corpses, just a glance. At that time, the Vandal tribe invaded Roman territory for immediate interests, which was intolerable for Stilicho, who was in the limelight in Rome at the time. Moreover, because he himself had Vandal blood, the dignitaries of Rome were watching with open eyes, watching how Stilicho would treat these barbarians with the same blood.
Stilicho was once the son of the chief of the Vandal tribe. In order to obtain the protection of the empire, the old chief took Stilicho as a hostage to the Eastern Roman Augustus Theodosius I. He was originally a captive, but in his life with the Romans, he yearned for the Roman life very much, and he also knew that war was the best way for him to stand out.
Fortunately, God had mercy on him. He lived in an eventful time when the Eastern and Western Roman Empires needed to be reunited, so he followed Theodosius I in his campaigns and made great military achievements. Theodosius appreciated him and adopted him as his son. In this country that despised barbarians, barbarians could not even celebrate festivals like the Romans and learn Roman culture. Theodosius I took in a Vandal as his adopted son, which was a huge pressure. Not only that, in order to show his preference for this adopted son, Theodosius I even built a palace for him in Constantinople. Yes, it belonged only to Stilicho.
Such generous treatment from Theodosius I naturally won Stilicho's undivided loyalty. Stilicho worked his way up until he became the Roman Empire's soldier captain (the position of Grand Marshal in ancient China), a military commander who was qualified to mobilize several corps or even corps across the entire Roman territory to launch large-scale military operations. It was hard to imagine that such a powerful position was held by a barbarian who was despised by the Romans. He could dispatch the Roman army at will, which frustrated the Romans' self-esteem and their innate arrogance.
Now, the Vandals are here, and their invasion is a touchstone to test how loyal Stilicho is to Rome or if he has his own agenda. So Stilicho goes to fight and see if his loyalty can keep him going and drive his former compatriots out of the empire.
Stilicho was in a dilemma, but in order to express his loyalty to Augustus Theodosius I and repay his kindness, he set out, led the legion, and united the Franks, the allies of the Roman Empire north of the Rhine, and slaughtered the Vandals almost to extinction. If he had not arrived in time to stop the killing, I am afraid he would be the last Vandal in the world at dawn. But fortunately he arrived in time to stop the killing, and let the little Ska survive, but he was soon sold as a slave and lived a life worse than pigs and dogs. He met Stilicho with his own eyes, just a glance, without any emotion.
Sca did not express any pity for Stilicho, but only cursed him for what he deserved. Although he knew that Stilicho saved his life, he made his first half of life miserable. Fortunately, Stilicho had already been disgraced and was still cursed by Roman nobles for more than 30 years after his death, even after being labeled a traitor.
In these short thirty years, the Purple Chamber's mistakes in policy and weakness in foreign military affairs caused the empire's territory to be devoured by barbarians, and the shrinking land that could pay taxes also hit the finances and military strength of the Western Empire. Isn't this what Scar dreamed of? He threw himself into the Bagauda Movement, and followed the slave civilians who also hated Rome to occupy the Ludugu Gaul province at an astonishing speed, and established a country that was almost a federation. Although each country was governed by its own government, it was much better than being a slave.
The Romans kept calling on God, praying that he would show mercy and send military strategists like Caesar or Marcus Aurelius to save them from the dire situation. Scar also felt that he was in trouble. It was this guy who appeared at some unknown time and made him feel extremely scared in his bones - Flavius Aurelius Luca!
He was cautious because the fruits of victory were hard-won, but when he saw that Luca swept across the entire Luduga province at an astonishing speed in just half a year and defeated Tiberius and the Barbarian Bill, who had several times more troops than himself, Scar felt that this young man seemed to have a mission to fight non-stop, and to recover the land lost by the Roman Empire after Stilicho's death bit by bit.
Fortunately, his old friend Tiberius came from afar to join him and brought him the latest news of Bill's defeat. This made this already alert guy feel that he was on the edge of crisis, and if he didn't make preparations, he would only become a dead soul under the sword of Luca's army.
"This is the only way we can build a defense line. After all, I don't know what our chances of winning a head-on confrontation with the Romans are." Even if he led the soldiers and civilians to build a solid defense line outside the city, it was still not enough for Scar. It could not give him enough sense of security when he had to fight against the Roman army.
"Ska, my friend, please rest assured!" Tiberius had great expectations for this comrade who could listen to his advice. He patted Scar's chest and said, "When we set up the defense line, I sent people to inform Theodoric, the King of the Gothic Kingdom. I don't believe he will remain indifferent when the war between us and the Romans spreads to his border. Besides, the Romans have just signed a peace agreement with him. If Luca pushes forward with great fanfare, it will only make them think that this is challenging their bottom line." Tiberius looked confident and said, "As long as Theodoric appears on the battlefield, even if God gives Luca great courage, he will have to consider what kind of concept it is to offend Theodoric, the King of the Visigoths, in order to take our city!"
"Besides, Theoderic would still want to keep a corresponding buffer zone out of fear of Rome. With Aetius to the east and Luca to the north, why shouldn't he consider his current situation?"
Everything Tiberius said made sense, and Scar couldn't seem to find any reason to refute it. This was also good, after all, relying on the Visigoths was much better than being destroyed by the Romans.
Of course, at the same time, Luga led the Ninth Punisher Legion and the Fourth Auxiliary Legion to assemble not far from Durocortorum. Luga even brought the newly formed auxiliary legion. This time he was determined to take Durocortorum in one go like Augusta Treville did.
(End of this chapter)