Chapter 744 The Lion and the Wolves 8
The city of Rome surrounds both banks of the Tiber River. Although the city walls of Rome have been repaired for many years and cannot be said to be impregnable, they are still a very tough nut to crack in front of the barbarians.
The snake-like city walls tightly protected this giant city that could accommodate millions of people. Similarly, most people would think that there could not be a strong wall on the Tiber River, so it would naturally be considered a weak point in the protection of the Roman city.
However, those thick iron chains slowly rose from the water, firmly blocking the only way out for the ships. No warship could break through these chains. The bulky warships were going upstream, and their speed was not fast enough. If they tried to break through such chains, they would inevitably stay where they were, unable to move forward or backward. If they continued like this, they would only become meat targets for the crossbows mounted on the towers on both sides.
Gaiseric naturally understood the pros and cons of this. He also understood that although the iron chain looked weak, it would be more realistic to let the soldiers attack the indestructible walls of Rome from land rather than attacking from the river. At least the casualties of the latter would be meaningful.
Late at night, the streets are quiet, the bright moon in the sky is accompanied by countless stars, and the deep and infinite sky always makes people who look up at the sky feel endless shock.
Of course, such a scene seemed meaningless and useless to the Romans in Rome at that time.
After a busy day of fatigue, nothing could make people happier than a good sleep, so the Romans fell into a deep sleep.
No one knew when the Vandals would attack again, so they needed to conserve their strength and continue their defensive operations until the so-called reinforcements from Ravenna arrived.
The streets of the entire city of Rome were eerily quiet. Only the moon in the sky was still tirelessly emitting a pale light. The light was not bright, but the reflection of the water stains on the road surface reflected the light, as if the entire road surface was glowing, allowing people to easily see the direction to go without the need for torches.
People can walk at night, let alone the whole city is in the tired water.
The breeze blew through the streets, and the sound was like the howling of ghosts. There were rustling noises on the streets, as if ghosts were discussing in low voices, and then, brisk footsteps were heard. The footsteps were so hurried that the shadows blocked the moonlight, leaving a few hurried reflections on the scene.
These guys were like rats in the gutter, running through the streets at a rapid speed, and then turning into shadows and hiding in the darkness behind the houses. They appeared more than once in the intricate streets of Rome, running tirelessly, their goal being the tower where the Tiber River flows.
In the palace, Luca tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep for a long time. He still firmly believed that the same was true for Gaiseric outside the city. Although Gaiseric did not expect to take Rome in one go, he was now reluctant to retreat and did not have enough siege weapons.
It is not difficult to conclude that Gaiseric would not worry about any so-called Roman reinforcements at all. After all, he was already in the most vulnerable heart of Rome.
Luga slowly walked out of the room with his clothes on, but saw that the captain of the guards, Vokrik, was actually sitting in the open space under the stairs. The moonlight shone down and illuminated the courtyard, which was not too big, and just happened to fall on him.
He sat blankly on a protruding rock, staring quietly at the empty space in front of him that was illuminated by the moonlight, like a statue.
"Vokrik?" Luga called out tentatively.
Only to see the figure raise his head and see Luca, he quickly stood up, hurriedly saluted Luca, and then responded: "Caesar."
"You should be resting at this time." Luga said as he slowly walked down the stairs, "Instead of sitting here and wasting your energy. If you are killed tomorrow due to exhaustion from fighting, I don't think I would want to attend your funeral, if there is still a chance."
"I understand, Caesar." Voklik was obviously a little at a loss in front of Luca. He seemed to have something to say, but didn't know how to express it.
Facing a powerful enemy, the Vandals have absolute strength in front of them. They are likely to attack again. Whether they can hold on then is still a question. However, the calmness shown by Luca now greatly surprised Vokrick.
"Caesar, is it because reinforcements are coming?" Vokrick hesitated for a long time and finally asked the question carefully.
"What? Why are you asking this?" Luga was very surprised by Vokrik's question. After all, this was his captain of the guards and the commander of the soldiers on the front line. Even he asked this, so it is conceivable what the soldiers defending on the front line would think.
"No, nothing. I just think you look very calm, Caesar, as if you have everything planned out." Vokrick explained for himself. He looked up at Luca from time to time. He could see the questioning look in Luca's eyes. He lowered his head and said, "Caesar, I am not afraid of death, but, but."
"This is war, Vokrik," Luga replied, sighing softly and sitting down on the stone where Vokrik had sat.
"Okay, Vokrik, I have to confess something to you now." Luca looked up at Vokrik, and then said in a deep voice: "I don't have any countermeasures for these guys outside the city. We are isolated and helpless, and there is no reinforcement at all. Don't even think about any reinforcements. There is nothing. There is only this city that has not fallen and the soldiers guarding the city wall."
Vokrick remained silent, probably because he had not yet recovered from such a surprise.
Luca snorted coldly and continued, "Gaiseric has been in contact with Valentinian for more than ten years. He naturally understands what kind of person Valentinian is. Therefore, he concluded that Valentinian would never reinforce Rome and would send all the troops he could to guard Ravenna and protect the safety of his position as Augustus. Therefore, only we, the remaining troops, can save ourselves."
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After saying that, Luga stood up and paced back and forth in front of Vokrik. There was no one else here.
"We must rely on the Roman walls that have been built over a hundred years. These walls are as loyal as veteran soldiers. They can provide us with a barrier and keep the Vandals out of the city. Although Gaiseric longs for victory, day after day of failure and the insurmountable walls will gradually wear down his spirit. The best outcome is that he will eventually return to Carthage in disgrace with a lack of food, leaving us time to leave and catch our breath."
"So what's the worst possible outcome?" Walkrick couldn't help but ask.
Luca just turned around and looked at Vokrik without giving a direct answer. Presumably, Luca and Vokrik both knew what the worst outcome would be at this time.
"We must prevent such things from happening. At least the Vandals, compared to the Visigoths, don't have as many concerns."
(End of this chapter)