"Gone?! They're going to attack Ostia?! Paulus asked, surprised.

"The details are unclear, I have sent detectives to Ostia to investigate." Mejus said with a worried expression.

"May Ostia withstand the enemy's attack! Hopefully, the dictator of Camillus will be able to return with his troops as soon as possible! Paulus, now very much regretting the ease with which he had fought the Dioonians yesterday, and the fact that the army had now suffered heavy losses and the soldiers were demoralized, and could no longer lead the army, sighed, and asked instead, "What is the condition of the Ravynims?" ”

"The Dioonians simply imprisoned the Ravenims and took their food, but did not harm them. Our cavalry has released them, but they don't know where the Dionian army has gone. ”

As Mejus was talking, he saw the guards hurriedly push the door in: "Two generals, a messenger has come from the city of Rome, saying that there is a very urgent matter to see!" ”

"Invite him in!" The two of them looked at each other, both feeling a little uneasy.

"The Roman Senate decreed, 'In view of the fact that the Dionians had captured Ostia yesterday and were now marching on the city of Rome, Rome was in danger!' The three generals Paulus, Mejus, and Pantius should immediately lead their troops and rush back to the rescue of Rome! ”

Ostia lost?! The Dionians marched directly to Rome?! These words were like five thunderbolts, and the two of them were completely shocked, they never expected that the Dionians' military action would be so fast and bold, and at this moment they regretted even more that they had taken the liberty of fighting the Dioonians yesterday. But no matter how difficult the situation of the army was now, they had to come back immediately, or else Rome would fall and everything would be over.

The two quickly agreed, and then explained the situation to Pantius, who was recovering from his wounds, and asked him to sit in Antium for the time being. The two then began to recruit soldiers, but they soon ran into a problem: Antium was a newly occupied Roman town, and the Senate used it as a colonial city, relocating tens of thousands of landless civilians from Rome and Rome to the town, allocating land to them, and they were the main part of Antium's 10,000 defenders. Due to the short period of time, the city had not yet formed its own council, and the main town affairs were decided by Paulus, the military governor of Antim, who had been appointed by the Senate. However, it was impossible for Paulus to take away the vast majority of Antium's citizen soldiers, because in the event of a large army, the first thing that the Roman civilians who had been allocated land to keep was their newly assigned property in Antium.

Thus, Megus persuaded the citizens and Paulus threatened them with Roman law and power, and with great difficulty, the two of them were able to recruit more than 5,000 Roman civilians who had been frightened by the Dionian army.

By the time they left the city, it was already afternoon, but Paulus and his team did not immediately go to Rome, but first passed through Saturnicum and Villitre, because after yesterday's defeat, many of the routs fled to the two new colonial cities, and with the soldiers left behind in the city, Paulus and Megus were able to gather many soldiers to strengthen their rescue team.

………………………………………

Paulus hurriedly led his army out of Antium, unaware of the presence of a large fleet of ships in the waters near the port of Antium, whose destination was the port of Ostia.

The crow warships of the Third Fleet all went to Rome along the Tiber, leaving behind more than 80 fast three-layer oars and other small and medium-sized warships, who cordoned off the sea north of the port of Ostia to escort the arrival of the entire fleet.

"This is the port of Ostia in Rome? It's a little too small. As the merchant ship approached the port, Tios, the great ironsmith of the Dionian Kingdom standing at the bow of the ship, looked at the approaching dock and couldn't help but look disappointed.

"Now you're looking at a port that has been expanded a lot, and ten years ago it was even smaller." Sostatus, the president of the Turriyi Chamber of Commerce, said that as a big seller in the kingdom, he has a wide range of sales channels, and he has been to Ostia many times.

"It doesn't matter if the port is big or small, but why is there so little labor in the port?" Dick Polis, a potterhouse merchant who had just walked out of the cabin, looked surprised, and he said a little anxiously: "The fleet that came with us is full of all kinds of supplies, so a few people come to unload the goods, when will the goods be unloaded?!" ”

As he spoke, he saw a thousand sturdy men lined up in the distance and came to the dock.

"Look, Your Majesty has thought of this problem a long time ago and sent an army to unload us." Sostatus laughed.

It was not the merchant ships that docked at the dock first, but several large passenger ships, and the senators from the Senate were the ones who took the lead in disembarking.

The court clerk Henipolis was already standing on the dock and greeted them with a smile: "Lord Asistes! Lord Antrapolis! Lord Thelis! Master Nicomarcus! …… Welcome to Ostia in Latium! ”

The patriarchs also returned their greetings.

"Is Your Majesty in the city?" Assistes asked.

"Your Majesty has already led a large army to attack the city of Rome, so he did not come to meet you." Hennipollist explained.

"Attack on the city of Rome now?!" The senators were surprised, they were not high-ranking generals of the Dionian army, and it was impossible for them to know the battle plan formulated by Davers, but after they decided to come to Latium, they all had a special understanding of the situation here, and of course they knew the position of the city of Rome in the Latim region, it was a large city with a population of more than 100,000, would it be so easy to be captured?! Moreover, Rome is deep inland, far from the coast, and His Majesty Davos only took Ostia and then led the army directly into the heart of the Latium region, wouldn't it be too dangerous?!

Henipolis saw the surprise and worry in their hearts, but he did not elaborate, but raised a papyrus scroll tied with strips of black cloth and said: "Lord Thelis, Your Majesty has appointed you as the provisional governor of Ostia, responsible for governing the most important port city in the Latin region, and ensuring the foreign trade, the transshipment of goods, and the smooth and prosperous passage of the port of Ostia to the city of Rome by sea and river......"

With that, he handed the letter of appointment to Thelis.

Theliss hurriedly unfolded and took a closer look.

Then Henipolis said to the others: "Your Excellency may assist Lord Thelisus in administering the city while you are in Ostia, and this will also help you to know in advance the situation in the region of Latium, and then you will go to the city of Rome after His Majesty has captured the city of Rome." ”

Listening to the tone of Henipolis's words, His Majesty is very confident in capturing the city of Rome! Arcistes quietly glanced at each other with the other patriarchs, and then they all said they understood.

At this time, Thelis, who had read Davers' warrant, asked suspiciously: "Your Majesty has asked me to manage Ostia, but there seems to be no one in this port except our army!" ”

"There were about 3,000 laborers and slaves in the harbor, but today most of them had been sent to bring the ships of the Third Fleet to Rome, and they would soon return. His Majesty has made a commitment to grant freedom to slaves and to allow laborers and slaves to join Dionya as our citizens. In addition, several thousand Ostias were imprisoned in the city......"

When Henypolis said this, he suddenly remembered something, and hurriedly said: "By the way, Lord Thelis, Your Majesty asked me to remind you that although the city of Ostia is small and inhabited, its location is very important for our expeditionary army!" When the Romans have eased up, they will definitely come to fight with all their might! Therefore, although the current 3,000 defenders in the city are still a little insufficient, the army is now attacking the city of Rome with all its might, and it is not possible to increase the number of troops here for the time being. So, Lord Thelis, make it your first priority to keep the city of Ostia safe, the key to our Dionian conquest of Latium! ”

When Thelise heard this, his face became a little more solemn and fell into deep thought.

The reason why Davos chose Thelis to be the administrator of Ostia was because he considered that Thelis, unlike the elders of other non-military systems, had received military training in Turriy for a long time, and eventually became the captain of the reserves, so he not only knew the military system of Dionya very well, but also had rich command experience, and he could play his two specialties in the position of administrator of Ostia.

Of course, Assies was also a political talent, but Davers used him for a different purpose.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, my mission is complete." Henipolis's tone became lighter, and he pointed to his entourage and said, "He will take you to the city hall in the city, where several of his subordinates are waiting for Lord Thelisus to give orders. Accommodation for lords and officials, stationing of caravans, and transportation of goods...... I'll have to take care of that. I have been waiting for you for a long time, and now I am going to Rome to attack such an important battle as the city of Rome, if I can't see it with my own eyes, how can I write the next biography of Your Majesty! ......," said Henipolis, saluting the crowd, then hopping on the horses brought by his attendants, and carrying away with a troop of cavalry.

The rest of the people stood on the dock, looking at each other for a while.

Thelis came back to his senses, saluted the people, and said, "My lords, I must ask you to help me take over this new town of Dionia. ”