Why so? The reason is simple: the Romans, led by the Roman senators and nobles, retreated to Capitoline Hill, and although the Dionian army only blocked it and did not attack it, they often sent people to shout from the mountain, such as "Your army on an expedition to Helniki attacked the city of Rome and was repulsed...... Kesrela and Viai have been captured...... The Roman army led by Camillus was routed at Ostia......"

At first, it was just a handful of Latins shouting, but later they were joined by a number of Roman civilians familiar to the mountain, who would add something else to the shouting: "We have taken up a comfortable house that belonged to you...... We have the land that belongs to you......"

Despite the repeated evasions of the senators: "These are lies, a trick of the Dionians, who want to sow chaos among us!" ……”

However, the people on the hill listened to the shouts from the bottom of the mountain, and during the day, they could see many people in Roman civilian attire in the square talking with the Ionian soldiers in black helmets and black armor, and then left one by one with large bags of things (in fact, Roman civilians applied to become Dionian citizens and went to the square every day to receive rationed food), and they were inevitably suspicious. Add to that the plight in the mountains, so there was some confusion.

Therefore, the senators finally ordered that this piece of cliff with a clear view of the square be cordoned off.

In the dimly lit apse of the Temple of Jupiter, hundreds of Roman senators who had just looked out at the triumphal square from the top of the cliff sat solemnly, and the atmosphere seemed a little depressing.

"Ahem! Cough! ......" Portitus' coughing sound was exceptionally clear in this silent space, attracting everyone's attention to him, but he really just coughed because he was weak, and he didn't want to speak first.

After a while, Ambustos, the administrator of Capitoline Hill, who was temporarily appointed by the Senate, broke the silence: "Fathers and newcomers, I would like to remind you that although the people cannot see the situation in the square today, they can hear the shouts in the square, and I think this will cause them a lot of trouble, so I hope you will take care of your family and diners when you go back!" Scipio, too, be vigilant and keep the soldiers in order! ”

"I've sent more soldiers, so don't worry." Scipio the Great responded.

"Hey!" Apleius suddenly shouted, and when everyone looked at him in amazement, he stood up and shouted, "It's been almost ten days since we went up the mountain!" Ten days! Why haven't we seen our army coming to attack the city?! Could it really be that Camillus's army has been defeated by the Ionians, as the Ionians claimed?! ”

When many patriarchs heard this, they unconsciously shook their bodies, which was the problem they were most afraid of mentioning.

"Ahem...... With 70,000 troops outside the city, and Camillus as the commander, and so many Latin allies and colonial cities to support him, how could he suffer a crushing defeat! "Portitus tried to comfort everyone.

Since his ascent to the mountain, in order to unite against the enemy, Apuleius has been warned by Marugineensis not to "attack the dictator indiscriminately and cause unnecessary panic in times of danger." But the long-term pressure made Apleius finally burst out again: "If Camillus's army has not failed, then where are they?!" It can't be an escape?! ”

Marugineensis immediately shouted: "Don't talk nonsense! Don't believe the rumors that our army has been routed at Ostia, but this rumor also tells us that Camillus may be leading an army against Ostia! ”

Of course, the veterans, led by Portitus, Marugineensis, and Scipio the Great, had reasonable speculations about the reason why Camillus had not attacked the city for a long time, and many of them had previously accepted this explanation.

But at this moment, Apulius still did not relent: "Why attack Ostia instead of Rome directly?!" Could it be that Camillus was confused and thought that we Romans lived in the small city of Ostia?! ”

"The city of Rome is not as easy to attack as Ostia because of its thick walls and heavy garrisons, and it is likely that Camillus wanted to deplete the Dionians by attacking Ostia, blockading them inland, forcing them out of the city for a decisive battle, or choosing an armistice...... Apulius, I have already explained these words once yesterday, do not make me say them a second time! Maruginesis's sharp gaze looked directly at Apleius, and the man who was holding him up suddenly began to become a little disobedient, which made his eyes fill with anger.

Apulius stopped talking.

However, another person raised doubts: "Camillus may have been the right strategy to attack Ostia, but we have all heard the enemy say, 'Vyai and Kesrela have been captured by them'." Yesterday they also said, 'Sulwaterm and Xhosa have surrendered to them, and even our allies, the Etruscans, have allied themselves with them'...... If this is true, even if Ostia is recaptured, it probably won't help. ”

These words immediately caused a whisper among the senators.

Marugineensis saw that the person who spoke was Lucritius, although he secretly hated this old guy for not opening a pot and mentioning a pot, and put a topic that everyone was very worried about in the open, was his mind dizzy?! But for an old man who had been in the Senate for decades, he was still jealous, so he said perfunctorily: "I said that this is all a lie of the enemy, and we don't need to believe it." ”

"Why don't you send someone down the mountain to investigate? Just like Pentius back then! If we can be sure that these are the lies of the enemy, we and the people will be relieved. ”

Marugineensis finally couldn't help it, and said angrily: "Lucritius, you are sleeping every day except to worship Jupiter, have you seriously attended meetings and participated in any affairs?!" Scipio told him, what have we all done?! ”

"So far, we have sent five warriors down the mountain to find out the news, but we have not returned." Scipio said solemnly: "When the Celts occupied Rome, they were lax in discipline and did not have a tight blockade of the Capitoline, while the Dionians ...... If you look at the camp they built at the bottom of the mountain, it's very difficult to sneak through. ”

"Well, Camillus, as the dictator of Rome, will definitely do everything in his power to repel the Ionians, just as he did when he defeated the Celts!" In order to avoid Lucritius being too embarrassed and causing a quarrel, Ambustus interjected: "Let's take care of the important issues that concern us first!" We only have enough food for 20 days, and if Camillus fails to retake the city of Rome within 20 days, we will starve.

There is also drinking water, although there is a small spring on the mountainside not far from the temple of Juno, but it is not enough for more than 5,000 people to drink, fortunately now the rainy season has just passed, there have been several rains in these ten days, and there is a lot of water in several temples, but if it does not rain for five or six days in a row, it will become very difficult for us to want everyone to drink enough water......

There is also the disease, we hurried up the mountain, did not bring many herbs, the people crowded on the mountain, not eating well, not sleeping well, plus the mood is not good, some people are sick, can not get good treatment, can not be cured......"

Ambustus's words made the senators' expressions even more worried.

"Alas!" Portitus sighed: "I think when the Celts invaded, we only had a few hundred people when we retreated here, but now the number is more than ten times that of then, and naturally the consumption of materials is much more......"

"Are we going to drive too many people off Capitoline Mountain?!" An elder asked anxiously.

This caused an uproar in the temple.

Ambustus hastened to say, "We don't need to do this!" I mean...... We must strictly control the consumption of food and water, and we must also prevent the outbreak of epidemics, so that we can hold on to the mountains for a longer time, until Camillus and his soldiers come to repel the Dionians and retake Rome......"

Before the senators could begin to discuss, a man stood up in the crowd and said loudly: "Fathers and newcomers, I doubt that Camillus will be able to retake Rome!" You all saw the triumphal ceremony of the Ionians just now, so many Roman civilians joined in their triumphal celebrations, what does this mean?! The civilians of Rome are betraying us in favor of the invading Dionians! With the support of those civilians, the Dioans had more soldiers to defend Rome, and Camillus was able to lead the army to "

"Nonsense!" Marugineensis let out a loud shout and glared viciously at the man who spoke: "Apulius, are you crazy?!" ”

Apleius also let go at this moment: "I'm not crazy, my mind is clear, and you are also very clear, but you are all running away!" When Rome fell, so many people were trapped in the city, and for the first few days we could still see and hear the sounds of fighting in the mountains, and even fires and smoke...... But now! How many days have we not heard the sound of fighting, but the square is getting more and more lively, and I am afraid that the Dionians have been completely completed"

"Guards! Guardsman! Put him down and lock him up! Marugineensis yelled angrily.

Scipio the Great hesitated, after all, this was against the rules of the Senate, but seeing that Portitus, Ambustus, Lucritius and many other respected senators were nodding, he immediately called the guards.