"Take up your weapons and fight against these barbarians outside the city, they are not Romans at all, they are just a bunch of barbarians in the armor of the Roman legions, Gauls, Germans, even Britons, look at the army of Apis, a rogue ruffian, who does not represent Rome at all. You must stand with me, and the glory of Rome cannot be defiled by them! ”

In the city, Agrippa stood on the podium of the recruiting army and spoke loudly to the people around him. In early summer, even though Lepotis is close to the sea, the heat is rolling. Agrippa stood on the stage for only a moment, and was already sweating profusely. But he still maintained the posture of a warrior, unwilling to take off the heavy armor on his body.

"But fighting kills, and we don't want to die for it."

After a while, there were bold civilians in the audience who shouted out their hearts without any scruples.

Agrippa glanced at the emaciated man in the crowd, and felt a wave of resentment in his heart, but he couldn't show it, because the next battle with Appis would need the support of these people.

He cleared his throat and said—

"Yes, there will be death in battle, but I will give you a share of your property, three hundred dinars for one person, as long as you are willing to join the legion and resist Appis. This is the minimum salary guarantee. Also, as long as you survive this battle and do not deter from it, you may be granted the permanent title of Roman citizen after the battle. ”

Agrippa looked at the crowd and found that many of the people present were not Latin faces, and the small North African city of Lepotis was more inhabited by local Phoenicians, when Rome defeated Carthage, and there were not many Roman immigrants who came to live here in a hundred years. More often than not, some middle-class merchants and small traders came here to trade and settle down. After agitating the local Romans, these freemen also needed to be considered, so Agrippa attracted the inhabitants of the city to join the army on such favorable terms as citizenship.

"Dear General, have you forgotten? Three hundred dinars can't buy anything here now, look at the rising prices, we can't even buy a bag of flour, what's the use of such a salary? More critically, we may not survive tomorrow. ”

But the ragged civilians were clearly unhappy with the ruins of their homeland caused by the Roman Civil War. Continue to talk to Agrippa without any scruples. In fact, judging from the way he dressed, I also knew that he was indeed too poor to have any scruples.

"So what do you mean? Would you rather surrender humbly to the enemy than take up arms and fight for the Republic, even if it is only a moment of heroism? You see, you may not be able to buy much of this currency here, but when you leave here alive and settle in any city as a Roman citizen, you can use it to buy enough supplies. Even let three or four Ji girls circle around you all day. ”

Agrippa was a little annoyed that he was going to bargain with the local freedmen. He wanted to rush down and kill the arrogant civilian, but he knew he couldn't do it. Failure to do so would cause outrage, and the city's inhabitants combined were much larger than his legions.

The preferential terms gradually caused an uproar among the crowd, and first the local Roman citizens present came to power and offered to join the legions, as long as they received the promised salary. Then, local residents also came to the recruitment office one after another and wrote their names.

But at this moment, the captain of Agrippa's cavalry stood anxiously behind him, and whispered—

"But General, we must take into account the rations of these people, originally our legion was stationed in the city, so we needed the granary of the city to provide military rations, Lepotis is not Rome, it cannot provide us with so much food in a short time, if we let these people join the legion, I am afraid that we will soon have a food crisis. The sea has been blocked by Appis. ”

The cavalry captain's worries were not unreasonable, but Agrippa, who had no way out, could no longer think so much. When Appis will attack the city, no one knows. If you only have these 4,000 troops in your hands when you attack the city, I am afraid that soon, the city will fall, and when the time comes, not to mention the food problem, I don't know if you can keep your head.

"I know, but we have no choice, let these men take the weapons they have in stock, and if they don't, take javelins or sticks, and within a week, if Apis doesn't attack the city, we'll rush out and have a final battle."

Standing on the stage, Agrippa said with a dead face.

……

However, events did not go as Agrippa had predicted. For a whole week, the Roman legions outside the city did not launch a general assault on the city. Appis unhurriedly built a huge siege weapon outside the city of Lepotis, but he never intended to attack the city. Bunodius's fleet also made routine daily patrols, keeping all merchant and grain ships out of the city's harbor.

"We don't have a choice, these incapable militias consume our precious food every day, we have to make a choice, General."

Appis's indulgence brought Agrippa to the point of exhaustion. His centurions once again spoke to him, hoping that his commander would give him an order immediately. The Legion could not drag on any longer. Although the food in the city can last for half a month, that is not the solution.

Finally, on the eighth day, Agrippa, who had nowhere else to go, set out on a bloody battlefield with the defeated Italian legions and the improvised African militia......

The final battle took place outside the city of Lepotis in a land of earth and grass covered with rocks and grass. Those African infantry who were improvised by Agrippa were placed by Agrippa on the flanks of the legion. Used as guerrilla skirmishers, the frontal front was defended by Roman heavy infantry, lest these inexperienced recruits flee due to fear and casualties shortly after the battle began. One thousand Numidian cavalry and two hundred Roman cavalry became the only assault force in the battle of Agrippa. But Agrippa knew that in order to break through Appis's defenses, he had to defeat his Germanic cavalry, which was really difficult.

……

"Brothers, in three months you will return to Gaul and enjoy the good times after the victory in the war, with mountains of wealth and countless wines and women, and when you enter Lugdurum you will be greeted with flowers and fragrant kisses by passionate maidens. Imagine what it would be like to be a hero, a hero of the Legion, an object of envy and adoration for countless people. If you survive. Brothers, after this last battle, I will fulfill my promise. ”

On the eve of the great battle, Apis rode on a high-headed white horse, rode in front of the three armies, and made a high-pitched speech. An eagle swept across the sky, and in the sky not far away, a storm was brewing, and bursts of restless thunder lingered in the sky......