"You mean, we pursued him along the Arno Valley?"

"No, no, what we need now is a lightly armed Biedong team to block his way to Liguria. Then he will be encircled by our side, and we will defeat him completely near the Piquenum area! Claudius suggested.

Neruda touched his fat belly and thought for a while, and felt that there was really no way to live up to Cicero and Catiline, although these two themselves were mortal enemies, but as long as I could go to Macedonia to scrape the land for a year in half a year, I would not have so many scruples, so he snorted twice, "Claudius, I have approved these affairs, you have full authority to handle them, you have to forgive an old man in his twilight, his legs actually do not obey the call." ”

Claudius, who had withdrawn after the military salute, saw Calabis leaning against the wooden fence at the door of the tent, and the two of them gestured, knowing that the plan had been successful in advance.

The words were copied entirely on a wooden board by Calabis and given to Claudius to read aloud in front of the manager.

In the evening, the whistle sounded, and in the midst of the torches, Claudius held the commander's number plate and read out the latest order, "We now need a 'campigheny' (the selection officer) to lead three brigades on an honorable and secret mission." As for the Grand Legion itself, it will be stationed there tomorrow, for there are many granges and towns around, and we will need to get supplies for two days. Hearing Claudius's words, there was immediately a burst of joyful whistles in the procession, and the so-called "supplies" were plundered in granges and towns, and then the spoils were sold to the traffickers who accompanied the army in exchange for wine, gambling money, and prostitution money.

As for that "glorious and secret mission" in the mouth of the adjutant general. I'm sorry. Everyone is automatically humbling in the future. No doubt. In the end, only two brigades were willing to carry out this task - the fourth brigade of the Second City Legion, and the tenth brigade. "Senior centurion, Milou. Quintas, you've served in Spain before, and you have a lot of combat experience, so I think you're the best person for this mission. Claudius looked serious. Then a battalion flag was delivered to Milou.

"Your Excellency, Adjutant General, I swear to the god of war, I am willing to swear to complete the mission. But I need the best and lightest equipment in the barracks. Milou took the flag and demanded.

In the barracks, the soldiers were noisy, wearing helmets, locks and drapes, and fastening the buckles of their military shoes, and Tagus paced back and forth and shouted: "I repeat it again. We'll set off the first moment after the Morning Star has sunk, and everyone checks their gear. In particular, I would like to remind you to bring a few things - a bag with feta cheese and a marsa, a money bag, a pickaxe, a pickaxe and a basket, and two spare pairs of military shoes. Immediately, there were no ox carts or mule carts, and we were on our way, and everything was on our own, rookies. ”

The weighing officer also came over and shouted to everyone, "This mission, one hundred big drachmas per person, is now in your money bags, and they are all picked with pickaxes, don't lose them, cheap guys around you." There was a burst of laughter from the camp, you must know that Calabis has made a lot of money from the quartermasters, and he has paid some of it himself, so that he can finally calm the emotions of this group, and he is willing to carry out the mission, instead of clamoring to go with other friendly troops to "get supplies".

Under the inky black night sky, the morning star twinkled, and the two brigades silently remained silent, fully armed, and ascended a narrow path to the pass of the Arno valley under the guidance of an indigenous Ligurian herdsman.

The next day, seeing Neruda's legion stay where it was, and the rebels Catiline and Manius also stationed eighty furlongs apart - now both sides need to recruit troops, levy food, and rest, and since you don't chase them, I won't leave.

But the two brigades of Calabis were still walking, and time was gained, and the Ligurian herdsman, who had collected eight hundred cesdes, told him with certainty that he would be able to reach the pass of the valley a day or two earlier by walking the road between the sea and the mountains.

"You shit, you can only fight in the streets of Rome, then go back to your slums and continue to be your scum and gangsters! You are not even as good as mules and geldings, because they have two more hooves than you do! All the recruits, walking through the deep, wet and cold mountain roads, their armor and clothes soaked with heavy sweat, carrying full gear on their backs, step by step, and enduring the scolding of the Centurion and the Centurion, "Eat, eat, keep going, and those behind will eat from the bags of those in front!" Hearing this order, the soldier, who carried a pickaxe in one hand and a shield and javelin in the other, did not stop, but stretched his neck, took out a piece of sheep cheese from the open back pocket of the guy in front of him, chewed it in his mouth, and continued to walk.

Calabis, who was at the front, turned around and stretched out his hand to give a few balls of Massa to the soldiers at the front, "This thing is not to my taste." A soldier with a face drenched in sweat and damp said.

"If you want to drink, go to the pass."

As a result, a day later, when all the soldiers walked down a hillside overgrown with umbrella pines, a fatigue that was close to death made them stagger and could no longer maintain their ranks and balance, and on the sandy ground below the hillside, they threw down their backpacks and pickaxes, and weapons, and began to busily take off their worn shoes, put on new ones, and began to pass the water bottle up. The destination is reached, where the valley meets the mountains, the sea and the land, where the Arno River flows into the sea, and a bend in the north, leading to Liguria.

"Rest for a daytime (about an hour and a half), give them hot water and wine to drink, and then get to work." Calabis confessed to Milou and Pope, then took off his helmet himself, grabbed Massa and devoured it. When the time was up, Milou took off the lock curtains, naked his strong upper body, and shouted to the whole army: "Pour the hot water from the kettle on yourself!" One by one, the soldiers got up and did so, "Wash away all the damp water." Then Milou pulled out a tube of olive oil and applied it to his body, "Apply it to each other with your partner, focusing on your back, neck and armpits, it will protect you from the sun and frostbite, which means, guys, we need to build a strong fortress in this area until late at night!" ”

At the back of the pass, a wall was erected, for Calabis had to block the area between the mountain and the river estuary, about three stadias. So what Pop advocates is to make a simple blockade in the shortest possible time. (To be continued......)