Chapter 23: The Non-Existent Fleet (Part II)

Combano and Habaruka marched one step in advance, and then the rest of the troops were armed and out of the camp at dawn. Libida's position was set up four furlongs from Tellureas, and he lined up along the gently undulating hills, and built pontoon bridges over the rivers in the rear, making it as possible to advance and retreat.

Then, on the side facing the coast, Li Bida deliberately extended his right flank, and dismantled the four "Massella Noblewoman Cannons" from the ship, as well as four wild donkey stone throwers, and twelve cavalry cannons, densely lined up according to their respective firing ranges, and sent five brigades of infantry of the Seventh Army Corps, and the Trevelli cavalry, and erected wooden fences and trenches to protect them.

On the left flank, Li Bida tried his best to line up very tightly and communicate with his center. In the sun, the four legions of Tellureas, lined up with their backs to the Corioni River, were arranged in a very narrow formation, full of helmets, flags and shields, and he did so in order to prevent Lypida's troops from breaking through and infiltrating to rescue the city of Corioni.

But Li Bida did not seem to have any intention of rescuing the city of Corioni, and after the artillery positions were ready, lead bullets, throwing guns, and terrifying wooden bars shot by the noblewoman's cannons flew whistling towards the fleet of Tellureas at the mouth of the river, and the decks and oars of its ships were shattered, the masts and sails flew in all directions, and the men kept screaming and falling into the water, and immediately more than a dozen ships were wounded and sunk, and several with decks lost their power to paddle and could only circle in place, while the rest saw that something was wrong, so they quickly pulled anchor and moved away from the riverbank.

"Bastard, without the spirit of a noble samurai, how can he fight like this?" Tellureas protested angrily.

The rout of your own fleet. Soon it caused unease in the army on the shore. Tellureas felt that if he didn't attack, the morale of the soldiers might collapse on its own. He ordered the hoplites and cavalry to concentrate on the left flank, and then marched towards Li Pida's artillery position.

As a result, when the signal flag was erected on the hill where the command office of Li Bida was located, the cavalry artillery on the artillery position quickly maneuvered, and the artillery men pushed it a hundred paces ahead, that is, into a shallow pit dug in advance, that is, behind the wooden fence, followed by the infantry of the 7th Army Corps and the archers sent by Li Pida. They were all gathered behind the wooden fence, and then the cavalry cannons across the wooden fence took the lead in firing fire, like a wind breaking trees, sweeping the Spanish legions running in front of them into a large area, and then the archers also threw and suppressed in unison, and after a while, the front line of Tellureas was routed, and Li Bida's artillery position remained still.

After containing the defeated soldiers and the wounded, Tellureas did not know what to do for a while, so he could only confront each other in silence. Pinning his hopes on the city of Corioni, he also deliberately selected two brigades from each of the four legions. to strengthen the fortification of the city.

But in the afternoon, the news of the gloom came, and Li Pida's detachment made a detour from the mountain pass he did not know, and entered the city of Corioni in advance to assist in the defense, and now the morale of the city was high, and according to reliable information, the garrison of the city of Calaris was also rapidly approaching this place - it became delusional to take the city of Corioni in a short time.

Now that Tellureas's situation was already very awkward, his men and beasts were very short of food and water, and his soldiers were difficult to rest, he believed that the two Spanish auxiliaries under the city of Corioni were about to mutiny, and if this happened, his four legions would be in a situation of being attacked from the back. At the third hour of the afternoon, Tellureas ordered his men to light three torches and signaled the previously expelled fleet to dock, but when they came within range of the Libida artillery position, the catapults and noblewoman's cannons began to rage again, and it was not until the evening that many of the scarred ships returned to the mouth of the river and dispersed to anchor, but the Libida army was constantly on duty all night, and the crew oarsmen of Telluremias on the deck of the ships did not dare to light a fire or lower their sails, and the situation was very bleak.

That night, a strong wind blew in the northwest corner, and many ships that did not dare to lower their sails were blown aground on the shore by the surging waves and sea winds, some of them drowned, and many more were washed up on land and taken prisoner.

Li Bida's heralds and envoys also came to the camp of Tellureas and brought the news of the other party's persuasion to surrender:

"Titus. Sembriakos. General Tellureas, you and I have served under Caesar's tent for a long time, and are also the assistant of the dictator's adjutant general, and have fought in the north, south, east and west, and have made great contributions, and have been deeply appointed by Caesar himself, and you have appointed you as the governor of Spain before Caesar's assassination, and your grace is not unsuccessful, but your Excellency has lost his mind for a while, but at the time of the assassination, Your Excellency did not directly participate, and there is still room for maneuver, so in the name of the guardian of Young Caesar, I ask all your legions to disarm and surrender immediately, and all soldiers to ensure their safety, You don't lose your place.

Take an oath in the sacred name of King Numa, King Leus, and the descendants of Phaethon. ”

Troureas was silent, but quickly destroyed the letter, and then ordered the two auxiliary legions under the city of Corioni to serve as the rearguard, and the remaining four legions continued to retreat south with the fleet, and arrived at the beach of Gabla, as long as he could board the ships that came to meet him on the other side, as long as the legion was in hand, even if he and Aquila fought in the Sicilian civil war, it would be better than to be captured and surrender the legion men and the flag of glory to Libida.

The next day, the four legions of Tellureas, with a bombardment, retreated, and the reluctant soldiers abandoned all the pack beasts and baggage in the camp, and retreated lightly in the direction of the beach of Gaibra.

"Don't worry about him for the time being, little Paruma pigeon, you continue to choose the front, take all the cavalry, cross the Corioni River, and directly charge the enemy rearguard and besieging troops under the city, and General Galius and I will lead the legion infantry with you, and we will fight with you in the river and coordinate with each other." Li Bida climbed the hill, looked at the retreating enemy troops all over the mountain, and ordered.

Then, with thousands of cavalry led by Paruma, rushed to the city of Corioni, and the two Spanish auxiliaries of Tellureas, unwilling to be martyred, after a short discussion among their clan officers, they reached an agreement, about 5,000 men, all of whom raised their hands to surrender to Lipida.

"Hand over the roster and the camp, hand over all the baggage weapons, and all of you march to my camp with your bare hands to be under temporary supervision, I and His Excellency Caesar have fought many times in the Iberian Peninsula many years ago, but I didn't expect that now you hear that the enemy is me, and you dare to fight it." Li Bida reprimanded the clan chiefs who were kneeling in front of the horses, holding a gold-plated baton.

The city of Corioni was adorned with decorations at all the gates, and the elders and men went out of the city to warmly welcome Li Bida's army, "After entering the city for a while to rest and replenish supplies, we will pursue the four legions of Tellureas, who will not go far." (To be continued......)