Chapter 14: Admonition I

"Nothing is more frequent than revolutions and improvements in military art." β€”Demosthenes, an ancient Greek orator

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When Rabinus's order was given, many of Pompey's soldiers were still greedily drinking cattle by the stream of the occupied camp, and the men of Lelias had fled in reverse, but the three legions of Libida were pressing, and the rearguard of Pompey's army was broken through one after another in the forests, seashores, and riverside wilderness, and their casualties were worse than the losses of Caesar's army in the previous northern position, some fled to the canoes left behind by Lipo, and some went to Caesar's camp. Some ran in the direction of Kocula, but many more were hiding in place, and Rabinus, or any other general, had lost control of their subordinates.

At the same time, Kalenus also led his subordinates to raid from the small battalion, cooperating with Li Pida's offensive and flanking the enemy.

In the evening, two human heads appeared in front of the commanding Li Bida, that is, the traitor Laugilus and Elgus, the former was slashed by a black soldier of the 15th Legion, and the latter was hidden in the corner of the camp in the confusion and was discovered and shot by the captain of Li Bida's guard, Alp.

"Have these two always been with Rabinus?" "It seems that Labinus's staff and retinues have also broken up, and the commanders of the legions on the front line continue their fierce pursuit, and that they will annihilate Pompey's elite troops in Greece in one fell swoop." They had a long battle before. People and horses are desperately short of water. There is no strength to resist at all, so we will all come out and surrender, and we will protect each other's lives. ”

Then, several military slaves brought Li Bida's mount, he sighed, looked at the twilight around him, and the battlefield full of bones and sand, and then stepped on one side. Turning over the saddle, he gave the order: all the artillery detachments, baggage teams, and the commander's guards should carry the flag to advance six stadias, and send another order to the soldiers on the front line, to reoccupy the water source and river as the boundary, and to drive the remnants of Pompey's army out of this range, and then use the original camp to rearrange the blockade.

About 3,000 Pompey soldiers were killed on the spot, plus the losses from the previous fortifications. It was arguably the worst day of Rabinus's life, with 5,000 of his elite men killed. About the same number of men were captured or surrendered, most of them had surrendered with Gaius and had been incorporated into Pompey's legions, and now they had swung back and handed over their weapons and armor to Caesar's lieutenant.

There are many more people who have fled and scattered, whether it is Caesar's side or Pompey's side, it is impossible to know their exact location, the mountains are full of valleys, but Libidaeus said to his subordinates not to worry, they will come out automatically in about two or three days, lured by water and food.

Having followed Rabinus back to Kocula, less than 10,000 men and horses, he returned to his point of origin in despair, and then sat down in his tent, holding his head, trying not to cry, but the soldiers did not care, and the torment of fear, disappointment, and thirst made them cry as hard as they could, a creep that even the two legionnaires in Caesar's position could hear.

On that day, Caesar and Antony were not idle, they each organized twelve brigades, and attacked the enemy's blockade line, and also made considerable progress, breaking a section of the wall, and then expelling and killing many of Pompey's auxiliaries.

The arrival of the "reserves" completely turned the tide of the war, and now there were only two ways in front of Rabinus, one was to flee in a fleet as far as possible, and the other was to be completely wiped out in the event of a water cut.

The next day, Rabinus stood on the wall of the city and sent his guard to send Antony's brother Gaius to the confrontation between the two armies, and then asked Caesar and Lybidaeus to come out for counseling.

After Li Bida got the news, he thought that the other party was going to exchange the Thracian prince Salada, so he also invited the prince to go with him, and under the "escort" of the Medejie Guard, he came to Caesar's camp together, "I don't know what words to use to thank you for your meritorious service this time, and your timely arrival, which still proves that Antony's plan is perfect, but I overestimate myself in the implementation process, if I want to hold the responsibility for the loss of the northern front, I think that I am the supreme commander of the army, Definitely have to take it all. When Caesar saw him coming on horseback, he kept expressing his gratitude, to which he humbly replied that he was merely performing the duties of a chief lieutenant.

But Caesar was still persistent, "You will be rewarded, my dearest lieutenant and assistant." Then he squinted at the panicked Thracian prince in front of him, and reassured and quipped, "You should know that we don't want to let you go, because there is not even any water to drink." ”

At this moment, all the guards turned their faces to the other side - the commander of the Southern Front, Antony, shouted and galloped over on horseback, and it seemed that he had definitely thrown his duty to Faobinas.

"I'm here to see how my brother was redeemed." Having said that, Li Bida obviously saw the other party's eyes burning, so it was not so much a "visit" as a "surveillance", and today the other party must see his younger brother return to his camp unflawed.

Gaius was standing, still shackled, behind him were Rabinus and the soldiers with sharp blades, it seemed that the atmosphere of the discussion was not so harmonious and relaxed, seeing the former chief lieutenant, Caesar's heart swelled with a feeling of disgust and hatred, he had heard that Rabinus had killed his own captured officers and soldiers, so he said to Li Bida with a calm face, "You are responsible for negotiating with this villain, I don't want to say anything more to him." ”

At this time, Rabinus spoke first, "I am willing to release Gaius, and I do not need to return to the Thracian prince, because the whole army is in the water, and all my subordinates are suffering, and there is no need for him to run and suffer." Also, I owe you a huge favor to Li Bida before, and you forgave my hometown, so if you don't dislike it, then please accept my apology. ”

"You better surrender as much as you can, lest you let the remaining soldiers suffer again." After Li Bida saw that the other party directly removed Gaius's shackles, he loudly persuaded him, "And then it's just to accept the punishment you deserve, can't you bear this?" ”

"What are you kidding, I'm a person who takes responsibility for politics, and I don't give up lightly. Therefore, Your Excellency Julius, Your Excellency Liberius, we will meet again in other battlefields, and as a real soldier, we can only do it for a long time. With that, Rabinus licked his withered and cracked lips, turned his horse's head, and returned to his own fortified line.

"The siege will begin on three sides tomorrow, and our army is also short of supplies, so we must fight quickly, and now the advantage is mine." Looking at the back of Rabinus leaving, Caesar said. (To be continued......)