"You know the difference between the emperor's invitation and the order." - Proverbs from the time of the Roman Empire

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

But Adiana also wrote a letter to the other side of the siege, Marcus. Brutus, who told the philosopher-general the results of the war in Kocula as they were.

Brutus put the letter on the small table next to the couch and groaned bitterly, he couldn't even find anyone to consult, the officers and men of the Macedonian Ninth Army were up and down, obeying only the orders of Cassius alone, and they respected him on the surface, but in their bones they still regarded themselves as a literati, "Brutus? Lord Brutus should have studied geology, plants, or republican monarchies in a city like Athens, and let him lead his troops would be nothing less than torture for everyone up and down. "Sometimes, the chief centurion of the legion taunted him in front of the soldiers and the flag bearers.

Therefore, the actual command of the front line was completely in the hands of a few tribuns and centurions, and Cassiyo commanded the fleet to cut off the sea between Asia Minor and Greece, so in the entire Taktun front, he was the only one left, and he did not have any real power, just a rubber stamp, which was just a seal on the command board sent to the subordinates every day.

What's more, the so-called friendly army Minander brought a full 10,000 bronze shield troops this time, re-organized in the Bosphorus, plus 2,000 Scythian and Sarmatian mercenary cavalry, did not take his legion seriously at all, and in terms of joint operations, Minander simply regarded him as a "servant alliance", and was arrogant to the Macedonian Ninth Army Corps, making it difficult everywhere in terms of camps, logistics and combat missions. The officers and men of the legion considered themselves to be the number one legion in the Syrian province. Now not only is he subservient to the number. He was also despised by the monarch of the Roman vassal states, and everyone had anger in their hearts, and Brutus was a character who was caught in the middle and was angry. Seeing Adiana's letter this time, Brutus was saddened, he felt that there was no way out for Pompey's camp, Pompey himself and the remnants of the legions were living in Africa, and were besieged by Spain, Sicily, and Cyrene on three sides, and the war between Greece and Asia Minor. Now only Scipio's three legions remained, as well as one of his legions under Taktun, the fleet of Cassiillo, and Menander, a vassal who was still standing in the same position, and the fate of him was "unknown what the future would be".

But the conflict of ideas, the blood feud of his uncle, still had to make Brutus persevere, he grabbed Adiana's letter again, and thought hard about how to break the situation, but finally quietly sent a letter to Cassiyo in the port of Caria:

"Pompey's elite in Greece and Macedonia has been wiped out. I'm sure you'll hear about it soon, and I'm prepared not to get involved in the internal strife of the Pontus Empire. These barbarian kings, male and female, without exception, are taking advantage of the civil war in the Republic to get oil, and I have decided to withdraw the Ninth Army as soon as possible, which is almost the only blood of the true republicans, you gather the fleet, we must draw the army to Crete before Caesar and Lipida attack the East, and then take it to Africa as safely as possible, which must be a great risk, because do not underestimate the speed with which Greece and the city-states of Asia Minor will change their views, and hurry forward to your reply, my dear friend Longinus. ”

Then Brutus heard the earth-shattering sound of battle, and he walked out of the camp and saw that Minand's army was advancing the trebuchet on the rolling wood in the direction of the city wall of Taktun, but the jagged tower platform on the city shot staggered stone projectiles, which easily smashed Minander's siege equipment one by one, and the light infantry of the Bronze Shield Army, just about to carry the ladder to the city wall, was killed and wounded by a series of arrows fired from the crossbow arrow hole in the darkness of the tower.

This is the outstanding creation of the Greek engineer Philo hired by Adiana, the noose-style repeating belly bow, the power is between the Roman scorpion crossbow and the ordinary belly bow, although the range is not far, but it can be fired continuously, and it is very effective to disperse the enemy's light soldiers attacking the city.

"It's just a stubborn, ritualized stupid war, I can't continue to serve it any longer!" This was Brutus's only thought when he saw this scene, and then he did not want to wait for a reply from Cassillo, so he summoned the centurions on duty and asked them to give the order to withdraw the camp, "Go back to Ephesus first, and after you are settled, go directly to Cartier to meet our fleet!" This order was the only one that won the hearts of the whole battalion, so soon the soldiers of the entire camp carried their luggage and left the city of Taktun at night while Minander was bloodied in the fierce battle under the city.

It was only after Brutus had left for no reason that Menander became aware of this, and while angrily scolding the Roman generals for their lack of faith, they could only discuss whether they would stay or not, but many of the generals were worried that so many of their troops were withering under the city of Taktun, and if they retreated hastily, they would be pursued by the treacherous Adiana.

"Don't worry, I will take the bronze shield army as the rear guard myself, and the light infantry and cavalry escort baggage will be the first to retreat to Sinop, and then our army will rely on Sinop to resolutely resist the enemy's counterattack - this is my sub-plan, since we can't swallow Eubertinia and Silesia, then we must also hold on to the old land of Pontus, so as to show the impression that my wife and I are the heirs of the Mithra Empire. Sinop was rich in resources and provisions, and with the support of Achilles' fleet, there would always be a way to quietly observe the direction of the Romans' civil war. ”

In this way, Minand, who "always had a way", in the early morning of the next day, lined up in a strict formation in front of the camp with six thousand bronze shields, spears like a forest, each soldier wore an exaggerated and ornate feather ornament, and carried brass shields, and Minander and the general sat on ornate chariots, responsible for calming the whole army, and then, according to the prior plan, the rest of the infantry and pack horses began to retreat one after another.

"Her Royal Highness, do you want to select cavalry to pursue?" Biduita half-knelt down in awe and asked Adiana, who was watching the battle from the tower.

Adiana raised her beautiful eyebrows, looked at the battlefield situation for a while, and said, "No, the battle of Taktun is completely a brilliant victory for my kingdom's army, as long as the Roman cavalry commander's men and horses arrive in Asia Minor and join forces with it, it will naturally be easy to destroy the disobedient kingdom of Bosporus." ”

By this time, after about two bazaars, Caesar's army in Kocula had begun to march eastward along the two predetermined routes.

Li Pida's five legions set up, deliberately three days later than Caesar, after the sacrifice to the gods, they followed the old road of Thessaria, and walked again in the direction of the Macedonian province, the mighty procession was about ten Roman miles, of which Li Pida was with three thousand elite cavalry, and galloped, the towns along the way, after hearing the news of the Kocula battlefield, indeed as Brutus expected, and Li Pida's horse hooves raced the speed of rebellion, and then Li Pida's five legions, It was as if there was a grand armed procession—everywhere with provisions, servants, and money—and it was not until the Macedonian city of Pera that the army stopped. (To be continued......)