The thirst for fame is much greater than the thirst for virtue, because fame is a reward for virtue, and who wants to embrace virtue without it?

- Jade Waina (Roman satirical poet)

Compared to the orderliness of Calabes, the Maasai tribes trapped in the city of Marseille were much more panicked; Although the leaders of the Maasai tribe had returned to the city of Marseille a few days earlier with the remnants of the 8,000 defeated army, it was clear that their presence did not give the people of the Maasai tribe enough confidence and confidence in victory.

The pride and pride that once belonged to the Maasai tribe have been wiped out in this fiasco. If there are only about 8,000 Maasai troops left, the whole city of Marseille and the Maasai tribe will be filial piety and everyone will cry bitterly; The reality that only the chief and the Grand Elder were able to return safely was even more frustrating.

As the dominant tribe in the Extramontane Gaul region for hundreds of years, it was not uncommon for the Maasai tribe to clash with other external forces and forces within Gaul outside the Mountains; Both the Mathius tribe in the Narpung Gaul region and the Rimon tribe in Aquitani have had fierce border conflicts and wars with the Maasai tribes.

As for the struggle for hegemony within Gaul outside the mountains, it is more frequent; There will always be tribes that will develop slowly and have the strength to threaten the Maasai tribes. Every time such a tribe was born, the Maasai tribe would not hesitate to wipe it out, and this situation was not changed until the Terma tribe was propped up.

For the Maasai tribe, the existence of the Terma tribe is not only as simple as guarding the wooden bridge of the Rhône, but also an important criterion for the Maasai tribe to measure whether other tribes are a threat to them. According to the standards of the Maasai tribe, the Telma tribe has a certain strength and value, but it is absolutely impossible to form a sufficient threat to itself, and it is just its own puppet.

But once there were other extra-mountain Gallic tribes that grew beyond the Terma tribe to exist; That would be enough to show that it already has the strength to threaten the Maasai tribe. The Maasai tribe will not hesitate to deal a fatal blow to such an emerging force in order to eliminate the potential threat that may exist.

The reason why the Grace tribe suffered an almost devastating blow from the Maasai tribe was because it already possessed a strength that surpassed that of the Terma tribe; Coupled with its unique army of war mastiffs, how could the Maasai tribe turn a blind eye? However, the Maasai tribe had an accident in the war against the Grace tribe, which led to heavy casualties among the Maasai tribe.

However, such a cost of casualties is also acceptable to the Maasai tribe; After all, the Maasai tribe achieved the result of completely expelling the Grace tribe and eliminating another potential threat to the Gallic region beyond the mountains. Unfortunately, things didn't turn out as the Maasai tribe imagined; The appearance of Calabis and his army completely changed the fate of the Maasai tribe.

In the previous decisive battle on the Rhône, the leader and elder of the Marseille tribe successfully led an army of 8,000 to escape the pursuit of the army of Calabes, and returned to the city of Marseille; However, they paid the price of nearly 25,000 Maasai troops and eight elder warriors, which was also a heavy casualty never before in the history of the Maasai tribe!

The deceased have passed away, but the survival of the tribe cannot be delayed; The leader of the Maasai tribe who was still alive and the other four remaining elders had to continue to figure out how to deal with the approaching enemy. It was absolutely impossible to resist the attack of the enemy's tens of thousands of troops by relying only on the 8,000 defeated troops who had fled back and the 5,000 temporarily recruited troops in the city; The urgent recruitment of more troops became a priority for the Maasai tribes.

With the population base of more than 200,000 Maasai tribes, it is entirely possible to recruit another 20,000 or 30,000 young people at the time of life and death; However, the Maasai tribes do not have enough weapons and equipment to arm them! Isn't the reason why the Gallic barbarians are called Gallic barbarians because of their own low level of civilization and low production capacity?

With the strong heritage of the Maasai tribe, the previous temporary recruitment of 20,000 new soldiers also exhausted all the weapons and equipment stocks in the tribe; It is simply impossible to come up with weapons and equipment that are enough for tens of thousands of people. In fact, not to mention tens of thousands of people, even the weapons and equipment of 5,000 people, the Maasai tribe can't get it now!

In desperation, the leader of the Maasai tribe could only let the newly recruited 20,000 young men use them with homemade wooden and rudimentary weapons and equipment; And let them serve as a reserve army for the defense of the city of Marseille. As for the regular garrison of Marseille City, it is naturally the 8,000 infantry who fled and returned and the 5,000 recruits who stayed in Marseille City before, at least they still have the weapons and equipment at hand!

Considering that the enemies of this attack on the Maasai tribes were not tribes within the Gauls, but Roman armies from east of the Alps; Therefore, the leaders and elders of the Maasai tribe unanimously decided to send a letter of help to the Mathius tribe in the Narpung Gaul region and the Rimon tribe of Aquitani in the west, hoping that they could send troops to rescue the Maasai tribe.

The truth that it is easy to please God and difficult to send God is naturally understood by the rulers of the Maasai tribe; However, in any case, those two tribes were also tribes of the Gauls, and they were better than the foreign Romans. Even if the Maasai tribe became a vassal of other Gallic tribes after this battle, it would have a chance to grow stronger and stronger; On the contrary, it may be the real disaster of extermination!

The heart of the Maasai tribe is a city built by the sea, and the Maasai tribe also has its own small port and fleet, and it is easy to send people for help. However, there is still a need for attention to how this reinforcement arrived in the city of Marseille; If it is by land, then it is also for the Maasai tribe to collect the corpses.

The only option was to land in Marseille by ship, but the reinforcements that could come were much smaller; Therefore, the leader of the Maasai tribe hoped that the two tribes could support him at the same time. Among them, the reinforcements of the Matthius tribe came from the sea, and the reinforcements of the Limon tribe, which was closer on the road, came by land.

Such an idea is naturally good, but there is also time to implement it; Whether by sea or land, it will take a month for reinforcements to reach Marseille at the earliest! In this month's time, can the Maasai tribe hold the city of Marseille? The Marseille chiefs had no faith in this, and the elders were dejected; However, they have no choice.

On the third day after the emissary set sail, Calabes led his army to the city of Marseille; Looking at the endless enemy army outside the city, the defenders of Marseille could not help but tremble their legs in fear. Especially the 8,000 soldiers who escaped the battle of the Rhône, they were well aware of the might of these enemies; It's also more frightening to face it.

But no amount of fear can make these people take a step back; Because behind them are their tribes, their homes, their families, and these are enough to make every defender standing on the walls let go of their fears and fight to the death against a powerful enemy. Calabes also knew that such an enemy was the most difficult to deal with, so he did not choose to immediately launch an attack on the city of Marseille.

According to Calabes, the Maasai tribe concentrated the population of the tribe in the city of Marseille in order to fight too much; Too much population brings too much pressure to survive. The Maasai tribes are also typical of the Gallic barbarians, whose main source of food was not the cultivation of crops, but the more primitive means of harvesting and fishing.

This means that they cannot have enough reserves for affairs, let alone how long they will last in the siege; It is also true that even without the siege of the army of Calabes, the Maasai tribes pay a certain price every year for the problem of lack of food, which is also a common problem for all the barbarian tribes of Gaul.

In this war to conquer the Maasai tribes, Calabes had already paid the price of nearly a reconstituted army of casualties; On the premise of being able to selectively reduce casualties, Karabes will not care about spending some more time. As for the unsurrounded side of Marseille by the sea, Calabis had already sent cavalry to request fleet support from the Julius family.

While waiting for the fleet of the Julius family, Calabes did not relax the siege of the city of Marseille; In addition to the necessary frontal provocations every day, Itami also led his cavalry to patrol back and forth. In addition, Calabis also arranged for a considerable number of soldiers to be responsible for building ladders and siege cones, so that they can attack the city at any time!

In the face of the siege of Calabes, the defenders of the Maasai tribe were naturally happy; After all, in the face of death, human beings are still willing to live well. However, compared with the relief of the defenders, the rulers and ordinary people in Marseille felt deep anxiety.

In order to ensure the combat effectiveness of the soldiers defending the city, their food was naturally supplied without a single milligram deduction; However, these will not change the crisis situation of food shortage in the city. From the day after the siege, the chiefs and elders of the Maasai tribes understood Calabes's strategy; It's a pity that they have no solution to such a conspiracy.

Lack of food was common to all the tribes of the Gauls, and in such a situation such a problem was undoubtedly magnified infinitely; On the fourth day of the siege, the food in the city of Marseille had to be distributed by its chieftain himself. Even so, three days later, the crisis of food shortages appeared; Moreover, it has affected the food supply of the defenders!

On the ninth day of the siege, the Maasai tribe had eaten the last of the city's provisions; Civilians can no longer share food other than food that has been stored for military use. Forced to desperate, the Maasai had to take the risk of using makeshift rafts to go out to sea to fish to survive; Going to sea on a raft can be imagined.

It's a pity that such a desperate hope of survival was completely shattered two days later. Immediately after receiving a plea for help from Calabes, Julius sent half of his family's fleet to blockade the city of Marseille; The fleet finally arrived in the waters of Marseille on this day, and the city of Marseille lost its last source of food! (To be continued.) )