Augustus Road

“You have told us the names, types, offices, and causes of all things divine and human.”—Cicero Praising Greek Literature

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As the team continued to move forward, this desert became more and more terrifying. Whether it was its sunrise or its sunset, the former brought suffocating heat, while the latter brought endless darkness. The uniformed soldiers moved forward slowly, each centurion was like a clumsy caterpillar. Crassus was a little worried about the speed of the army's advance. According to the regulations in the operational manual, he fully believed that his army would be at most You can cross the desert in four or five days.

But the march was already on its fifth day, and even the cavalry in front of them who were searching could not tell the former consul how far it was to reach the border between the desert and the market.

Horses and men had already fallen dead. The first legion of Cassiyo, who served as the reserve rear guard, took in many stragglers every day. They were the only legion that carried packhorses. This was the result of Cassiyo's insistence on disobeying orders. The pottery urns containing coins and luggage were all placed in the city of Xinaka, and what was carried on the backs of packhorses were precious water and sundries, including tents, wooden piles, some fire sickles, dry firewood, etc. He also constantly encouraged the lagging soldiers, issued them weapons, and after replenishing the other side with food and water, asked them to continue moving forward with the First Army regardless of their number.

Crassus's retinue was slightly ahead of the entire march. At sunset on the fifth day, his son Crassus the Younger led the cavalry. Stirring up billowing dust. Come and report to your father and superior. "A large number of brand-new horse hoof prints appeared in front, and it seemed that a large number of Parthians were gathering nearby."

"Isn't it left behind by the fleeing barbarians?" Crassus wore a plain silk scarf on his shoulders. His old constitution and the torture of such weather meant that he could no longer ride a horse and command the troops. "And in this damn environment, there is not a single stream. There is not a single small tree, not a touch of green, just yellow sand and a blue sky that is a bit unreal and terrifying."

"No." Little Crassus replied with certainty, because these horse hoof prints were all orderly and in all directions. At first glance, they were a subtle movement of troops.

"Your Majesty the Governor, please allow me to go to the 2nd and 5th legions serving as the vanguard and ask them to make complete preparations. The first legion named Casillo will catch up as soon as possible. In order to avoid being in the marching column Cut off by the barbarian cavalry," Oguvitas, the chief deputy beside him, said quickly, and then rode on his horse. He rushed to the front troops to mobilize. Crassus nodded slightly. He still highly recognized the abilities of his generals. Then he asked another deputy general, Megabe, to take five hundred cavalry with his son. Explore thirty furlongs ahead to learn the position of Surena's main force.

Then, the entire Roman legion was excited. Everyone was holding their swords, putting down their equipment and arming themselves. They lined up for battle according to the requirements of the centurions and tribunes. The appearance of the Parthians made many people feel excited. The feeling of relief is that instead of being pulled back and forth by the opponent in this desert, it is better to have a happy place and completely defeat these despicable and shameless barbarians on horseback and as annoying as flies.

But after the young Crassus and Megabe's scouting cavalry ran forward for ten furlongs, they noticed that the hoof prints were getting denser and denser, moving closer and closer in a certain direction. The two of them were alert, and soon A consensus was reached: Surena's main force was not far ahead, perhaps besieging the city of Calle. When they reached the thirty furlong distance limited by Crassus, the horse hoof prints became messy again.

"Did these guys escape again?" Little Crassus shouted, feeling that he was being tricked again!

Megabe immediately started to curse, using all the street slang commonly used in Rome, to insult this miscellaneous mountain people with mixed Greek genes, saying that their kings and noble clans were actually from Miletus and Lydia in the past. The offspring of an affair between a Greek prince and a slave girl, they pretended to enjoy Greek operas. They even watched in the amphitheater with a piece of saddle leather between their buttocks and their seats, because they were so despicable and barbaric. So, in the end, these two men could only bring 500 cavalry, and returned to the main array angrily, reporting to Crassus, "It seems that the enemy has been separated again, but we cannot take it lightly. This is their treacherous plot."

The staff and generals around the governor of Syria were all furious. They felt that this was not just a plot by the Parthians, but also by the guide Akbarus. So several centurions rushed into the queue and pulled The chief pulled it out roughly and pulled it in front of everyone, asking him to explain the reason for this.

As a result, the chieftain was still laughing. He knew that in this situation, he could never admit that he was actually a spy sent by Surena. Now he could only survive by making full use of his eloquence. So his fat face immediately bloomed, like a piece of raw meat poured with wine suddenly exploded, and he shouted in an extremely exaggerated tone, "Oh my God! You warriors from Italy are more impatient than your swords. Do you think that you are walking and traveling in Campania or Naples, with clear springs, fragrant flowers, and exquisite buildings everywhere? This is the border between Syria, Arabia and Assyria. The sea of ​​death, where countless heroes of the past were buried, if even this difficulty could not be overcome, what was the luxury of the plan to conquer Parthia? Didn't Alexander the Great lead 50,000 troops and march all the way here? "

Hearing such an explanation, Crassus could only shake his head and ask all officers and soldiers to remain restrained, to be fearless and persevering like the citizens during the Punic Wars. Therefore, the soldiers who had originally formed a battle formation could only carry their heavy equipment again, continue to form a long column, and march hard towards the destination. They cursed loudly, cursing the weather, cursing the gods, and of course some people cursed the old governor.

When we were setting up camp at night, the "king" of Armenia suddenly sent a letter saying that he was willing to provide Crassus with 6,000 heavy cavalry and a similar number of auxiliary light cavalry, but now he has received news that Herod has known that he betrayed the Roman Republic and has assembled a large main force to invade his country from the north. The only way now is to join forces with your deputy general Lepidus to resist Herod together - or, you can also turn around and join us from the north, and then enter Seleucia and Ctesiphon through Chinodosia. I think this is safer.

"The kingdoms built by these barbarians are not trustworthy at all. They do not guide a country according to collective wisdom at all, but rely entirely on the fickle preferences and whims of dictators!" Crassus angrily threw down the letter and publicly told all the generals that he would "settle accounts" with the king of Armenia after he arrived in Carrhae and defeated Surena! (To be continued...)