Augustus Road

"This month is passing away, and the next month is coming soon." - Homer, "The Odyssey"

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Menander woke up on time at six o'clock in the morning. This was a good habit he had developed during his twenty years of military service. He was a descendant of the Spartans. His ancestors were mercenary officers and had been involved in Persian small towns for a long time. In the sub-peripheral area, they became a family of professional military officers. Menander himself was also very lucky. His father was killed in the war following Mithridates VI, so he himself was promoted by the king and was arranged to train the elite Bronze Shield Army in the rear of the Pontic Empire. In fact, the reason for training is because the "Bronze Shield Army", a symbol of the Pontic Imperial Guard's strength, has been disabled several times in the Roman wars. There is a shortage of experienced grassroots officers and superior commanders. So Menander climbed quickly.

Therefore, slowly, in Menander's mind, the Bronze Shield Army and the Bendu Empire became equal. He was disgusted with the old-school sages such as Archelaus and Achilles, and was also dissatisfied with Adiana imitating Rome. The "New Model Army" formed by people, "These troops and personnel have no effective effect except to distract the elite investment that should have been concentrated on the Bronze Shield Army. Your Majesty's empire should have been defended by my men." "This idea also made Menander himself become more and more stubborn and arrogant. Even before the death of Mithridates VI, he had the idea of ​​​​controlling the Bronze Shield Army and replacing him as the new emperor of Pontus. After the Bronze Shield Army was later destroyed along with the empire, Menander took shelter under Pompey's tent and also became the king of the Bosporus and Creon of Pompey, but during these years, he was still committed to revival." "The Bronze Shield Army" is an extremely great army. I think that as long as the Bronze Shield Army is resurrected. He naturally has the natural inheritance rights to the Pontic Empire.

No, there is another reason, and that is him and Stratonis. There is a legal and qualified marriage between the real princesses of Pontus. With the birth of Lin'er, Menander, thinking of this, shaved his face into a livid face, knelt in front of the altar with the banner of God Mithra hanging with purple trim and sun pattern, and prayed for his family and army. "My wife, my children, I hope you are in the city of Sinop. I also offered rich sacrifices to the gods, and sank the white bulls and black cows into the lake in front of the Amasiya Royal Tomb. Come and add the blood of killing to the spears of my soldiers, and the blessing of divine power to the breastplates of my soldiers. As long as I defeat that bastard’s army and Caesar’s two or three legions, many kingdoms on the southern coast of the Black Sea will surely be restored. By defecting to my side, I will regain the hegemony of the Pontus Empire. In the future, whether Pompey or Caesar wins the civil war, they will have to recognize my right to rule here. The recruitment and training of the army are worth it, and the reputation of the Bronze Shield Army will once again be heard throughout the world."

After praying, he sat upright at the dining table, finished his simple breakfast, then put on a leopard-tailed helmet and a golden cloak that imitated the ostentation of the Pontic emperor, and walked out of the tent. Several man slaves brought him a blue The Mede horse, Menander easily mounted. Then he waved his hand vigorously to his young personal guard standard bearer Sicobodias, signaling the other party to complete the priest's sacrificial ceremony. The general's flag, a sun logo embroidered with golden thread, was pulled up. This is also the signal for the entire army to attack.

Today's battle is about to begin. Sicobodias is very excited and nervous. When he hears the priest's chanting, he is ready to pull out the flag and raise it high. The soldiers around him hear a burst of birds. After the cries of the children, I saw several gray-black crows, who came from nowhere, and they all stopped on the spear fork of the flag. There were more and more crows, and the crows that couldn't get close would circle around the military flag and make loud noises. Annoying buzzing noise.

Sweat dripped from Sikobodias's forehead. He initially shook the flagpole slightly, preparing to drive away the crows, but who would have thought that more and more of them would be driven away, and coach Menander also looked at this with great fear. A sight that everyone knows crows represent carrion and death. Therefore, the general next to him quickly made a suggestion: either replace other flag bearers, or ask the priest to explain this terrible vision.

Because of Xicobodias's loyalty to him and his dedication on the battlefield, Menander believed that he could not find a more suitable person to lead the army's battle forward, so he asked all the priests to give an explanation. What exactly is being prophesied? If the explanation does not satisfy the entire army, he will kill the chief priest in public and let the chief priest's body attract crows to come down.

Just when all the priests were horrified, one of them, a smart young man, came out and shouted: "This is a great auspicious omen. The crows symbolize all the cities in the entire Uxxing Sea. They are rushing towards the king's flag. That is to say, after the victory of this battle, the king will definitely rule Youke Xinghai!"

This explanation almost satisfied Menander, and the generals and soldiers also cheered. The morale of the entire left and right armies quickly rose. It was snowing today, the sun was shining on the battlefield, and there was no fog. The haze blocked the soldiers' advance, and Menander waved passionately again. Xicobodias used all his strength to raise the flag and strode to the forefront of the fifteen thousand soldiers.

The Bronze Shields of each detachment began to form a long horizontal line that could cross the entire battlefield front line, and put their spears flat. They were all young men with good looks, with neat helmets. The first three rows of double-paid soldiers were equipped with solid bronze breastplates and colorful feathers. They competed with each other and launched a surging spear forest assault on the camp of the enemy's 12th Legion!

Opposite them was the Romanized Legion, which was arranged in three lines. These people seemed to be deeply affected by the defeat yesterday. The loss of two small camps also made their left wing unable to display, making the entire formation crooked and weird. Now as long as the Bronze Shields showed their power and could tear apart the opponent's defense on the central front, they could win a great victory in this battle. Their commander and king could rule the entire Youkexing Sea, and the Bronze Shields themselves could also win huge wealth and glory.

"In order to fulfill today's prophecy, my friends, follow the flag in my hand and bravely break through the enemy's camp!" The most excited person was the young flag bearer Xicobodias. He took the lead and rushed to the front of the team. The sunlight slanting from the top of the helmet brim made the battlefield situation of the enemy and us clear.

Amid the slogans, the lightly armed archers of both sides rushed out from the array, throwing javelins and hunting spears at each other. The young warriors of the Bronze Shield Army shouted, and the spears stretched out from the formation fluttered, causing the javelins and arrows thrown by the opponent to fall to the ground one after another. Then the sound of flutes and pipes sounded, and pairs of closely packed military shoes stepped on these weak weapons. "The Bronze Shield Army is unstoppable!" I don't know who shouted this, and then the two assault groups on the left and right ears shouted this slogan like a tide, and the sound shook all directions. (To be continued)