Rome Must Perish-Chapter 184 - 127 Crassus Emerges_2

He urgently summoned two thousand citizen soldiers from Verona and nearby towns, ordering his subordinates to lead the troops to the mouth of the Po River, as the rebel army in Rimini and crossing the Po River via the Bobilia Avenue along the coast was undoubtedly the shortest route.

Soon, news came: the rebel army was indeed moving north along the Bobilia Avenue.

Casius was secretly pleased with the accuracy of his prediction.

But a few days later, he received reports from scouts: the main rebel army stopped heading north, turned south instead, and only a force of about 20,000 men marched northwest along the Emilia Avenue.

The main rebel force no longer advanced north into the Northern Italy Province! ... This made Casius breathe a sigh of relief, but Crodianus became anxious because the main rebel force turning south would continue to ravage Italy and even threaten Rome, so he demanded Casius to quickly assemble a large army to move south to contain the enemy.

This time, Casius refused to comply because the new resolution from the Roman Senate had already been delivered to Verona, stripping Crodianus of military command, effectively ending his one-year term as Governor. As a result, Casius had no fear.

However, as the governor, Casius needed to show the Roman Senate his efforts to make up for previous failures. At the same time, he also needed to be responsible for the citizens of the Northern Italy Province, which was different from other provinces because it had too many Roman immigrants. With the main rebel force absent, leaving only a detachment of less than 20,000, Casius believed he could attempt to intercept and defeat this marauding rebel force on the north bank of the Po River.

Casius judged that this rebel detachment intended to cross the river from Piacenza and then head to the mountain pass north of Milan because it was the easiest route over the Alps to Outer Gaul. Therefore, he dispatched a fast horse to notify the magistrates of nearby towns such as Milan and Piacenza to gather citizen soldiers and prepare for defense. He also notified the troops already at the mouth of the Po River to turn around and accelerate westward to the north bank of the Po River where Piacenza was located.

Meanwhile, he himself led the Personal Guard along the Postumia Road to the same destination (the Postumia Road is a road that runs across the Northern Italy Province, from the west to Genoa, east to Aquileia, with Piacenza and Verona both located along this road), and he prepared to summon the City Guards from the towns along the way.

Maximus’s army halted for half a day in Bologna and then continued to march slowly along the Emilia Avenue, seeming as if Torquato’s forces were the vanguard while his army followed as the main force.

On the third day, Maximus’s army turned around and rapidly headed back to Bologna, then hurried northeast along the Cania Road.

A few days later, Maximus reached the south bank of the Po River, and just as the scouts had reported, there were no Roman garrison forces across the river to intercept, allowing his anxious heart to finally settle.

Soon after, his gaze was captivated by the spectacle before him: a white colossal structure sprawled majestically over the tumultuous river. It wasn’t a pontoon bridge, a wooden bridge, or an arch bridge, but a horizontally constructed stone bridge. Although this part of the river was relatively narrow, it was nonetheless several hundred meters across, with swift waters. Yet the Romans, with their superior infrastructure prowess, had built a long stone bridge connecting the two banks, with a deck four to five meters wide, level and solid, featuring a carriageway in the middle, walkways on both sides, guardrails, and drainage holes...almost like transplanting a grand avenue onto the river. And this was in ancient times before the Common Era!

Maximus noticed that the soldiers crossing the river were also awestruck by the long bridge, their morale previously boosted by consecutive victories now causing them to tread carefully. This was the power of civilization!

In his short-lived decades, could he create a civilization comparable to Rome’s? ... Maximus harbored both anxiety and anticipation in his heart.

The army crossed the Po River, heading north unimpeded, and in just a few days reached Padua, one of the most prosperous towns in the eastern part of the Northern Italy Province.

Maximus had the army pause again and gave special orders to plunder extensively: grain, livestock, horses, money... all to be taken, but people were to be harmed as little as possible, and killing was forbidden.

When the army set out again, the number of carriages had almost doubled, affecting the marching speed, but as Maximus ordered: "From now on, the army will no longer go out to gather provisions." Therefore, each camp was delayed until after dusk, ensuring the daily marches did not slow significantly.

When Casius learned that the main rebel force had changed direction, crossed the Po River, and reached Padua, he realized he had been completely duped by the rebels.

But by then he was already near Piacenza, with messengers continuously requesting reinforcements, for Torquato led his troops in a path of burning, killing, and pillaging, causing immense panic among the province’s populace. Casius decided to temporarily ignore the eastern rebel forces (truthfully, he couldn’t deal with them at the moment), and concentrate all his efforts on dealing with this smaller but extremely arrogant rebel force in front of him.

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The news that the "rebel army led by Spartacus defeated the Roman army in consecutive battles" spread along Italy’s east coast, and naturally reached the ears of some interested parties across the Adriatic Sea.

"Brother, Leader Maximus and his forces actually beat the Romans! What he said in Sarabia has come true!"

"Yes, when I heard that the Roman Army had surrounded Leader Maximus’s troops, I was quite worried for him." Karsipenpas said with much emotion: "But I never expected they not only defeated the armies led by two Roman Governors consecutively but also destroyed the legion in the Northern Italy Province. There’s no one left to stop their northward path."

"So that means Leader Maximus will soon arrive with his army!" Onomabatis stressed the point.

"It’s time for us to fulfill our promise." Karsipenpas nodded decisively, "We must set off immediately and return to the tribe!"

Without delay, Karsipenpas assigned Onomabatis to remain, while he himself, along with several followers, left the island that day on a small boat, landed on the mainland not far off, and traversed narrow paths through rugged mountains, crossing hills and rivers until finally reaching a relatively flat area with a large stockade enclosed by wooden walls.

The gate guards, far from stopping him, welcomed him into the stockade warmly.

Once inside, he went straight to the central great house, where the tribal leader lived and held councils.

Aco Upapagos, the Great Chief of the Alde Tribe, over fifty years old, with gray hair and an obese stature that required him to pause for breath every few steps, personally came to the door to greet Karsipenpas despite hearing of his arrival.

Seeing him, Karsipenpas moved to pay his respects, only to be pulled into a hearty embrace, with a pat on the back, as the other feigned anger and loudly said: "Karsipenpas, the grain you sent last time solved a great problem for our tribe! But before we could properly thank you, you left in a hurry. Now that you’re here, you must stay with me for a few days, or you won’t be allowed here in the future!"

"Honorable Great Chief!" Karsipenpas responded earnestly: "In truth, the savior of our tribe is someone else. I merely did some transport labor, and my return to the tribe this time is also because of him."

"Oh?" Aco Upapagos looked at the others behind Karsipenpas, saw them nodding as well, and asked curiously: "Who is this benefactor?"

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