The Mad Tycoon of Rome

Chapter 211: Operation North of the Rhine 2

< 211. Operation North of the Rhine 2 >

After that, Vercingetorix received the specific procedure for his appointment as a legion commander.

“You will be awarded the title of Shield of Hispania and the Eagle Medal. Do you know the name of Spartacus, who was the first to receive this medal?”

“Any warrior would know that name.”

“The second recipient was Surenas, the Eagle of the East, whom I mentioned briefly before. And you are the third. This way, no one can object to your legion command. It will also help you to lead the army more easily.”

There was no doubt that some Romans would feel uncomfortable being commanded by a Gallic.

So he needed to give him a credential that no one could deny.

“I am honored to receive such a glorious title. I swear to do my best to serve you and not disappoint you, Imperator.”

“Good. Then I’ll tell you about my plan for the next operation. You need to understand the strategy well so that there won’t be any problems in the future work.”

“I’m all ears.”

Caesar unfolded the map and explained his grand strategy that he had told the other legion commanders.

Vercingetorix’s face gradually turned into astonishment at its overwhelming scale.

“You’re mobilizing 30 legions?”

“That’s right. It’s a strategy that involves 200,000 soldiers, 180,000 from 30 legions and 20,000 from Gaul.”

“What about the defenses of the Pyrenees and the Alps?”

“Of course, we have to leave enough troops for defense.”

Vercingetorix’s mouth opened slightly without him realizing it.

According to what he had heard, the troops blocking the important passages of the Alps were 200,000 in total.

Of them, 40,000 were Roman regulars, 30,000 were Germanic tribesmen, and 130,000 were defenders composed of northern Italian residents.

And the troops guarding the Pyrenees in Hispania were 100,000 in total, consisting of 20,000 Roman soldiers, 30,000 Gallic tribesmen, and 50,000 Hispanian natives.

In this situation, he was going to mobilize 200,000 for an operation.

If he failed, Rome could collapse in an instant.

“So you’re saying that the ultimate goal of this operation is to reclaim Gaul?”

Vercingetorix’s eyes flashed with an undeniable determination.

The opportunity for revenge might come sooner than he thought.

If that time came, he would stab his sword into Alten’s neck without any hesitation or mercy.

Caesar patted his shoulder lightly as if to calm him down.

“Don’t rush too much. It will take some time before we start the operation. So take some rest for now. And I recommend you to get along with the other legion commanders. You are fluent in Latin, so it shouldn’t be too hard for you.”

“I understand.”

“Good. The number of soldiers we’re mobilizing for this operation is large, but most of them are recruits and veterans are few. So your role as a leader of Gallic warriors is very important. I trust you’ll be well prepared without me having to emphasize it.”

“You won’t be disappointed.”

Vercingetorix clenched his fist unconsciously as he felt a heavy responsibility.

Caesar watched him with a faint smile on his lips.

At first, he just wanted to recruit a talented general who was good at fighting, but after talking to him, he realized that Vercingetorix was more than he expected.

He seemed to have no problem with his character and more importantly, he had a good understanding of tactics.

He had inflicted considerable damage on the Huns by leading a guerrilla force in Hispania, which was not a coincidence.

He was confident that he could handle a large-scale army skillfully.

If he looked at the picture after the war, he was a valuable asset that could strengthen Caesar’s position even more.

He needed to make sure to win him over as his own man from now on.

For that reason, Caesar personally took Vercingetorix with him and arranged various occasions for him.

And after a few days, Caesar’s letter was made public throughout Rome by the Senate.

The details of the operation were not revealed, but a request for 200,000 soldiers for a great operation to save Rome was made and approved by the Senate.

There had never been a single operation in Roman history that mobilized such a large number of people at once.

Not when Pyrrhus of Epirus invaded them, not when they faced Hannibal’s attack, not when Scipio marched on Carthage.

And none of the generals like Sulla, Pompey or Marcus ever used 200,000 soldiers at once.

And this 200,000 was excluding the soldiers defending the Pyrenees and the Alps.

The one who was in charge of this operation was Caesar, the unbeatable war hero who had completely conquered the north of Rome.

And Vercingetorix, the Shield of Hispania who had stopped the invasion of the Huns, was participating.

The Senate announced another shocking news in succession.

“Vercingetorix, the Shield of Hispania, will be given the rank of legion commander. And if he performs well in the war, he will be admitted to the Senate.

This is not limited to Vercingetorix. If the natives do well, they will immediately receive Roman citizenship. And if the citizens do well, they will receive corresponding rewards. O great citizens of Rome. The fatherland calls you!”

Cicero and Cato raised their voices every day on the Rostra platform.

The fire that started in Rome soon spread beyond the Italian peninsula to North Africa and Egypt.

“Let’s save our homeland Rome!”

The citizens, armed with hot zeal, rushed to the north.

The senators and nobles, and the knights, spent their wealth to buy food.

The local landlords, who usually saved money stingily, spared no gold for the sake of Rome’s security.

If Rome fell, the riches they enjoyed now would mean nothing.

The upper class of Rome knew this well.

Moreover, the tragedy that the Huns caused in Germania and Gaul also stimulated the people.

The provinces of North Africa and Egypt did not send troops, but instead sent a huge amount of food.

A fleet of large ships that filled the port brought food day after day.

Food produced in Sicily and the Italian peninsula also flowed north along the proud aqueducts of Rome.

Even those who had retired from the army due to old age volunteered to enlist again.

A battle to save Rome from an unprecedented crisis.

And whether it was patriotism, or a desire to earn glory and wealth, or both, the volunteers gathered in no time.

The soldiers who officially joined the army were all burning with a desire to crush the Huns.

There was not a trace of anxiety in their hearts that they might lose.

There was no citizen who did not know that Caesar had repelled the immigrants in the north with his legions.

They did not doubt that he would command his legions with brilliant strategy and tactics and completely destroy the Huns.

A great war that would make everyone’s heart beat was about to begin.

※※※

“···Or so I thought.”

Wiping off the sweat that flowed like rain, a Roman engineer soldier sighed.

When they marched north across the Alps to the Rhine with great momentum, their hearts trembled with anticipation for the upcoming battle.

But something felt wrong when they received shovels and handles instead of weapons.

“What the hell is this? This is just a bunch of engineers! This is bullshit!”

Another soldier cursed openly.

But he did not stop digging, showing how hard they had been digging so far.

The other soldiers also gritted their teeth and drove stakes, dug trenches, and erected palisades.

“My mother must be thinking that I’m smashing the heads of those Huns right now······.”

“I’m the same. I told my sister that I would earn glory and come back, and she would find me a good match.”

“Ha··· damn it, I’m going crazy with this damn digging. It never ends. Why don’t those Hun bastards just come in and let us hit them once?”

Caesar’s strategy with his 200,000-strong army was simple but effective.

It was to form a defensive wall by driving stakes and erecting palisades along the Rhine River without stopping.

With 200,000 troops doing this work, the defensive line rose by ten kilometers a day.

Occasionally, Hun scouts came to interfere, but the archers who were waiting poured arrows and drove them away.

Sometimes they crossed the river and circled around from afar, but every time this happened, the Roman army stayed in their defensive positions and shot arrows and threw spears.

When a difficult forest terrain appeared, only Caesar’s elite legions and Vercingetorix’s Gaul warriors went out to fight.

It was so simple that it could be called stupid, but it was enough if there were enough supplies and resources.

Of course, the consumption of materials was also enormous, but Rome could afford it if it mobilized its power.

As the operation proceeded in this way, Roman engineers never got to swing their swords at Hun soldiers once.

Instead, their daily routine was to dig trenches, drive stakes and erect palisades all day long in three shifts: day shift, first half night shift, and second half night shift.

It was inevitable that they would complain.

“When I go home, I can tell my parents how amazingly I shovel.”

“Hey, look! There they are! The Hun bastards!”

“Good! They’re here. Everyone grab your bows! Let’s vent our anger on those bastards.”

The only time they felt like they were at war in this hellish digging days was when they shot arrows at Hun cavalrymen.

But that time always ended in an instant.

No matter how brave Hun horsemen were, they could not withstand tens of thousands of soldiers pouring arrows from their defensive positions.

This time too, when the Hun army retreated after showing up briefly, the Roman army had to go back to digging without moving again.

“Damn it. They’re useless. Why do those Hun bastards always pretend to come and then go back? I want to shoot some arrows too instead of this dog-like digging.”

As he tried to gulp down water from his canteen after timidly sticking his shovel in the ground, a Gaul soldier who had been working next to him also muttered something in Gaulish and threw his shovel on the ground.

The two soldiers, whose eyes met for a moment, gave a awkward smile at the brotherhood that sprang from their chests.

But that mood was short-lived.

Hun scouts, who appeared with a time difference, showed themselves.

The Roman army, who were happy to grab their bows again, had cold water poured on them by the voice of the white-haired captain.

“The enemy troops are few! We will continue the work and the Gaul troops will shoot arrows to drive them away!”

“What? That’s not fair!”

Leaving behind the howling Roman soldiers, the Gaul soldiers smiled and grabbed their bows and took their positions.

The Roman soldiers felt their shallow brotherhood break in an instant.

“Hey, you bastards! Do you like that? Huh?”

“Shut up and pick up your shovels!”

“Aaaah!”

Caesar, who was watching the soldiers’ sweat and tear mixed work from afar, clicked his tongue.

“I think it would be better to give them some rest when we pass the turning point.”

Vercingetorix also nodded his head with a bitter smile.

“That would be good. Anyone would get angry if they only shovel all day long.”

“I remember that time when we were shoveling. We also cleared the snow with shovels when we camped near the Alps in the first year of the Gallic War. Labienus, you remember that too, right?”

“Yes. The legionnaires also had to shovel without exception, saying that they had to show an example to the soldiers.”

Labienus shook his head with a disgusted expression.

“That’s right. I was surprised by how skillfully Marcus did it. I thought you guys would all do it well too. But no. He was the only one who was strangely good at shoveling.”

Vercingetorix’s eyes widened as he heard Caesar’s words, which were strangely nostalgic.

“Do you mean Marcus Mesopotamicus, the governor of the East? Come to think of it, I heard he was also there in the early days of the Gallic War… He was good at shoveling?”

“Yes. He cleared the snow very smoothly as if he was used to it. He said he had done it so much in the past that he couldn’t help it.”

“···Do you make Roman nobles shovel when they are young?”

“Of course not. There’s not much chance to see snow piled up in Rome in the first place. So when I heard that, I wondered… How did Crassus educate his son?”

Labienus also agreed.

“He said something incomprehensible. But the soldiers admired him. They said he was different from successful people…”

“Haha, I guess so. If the boss goes ahead like that, the subordinates naturally have to follow.”

In this way, the defensive line of the Rhine River was faithfully reinforced by the soldiers’ work of sweat and tears.

At the same time, Marcus, who was doing well in the East and cleaning up after himself, suddenly shuddered with irritation for no reason.

Spartacus, who was watching him, asked worriedly.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, nothing. I just remembered something from a long time ago.”

“Something from a long time ago? Do you mean when you were in Rome?”

“Older than that. I don’t know why I suddenly thought of that.”

Marcus, who remembered the nightmare of snow removal work that he would never forget in his life, bit his lip and kept silent.

‘I knew I shouldn’t have shoveled back then.’

< 211. Operation North of the Rhine 2 > End