Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1116: The Gallic Invasion

"Dido is somewhat dissatisfied with this as well, but she said King Davos specifically wrote her a letter asking her not to stop Hanno and his faction from fleeing to the Eastern Mediterranean. If news of their deaths reached Carthage, it would panic the Carthaginian nobles and complicate the alliance between Carthage and Daionia... Oh, and King Davos also promised that even if Hanno's faction flees to Tyre, they won't escape Daionia's punishment. Just not yet..."

"What does that mean?" Hasdrubal blinked in surprise. "Does King Davos intend to declare war on Persia?"

"It's not impossible." Gisco had clearly caught that detail as well and analyzed it carefully on his way back. "Eastern Phoenicia is a vassal of Persia. When they sent a fleet to participate in the Western Mediterranean War, it was effectively a Persian declaration of war against Daionia. Both sides have just silently agreed not to bring it up. However, near the end of the Western Mediterranean War, Persia sent an envoy demanding that the King of Daonia halt his campaign against Carthage. They supposedly even issued threats, which King Davos sternly rejected. Davos is a king with a forceful personality. I'm afraid he has kept that grudge in mind all this time..."

"Going to war against Persia..." Hasdrubal leaned back in his chair, his eyes shining with boundless anticipation. "Daring to cross swords with mighty Persia—now that is the true bearing of a rising kingdom! It seems I need to rack up more military merit here, so I can one day lead an army and exact my own revenge on Hanno!"

...

At dawn five days later, sentries patrolled the walls of the Daionian military camp in the territory of Florentia.

"Look! Enemy movement!" a sentry shouted, pointing ahead.

A column of black smoke was rising from the northern mountains.

Just as he spoke, another column of black smoke billowed from the northeastern mountains, followed by yet another to the northwest.

"Hurry, notify the Legion Commander! The Gauls are invading in full force!" the patrol officer said nervously.

Soon after, alarm bells rang continuously throughout the camp.

The soldiers quickly donned their armor, grabbed their weapons, and rushed out of their barracks.

The civilians in the residential district also received emergency warnings. Grabbing their essential belongings, they fled toward the nearby city of Florentia.

Surrounded by his subordinates, Hasdrubal ascended the northern wall just in time to see tens of thousands of Gauls pouring out of the mountains, swarming toward the camp like a dark tide.

It was Hasdrubal's first time seeing such a massive horde of Gauls. However, with his wealth of combat experience, he didn't panic. He calmly ordered, "Notify the entire camp to prepare for defense! At the same time, dispatch messengers telling the troops in the other two camps to hold their ground. They are not to attempt to rescue each other!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Send out riders to Rome immediately. Report the emergency to Asistes, the Administrative Officer of the Roman Region. Tell him the Gauls have invaded Etruria in massive numbers and request reinforcements!"

"Yes, sir!"

With the orders issued, Hasdrubal looked at the tense faces of the soldiers around him and shouted, "Soldiers of the Border Legion! They say the Gauls are terrifying, but we have defeated them time and again! Do not be intimidated by their numbers. These natives do not know how to lay siege, while we have sturdy defenses and plentiful rations. As long as we hold the line for ten days or half a month, the kingdom's reinforcements will arrive. When they do, we will cooperate with them to wipe out the invading Gauls! Since you will have achieved a great merit, the kingdom might even reward you by shortening the time it takes to become a full citizen!"

"Hoo-ah! Hoo-ah! Hoo-ah!" the soldiers roared in excitement.

...

That evening, a banquet was about to begin at the estate of Crotokatax, the administrative deputy of Rome, to celebrate the prince's promotion to Regional Administrator of Veii.

All the invited guests had arrived except for the most important one—Asistes, the Administrative Officer of the Roman Region. Because he was absent, the banquet had not yet begun.

However, the guests knew that Asistes was a busy man who rarely attended private feasts. The fact that he had agreed to come at all was entirely due to Crotokatax's special status. His presence would be an honor to everyone there, so the guests waited patiently, filled with anticipation.

At the head of the banquet, Crotokatax was happily conversing with his brother-in-law, Patroclus.

Ever since Patroclus assumed the position of Fourteenth Legion Commander the previous year, the two families—who were already relatives and now lived quite close to each other—had interacted much more frequently, deepening their bond.

Just then, a man hurried into the hall and announced loudly, "My lords, we just received news! The Gauls have invaded the territory of Etruria in full force! Lord Asistes orders you to report to the regional administrative hall immediately to discuss countermeasures!"

The guests recognized the man as Asistes's secretary, so his orders were undeniably genuine. The hall erupted in an uproar, yet no one rushed to leave. Instead, all eyes turned to the host.

Crotokatax stood up without hesitation. "A Gallic invasion is a major crisis. We must head to the administrative hall at once!"

He then turned to the servants. "Pack up all the dishes and bring them to the administrative hall! We will likely be working late into the night. We won't last without dinner!"

The servants hurriedly got to work. Praising Crotokatax for his thoughtfulness, the guests followed closely behind him out of the estate.

In the inner rooms, Dido was entertaining the guests' families. Officially, it was to celebrate her husband's promotion, but to her, it was also a celebration of a much grander event: Hanno's exile and Carthage joining the Daonian Alliance.

When the news from the main hall reached the inner rooms, the women panicked. Dido alone remained composed. She raised her voice to reassure them, "Ladies, there is nothing to worry about! The Gallic army is far away in northern Etruria, and our Border Legion is there to hold them back. Our Roman Region and the surrounding allied states will quickly organize a massive relief force, cross the Tiber River, and drive back the Gauls invading Etruria. To our south, the kingdom will dispatch even more reinforcements as soon as they receive the news. The Gauls will never take a single step onto Roman soil. Put your minds at ease!"

Soothed by Dido's comforting words, the officials' wives not only shed their panic but also returned to happily enjoying their meal.

...

The regional administrative hall of the Roman Region was also located within the City of Rome, just two blocks away from City Hall. When Crotokatax, Patroclus, and the others entered the meeting room, Asistes was in the middle of issuing orders to his officials.

"Set off for Cerseii at once. Notify the Volscians to dispatch reinforcements in accordance with our treaty, so they can stand with our army against the invading Gauls!"

"Hurry to Ferentinum immediately. Tell the Hernicians that the Gauls have arrived, and order them to rally their forces and assemble at Rome!"

"Go notify the Sabines right away. Tell them to send reinforcements as soon as possible..."

...

Upon receiving their orders, the officials hurried out of the room. Without even taking the time to visit their families, they acted as couriers, mounted their horses, and rode off into the night with their retinues.

Spotting Crotokatax coming in, Asistes addressed him with a solemn expression. "I apologize for disrupting your banquet. However, with a formidable enemy at our gates, the City of Rome is critically short on hands. As the administrative deputy of Rome, you have essentially managed all the major political affairs of the city over the past year. Therefore, I must ask you to postpone taking up your post in Veii. Instead, assist me in temporarily managing Rome while shouldering the heavy responsibility of securing logistical support for our army!"

When Asistes was appointed Administrative Officer of the Roman Region, Davos did not relieve him of his original post as Rome's administrative officer; instead, he allowed him to hold both positions simultaneously. Yet Asistes hadn't let this immense authority go to his head. Instead, citing the excuse that he was 'too busy managing the entire region's civil affairs,' he made a decision: he would let Crotokatax gradually take over the day-to-day administration of Rome.

He simply hadn't expected that Davos would transfer Crotokatax to Veii just a year later.

"I will gladly follow your arrangements, Lord Asistes, and contribute my utmost strength to defending the Roman Region against the Gauls!" Crotokatax replied with firm resolve.

Asistes had anticipated exactly that response. He immediately assigned the young man to lead a group of officials to inventory the Roman Region's accumulated stockpiles and calculate how much grain and supplies could be mobilized to support the troops.

After delegating those tasks, Asistes turned to Patroclus. "I have already dispatched messengers to notify the Latin allied states, the Volscians, the Hernicians, the Marsi, the Aequians, the Sabines... and our other allied forces, calling on them to send reinforcements to combat the Gauls. Based on your past experience, how long do you estimate it will take for their armies to converge on Rome?"

Over the past two years, Gallic raids on the northern territories of Etruria had grown increasingly frequent. To ensure they were prepared for the worst, Patroclus had organized two joint military drills with the allied armies since arriving in Rome. Overall, the various allied states had been fairly cooperative.

Patroclus thought for a moment before replying, "The Latins, Volscians, and Hernicians are relatively close, so their forces will arrive quicker—within four or five days. The Sabines, Aequians, and Marsi are farther away, so they will take at least eight or nine days. However, with a massive Gallic invasion imminent, I imagine they will accelerate their mustering speed. What exactly is the situation up north?"