Early the next morning, at the Roman military camp outside Setia, Camillus got up early, as usual, took the sackcloth dipped in water from the slave, scrubbed his face, and ate a little breakfast.

At this time, his son, Lucius, who was also the cavalry commander of the army (according to the Roman military system, the cavalry commander was the second-in-command of an army), also entered the tent as usual to greet his father.

"Is there anything out of the ordinary?" Camillus immediately asked.

"It's the same as before, nothing has changed." Lucius replied casually.

Seeing his son's accustomed look, Camillus immediately reminded him cautiously: "Don't take it lightly! The Senate has informed us that a few days ago they had rejected the offer of the Dionians, and that they would continue this war against the Wolsy to the end. Therefore, the Ionians are likely to join the war, and we need to be vigilant and always be prepared, because Ionian reinforcements may appear at any time! ”

"The Senate is right to reject the Dionians' outrageous and unreasonable demands, how can the victories and occupied lands that the Roman citizens have bought with their blood and lives give up in vain because of the threat of the Dionians!" Lucius said indignantly that he was in his 40s, and he still retained his full blood, and did not inherit his father's gentle and steady character.

"That being said, this undoubtedly adds a lot of potential difficulties to this war!" Camillus said with a little concern.

Lucius immediately said confidently: "Father, in the past ten years, our Roman land has not only greatly expanded, but the number of our citizens has also increased rapidly, and the number of citizens of Roman City and the colonies established by the Senate at the beginning of this year is enough to 400 squadrons, not counting those Latin allies, not to mention the help of the Carthaginians." It's good that the Dioonians don't come, if they dare to come, they will know how powerful our Roman army is! ”

Camillus didn't want to argue with his son in vain, so he waved his hand and urged, "You should send cavalry on a reconnaissance mission." ”

After Lucius left, Camillus, with the help of his servants, put on his armor and began his daily routine - patrolling the barracks. Everywhere he went, the soldiers respectfully addressed him by name.

But "Camillus" is not his real name, but a nickname he used as a child, coming from the name of a Roman deity in the temple. However, when he won many battles on the battlefield, his nickname spread, because many citizens believed that he was as invincible as a god in battle. He then took "Camillus" as his family name and regarded it as an honor (he was the first Romans to adopt the nickname as a family surname).

He often talked with the soldiers in the camp cordially, just as the elders cared about the young people, understood their mental state, in addition to encouraging them, sometimes helped them solve some small difficulties, so the soldiers loved him very much, and he himself enjoyed the atmosphere of the barracks. To tell the truth, he was tired of the complicated political environment of the Senate, afraid of seeing a fierce clash between commoners and nobles, and could only relax in the barracks.

As soon as Camillus had finished inspecting the barracks, the commander of another legion, the military officer Frius, entered the tent.

According to the rules of the Roman Senate: when two or more military and political officers were in command of the army, they would take turns commanding the army.

And today it was Camillus's turn, and Frius could stay in his tent and leave nothing to worry about. But out of respect for Camillus and responsibility for the army, he still came to the big tent as an adjutant general to listen to Camillus's new military deployment.

When Frius saw Camillus walking into the tent with a peaceful expression, he immediately understood in his heart that Camillus's strategy today was still to stick to the camp, but he still asked: "Camillus, are we not attacking Setia today?" ”

Camillus comforted him and said: "According to the news brought by the messenger, Quintus and their army will launch a strong attack on the city of Satnikum today, and if they can successfully take it, in two or three days, they will be able to join us, and then they will join forces to attack the Worsians, so don't be in a hurry now." ”

How could Frius not be in a hurry, the citizens of Rome had always been very eager for merit and honor, and Frius was even more so, because he was in dire need of more exploits to wash away the shame of his previous defeat, just because the previous defeat and Camillus's tolerance made him more cautious, and at the same time respected Camillus more.

"If only the Wolsey could go out of town and fight us! Even if they had reinforcements from the Oronchi and the Sidisinites, who were not weaker than us in numbers, they would not be able to defeat the three-line tactics invented by you, Camillus. And our soldiers, who have received the help of the Carthaginians, are far superior in weapons and armor, and if we can defeat the last of the Wolseys in one fell swoop in the battle, we can completely drive the Wolsians into the mountains and occupy this fertile land! Frius said confidently.

After hearing this, Camillus said seriously: "It's a pity that the Wolsey people have become cautious now, they are all hiding in the city to defend, and even the small city of Setia has thousands of Wolsey warriors, and we can't capture it in a short time." Once the city is attacked with all its might, you will have to worry about the flanking attack of the army in the city of Polyfnonam......"

"If only we had the ballistae that the Carthaginians gave us!" Frius sighed regretfully, and suddenly he thought of something, and suggested loudly: "Camillus, why don't we give up the siege of Setia and raid the city of Selscher, as you did last time!" ”

Camillus was stunned for a moment, thought for a moment, and then shook his head: "After a raid like that, I'm afraid the Wolsey people have already taken precautions, once we can't capture Selsher in a short time, the enemy who rushed to hear the news will surround us, and when the time comes, we will be exhausted and extremely tired and we will not have enough time to build a camp, I'm afraid it will ......"

Camillus looked at Frius and once again seriously comforted: "We have already occupied an absolute advantage, there is no need to take risks at all, wait patiently for two or three days, and then I will let you personally lead the army to capture Selche!" ”

Frius slapped his thigh with his right hand, and then smiled helplessly: "Okay, Camillus, I listen to you, we will wait for the arrival of Quintus and them, I hope they can come sooner!" ”

After hearing what Camillus had said, Frius did not want to stay in the tent any longer, and he got up to take his leave, and was just about to leave the tent when a man suddenly burst in, staggered, and almost fell.

"Lucius!" Frius looked in amazement at the half-kneeling dusty officer.

"What's going on?" Camillus, who had always been calm, was also surprised when he saw his son's miserable appearance.

Lucius staggered to his feet with his hands on the ground.

Frius hurriedly brought a wooden chair for him to sit down.

Lucius nodded in gratitude, then gasped and said, "Father, I lead two hundred-man cavalry...... Bypassing Polyfnum, they prepared to continue south...... Investigate the situation of the Rivosi in the area around Sersche...... Who knew that a group of cavalrymen dressed in black clothes suddenly appeared from the south, and they ...... They immediately attacked us—"

When Lucius said this, a terror flashed in his eyes: "They are good horsemen, they are more numerous than us, and they are good at throwing javelins on their horses, and our cavalry is quickly scattered...... If it weren't for the cavalry around you...... Cover me, I'm afraid I won't see you......"

After Lucius finished speaking, he still had in his mind the thrilling scene of being closely pursued by the enemy and the javelins whizzing past him from time to time, and he always remembered the screams of his cavalry...... His face, which was already bloodless, became even paler.

Black cavalry?! Frius's heart moved, and he looked at Camillus with a little nervousness.

Camillos' face was also solemn at this moment, and he said in an uncertain voice: "It seems that the Ionians are here?!" ”

Lucius had been running all the way before, and he didn't have time to think about it, when he heard what his father said, he was surprised: "Is it a Dionian?!" ”

"I don't remember any cavalry in black around here, and there were as many as you said. I only heard from the Carthaginians that the army of Dionysia, both infantry and cavalry, was uniformly black. Camillus looked at his son and said in a deep voice, "So they can only be the Dionians you threatened to defeat." ”

Lucius bowed his head in shame.

"How much did our cavalry lose?" Camillus asked again.

"Because...... Because they were scattered and retreated, some of the cavalry had not yet returned, so it was not possible to count the casualties for the time being......" Lucius whispered.

Seeing that Camillus was worried, Frius hurriedly said worriedly: "I'm afraid that the cavalry of the legion I led has also been attacked by the Dionian cavalry!" ”

After being reminded by Frius, Camillus was no longer in the mood to criticize Lucius.

Camillus had ten squadrons of cavalry in the Roman army led by them, and every morning the two military officers sent out most of the cavalry, some to reconnoiter the enemy, and some to cooperate with the infantry to collect food in the nearby area, because the cavalry of the Walsey was not strong, and they had suffered heavy defeats before, so Camillus was not worried about the safety of the cavalry that had been scattered, but now he became nervous, and immediately gave an order: "Lucius, you immediately send scouts and rush to the north, Urgently inform the infantry squadrons and cavalry squadrons that were collecting food in the village of Wolsey to return to the barracks immediately! And remind them to be careful of the Ionian cavalry on the way back! ”