The situation at Agrippena was far worse than Luca had imagined, as the cold climate and the large number of barbarian tribes who did not have enough food to move south across the Rhine despite clashes with the Roman army or even war.

Illegal border crossings inevitably lead to conflicts, so such conflicts intensify and war inevitably breaks out.

The climate did feel colder than usual, and even in April, the Rhine had not thawed. On the Rhine Line, the soldiers blocked all the bridges and set up fortifications. Patrolling soldiers constantly patrol the river, keeping an eye out for barbarians who may cross the river at any moment.

The Romans had to be wary of the fact that the barbarians north of the Rhine were stationed directly on the banks of the Rhine, waiting for any opportunity that could not be missed.

"Germanic tribes are migrating in small batches!" Arecio swept his hand across the river not far away, and then said to Luga: "They have been forcibly crossing the river through the ice while our patrolmen are not looking, and they have been doing so for the last few months!" ”

"Didn't you think of organizing a defense line here to stop them?" Luga asked, puzzled.

"Oh my gosh, that's easier said than done!" Arecio smiled and explained, "Not everyone is as cautious as you see them, the tyrannical barbarian tribe will definitely gather together to cross the river, and then form a force that we will not resist to force an attack on the ice with the help of winter." ”

"Besides, even if we fight them back, we need soldiers from many places to participate in the battle together, and the result can be imagined, we don't have enough manpower, and the problem can't be solved by the 3,000 people you left behind and the border guards, so I recruited a lot of soldiers." As he spoke, Arecio looked at the ice that had only thawed slightly, his expression could be seen to be extremely sad, and he said meaningfully: "I really can't understand why at this time, the ice of the Rhine still hasn't melted?" ”

Luga smiled, he didn't know how to explain to Arecio, because he couldn't explain his unexplained scientific knowledge, and if he didn't convince Arecio, then it would be really uncomfortable to be labeled a heretic who didn't believe in God.

"There is no way for the barbarians to walk from the bridge, because they have no way to break through, but with the help of solid ice, they can launch a full-scale attack on us." Arecio tightened his fur clothes, as if it was really cold in the wild. "They seem to know the details of what we do."

"What's the bottom line?" Luga asked, curious.

"They know that if they break through the Rhine Line, then the Gallic region will naturally be unimpeded as long as it belongs to Rome!" Arecio pointed behind him and said to Luga: "After passing through Belgian Gaul, we have arrived in the Gallic region of Ludug, and I think that so many barbarians appeared in the territory of Aetius, I am afraid that this will not make him a little happy, not to mention that you must understand that Aetius will not forgive these so-called invading barbarians." ”

"But I saw empty villages and ruined fields along the way......"

"These barbarians did it!" Arecio gritted his teeth, and the mention of these barbarians made him angry, but he did not have the strength to cross the river and hack this endless group of barbarians to death in the ice and snow.

"But for now, this problem seems to be solved, doesn't it?" Luga smiled and said to Arecio, "I'm here now, and I've brought a whole forty thousand people. ”

"Perhaps, Luga!" Arecio didn't look very happy, he just said coldly: "I hope that all our food and money can satisfy your soldiers now, after all, we have suffered heavy losses from being destroyed by barbarians for so long, and with this kind of land that does not produce crops, we can't eat grass like horses!" ”

"But I have a better idea." Luga stroked his chin with his hand and said thoughtfully: "For example, we can lead our army across the Rhine, defeat all the tribes who try to cross the river, and completely cut off their thoughts. But as he spoke, Lu Jia shook his head again and again, "No, no, there is too much food and money needed for this, and these 40,000 people are indeed a big problem." ”

"Maybe we'll find something to keep these barbarians out of their way." Luga said to Arecio: "Anyway, it's all together for them, why don't you chisel the ice?" Or by some very violent means. ”

"Trebuchet!" Without thinking about it, Arecio said, "This thing is really good, I used it a few times a few months ago, but the ice is too thick. ”

While they were talking, they heard a string of hurried horses' hooves, and Arecio and Luga looked up to see a herald running from a short distance. He was so anxious that he jumped down before the horse could stop, and then fell into the mud. That's not all, he ran towards here with his hands and feet, gasping for breath and reporting to Luga and Arecio: "Barbarians, barbarians are preparing to force their way from the western Rhine line!" ”

At this time, in the Rhine region west of the Rhine Agripena in the west, the barbarian tribes at this time did not know how many, and the men gathered together and raised their weapons in their hands and shouted loudly. It seems that they wanted to rely on the ice from here to force their way through the Romans' defensive line and ensure that the women, old people, and children in the rear could cross the Rhine safely.

The Roman soldiers stationed in this area followed, and it is not known how many times they attacked, and the banks of the river were littered with corpses, both Roman and barbarian.

The ice was strewn with corpses, all of them had died in the way of the charge from the Romans' bows and arrows, and it seemed that the barbarians had paid a great price for this. But instead of giving up, they beckoned more and more tribes around them, and their people were accumulating more and more, seeing that a new round of attacks was about to begin!

"What to do, our bows and arrows are about to bottom out!"

"My spear is broken, I have no weapons!"

"Here, use the barbarian's axe!"

"Oh my God, it's rusty and frozen!"

The soldiers began to complain that there was nothing more worrying than the weapons they could now pick. There was no armor, only a helmet made of leather, and heavy fur clothing for warmth and simple protection, and nothing else.

The cold weather made them tremble, and they even pulled out their bows and arrows a few times before they quickly stopped.

There was no doubt that the barbarians had begun a new assault, pulling and shouting at each other, and at the orders of their chieftains, rushed up and pounced on the Roman army on the other side of the river!