Chapter 146: The Last Expedition
< 146. The Last Expedition >
“Thanks to you, things went very smoothly.”
Marcus sat face to face with Surenas in the reception room.
Everything was the same as before, except for one thing.
There was not a single soldier guarding the mansion without any gaps.
The spacious reception room felt a bit empty for Surenas.
He looked directly into Marcus’s eyes and asked.
“Are you sure it’s okay to let me go so freely?”
“Why not? You have contributed to suppressing this assassination plot. Once you have decided to side with me, not with the other Parthian nobles, it is only natural that I treat you accordingly.”
“I just couldn’t sympathize with their actions. No matter how I thought about it, assassination would only bring more chaos and meaningless war to this land.”
“But you have clearly revealed your position to the outside world by this incident. Not only the other nobles, but also Parthia will finally recognize that Surenas has sided with Rome.”
Surenas nodded silently.
It was a well-known fact to everyone in Antioch that Surenas had helped Marcus trap Intaphrenes.
Surenas was also well aware of how his actions would be perceived by the outside world.
He had chosen to follow Marcus’s plan after considering everything.
“But… what are you going to do from now on? Will you attack Parthia?”
“Not yet. It’s too risky without solid evidence, and Rome is already at war in the north and south. It doesn’t seem like a good idea to expand the front to the east.”
“The south… I see. So the expedition has finally begun.”
Surenas’s gaze turned to a newspaper in one corner.
He had read the article about Pompey several times, and only that page was a bit worn out.
“Are you conscious of Pompey? Well, I guess you can’t help but be interested as a fellow strategist.”
“… To be honest, I thought that if Rome ever sent a threatening expeditionary force to Parthia, the leader would be Pompey Magnus. So I did some research on him and thought about what kind of strategy he would use if I actually fought him. Of course, I lost to you and never got to meet him.”
Surenas gave a bitter smile and sighed lightly.
Marcus, who understood his feelings, took out a map from his chest and handed it over.
It was a map that roughly showed the territory of the Axumite dynasty and the Kushite kingdom that lay between them in southern Egypt.
“I was thinking that maybe Pompey’s army would have started moving south by now. How about we try to predict how this war will go for fun? The one who makes a more accurate inference wins.”
“That sounds interesting. I’ll gladly accept.”
As Marcus and Surenas were heatedly discussing the map, Pompey led his seven legions southward.
To punish Axum, he had to pass through the Kushite kingdom that occupied the current Sudan region.
The Kushite kingdom was a powerful nation that had once conquered Egypt in ancient times and had formed its own culture around its capital, Meroe.
Pompey first sent an envoy to ask them to join Rome’s hegemony and open their borders for the sake of punishing Axum.
It was essentially an offer to become a vassal of Rome.
The Kushite kingdom, which boasted a thousand years of history, easily dismissed Pompey’s offer.
Although it was not as glorious as its heyday, the Kushite kingdom still had the capacity to mobilize more than 50,000 troops.
The current king Shabaka, who inherited the blood of the ancient Kushite dynasty, immediately summoned troops to face the Roman army.
The three great nobles of Kush, Kashka, Taharmon and Piye formed a defensive line at Napata, which was located northeast of the capital.
Finally, Piye, the king’s son-in-law, gathered troops in the south of the kingdom and planned to support wherever needed.
Pompey, who realized that he could not avoid war with the Kushite kingdom, immediately organized a large naval detachment.
The main cities of Kush, Napata and Meroe were all located along the Nile River.
He planned to launch a total offensive by sailing up the Nile River.
Anyone could see that Pompey’s strategy was clear, and this news soon reached the ears of the Kushites.
Shabaka became anxious and sent most of the troops guarding the capital to Napata as well.
As long as Rome came by boat, they could not reach the capital without passing through Napata.
He thought it would be best to decisively repel the Roman army at Napata.
But Pompey did not move as Shabaka expected.
He, who had been sailing up the Nile River, disembarked his troops before reaching Napata.
“All troops, march southward as fast as possible. We will attack the capital Meroe directly without going through Napata.”
The legionnaires naturally showed a puzzled reaction to the unexpected order.
“Sir Magnus, but aren’t we at risk of being attacked from behind by the enemy stationed at Napata?”
“It’s fine. They must firmly believe that we are going up the river. And they don’t know how fast we can march. By the time they feel something is wrong, we will already be camping near the capital.”
“But… then what about these ships? Were they just for deception?”
“Of course not.”
It was impossible to use and discard the ships that could carry seven legions just to fool the enemy once.
Pompey handed a written order to the captain of the transport unit and warned him firmly.
“I have written down everything you need to do, so follow it as it is. I’ll say it again, don’t prioritize your own judgment unless there is a natural disaster.”
The troops that Pompey was leading now were not the elites who had achieved pirate suppression and eastern pacification under him.
It had been almost 15 years since he had completely pacified the east.
Most of the young men who were soldiers at that time had already retired, so he had to recruit new troops.
Still, thanks to the great reputation of Pompey, the new recruits also followed the commander’s orders relatively well.
Pompey’s legion, which disembarked from the ship, advanced to Meroe, the capital of the Kushite kingdom, with the fastest forced march.
As expected, the Kushite kingdom was caught off guard by the Roman army that did not sail up the river.
When the generals defending Napata felt that something was wrong, Pompey had already approached within a day’s distance from Meroe.
“The capital is in danger!”
“The king has ordered us to retreat urgently and strike the rear of the Roman army!”
Kashka and Taharmon, who were in charge of the command, did not know what to do.
They led more than 30,000 troops, but none of them had any experience in directing a large-scale war.
It was not because they had reached this position by mere status and connections.
The Kushite kingdom had not fought a proper war with any neighboring countries for nearly 100 years.
Egypt in the north had become a toothless tiger after becoming a protectorate of Rome, and Axum in the southeast was a new nation that had just established its framework.
Even if they clashed occasionally, it was only a minor skirmish, and there was never a battle that involved more than 10,000 troops.
They did not even know how strong the Roman army was or how they conducted war after deciding to fight against Rome.
It was the price of being too accustomed to peace for a long time.
“Let’s retreat to the capital for now. If the capital falls, we might be surrounded by the Roman army from both sides.”
The Napata defenders did not know exactly how many Romans were besieging the capital.
They only knew for sure that it was a large army of more than tens of thousands, and that the speed of the ships sailing up the Nile River had noticeably slowed down.
They could not figure out how much they had divided their forces since they could not determine their exact location.
In such cases, it was normal human psychology to choose to avoid the worst case scenario.
Kashka agreed with Taharmon’s opinion and decided to abandon Napata and retreat their defensive line.
If Meroe was captured, the king’s life would be in danger, not to mention that they could be attacked from both sides if things went wrong.
More than 30,000 troops turned their feet toward the capital at once.
They gave up their stronghold that they had fortified so thoroughly without even fighting properly.
A slight unrest spread among the soldiers.
Kashka sent out scouts to prevent this from happening again.
But to make matters worse, he received a dismal report in less than three days.
“The scouting party has been annihilated!”
“What?”
This time, even Kashka could not help but be shocked by the report.
The scouting party was not sent out for battle in the first place.
He had emphasized twice or thrice to observe the enemy’s movements while keeping enough distance from them.
And they said they were wiped out.
He could not understand what had happened.
“It seems that they had set up a separate unit to ambush the scouting party and block our movements.”
“Damn… They are cunning bastards.”
The dismal news continued incessantly.
“We can’t locate the enemy!”
“Unable to estimate troop size!”
They should have been obvious that they were stationed in front of Meroe, but they were so stubbornly blocking information.
He wondered why they were so anxious to hide their attack on the capital.
Fortunately, he managed to contact some of the nearby tribes with the help of heaven.
“The Roman army is currently building a camp and making strange weapons that we have never seen before. And they seem to be using a lot of force on the border, as huge numbers of torches burn every night and can be seen from afar. It seems that a total attack on the capital will begin soon.”
“I see. They didn’t want to show us that they were assembling siege weapons. They wanted to slow down our march and capture the capital as quickly as possible.”
Kashka and Taharmon encouraged their subordinates to increase their marching speed after grasping the situation.
They planned to rest their soldiers for a day after getting as close as possible to Meroe and then deter the Roman army.
It was a textbook decision.
If the Roman army really intended to attack the capital first, it might have worked.
But Pompey’s goal was never to capture Meroe in the first place.
When the large force of the Kushite kingdom army rushed to save Meroe at full speed entered a wide plain area, it happened.
Kashka opened his mouth wide in astonishment at the sight he had never imagined.
The Roman army that should have been stationed in front of Meroe was blocking their way.
No one knew it.
No one expected it.
It was true that he had lost contact with some of the nearby tribes recently.
So he thought that maybe the attack on the capital had already started and hurried over.
But the reality in front of him was completely different from what he expected.
Kashka looked at the wide formation of the Roman army and felt an overwhelming sense of defeat.
He finally realized what Pompey’s trick was.
“His goal was to divide and conquer our army from the beginning…”
If he had attacked Napata, which was well defended, he would have suffered considerable damage to his own army.
If time was wasted, the 20,000 troops of Pianga from the south would join as reinforcements.
Pompey lured Kashka’s army out by pretending to attack the capital.
It was all a deception tactic to give false information to the enemy: blocking the movement of the scouts thoroughly, disguising the camp as heavily guarded by piling up haystacks and torches, and ostentatiously building siege towers and battering rams.
Kashka’s eyes turned to the other side of the plain.
The enemy’s size looked roughly larger than his own.
It was the beginning of a nightmare.
If only Pianga’s troops had joined earlier, or if he had given enough rest to his soldiers, it might not have been so desperate.
In this open terrain, running away would only result in near annihilation.
Kashka clenched his teeth.
‘Pompey Magnus!’
He had never met him personally, nor did he know his face.
All he knew was the name Pompey Magnus.
He felt oppressed by the presence of the Roman commander-in-chief, whom he knew nothing but his name.
‘Should I have accepted his proposal… to become a vassal.’
Kashka sighed heavily and looked up at the sky.
Regret always mercilessly tore at his heart after missing the opportunity.
And belated lamentation was nothing but a vain echo.
The overwhelming Roman force that surged like a wave completely engulfed the 30,000 troops of the Kushite kingdom.
※※※※
“Damn it… How far is it to Meroe?”
Pianga, who had gathered troops from the southern part of Kush and decided to march north, was in a situation where his feet were tied by an untimely surprise attack by the Romans.
He initially intended to go to Napata, but changed his route hastily when he heard that the capital Meroe was under attack.
He planned to join forces with Kashka in the middle and increase the size of his army, then strike the rear of the Roman army.
But out of nowhere, Roman archers appeared and kept shooting arrows at Pianga’s march, hindering him.
They were only a thousand or so, but they were enough to hold back Pianga’s army, which was mainly infantry.
Pompey had given only one order to his archer unit from the beginning.
‘Don’t bother to inflict damage on the enemy, just slow down their march and intercept their scouts. And when the enemy gets close enough to Meroe, turn back and block their rear.’
The cavalry captain faithfully carried out Pompey’s order.
Pianga continued his march while fending off the attacks of the archers.
But moving without taking damage from their attacks naturally limited his movement.
They did not know that they were moving exactly along the path that Pompey had expected.
And one day, the archers who had been annoyingly acting in front of them disappeared as if nothing had happened.
Pianga felt uneasy and relieved at the same time.
Maybe they thought it was meaningless to hinder his march any longer since Meroe was close by.
And by now Kashka and Taharmon’s army should be nearby, so they might have been afraid of being attacked by them.
Pianga, who had no idea that Kashka’s army had been slaughtered more than two days ago, set foot on the southern branch leading to Meroe.
The branch that was flanked by gently sloping plateaus on both sides was an ideal terrain for ambushes.
Pompey’s army, which was hiding in the swamp of the plateau, suddenly attacked Pianga’s army that had fallen into their trap.
The Kushite kingdom army, which had been attacked so unexpectedly, did not even have time to form a proper formation.
“Look, it’s the enemy! The Romans are attacking us!”
“What, what is this? Why are they hiding here when they are supposed to be attacking the capital!”
“What is Napata’s defense army doing!”
They were overwhelmingly inferior in both quantity and quality of troops, and they were also hit by a surprise attack.
Pianga looked for a way out as he was terrified by seeing his soldiers being swept away without any resistance.
But before he knew it, Roman archers who had returned to their rear were flashing their eyes and pouring arrows at his fleeing soldiers.
Pianga stood still as if nailed to the spot and repeated only one word like a parrot: counterattack.
He saw his subordinates falling down bleeding without even putting up a decent fight in front of him.
Soon an inevitable shadow of death covered his whole body and passed by.
※※※※
“What are those bastards doing!”
Shabaka felt like he was going crazy with anxiety.
The Roman army had built a camp right in front of the capital, but there was no sign of the reinforcements.
“Could it be that they… gave up on the capital and formed a defensive line further back?”
The soldiers defending Meroe were only a little over 10,000.
Even with a solid wall, it was impossible to cover the entire wall with 10,000.
Eventually, if they dragged on time, it was inevitable that they would be breached no matter how hard they defended.
Shabaka felt his fighting spirit dwindling as his anxiety grew.
And then something happened that took away even the last bit of resistance he had left.
“A messenger has arrived from the Roman army.”
“An envoy? What envoy? Do they think I will surrender? Ha! They must be desperate. If Kashuk, Taharmon, and Pianka’s reinforcements arrive, we will have a chance. Tell them not to dream of surrender.”
“Reinforcements will not come.”
The Roman soldier who stood proudly in front of Shabaka brought three boxes that were big enough to fit a person.
Big enough to fit a person.
And three in number.
“No, don’t tell me…”
Shabaka guessed what was inside the boxes and closed his eyes tightly, turning his head away.
The Roman soldier ignored Shabaka’s reaction and opened the lids of the boxes.
The screams of the servants around him thundered in Shabaka’s ears.
There was no use in escaping reality.
Shabaka’s eyes trembled as he saw the corpses of the three nobles of the Kush Kingdom lying inside the boxes.
“Huuk…!”
He was lucky that he was sitting on the throne, or he would have collapsed on the floor.
The corpses were surprisingly clean and well-preserved.
This showed Pompey’s respect for honor and formality.
“The great Imperator Pompey Magnus demands unconditional surrender from the Kush Kingdom.”
“If I surrender…will my safety be guaranteed?”
“You will have to abdicate your throne, but your life will be absolutely protected. That is the will of the Imperator.”
It was obvious what it meant to give up his throne.
Pompey planned to make the Kush Kingdom a vassal of Rome.
But Shabaka had no choice but to fight on.
The main army of the Kush Kingdom had already been annihilated, and all the major generals had died.
He had no strength left to fight, even if he wanted to.
“What will happen to me…if I step down from the throne?”
“You will be treated as a guest of Rome. If you wish, you can obtain citizenship and become a noble of Rome. I hope you make a wise choice.”
He did not have much time to think.
Shabaka eventually opened the gates himself and knelt before Pompey.
When the king expressed his intention to surrender, the nobles who were scattered around also swore allegiance to Rome in exchange for citizenship.
With this, the Kush Kingdom fell completely into Rome’s hands.
It took only 50 days for the Kush Kingdom, which had lasted for about a thousand years, to become a vassal of Rome.
< 146. The Last Expedition > End
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