Free Web NovelChapter 122: Chapter 122 : Very Model Of a Roman Major General
"What has that bastard Crassus been up to lately?"
"He has been expanding his inns and taverns nonstop. I hear he is building more than a dozen new insulae as well."
"When it comes to making money, the man is an absolute madman."
Pompey let out a heavy sigh. Half-reclined on his couch, he popped a grape into his mouth.
After a brief silence, he asked another question.
"And what about Caesar?"
"Which Caesar do you mean, Master?"
"The one just elected consul."
"He seems to have been spending most of his time at the Regia lately."
The middle-aged slave replied, then handed his master a goblet of wine and continued.
"According to rumors, he has begun reforming the temples, but beyond that, very little has become known." freewebnovёl.ƈom
"Is that so."
A long silence settled over the room once more.
Pompey tossed about on his couch for a while before furrowing his brow.
"The house has felt far too quiet ever since Pompeia moved out. Wouldn’t you agree?"
"It does, Master."
Another stretch of silence passed before Pompey abruptly sat up.
"Has war broken out anywhere? What about the pirates?"
"There has not been much news from the East. The policies you put in place across Syria are proceeding smoothly. There has been no significant news from Pontus, either."
"I see. Well, no trouble is a good thing."
Pompey let out another long sigh.
"The pirates have been completely wiped out, and the Eastern provinces are keeping quiet, so there is nothing for me to do. Once Caesar takes office as consul, my veterans will finally receive their land, which means I will have nothing left to do."
"Master..."
At that moment, another slave entered the atrium, approaching Pompey and bowing deeply.
"What is it?"
"Caesar has sent a messenger."
"Caesar? You mean Caesar from the Regia?"
"No, it is Lucius Julius Caesar."
"Lucius sent a messenger? What did he say?"
The slave flinched, startled by Pompey’s sudden urgency.
"He is currently training for the Troy Game with the other young nobles on the Campus Martius..."
"Training?"
"He humbly requests that you observe their training, Master."
"Right, the Troy Game! I had completely forgotten about that."
Pompey leaped from his couch and hurried straight to his bedchamber.
"I must change into my toga immediately. No, a simple tunic will suffice."
"Please wait just a moment, Master! Allow us to assist you."
As the two flustered slaves scrambled to help, Pompey had already begun tearing off his clothes himself.
"M-Master!"
***
"That is enough for today!"
Sitting astride my horse, I raised a hand and shouted.
Spending all day in the saddle was exhausting.
Even with the stirrups, every muscle in my body screamed in agony.
But as the commander, I couldn’t exactly whine about being tired in front of my men.
Not in front of my men—let alone the Greek faction.
Just when I finally managed to dismount, Antony rode over at a trot.
"Looks like they are finally getting used to the stirrups. Don’t you think?"
"They’ve definitely improved a lot compared to when they started."
I nodded. Still, they had adapted much faster than I anticipated.
Metellus and the men of the Greek faction had been following our instructions with surprising dedication.
The training atmosphere was so warm and cooperative no one would have believed we were supposed to compete against each other.
It wasn’t just the stirrups; the same went for the horseshoes I had recently introduced.
Every single young noble participating in the game willingly had their mounts shod.
I initially thought there would be some resistance to the idea.
"I really didn’t expect them to follow our lead this eagerly."
"Your sincerity reached them. Who in his right mind would offer the latest equipment to the opposing side? Let alone invite them to train with us."
Antony dismounted with a smirk.
"But are you sure about this? You are training the very opponents you will face in the game. Only you would come up with an idea like this, Lucius."
"The true purpose of this Troy Game is to showcase new possibilities."
"Possibilities?"
"The military is both the fastest and the slowest institution to adopt change."
That was true in every era. Armies often clung stubbornly to proven equipment and strategies.
In a way, it was the obvious choice.
If a business failed to adopt a new technology, the result was merely a loss of time and money; in war, failure meant death.
In war, stability mattered far more than innovation.
Even so, Rome was far better than most.
Since the days of the kings, Rome had actively assimilated new weapons, strategies, and technologies.
From legionary helmets and armor to shields and gladii, almost all had been adapted from other cultures.
"The Troy Game is a spectacle meant more for the nobles than for the plebs. It’s an opportunity for the young noblemen to proudly display their martial prowess. And in this upcoming game, many of those nobles will see the equipment and tactics I have introduced with their own eyes."
Antony nodded in realization.
"And that will naturally lead to innovation within the legions themselves."
"Exactly."
Antony was surprisingly sharp when it came to matters like this.
At that moment, a familiar face approached us.
"Lucius! Apologies for the delay. I ran into some supporters on my way here."
Pompey and I greeted each other with a brief embrace.
He seemed even more excited than usual, though perhaps that was just my imagination.
Pompey looked at Antony and spoke.
"When I first saw you, I took you for a drunken lout. But when I saw you in the arena the other day, you certainly know how to handle a horse. Not to mention your skill with ropes."
"I’ve practiced quite a bit."
Antony replied, puffing out his chest.
Pompey chuckled softly before turning back to me.
"I fear I arrived far too late. Has training already ended? It seems there’s nothing left for me to observe."
"Not at all. You arrived at the perfect time."
I shook my head. There was something else entirely I wanted to show Pompey.
I had no intention of showcasing only the stirrups and new cavalry tactics at the Troy Game.
"An artisan from an allied city brought me a design not long ago. I’ve been curious to know what you would think about adopting it as standard equipment for the legions."
"A new weapon? Hurry up and show me. Judging by the way you are speaking, you have already prepared it, have you not?"
Pompey practically demanded. Anyone watching would have thought he was a child eagerly awaiting a Chritmas gift.
Come to think of it, Vitruvius had reacted the exact same way when I brought this up.
I suppose men’s fascination with weapons and new gear was universal.
"Right this way."
***
"Is this... a ballista? No, it resembles a scorpion."
"It is a type of crossbow used by the Greeks."
I explained. In truth, the Romans were already using weapons similar to crossbows.
The ballista and the scorpion, for instance.
Their power came from torsion springs made of twisted rope or animal sinew, and were drawn back with winches and ratchets.
However, these torsion engines were massive, and the Roman army used them mainly for siege defense and naval combat.
"I’ve never seen anything quite like this among Greek crossbows. Did you improve upon the design yourself?"
"You could say that. Let me demonstrate how it is used." fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
I loaded a bolt into the crossbow.
A short prod was mounted horizontally at the front of a thick wooden stock, with a central groove carved into it to hold the bolt.
A bronze trigger catch allowed the user to hook his fingers over it.
The bowstring was already drawn back; all I had to do was press the catch.
When I pressed it, the string snapped forward with a sharp twang.
Simultaneously, the bolt shot forward, cutting through the air of the Campus Martius.
Antony let out a soft exclamation of awe beside me.
"Quite impressive. It is essentially a kind of mechanical bow."
"May I try it myself?"
I hurriedly stopped Pompey, who looked ready to snatch up the weapon.
"Allow me to demonstrate how to load it first."
Reloading the crossbow was the complicated part.
History had long debated which was superior: the crossbow or the bow.
The truth was that both had clear strengths and weaknesses.
That was exactly why both weapons remained in use side by side for centuries.
Compared to a bow, which required years of training to master, a man could learn to use a crossbow in far less time.
It was also better suited to firing from behind parapets or shields without exposing the shooter.
However, it was much slower to reload than a bow, which put it at a severe disadvantage against skilled archers.
Furthermore, the crossbow was made up of numerous parts, making it significantly more expensive to manufacture.
"This makes it much easier to reload."
I slipped my foot through the stirrup attached to the front of the crossbow, then caught the bowstring with a hook attached to my belt.
Then I straightened my back, using my whole body to draw the string back.
It looked a bit awkward, but it was far faster than relying on arm strength alone.
"It reloads far too slowly compared to a bow. A soldier would be completely exposed to enemy archers while reloading."
"That is certainly a flaw. But there is a way to circumvent that."
I had thought of this weapon for an entirely different reason.
I retrieved a shield I had set aside earlier.
"Is that not an ordinary scutum?"
"Take a look at the bottom."
"Is this... an iron spike?"
"Yes. It is attached to the bottom of the shield to anchor it firmly in the earth."
I planted the shield firmly in the earth.
"This lets you anchor the shield firmly in place."
I stepped behind the shield and raised the crossbow.
"What do you think?"
"So they fire, then duck behind the shield to reload. It acts as a portable barricade."
Pompey remarked, stroking his chin.
"This could prove quite useful."
"I thought so as well."
It was a shield proposed by an artisan I met while visiting an allied city.
A simple modification, but a highly effective one.
In the original timeline, the Genoese crossbowmen fought in a similar manner.
After firing a volley, they would reload behind large shields called pavises.
Just then, Antony chimed in.
"But are archers and slingers not usually auxiliary troops? Are you planning to train them with this?"
"That is exactly the question I have been wrestling with."
When a battle broke out, ranged combat was primarily the role of auxiliary troops.
The regular legionaries would hurl their javelins, the pila, then close the distance to engage in melee combat.
If we wanted to utilize these crossbows and shields, would we need to train specialized units solely for their use?
Honestly, if I had gunpowder or rifles, all of this would be unnecessary.
I could make gunpowder right now if I really wanted to.
But mass-producing it for military use was an entirely different problem.
Besides, given Rome’s current steel-making technology, manufacturing muskets would be quite difficult.
Even to produce something as simple as a medieval hand cannon, I would have to clear countless prerequisites first.
And there was no telling what consequences gunpowder and muskets might unleash.
It could cause Rome to expand far too rapidly or drive it into a madness of conquest.
But if a storm that threatened Rome was truly approaching, I had no choice but to use every tool at my disposal.
While I was lost in thought, Pompey suddenly spoke up.
"I have an idea."
Pompey said, turning the crossbow over in his hands.
"Are the two of you free today?"
"For you, Pompey, we have time."
"Then humor me for a moment. First of all, I need to go summon my veterans."
"Summon your veterans?"
Antony and I exchanged bewildered looks.
What was Pompey planning?
"Men who have trained with the bow for years are always in short supply. But any legionary could easily learn to use this."
Pompey added, his voice trembling with excitement.
"Provided we have the proper method, of course."
***
"I do not know what is going on, but if Imperator Pompey summoned us himself, it cannot be anything ordinary."
"Is it about the land distribution?"
"If it was that, he would not have dragged us all the way to the Campus Martius. Besides, Caesar must officially take office as consul first for the land distribution bill to pass anyway."
"Are we going to war again, then?"
The veterans muttered among themselves.
However, their expressions were not entirely displeased.
Was it because Pompey had summoned them personally?
Or was it simply the lifelong habits drilled into their very bones over a lifetime?
Despite their grumbling, they were already forming ranks by instinct at the orders of their centurions and decurions.
Watching the scene unfold, Antony let out a quiet chuckle.
"Just look at them. They aren’t even active legionaries anymore, but their bodies move into formation before they even realize it."
Pompey must have heard him, as he chuckled softly in response.
"It certainly looks impressive. But even the finest sword will rust if left unused for too long."
At his gesture, the technical school staff brought out the prepared crossbows.
The shields with iron spikes attached to the bottom followed.
A murmur ran through the veterans at the sight.
"What is that? A miniature scorpion?"
"Looks like some sort of handheld ballista."
"And why are the shields shaped like that? It has a spike attached to the bottom."
"You want us to use these?"
At a soldier’s question, Pompey nodded.
"I am."
"Imperator, I have never used this weapon before."
"There is no need to worry. I am well aware. We are only testing something."
"You should have called the archers. Numidians, perhaps, or some other auxiliaries..."
Pompey laughed.
"It is not archers I need."
He picked up a shield himself and set it against the ground.
The iron spike at the bottom drove deep into the earth with a heavy thud.
"I need soldiers who know how to trust in their shields and hold a line. The front rank will anchor their shields in the ground and hold their position. The second rank will reload the crossbows. But you will not fire them. Only the front rank will fire."
Pompey continued.
"Once the front rank fires, you will hand them loaded crossbows, take back the empty ones, and reload them."
Pompey smiled at his veterans as he said this.
"Now then, let us see how much rust you lot have gathered."
