Heir of Aurelian

Chapter 126 Responding to Agression on the Eastern Border

Marcellus returned home to Rome, and the moment he stepped through the doors to his villa, Placidia and Sigefrida were there to greet him. Marcellus could tell by the look on the Suebi beauty’s face that something had happened during his absence. Thus, he was quick to ignore Placidia’s greeting, and immediately followed Sigefrida up the stairs to the war room. An action which caused the young roman woman to pout. She also had important news to give Marcellus.

Marcellus entered the war room, where he noticed Sigefrida was visibly distressed. Before he could ask what just had occurred, Sigefrida pointed to the map. Her finger hovered over the Diocese of Illyricum, which she was quick to inform Marcellus of the recent events that transpired in the region.

“Yazdegerd survived, and is now back in Constantinople. Which doesn’t surprise me. After all, the location of your little negotiation was closer to Constantinople than Rome. However, upon his return, he has made several aggressive actions. For starters, he has amassed his troops on our borders. Eastern Roman and Sassanid soldiers alike stand at the ready to invade our lands and seize the Diocese of Illyricum for the east.

Alaric, and the legions beneath his command, as well as thirty thousand gothic foederati, stand in defense of the area. Their numbers are dwarfed by the enemy. However, your soldiers are equipped with superior weapons, and a steady supply of your so-called crossbows are in the hands of the region’s defenders. My guess is, if Yazdegerd truly plans to invade Illyricum, he will be forced to fight a series of protracted sieges.

With the food surplus we have had this past year, we can make sure that our fortresses in the region are well supplies to last for however long Yazdegerd dares to invade. Unfortunately, we will have to abandon many of the villages, as the Castra we are building to protect them are far from completed.

That is, of course, assuming that they attack by land, and don’t instead sail their forces straight towards Italia. My agents in Constantinople have gone dark. I am not getting enough intel on the enemy, and their invasion plan.”

Marcellus nodded his head as he thought about this conflict for a few moments before speaking of a possible third front.

“What about Africa? Would Yazdegerd make a play for Carnifex through his forces in Egypt?”

Sigefrida took out two figurines, each of which represented an enemy legion, before placing them in the Byzantine province of Egypt. She placed them in the city of Alexandria before clarifying what her agents in North Africa had reported.

“It is unlikely their forces in the region are maintaining control over Alexandria. They have not made any sign of advancing west towards our territory. However, Carnifex has already been alerted to the potential of war.

Though Yazdegerd has no proof about our involvement in the Gepid ambush, he’s not stupid enough to think that they attacked by themselves. Especially since he made the same play as you. Though he has no evidence that you are responsible for the attack on his life, he might just be mad enough to declare war without a proper cassus belli. After all, the man has control over two empires’ armies and is clearly not afraid to mobilize them on our border!”

Despite the solid reasoning behind Sigefrida’s statement, Marcellus was not buying it. He knew that if Yazdegerd were to declare war on the western Roman empire, the people of the east would not tolerate it without a proper justification.

They would see it as a sassanid ploy to annex the romans, and would be met with stiff resistance. Because of this, he was sure that Yazdegerd was merely placing his soldiers on the borders in an attempt to provoke a response from the west.  Thus, after careful though Marcellus gave the order to stand down.

“For now, we won’t respond to Yazdegerd’s aggression. I do not feel like causing a war that can be avoided. So long as Yazdegerd lacks proof of his claims, he can not reasonably justify a war with the west. So we will keep our forces on alert and continue the construction of the castra.

The reality is there is no proof to be had. Unlike Yazdegerd, I made sure to clean up my mess. Any gepid who might be able to speak witness to his claims has been forever silenced. Sarus won’t turn on me, and between the three of us, we are the only ones who are even aware of this little incident.

So unless you plan to betray me anytime soon, I can safely say that our little secret will never come to light.  As for how we deal with Yazdegerd’s aggression, we will simply send the new legions that have conscripted to Illyricum to bolster our defenses in the event that Yazdegerd is mad enough to attack us without provocation.

Trade will resume, and if he dares to not pay the agreed upon restitution for the previous border crisis, I will use that as cassus belli to invade the east, and kill the swarthy bastard myself. If he wants a war, he will have to provoke it himself. In the mean time I will wait, gather my strength, and march on the east whenever I feel that Rome is ready.

Now if that’s all Sigefrida, I believe Placidia had something she wanted to tell me…”

Sigefrida nodded her head in silence. She knew exactly what the girl wanted to tell her husband, and curled her fists in envy. However, she did not prevent Marcellus from hearing the good news, and thus allowed him to pass.

Marcellus searched for a while for Placidia, before finding her sitting quietly on their bed. He walked over and hugged the girl, before kissing her on the lips and apologizing for his hasty actions.

“Apologies, my love, but something urgent came up. I can tell something is on your mind, so do you want to talk about it?”

Placidia was still sulking, and thus did not hold back the words she had been thinking ever since her husband returned home from a delicate negotiation with the eastern roman empire.

“Marcellus, I’m your wife. You should greet me properly when you return from abroad. Who knows, I might have had something really important to tell you.”

Marcellus sighed heavily before nodding his head with a smile on his face. He responded to her statements with a warm tone in his voice.

“You’re right. I will do so from now on. Now what was it you wanted to tell me?”

It was only after the roman emperor said this that the girl began to smile. She looked somewhat embarrassed as she struggled to express herself. In the end she blurted out her thoughts, as there was no other was she would have worked up the courage to say what was meant to be said.

“Marcellus, I’m pregnant!”

It took the man several moments to comprehend what the young woman had said, but in the end, he smiled and kissed her passionately on the lips. It had been weeks since Marcellus had felt a woman’s embrace, and at this moment he felt closer to Placidia than he had ever felt before.  Before long, the married couple were fornicating like rabbits. All of Marcellus’ worries about an upcoming war vanished for the period of an hour, as he enjoyed his time with his wife.