Heir of Aurelian

Chapter 75 Time Waits for no Man

Since he had forced the land owning patricians to implement his agricultural reforms, Marcellus kept a low profile. Rarely leaving the palace, he secluded himself from the safety of his home. While conspiracies raged across Italia, and the Frumentarii sabotaged their efforts, Marcellus just needed to wait out the clock until the time of the spring harvest.

However, time waits for no man, and in early spring, shortly after sewing his crops, Marcellus received word from the Theodosian Rebels that Constantine seized one of their major cities, cutting off the cork supply to the Roman Heartland. In response to this, Marcellus had no choice but to act.

Without cork the sale of his wine would decrease in value, as it was an effective way to preserve the flavor and alcohol content of the wine. This meant his economy, which was just starting to get back on track, would take a hit. As a result, Marcellus stood before the Army, which he had painstakingly built since his rise to power as the Emperor of Western Rome.

Fifty-Four thousand men stood within the city of Ravenna, armed from head to toe in the latest advancements in armor and weapons that money could buy. These were no longer simple conscripts but dedicated legions.

They were professional soldiers who were paid a living wage to protect the borders of the Empire.  Marcellus stood at the balcony of his Palace and greeted the men who wore the colors of their legions proudly. He saluted the men from his balcony while uttering his speech.

“As you are all aware, Flavius Claudius Constantinus has long since taken up arms in rebellion. Currently, because of this man, our Empire stands divided. With Gaul and Britannia currently under the usurper’s control. Recently, I have incorporated Hispania back into the control of our Empire.

However, I regret to inform you that the Usurper has made gains in the region, and has cut off the supply of a critical resource from Hispania. Without this resource, our economy will struggle, and it is because of this that I have taken precautions to procure supplies from the East so that we may fight a campaign against the Usurper and bring an end to his tyranny once and for all._.

I have gathered you all here today for one reason. To march you through the borders of Italia and into Gallia, where we shall meet the Usurper from behind. Combined with our troops in Hispania, we shall encircle the enemy, and claim his head. I have trained you for this very moment, and I have faith in your ability to complete your duties. Rise soldiers of Rome, and bring an end to this war!”

The soldiers immediately returned the salute of their emperor and raised their shields in unison, pounding their iron rims onto the floor over and over again while chanting the words.

“Hail Augustus!”

Augustus being the title given to late roman emperors, with Caesar being the term given to their co-emperors. With this, Marcellus’ army was prepared to march, and he descended from the staircase, only to be greeted by Sigefrida and Placidia, who both had worried expressions on their faces. Placidia was the first to hug her fiancee, jumping ahead of Sigefrida as if it were a serious matter.

“Be safe! I don’t want to lose you before we can even get married!”

Marcellus chuckled when he heard this, and kissed the girl on the forehead, before shoving off her embrace and offering his arms to his concubine. Though she was upset that Placidia got the jump on her, she reluctantly hugged the man, and kissed him on the lips before whispering in his ear.

“Don’t get captured this time…”

Marcellus laughed once more before he rustled the woman’s hair, before shoving her away.

“You can relax. I never make the same mistake twice.”

As the leader of his Frumentarii, Sigefrida would have to sit back in Ravenna during this campaign, and work on keeping the numerous conspirators at bay. While searching for evidence to convict them on. She was no longer a slave, and thus no longer had the ability to be a part of the army’s follower’s camp. Understanding her position, Sigefrida sighed before letting her man walk out towards his army.

Marcellus waved goodbye as he hopped on his steed’s back and set off for war against the usurper. He vowed in his heart that he would not be defeated this time around. Luckily for him, his army was made of completely loyal Roman soldiers, seeing as how the Foederati were guarding the borders in the east. Thus, he could wage this war with a sense of civility that had not been present in recent years of conflict. In the early spring of 409 AD, the Western Roman Army, under the command of Emperor Titus Claudius Marcellus, marched westward into Gaul.

—

While Marcellus and his army marched towards Rome, the troops in Hispania who had sworn their loyalty to Marcellus were defending the city of Saguntum. After finally breaking the stalemate between the two forces, Constantine’s army had gained the morale needed to push further into Hispania. Currently, the two sides were engaged in a brutal siege. However, much like the last one, this siege had started off poorly for the Usurper and his army.

Constantine did not know that by cutting off the supply of cork to Italia, he had summoned an army of wolves at his back. Nor was he aware that an agreement had been reached between the Theodosian loyalists and the dictator in Ravenna. His spy network had failed to infiltrate the capital. Instead, he truly believed Marcellus was still licking his wounds, in fear that the Eastern Roman Empire would invade his lands at any minute.

Thus, his renewed campaign in Hispania was based on a miscalculation of his many enemies and their positions. Because of this, the loyalists in Hispania waged a war of attrition, stalling the enemy’s advance for as long as possible, and keeping Constantine’s focus on Hispania.

The goal was not to defeat the usurper but to keep him chasing after them so that they could trap him in Hispania and eliminate him once and for all. This war of attrition was slowly draining Constantine’s remaining and sanity and at the moment the man was chewing his fingernails and cursing at his soldiers as they fell down from the missile fire that originated from the city’s walls.

“God dammit! Can’t any of you fucking aim your bows properly? Why are we losing so many men?”

The Frankish chieftain Hagen spat on the ground in discontent. Throughout this entire campaign, Constantine had only become more unnerved. It was a miracle that they had even captured the previous city, and it was by no means a glorious victory. Alot of men had perished taking the city, so much so that Hagen had begun to expect the Theodosian Loyalists abandoned it on purpose.

After all, many of their men had fled before the city was fully taken. Those same men were fighting here today, with as stiff as resistance as they initially encountered in the last city. Something wasn’t adding up. Unfortunately, he did not have accurate information on the actions that the Theodosian Loyalists were taking. He also did not know why the Loyalists had not surrendered after learning of Honorius’s death.

According to Constantine, they had vowed to fight until the bitter end, regardless if the news about the emperor’s demise was true. However, if that was the case, they would not have abandoned the previous city so quickly. Unfortunately, none of Hagen’s concerns were taken seriously by Constantine, and he worried about the future of this campaign. As the voice of reason, he tried to calm the self-proclaimed emperor.

“your majesty, with all due respect, we should cease our assault, any longer and our losses will be too severe to continue. We will just have to find another way to take this city…”

Though Constantine wanted to scold his foederati commander for his perceived cowardice, he noticed the piles of dead soldiers that belonged to his forces lying in pools of their own blood beneath the city’s ramparts, and sighed in defeat before calling off the attack.

“Retreat! Retreat back to the camp!”

With this, the trumpets were blown, and the signal to retreat was given. Constantine’s army was once more halted at the gates of Saguntum. Upon seeing his soldiers return to the siege camp battered and bloodied from the conflict, Constantine could not help but curse his luck.

“God dammit! What kind of shit of luck is this? Do the heavens really favor the Theodosian Dynasty that much? If so, why would they permit the death of Honorius? No, I refuse to believe that God is on the side of my enemies.”

Hagen listened to the pathetic rant of the little Roman man and could not help but mutter his thoughts under his breath.

“The gods do not favor a fool…”

Luckily Constantine didn’t hear these words or he might do something foolish that would force the Frankish Foederati to leave his service. Ultimately, Hagen could only sigh before speaking words of encouragement to the remaining soldiers in the army.

“We will just have to formulate a better assault plan for tomorrow…”

With this said, the Usurper and his army tried their best to come up with a better plan that would allow them to seize Saguntum. They were completely unaware that an army of fifty-four thousand roman legionaries was approaching from behind them.