Read Marius' Mules VII: The Great Revolt for Free Online Page A

immediately, sir.’
    ‘Agreed. I will leave Hirtius to tie up my affairs in Aquileia and send out summonses to any officers on furlough. We will move swiftly, picking up Priscus and Fronto at Massilia. I wish to pry further into the matter before we march across Gaul.’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘What is your opinion on our route?’
    ‘Fast horse from here with the guard changing mounts regularly to give all the steeds a rest. From Massilia it is a simple matter to move up the Rhodanus valley and rendezvous with the army at Agedincum.’
    ‘It is. Far too simple, in fact. If the Gaulish rebels have severed supply lines and communications then that means they are in command of at least part of that route, and I cannot believe that they have left it unguarded. To march straight up the Rhodanus, which is precisely where they will expect us to move, is to invite trouble. No. We must go another way.’
    The general stood and turned to the huge map hanging on the wall, tapping his finger on Massilia by the sea, his eyes ranging up the valley beyond and then back and along the coast.
    ‘This is the way we shall go,’ he announced, tapping out a dotted route along the southern coast and finishing at an image of a castellated red blob.’
    ‘Narbo, sir? Isn’t that rather a strange way round?’
    ‘It is. But it has three benefits. Firstly, it is not the way any Gallic rebels will be expecting me to go. Secondly, there is a garrison in Narbonensis that we can mobilise and use against the Gauls. And thirdly, once we cross the mountain passes it will deliver us directly into the heartland of the Arverni, the tribe that seem to be at the heart of this revolt.’
    Ingenuus tried not to let the surprise show on his face.
    ‘But general, we are too few to bring war to the heart of Gaul until we meet up with the legions. I have a good cavalry unit, but the Narbonensis garrison is small and even with them we will be walking into the lion’s jaws.’
    Caesar nodded and strode over to the window, where he pushed aside the wooden shutters that had kept the room shady, allowing the bright sunlight to flood in.
    ‘We will have adequate forces.’
    Ingenuus crossed to the window and looked outside. This time he could not prevent his surprised expression from becoming manifest. ‘ Them, sir? But they’re new, untrained, raw and untested. They’re trainees, sir. They haven’t even been given a legion number or a standard yet.’
    His eyes played across the ranks of new, young legionaries standing in ordered rows for their veteran officers to complete their morning inspection. The senate had passed a law over winter authorising a levy of new blood for the legions in the proconsul’s provinces, and almost two legions’ worth of men stood there now, well-equipped but with little more than two weeks’ training under their belts.
    ‘Untried they might be, but they are eager and well led by solid veterans of my old legions. They are equipped with the best arms and armour and - most important of all - they are here and available. The Gauls will expect me to travel up the Rhodanus with a small escort unit. They will not expect me to appear over the mountains from Narbonensis with two legions at my command. Imagine the chaos that will ensue within their carefully planned revolt at that surprise.’
    Ingenuus simply nodded, though as his gaze took in the sheer youth and scrawniness of the recruits before him, chaos was about all that he could imagine coming out of this.
    ‘Good,’ Caesar smiled. ‘Then we are agreed. I will give the details to Hirtius while you have your unit fall in on the parade ground with the new recruits where I can address all the men at once. Speed has just become our watchword, so we march Marian style, with every man bearing his own kit. No wagons or supplies or artillery, and marching as fast as the new men can manage. They can recover their breath on the intermittent sea voyages. I wish to be in Tergeste