Marius' Mules II: The Belgae (12 page)

“
Gentlemen? Let’s sit and get on with this.”

As the Roman
officers joined them by the fire and took their seat, Ingenuus and
his men filed around behind them, echoing the stance of the
warriors at the far side.

“
My name is Antebrogius” announced the shorter of the two men.
“This is Iccius. We are two of the eleven Remi chiefs. Iccius does
not speak Latin, but he is the chief of an oppidum on the border
close to the Nervii and has brought me the latest and best
information about the gathering army. I rule here in Durocorteron
and am the only Remi chief who can speak your language.”

Caesar
nodded.

“
Indeed, you speak it very well. May I ask where you
learned?”

The chief
shrugged.

“
I make it my business to learn about the more dangerous
peoples in the world. I also speak the language of the Germanic
tribes and that of the Greeks.”

Caesar smiled,
clearly genuinely impressed. Fronto sat and grumbled under his
breath. He spoke Latin well enough, but his tutor had despaired of
his deplorable Greek.

“
Very well,” Antebrogius continued, “I have been authorised to
speak on behalf of all the chiefs of the Remi in this matter. All
of the Belgic peoples have been concerned since last year that the
armies of Rome are coming close to our lands. Our druids rally the
tribes in defiance of you, general. They call on all of the Belgae
and of the Gauls, the Germans and the Britons to come to their aid
in opposing you and everything you stand for.”

Caesar
frowned.

“
I see. They are not aware that we are here only in response to
requests from our allies.”

Antebrogius
shook his head.

“
They are aware of that. They do not believe it,
Caesar.”

He sighed and
gestured around him.

“
Forgive my bluntness, general, but it is clear to all of our
peoples that Rome means to take these lands and to make them her
own. There is little point in denying it. We are all
convinced.”

There was an
uncomfortable moment of silence.

“
However,” the man went on, “a man of vision looks into the
future and takes the path scented with lilies, not the one the cows
have shat on.”

He smiled.

“
We are in a dangerous position, quite frankly. We are the
border people of the Belgae. If we listen to our druids, I am under
no illusion that Rome will beat and enslave the Remi first and use
our oppida as staging posts to deal with our brethren.”

The smile
turned vaguely sad.

“
And those with vision can see that Rome will win. Rome will
always win.”

Caesar raised
an eyebrow and Antebrogius shrugged.

“
As I said, I study these things. I have read of your wars with
Carthage and in Spain. Of your friend Pompey and his pirates. Rome
will always win because Rome does not believe it can lose and a
Roman never gives up. One day we will all speak Latin and no one
will remember the language of the Belgae.”

He slapped his
hand on his chest.

“
I can see this, and my people can see it too, even if the
druids and the rest of the Belgae cannot.”

He stood.

“
So… on behalf of the Remi, I offer our people and our lands to
you, general. We have refused the call to stand against you and
have made enemies of our brothers. Thus I entreat you to deal with
us as allies. We will provide you with information, supplies, food,
shelter and even men. In return we ask only that Rome promises to
grant its protection to the Remi. What is your answer,
Caesar?”

The general
smiled.

“
Antebrogius, you are a wise man indeed. Though I myself intend
to stay in Gaul only to protect our friends and our interests, I
would say that you are correct. One day these lands will know the
benefits of Roman law and engineering, of that I am sure. And when
those days draw closer, it is those who embrace them that will gain
the most. I would ask whether you are alone among the Belgae in
seeking peace with Rome?”

Antebrogius
nodded sadly.

“
We tried in council to persuade out neighbours, the
Suessiones, to join us. They are part of the same people as the
Remi, but there was little support for us among them, and in the
end, pride won out and they have sent their warriors to the
gathering Belgae. It pains me, but yes; we are alone.”

Caesar’s brow
furrowed.

“
What can you tell us about this army?”

“
The force will be vast, general. Not only all of the other
tribes of the Belgae gather, but also many of the Germanic tribes
from near the Rhine and even some from across it. Much of the blood
of the Belgae is descended from those Germans who settled here
generations ago. It is said that it is the fierceness of the German
blood, mixed with the cleverness of the Gauls, which makes the
Belgae so dangerous.”

“
We need more detail, Antebrogius. Numbers, even, if you have
them.”

The two
chieftains exchanged looks and words quickly in their own language
and then Antebrogius turned back to the visitors.

“
Our information is a little vague, of course, since we have
not been present at the war council. However, we have a slight
advantage. Those same Suessiones who we failed to convince of our
wisdom have been made the leaders of the gathering host and,
through estimates from familial connections, we are able to
estimate their numbers at around three hundred thousands of
men.”

Fronto
realised he’d just whistled through his teeth and clamped his mouth
shut. Unprofessional idiot! But still… three hundred thousand
warriors. Not a long way from ten-to-one odds. He found himself
wondering about the wisdom of the Remi’s decision.

Caesar,
however, seemed to have been unfazed by this revelation. He nodded
thoughtfully.

“
Any details on how that is comprised? Anything we can
use?”

Antebrogius
nodded.

“
The Bellovaci are known as the bravest of all the Belgae, and
they have given the most men. Probably around sixty thousand. The
Nervii are by far the most warlike. It is they who called for war
in the first place. Between them and the Suessiones, they will
field around a hundred thousand. Perhaps forty thousand will be
Germanic allies. Other than that, smaller numbers from the other
tribes.”

Caesar
sighed.

“
Are any of those smaller tribes likely to be open to
persuasion?”

Antebrogius
shook his head.

“
Not with the Bellovaci, the Nervii and the Suessiones in
control.”

Caesar
nodded.

“
Very well. Here is my offer.”

He leaned
forward in a businesslike manner.

“
You will supply us with food out of only the excess your tribe
can spare. Your chieftains will each levy a number of men to be
assigned to our cavalry. It is the custom of Celtic allies to give
hostages to one another to promote loyalty. As such, I will require
the eldest heir of each chief to be delivered to me. That man will
act as our hostage, but will also be assigned to lead his own
tribesmen.”

Antebrogius
frowned.

“
This is a great deal to ask, Caesar.”

“
But I am not finished, Antebrogius. Those men will serve with
us for this year. After that, we will renegotiate. However, bear in
mind that those men will be taught everything we have to teach
about war and the army. They will become more powerful than ever
before; more powerful than other Belgae war chiefs.”

He smiled.

“
Also: In return, we will provide a small garrison to protect
each of your settlements during this campaign. These men will be a
mixture of professional legionaries and auxiliaries and can teach
your people Latin, how to build roads, create aqueducts, and the
rudiments of civic defences, as well as providing protection. Think
what this could do for the Remi.”

Antebrogius
sat back and nodded slowly to himself.

“
I see the wisdom in your words, Caesar and, since I speak for
the Remi, consider our word given. It may take a little time to
explain this to my peers and to gain their agreement. I will visit
your camp tomorrow morning, if that is acceptable?”

The general
nodded.

“
Most acceptable, Antebrogius. I look forward to
it.”

He stood and
nodded to the officers.

“
Gentlemen? I believe we’re done here. Let us return to
camp.”

Wordlessly,
the Roman commanders followed Caesar’s lead, standing, bowing to
the chieftains, and then leaving the hall in single file.

Once they were
safely out of audible distance and half way across the square,
Fronto caught up with Caesar, checked that none of the other
officers were too close, and cleared his throat.

“
At the risk of irritating you,” he said quietly, “that was
uncharacteristically generous of you?”

A look of
surprise passed across Caesar’s face before he settled once more
into an unreadable expression.

“
Marcus, we are in extremely dangerous territory, facing very
heavy odds. What do you expect?”

“
But to offer to train them and their leaders? You could be
teaching a future enemy how to beat us.”

Caesar shook
his head.

“
If they help us win this war it’ll be worth it and we’ll have
a staunch ally. If we lose, it won’t make any difference to us. We
have a huge force arrayed against us, but it’s made up of lots of
smaller groups with age-old internecine feuds. We have to widen the
cracks until the Belgae shatter. It’s all a matter of playing the
odds, Fronto. You’re a gambler. You should know that.”

Fronto fixed
his gaze on the road ahead and grunted.

“
I think at this point, I’d pick up my dice and my remaining
denarii and go home!”

* * * * *

Antebrogius
the Remi chieftain bowed deeply to Fronto in the bright morning
light as the man left Caesar’s tent. The legate of the Tenth nodded
back absently, stepping aside to let him return to his town with
his accompanying warriors. Waiting only a moment, tapping his foot
on the springy turf, he entered without knocking.

Caesar looked
up in surprise from the documents on his desk.

“
Fronto? I didn’t send for you?”

The legate
nodded.

“
I know, general, but I need to go through a few
things.”

Caesar pushed
aside the lists he had been examining and sat back, folding his
arms.

“
Go ahead, then. This can wait.”

“
I’ve been looking at the campaign maps of the Belgae lands and
there’s just no way we can move on the army while protecting the
lands of the Remi, and those defensive garrisons you were talking
about will be fine for the look of things, but they’d be
slaughtered to a man if the main host of Belgae suddenly hove into
view.”

Caesar nodded
quietly and thoughtfully.

“
Give me specifics, Fronto.”

“
Well…” the legate said, wandering across to Caesar’s map,
hanging on the wall of the command tent, and illustrating his
points with a finger.

“
We’re here in the south, where the Remi are.” He pointed
further up. “The Belgae are massing to the north. That’s where
we’ll have to go to fight them.”

He waved his
arm vaguely to the left.

“
Yet there’s a lot of Remi land over here, away from the area
the two armies will meet, but with a lot of borders with the enemy.
We cannot be sure the entire force is massing in the one place. If
we march north and find only three quarters of the enemy, it’s
possible the other quarter will sweep west and south and extinguish
the Remi and our garrisons and sever our supply lines.”

Caesar
smiled.

“
And you think I’ve not planned for this?”

“
Well unless Crassus is really hiding just over those hills out
there, or you’ve got two more magic new legions hidden outside,
then that would mean splitting the army. And the odds are already
bad enough.”

The general’s
smile was starting to irk him as it always did at times like this.
It seemed vaguely smug.

“
What!”

Caesar
sighed.

“
We have a secret ally. I’m trying not to reveal too many of
the tricks I have hidden up my sleeve, Marcus. It’s a surprise and
I want it to stay like that. The more people know about it, the
more chance there is of word reaching the Belgae and of them being
prepared.”

Fronto
grumbled.

“
I’m not going to run and tell the bloody Belgae, am
I?”

“
I suppose not. You remember the half dozen riders I sent out
from Vesontio?”

Fronto
nodded.

“
To your niece in Rome, yes.”

For a moment,
Caesar looked nonplussed. Just for a fraction of a second, before
an ophidian smile slithered across his face again.

“
Yes. Not all to Atia, though. Two to Rome. Three to
Bibracte.”

“
Bibracte?”

Fronto’s mind
rushed ahead.

“
You called on the Aedui for help. You’ve got Divitiacus’ Gauls
coming up as a second army?”

The smile
widened on the general’s face. Fronto could understand that, but
couldn’t quite lose the image of that moment of blankness just now
regarding the couriers. It nagged at him.