Chapter 402 Caesar's initial conquest goal

But for Caesar, he spent a lot of effort to obtain these three provinces in order to obtain more wealth, strength and power, and these were only achieved by defending against the barbarian attacks in the north and ensuring the safety of the provinces. What cannot be obtained must be taken the initiative to attack and conquer!

But where should the front be pointed? At this moment, Caesar does not have a specific goal, because he has never served in the three northern provinces and does not know much about the barbarian situation in northern Italy. Therefore, while recruiting new legions, he also recruits three provinces. Officials from the provincial governor's office were summoned to Ravenna and asked to give them a detailed introduction to the situation in the north.

Caesar arranged his office into a large study room with multiple bookshelves on both sides. Detailed information on the three provinces and historical information on the barbarians in the north were stored in it. In the center was a large wooden table with a fixed table on it. A huge wooden map of the three northern provinces and the barbarian tribes in the north.

The subordinate pointed at the map and introduced the situation to him in detail, while he paced around the wooden table and listened carefully. This was one of his habits. He didn't like to sit still and think. He always said: Listening in movement, thinking will More active.

"...in the northeastern part of the province of North Italy, this is the territory of the Noriki people who are closely related to us. The iron ore they produce is of high quality, and most of it is sold to us in Italy and is manufactured by us. An important source of weapons and armor——"

Caesar stopped and interjected: "I have often heard in Rome that Noriki iron ore is very good. If such a high-quality resource is not directly in our hands, are there any hidden dangers? How strong is this Noriki man? Strong?"

"Sir Governor, the Noriki people live almost entirely in high mountains. Although the territory seems vast, there is a lack of arable land, so the population is not large and the strength is not strong. They need to rely more on us to deter other barbarians. Therefore, The Noriki are still very submissive to us.

But if we send troops to capture it, it will be time-consuming and labor-intensive. After the victory, no one will be willing to live in the mountains, let alone organize a large number of manpower to mine. Some of the gains outweigh the losses, so provincial governors have always been willing to appease Nuo Riki people, let them voluntarily mine for us..."

Caesar was noncommittal and began to pace again: "You continue."

"This small piece of mountainous land from the south of the Noriki territory to the Illyrian province is occupied by the Jabods. In the past, they would come down from the mountains to rob our caravans traveling between the two provinces. The governors all had a headache because the mountains were high and the forests were dense. They sent troops to encircle and suppress them. The Yabod people hid deeper in the mountains. Often, even when the army's supplies were exhausted, no one could be seen. But after we retreated, they They'll all be back soon...

However, the situation has improved in recent years. The Jabods rarely rob our caravans anymore, and the roads between the provinces of North Italy and Illyria have become increasingly safe——"

"What's the reason why the Yabods stopped coming down the mountain to plunder?" Caesar stopped and asked curiously.

"The Yabod people are hostile to us, and the territory they live in has complicated terrain. It is difficult for us to send people to explore the situation there. I just heard from the Noriki people that the Yabod people are now on good terms with the Nyx people. The Sri Lankan people can provide them with food, so they no longer need to risk plundering our territory..."

"Knicks?"

"Sir Governor, I will talk about this barbarian tribe in a moment." The Northern Italian provincial official responded respectfully.

Caesar nodded.

The official pointed at the map and continued: "To the east of the Noriki is an area called the 'Great River Plain' by the barbarians. It is formed by the convergence of many rivers such as the Danube, Drau, and Sava rivers. A very vast plain with fertile land and a large barbarian population, it is now mainly occupied by three barbarian forces...

One is the Poi people. It is said that this tribe once lived in our Po River plain. A hundred years ago, they followed the King of Gaul to attack Rome. Later, when our army began to attack the North Italian province, they fled there and now occupy The plain west of the Danube——"

"Do the Boii still harbor hatred for Rome?" Caesar stared sharply at the place marked with the Boii on the map.

"This... I'm not sure. After all, a hundred years have passed, and the Boi people have not made any hostile actions against the Romans in such a long time. Even if the Boi people still harbor hatred for Rome, in front of it It is also blocking the Noriki, Nyx and Yabod people, so it is difficult to pose a threat to the North Italian province." The provincial official paused and then said: "To the south of the Boi people, that is, on the south bank of the Drau River. This land originally belonged to the Pannoni people. More than ten years ago, they launched a large-scale attack on the Illyrians in the south, but were defeated by the Nyx, a tribe of Illyrians. Then the Nyx tribe turned to Pannoni. The Neanderthals launched an attack, resulting in repeated victories, and finally wiped out the Pannonians and occupied their original territory..."

"The Pannoni were wiped out in just a dozen years. Is the Nyx tribe very powerful?" Caesar was a little curious, because he saw that the territory occupied by the Pannoni on the map drawn by his men was not small.

"My Lord Governor, it is said that the Nix tribe is a tribe subordinate to the Ardei people." An official from the Illyrian province quickly answered: "It has not been established for a long time, and its population is not large, but its leader I have served as mercenaries with some ethnic groups and have seen some of the world. It is said that they can form a tight square formation more skillfully during battle and can also use some of our tactics, so the ignorant Pannoni are not theirs. opponent……"

"I see." Caesar nodded suddenly. He had been governor in Spain and had many battles with the barbarians. He knew very well that although the barbarians were fierce, they had no plan or organization when fighting. A swarm of swarms, no matter how many people there are, is actually relatively easy to deal with as long as you use your brain.

"Your Majesty the Governor." The Northern Italian provincial official rushed to speak: "After the Nyx destroyed the Pannoni, because the Boi also coveted the Pannoni's territory, the two sides fought and became enemies.

Not only that, the Boii also had a war with the Dacians on the east bank of the Danube River before, and many people were killed and injured, so they also harbored hatred towards the Dacians... The Boii, Nyx and Dacians were there. The three main forces on this large river plain have a lot of hatred, and they may continue to fight in the future. "

Caesar approached the wooden table, pointed to the area marked Dacia on the map, and said, "Tell us about the Dacians."

"The Dacians..." the Northern Italian provincial official thought for a while and said, "I heard that they are a branch of the Thracians, but their relationship with the Kingdom of Odrisia established by the Thracians is not good. ——”

"Not only is it bad, they are simply enemies!" the Illyrian provincial official interjected: "The Dacians have invaded the territory of the Kingdom of Odrysia many times south, and the Roman army in our Macedonian province has often helped Odrysia. Human defense against Dacian attack...

The Dacians occupy the vast fertile land in the middle and lower reaches of the Danube River. They have many tribes, but in the past they were a piece of loose sand and did not pose much of a threat to us. However, a few years ago, a tribe named Bray emerged from the Dacians. The leader of Bista, he was very prestigious. He led his troops south to Odricia to plunder many times. He also led other tribes to defeat the Bois and completely occupied the land on the east bank of the Danube...

Now, all the Dacian tribes elected him as their king. Once this Pirebusta unites all the Dacian tribes, I think Dacia may become a big trouble for our Rome! …”

Caesar patiently listened to the provincial official's story and fell into thinking:

In the morning, Caesar listened to officials from the Western French province introduce the situation of the barbarians in the north. Although there are many Gallic tribes there, there are also many conflicts with each other, and there are often fights. The threat to the province he is responsible for is relatively small, and it should be easier to defeat them individually. conquer. However, easy conquest also means that the honor gained is smaller, and based on his experience in conquering barbarians in Spain, these tribes in Gaul should not be too rich, and the wealth they can extract may not be too much. Not to mention the mountain tribes in the eastern part of the province of Illyria. Not only are they weak, but they are also poor. There is no point in conquering them.

Only this Dacia! ...Caesar looked intently at the Danube plain on the map: What a vast and fertile land it was, and almost no Roman army had ever set foot in it! The Dacians were establishing a powerful barbarian kingdom and began to threaten the borders of Rome's eastern provinces. Conquering it would not only eliminate a powerful enemy, but also gain great glory and countless wealth...

But it is not easy to defeat Dacia and conquer the entire Danube Plain! ...Caesar knew very well that the high mountains and ridges prevented him from leading his army into the Danube Plain from the west, which was a great test for the logistics supply. If you want to launch an attack from the east of Dacia, you must lead your army into the jurisdiction of multiple eastern provinces. This is obviously not allowed by the Roman Senate... It seems that you can only accumulate strength first and plan for the long term... …

At dusk that day, after Caesar had dinner at his official residence, he was reading a volume of information about the Dacians. A slave rushed over and reported to him: "Master, the weapons merchant Tullius asked to see you. This is His gift."

Since Caesar took office, there has been an endless stream of people coming to see him every day, and most of them were rejected by him. However, the gift list presented by this guest was worth more than 400 talents. Among the guests who came to see him, It was unique. He said without hesitation: "Let him come in."