Chapter 201: The Prelude
Chapter 201: The Prelude
Marcus returned to Antioch and skipped all the ceremonial events.
He went straight to receiving the work report.
Septimus, who would have normally complained about being left with all the work, did not vent his dissatisfaction.
It meant that he was taking the current situation very seriously.
Marcus wished he could hear some jokes mixed with criticism, but he could only feel bitter.
“Did you say that the Western Protectorate of Han was destroyed?”
“Yes. That’s why a messenger came from Han. They said that there might be problems with the trade through the Silk Road, but they emphasized that it was not their fault. They also suggested that we should sweep away the nomads who settled there together, for the sake of restoring stable trade.”
“Are the nomads who occupied the Western Protectorate from the Xiongnu tribe?”
“Well… I don’t know about that. Han just called them Xiongnu. Our merchants have never contacted them, so we can’t confirm it properly.”
The Western Protectorate was an administrative office established by Han in the area corresponding to the southern part of modern Inner Mongolia.
Its main role was to defend the Silk Road, which was called the Western Trade Route.
The Silk Road was one of the very important sources of income for Han, so a considerable number of troops were stationed there.
That’s why it was a shocking news for Han that this place had fallen.
“Did the ones who occupied the Silk Road cause any trouble to our merchants?”
“…That’s what’s most perplexing right now. If they did, we would have a clear reason to cooperate with Han and subjugate the nomads. But the nomads who occupied the Silk Road are surprisingly moderate towards us. The tolls are reasonable and they care a lot about whether we have any inconvenience while passing by.”
“Is that true?”
Septimus said that he had checked several times and answered I'm mediately.
“That’s not all. The bandits who were smuggling under the nose of the Western Protectorate were all wiped out. Compared to before, the trade route is rather safer. So, only Han has problems with trade, not us.”
“Han must be upset because they have to pay tolls that they didn’t have to pay before.”
“Objectively speaking, it costs less than when Han managed the Silk Road.”
Marcus roughly understood the situation.
Most likely, those who occupied the Western Protectorate were Xiongnu as Han said.
He also guessed why Xiongnu were unusually moderate.
The Mongol Empire in the distant future also put a lot of effort into stabilizing this Silk Road.
The Silk Road, which generated a huge amount of wealth, was an important source of income for any dynasty in the Central Plains.
Mongolia also managed this place when they were in power and dried up the seeds of thieves and bandits who settled nearby.
Xiongnu probably did the same thing for the same reason.
They had to show that their management was more stable than Rome’s, so that Rome would not side with Han.
‘It would be best if we managed it ourselves, but this is enough to be satisfied with for now. Rather, the expected income has increased a lot.’
The increase in estimated income calculated by Septimus was so great that it made him smile involuntarily.
It was not just because the tolls were reduced, but because the bandits who were waiting for a chance to attack our merchants were completely gone.
“Next time a messenger from Han comes, don’t refuse to help too firmly. You have to show them that we can cooperate if the situation I'm proves.”
“What’s a good excuse for that? I can’t think of anything right now.”
“Why not? There’s a civil war going on. We can say that we can’t mobilize troops because the damage from the civil war is too terrible and we have too many things to recover.”
Considering that Caesar and Sextus clashed head-on, the scale of damage from the civil war itself was not that big.
It would have a huge impact on the power structure, but how would Han know that?
They would just accept it if Rome said so.
There was only one thing that was not clearly explained yet.
‘Was Xiongnu’s advance only to occupy the Western Protectorate and take over the Silk Road? Was it just a delusion that they might aim for Rome?’
There were too many things that didn’t make sense if they moved for that reason alone.
The small number of Scythian nomads who came down to Karen Kingdom a while ago.
And the Slavic tribes who tried to cross over to Germania.
Who pushed them out and made them abandon their homeland?
‘Did they clash with Xiongnu while they were occupying and stabilizing the Silk Road?’
This was the most reasonable way to see it in the current situation.
But then, Xiongnu’s activity range was ridiculously wide.
The area where the Slavs lived and the area where the Scythians were active, and the Silk Road were far apart.
If they assumed that they had influence over all these areas, then the entire northeast of Rome was already Xiongnu’s territory.
But when Caesar sent an investigation team, they couldn’t find any signs.
Then, they had to assume that Xiongnu was hiding their work, but if their purpose was simply to manage the Silk Road, why did they need to hide so much?
It seemed too cautious to occupy the Western Protectorate for that reason.
In other words, there was still something left.
He had rarely been wrong when he had such a bad feeling.
“Septimus, for now, if a messenger from Han comes, don’t refuse to help too firmly. You have to show them that we can cooperate if the situation I'm proves.”
“Is there anything that bothers you? It seems to me that the best thing for us is to have the silk road in the hands of those barbarians.”
“We can’t be sure of anything yet, so we have to be careful. We don’t know when they might suddenly turn against us.”
It would be a disaster to relax and trust the trade route, only to be stabbed in the back by them.
Marcus gave one more order.
“I’m going to send an expedition north of the Carpathian Mountains. Arrange for them to depart as soon as a suitable team is formed.”
“That’s a very dangerous route. What do you want them to investigate?”
“Tell them to investigate everything they can. The status and trends of the local tribes, and how far the barbarians’ influence has reached. We need to see that.”
Even if they were hiding their tracks, they couldn’t avoid leaving some clues if they went up the Volga River basin.
If nothing suspicious was detected, then he could just assume that he was worrying too much.
Once he made a decision, Marcus was quick to act.
The expedition, armed and equipped with considerable weapons, crossed the Carpathian Mountains and advanced to the Terek River basin as Marcus ordered.
According to the interim report from there, nothing unusual was seen.
The local tribes did not show any suspicious movements either.
Still, Marcus ordered them to go up to the lower Volga River in the north.
‘Did I worry too much?’
He thought that further investigation was needed, but he also wondered if he could relax a little.
Marcus was worried about the barbarians because he knew too well about the original history.
The Romans did not know how much damage the Han Empire suffered from the barbarians’ heyday, but he did.
It was also an inevitable flow of history and tradition that nomads became stronger and sedentary peoples suffered whenever it happened.
This was not only limited to the East, but also applied to the West.
When the Huns, a hybrid of Scythians and barbarians, rose up, the West was unilaterally oppressed and terrified by them.
Later, when the Yuan Empire invaded, both the Christian and Islamic forces who were fighting fiercely were swept away side by side.
At that time, the Christian forces initially welcomed the Mongol invasion that trampled on the Islamic forces.
But later, they helped the Islamic forces retreat because of their fear of the Mongols who mercilessly destroyed everything.
Marcus was sensitive to the invasion of nomads because he knew all these historical facts.
Of course, he could not deny that his knowledge might have led him to worry too much.
But now, the barbarians’ advance was something that did not happen in the original history, and it was a matter that required enough attention.
‘Once the expedition sweeps up to the Volga River, I’ll have to consider the next plan. Not only the barbarians, but also Rome’s power structure needs to be reorganized soon.’
But his bad premonition always came true. His worry was not wrong this time either.
Around the time when the expedition started moving northward, an urgent report arrived from Karen Kingdom.
“Trouble! Tens of thousands of northern nomads have broken through the border and are advancing southward. They say it’s impossible to stop them with Karen Kingdom’s power alone and they urgently need Rome’s support.”
Marcus’s face turned serious as never before as he read the report.
“What is their exact number and composition?”
“Only confirmed that they are all cavalry and exceed 30,000 at least. The border area of Karen Kingdom has already been devastated.”
If they were all cavalry and more than 30,000 at least, it was natural that Karen Kingdom could not stop them.
Even with Suren Kingdom’s help, it would be difficult.
“Are they Scythian tribes?”
“I don’t know for sure, but those who were at the forefront were definitely Scythians.”
“Did they lead their entire army down for their last struggle after being pushed by the barbarians?”
If it was at least 30,000, then it had to be considered as a force of 40,000 or more.
If all 40,000 were cavalry, then it was not a force that Rome could underestimate either.
The problem was whether Scythia had any strategy to mobilize such a large number of cavalry while declining.
If they were going to migrate and abandon their homeland anyway, it would be better to go west or even turn around and go to India.
But whether he understood it or not, now he had to repel the invaders who had come in.
Karen Kingdom and Suren Kingdom were barriers built by Rome to prevent any nomads from coming down.
He had to support them so that they could hold on and bring stability to the eastern border of Rome.
Marcus I'm mediately called Surenas and wrote a report to send to Rome.
<If the vanguard that came down is 30,000, then it is not strange to say that the enemy’s total force is more than 40,000. If this amount of force is all cavalry, we have to mobilize our full strength to face them. So please allow me to form five more legions.>
Marcus could command ten legions, but one of them had to be left behind to defend Syria.
And another legion had to be responsible for transportation, so the maximum number of legions he could use for battle was eight.
Entrusting eight legions to Surenas meant that Marcus was going to wage a total war.
And without waiting for the reply from Rome, he prepared additional troops in case of any emergency.
As a governor, he had the legal right to conscript troops and report later if it was for defense.
It was a huge force of fifteen legions, but he did not feel much burden.
Anyway, with the current production capacity of the East, which had grown exponentially, he could easily afford twenty legions.
If he added the support from Egypt and Arabia, he could even increase his troops to thirty legions.
So no matter how much Scythia brought their entire army down, it was impossible to break through Rome’s defense line.
Marcus did not intend to let the enemies step into the territory of the Eastern provinces.
To do that, he had to block the enemies’ entry at Karen Kingdom.
The army with overwhelming power that could do that.
That was the Eastern Roman army that followed Marcus now.