“But Your Majesty, your safety-” Olivos said with concern.
Davos waved his hand and exclaimed, “My guards will be responsible for my safety! Besides, our brave soldiers had conquered this city, so I don't think any Romans are daring enough to challenge us!”
With that, no one among the high-ranking officers raised any further questions.
Davos faced Thyamus again and said kindly, “Quickly go and receive treatment. I hope to hear about your achievements again soon!”
Davos then looked at the standing soldiers beside him and waved his hand, saying, “Warriors of Theonia, return to your station and rest. You must recover your strength and prepare for the upcoming battles!”
Thyamus felt touched hearing that, causing him to shout, “All Hail His Majesty Davos!” Then the soldiers who heard Davos' words followed suit, “All Hail His Majesty Davos!!…” Soon, the deafening shout resounded throughout the city, frightening the Romans hiding in their houses. In contrast, those brave enough to look out the window stared at Davos and the others who walked down the street with hatred in their eyes.
Davos naturally saw their stare as sharp as a dagger, but he didn't care and instead looked around leisurely. Occasionally, he would stamp the ground with his feet and clearly felt that Rome at this time was far from the Roman Empire known for its roads, bridges and architecture from his previous life. After all, the current Rome had just risen in central Italia and was far from building the vast road system that would make it convenient for their rule on the entire Italia; even the Pons Aemilius on the Tiber River wasn't a stone bridge. On the contrary, Theonia's skill in construction had far surpassed that of Rome, which gave Davos a pleasant feeling that he couldn't help but say, “It seems the rumour I heard about the Romans compromising the city’s appearance to rebuilding the whole city fast is true.”
“You are right, Your Majesty! Moreover, apart from its ugly walls, Rome’s urban area is also unsightly. Originally, this place had rivers, hills and plains; if they had planned and built it well, this city would be a beautiful place. However, the Romans had ruined it!” Henipolis sighed with regret.
“Now that this city belongs to Theonia, we can demolish and rebuild it!” Matonis said nonchalantly.
“Matonis, it seems you are interested in rebuilding Rome. So when the war ends, the Senate could appoint you as the aedile of Rome,” said Davos jokingly.
“No, Your Majesty. I am not interested in rebuilding Rome. You might as well give this position to someone else,” Matonis hurriedly said.
Everyone began laughing.
While glancing over the Romans' corpses on the corner of the street, Davos’ smile narrowed as he said, “Before the siege, I demanded you not to indiscriminately kill the people in the city after breaking through. How did the soldiers carry it out?”
Olivos looked at Davos' expression and said cautiously, “We have stressed it repeatedly, and so the soldiers tried not to act against the people in the city. However, it was beyond our ability as some Romans didn't know what was good for them and took the initiative to attack us! But the main reason for the casualties was when they began fleeing in panic after seeing us breach the city, and they began pushing and trampling on each other, resulting in many casualties in the Roman Forum…”
Davos certainly understood that no one could stop themselves from harming or killing civilians after capturing the enemy's city. Otherwise, how could they deter the enemy? He only said that to warn these legates to restrain their soldiers and not act recklessly, “The Roman army would still come, so the more living Romans we have, the better it was for us for the next battle…have all these Romans returned to their homes?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. However, some were unwilling to leave and stayed in the Roman Forum. So we…have taken some coercive measures!” Matonis said.
Davos nodded. Afterwards, he entered the Roman Forum, where the wide, flat ground, paved initially with clean white stone slabs, was now almost red with pools of blood constantly reflecting in Davos' eyes. Davos frowned as he watched the soldiers clean up the Roman Forum by dragging away the body, making him ask, “What do you do with these corpses?”
Matonis pointed in front and said casually, “Drag it to the square outside the eastern side for cremation.”
Davos pondered for a while and said, “Bring some Romans with you during the cremation to confirm the deceased's identity, and then bring the ashes to their loved ones.”
Matonis was taken aback hearing that. Thinking it was troublesome, he wanted to argue further but was stopped by Olivos, who interjected, “Understood, Your Majesty. I will immediately send someone to notify Amintas, who was in charge of this matter.”
As Davos' group continued to head north straight through the Forum, they saw twelve bronze pillars standing at intervals on the edge of the Roman Forum. Davos then stepped forward to take a look.
Each bronze pillar featured engraved tablets that had weathered over the years, developing slight rust due to prolonged exposure to the elements.
“Your Majesty, what's written on it?” Henipolis curiously asked when he saw Davos' fascination.
“These are Rome's Law of the Twelve Tables, on which it records the laws of the Romans. Like us, Rome is a city-state that obeys the law!” Davos let out an emotional sigh as he remembered his previous life while studying law at university, where Rome's Law of the Twelve Tables was an essential foundation for understanding the formation of Western law, not expecting to see the real thing today.
He stretches his hand to touch the bronze pillar, where his past and present life intersect at this moment. He then exclaimed emotionally, “This is the most precious treasure of the Romans!”
Olivos then took the opportunity to say flatteringly, “Unfortunately, this precious treasure of the Romans now belongs to us Theonians!”
Henipolis swept his gaze at the bronze pillar greedily. Although he didn't know Latin letters, he decided to buy a literate Latin slave and copy all the things written.
“Let's go.” Davos led them up the staircase, pushed open the thick wooden door and entered Rome's centre of authority – the Senate.
“This is Rome's Senate? It's much small than our Great Senate Hall!” Said Henipolis, looking around with a hint of disdain.
Davos didn't say anything as he was busy examining the building frequently appearing in his previous life’s literary works, historical materials, and film and television. Compared to the Grand Senate Hall in Thurii, which can accommodate a thousand people, this circular venue can only accommodate two to three hundred people. In addition, the indoor facilities are outdated, making him suddenly realise that the kingdom of Theonia he had built would take the place of Rome in this life. And the excellent Caesar and Octavius, the politician who had truly made the Roman Empire, would no longer exist.
While thinking this, Davos strode towards the centre of the Senate Hall.
After the guards placed wooden tables and chairs at the place where the Roman senators gave their speeches, they then put a map of the city of Rome. Then Matonis and Olivos quickly sat down.
Soon after, Amintas, Litom, Giorgris, Trotidis, Epiphanes, Ledes, Kurcius, Tolmides, Mithridates, Phryntor, Izam, as well as Steichicodas, the head of all the medical camp, and Orophes, the head of all engineering camp…all arrived one after another.
Davos gazed at the crowd and said, “Let's first discuss the losses suffered by the various legions in this siege.”
After saying that, the faces of several legates became unsightly.
After the legates gave their report, it was Davos' turn for his expression to become unpleasant. After all, the army has suffered over five thousand casualties, with the Fourth Legion having the highest number, followed by the First and Second Legion. And unlike previous battles, the mortality rate is much higher, with as many as two thousand dying directly in combat.
Although Davos already expected the casualties in the siege to be high, he did not expect the casualty rate to be one-twelfth of the army, with the six legions almost having a thousand casualties each, not counting the soldiers who suffered minor wounds.
Davos suppressed his shock and asked Steichicodas, “What's the situation of the wounded soldiers?”
Steichicodas' expression became grave, “The situation is terrible! So far, there were four hundred and fifty that died due to ineffective treatment, while we are uncertain whether two hundred and thirty-two more soldiers with severe burns would survive the fevers and infections in the past few days…then there are more than a thousand who suffered serious wounds from falling, getting stabbed, cut, smashed and drowned…they are unlikely to recover anytime soon. And even if they recover, they won't be able to live a normal life…”
After hearing that, Davos felt suffocated and uncomfortable since he knew the leading cause of such heavy casualties was himself because the legions wouldn't have continued attacking so recklessly without his demand to capture the city within a day. Still, he couldn't stop himself from shouting sternly, “More than five thousand men! That's usually the population of a small Greek city-state wasted in just one day of battle! The soldiers trusted us and fully executed every command we issued, expecting us to take care of them, guide them, and try our best to lead them back home as whole as possible!”
After saying that, Davos slammed his fist at the table and said, “But some of you didn't use your brains in the war and didn't care much about the soldiers' lives. If you continue fighting like this, you will wipe out our entire army! Let me see how you will face the parents, wives and children of the soldiers who died in the war when we return!”
Davos' sharp gaze swept over the legates, especially pausing on Amintas and Olivos.
Despite lacking siege equipment and coordinated support from friendly forces, Amintas harboured the delusion that he could single-handedly breach the city wall using his men’s strength. That led him to commit most of his troops to relentlessly attack the defenders atop the city wall, resulting in significant casualties for the mighty First Legion.
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