Chapter 291: Chapter 151: Fifty Thousand Strong! A Motley Rabble

Europe is a strange place.

Any power vying for supremacy in Europe must have the resolve to take on a large number of enemies single-handedly. This is much like the historical tradition, with Napoleon expressing his thoughts on the matter, and the German Empire affirming this reality. Even Attila, who recently fell on the battlefield of Sharon, remarked how all these forces combined against him, with no sense of fair play.

There is a reason for the chaos in Europe.

In the council hall, the others present gradually fell silent.

Duncan picked up a pen and drew a line along the Rhine and Danube frontiers, slowly stating, "This was the empire’s territory back in the day, and it is the best place to defend against Barbarian Race invasions."

"With the disintegration of the Hunnic Empire, the pace of the Barbarian Race moving southward will only quicken."

At this point, Duncan drew a line in the middle of what is now France, a land currently belonging to the Western Goths, and said gravely, "The Franks have not yet unified, though they have some power, they are not our match."

"But we must be wary of the Western Goths."

"They have made a great name for themselves at the Battle of Sharon, their heavy cavalry unparalleled across Europe; this is a formidable enemy we must face."

He then marked the location of northern Carthage, musing, "Though this is far from us."

"The larger the territory, the more people there are to feed."

"Carthage, once the empire’s granary, is now occupied by the Vandals, and sooner or later, we will have to reclaim it."

"Capturing this area will give us a grain-producing region."

Carthage, located in the Tunisia area of North Africa, boasts extremely fertile soil and a suitable climate. The Carthaginians excel at cultivating crops like wheat, barley, olives, and grapes. Their agricultural technology, especially in food production, is very advanced, capable of sustaining a large urban population and army needs.

Having lost Carthage, the empire could have caught a breath; later, even the Eastern Roman Empire tried several times to recapture the North African grain district.

Duncan drew a circle in the Mediterranean Sea.

This circle covered the exact inner sea range of the Mediterranean, with a solemn expression, he said, "To dominate the Mediterranean, these areas must also be conquered."

Severus frowned and said, "The empire’s borderlines are too long."

If there were no Barbarian Race invasions, Duncan could focus on advancing southward.

But the invasion is a tidal wave of history, and he couldn’t venture into the desolate lands of Northern Europe. He could only stiffen and defend passively. In this era, even countering the Barbarian Race is a losing proposition unless Duncan engages in widespread plunder and sells the population as slaves for a slim chance of breaking even.

That barren land is even looked down upon by the Germanic tribes themselves; otherwise, why would so many head south? The Kingdom of Britain could not digest it even if they captured it; they need populous and economically prosperous regions more.

"Then let us await the opportunity."

Duncan finally decided resolutely, "When the situation on the Italian Peninsula changes, we will first conquer the Gaul Region."

"With warfare on all sides, the interior of the empire will not be stable either."

Fighting is a good thing.

For Emperor Valentinian III and the Senate, one of the empire’s great enemies, the Hunnic Empire, has already disintegrated with revolts and uprisings on all sides, making it impossible to recover the situation. The Franks, who have occupied Gaul, are now with the British Province in conflict, and perhaps later in conflict with another imperial adversary, the Western Gothic Kingdom.

As a result, one of the empire’s two great foes destroys itself, while the other is fighting against the British Province.

Some people want to replace Aetius, and now is the best opportunity.

Duncan will also provide them with the chance for a replacement.

The situation in Europe at this time is very delicate.

There are wars in every direction, but the Italian Peninsula remains relatively calm, with the British Province rising to withstand the pressure from the west, and the collapse and rebellion of the Hunnic Empire holding off pressure from the east.

For a time, there was no one left who could threaten the Italian mainland.

Valentinian III felt as if the heavens were helping him; once he regained the military and political power of the empire, along with Senate support, he could gradually deal with the other enemies. Besides, he has a close relationship with the Governor of the Province of Britannia, Duncan; if he eliminates Aetius, he might attempt an alliance or marriage with Duncan.

With the armies set, and the empire’s territory recovered.

His prestige among the Roman populace would soar!

Duncan didn’t feel close to Valentinian III, but the emperor didn’t think so. He always thought Duncan was his potential ally because of the asymmetric information brought back by Quintus.

Quintus was accustomed to deceit, and the emperor believed the Governor of Britain was his strong supporter.

This emperor simply wanted to control the affluent areas around Italy, and for the more remote and impoverished Gaul Region, he would be sure to appoint a trusted military commander to guard it.

He loved fame, but he didn’t want to lead an army to resist the Barbarian Race invasion himself.

But there is no such good fortune in the world.

The grand strategic plan of the Britain Kingdom was quickly formulated, and with the assembly of legions around London completed, Duncan personally led a large army across the sea for warfare.

Calais Port.

The intelligence returned from the front line indicated that the Seventh Legion had already fought to the Gent area, and further north is the territory of future Holland, which is also the coastal boundary of Greater Germania.

"How did we advance so quickly?"

Upon landing, Duncan was quite surprised and looked at the advisors beside him, saying, "Didn’t I only dispatch two regular legions and two auxiliary legions?"

A total of four thousand troops.

According to his estimation, capturing the area around Calais would already be quite fortunate, yet they have now pushed to the mouth of the Laine River.

The personal guard beside him was also puzzled, cautiously saying: "I don’t know."

"Perhaps the enemy is too weak to withstand?"

But even if they are weak, they couldn’t have advanced so swiftly, could they?

Counting all the troops, there are only two thousand men, and they need to occupy the towns they captured along the way. How many soldiers could be left after splitting forces?

Meanwhile.

At the mouth of the Rhine River, a group of Barbarian Race chieftain personal guards rode into view, with Brad in the lead, excitedly spurring his horse and whipping the air: "Ahead is the military fortress set up by the Empire in Great Germania."

"Immediately send someone to inform the Governor."

"We have recaptured the border line of Great Germania."

As the general’s guard returned, a vast army appeared in the distance, their number far exceeding two legions, followed by many raggedly dressed militia armed with rudimentary weapons and shields.

These are exiles from the surroundings of Burgundy, numbering over a thousand, including both men and women. Women holding simple short spears, and some dressed as slaves and serfs, without any decent weapons.

No one expected that their army would grow larger the more they fought, and it’s not that they were forcing refugees to join; they volunteered.

Reputation and prestige are incredibly useful.

The Gaul Region is considered the homeland of the exiled Bagada people. After the wars between the Britain Kingdom and the Franks erupted, refugees joined them along the way, and even the nearby slave estates launched uprisings, killing overseers regardless of whether they were Frankish or imperial nobles, chopping off their heads.

Land, estates, noble private property, it was their mark of allegiance. After being rudimentarily armed, they were incorporated into the Seventh Legion.

As for the dead nobles, no one cared; their death was a cleansing.

The Britain Kingdom was impoverished.

Duncan ordered not to disturb the civilians, but where did the army’s supplies and loot come from?

Naturally, they plundered from those who had money.

In this era, without killing regional aristocrats and strongmen, where would money come from? What could destitute commoners possibly yield? They themselves couldn’t even have enough to eat!

An early feudal estate was the equivalent of a small town.

The landlord’s home had surplus grain.

The Seventh Legion began to station along the Rhine, approximately several days later, the Governor’s orders arrived, the original British Imperial Guard was to station in place. They were already modeled after the imperial Border Defense Army, returning to their old role. They set up layers of defense along the Rhine, along with reintegrated exiles, numbering over three thousand.

These people couldn’t fight, barely sufficing for border defense and farming.

The Seventh Legion continued southwards, guarding against the potentially invading Alamanni, another branch of the Barbarian Race deemed very aggressive.

Calais port.

As successive warships docked, the Britannian Imperial Legion led by Balton also arrived in Europe. Gaul had always been their domain of defense, and today the returned veterans of the imperial legion expressed complex emotions. They didn’t expect that having just rooted in Great Britain, they must fight back a year later.

A spacious noble estate had now turned into a temporary assembly hall.

Duncan sat at the front, looking at the people below, Balton and Raymond were considered veterans of the Britannian Imperial Legion, Severus and Kulin were Celts, Gallard and Chatwin were indigenous chieftains from Wales, Galavin and others were from the conquered Barbarian external legion, Drest represented the not yet fully assimilated Picts.

Having spent more than a week, the main forces of the Britain Kingdom had fully assembled at the Calais Strait.

Duncan slightly underestimated the influence of ’Invincible’ on the army.

Even though he wasn’t personally commanding, under the influence of Invincible and military expansion, the army of the Britain Kingdom remained highly spirited, fighting fiercely, causing the Barbarian external legion to slash true barbarians with cries.

The hall now was quite silent.

At that moment, Severus stood up and said: "Molov is currently assembling a tribal coalition at Picardy’s defenses, already constructing several military fortresses, reportedly having forty to fifty thousand troops."

"It appears they intend to engage us in battle on the plains."

Duncan knew the reason.

Molov had concealed the Frankish Paladins, the exact scale was unclear, but the Frankish assault cavalry was also formidable in combat. After the Battle of Sharon, many forces divided the spoils, not only did Duncan acquire numerous warhorses, but all participating forces gained considerable bounty.

The Hunnic Empire fell, and everyone else prospered.

Forty to fifty thousand?

Could it be they even pulled in farmers and slaves?

The Frankish tribes of this era only had a small scale; future France could easily mobilize tens of thousands of soldiers, Duncan definitely believed, but in this era, mobilizing forty to fifty thousand, was he joking?

Even if accounting for exaggeration, including all living people, anyone able to breathe, capable of walking, even laborers were likely counted.

Hearing of the fifty thousand troops, Duncan surprisingly felt much more relieved. Molov was clearly inflating numbers for intimidation, possibly even aiding him in crafting a Legendary Level Epic Battle.

.........

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