Nova Roma-Chapter 10 - A sad night

The time that remained Flavio on the farm concluded, he created a rotation of crops that will prevent the fields from losing their fertility and added sugar beet in the rotation of crops

Flavio left orders on the management of waste and the continuous creation of compost, apart from that he separate part of the waste to raise worms because the chickens need food to produce eggs constantly.

That same morning Flavio received a letter from his father, mentioning that the Cantabrians made a surprise attack on the Roman cities of the north, passing through the province of Tarraconensis into Lusitania, so they had to take the legion IX of Emerita Augusta and stop them before they arrived in Salamanca or Salamanca if no had other option

Because once the city fell the next destination was emerita Augusta, also asked his son to take charge of the defense of the city, he just needs to wait until his grandfather arrived with the bulk of the Roman army

This news made him scowl at Flavio, he knew that his father would have communicated with his grandfather but will take at least 2 to 3 months to arrive, this placed on the shoulders of Flavio a great weight

The city of emerita Augusta has approximately 120k of people and maybe adding to the two tribes loyal closest to emerita Augusta the population increases to 140k and if it frees the slaves this maybe reaches 160k.

On the way back he took the opportunity to enter the Artemis temple with Julia, but unlike the first time he could not feel the goddess but instead felt that his body was full of energy, after being in the temple for a few hours he could feel that his body was much lighter and stronger also discovered that the range of his perception ability increased to 10 meters.

Julia all the time just sit in a chair and see her son doing he stuff like sitting on the floor and practice with her tinny fist, every one-hour Julia forced Flavio to sit in his legs for taking a breath of the exercise he is making.

Flavio doesn't say anything to his mother because he loves the cares she is doing with him, he only thinks the love of a mother is something he likes, but in that happy moments, Flavio can't stop thinking the problems are coming to his home with the Cantabrians.

After leaving the temple he decided to do a task that he did not like but had no other choice, he remembered that the Cantabrians in his life last they had an army of more than 100k most of that troops are kids and adult men with only armed with a wood stick and some rusty swords.

But the problem its the large numbers of that Army Flavio can be sure that when they launch an attack to Salamanca their number must have been changed there are not many natives who like Roman rule in Hispania, the problem with that tribes it's they have knowledge of forge so what happens when you give better weapons to a big army, Flavio only had chills of think that.

Flavio knew that he will need the complete control Emerita Augusta and for that need to install a dictatorship with that he was able to make a defense that could rival Cantabrians, people are sometimes stupid and do not consider the danger until it is too late

Despite not liking the idea of being a dictatorship, Flavio no have other options because the Cantabrians will no have mercy when they saw his mother, the most likely scene will happen it's they will rape her mother and kill him, in this crazy time its better to take the destiny in your hands if the people did not want to cooperate he would do it the hard way.

To complete the task of taking all the city he organized high-level meetings where he meets with groups of the main members of the city, merchants, soldiers, priests, nobles, everyone who had power was assimilated (hypnotize).

Then followed with citizens, free people, slaves, and foreigners anything that enters the city had to be assimilated, there is no exception even in the underworld of the city, with the city in its control established a rule based on the regime that platón wrote in his book the republic, with touches of modernity

All People they were assigned a job, all the "assimilation" that Flavio did was not easy but it helped to improve his mental control, unfortunately, he realized that the human mind can be stronger than he thinks.

Flavio knows that he will not be able to stand a long time the control over a large number of people, the mental burden on him is brutal, can only withstand thanks to Artemis temple reduces its pressure.

For reducing the pain he told Arabela to do what was necessary to prevent him from feeling pain, after that order every morning Flavio feels better.

During the next 4 weeks, Flavio freed the slaves from Augusta emerita and recruited freedmen (Free slaves), tribal people (loyal to Rome and him) and free citizens to create an army of defense specialized in the use of the crossbow

The number of recruits was 30k, not to mention that created a reserve composed of teenagers, elders, and women, the production of the crossbow is not complicated and can be produced more quickly than an arch

Flavio established 24hr production lines to be able to make crossbows, arrows, mini catapults, swords, paves, alcohol, crackers (like military rations), stirrups, normal arrows, ceramic pots, and the main dish bleach

For check her theory about if the strength of the bleach is from her divine energy, he ordered to the prisoners of death produce day after day bleach, it was normal to hear heartrending cries from Artemis's temple courtyard

Always the citizen of emerita august sees how soldiers cleansed of blood and corpses of Artemis temple, shortly after that Flavio was left without the condemned, the solution for him was to occupy normal prisoners unlike Previous devils he provided them with leather gloves and goggles, the death toll was reduced by 90%.

Flavio created a training very similar but no the same to the one he received when he did his military service in his past life, he created disciplinary standards, exercise, crossbow shooting, sword, and shield training (pavés), learning guerrilla tactics and defense

He also taught march to the rhythm of "British Grenadiers" a nice melody that only occupies flute and drums, for it Flavio created a military and civil orchestra led by Hazel, although all efforts were in armament and supplies, didn't prevent Flavio taking into account the limitations of the time will create the trumpet, the saxophone, the dishes and the violin very primitive but functional

The moral is important and even more if you have an imminent invasion, Flavio taught the orchestra to play "the march of Zacatecas, Preußens Gloria, When Johnny Comes Marching Home ", ordered that every day the songs will be played in the town square while the temple was played Great Fairy's Fountain and lost woods in the mornings and finally in the barracks was played at night Farewell of Slavianka

Thanks to the use of music the population of the city kept its head high, not to mention that the creation of paper allowed to make propaganda

Flavio occupied as a reference the propaganda images of World War 2, to create them he had to mold in metal some figures that later are accommodated in a printing press, they are placed black paint (based on coal) and pressed on the sheets of paper, this results in an image with a small text that is easy to remember, all the propaganda was stuck in houses, walls, bathrooms, any visible place.

To accelerate the construction of the walls (which were being built with piled stone and mortar), he took advantage of the ancient Chinese knowledge in the construction of walls, occupying bricks, mortar, and lime

They covered the walls with cement and to fill the section Half of the wall was compact earth, the earth was obtained from the excavations of the moat of the city and the traps that were placed around it

Thanks to these changes and to the uninterrupted work the walls were ready in these 4 weeks, in the fort Dovahkiin all the constructions had concluded including the creation of bridges that united the islands of the river, the barracks of the defense army of the city were also built inside it.

Flavio took into account that he had to store food, that's why he created the salty biscuit which was wrapped in waxed paper (paper with olive oil), although it is not nutritious enough it can alleviate hunger and prevent a famine

Also upstream they started fishing a large amount of fish to be dried later and the hunting of animals increased all these animals allowed to make dry meat, sausages and fat, not to mention that all their remains were used for both fertilizers and Strings for crossbow, also did not forget to create a rationing system in case of being besieged.

One night Julia was there taking care of her little child, the nights in Emerita are so cold so when Flavio said he wants to go to the roof of the temple of Artemis she accepts only with the condition he needs to stay close to her while she hugs him.

In the night Flavio could see how the city slept in the roof of the temple of Artemis while he was hugged by his mother, he was doing the best he can but he knows this is a suicidal war for the Cantabrians, but he can't enter in the minds of her stupid king, if they want to suicide they just need to kill his self, no need to try to kill incent people like his father or mother.

Flavio thinks while he closes his eyes while he surcharged his mother if the Cantabrians want to have Emerita Augusta they will have to pay the cost of the death in the walls, when his grandfather Augusto arrives at the peninsula he will not touch his heart when he makes a genocide of the Cantabrians.

Arriving at the Gate of the wall the guards could see a young man between 12 to 15 years old tired and shouting that he had important news of Salamanca, he was soon received in the Artemis temple by Flavio embraced by his mother.

The young man ignores what he see and said he was the last messenger of his father and comes to deliver the letter Vitelio had sent, after receiving the letter Flavio ordered to him to go take food in the temple the poor boy see that he needed after the messenger leave he start reading the letter with his mother:

"Dear Son

If you can read this the Cantabrians are besieging Salamanca to go towards Emerita Augusta, it seems that they want to capture you along with your mother to have them as a bargaining chip with the arrival of your grandfather

Unfortunately during this month we have lost cruelly in the north, I hope the walls of Salamanca resist the onslaught, they are too many I calculus that they are more than 250k natives bad trained but well equipped by the weapons of the fallen soldiers of Legio IX Hispana , we will try to create some distractions to let the messengers can transmit the information, I hope you can resist son and remember that I love you and your mother."

Julia when seeing the last part of the letter hug his son while the tears fell from his face to the hair of Flavio, Flavio like his mother star crying for the last part of the letter he knew that his father could be dead at this time.

Flavio see to the city and say while aiming his finger to the outside of the city "Damn Cantabrians if my father is dead I will revenge by castrating your children and men, I will kill your women and burn your temples, palaces, and salt your land, I will erase your memory of history"

Julia listen the words of his child and just can say "You are so weak son, that bastards barbaric need to be crucified in all the peninsula for remembering no one mess with the emperor's family, I know you will destroy them but remember to give to their king a special punish for he remembered all his life."

Flavio nodded to the words of his mother and immediately organized scouts to know when the Cantabrians arrived, he was sure he would not have to wait long to see the faces with that barbaric army...