The Trumpets of Mars (Imperium #2) - Chapter 2

Ky arrived at the colosseum the next morning to find it ringed with legionnaires, Praetorian Guards, and even a good number of Picts. The men guarding the arena looked serious, which was understandable considering the reason they had to be there are all.

With the forum too badly damaged to actually use safely, there weren’t a lot of options for hosting a meeting of this size. The Emperor had made it clear in the messages he’d sent out the night before at Ky’s urging that this invitation was not optional. Rome had undergone its most serious event since being pushed out of Londinium and now, more than ever, the fate of the Empire was in question.

Ky made it inside the Emperor’s box which held, besides the Emperor, Lucilla, and Ramirus. Everyone else, even those loyal advisors who’d often spectate with the Emperor, were instead gathered on the floor of the arena below.

Stools had been set out and the covering screens used to protect the stands from very hot days strung up to offer some amount of shade, but the symbolism of where they were and what had happened here the day before was not lost on anyone in attendance. The blood-soaked sand had been raked up and new sand laid in its place, but the smell of that many deaths still lingered in the air, along with the acrid smoke that had only recently stopped pouring out of the buildings around the palace complex.

In attendance were those senators that hadn’t been on the floor of the arena the day before, all of the legates that still lived along with their major officers, Llassar and those of his Picts who’d been chosen among their comrades to lead them; and the leading business, religious and social figures of Rome. Aside from the Picts, whose presence was still an oddity to most of the Romans, these were the people who saw to the fate of the Empire and who would be the ones doing the actual work of repairing the scars of the uprising.

“My friends,” the Emperor said, standing up and looking down on the gathered mass. “I’m sure you’ve noticed there are no spectators in the stands and recognized the commonality of those of you gathered together today. We aren’t here to make grand speeches or present another public spectacle like the one that happened here yesterday. The time for grandstanding is over. We have a lot of challenges before us and we have lost a lot of the tools we should have had to meet those challenges thanks to the greed and ambition of men too small for the responsibilities they’d been asked to meet. Today marks the first day of a new Rome. Rome is now part of a larger world, a member of an alliance that extends beyond ourselves. For now, it includes only our Caledonii neighbors to the north, but hopefully, one day will include more peoples who share our vision for the future of not just Britannia, but the whole world.”

Ky suppressed a grimace at that last statement. Romans still saw Europe and the Mediterranean region as all of known civilization, despite at least passing awareness of cultures further to the east. It was probably easier for them, since they had once controlled some of this Mediterranean and could see themselves as one day reclaiming it, making them masters of all of civilization. If they had to acknowledge ‘barbarian’ cultures to the east, they could no longer call themselves masters of the world.

“I know some of you have heard of the agreements we made with the Caledonii, but we are here to make those official and explain how that will affect Rome going forward. I want to be clear. This isn’t a negotiation and we are not taking a vote. I respect the Senate and the will of the people, but the time for allowing men to bicker while our future is in question; is over. That time died with Silo and his traitors. Ky?” he said, nodding towards Ky.

A rustling of voices below spoke to how much that statement shook the gathered men, especially the senators, many of whom had formed the coalition that had allowed Ky to get his anti-slavery and taxation laws in place.

At the Emperor’s prompt, Ky said, “First, Rome will remain as it is. The Senate will remain, as it has been since the founding of Rome, and it will continue to work with the Emperor, as it always has. All of the laws that were in effect for Rome will continue to remain in effect in Roman territory, which will cover the same lands it currently does, to the same northern border that has existed for more than a hundred years. When we push the Carthaginians out of Londinium and off of Britannia, Rome’s borders will extend to the southern end of the Empire. Although the Caledonii are partially made up of tribes that were forced out of this land, they have agreed to forgo all rights to any part of Britannia south of the current border.”

Ky had discussed with the Emperor how to present this to the Romans, specifically how to frame the land currently held by the Carthaginians. Ky preferred to be more realistic, since they still had many challenges to surpass before the southern half of the island was once again in Roman hands, but the Emperor believed that any suggestion that Rome might not be victorious would sound like defeatism to some parties. Even with Silo and his allies gone, there would still be difficult days of coordinating any more changes needed. Their alliance against Silo’s faction had only barely held and many of his supporters had not taken an active part in the rebellion and were still being allowed to retain their position in the Senate. Ky had argued, and the Emperor agreed, that they would not punish people solely on their associations, although Ramirus had been more than a little skeptical on that part.

“The same will be true of the Caledonii. They will continue to exist in the lands they currently cover, free to govern their lands by their laws. Rome and the Caledonii will make up the first two members of the Britannic Empire, which will be ruled by Emperor Germanicus and his descendants, effectively giving Rome the same leader as their new Empire. The Caledonii understand that this might give Rome some advantage, especially when it comes to mediating disputes between members of the Empire and Rome itself, but they understand that Rome will be bringing knowledge and technology that other members of the Empire cannot match. We have also agreed that all laws covering the Britannic Empire will be created by a new senate made up of five representatives, each selected by the governing body of their respective nation. Any laws passed by any member for their controlled area must conform to the laws passed by the Imperial Senate, and if a conflict arises, the Imperial law will take precedence.”

There was a mummer among the crowd, which Ky had expected. They would see the same thing any other Roman who’d had the deal explained to them saw.

“I understand your concerns,” he said, holding up a hand for silence. “You are worried that it would put non-Romans on an equal footing with Rome and, when the day comes to add more members, they will have the option of coming together and out-voting Rome, forcing Rome to adhere to their will. I agree that can be troubling for most of you, and many of you have sworn to see Rome bow before no one else. It is why Rome has been in conflict with the Carthaginians for so long. The problem is, you are looking at Rome as one people and other members of the Empire as separate, perhaps less equal people. It will be a difficult transition, I’m sure, but you will need to come to understand what this new Empire means. We are not neighbors of the Caledonii. We are not their allies, their friends, or their partners. We are members of the same Empire, one people unified with the same goal. Every member of the Empire is equal to the rest.”

There was more murmuring, and Ky was sure some of these men would never be able to bring themselves to see the new reality. To them, anyone who was not Roman was a barbarian, and they would never be the equal of Rome. These people were cut from the same stock as Silo. They might not have joined his rebellion, but they were unable to move with the times and understand that Rome could not stand alone and survive. It no longer had the manpower to withstand the massive Carthaginian empire.

“Although Rome and the Caledonii will each govern their own lands, neither will have armies of their own. The only military force for the Empire will belong to the Empire as a whole. Anyone from any member state can join the Empire military, which will serve the will of the Emperor and the Imperial Senate. Rome will not be without its own protection, and nor will the Caledonii. The Praetorian Guard will be expanded to be an internal peace-keeping force, both to protect all of the citizens of the Empire from brigands, thieves, and criminals and to keep the peace between the member states. While they will all answer ultimately to a single commander and the Emperor, the guard will be comprised of separate forces, one for and of each member, and only citizens from that member’s territory will be allowed in the guard force for that region. This means only Romans can be members of the Roman guard and only Picts can be members of the Caledonii guard. They will work together, sharing a command structure and communicate, manning outposts along the borders between member states equally making sure criminals aren’t trying to pass across, but they will be separate groups. This should allow each member to feel a little more secure about their internal security, now that the legions and warriors no longer answer to their local leaders.”

Ky paused for the gathered men to take that in. For the legions, it meant an influx of more warriors from outside Rome, which would have to be integrated eventually. Velius and Aelius had seemed to accept that, since they understood the manpower shortage well, but there would probably be some lower-level commanders who’d hold prejudices against foreign warriors and seem them as inferior to Roman soldiers. It would take time for the forces to truly meld together, time Rome didn’t have.

“Lastly, citizens from any member state may travel among the other member states freely. They will be held to the laws of the member state they are in, and if they break those laws they will be given the punishment those laws require. I can appreciate that we each have cultural differences that change the way we see situations, but that will not be accepted as an excuse for breaking the laws of the place where you find yourself. Make sure your citizens who decide to travel across the borders understand what is expected of them and the penalties they might incur.”

“These terms are what we have offered to our Caledonii neighbors to the north and they have accepted them in theory. I will be traveling to meet with their leader and seal the new agreements, bringing life to our new Empire. As I said from the beginning, this is not a discussion. While I welcome any input any of you may have, it will not change what has been decided. If you decide you cannot abide by the new reality and think of plotting to undo them, I point to the former senators and leaders who until yesterday attempted the same. This will be the only warning. The Roman Senate will meet to choose its five representatives this evening, their names to be submitted to the Emperor. The Caledonii representatives should be selected in a matter of weeks, at which time the new Imperial Senate will begin its work. I know this is new and I do not expect everything to go smoothly from the beginning. I only ask that you each understand the importance of what we are doing and strive to make it work. That is all.”

Ky didn’t wait for uproar or arguments, even though the volume of the collected men jumped significantly as soon as Ky stepped away from the edge of the box. He had a lot to do, and he could not hold the Romans’ hands while they accepted the fact that they would never be the sole masters of the world.

Instead of returning to his quarters in the remains of the Imperial Palace, Ky rode out to the Seventh legion, where they’d set up a permanent tent in the encampment for him, since he was back and forth so often. The plains outside of Devnum were starting to become crowded. Even though the six legions were all in various states of being under-manned, including the two legions that had been mauled when their leaders threw in their support behind Caesius and Silo, the addition of the Praetorian camp and the camp for the Picts and their dependents were pushing the city’s ability to support them.

Which is why it was so frustrating for Ky that they were still so woefully below the numbers they actually needed to survive against the Carthaginians. Carthage’s entire system was built to support its expansion, with many of its citizens expected to live barely above starvation levels. Even trying to reach a fraction of that level of manpower was straining Rome’s ability to support itself in the extreme. Eventually, Ky hoped that alliances and technological advancement could help to close both the supply and force equivalence gaps, but that would still take some time.

Ky was preparing for his meeting with the commanders, most of who had returned with him from the Colosseum. Although they needed to know about the specifics of the new alliance, their main concern was with how to handle the remnants of the two rebel legions and how to get the Picts, slaves, and ex-prisoners trained and ready for the upcoming battle.

The training part they’d gone over extensively, so that would be mostly an update, but the disposition of the First and Second legion was another matter. Besides dealing with their own losses, the remaining loyal legions had handed off officers and seasoned men to reconstitute the Fifth legion and form a central core to the Praetorian Guard as well as diluting their centuries with non-soldiers to keep slaves and freed prisoners from using their new positions to rise up against Rome. Trying to spread that manpower even further, to mix up the First and Second legions would leave just four loyal legionnaires for every ten men in a formation. That was not a desirable mixture.

Unfortunately, leaving the remnants of the First and Second legions as they are, even if they were augmented by ex-slaves or new recruits, was ill-advised. They may have offered a blanket pardon to the front-line soldiers and lower-level commanders, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be a large portion of men who still believed in what their commanders had tried. Leaving them all together and intact would be as much of a mistake as having legions with a two to five ratio of loyal to questionable men. There weren’t a lot of good options available to them.

Ky was looking at reports and not really seeing them when a throat cleared from the entrance, which was the tent equivalent to knocking.

“Consul, Llassar is requesting an audience,” Strabo said, looking through the partially raised front flap.

“Send him in.”

The commander of the Pict forces sent south with Ky entered the tent. Ky found his requesting a meeting a novel experience. Every interaction he’d had with the man had been extremely limited, communication-wise. He was a man of very few words and preferred to stand stoically to the side, just watching everything take place around him, and all of the conversations between them so far had been at Ky’s request. This was the first time that Ky could remember Llassar seeking him out.

The man entered and found a stool to sit across from Ky. Picts, Ky had learned, did not like to stand on ceremony. No matter their station, no Pict was willing to show himself in any way subservient or in some lesser capacity than any other Pict. They seemed to find the Roman propensity for salutes and standing to attention to be amusing.

“What can I do for you?” Ky asked.

“I would like to return with you when you go north.”

“Why?”

Ky couldn’t begrudge someone wanting to go back home. Even though he’d found a place with the Romans he still thought about his home all the time. He missed his friends, he missed the comforts, and he missed the security in always knowing what was expected of him and how his life would progress. It didn’t take a leap to imagine someone like Llassar wanting to return north. Not only would he be missing his own home but he was living with people who, until very recently, had been his mortal enemies.

“For the same reason as you. Once Talogren signs your agreement and joins the Empire, rebellion will erupt across the north. My people are proud and we do not take well to having others decide how we live. I agree that this Empire will benefit us. I’ve seen how you Romans live, not having to scrape by for food even during harvests. The tools you have. And I’ve seen the prisoners from your battle with the death worshipers. I know that, without this, we will be crushed shortly after they finish with you. Not all of my people will see it this way. Forming the league nearly killed Talogren. Not just the hours of talking, with every man feeling like he must have his say, but those who didn’t like what the rest of their village agreed to, deciding that the only response to joining us was killing anyone from outside. That was just for a grouping of our own people. My chieftain will need me.”

“Everything you’ve said is probably true, which is why I am planning on staying in the north to work with Talogren while he pacifies those of your people who resist joining the Empire. I’m an outsider here too, so I sympathize with your wanting to help secure your homeland, but I think that’s even more of a reason to remain here. Your people are making great strides in preparing for the Carthaginians, but there is still a long way to go before they’re ready. Talogren put them in my charge, and so far they’ve listened to my commands, but I’m concerned when I leave, that will change. We’ve already had incidents with attacks on trainers and full-on brawls in the camps. When I leave, you will be the only voice of authority from Talogren left for them to look to. If we both go, who has enough authority for your people to listen to?”

“They’ve elected commanders from among their numbers, like you Romans asked.”

“They did that for organizational reasons, and you know as well as I do that they all see those positions as something of a novelty. When push comes to shove, they won’t back down on those men’s say so. Hell, half of those men will be in the midst of the brawl with them. They’re all of them good men, but they are here because they answered their chief’s call. Most of them haven’t bought into the necessity for this. They will eventually, especially when the Carthaginians get here, but right now we need someone here to keep them focused.”

Llassar didn’t seem sold on the idea, but he was loyal to Talogren, who’d told him to follow Ky’s instructions.

“I will stay, then.”

“I’m sorry. If I could have you come with me, I would. We have a fight to the death coming and if we don’t do everything just right, we will all die or end up under the Carthaginian heel. Train your men. Keep them focused.”

Llassar gave a nod and left the tent without another word. Ky gave a small smile, watching the man go. He wasn’t the type to go over conversations over and over again. The man had said his piece, and once a decision was made he was done talking again.

Ky was able to work on detailed instructions for his absence a little longer before the first of the commanders arrived.

The commanders, in this case, included all of the legates, minus the ones killed in battle or executed the day before, along with their tribunes. Llassar had also returned with two of the men assigned to command his warriors, along with Faenius and two of his Praetorian tribunes, Lartius, who was set to command the new separated cavalry units assigned to each legion. Sepurcius was in charge of the slowly forming artillery command.

“First of all, I want to say how proud I am of how you and your men fought during the recent insurrection. I know it was difficult, sending your men in against their countryman, but you did your duty and we were able to put down the rebellion before it began to take a foothold.”

The men looked somber, which didn’t surprise Ky. Unlike the later Roman Empire of his time, when civil wars had been common, this version of Rome hadn’t had the luxury of infighting as they ran across Europe, away from the Carthaginian hordes. The change from republic to empire had been one of necessity in this timeline, not a power grab by an egomaniac.

All of these men had been lifelong soldiers and had been leading men into combat for most of their lives. This was the first time any of them had been forced to lead those men against other Romans, and Ky could see the haunted look they all maintained since the battle.

“While we did well and most of our forces remain intact, we still suffered losses, both in your formations and in what’s left of the First and Second legions. Unfortunately, the reward for a job well done is to be asked to do something even harder. When we last met to discuss what we’d thought were going to be our final structural changes before the spring, the Third legion was our most complete, with seven fully formed cohorts, followed by the Seventh with six and the Ninth and Fifth with five each. To get that, we had limited each contubernium to only four veterans a piece, with the other four men in their group being either paroled Carthaginian soldiers, newly recruited Romans, or ex-slaves. With the losses in the battle and the need to split up the soldiers out of the First and Second legions, those loyal veterans are going to need to be stretched even thinner.”

The legates groaned. The Roman legion was one of the best infantry units in the ancient world, but it relied on precise training and tight coordination among its men. Normally, a contubernium, which was the smallest unit the Romans operated in, would consist of at least two-thirds veterans in the worst of times, and the legates worked hard to shuffle the men to maintain that weight of experienced soldiers to inexperienced men. Cutting that down to one-half had been difficult on them, since there just wasn’t enough time to get untrained men, especially former slaves, up to the level needed to make a legion combat-ready.

“We are dissolving the First and Second legions entirely, at least for now, and folding their soldiers into the other legions. While this might seem like good news, since there are enough men left to make up a full eight cohorts, we can’t allow them to serve together, in case any of the men still harbor seditious thoughts. We will be the Third legion by one cohort, the Seventh two, and the Ninth three, bringing each of them up to eight cohorts. The Fifth will get two cohorts, leaving it the weakest still at seven cohorts. Sorry, Ursinus.”

“I have always enjoyed being the underdog, Consul.”

“Good. Like I said, you can’t just take these men from the First and Second and plug them directly into your legions as complete units, so it’s going to take a total shift of your existing units, once again. The new standard composition of a contubernium will have two loyal veterans, two veterans from one of the dissolved units, preferably one that did not serve in the same cohort or even legion, and the rest made up of slaves and paroled Carthaginians. If you are keeping track of our numbers, you will probably have noticed that we will still be falling short on manpower. I’m going to ask the Emperor to increase the allotments of ex-slaves we will be allowing into the ranks and making another pass of the prison camp, but I think both of those wells are running dry. That is why I asked Llassar to join us. Although we spoke earlier, I held back on my request until now, hopefully making it harder on him to say no.”

Llassar’s head snapped up. He’d been listening, but only partially engaged up to this point, because the formations of the legions had little to do with him, except as it applied to his having access to Roman veterans to train his troops.

“I know the original plan was to have your men fight as their own unit, because the Caledonii way of fighting is very different to the Roman style.”

Ky had been making a habit of always referring to the Picts by their previous league naming instead of directly calling them Picts, especially to them, since the name Pict was a Roman invention, and considered somewhat derogatory by the northerners themselves.

“I know there is a lot of pride in the northern way of fighting, and how battles are conducted now, it can be very effective. However, over the next several years, I’m going to be introducing new technologies that will change that. Eventually, units will need to work closer to the Roman system to be effective, although with serious changes. It’s hard to explain now and I know it’s easy to think that my saying this is just because of some kind of bias against the Caledonii. I want you to understand that is not what is happening here. I respect your traditions and styles of fighting, but the new warfare I am going to be introducing will change everything. The days of hand-to-hand fighting, where the might of a single soldier is paramount, are coming to an end. Ohh, there will still be instances of it, but soon you will be killing your enemies at many times the range a bow can reach and you will be able to do it at a rate that will make massed infantry formations a thing of the past. This is just the reality of where our form of battle will be going.”

“And to have a place in this, we must fight as the Romans do?” Llassar asked, sounding extremely skeptical.

“Not as the Romans do precisely, but it is a base. For a while most fighting will be done in formations, making massed volleys somewhat like archers do, to really put the weight of the damage you inflict on the enemy. Over time, we will probably progress again into a more loose style of fighting, but it will still require more coordinated maneuvers among units and fewer headlong charges. It would give some of your men a leg up in this new system if you were already training in how to fight in formations instead of more aggressive charges whose goal is to let your warriors get their opponents in single combat.”

“So you want to have our men fight as the Romans do? Behind shields, afraid to test their abilities against their opponents and prove that they are warriors?”

Some of the Romans frowned at that, but Ky had started to think that Llassar was cleverer than most of the Romans who dealt with him really thought. He wasn’t a fool. He knew that in stand-up battles the Picts had lost every single time and he’d seen some of the changes Ky had already started to make. Ky didn’t think he was actually asking the question. He was testing Ky and the Romans, to see if they were serious about treating the Picts as equals or if it was all talk, plus maybe looking for cover against the more traditionalists in their ranks.

“Yes,” Ky said, his voice flat and even, before any of the Romans could respond. “I am not saying any have to. If you want to fight as your own unit, as I promised Talogren, then you can, but this is an opportunity for your men. You’ve heard everything else the rest of the commanders have. You know that the world is changing and you need to change with it. All I’m offering you is an opportunity, if any of your men want to take it. They are already being paid equal to the Romans, so all I’m offering is a chance for your men to test themselves and see if they’re ready to move into the future with the rest of us.”

The Romans, who’d all looked from Llassar to Ky when he’d started speaking all snapped back around, putting their attention on the Pict again. For his part, Llassar didn’t answer right away.

He paused, considering, before saying, “I will talk to my men.”

“Good,” Ky said, smiling finally. “It needs to be soon. We have this week to recognize all of your legions and shuffle the men around, and then I need you to start training again. There’s one last thing that I need to address. While I’m gone, Lucilla will work in my stead, coordinating all of the training as well as the production in town. We have gone over what I need to have accomplished thoroughly and she has both her father's and my utmost confidence. I know there will be those who disagree with this decision, both in this room and in your commands that do not like the idea of a woman being in charge. I honestly don’t care. Take any command from her as a command from myself. Is that clear?”

There were a few frowns, but thankfully none among his legates, which were who he needed onboard most, since they had the authority to push through anything she ordered. Ky had gone back and forth on the need for this, but ultimately sided with the fact that, because of the comms unit, he could pass commands through her, which he couldn’t do with anyone else. Of course, no one else would know he was doing that, which is why he needed the ruse to make it actually work.

The person who surprised him the most was Llassar, who not only hadn’t reacted negatively, but had nodded slightly when Ky had announced her taking his place in command. The Picts were further behind the Romans, as far as how they treated the sexes, and Ky had expected the most pushback from them.

They spent the rest of the day going over details of everything that needed to be accomplished while he was gone. The reorganization was going to put them behind, but there wasn’t much help for it.