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Anno Domini, 832-March-20
My time was incredibly limited considering that I had to reorganize an army that had been structured to extract the greatest possible benefit from corruption and production failures, allowing commanders to line their pockets by reporting false prices for equipment that later could not be found in the areas where it was actually needed, while also purchasing supplies at inflated prices and keeping the difference for themselves.
Besides, of course, having to fight almost every day with the Roman aristocracy, which was incredibly worried that the system already being implemented in some themata would eventually reach their provinces, since there were many aristocrats who had apparently learned very little from Theophilos's old purge against those who refused to pay their taxes.
Almost forgetting that hundreds or thousands of Roman aristocrats had been forced to flee beyond the borders of Rome because they had failed to pay their taxes to the imperial treasury. Yet here we were once again falling into the same old vices, since there was no reformed tax collection system and many of the collectors themselves were compromised.
The deeper I became involved in the Roman system, the more I noticed the structural flaws that plagued this entire structure, filled with corruption at every level.
And the worst part was that historically this was nowhere near the lowest point the Empire had ever reached, so everything seemed to indicate that the levels of corruption could still rise much further.
But with the reforms we had launched, we now had a system that was relatively free of corruption. There were already bureaucrats who considered integrity in their work something important and military commanders who did not seek to steal their soldiers' pay by deliberately failing to report when one of them died and then pretending that those troops were still available whenever they were required.
And although I would have liked another year, that simply was not feasible, because there was still one final official campaign that Theophilos wanted me to carry out before we focused entirely on repairing and rebuilding our frontiers.
And that was the campaign for Rome.
This might be the most difficult campaign because the objective was extraordinarily complicated to achieve. In a way, besides recovering the ancient capital of the Empire, we also had to capture the current Pope alive.
And that could clearly become complicated, because the moment he saw an army of enormous proportions descending upon him, there was a very good chance that he would flee. And if he did, the campaign would have been a failure politically speaking.
Because the ultimate goal was to bring all the Pentarchs under Roman rule and force the Pope to publicly ask the Emperor of the Romans for forgiveness for having stolen the authority God had granted to the Roman emperors by crowning the Carolingians under the authority of the Bishop of Rome and granting them legitimacy.
If we managed to accomplish that, it would be an enormous political blow against the Carolingians.
Although I doubted that it would cause their empire to collapse, they would no longer be able to claim so easily that they were a Roman Empire when none of the figures of authority from the ancient Empire were there to grant them such legitimacy.
And that should be enough to further legitimize the government in Constantinople and strengthen Caesaropapism, allowing us to carry out the religious reforms that were necessary.
Because although the Church had its own problems with corruption, they were not the most severe. There were only a few rotten apples, but that could still justify certain reforms intended to strip them of some of their power.
''As we speak, your brother, with the help of several commanders I sent with him, should be harassing the frontier. I ordered them to carry out raids and besiege the occasional castle while avoiding battle at all times and focusing solely on plundering, without even worrying too much about the loot. Considering that we are at the end of winter, that should mobilize all the Carolingian troops in the region to respond along the frontier and react to the concentration of troops. Hopefully our plans have not been compromised and they do not know that it is only a distraction'' I said while displaying several maps of Pannonia.
''Then what about us?'' Sigurd asked while running a hand through his beard as he studied the second map, which showed Italy.
''When we arrive in Italy, we will divide our army. We know that there is a Carolingian army under Lothair's command, although we do not know whether he personally commands it or whether he will travel north toward where the real fighting is supposedly taking place. According to our sources and informants, it numbers no more than twenty thousand men and possesses a hard core of only around four thousand, while the rest are mercenaries and peasant levies answering to a feudal contract that obliges them to answer the call to arms. We should therefore be able to defeat them easily in battle'' I said while pointing on the map toward the cities of Taranto and Tursi, from where the Carolingian army was known to have operated the last time it attacked Roman possessions in Italy.
''We will try to draw the armies in the region into a quick battle or trap them inside some fortress'' said one of the former commanders of the Opsikion thema, who had understood the intentions behind the plan.
''Yes, that is the idea. If we destroy that army, any later defense could become completely disorganized and that should give those who reject the authority of legitimate Rome something to think about. We also have the matter of Naples and Amalfi. Although they are theoretically under our control, they already answer to the Carolingians. When they see our armies crushing the army in the region, they will have no choice but to decide between enduring a siege or kneeling before us. Later we will teach them the price of betrayal because I have no intention of leaving anyone with shifting loyalties in the area. So all of you will have to accept whatever surrenders are offered, but once the order is given, we will remove their men from the castles and install our own garrisons'' I said while moving my hand across the map as everyone closely followed the places I was indicating.
Turning around, I looked directly at one of the many Varangian jarls who had joined the campaign.
''You will play your part in a way that I am certain you will enjoy very much. You will have to raid the coasts of Italy from Rome northward. That way you will force the lords of the region to leave men behind to defend their ports and even if they manage to organize themselves quickly, it will be extremely difficult for the feudal lords of northern and central Italy to gather an army large enough to stop our advance while they are forced to defend all their ports from the wrath of the Varangians'' I said while looking at the various jarls, who quickly began smiling when they heard that their mission would consist of plundering everything they could seize from the Italian ports.
''That is not going to do much to win us the support of the lower classes'' said one of the commanders as he looked at me after hearing my idea of practically letting the Varangians off the leash.
''There is not much we can do about that anyway. Aegyptus already made it clear to us that sometimes it does not matter how hard you try, you simply will not be able to win popular support. But it is much easier to earn their fear. And what better way to do that than by unleashing the most aggressive troops the Empire has at its disposal against a few villages of defenseless peasants? That will force them to come over to our side or, well… they will have to learn how to live among the ashes. Reaching Rome is our objective and once we are there we will see whether we attempt to take everything as far as the central Apennines and Ravenna if circumstances allow it. But we will only decide that if the campaign is progressing well'' I said while shaking my head, since there was no time to waste trying to prevent every bit of collateral damage.
''Hmm…'' one of my commanders sighed audibly. ''How are we going to divide ourselves? We have forty-five thousand men, far fewer than I thought we would have for an invasion of Italy'' he finally said while crossing his arms.
''The troops from the Italian themata will join us. I ordered them to mobilize as many men as they could and temporarily forget about troop rotations, so we should gather another twelve thousand men from the themata and around two thousand tagmata. That should bring us to nearly sixty thousand men. Besides that, we have brought enough gold to hire several mercenary companies. I already have spies in Italy negotiating the defection of many companies currently serving the Carolingians, so another four thousand men should end up on our side, taking them directly away from the Carolingians'' I said while pointing out the latest movements of Shimon's spy network, which had now changed direction and infiltrated Italy after overcoming the linguistic barriers faced by the Arameans and securing local support.
''Three to one against the local troops'' Sigurd said while pacing behind the Roman commanders who were studying the map.
''A force led by you, twenty-five thousand strong, composed of themata troops and troops from the Italian themata, will march from Hydruntum to seek battle with the main Carolingian force. Meanwhile, with my own forces, mainly the auxiliary Slavic, Vlach and Serbian troops along with the recently trained soldiers of the Roman army from the Anatolian provinces, I will land at Sipous. I will try to negotiate the surrender of the city or, failing that, plunder the countryside and march rapidly toward Melfi, where I will be in a position to block the retreat of the Carolingian troops. Meanwhile, all of my Varangian tagmata will go to Ostia'' I said while looking at my commanders.
''The Varangians are our best troops, Magister ton Scholon. Why do you wish to send them to Rome, where they could mostly end up damaging the city we are supposed to recover, not conquer?'' one of my commanders asked.
''We need a rapid landing that takes the defenders by surprise so that we can quickly place the city under siege and block its gates while at the same time buying ourselves enough time to secure the south. If we crush the Carolingian army in the south or trap it inside a fortress, we can force negotiations with every city and stronghold in the region, placing much of the south under our control before the Carolingians can organize a response. And that response, before anything else, will be to march toward Rome to prevent its fall. The Varangians will be responsible for stopping those reinforcements and preventing the Pope from escaping the city'' I said while looking at Sigurd, who slowly began to smile.
''This is going to be very entertaining'' Sigurd said, barely hiding his smile.
''You already have your orders and instructions. Get aboard your ships because we will have to separate soon to carry out the plan. Italy should already be quite close'' I said while looking at my commanders, who quickly saluted and withdrew as their personal vessels approached and came alongside so that they could board their respective ships.
''I do not know whether Rome has secret escape tunnels, Sigurd, but your job is simply to watch the city gates and make certain that nobody enters or leaves. You must also block any relief force that tries to move quickly toward Rome, because an expected Carolingian response would be to send a commander on horseback to recruit men while moving south. And clearly Rome and its surroundings would be one of the most natural places to stop and gather supplies. It is one of the most important urban centers in the region. So I hope you enjoy the fighting because I am sending you into a position that will be rather difficult to hold'' I said while looking at my Varangian commander and placing an arm over his shoulder.
''Bah, do not worry, Basil. Nothing pleases me more than seeing the Roman priests tremble before the sons of the north while their weak God can do nothing to stop us as we crush any resistance we find before us'' Sigurd said while striking the palm of his hand with his gauntlet.
''Do not exaggerate either. The plan should take us around a month. Once we crush the Carolingian army in the open field or trap it inside a castle, we will march north. So keep watch over the mountain passes. Because of the landing, only a few horses will be able to travel with you, so you will not have many cavalrymen for harassment or reconnaissance. I would therefore prefer that you maintain defensive positions'' I said while nodding after seeing Sigurd's reaction.
''Understood. Break heads from defensive positions'' Sigurd said while barely managing to contain the laughter he wanted to unleash.
''Good. Go to your ships. Try to keep the looting somewhat under control. I do not want this to become propaganda that is too damaging to me either, but we certainly did not come here to make friends'' I said while returning to the chair where I had been sitting and once again feeling the movement of the ship.
''Do not worry about it'' Sigurd said as he walked away.
It did not take long before the invasion force finally began dividing into two large groups and shortly afterward I watched as one of them divided again, ultimately forming three separate forces.
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If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
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