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Anno Domini, 832-April-2
''The Carolingian army failed to evacuate, Magister ton Scholon. The Slavs prevented them from escaping by attacking their supply wagons and most of them are now fortified inside that town after their attempt to flee toward Salerno during the night'' one of my scouts said.
''I suppose this should have put an end to their desire to continue this farce. They are defeated, an army melting away like snow in spring. Their mercenaries have changed sides and deserted their positions for ours, their peasant levies have begun escaping during the night. Only the professional core of their army remains and now they have locked themselves inside a fortress that does not have the means to sustain an army numbering around twenty thousand men, much less feed all their animals. That castle must have enough food for… a month, perhaps, at best for them. So if we simply surround them, we should easily win the battle without actually having to fight it'' I said while looking toward a castle along a road leading to Salerno.
''The Prince of Benevento, who is known to be the commander of the army, along with his son, is refusing to negotiate. Apparently, I believe they are still expecting some kind of relief from the north'' said one of my officers who had attempted to negotiate with the Carolingian forces.
''That is to be expected. Our advance has been fast and overwhelming. I very much doubt they know what is happening across their lands or that a large part of Italy has changed hands during a campaign of tremendous speed and aggression. We do not need to defeat them here, simply keep them trapped and starve them out because for now they are going to remain there inside their little castle and fortify themselves. So we will simply wear them down until they surrender. If we have the Prince of Benevento and his son isolated there, that means the north is free to be taken. So we should move there and concentrate on securing the fortifications and providing assistance to our army in the north because I doubt the Varangians can hold for very long without reinforcements'' I said while studying the terrain.
''Understood. How many more forces will we leave behind to watch the Carolingian army then? They will surely attempt some kind of sortie to break the encirclement'' one of the thematic army commanders asked.
''Around twenty thousand of our own men to match their numbers and another seven thousand hired mercenaries. Make sure you use them in the bloodiest fighting. Mercenaries are more professional troops than the themata and they are paid accordingly, and they are not cheap, especially after we had to pay them to change sides. So make sure you use them properly to prevent them from trying anything afterward because I do not want to take them with me and have them start their usual bullshit of treating the surrendered population like garbage, as mercenaries normally do when they begin feeling important within an army'' I replied while mounting my horse.
''Where will the rest of us who are not staying behind to watch the Carolingians go?'' one of the commanders asked while mounting his horse as well.
''Salerno. It is an important city that we need to secure in order to control the urban centers of the region because although I have enough gold to pay every military salary, whether from the imperial treasury or from my own funds that will later have to be reimbursed to me, we need to secure the urban areas because I want to quickly form units from the local population and use them as frontline troops to increase our numbers. The Carolingians must already be rapidly raising armies in the territories they still control. If we had attacked a month earlier, we could have had even more time, but it is only a matter of time before the ice disappears from the Alps, crossing them becomes easy and Carolingian troops begin arriving from the north'' I said while pointing toward the road.
''Understood. I will organize the themata to follow your army'' the commander said before spurring his horse and beginning to ride toward the improvised camp the troops were establishing after marching in pursuit of the fleeing Carolingian army.
The objectives of the campaign seemed to be progressing well. Not even two weeks had passed since operations began in southern Italy and we had already managed to sweep across the more rural parts of Italy and tactically defeat the Carolingian army, which had been reinforced during the previous days and had actually become larger than we originally expected.
But that did not change the fact that their mercenaries, after secret negotiations conducted by several spies who had already been carrying out talks beforehand to convince them to change sides and assist in the defense of the Roman cities in Italy, had decided to defect to the Roman army. This caused the army of the Prince of Benevento to begin dissolving while it marched back home because as soon as the mercenaries fled, the less professional troops in his army began doing the same, leaving everything prepared for our advance.
We managed to trap them inside a small castle and although I would have preferred them to accept an honorable surrender, I had no desire to lose men in some stupid fight, so it would be better to starve them out or force them to fight against us from positions favorable to our defense. Therefore we would simply ignore them while continuing north because we had a very clear mission regarding these cities, which was to return them to imperial authority. There were many areas where Rome still possessed enormous influence but where the local aristocrats had decided to change sides because they would gain hereditary rights over the land if they joined the Carolingians, something that had happened with many coastal cities that had betrayed Rome and were now defenseless before our arrival.
It did not take us long to reach the city of Salerno, which fortunately was a direct possession of the Prince of Benevento, meaning that the principal defender of the city was currently unavailable to perform his duty of defending its walls.
As we arrived, we saw the same thing that had been happening everywhere else. The Slavic cavalry was scouting the surroundings and cutting off any convoy or group of people that appeared to represent an attempt at organized defense while allowing the masses seeking refuge inside nearby fortifications to pass as they fled toward the walls in search of safety.
From time to time we came across the dead and looted bodies of Carolingian guards and soldiers until I finally arrived with a considerable army at my back to lay siege to the city of Salerno.
''What language do the locals in this region speak?'' I asked one of my officers while looking toward the city walls, which were slowly filling with defenders as the church bells rang without pause after our army had been detected by their scouts.
''Some vulgar languages spoken in the countryside. I assume the local commander will speak Latin or, in the worst case, the local priest should know Latin, so I believe using Latin is our best option'' said the officer I had asked.
''My Latin is a little rusty compared to everything else. Can you relay my words?'' I said while looking at the man, who quickly nodded.
Without wasting time, I headed out with a group of horsemen carrying standards to hold negotiations. We approached the walls and remained at a safe distance beyond the range of arrows until we saw the gates open and a group of horsemen ride out of the city carrying standards of their own to conduct the talks.
''Greetings. I assume you are at least somewhat aware of the presence of the armies serving the Emperor of the Romans, so I would like to request that you surrender the properties that rightfully belong to their legitimate owner. It is also worth noting that your Prince of Benevento will not be coming to your aid, as he is currently trapped inside a small local castle under siege'' I said while looking at the envoy from the city of Salerno.
My officer translated everything into Latin while the leader of the delegation remained thoughtful.
''What terms are you offering?'' the envoy from Salerno asked.
''We will respect the property rights of the locals and we will also respect the lives of every soldier and guard currently serving the Prince of Benevento, allowing them to return to his service without weapons or armor, or you may remain in the city and we will overlook the fact that you raised arms against your rightful emperor'' I said while staring directly at him as someone relayed my message in Latin.
''What about the prince's properties?'' the envoy asked.
''They will pass under imperial administration, where a strategos will govern in the name of the Basileus Rhomaion and will be responsible for establishing the taxes and requirements necessary for the defense of these lands'' I said almost immediately after hearing his words.
The envoy nodded once my words had been relayed to him in Latin.
''We need two days to make our decision. We sent a messenger to find out whether an army is on its way. If no army is coming, the city has no intention of surrendering'' the envoy said.
''Are you seriously waiting for an answer from an army?'' I said while raising an eyebrow as the man translating my words also allowed some irritation to creep into his voice.
''I am afraid so. The guards do not want to surrender because they still hope that some army will come to relieve us, since Lothair must be somewhere in the region trying to raise an army and confront you'' the envoy replied.
''Two… days. Two days. You do realize that I doubt that messenger is ever coming back now'' I said through clenched teeth.
''That is what was agreed among the commanders of the garrison. A week ago the messenger was sent out in anticipation of a possible siege, trying to reach the court'' the envoy said.
''Fine… two days, but because of this delay an extraordinary tax will be collected immediately to finance the war''.
''Those conditions are acceptable. I will communicate our negotiations to the other members of the garrison and we will not attempt to interfere with anything that happens outside the walls of Salerno, but restrain your men from looting. If it were up to me, we would have already surrendered'' the envoy said after listening to my translator before turning back toward the city.
''Well… that was strange. We need to keep an eye on them because I am certain that if we leave weapons in their hands, they will change sides again if the course of the war shifts'' said the officer who had helped me translate everything.
''Yes, I did not like that at all. Stay here with around three thousand men, establish a simple camp and accept their surrender in two days. We need to go to Naples and put that traitor Stefano in his place before marching on Rome'' I said while spurring my horse back toward where my forces were gathered.
Once those strange negotiations were over, we began marching toward Naples, where the self-proclaimed Duke of Naples was supposedly located.
We began moving with most of the army and this time I had to order my men to restrain themselves from looting because these lands were supposed to have a considerable Greek presence among the Griko population. There were supposedly Italians in the region who spoke a dialect of Greek and therefore they were perfect candidates for becoming centers of Roman administration in the area, which would make administrative organization much easier. They would also make a good source of recruits if convincing them to join our armies did not prove too difficult.
So we continued maintaining our marching pace. Riding ahead with the cavalry group, it did not take us long to reach the walls of Naples, where preparations for a siege were already underway. Now that our plans could no longer possibly remain secret, every city had to be gathering men and food in preparation for a siege.
''Ask to speak with Stefano. Let us see whether that man can be made to see reason so we can take the city without a siege'' I said while looking toward one of my men, who rode toward the city with a group of horsemen.
I began making preparations to establish our tents, but my envoy returned surprisingly quickly. Apparently there were important negotiations that required my presence, so I went to the meeting point near the walls of Naples.
A group of escorts appeared carrying a basket with them and the moment they saw me, they threw it toward me. A severed head immediately rolled out.
''And what is this?'' I said while looking at the envoys from Naples.
''You wanted Stefano… here he is. A demonstration that the city remains loyal to its Basileus Rhomaion'' said the envoy leading the group.
''Your name?'' I said while studying the man who appeared to have betrayed the previous duke.
''Bono… at the service of His Imperial Majesty'' he said while lowering his head slightly.
''Good… open the gates for us. We need somewhere to quarter ourselves for the day before marching toward Benevento tomorrow'' I said while pointing toward the city.
''As you command'' he said before turning around and returning toward the city.
''The moment we enter Naples… kill him. I do not want that snake at my back'' I said to my men before returning to the rest of the cavalry.
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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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