บท 46: A Piracy Sweep (2)
The pirates, who have been dominating North Africa, have recently gone mad with happiness every day.
They never wanted to go back to the days when there was piracy while watching Rome's notice like before.
If they went out in a boat and attacked any merchant ship passing by, it soon became their property.
With excellent navigators and strong ships, they sailed freely and enjoyed plundering even in winter.
The province of Cyrenaica, now eastern Libya, was already a pirate den.
If you go a little east, you can rob Egypt, which is rich in products, and if you go north, you will find Sicily and Hispania.
There was no place more perfect for piracy.
The number of pirates, only dozens at first, has already exceeded hundreds and 1,000 units.
It was beyond the scope of what they could have done with the suzerain defense forces alone in Cyrenaica.
"All right, let's go east today and fix the Egyptians. The grain ship will now have an escort fleet, so let's rob other weak-protected transport ships."
"Boss, if possible, take a lot of prisoners. It's been quite a while since I've been to the west these days, and I've had high-nosed Egyptian women. If you sell them as slaves, the income is good, so please let us have some fun too."
"Oh, then let's get a lot of slaves out today."
"Ohhh!"
The pirates, who had no doubt that the present day would continue, did not have a single wrinkle on their faces.
Hippolos, the leader of a fairly large pirate ship, also believed so.
Having inherited Greek blood, he was originally a soldier in the army of the Kingdom of Pontus.
After the army of Pontus was destroyed by Lucullus, he fled to Cilicia and began a life of piracy.
It was meager at first, but after receiving support from Mithridates, everything worked out.
It was a good move to get out of the highly competitive east and come to the west early.
It is because there are many competitors in piracy, and rumors have been heard that income from the east is gradually declining.
When he looked out the window, today was also sunny. It's perfect weather for looting.
At that moment, Hippolos frowned at the noise heard below.
"What, what's the fuss?"
"Boss!"
One of his subordinates hurriedly climbed up and exclaimed, breathing heavily.
"It's the Romans! The Romans came in!"
Hippolos gripped the hilt behind his back.
"Are you a fast-paced defense force? I scolded him once last time, but he must have not come to his senses."
"No. A warship is coming from the sea. Maybe it's a regular punitive force sent from Rome!"
"What? Did they finally move?"
Hippolos was startled but not despairing. He thought it was going to happen someday anyway. Just in case, he had a perfect retreat plan in place.
He commanded his men as skillfully as a commander in the army.
"Everyone, get on board with food, water, and treasure. Don't load things that are too heavy and big, just give up."
"Yes!"
"They can't catch up with our ship anyway. Let's not panic and retreat calmly."
The pirate ship prepared with the support of Mithridates was a kind of high-speed ship that emphasized speed.
It was possible to move faster than Roman military ships because there were few heavy objects on it.
In fact, he encountered a Roman military ship in the sea before but succeeded in escaping safely.
Hippolos and his men believed it would be the case this time, and the expectations were not wrong.
The pirates' speedboat successfully evaded the Roman military ships and escaped safely.
No matter how much he looked around, Hippolos bowed his head and burst into a big laugh when he couldn't see the Roman military ship.
"Hahahaha! Grumpy Roman bastards. Where dare you catch us."
"Boss, are we going to plunder like this?"
"Well, that would be fine. However, for now, it is necessary to find a place to use as a base. Let's resume looting as soon as we find a place where we can get water and food."
"As expected, boss! You are an accurate judge of the situation!"
Hippolos laid out the map and carefully explored the way forward.
Anyway, all the ports around here have been identified.
The places where they could receive supplies were scattered across the valley.
Once directed to the port of Tripolitania in the west.
However, the Roman legions were already anchored at the port they had set up as their destination.
The pirate ship, which was forced to turn, returned to Cyrenaica and headed for a port in northeastern Benghazi.
From here, Hippolos felt that something was going wrong.
This is because Roman warships were firmly established at every port they tried to go to.
"Damn it, they're so clever."
Hippolos toured almost every port on the coast of North Africa, but after all, the ports fell into the hands of the Roman army.
"It's not about clearing us up directly, it's about taking over the port first, isn't it? Do you think there is no way to do that?"
It is enough to loot nearby areas to collect water and food if it is not supplied at the port.
The pirates stormed the poorly guarded village to procure the necessary supplies.
And he got out safely before being caught by a Roman military ship that ran after receiving a report of the raid.
Hippolos always laughed at the Roman legions running one step late and was intoxicated with victory.
However, as they repeated the same action over and over again, the movement route gradually began to be exposed to the Roman army.
It was a matter of reducing the frequency of looting, but it was impossible because they could not receive supplies.
Food ran out quickly because they loaded it to the minimum to lighten the ship's weight.
Even if he was as careful as he could, he couldn't get rid of the feeling of being driven to a corner.
Eventually, less than a month later, Hippolos was forced to flee near Sardinia.
The movement route was clearly exposed, so there was no place to go other than here.
"First, let's take a breather here and go north. We can wait there until the Romans calm down and then go down south again."
Hippolos thought he had safely left the Roman army.
But the moment he saw dozens of pirate ships anchored on the shore.
He shuddered at the goosebumps coming up his spine.
Unable to grasp the situation, one of the pirates tilted his head casually.
"Oh? There must be a lot of pirates who came all the way here besides us."
"...this is ridiculous...."
Hippolos rushed forward like a madman and inspected the pirate ships on the shore.
If they concentrated so many ships on the coast where they were, the situation was obvious without looking elsewhere.
At the very least, he can only see that hundreds of pirate ships have been pushed to Sardinia.
They were completely hunted down.
"No... is that possible? I've only avoided the Roman army in the best way as always?"
Hippolos checked the chart over and over again like a possessed man.
It can be understood if they were the only ones being lured.
But is it really possible to drive pirates in the western Mediterranean into one place at the same time?
"I didn't come running...… Were you dragged in?"
Just as the pale Hippolos was about to turn the ship around and say let's run away, the shouts of the appalled subordinates hit his ears first.
"Ro, Roman bastards! The Roman army ship...…!"
When he looked back, the Roman warships that appeared before he knew they spread it out in a fan shape centered on the coast.
At first glance, it was a large army of well over 100 ships.
There was no room for escape.
Hippolos did not know the situation, but it was also happening in other parts of the Mediterranean.
The pirates spread throughout the western Mediterranean Sea, clumped together in large chunks like dust swept away by a broom.
And the dust was besieged by the great fleet of Rome in a dead-end alley with no place to escape.
The pirates, who had been chased and fled for more than a month, were exhausted.
Of course, there was no way he would have the strength to resist.
"Ah, boss! What should I do?"
"...."
Hippolos, who has successfully led the pirates, just felt like a nightmare.
The overwhelming Roman nightmare sucked all the pirates.
Hippolos and the pirates he led were the first to be swallowed up.
As Pompeius declared, this was not a fight.
The Roman army thoroughly condemned the pirates who had been harassing them.
Cheack!
The head of Hippolos, blown off by the merciless blades of the Romans, landed on the bow.
Now, the words of the pirates who were mercilessly swept away were contained in the eyes that could not see anything.
This completely subdued the pirates who persistently harassed the western Mediterranean.
Even the legates who carried out the operation themselves could not believe what they had done.
One of the legates who destroyed the pirates in the Tyrrhenian Sea muttered in a voice of admiration and despair.
"So quickly... As simple as that...…."
They seized 120 pirate ships in the western Mediterranean and sank as many as 400.
They thoroughly destroyed the pirates' strongholds, and nearly 10,000 pirates were captured or executed.
It took only 40 days for Pompeius's shadow to cover the western Mediterranean completely.
Now all that was left was the South and the East.
"That's incredible..."
Marcus, who was looking at pirates being dragged one after another, muttered without realizing it.
"I see."
Spartacus also nodded reflexively.
'I knew it would end quickly, but seeing it in person makes me realize how amazing it is.'
It was a historical fact that Pompeius wiped out pirates in the western Mediterranean in 40 days.
Marcus knew this was going to happen before he started.
However, seeing the fact that he only knows with knowledge in person, he could see why future strategists praised it in unison.
The basic gist of Pompeius's strategy was simple.
Instead of direct clearing, they seize ports and cut off food and water supplies to isolate the pirates.
Afterward, the movement of pirates who can not stand it is induced in a certain direction, driven into one place, and then wiped out all at once.
It seems easy to just listen to the operation plan, but it is a different matter to realize this.
In ancient times, maps and charts were inaccurate, and information exchange between allies was not free.
In order to carry out operations simultaneously in a large area, detailed advance planning is required.
In addition, if even one minor variable occurred, it could have messed up the whole plan.
There is no guarantee that pirates will be induced as desired, so he should prepare second and third countermeasures.
Just thinking about a few things to consider realistically made his head dizzy.
Marcus had no choice but to admit that he had been underestimating Pompeius so far.
Afterward, it subtly lowered the evaluation of Pompeius due to the fact that Caesar defeated him in the most important battle.
'Actually, that decisive battle wasn't entirely due to Pompeius's fault.'
The Battle of Pharsalus, in which Caesar defeated Pompeius, was not the battle Pompeius wanted.
Pompeius's original strategy was to avoid a head-to-head fight and cut off Caesar's supplies and kill him.
However, pushed by the demands of the senators who were with him, he is forced to go to a decisive battle.
As a result, he was defeated by Caesar's ridiculous field commanding ability.
Of course, losing is losing, so it would be reasonable to see Pompeius's tactical ability below Caesar's.
However, Caesar only overturned a strategic failure with transcendent commanding ability.
Pompeius could have been seen as superior to the ability of strategists to set the overall picture of the war.
'If I could have a strategist like that under me....'
"Here you are, Marcus."
Pompeius approached Marcus, who was lost in thought.
He didn't look too excited even though he had successfully carried out such a grand operation.
It wasn't because the South and East were still left.
He took this much for granted, so there was no need to fuss about it.
"Are you done cleaning up the battle?"
"What's there to say about cleaning up? Among the captured pirates, those with poor quality were punished with the death penalty, and the rest were useful, so I told them to keep them locked up for a while."
Originally, all those captured should have been sold to the slave market.
However, most of the pirates were those who lost their livelihood due to the conflict between the Orient dynasties.
If you don't root out the root problem, the same thing will happen again.
Pompeius had a clear blueprint to end the chaos in the East.
He glanced around the pirate stronghold that they had completely destroyed.
"Even if things go too well as expected, it's a little discouraging. Well, it's probably because I made a perfect plan."
It was really Pompeius's impression that he didn't seem to be particularly proud.
"Hahaha.... Of course, to Pompeius, pirates would be just a stepping stone. It is natural that there is not much inspiration."
"If you think that the whole country has been shaken by these guys, it means that there is no talent in the republic. Don't you think so?"
"But that's why the flow of the times came to Pompeius."
"I agree, but the old raccoons in the Senate don't want to admit it. As long as incompetent people uselessly live on their pride."
Originally, if the Republic had normally been functioning, there was no way pirates or the like could have made such a fuss.
But now it was not.
Pompeius had to wait two years to be given the Imperium.
The damage to the citizens has been enormous, and the anger has been used as a driving force to pressure the Senate.
Without such incitement, Imperium could not be granted even in a crisis situation in the country.
It was hard to say that the current situation was normal for anyone to see.
"Even the senate will know in their hearts. Since you know, they are more desperate to keep Pompeius in check."
"That's why it's even more ridiculous. Do you really think this Pompeius Magnus will harm the Republic? Am I the one who has gained experience under Sulla, not under anyone else?"
"Africanus also loved the republic, but he was impeached by the Senators. Even today's senate is far more incompetent than it was back then. They will fear the very existence of Pompeius."
In fact, Pompeius was an undoubted member of the Optimates based on his origins.
This is because he was a prestigious aristocrat who served as a consul since his father's generation, and Pompeius himself was the same as Sulla's grandson.
Despite such a background, the Senate was anxious to undermine Pompeius's prestige somehow.
For Marcus, it was a great welcome to take advantage of the gap in the confrontation, but for the person involved, it was inevitably annoying.
"But if I sweep the pirates clean, even the old senators will lose their momentum. What can those who have no merit do with me?"
"... If you think about it common sense, I guess."
The words left a strange aftertaste, but Pompeius did not notice.
It was a common reaction from someone who had never experienced failure.
Whatever you do, you only succeed, so you naturally predict the situation in your favor.
"By the way, you watched my command with interest. Did you get any good results?"
"To be honest, I only checked the genius side of Pompeius once more and it was over. It was not at a level I could follow. Still, it was an opportunity to remind ourselves that neutralizing the opponent before fighting is the basis of war."
"Yes. One day you will go to the position of leading the legions, so keep it in your heart. Just like Alexandros the Great or Scipio Africanus, it is not possible to end a war simply by winning a great victory in the rounds. Of course, people cheer for the miraculous tactics of the great strategists. However, the reality is that gambling everything at once is too much of a burden for the commander. If you win, you won't want anything more, but if you lose, everything could be over. Besides, even if you win the gamble, the war may not end unless you absolutely neutralize your opponent."
"It certainly is."
In fact, not everyone can win every turn, like Alexandros or Caesar.
Hannibal, one of the best strategists in ancient times, is a good example.
He crossed the Alps into Rome and won three rounds in a row.
However, it failed to produce a decisive picture to topple Rome.
In the end, he returned to stop Scipio's army from landing in Africa and was defeated in the Battle of Zama.
No matter how heroic the victory may have been, he could not win the war.
The same was true of Pyrros, who was considered the best tactician after Alexandros.
He won consecutive victories in the war against Rome but gradually withdrew because he could not overcome the accumulated damage.
Since then, even a proverb has been coined that refers to a situation in which victory does not benefit the winner as a Pyrrhic victory.
Pompeius studied these past cases intensively and established his own view of war.
"So keep that in mind. Battle should be the work of confirming the victory of the war, not the gambler to decide the victory. If you don't forget this, your legions will not be annihilated in the future."
"Battle is only to confirm victory...…."
Marcus muttered over and over again so that he would never forget.
For him, who was not a tactical genius, it was advice that became his bone and flesh.
Pompeius showed the meaning of his words in an easy-to-understand result in his anti-piracy campaign.
Besides, the operation is not over yet.
There were still significant numbers of pirates left in the south and east.
There are still many opportunities to seek learning.
Thanks to this, the ideas in Marcus's head began to take on more and more concrete forms.
* * *
Pompeius once again proved his theory with action.
As soon as he finished the western front, Pompeius immediately moved the legions.
The key to sweeping battles is, above all else, speed.
The pirates must drive hard before they realize they are being hunted.
In fact, the pirates did not respond properly to the terrible speed of the Roman legion.
By the time the pirates of the East heard rumors that the Roman legions had begun clearing the West, he had already cleared the West.
The dense net made by Pompeius narrowed slowly from the west and south toward the east.
It helplessly drove the pirates into Cilicia like a flock of fish swept away by the waves.
"They're finally going to make a final attack. The target is a pirate den on the southern coast of Cilicia."
Spartacus looked puzzled that the war could end so quickly.
The only wars he knew of were the rebellion caused by Crixus and the Mithridatic War, which was said to be in progress in the East.
The Mithridates War had not yet ended, even though it had dragged on for seven years.
Even Crixus's rebellion in the Italian Peninsula has not been suppressed for more than a year.
However, pirates infested the Mediterranean are on the verge of being swept away in a short period of fewer than three months.
No wonder it didn't make sense.
He felt like an idiot for vowing to protect Marcus even in the face of fierce battles.
"I'm sure most people feel that way, not just you."
Marcus' words were not false.
Right now, even the Senate was shocked by Pompeius's formidable speed battle.
After being reported to have conquered the entire western Mediterranean in 40 days, they initially suspected it was a lie.
If even the allies watching from the side felt that way, how would the people who were being expelled feel?
The pirates did not properly accept the reality they were in.
Still, some of them intended to protect their pride, which threatened the entire Mediterranean world.
A large group of pirates was preparing for the final resistance at their home base.
500 Roman warships launched an all-out offensive, and the legionnaires, whose morale had risen to the fullest, launched their ships all at once to finish off.
The march went smoothly.
The pirates, exhausted by a series of the chase, did not dare to rush to attack the enormous power of the Roman army.
They were confined to a natural fortress that was not easy to approach inland and only firmly defended.
Pompeius, who watched the scene, laughed coldly and signaled not to attack first.
"Be vigilant so that not a single ship escapes this place. They're rats in the dock. There must be little food already stored, so please allow me to continue the defensive battle as I wished."
The Roman army controlled the nearby islands and received a stable supply through sea routes.
On the other hand, pirates already lack food and are in the worst situation where they cannot do this or that.
The fact that it is not easy to access by land is synonymous with the saying that it cannot be supplied through the land.
And the sea route has already been completely blocked by the Roman army.
They had already chased a number of pirates from all over the Mediterranean Sea, so the number of people had increased absurdly.
In the end, the pirates, frustrated with the mental fear of being surrounded and the food that was running out, jumped out first.
The Roman army immediately spotted a small group of pirates who tried to sneak away on a small boat.
A small pirate ship was smashed brutally by a stick mounted on the front of the Roman military ship.
Quaang!
"Cheak!"
Arrows and javelins flew toward the pirates, who screamed and fell into the sea.
In an instant, the blue sea water was stained with dark red blood.
The words of other pirates who tried to escape were not much different.
Obviously, they would get caught using a large speedboat, so they escaped on a small boat, but it was difficult to escape the tight siege.
Most of them were smashed by the impact of military ships, and some met a tragic end after being hit by ballistas.
In the end, the desperate pirates decided to lead all the ships and go to the last stand.
"Pirate ships are coming in large numbers!"
There were so many looted and built ships that poured out endlessly.
However, there was nothing pirates could do. They were already at the bottom of their morale and could not use their power properly due to a lack of food.
"It's just a last resort. Do not disturb the siege and calmly destroy it!"
The pouring-out pirates were already in the form of crashing into the Roman fleet that had already formed a siege.
Of course, it was like jumping into the fire with a straw.
The pirates on the boat fell into the sea without doing anything and became desperate.
The pirates aboard the galley were baptized with javelins and arrows before crossing the deck.
Luckily, those who succeeded in fighting a hundred battles did not make many differences.
There was a desperate power gap from the beginning, but to make matters worse, they couldn't even eat properly.
It was impossible to become an opponent.
According to Pompeius's theory, winning or losing had already been decided even before the battle took place.
Hundreds of pirate ships have been destroyed, and thousands of pirates have been killed.
When no more people were coming out of the fortress, Pompeius ordered the suppression of the base.
Even a fortress blessed by nature would be useless without the will and strength of those who defend it.
When the Roman army landed, the pirates' stronghold was in chaos.
Even in front of the warehouse where they piled up the treasure, there was a group of people engaged in self-destruction.
"Get out of the way, you bastards!"
"Don't be ridiculous! These treasures cannot be handed over!"
It was unreasonable to understand what kind of mental calculation it was to take care of the treasure even though there was no way to escape.
More people were stabbed to death by each other than those who fell by the Roman sword.
"It's an ugly and pathetic sight."
Marcus, who watched the scene, expressed a bitter impression.
Spartacus nodded silently from the side.
The sword, which had been well-sharpened to participate in battle, did not even get a chance to come out of its sheath.
It was too shabby words to say that it was the end of the pirate uprising that drove fear throughout the Mediterranean.
It has taken less than half a day since the battle began to subdue the pirates' stronghold completely.
It happened only 49 days after moving the front from the west to the east.
Forty days to subdue the West.
Forty-nine days to pacify the South and East.
Pompeius implemented Roman peace, or 'Pax Romana', throughout the Mediterranean in 89 days, less than three months.
It was a great achievement that no one in the world could achieve.
"Pompeius is the descended of Alexandros the Great and descended from the great gods!"
The Greeks, who pirates had looted not only from temples but also from cities and houses, knelt down and kissed Pompeius's feet.
The history of Greek being plagued by pirates is much older than that of Rome.
They have been constantly plagued by piracy since the first half of the first century B.C.
Even if they tried to subdue them, it was impossible with the power of Greece, which had already declined.
Rome has not been able to come up with a sharp solution so far.
In other words, Pompeius solved the problem they had not solved for more than decades in just 89 days.
It was not unreasonable for the Greeks to praise Pompeius as a god.
The Imperium received with the long term of 3 years in mind was still less than 1/10th of it passed.
The Senate sent a request to Pompeius to return, but he refused without question.
From the time he left to fight pirates, he had no intention of returning immediately.
Wiping out the pirates was nothing more than preliminary preparation.
The real purpose Pompeius was aiming for was separate from the beginning.
"Dismiss Lucullus, who is in charge of the Eastern front, and hand it over to me, Pompeius. I, who wiped out the pirates, will directly end Mithridates, who caused this conflict."
The wind that shakes the times has not yet calmed down.
Instead, the wind was about to turn into a storm sweeping the East at the hands of a giant named Pompeius.
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