Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 823 Guo Kang, who wants to farm but doesn't want to fight
While Wang Da Lama and others were discussing him, Guo Kang himself was on a ship in the Aegean Sea, looking at the letters he had received earlier.

This time, Guo Kang didn't return alone. Accompanying him at sea were the headquarters of the 33rd Army Corps, as well as the newly formed 39th and 41st Army Corps. However, most of them transferred to other ships on Crete and went directly to Taranto. Only a few people who needed to return to Dadu for duty reporting and rotation accompanied him north.

After the plague gradually subsided, the imperial court began to arrange rotations. Based on years of experience in warfare, expeditions should be kept as short as possible. The initial contingent of troops, in particular, had already been exhausted from field battles and siege warfare. While suppressing local unrest and restoring order might seem less intense, the tasks were extremely complex and mentally taxing. Prolonged deployments would easily lead to excessive fatigue among the troops.

This time, the Eighth and Thirty-Third Legions have exceeded their mission targets. After the Black Death finally disappeared and the ports of Alexandria officially reopened, the court immediately dispatched a special envoy to announce the reward policy for the troops and the rotation schedule. Because they had successfully completed two wars in one fell swoop, without incurring particularly heavy costs, and in an unexpected way directly resolved the long-lost issue of Egypt, the court was exceptionally generous this time. From the legion's high command to the lowest-ranking soldiers, everyone received honors and rewards. Those who made meritorious contributions even received special ceremonies on the spot to commend them. Many legion soldiers believed that a triumphant return was inevitable this time.

However, they also received news that the King of Naples had died. Moreover, in the short few months they had been isolated, the whole of Europe had fallen into chaos. Therefore, the court decided to seize this opportunity to march into Italy, strive to recapture Rome, and complete the unfinished task of years past.

The entire legion, and even Guo Kang himself, were quite shocked, even feeling a sense of unreality. For years, the reconquest of Rome had been one of the main slogans of the Purple Horde, but precisely because it had been touted as a major goal, it seemed impossibly distant. Now, suddenly it was said to be about to begin. Many people's first reaction wasn't joy or excitement, but rather a rush to inquire about the current situation, to see why the court had made this judgment, and whether they had been blinded by some reason…

This idea arose partly because it was indeed sudden, and partly because it was related to the habits of the Khanates. Interestingly, ancient Rome, often seen as a representative of classical militarism, frequently lacked the desire to engage in war, especially during the Republic period, often displaying a very "pacifist" attitude. In contrast, the Purple Horde was highly aggressive and very fond of initiating wars…

Take the Naples region, which is currently receiving a lot of attention, as an example. The fact that this place was ruled by the Romans was actually the result of a series of coincidences.

The port of Taranto, where they landed, also had a long history. Even when the Romans were still confined to central Italy, it was a famous seaport and commercial city. After Rome defeated the Samnites, Taranto, as the largest city-state in the "Greater Greece" region, immediately reacted: they used the emergence of a new barbarian tribe that was gradually encroaching on the Greeks as a pretext to strengthen their alliances and increase their control over the surrounding smaller city-states.

Alliances were a common organizational form for Greek city-states. However, although they were nominally allies, and the covenants declared that all member city-states were equal, in reality, there were always a few city-states that were more equal than the others.

Take, for example, some of the most famous alliances. The Delian League, spearheaded by Athens, claimed to be dedicated to protecting the freedom of the Greeks and fighting against the Persian Empire. Initially, the league did indeed fulfill its duties; in fact, the league itself was established after the victory at the Battle of Plataea.

The alliance's meeting place and public treasury were originally located on the island of Delos, hence its name. Numerous city-states in Asia Minor and the Aegean joined, declaring their intention to use collective power to liberate the Greek city-states enslaved by Persia and to defend against further Persian invasions. At its peak, the alliance comprised over two hundred city-states. Athens, as the most powerful force in the alliance, naturally held the greatest authority and frequently used public affairs as a pretext to impose demands and tributes on other city-states. However, the Persian threat was still real at this time, so everyone had no choice but to tolerate it.

However, after the Greco-Persian Wars ended, Athens was unwilling to dissolve the alliance. This was because the alliance had proven too useful as a tool for controlling and exploiting its allies. Moreover, although the covenant stipulated that members could freely enter and leave, Athens would attack anyone who withdrew from the alliance…

The military funds originally intended for fighting Persia were now being used as a pretext to plunder allies. The Athenians frequently demanded that their allies increase their military spending, but this money was not used to fight the now-defunct Persian expeditionary force; instead, it went directly into Athens' coffers as a form of tribute.

Initially, the Athenians only controlled and secretly misappropriated the treasury. Later, finding this too troublesome, they simply moved the treasury directly to the city of Athens, abandoning all pretense...

At the same time, Athens, under the pretext of joint defense, stationed troops in its allied city-states, supported pro-Athenian forces, and suppressed local factions and other powers. Eventually, even important cases of its allies were handed over to Athens for trial. The allies were also required to use Athenian coins. Furthermore, Athens began to demand that other city-states establish pro-Athenian democracies.

These actions aroused discontent among other city-states. However, Athens was ultimately defeated by Sparta, and the alliance was dissolved.

Southern Italy at that time was also part of the Greek cultural sphere, so the customs of these people were actually quite similar. Taranto was a city founded by the Spartans, but by this time, they had lost much of their martial tradition.

Due to thriving commerce, the local custom of citizen-soldiers had largely faded. The local economy was highly developed, boasting a population of 300,000 by 500 BC, yet they still lacked their own army, relying primarily on mercenaries to meet military needs. Power in the city-state had also shifted from the citizens to a few commercial oligarchs.

Because of this situation, the political atmosphere in Taranto was in a very strange state. The rule of the oligarchs led to widespread discontent among the lower classes, but they were unwilling to serve in the military and only wanted to elect a strong leader to help them gain more power.

The rulers of the city-states were fully aware of this, but they were equally conflicted. They were unwilling to relinquish some of their interests to alleviate internal conflicts, yet they also lacked the ability to completely suppress the common people and ignore their demands. As a result, their actions were often extremely radical, even to an exaggerated degree. This not only ultimately harmed themselves but also those who were originally unrelated…

At this time, militaristic Rome was actually quite conservative in its diplomacy, even somewhat cowardly. Conversely, city-states like Taranto were quite aggressive, hoping to gain enough resources and prestige from foreign wars to maintain their rule. As a result, before the Romans even arrived, Taranto began to levy additional military taxes on its allies under the pretext of an impending Roman invasion, preparing to make a fortune.

These actions naturally aroused dissatisfaction among other small city-states. One small city, Thuri, switched its allegiance to the Romans. Taranto immediately sent men to sack the city, while Thuri urgently appealed to the Romans for help.

At this critical juncture, a Roman fleet of ten ships, seeking refuge from the storm, entered the bay where Taranto was located. The Tarantoans were celebrating Dionysus, and in high spirits, they attacked without warning. As a result, five Roman transport ships were sunk, and all the sailors were killed. The remaining ships fled in panic, bringing the news back with them. When word spread, the Romans were outraged, feeling that Taranto had acted unreasonably. However, the Senate did not want to wage war. Therefore, they ultimately decided to send an envoy to reason with the Romans. The envoy did not even demand accountability, but only requested compensation for the losses suffered by the fleet in the attack. This way, the victims would be given closure, and trade could continue.

Even with this request, the Tarantoans refused. They not only expelled the Roman envoys but also openly mocked their Greek accent.

At that time, Greek held a very high status, and even the Romans themselves took pride in learning it. To mock someone for not speaking standard Greek was tantamount to calling them an uncultured country bumpkin.

As a result, the Senate, which had tolerated murder and robbery and demanded peace, broke down this time...

Rome deployed its legions and quickly defeated Taranto's ragtag army. But at this point, the Senate inexplicably halted its efforts, even releasing the prisoners, naively believing that relations with the Greeks could be repaired, their recognition gained, and trade resumed peacefully.

But the Tarantoans didn't understand. Seeing that they couldn't win, they immediately paid for one of the most famous commanders of the time—Pyrrhus, King of Epirus—to deal with the Romans.

To persuade Pyrrhus to accept, they even claimed that they had ample manpower, enough to assemble 35 infantry and 2 cavalry. With a good commander, defeating the Romans would be no problem. Pyrrhus initially thought that even if it was boasting, they would at least have tens of thousands of men for him, so he went there excitedly. Upon arrival, he discovered that there wasn't a single person there. They were expecting him to fight the Romans himself…

The Romans took this figure of 37 troops seriously. In a panic, Rome urgently mobilized its forces and then dispatched troops rapidly south. The consuls believed that by the time all 37 men arrived, there would be no hope. Their only option was to defeat Pyrrhus's vanguard before he could complete his assembly.

And that's how the two sides started fighting in a rather confused way.

Therefore, if you study the history of that time, it's not hard to see that Rome wasn't the stereotypical "military maniac." On the contrary, the Senate was often surprisingly soft, seemingly with its primary goal being to do business with various Carthaginians, Greeks, and so on. It's hard to say...

Conversely, it's relatively rare to find a khanate like the Purple Horde that genuinely wanted to send troops into battle. Their desire for unification was so intense that they resembled Han Chinese more than Romans.

According to intelligence from the imperial court, Italy is now completely in chaos. While the ancient Romans could form city-state alliances to fight their enemies, the Italians today are struggling to even maintain such superficial alliances.

Historically, Italians have indeed formed alliances many times to fight against powerful foreign nations, but such alliances are difficult to maintain for long. Often, even within a single city-state, conflicts can break out over issues such as whether to side with the Pope or the Holy Roman Emperor, and neither side can defeat the other in the long run.

Therefore, the Purple Horde believed that the reason these people formed an alliance to fight against them was not because the Italians were united, but because the French and Alemanni were too rebellious. If they had acted with even a little humanity and used a modicum of diplomacy and political maneuvering, they wouldn't have created so many enemies.

After all, for the locals, having an incompetent ruler is a bad thing; but what's worse is having a group of incompetent rulers. This situation is unbearable for many, and they probably only tolerate it because they can't find any other alternatives.

In previous tests, they had already discovered that the enemies they faced lacked firm convictions and even the resolve to defend their homeland was scarce. Their negotiating partners were mostly urban nobles and local magnates, as these were the people who controlled the lifeline of the Italian economy. However, they were also the group with the weakest will and the most questionable beliefs.

Therefore, after this sudden change in circumstances, Khanate immediately began to take action.

Of course, the speed of all this development was somewhat unexpected—far exceeding Guo Kang's own expectations. In his view, Zhu Wenkui's progress had reached a somewhat frightening level. Heaven knows what they've done—or rather, what Sigismund and his gang have been doing all this time. How could they be so fast…

To be honest, Guo Kang himself wasn't really prepared. According to his initial plan, he had at least a year to gradually complete the follow-up work. Around June or July, when Sirius rose before dawn, it signified the start of the flooding—the lifeblood of Egypt would need to be maintained and fertilized for the surrounding fields. During this time, he needed to quickly gather personnel and carry out various tasks, because once the flooding period ended, the next production cycle would begin immediately. The output of this round would even directly determine the future development level of the Egyptian province, because ultimately, the confidence of both the common people and the Senate rested on the output.

As soon as communication was restored, they told him there was a war...

Therefore, Guo Kang doesn't really want to go to the battlefield now; he still misses farming.

(End of this chapter)