Chapter 488: Chapter 356: Karsipengpas Changes Profession
The Roman captives were shackled with the leg irons originally intended for the pirates, and the pirates fastened them to the ends of the ship’s yards, sailing around the waters surrounding Italy, flaunting their might.
The Senators closed their eyes and pretended to be deaf and mute, even when Antonius II, the Governor in office, died in battle as a result, they did not take fierce retaliatory action against the pirates who humiliated Rome.
This greatly fueled the pirates’ arrogance.
In the second year after Pompey stepped down as Governor (68 BC), the pirates invaded Ostia Port, not only plundering a large amount of goods from the port but also burning the flagship of the Roman Governor in the dock.
Ostia Port is located at the mouth of the Tiber River, just forty-five miles from Rome. All goods transported to Rome by sea had to be unloaded at this port. The pirates set the port ablaze, burning countless grains transported from overseas provinces that fed Roman citizens, causing a famine to break out in Rome.
Starving Roman citizens furiously rushed into the square, demanding the Senate take action and appoint a Commander—not a paper tiger like Antonius II, but someone who could truly solve the problem.
Who was the ideal candidate in the people’s hearts? ... Catullus and Hotenius knew fully well, but that person had already been covered in glory at a young age. Allowing him to continue to hold military power might threaten the security of the Republic, so the Conservative Senators continued to feign ignorance, trying every way to delay the matter.
However, Pompey’s actions in lifting Sula’s ban and restoring the powers of the People’s Guardian during his tenure as Governor paid off at this time.
The newly appointed People’s Guardian, Oluus Gabinius, proposed a bill in the Citizens’ Assembly: granting Rome’s hero Pompey full authority to fight the pirates.
Due to Chief Elder Catullus’ vehement plea not to appoint "a de facto Emperor (referring to Pompey)," Caesar was among the few Senators who publicly supported this bill in the Senate. He even personally went to the square to help the People’s Guardian rally the people, using his own experiences to tell them how severe the threat posed by the pirates to the Roman citizens was!
Caesar’s decisive and fervent support for Pompey made the Senators realize that this newcomer to the Senate, who acted reckless and exaggerated, had already latched onto Pompey without anyone noticing.
At the beginning of 67 BC (the eighth year of Nix’s establishment), after the Roman citizens gathered again in the form of a tribal assembly, they enthusiastically passed this bill.
Pompey attained unprecedented military power, with five hundred ships and one hundred and twenty thousand men; he could also recruit more if necessary.
His command operations covered the entire Mediterranean, including all its islands, and extended inland for one hundred and fifty miles...
Rome’s military resources had never been so concentrated in one person’s hands, marking a sign of despair towards eradicating the pirates. Even Pompey’s supporters were a bit pessimistic, thinking that it would take him at least three years to achieve this goal.
But after setting his sights on the pirates, Pompey, after long contemplation, had a clear strategic plan: he divided the entire Mediterranean into thirteen regions, assigning a fleet to each region to attack and expel any pirate ships found in that area. At the same time, he dispatched troops to wait nearby the pirates’ strongholds on land, launching attacks once the pirates retreated to their lairs after losing at sea, completely wiping them out...
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In early August, the sun was scorching like flames, mercilessly baking the earth.
Roman warships patrolled back and forth on the Adriatic Sea. Once a pirate ship was discovered, they would descend upon it from all directions like a pack of wolves, stopping only until the ship and its crew were completely destroyed.
Even if the pirates quickly perceived the danger and managed to escape to the East Bank, the narrow east coast belonged to Rome’s Illyria Province. The Governor had long received orders from Pompey to have provincial troops conduct patrols along the coast by area. Even pirates who had made it ashore found it hard to escape Roman pursuit.
However, the Aldean tribespeople living across the Dinar Mountains, on the other side of the mountains, apparently were not yet aware of the bloody storms unleashed at sea and on the coast. In the low hills at the eastern foothills of the mountains lay a massive mine pit, permeated with dust and the smell of ores, where thousands of slaves silently dug for iron ore in the dusty air...
Their bodies were bare, their skin turned coarse and dark from long labor, their hands calloused and embedded with dust and rock fragments, their hair unkempt, appearing like savages. They wielded simple iron tools, digging pick by pick, each swing seeming unusually heavy...
Squads of Aldean Tribe warriors, dressed in tunics and holding long spears and light shields, patrolled the entire mine expressionlessly. Their eyes were as sharp as eagles; any slave attempting to slack off or resist faced severe punishment. The slaves dared not slack off in front of them, even in exhaustion, they could only work as hard as they could.
The entire mine was immersed in an oppressive atmosphere, only the slaves’ heavy breathing and the sound of tools striking echoed...
A not-so-far distance from the pit stood mounds of iron ore, stacked into small mountains. The dark brown iron ore was bathed in sunlight, coated with a faint, textured golden glow.
The slaves loaded the iron ore onto carts, transporting it cart by cart to the banks of the Kupa River, three miles away, where the Aldeans had built a dock holding over twenty ships.
At this moment, a group of Aldeans was directing the slaves to load the transported ore into wooden baskets, then carry them basket by basket onto the ships...
"How much longer until they’re loaded?" The Aldean Elder, Temisplous, watching over this process from the dock, couldn’t help but ask.
"Rest assured, they will be loaded by sunset, not delaying our departure tomorrow," Karsipengpas said indifferently.
At this moment, a shout came from afar: "Father! Father!..."
Familiar voices made Karsipengpas look up, only to see a group of people hurrying over from the south, led by his eldest son, Kobrunbodus.
Karsipengpas felt a flicker of worry in his heart and quickly went forward to ask, "What brings you here? Has something happened in the settlement?"
"Home is safe and sound, just—" Kobrunbodus whispered, "Father, your previous crew from the sea came to the settlement looking for you. They brought some pirates from other ships, urgently wanting to see you. I worried about them lingering near the settlement too long affecting its safety, so I brought them here quickly."
Karsipengpas looked behind his son, scanning the panting crowd; they were either his subordinates when he was a pirate or friends he met at sea...
Finally, his gaze fell on one person: "Onomabatis, you were so eager to find me—is it because something major has happened at sea?"
"Boss, your previous warnings have come true!" Onomabatis said with lingering fear, "The Romans have indeed dispatched a sizable fleet to the Adriatic Sea to besiege us. Their warships cover the entire sea area, with Roman ground forces assisting their operations. I’ve heard many pirate ships have been sunk, and many pirates captured...
Fortunately, we heeded your warnings before, not daring to stray far from our habitat during this time, and sent people to scout around. Once we noticed something amiss, we hid on an island.
But unexpectedly, those damned Romans already knew our hiding spot, transported soldiers using warships to strike the island. I quickly led my brethren to escape the island by swimming, heading into the hills after coming ashore.
But unexpectedly, Roman cavalry ambushed us on shore, scattering our ranks. Some... some brethren were killed or captured by the Romans—"
"How many brothers have we lost?!" Karsipengpas’ face changed abruptly, asking urgently.
"About... forty-five people..." Onomabatis responded with a heavy tone, head lowered.
Karsipengpas felt a wrenching pain in his heart. Over the years as a pirate, he had accumulated a total of three ships with about one hundred and fifty subordinates, losing a third of his men at once.
Even though most of his pirate subordinates were not from his own tribe, they were still compatriots, and the bonds formed through enduring life-and-death situations at sea over so many years ran deeper than with family. Thus, hearing their distressing news immediately filled him with sorrow.
"...We fled into the hills, and unexpectedly, the Romans dared to pursue us, so we led them around the mountains for two days, making them suffer before they retreated..."
Onomabatis continued, "Our place of residence on the island has been captured by the Romans, and our ships seized. After much discussion, everyone decided to come find you.
While on the way to your tribe, we ran into a few groups of pirate brothers who escaped from the Roman Army’s encirclement. They also agreed to join us in seeking you—"
"Karsipengpas brother, do you still recognize me?!" A burly young man among the group behind Onomabatis stepped forward, shouted excitedly.
"I certainly remember you, Agatakus, a warrior from southern Epirus." Karsipengpas looked at him, speaking earnestly: "We used to cooperate, intercepting a few Roman merchant ships. We even drank together! Your Helmsman was with us then...The chief sailor... "
Karsipengpas named the several pirate chiefs who followed Agatakus, and they all felt relieved. Since Karsipengpas remembered their bond, he probably would not turn them away.
"Chief Karsipengpas, we’ve all heard Onomabatis say, a few months ago you predicted the Romans would conduct a large-scale crackdown on us, and repeatedly warned your subordinates..." Agatakus spoke respectfully, hope gleaming in his eyes: "Our primary purpose in coming is to seek advice from you, wise one, on what our next steps should be?!"