The Mad Tycoon of Rome

Chapter 49: Pirate Extermination 2

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“Impressive…”

Marcus muttered to himself as he watched the pirates being dragged away one by one.

“Indeed.”

Spartacus nodded reflexively.

‘I knew they would finish it quickly, but seeing it in person makes me realize how amazing it is.’

It was a historical fact that Pompey had swept away the pirates of the western Mediterranean in just 40 days.

Marcus had known this would happen before he went to war.

But seeing the fact that he only knew as knowledge in person made him understand why the strategists of later generations praised him unanimously.

The basic framework of Pompey’s strategy was simple.

Instead of directly eliminating the pirates, he occupied the ports and cut off their supply of food and water, isolating them.

Then he guided the movements of the desperate pirates in a certain direction, gathered them in one place, and wiped them out at once.

It might sound easy if you just listen to the operation plan, but actually realizing it was a completely different matter.

In ancient times, maps and even charts were not accurate, and information exchange between allies was not free.

To carry out simultaneous operations in a wide area, a meticulous pre-plan was necessary.

Moreover, if a single minor variable occurred, the plan could be completely distorted.

There was no guarantee that the pirates would be lured as they wanted, so they had to prepare a second and third countermeasure.

Just thinking of a few points to consider realistically made his head dizzy.

Marcus had to admit that he had been underestimating Pompey until now.

He had been subtly lowering his evaluation of Pompey because of the fact that he lost to Caesar in the most important decisive battle.

‘In fact, that battle was not entirely Pompey’s fault either.’

The Pharsalus battle where Pompey lost to Caesar was not a battle that Pompey wanted to fight.

His original strategy was to avoid a frontal confrontation and starve Caesar to death by cutting off his supply.

But he was pushed by the demands of the senators who were with him and had no choice but to enter the decisive battle.

As a result, he was swept away by Caesar’s unbelievable field command ability and lost.

Of course, losing is losing, so it is fair to say that Pompey’s tactical ability is below Caesar’s.

But Caesar only reversed his strategic failure with his transcendent command ability.

The ability that a strategist who draws the overall picture of war should have might be higher for Pompey.

‘If I could have such a strategist under me…’

“Marcus, you were here.”

Pompey approached Marcus, who was lost in thought.

He didn’t look very excited even though he had successfully completed such a large-scale operation.

It wasn’t because there were still the south and east left.

He just thought this much was natural and didn’t need to make a fuss.

“Is everything done with the aftermath of the battle?”

“What aftermath? I ordered them to execute the poor-quality pirates among the prisoners and keep the rest for a while because they have some use.”

Normally, all the prisoners should have been sold to the slave market.

But among the pirates, many were those who lost their livelihoods due to the conflicts of the oriental dynasties.

If they didn’t root out the fundamental problem, the same thing would happen again.

Pompey had a clear blueprint to end the chaos in the east.

He glanced around the pirate base that was completely shattered.

“It’s a bit boring when things go too smoothly. Well, I guess it’s because I made such a perfect plan.”

He didn’t seem to be aware that he was bragging, which was a typical impression of Pompey.

“Ha, haha… Of course, pirates are nothing but stepping stones for Pompey. It’s natural that you don’t feel much emotion.”

“It’s ridiculous to think that the whole country was shaken by these guys, but that means there is no talent in the republic. Don’t you think so?”

“But that’s why the tide of the times came to Pompey.”

“I agree. But the old foxes of the senate don’t want to admit that fact. They are useless and only have pride.”

If the republic had been functioning normally, there would have been no way for pirates to cause such trouble.

But not now.

Pompey had to wait for two years to get the imperium.

During that time, the citizens suffered a lot and used their anger to pressure the senate.

Without such agitation, he couldn’t get the imperium even in a national crisis.

The current situation was hard to say normal by anyone’s standards.

“The senate must know it deep down. They are more desperate to check Pompey because they know it.”

“That’s why it’s more ridiculous. Do they think this Pompey Magnus will sincerely harm the republic? Me, who has been gaining experience under Sulla since I was young?”

“Africanius also loved the republic, but he was impeached by the hands of the senators. And the current senate is much more incompetent than then. They are afraid of Pompey’s existence itself.”

In fact, Pompey was a member of the optimates without a doubt if you look at his background.

He was a nobleman from a prestigious family who had been consuls since his father, and Pompey himself was almost a disciple of Sulla.

Despite such a background, the senate was frustrated that they couldn’t cut down Pompey’s prestige.

For Marcus, it was welcome to take advantage of the gap between the opposing factions, but for the party concerned, it was annoying.

“But once I sweep away the pirates cleanly, even the old men of the senate will lose their momentum. How can they do anything to me when they have no merit at all?”

“…That would be logical.”

It was a strange remark, but Pompey didn’t notice it.

It was a common reaction of someone who had never experienced failure.

He naturally expected the situation to be favorable to him because he succeeded in everything he did.

“By the way, you seemed to be watching my command with interest. Did you learn anything?”

“To be honest, I just confirmed your genius once again. It’s not something I can follow. But it was an opportunity to remind myself that disabling the enemy before fighting is the basis of war.”

“That’s right. Someday you will also lead a legion, so keep it in mind deeply. It’s not enough to end a war with a decisive victory like Alexander the Great or Scipio Africanus in a battle. Of course, people cheer for the miraculous reversal tactics of great strategists.

But betting everything on one battle is too much pressure for a commander as well. If you win, there is nothing more to ask for, but if you lose, everything can be over. And even if you win in a battle, if you don’t disable the enemy for sure, the war may not end.”

“That’s true.”

In fact, not everyone can win every battle like Alexander or Caesar.

Hannibal, one of the best strategists of ancient times, is a good example.

He crossed the Alps and invaded Rome, and won three consecutive battles.

But he failed to draw a decisive picture to bring down Rome.

Eventually, he had to retreat to stop Scipio’s army that landed in Africa, and he lost at the battle of Zama.

He failed to lead the war to victory, no matter how heroic his victories were.

Pyrrhus, who was regarded as one of the best strategists after Alexander, was the same.

He won a series of battles against Rome, but he couldn’t overcome the accumulated damage and had to withdraw.

Later, a situation where winning doesn’t benefit the winner was called a Pyrrhic victory.

Pompey studied these past cases intensively and firmly built his own war view.

“So remember this. A battle should be a work to confirm the victory of war, not a gamble to decide it. If you don’t forget this, you won’t see your legion being annihilated ridiculously in the future.”

“A battle is a work to confirm the victory of war…”

Marcus repeated it several times to never forget it.

It was a bone and flesh advice for him who was not a genius of tactics.

Pompey proved his theory again with his actions.

As soon as the aftermath of the western front was over, Pompey moved his legion immediately.

The key to the sweep operation was speed above all.

He had to strike hard before the pirates realized they were being hunted.

In fact, the pirates couldn’t respond properly to the incredible speed of the Roman legion.

When the eastern pirates heard rumors that the Roman legion had started sweeping in the west, it was already after the sweeping of the western region was over.

The dense net that Pompey had made narrowed down from the west and south toward the east.

The pirates had no choice but to be driven into Cilicia like a school of fish swept by a wave.

“We’re finally going for the final attack. The target is the pirate den on the south coast of Cilicia.”

Spartacus looked nervous that the war could end so quickly.

The only wars he knew were the rebellion led by Crixus and the Mithridatic war that was going on in the east.

The Mithridatic war lasted for seven years and still wasn’t over.

Even Crixus’s rebellion, which took place on the Italian peninsula, took more than a year to suppress.

But now, the pirates who were boiling over the entire Mediterranean region were about to be swept away in less than three months.

It was understandable that he didn’t understand.

He had vowed to protect Marcus even in fierce battles, but now he felt like a fool.

“You’re not alone. Most people probably feel that way.”

Marcus’s words were not false.

Even the senate was shocked by Pompey’s incredible speed.

When they received a report that he had pacified the entire western Mediterranean in just 40 days, they first doubted it was false.

If even allies who watched from the side felt that way, what would be the feelings of those who were driven away?

The pirates couldn’t accept their reality properly.

But some of them still wanted to keep their pride as they threatened the whole Mediterranean world.

The pirates who gathered in large numbers prepared for their last resistance at their base.

The 500 Roman warships that launched a total offensive, and the legionaries with high morale, set sail to finish it.

The march was smooth.

The pirates, whose minds and bodies were exhausted by the successive chases, did not dare to attack the Roman army’s tremendous might.

They only fortified their defense in a natural fortress that was not easy to approach from the land.

Pompey looked at the scene and let out a cold sneer, sending a signal not to attack first.

“Don’t let a single ship escape from here. They are rats in a trap. They don’t have much food stored anyway, so let them continue their siege as they wish.”

The Roman army occupied a nearby island and received a stable supply through the sea route.

On the other hand, the pirates who were already short of food were in the worst situation where they could do nothing.

Not being easy to approach from the land meant that they couldn’t get supplies through the land.

And the sea route was already completely blocked by the Roman army.

As if that wasn’t enough, the number of people had increased ridiculously because the pirates had been chased from all over the Mediterranean.

Eventually, the pirates who were frustrated by the psychological fear of being surrounded and the dwindling food ran out first.

A small group of pirates who tried to escape secretly on a small boat were immediately spotted by the Roman army.

The ram mounted on the front of the Roman warship mercilessly smashed the small pirate ship.

Bang!

“Aargh!”

Arrows and javelins flew toward the pirates who fell into the sea screaming.

In an instant, the blue seawater was stained with dark red blood.

The escape attempts of other pirates were no different.

They escaped on small boats because they would be caught if they used large fast ships, but it was hard to get out of the dense encirclement.

Most of them had their ships smashed by the ram of the warship, and some were hit by ballistas and met a miserable end.

In the end, the desperate pirates decided to make their last stand with all their ships.

“The pirate ships are coming out in large numbers!”

There were so many ships that had been plundered and built that they poured out endlessly.

But there was nothing that the pirates who had lost their morale and strength due to lack of food could do.

“It’s just their last struggle. Don’t break the encirclement and calmly annihilate them!”

The pouring pirates crashed directly into the Roman line that had already formed a siege.

Of course, this was like jumping into fire after losing one’s footing.

The pirates on small boats did nothing but fall into the sea and become ghosts.

The pirates on galleys also died by javelins and arrows before they could cross over to the deck.

Even those who managed to succeed in hand-to-hand combat were no different.

There was already a desperate gap in power, and on top of that, they hadn’t eaten properly.

They were no match for them.

As Pompey’s theory said, victory and defeat had already been decided before the battle began.

Hundreds of pirate ships were broken and thousands of pirates became cold corpses.

When there were no more people coming out of the fortress, Pompey ordered to subdue the base.

A natural fortress was useless if those who defended it had no will or strength.

When the Roman army landed, the pirate base was in chaos like hell.

There was even a crowd rioting in front of the warehouse where they had stored their loot.

“Get out of my way, you bastards!”

“Don’t make me laugh! I can’t give up these treasures!”

It was hard to understand what kind of mindset they had, trying to grab the treasures even when there was no way to escape.

More of them died by stabbing each other with spears and swords than by falling to the Roman blades.

“What a pitiful and ugly sight.”

Marcus, who witnessed the scene, uttered a bitter remark.

Spartacus silently nodded beside him.

He didn’t even get a chance to draw his well-sharpened sword from the scabbard to join the battle.

It was too pathetic to be called the end of the great pirate uprising that had terrorized the Mediterranean Sea.

t took less than half a day to completely subjugate the pirate stronghold after the battle began.

It happened only 49 days after Pompey moved his front line from the west to the east.

He had subdued the west in 40 days.

He had pacified the south and the east in 49 days.

In less than three months, in just 89 days, Pompey had established the Roman peace, or ‘Pax Romana’, throughout the Mediterranean Sea.

It was a magnificent achievement that no one in the world could ever accomplish.

“Pompey is truly the successor of Alexander the Great, and the descendant of the great gods!”

The Greeks, who had been plundered by the pirates of their temples, cities, and houses, knelt down and kissed Pompey’s feet.

The history of Greece suffering from the pirates was much longer than that of Rome.

They had been plagued by the pirate problem since the early first century BC.

They couldn’t suppress them with their already declined power.

Rome also failed to provide a viable solution until now.

Pompey solved a problem that had been unresolved for decades in just 89 days.

It was not unreasonable for the Greeks to praise Pompey as a god.

The imperium that he had received for a long period of three years had not even passed one-tenth yet.

The Senate sent him a request to return, but he refused it without hesitation.

He never intended to return right after sweeping away the pirates.

That was just a preparation for something else.

Pompey had a different goal from the beginning.

“Dismiss Lucullus, who is in charge of the eastern provinces, and give me his position. I, Pompey, will personally finish off Mithridates, who caused this conflict by wiping out the pirates.”

The wind that shook the era had not calmed down yet.

Rather, it was about to turn into a storm that swept across the east by the hand of Pompey, the Great.