Anthony had initially been somewhat jealous of this man, but upon meeting him this time, he found that the once high-spirited Legion Commander looked utterly exhausted, even speaking with a heavy and dejected tone, which brought a sense of satisfaction to Anthony's heart.

"...My army was completely defeated by the Gaul Rebel Army, with less than a thousand able to escape back to the Western Fa Province. At that time, I was thinking, 'It's over. If the Gaul Rebel Army advances to attack the Western Fa Province, what will I use to resist them...'

But the Gaul Rebel Army didn't do that. In fact, for a while, I couldn't find a trace of the Gaul Rebel Army in the Gaul region near the Western Fa Province, but none of the scouts I sent to the Gaul region returned.

Later, after much effort, I learned from the once friendly Gaul Tribe that the Gaul Rebel Army had gone north to besiege the 14th Legion stationed in Northern Gaul—"

Anthony angrily interrupted him: "So you're saying the three complete legions that Caesar entrusted to you before he left, two of them are now lost, and the other one is heavily surrounded by the Gauls, not far from being lost as well!—"

Trebonius defended, "The Gaul Rebel Army hasn't appeared on the borders of the Western Fa Province yet. It seems the 14th Legion is prepared. As long as they hold the camp, the Gaul Rebel Army, lacking siege experience and equipment, will find it difficult to conquer it quickly...

The other two legions still have some officers and soldiers alive. I have conducted emergency conscription in the Western Fa Province, but due to limited time, only one legion has been formed. With another month, I can still—"

"Enough!" Anthony shouted, chastising, "Stop making excuses! Caesar trusted you, giving you the heavy responsibility of guarding the Gaul region and the Northern Three Provinces. Yet, you failed to detect the Gaul plotting rebellion in advance and did not prepare in time. You failed to annihilate these rebels in a timely manner, instead allowing the soldiers to suffer such heavy casualties, destabilizing the previously stable Gaul region, ruining ten years of Caesar's hard work in one fell swoop! Trebonius, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Inwardly, Trebonius disagreed, wanting to explain but, after a moment of thought, swallowed his words. Facing Anthony's angry glare, he took a deep breath and earnestly said, "You're right, I did fail Caesar's trust, I made some mistakes! I will personally go to beg Caesar for forgiveness, but now we need to act quickly to restore stability to the province and Gaul region so that Caesar can continue to pursue Pompey's rebels without concern and become the victor in this civil war!"

Anthony sneered, crossing his legs as he sat on the wooden chair, saying sarcastically, "You mean you want me to lead the army to Gaul first to exterminate the rebels and rescue the 14th Legion?"

"No!" Trebonius responded decisively, "Our priority now should be to defeat the barbarian army invading the Northern Italy Province and save the Northern Italy people in crisis; only then can Caesar once again earn the affection of the Northern Italy people!"

After all, the Gaul region was only recently conquered, and the Romans had not yet regarded it as their own territory, but the Northern Italy Province had long been part of the Roman Empire, where many Roman citizens lived.

Ensuring the safety of the territory first and then pacifying the revolt abroad is the inevitable choice of every Roman politician, especially since the Nix people even spread rumors that disrupted Caesar's smooth control of Rome, so Trebonius's last words subtly reminded Anthony.

Anthony straightened himself, asking, "Since you say we should first fight the eastern barbarians, you must have some understanding of them?"

"I hadn't paid much attention to this barbarian group called the Nix before, but recently I have been dispatching cavalry daily to investigate the eastern part of the Northern Italy Province, and I've learned some about the situation."

Trebonius paused slightly, seeing Anthony unconsciously lean forward, he felt slightly at ease and continued, "From the intelligence gathered, I find that the barbarian army is not solely composed of Nix people; there are also many Germanic and Yapode people, totaling possibly forty to sixty thousand people—"

"Possibly forty to sixty thousand? Trebonius, the enemy has been here for so long, and you still haven't figured out their troop strength!" Anthony's face fell, criticizing.

Trebonius quickly pleaded, "It's not that I haven't tried my best, but the main enemy force is near Aquileia. They have been blocking that area, and any attempt by my scouts to approach is met with attacks by barbarian cavalry. I've lost dozens of cavalry because of it!"

Anthony grunted a few times but did not speak further.

Trebonius went on to explain, "Initially, the barbarian army was besieging Aquileia while sending some soldiers to attack towns like Padua, Vicenza, and Treviso. I've figured out these divided forces, totaling nearly thirty thousand.

Although there are few troops defending inside Aquileia, the city has high walls and strong defenses. If the barbarians leave too few forces to besiege it, the army inside Aquileia would even dare to strike out boldly and repel them, which is why I judge their forces to be about forty to sixty thousand."

Anthony scoffed, "Forty to sixty thousand, sounds scary, but we've faced battles in Gaul where the enemy's forces outnumbered ours many times, and we emerged victorious each time. I reckon this time will be no different."

Trebonius hesitated for a moment but still cautioned, "Based on the intelligence gathered, the weapons and equipment of the invading Germanic and Yapode people seem to be better than those of the barbarians we faced in the Gaul region. Perhaps because they raided towns like Padua and replaced their gear with ours.

And the Nix army is fully armored, equipped with large shields and short swords. They march and fight in an orderly manner, somewhat similar to our legions, and I fear their combat effectiveness won't be too weak!"

In a deep voice, Anthony said, "Caesar had already informed me; this Nix Tribe is indeed somewhat special. They have indeed learned a few things from us Romans. But barbarians are barbarians; no matter what, they can't become Rome. As long as we take heed, the Nix won't be our match. I just want to know one thing: has Aquileia been captured by them yet?!"

Trebonius did not immediately respond but questioned instead, "Aquileia is near the sea; ships coming and going from the Adriatic Bay should know more about the situation there. Haven't you received any information?"

Anthony expressed unhappiness, "Damn, do I need you to tell me that? I've already inquired with the ships on the Adriatic Sea. But the barbarians captured Pula, gathered the port's ships, and put together a fleet, blocking the sea near Aquileia, so other ships dare not approach. How is it possible to learn about the situation there?

I also contemplated sending our warships over, which could easily crush those few lousy barbarian ships. However, although Pompey is defeated, his fleet has yet to surrender. We don't have many warships and must defend Brindisi, unable to stray far, ensuring the safety of the route to Greece, guaranteeing Caesar can return smoothly in the future.

Besides, Aquileia, though near the sea, is all shoals without a port. Even if warships were sent, they could not provide support from the sea. Whether or not we have warships isn't crucial; anyway, we only need to defeat the barbarians on land to solve this eastern problem!"

Anthony stressed, "So what I need to know now is whether Aquileia has been occupied by the barbarians. This determines the tactics we will use next!"

"It should... not have been," Trebonius hesitated slightly, "Though it's been over two months since the barbarians invaded the Northern Italy Province, during which they captured Padua, Vicenza, and several other towns, these towns mainly fell because there were too few stationed troops.

I asked the refugees, and these barbarians breached towns by climbing walls with wooden ladders and using siege carriages to batter gates. Their siege capability only slightly surpasses that of the Gauls. But you and I both know Aquileia's defense is not something barbarian's rudimentary siege methods can easily overcome!"

Anthony hummed, nodding approvingly.

"Based on the barbarian's performance during this period, they first occupied towns like Pula in the east by surprise, then surrounded Aquileia, and hurriedly attacked nearby towns like Treviso, but shortly after capturing these towns, they all suddenly retreated...

I dispatched scouts multiple times; although they never got close to Aquileia, they said, 'the sound of battle from the direction of Aquileia was deafening, as if the barbarians were still intensifying their attack on Aquileia!' Moreover, according to the habit of the barbarians, if they had captured Aquileia, they would certainly have advanced south in force, plundering more of our towns..."

Anthony was persuaded, vigorously waving his fist, "Since the barbarians are still gathering in the Aquileia territory, I've decided to advance immediately and engage them in a decisive battle under the city!"

This was precisely what Trebonius wanted, but he pretended to advise cautiously, "The barbarians have not yet conquered Aquileia. This is just my judgment and hasn't been confirmed. We should still—"

"We don't have time to dawdle!" Anthony interrupted resolutely, "Quickly deal with the eastern barbarians. We still have to head west to pacify the Gaul revolt, saving the besieged 14th Legion!"

Anthony spoke with righteousness, but he also had his motives because he had received news that Lucius, leading troops from Dyrrachium northward, had successively recaptured several towns seized by the barbarians and was nearing Pula!

Though Lucius had few troops, Anthony hadn't expected the barbarian's eastern coastal forces to be so weak. If Lucius really pushed straight through to Aquileia, defeating the main barbarian force, he would be embarrassed then, so he must advance quickly, reclaim Aquileia, and drive back the barbarians! The glory of this war must be secured by him—the Commander of the Roman Army personally!

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