Read Online To Crown a Caesar (The Praetorian Series: Book II) by Edward Crichton - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Edward Crichton
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the Rhone River before turning east, looking for the Rhine. The past few nights with Helena had been awkward, but so had the past few months. No further attempts to discuss our issues had arisen, but our bed had been shared like two boyhood friends forced to sleep in the same bed by an overbearing mother. Once on the road, the three of us traveled in silence, the distance between us greater than ever, but we were professionals. We spent the time analyzing all the available intelligence we had on Rome’s military situation.
Word on the street was that Vespasian had been appointed to the rank of legate, and sent to serve under another Roman during the camp aign in Britannia with the Legio II Augusta . The rumors indicated that he had performed well in Britannia, more so than expected, and it hadn’t been long before he was granted another commission, and an army of his own to command in Germany.
Everything was going according to my knowledge of Roman history, except pretty much nothing.
Most of what I knew about Vespasian was based on Suetonius, a risky source at best, but I was pretty sure he was supposed to retire and disappear from public life for a number of years after campaigning in Britannia, an operation orchestrated by Claudius in the original timeline, only to be recalled into the military to deal with the Jewish revolt in the east in 66 A.D. Agrippina, apparently, had other plans for him. It was a shrewd strategy. There hadn’t been progress in Germany since Julius Caesar had crossed the Rhine, only to coming back across just as quickly without venturing very far. The only noteworthy news in the area after Caesar was the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, where three legions were annihilated under the command of Quinctilius Varus. If Agrippina had plans to expand the empire, going there was the logical, if not dangerous, choice and appointing Vespasian was another.
We’d also heard from passing Roman s, whose tongues were quite lucid after a few drinks and a scantily clad Helena, that Galba had been assigned to Vespasian’s command team. After The Battle for Rome four years ago, Galba had gone back to Germany to retrain the nearly destroyed Legio XV Primigenia after it had helped Caligula reclaim his imperial power. Later, he had been made governor of the Iberian Peninsula, another historical consistency.
I wasn’t sure why he had chosen to serve under a relative upstart like Vespasian, but I had a bad feeling it had something to do with our involvement. As far as I knew, until 69 A.D., Galba’s life was fairly mundane, but since our arrival forced him into a civil war, and a bloody battle outside the gates of Rome, maybe we had piqued his interest in war a bit and now he was itching for a fight.
Sometimes I wished Vincent were here , for the sole reason of discussing the finer points of Roman history, but sadly I didn’t have that luxury. Hopefully, in another few months, I would. Either way, Galba was to retake command of the XV Primigenia and serve alongside five other legions under Vespasian’s overall command, six legions in total, twice as many as Julius Caesar had when he invaded Britain.
It was clear that Agrippina’s intention wasn’t simply to invade Germany. She was planning on conquering and taking up shop. Six whole legions, along with their full compliments of auxilia was an army that could conquer the world. It was also an army that could take control of Rome. All we had to do was get Vespasian to understand his potential historical significance, convince Galba to back him, and somehow force Agrippina to step aside so Vespasian could take over.
Easy.
***
It took us about a we ek and a dozen pointed fingers later, but we soon found our way to the enormous legionary barracks that was the army’s camp.
To say it w as huge was an understatement.
It sat on t he west bank of the Rhine River and was called Vindonissa. It had been built around
Word on the street was that Vespasian had been appointed to the rank of legate, and sent to serve under another Roman during the camp aign in Britannia with the Legio II Augusta . The rumors indicated that he had performed well in Britannia, more so than expected, and it hadn’t been long before he was granted another commission, and an army of his own to command in Germany.
Everything was going according to my knowledge of Roman history, except pretty much nothing.
Most of what I knew about Vespasian was based on Suetonius, a risky source at best, but I was pretty sure he was supposed to retire and disappear from public life for a number of years after campaigning in Britannia, an operation orchestrated by Claudius in the original timeline, only to be recalled into the military to deal with the Jewish revolt in the east in 66 A.D. Agrippina, apparently, had other plans for him. It was a shrewd strategy. There hadn’t been progress in Germany since Julius Caesar had crossed the Rhine, only to coming back across just as quickly without venturing very far. The only noteworthy news in the area after Caesar was the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, where three legions were annihilated under the command of Quinctilius Varus. If Agrippina had plans to expand the empire, going there was the logical, if not dangerous, choice and appointing Vespasian was another.
We’d also heard from passing Roman s, whose tongues were quite lucid after a few drinks and a scantily clad Helena, that Galba had been assigned to Vespasian’s command team. After The Battle for Rome four years ago, Galba had gone back to Germany to retrain the nearly destroyed Legio XV Primigenia after it had helped Caligula reclaim his imperial power. Later, he had been made governor of the Iberian Peninsula, another historical consistency.
I wasn’t sure why he had chosen to serve under a relative upstart like Vespasian, but I had a bad feeling it had something to do with our involvement. As far as I knew, until 69 A.D., Galba’s life was fairly mundane, but since our arrival forced him into a civil war, and a bloody battle outside the gates of Rome, maybe we had piqued his interest in war a bit and now he was itching for a fight.
Sometimes I wished Vincent were here , for the sole reason of discussing the finer points of Roman history, but sadly I didn’t have that luxury. Hopefully, in another few months, I would. Either way, Galba was to retake command of the XV Primigenia and serve alongside five other legions under Vespasian’s overall command, six legions in total, twice as many as Julius Caesar had when he invaded Britain.
It was clear that Agrippina’s intention wasn’t simply to invade Germany. She was planning on conquering and taking up shop. Six whole legions, along with their full compliments of auxilia was an army that could conquer the world. It was also an army that could take control of Rome. All we had to do was get Vespasian to understand his potential historical significance, convince Galba to back him, and somehow force Agrippina to step aside so Vespasian could take over.
Easy.
***
It took us about a we ek and a dozen pointed fingers later, but we soon found our way to the enormous legionary barracks that was the army’s camp.
To say it w as huge was an understatement.
It sat on t he west bank of the Rhine River and was called Vindonissa. It had been built around
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