The Eternal Empire (29 page)

"The evidence points towards
extremists in the Traditionalist party and the army!" exclaimed Sextus. He
was upset with Dalassenus as much for his slurs on the people of the province
and Philokates as he was for his refusal to approve the Free Trade Areas.

"A plot to discredit the legions
by those traitors who would see this province leave the Empire. As a loyal
servant of the Emperor I have nothing to fear from the imperial army. It's the
local auxiliary forces that I'm concerned about."

There was something in his tone of
voice that made Sextus forget how angry he was and to pay attention to what
Dalassenus was saying.

"In your analysis of the effects
of the new trade policies on the province," said Dalassenus, "you
project a significant reduction in tax revenues. Is that correct?"

Sextus kept his eyes on Dalassenus as
he muttered an acknowledgement. He damn well knew it was correct.

"Which means that we will have to
cut costs, and one of the largest items in the budget are the provincial
auxiliaries."

"The number and size of the local
auxiliary forces is determined by Constantinople," interjected Sextus forcibly,
"the province is responsible for recruitment, training and paying them. We
are not allowed to increase or decrease their authorised strength."

The new governor smiled, reminding
Sextus of a cat playing with a mouse and Sextus was the mouse. This man is very
dangerous, thought Sextus, manipulative and scheming.

"You are, of course,
correct," said Dalassenus, who got up and poured himself another glass of
wine. "I've already been in contact with Constantinople and they've given
their approval for a 50% reduction in the size of the provincial auxiliary
forces. They agreed with me that in light of recent 'incidents', it would be
prudent to reduce their numbers."

Sextus stood up and faced Dalassenus.
"I don't think that would be wise sir. The lack of distrust already felt
by the province..."

"I employ you for fiscal skills
Capito, not your wisdom!" snapped Dalassenus, cutting Sextus off. "I
suggest that you return to your office and assist the commander of the
auxiliaries in preparing a demobilisation schedule. You'll need to find the
funds to pay them off."

2nd
June 1920

Constantinople

It was like Tarraco all over again –
but worse. It had started the previous day when Georges came charging into
Gregory's office red faced and breathing heavily. He was grasping a yellow
sheet of paper from the communications centre.

Gregory ignored his assistants’ excited
summary, most of which was incoherent, and read the contents of the crumbled
piece of paper himself, word for word. The message was in two parts and stated
in very simple language that the provincial assembly of Britannia had declared
itself economically independent of the empire whilst remaining an otherwise
loyal part of it. The second part of the message reported outbreaks of fighting
between imperial forces and local auxiliaries across the province.

By the end of the next day more
information had reached Constantinople and Gregory was called to an emergency
meeting with the chief minister and the heads of the imperial armed forces.
Gregory was the last to arrive and Exanzenus asked him to brief the meeting on
the situation in Britannia.

After explaining that some facts and
details were still incomplete and un-corroborated he began to describe what
appeared to have been the sequence of events.

"Four days ago," began
Gregory, "the new governor of Britannia, Demetrius Dalassenus informed the
leaders of the assembly that he would not approve their legislation to create
'Free Trade Areas'." He glanced up to see if there were any questions, and
seeing that there were none he continued.

"The next day, the assembly passed
a resolution declaring Britannia economically independent of the Empire. That
same evening the provincial senate also approved the resolution."

One of the generals interrupted.
"Can they do that?"

"Legally speaking, General
Botaniates, no they cannot, "replied Gregory, "all legislation in a
province must be approved by the governor."

Gregory continued. "The next
morning the governor sent a force of legionaries into both the assembly and the
senate and arrested everyone who had voted in favour of the resolution on a
charge of treason. He then ordered the remaining members to vote to revoke the
resolution. However the Modernist party, who had abstained from the original
vote, and were now in a majority, refused to revoke the resolution in protest
against the arrests. Governor Dalassenus then had them taken into custody as
well."

Gregory paused again. Exanzenus nodded
for him to proceed.

"Later that afternoon, the imprisoned
senators and assembly members were freed by auxiliaries of the Londinium
garrison and escorted back to the assembly buildings. There they reaffirmed the
declaration of economic independence and called upon the people of the province
to protect 'their lawfully elected representatives'.

"When did the fighting start in
earnest?" asked an admiral.

"The next day," replied
Gregory, "when the governor sent his men to the assembly buildings once
again. This time they were fired upon by auxiliaries, and were forced to
retreat." Gregory put down his notes. He had presented the facts fairly
and without showing any emotion, but inside he was seething with anger at the
stupidity that had allowed this situation to develop. Hadn't they learnt
anything since Tarraco!

"Thank you for your introduction
Nicerites," said Exanzenus. He then turned to general Botaniates and asked
him to give the meeting a summary of the military situation.

The soldier got up and moved over to a
map of Britannia.

"The legionaries returned to the
assembly with reinforcements, but were attacked by large numbers of auxiliaries
and armed civilians. We can only assume that the imperial arsenal in Londinium
has been taken by the rebels and that they are arming the populace."

Gregory listened with interest. It was
the first time that the word 'rebel' had been used by anyone. The general
continued.

"The legionaries suffered heavy
casualties in the street fighting and then withdrew to the area around the
governors’ palace. That evening the rebels brought up artillery and bombarded
the legionary positions. Governor Dalassenus then escaped by river with a few
guards. He has reached Dubris and has established himself in the naval base
protected by the marines and sailors from the fleet."

"And the rest of the troops in
Londinium?" asked another officer.

"They surrendered three hours
ago," replied Botaniates.

There was a brief moment of silence,
and then the general resumed.

"We have the following units of
the imperial army in Britannia. The legio II Augusta at Isca," he pointed
to the city on the map."It has been ordered to Londinium to retake the
provincial capital from the rebels.

He moved his pointer up to the northern
part of the province, "up near the main fleet base at Petuaria, there is
an auxilia palatina regiment defending the naval base and providing security
for the east coast. The legio XX ‘Valeria Victrix’ at Deva supports the
auxiliary units along the wall and guards against raids from Hibernia."

They still call the frontier with
Caledonia 'the wall' thought Gregory with amusement. The actual border was some
twenty to thirty miles north of the long abandoned fortification built by
Hadrian.

"Imperial forces in Britannia have
been ordered to treat all local forces as potentially hostile and to disarm any
units in their vicinity."

"I believe that there has been
some other fighting?" Said Exanzenus.

"Yes, chief minister," said
general Botaniates, "around Deva and Isca, auxiliary units resisted being
disarmed but were eventually overcome."

"And how much of the province is
currently under our control?" asked Exanzenus.

"We can only be certain of those
areas around our bases or occupied by our forces. Every auxiliary unit on the
island has either refused to communicate with the provincial commander or has
announced its support for the rebel assembly."

"So general," continued the
chief minister, "what are our chances of recovering the island with the
imperial troops in the province?"

"Not good," replied
Botaniates candidly."We have doubts whether the second Augusta can retake
Londinium on its own. In the north," again he pointed to the map,
"any attempt to move against rebel forces either along The Wall or in the
middle of the island will leave the bases at Deva and Petuaria open to attack.
The arsenals in both those locations contain a vast amount of equipment which
we cannot allow to fall into rebel hands."

Chief Minister Exanzenus sat silently
for a few moments studying the faces of the men around the table. His eyes came
to rest on Gregory.

"Suggestions?" he asked.
Gregory was unsure whether the question was an open one or directed
specifically at him, but he had something he wanted to say so he grabbed the
chance.

"The provincial assembly," he
said, carefully avoiding the use of 'rebel', "still proclaims its loyalty
to the empire. I believe that we should order the imperial forces to hold their
positions and send a team of officials to meet the leaders of the provincial
assembly and senate. They can negotiate a peaceful ..."

"No" interrupted Exanzenus
firmly. "We will not negotiate!"

"...a peaceful resolution to this
crisis," continued Gregory, ignoring the chief ministers outburst.
"The alternative will be a bloody civil war that will devastate the
province and possibly spread to other parts of the Empire."

"I say again," said Exanzenus
looking directly at Gregory, "there will be no negotiation with
rebels." He turned his attention back to the rest of the people around the
table. "If we don't deal firmly with this insolent flouting of imperial
authority, then it will spread like a disease. General Botaniates,"
Exanzenus addressed the officer who was still standing by the map of Britannia,
"how long will it take you to organise an expedition to reinforce the
imperial troops on the island?"

Botaniates signalled to his chief of
staff, general Maniaces, who began to speak. "We could put an expedition
together from the Rhine armies and have them in Dubris within two weeks.
However it would weaken our forces facing the Saxons."

Exanzenus dismissed the generals’
reservations. "The commander of the Rhine army assures me that he has more
than enough men to guarantee the defence of the frontier with the Saxons. I'm
sure that he can spare sufficient troops to put down a threat that is real
instead of one that is purely hypothetical."

The chief of staff looked unconvinced
but said nothing. Gregory made another attempt to promote a peaceful approach.

"A war will be expensive and will
poison relations with the province for generations," Gregory argued with a
calm he did not feel, "we've nothing to lose by trying to settle this
problem peacefully."

Exanzenus gave him a look which told
Gregory that the chief minister's patience was wearing thin. "The Empire
will lose its credibility if it allows a province to flout its authority
Nicerites," he said slowly and deliberately. Turning again to general
Botaniates he gave him his orders. "The Rhine army will detach a force
adequate to crush this rebellion. See to it immediately."

The chief minister stood up indicating
that the meeting was at an end, and turned to Gregory. "If the rebels wish
for a peaceful resolution," he said without emotion, "then they can
lay down their arms and throw themselves on the mercy of the Emperor. That's
the extent to which I'm prepared to negotiate."

24th
June 1920

Field
headquarters, legio XX Augusta, Britannia

Titus returned the sentry's salute outside
the legates’ tent as he went in to join the morning conference. He felt better
than he had done for weeks mainly due to finding the time to bathe in a nearby
river the previous evening. He had washed off the accumulated dirt, grime and
sweat from his tired body and then simply wallowed in the river despite the
cold water.

The legio II Augusta had been fighting
its way towards Londinium ever since the governor had been forced out of the
capital. The suppression of the auxiliary units around Isca and the relief of
the naval base at Abonae had been bloody but the legion had made swift progress
towards the capital before encountering fierce resistance outside Spinis, a
town about seven miles outside Calleva Atrebatum. After that the advance had
slowed to a snails pace, taking three days to clear the auxiliaries and armed
civilians out of Spinis, reducing the town to rubble in the process.