Benignus was the scion of a rich patrician family and their wealth had helped furnish the tent with ornate wall hangings and statuary by famous sculptors, including a very recent bust of Marcus Salvius Otho Augustus. It was an unusual display of affluence in a military camp, but he had a reputation as a fair man and a good soldier. He was clearly anything but happy, but he looked to Valerius. ‘As long as they will fight.’
Valerius met his gaze. ‘They will fight.’
‘You said you hope they will be here in time, Imperator?’
Otho looked down at the table before he answered Paulinus. Its top was covered in sand and formed a detailed map of the terrain between Bedriacum and Cremona. His gaze ranged over the bumps and hollows, taking in every detail. Finally, he made his decision. ‘I am convinced we must bring the enemy to battle.’ The two men stared at each other and Valerius had the feeling this was an argument that had begun before Paulinus entered the tent.
‘And I must advise against it.’ The tone was polite, but the voice of Boudicca’s conqueror held a core of iron. ‘We have an excellent defensive position here. I believe we are still outnumbered by the enemy, but our strength increases with every passing day. We have supplies in plenty, while the enemy goes hungry. If we have patience, the enemy will be forced to attack us on this ground; the ground of our choosing.’ He stabbed a finger at the table. ‘If we attack him, he will have the advantage of choosing where we meet. In another two days Fourteenth Gemina will be here. In another week we will have two more legions and victory is certain.’
Valerius watched Otho’s reaction and was reminded of another conference in another tent, when Corbulo had outlined the detailed plan for the battle of the Cepha gap. His army had been outnumbered almost three to one and his commanders had opposed his plan, but Corbulo had never allowed his council of war to turn into a debate. The Emperor drew himself up to his full height and Valerius knew before he spoke that he would dismiss Suetonius Paulinus’s perfectly logical military reasons for not meeting the enemy.
Otho nodded slowly, still staring at the contours on the table. ‘I respect the venerable general’s regard for caution. He was cautious at Ad Castorum and no doubt we still have our army as a result of it.’ Paulinus visibly flinched at the words and Valerius remembered Marcus’s comments about betrayal and cowardice. Was Otho accusing the great general of running away? ‘But I do not have the time for caution,’ the Emperor went on. ‘The longer I wait, the weaker becomes my position in Rome. If I do not act, it appears I am inviting Vitellius to take my throne. Valens and Caecina have combined, but I believe we are more than strong enough to defeat them. Have patience, you say, and they will attack us? But what if they divide their army again?’ He met Paulinus’s unflinching glare. ‘What if Caecina pins us here and Valens moves to attack Rome? Must I stand idly by while they ravage my people?’ The Emperor’s voice shook with suppressed emotion. ‘No, the time is now. One decisive battle, and the usurpers will run like beaten dogs. Their soldiers are dupes who fight not for Rome but for plunder and for Rome’s enemy. When they see the true might of Rome, their hearts will fail them.’
Valerius studied the sand table. The raised causeway of the Via Postumia ran arrow-straight from Bedriacum to Cremona, with the Padus river five miles to the south-west. On the river flank of the road the ground was relatively clear, but to the north-east small notes on the map identified fields clogged with bushes and vines, and beyond them terrain that was mostly bog and scrub. He decided it was a good road for marching down, but ground more suited to ambush than battle.
Otho was still speaking. ‘My brother Titianus will join us later today or tomorrow to take overall command.’ Paulinus met the news of his demotion with a deeper scowl, but he made no protest and the Emperor continued: ‘In two days we will march down this road and force them to meet us or flee. Now, to the dispositions.’
Boudicca’s conqueror continued to argue for delay, but his voice was that of a man who knew he was already defeated. Benignus, an aristocrat whose bloodline went back to Romulus, tapped his manicured fingers on the table as he studied the road. Valerius had the feeling he agreed with Paulinus, but having been only recently appointed was unwilling to speak out. Celsus, who Valerius was certain had been about to vote against the plan, threw his wholehearted support behind Otho now the decision was made. Belatedly, Vedius Aquila, legate of the Thirteenth legion, made an appearance, apologizing for his absence, but bringing news that the advance guard of the Fourteenth Gemina were only a few miles to the east.