Plautius met Narcissus’ glare with a calm countenance. ‘That would be most unwise, imperial secretary.’
‘Unwise? You think it’s wise to let an army of forty thousand men refuse their Emperor?’
‘I don’t think that is wise but I do think it unwise to try to persuade them to embark … just now.’
‘They have to get on the ships today if you are to sail tonight.’
‘We won’t be sailing tonight.’
Narcissus stared at Plautius, dumbfounded for a moment. ‘Are you telling me, General Plautius, that you are also refusing to go?’
‘No, we’re just not going to go tonight; we’ll let the men calm down for a while and then I’ll address them in a few days’ time and we’ll go the day after that.’
‘They’re soldiers, they do what they’re told to when they’re told to; not at some time at their convenience once they’ve “calmed down”.’
‘I couldn’t agree with you more, imperial secretary, but the fact of the matter is that this is not for their convenience but rather for yours and the Emperor’s and everybody else who wishes to see this campaign pursued quickly and efficiently.’
Vespasian was forced to suppress a smile as he saw, for the first time, complete bafflement on Narcissus’ normally unreadable face.
‘I’m afraid you’ll have to enlighten me, general, as to how delaying the invasion is going to make the campaign quicker; I’d have thought that it would have the exact opposite effect.’
‘That’s because you are not a soldier, Narcissus, you are a palace functionary who has as much understanding of military matters as I have of etiquette.’
‘How dare you talk to me like that!’
‘No, Narcissus! How dare you burst in here and threaten me and my officers, humiliating me in front of them. You may have the Emperor’s ear and consider yourself to be of great substance but you are still a freedman, an ex-slave; without Claudius you are nothing and you know it. You are an irrelevancy who would be dead within hours of your master’s demise, which if this invasion is not a success, will be very soon. I on the other hand come from the Plautii and I won’t tolerate your arrogance any more. So you will listen to me, freedman; yesterday we heard from some Gallic traders that upwards of one hundred thousand warriors were mustering just across the straits.’ He pointed an accusatory finger towards the window beyond which a calm sea gleamed in the morning sun; on it a ship under sail slowly receded. ‘I don’t shy from odds of three to one or even five to one when fighting undisciplined savages, but I think that even you’ll agree that the fewer the enemy the better is a reasonable military maxim, especially when you’re trying to disembark your army. Now tell me what you see out of that window, imperial secretary.’
Narcissus squinted against the glare. ‘The sea.’
‘And what’s on the sea?’
‘A ship.’
‘A ship? But that’s not just any old ship; that ship is going to make the difference between crossing the Tamesis in forty-five days or thirty days because that ship is going to disperse the Britannic army within a market interval.’
Narcissus’ bafflement was complete. ‘Nine days! How?’
‘Because the very same traders who took my silver yesterday in exchange for information about the Britons are now returning to Britannia; this evening they will be taking Togodumnus and Caratacus’ silver and telling them that our troops have mutinied and we won’t be coming. Once the warriors hear that, they will disband and go back to their farms, which they won’t do if we suddenly appear tomorrow. Now, I would have thought that even a non-military man like you can grasp that if your enemy’s army splits up it will be much easier to defeat him and will cost fewer lives. So, imperial secretary, I suggest you leave the timing of this to me because this has nothing to do with politics; we’ll go on the calends of May. And don’t worry, the Emperor will still be called for in time for his glorious victory.’
‘See to it that he is, general.’ Narcissus glared at Plautius before turning and retreating from the room with as much dignity as he was able to summon in the circumstances.
Plautius turned back to his assembled officers as if nothing was amiss. ‘Now, gentlemen, where were we? Ah yes, the landing beaches; we will still use the new site just in case they leave a force at the original one, although I doubt they will. We’ll land in three waves; Legate Corvinus, you will have the honour of leading the first wave.’
Corvinus smirked with pride. ‘Thank you, general.’
Plautius pointed with a stick to a map of Britannia nailed to a wooden board behind him. ‘Your Ninth Legion and its attached auxiliaries will land on Tanatis and secure it. I shall command the second wave consisting of Legates Vespasian and Sabinus’ Second and Fourteenth Legions and their auxiliaries; we shall land an hour later on the mainland at this Rutupiae, as I shall now call it. The Second will muster and then advance immediately to Cantiacum, ten miles inland, taking King Adminios with you. On the first night Adminios will meet with kinsmen who have pledged loyalty to him and take their oath on behalf of three of the sub-tribes in the area whilst his emissaries will negotiate the surrender of the town. If they’re stupid, besiege it. Clear, Vespasian?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Good. You will also send your Batavian cavalry, under Prefect Paetus, west to see what’s ahead of us.’ Plautius searched out Paetus amongst the crowd of officers. ‘But you are not to make contact, prefect, just scout, is that understood? I want no flamboyance in my army.’
Paetus mustered his most serious expression. ‘No flamboyance, sir!’
Plautius stared at the young prefect for a moment, trying but failing to detect any insolence, before grunting and then carrying on. ‘The Fourteenth will move south, sending out your Thracian and Gallic cavalry on long-range reconnaissance to see if any of the Britannic army remains down there. If it’s clear, you are to leave a garrison at the natural harbour by the white cliffs and then rendezvous with us at Cantiacum no more than three days after we land. One hundred triremes will shadow you down the coast and base themselves in that harbour ready for use later on in the campaign for land and sea operations along the south coast. Whilst they wait their crews and marines will be put to work turning that harbour into a port fit for our purpose; I want warehouses, jetties and a lighthouse. We’ve come to stay, Sabinus, understand?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Any questions?’
‘What if we find the whole hundred thousand-strong army down there?’
‘Then you send to me for reinforcements at the speed of Mercury.’
‘At the speed of Mercury, sir.’
Plautius nodded curtly. ‘The third wave will be under the command of Legate Geta. It will consist of his Twentieth and their auxiliaries and the supply ships with the baggage, artillery and one month’s rations. You will be twelve hours behind us to give us time to clear the landing area of transports. Once you’re ashore, Geta, your men will construct a fortified camp in two days, big enough to hold the whole force should we suffer a reverse. This will be the basis of a permanent garrison with a port. Then you will join the Second and the Fourteenth at Cantiacum on the third day.’
Geta looked less than pleased to be given construction work.
‘When Geta vacates the camp, Corvinus, you will bring your lads across the strait and occupy it and then put half the remaining navy to work building the port and send the other half north into the Tamesis estuary ready to shadow the main force west. Then we shall be ready for our advance, provided Sabinus has not found too much resistance in the south. I will issue general orders concerning that on the third day ashore once everything is in position and I have a better idea of the enemy’s disposition. Any questions, gentlemen?’