April 6, 46 B.C
Near Thapsus, Africa Province
The final battle for Africa had dawned over the battlefield. But, it would not be simply the final battle for Africa. If I was victorious it would be the final battle of the civil war. The Optimates had nowhere to run. At least, nowhere we wouldn't catch them. If I fell in battle today the Optimates would invade Italy, and Caesar likely wouldn't be able to stop them. There was a lot of weight on my shoulders this day, and as the Numidian traitors - number 20,000 in and of themselves joined the 73,000 - or 93,000 total. The Musulamii and Gaetuli were also en-route with 10,000 and 5,000 respectively. This brought my enemies' army to roughly 110,000 men, or roughly 18 legions, including 120 elephants and 15,000 cavalry.
How many men did I have?
70,000. Including 1,600 cavalry. No allies. No elephants. No matter which way the lines were drawn I was heavily outnumbered. I had been hoping the Numidians would stay loyal, but alas it was not to be. If I won, I would tear that kingdom down to ashes.
I did have a stroke of luck however. Cato the Younger, the political leader of the Optimates had chastised the sons of Pompey (Sextus and Gnaeus) for not accomplishing as much as their father, and upon receiving word of this I began sending scathing correspondence. I mocked them, saying their father would be ashamed. Like with Scipio, the idea of a woman mocking and debasing their honor was infuriating. The sons of Pompey were eager for a fight, but Labienus held the ship together. I continued my propaganda war, targeting Gnaeus and Sextus. My words had reaching consequences. See, with the way I was mimicking Cato, the idea we were either already engaging in a fling, or wanted to, had sown deep division in the Optimate camp.
After all, if I would sleep with Caesar, who was twenty-five years my senior, surely sleeping with Cato who was twenty-years would be of no concern. Deciding to further this, I sent seductive letters personally to Cato, which were intercepted, only furthering the conspiracy. They believed Cato was a traitor, corresponding not only with a Caesarian, but the Caesarian leader. They fired back at me, accusing me of being a witch and a whore, which my army laughed at. Anybody with half a mind for history knew that from the age of 14-17 I lived exclusively with Caesar, almost never leaving his estates unless I was in his company. From then on I was on the campaign trail. Anybody with half a mind knew I had never laid eyes on Cato nor he I.
On March 12, 46 B.C, Gnaeus and Sextus ambushed Cato, stabbing him to death. They wanted to take full command of the army, but Labienus seized full control by force. To Labienus, the situation was barely tenable, and if Sextus and Gnaeus were willing to kill Cato they would be willing to kill him. He needed their experience and loyalty lest the Optimate army completely dissolve - as it was apparently already willing to. Two of their legions were wavering and were willing to jump ship and join my army. As Labienus reorganized his command structure to both placate the Pompey brothers and prevent the dissolution of the Optimate cause, the commanders of the 5th and 6th legions met with me in private on March 16.
They proclaimed me Imperator, conqueror of Britain and Africa to try and flush up my ego - which admittedly it did. We agreed that instead of direct defection, rebellion would be the best course of action, and I granted them a signal when the decisive battle would come to switch their allegiance formally.
Labienus taking complete command had not been the desired outcome. By further dividing the Optimate leadership I had hoped to make them less effective on the battlefield. But now I was one on one with Titus Labienus - who was without a doubt the better general.
I marched to Uzitta where Labienus and I engaged in a game of chicken. We drew our armies out at random intervals, intimidating and sizing up the other. This had two effects - both beneficial to me. One, it showed, even with the arrival of the Gaetuli and Musulmanii that I was not afraid of their numbers. It convinced my men that I had a plan, that I knew what I was doing, and that they too should not be afraid. Two, it convinced the Optimates that I was not afraid.
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Salvatoria: The Memoirs of Lucretia Aurelia
Historical FictionLucretia Aurelia Appius was only fourteen years old when soldiers ordered by Pompey the Great slayed her father and mother in front of her. They would have claimed her life as well, just for being her father's daughter, had she not miraculously run...
