‘And if Ariminum falls?’
‘Do you not have faith in a man you have so favoured?’
That angered Narses, it was in his eyes if not his voice; no soldier likes to face an allegation of making tactical arrangements to suit extraneous purposes. ‘He cannot fight with my faith.’
‘He seems able to act with confidence in his own capabilities.’
‘So you wish to punish him for disobeying you?’
Flavius had to work to keep his own voice flat then; Narses had made an outrageous suggestion but if he had to be told so it required maintenance of a diplomatic tone; outcome had to triumph over pique.
‘I have been fighting in Italy for a long time now and I have Witigis on the rack. Do you really think, Narses, that I will risk all of that to chastise an insubordinate inferior?’
‘We all have our pride.’
‘Something a good commander seeks to keep in check, would you not say?’
The great unspoken was that Flavius did not wish to fight any more battles in the open against the Goths if it could be avoided. It was not just Auximus that required to be subdued, there were Goth garrisons forming an arc to the west and they would, in their heartlands especially, always combine to outnumber him, even with these new reinforcements.
He could not say that to Narses; it would sound like excessive caution to the newly arrived component of the assembly. His own officers, who had experienced the same as he, required no telling that care had to be taken and it was wise to fight their enemies only on ground and at a time chosen by themselves.
The ripple of voices that now arose was far from a commotion, but it was sufficient to engage the curiosity of both the principles, Flavius and Narses sitting forward in their chairs to find out what had set so many tongues wagging. The fellow who approached through the assembled ranks was covered in the dust of a long and hard ride, the latter evident in a weariness he could not conceal.
Stepping forward he handed a letter to Flavius who read it in a couple of seconds, it being short, before handing it to Narses.
‘The decision is taken?’ asked the older man as he read it, a gleam in his eye.
It was with no pleasure at all that Flavius had to concede the point; the words he had just read left him no choice. ‘If John says he has run out of food and can only hold for five more days or capitulate, then we must move to aid him at once.’
‘Then it would be churlish of me not to meet with your wishes as to how that is to be carried out.’
The acknowledgement that Flavius should plan the next move might look to be one with which to happily agree; it was far from it, given John Vitalianus was once more controlling his actions, a fact made plain to his own commanders once they had assembled at his chosen quarters. His first move was to detach a thousand men to mask Auximus, their task to threaten but on no account to fight.
‘Make much noise, as if you are preparing an attack, but retire if threatened.’
Given the fleet that had brought Narses to Italy was available, it seemed foolish not to use it against a city close to the shoreline. Ildiger was put in command of an amphibious force that would threaten Ariminum from the sea. Again they were to avoid battle on their own, forbidden to land unless the forces Flavius would lead had appeared on the landward side of the city.
The main army was split in two, Martinus leading half by the coastal road, while Flavius, accompanied by Narses and his Illyrian forces, would take the remainder on an inland route so as to come upon Ariminum from a different direction. The instructions to Martinus showed some cunning; Flavius did not want his enemies to suspect his chosen path, so the coastal army must light double campfires to fool the Goths into thinking they were the main force. If the garrison then attacked Martinus they would expose their rear to a crushing blow.
It was galling to have to seek approval from Narses, who seemed to Flavius, although he was willing to admit to a heightened sense of grievance, to be taking pleasure in the Belisarian discomfort. It was doubly irritating that the need for harmony demanded he do nothing to acknowledge it. The man who got the backwash of this was Procopius, who understanding the reason did nothing to deflect his master’s ire.
‘If any of my officers allows a single soldier of that Illyrian rabble to enter Ariminum before we do, I will flay them alive. I want Vitalianus to grovel in gratitude to the army of which he is supposed to be a part.’
‘Which, Magister, still leaves the problem of Narses.’
‘Do you think I do not know that, man?’
‘I do not, but I am concerned at how we counter it.’ It was then that Flavius realised he was taking his anger out on the wrong person, which occasioned a mumbled apology as well as a nod that Procopius should continue. ‘You must send to Justinian for clarification and by a hand that is personal to you.’
‘I cannot spare you.’
‘But you can Photius. Only Justinian can order Narses to obey you and if that remains a problem unsolved you will face no end of difficulties. Send your stepson to Constantinople with a personal plea to the Emperor, which will allow us to bypass the imperial officials.’
‘You mean Theodora?’
The look Procopius gave him then was to tell Flavius to keep his voice down; Antonina was within the same villa and not above eavesdropping on their conversations. A pull of the lips showed that Flavius had got the point and he added softly, ‘Even if they rarely meet she will spot he has left.’
‘For Rome, shall we say? And will not the young man enjoy fooling his mother?’
‘I can think of nothing that would make him happier.’
‘Other than fighting alongside you,’ Procopius replied, making a valid point; Photius would have to be persuaded to miss the coming campaign, which might involve, at its very best, the taking of Ravenna.
‘How do I cover for his absence? I am bound to be asked.’
‘Tell the Lady Antonina that he is on some mission for me.’
For once the look on the face of Procopius did not convey the aesthete for Antonina would drink hemlock before asking him anything; as of this moment he had the look of a sated wolf.
What Photius missed, if not the ultimate goal, was a tactical triumph, though as always in war it was not without a degree of luck. Flavius, after marching for three days, encountered and surprised a strong force of Goths marching towards Ariminum and he fell on them at a speed that caused many deaths and even more flight, as a large body of the enemy bolted to a nearby and dense forest, Flavius refusing the request of his men that they should follow.
Narses plainly saw this as wrong and faint-hearted, though it was conveyed by his jaundiced countenance not in words. Why would he question an act that in the eyes of the troops both men led could only diminish his co-commander? But it was not brought on by fear, although high casualties could result in fighting in such a wooded terrain.
Flavius wanted to let them go because with his men covering their escape to the north or west their only hope was to make for their original destination, which was Ariminum. Once there they would alert their comrades to his approach and he had high hopes that would provoke a reaction.
His ploy was justified when within sight of the city they saw the besieging Goths had decided to fight. They were deploying in late afternoon to give the Byzantines battle on the following day. As darkness fell, to the south both armies could see the mass of campfires, which Flavius knew would confuse his enemies, and that was compounded by the rising sun, which revealed, offshore, the Byzantine fleet, Ildiger making sure that it was plainly and visibly manned by warriors and not just sailors.
Faced with the need to fight on three fronts, added to a possible sortie from Ariminum itself, the Goths knew they were beaten. The forward skirmishers, sent to harass them, were called back in when those controlling them reported the enemy was in the process of striking their tents and loading their supply waggons. They were doing so at a deliberate pace until Ildiger began to land his troops on the nearby sandy shore.