Plunder would come in time but it would be taken from the Goths not the Italians. Two Isaurians who did not heed the message paid with their lives for their transgression, the army marching past the tree that held the two swinging corpses to drive home the point. That second-in-command Constantinus did not agree with either policy of the Belisarian reaction was plain if unspoken. It was also ignored.
The army sought as much as possible to stay near the coast and in touch with the accompanying fleet, not always possible as the old Roman road moved inland. Even if it was not in perfect repair everywhere, there was still enough of the old pave to permit fast travel and with no enemy close by – Ebrimuth had assured Flavius that the main Goth army was still in Ravenna – it was possible to eschew caution in favour of progress.
There was no need for a cavalry screen. The only people out ahead were his own surveyors and foresters, the former selecting campsites, into which the soldiers following behind would find lines and markers laid out within which to raise their tents. The foresters would have spent the day gathering timber on which the army could cook the supplies that came in the commissary waggons bringing up the rear.
Naturally there was a section set aside for the commanders, usually in the centre of the encampment and on a slight mound and it was here that Flavius Belisarius would entertain his closest advisors and share with them his thoughts, always taking a chance to drive home his message that if this was conquest it came with duties.
As for what lay behind the day’s march, anything pertaining to that fell to Procopius and Solomon his domesticus. With a substantial number of clerks to aid him, the general’s faithful secretary and assessor, with his sharp legal mind, was required to produce a quick summary of the nature of the provinces once ruled from Rome.
That included titles to land, expected annual yields, population numbers broken down by sex and age, resources such as iron, tin and salt, all of which, once passed by the commander, would be sent back to Constantinople so that Justinian should know the value of his conquests. Solomon was expert at supply, it being no easy task to feed a host the size of that his master led and to him fell the task of purchasing food.
If it was a progress not a march, that ended abruptly when they came to Naples, which not only had sound and formidable walls but a Goth garrison, albeit one few in number. As his fleet sailed into the huge bay, Flavius sent word that they were to press as close as they could to the Neapolitan sea wall but to stay out of range of any ballistae, which would be equipped to fire inflammables, deadly to ships. The aim was not for the fleet to fight but to let the citizens see that, with an army outside the land walls, they were cut off from supply.
Next he sent word to the city demanding the surrender of the garrison and also asking for the presence of someone to represent the indigent population, the notables who ran the city, men with whom he could parley. The Goths who made up the garrison did not even deign to reply but in due course a trio of Neapolitan negotiators were brought to his tent, one filled with his senior officers in full battle equipment.
To get there these worthies had been obliged to make their way between two long files of heavily armed soldiers. That message of strength driven home, Flavius was as charming as he could be, inviting them to sit and take wine, talking of matters unrelated to that which needed to be discussed. In reality he was seeking to gauge who might be willing to aid him and who might resist any blandishments he made, for he could not hope for common agreement. Naples, like any other great polity, would have factions in its ruling elite and the strongest of those would prevail.
Having set the genial mood to these stony-faced envoys, his first serious question was quite abruptly produced. ‘The Goths occupy the fort, I take it?’
‘I would not be willing to divulge their numbers,’ was the rather sour response from one of the envoys, a pinch-faced fellow named as Asclepiodotus.
‘I do not recall asking, but by your reply I can deduce they do not have the bodies needed to fully man the city walls.’
Asclepiodotus looked annoyed then, as much with himself as with this general who had caught him off guard, only to have to turn and face the next speaker, the second in command of the army, Constantinus, who naturally had the right to speak on such matters.
‘Thus, should you wish to resist, it must be with the aid of the citizenry, who will struggle to stand against trained soldiers.’
Another notable, named Stephanus, responded to that. ‘You did not ask us here to issue threats but to discuss terms. I believe it is first the habit of any putative conqueror to tempt with concessions?’
Flavius and Procopius, also present, exchanged a swift but discreet glance, followed by an almost imperceptible nod from the general. This Stephanus, quick to mention concessions, might be a weak link in what was, at first glance, not a trio willing to accede to demands that really did not have to be stated: open the gates, let us enter and we will take care of the garrison holding the fort.
The third envoy, Pastor, glared at Stephanus, obviously irritated by the tone of his question. ‘Are we here for crumbs? It is for Flavius Belisarius to plead with us, we who make terms, not he!’
‘You seek to impress us with display,’ added Asclepiodotus, his manner offhand as he ran his eyes over the assembled officers, ‘but it takes no great ability to count your own numbers.’
‘I have what I need, Asclepiodotus.’
‘To defeat the Ostrogoths? How many Roman armies thinking themselves superior have left their bones on a battlefield fighting against barbarians?’
‘Perhaps I do not need to fight. My ships blockade your harbour and my soldiers control the countryside.’
‘Your coming is no mystery,’ Pastor said, the implication obvious: food had been stockpiled in case of a siege.
‘I will put aside modesty and assume you know of me,’ Flavius responded, his voice still lacking in any sign of irritation. ‘Therefore you will know that with open gates you have nothing to fear from me and the men I lead. Lock them against me and the matter is altered.’
‘We are but representatives of a larger body, General,’ Stephanus interjected, cutting across his pinched-faced companions who looked set to provide a rude and possibly impertinent answer. ‘We have a senate at our backs to which we must report what you say.’
The other two grunted and nodded in a way that seemed to convey that the soft words of the man addressing them meant little.
‘That I appreciate. What I offer to you is no blood wasted for that which is inevitable, including your Goths if they are practical, set against much death and destruction of what is a pearl of a city and one the Emperor would be both happy and grateful to embrace.’
If the talking continued it did not do so to very much purpose. None of these men, Stephanus included, made any meaningful proposals, repeating the need to consult while Flavius could only repeat his mixture of blandishments and mild threats. Time ran into the sand and the trio departed, each with a gift from their host of some object of value given to him on the way from Rhegium by a less belligerent city.
Flavius waited till his tent emptied, leaving himself and Procopius alone, his secretary being the man with whom he could share his most intimate thoughts. ‘The Stephanus fellow seems the least ill-disposed.’
That got an emphatic nod. ‘I will seek to get word to him of the rewards he can expect for advancing our cause. I take it I am allowed to be generous?’