Immersed as you are in your study it is only when the cup of wine is placed before you that you realise Rufus has even entered your quarters. The amused quirk of a smile on his face makes it clear he's quite aware of this.
"It's not like you to be so unaware of your surroundings." Rufus chuckles as he lounges in the seat before you. "What has captured your attention so?"
You lean back in your chair, regarding Rufus for a moment. He is much changed from when you first marched against on Samnium, when the laxness of the scholar held tightly to his frame, and by the end of the campaign he was a changed man. But the pace Marius has set in this conflict with Mithridates has been a step further still, and Rufus has begun to truly hold the appearance of a soldier.
"On our brief return to Rome I perused the writings of Gaius Cornelius Cethegus on the Second Punic War. He was Consul a mere four years after the conflict came to an end and travelled with Scipio Africanus and Marcus Minucius Rufus to mediate the peace between Masinissa and Carthage and seems to have gleaned some insight from Scipio during the journey."
Rufus takes another draught of his wine, perhaps attempting to hide his smile.
He fails. And his raised eyebrows are equally noticeable.
"During our return to Rome, was it?" He smiles. "You're certain this wasn't a more recent interest Atellus? Perhaps brought on by our new friend Cassianus?"
"I am now doing this," you continue – gesturing to the parchment before you – as though he had not spoken. "Because prior to our campaign in Samnium I had been studying the writings of Polybius on the rise of Rome as the preeminent power in the Mediterranean."
"And many would say the Second Punic War was perhaps the single defining moment in the Republics rise," Rufus interjects.
"Yes, exactly."
"And in studying the tactics and strategies of Hannibal and Scipio have you gained the insight you sought?"
"No," you say bluntly.
"No?"
You take a moment to enjoy Rufus' look of puzzlement. You had become well acquainted with it in the early months of your friendship, but it was becoming an increasingly rare expression.
"The tactics and strategies of Hannibal and Scipio are well recorded and studied. Indeed, even I have studied them, my father made sure of it. It is the actions of Fabius that interests me."
"Fabius the delayer?" Rufus questions. "Why would you want to read about his contributions? They're rather self-explanatory, aren't they? He didn't wish to be defeated and so cravenly avoided battle…"
You chuckle. Fabius' reputation had been badly damaged by his actions in the war, although the consequences that had later come from ignoring his strategy had seen him redeemed in the eyes of many.
Rufus it appears was not one such person.
"Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus. Consul, Dictator and I believe a saviour of Rome."
"That," says Rufus. "Is quite an accolade to lay upon one such as he. One that many would not agree with."
You nod in acceptance. He's right of course, there are many people who do not fully appreciate what Fabius achieved, you were among them until quite recently.
"Let me put forward the case for Fabius then."
Rufus grins. "Am I, then, to be the prosecution?"
"By the end of this I hope not. If I cannot even convince you of this then I have erred greatly."
Taking a sip of wine, you allow yourself a moment to collect your thoughts. After all, this is a realisation you've only just grasped; and perhaps still not fully.
"Let me set the stage; Hannibal has marched on Italia, the Battle of Ticius has been lost and the Gauls south of the Alps have gone over to him bolstering his forces substantially.
Sempronius Longus, a Consul of the year, has been recalled from planning his invasion of Africa and sent to dispatch Hannibal, but his eyes are on the coming elections. And so, desperate for swift glory he has been drawn to perhaps the worst possible location for battle and foolishly he has taken it. He may have survived, but of the near 40,000 he led into battle only 10,000 escaped. The rest dead or captured.
Rome is in a panic, with many terrified that Hannibal will suddenly appear before the very walls. The Battle of Trebia is a disaster."
Rufus interrupts you, and you are glad for it as the wine is rather good and now you can enjoy it for a moment.
"Your Oratorical ability continues to serve you well Atellus, even in this."
"History is but a story with dates attached," you retort. "Why should it not be told as compellingly as fiction?"
Ruffus merely hums in agreement, gesturing for you to continue.
"At any rate, Hannibal did not march on Rome instead choosing to rest his men for the winter. And with the new year came new Consuls, who raised new armies and set out to engage and destroy him. The greater of these Consuls – and in saying that I mean only that he was the more popular and influential, not that he had any particular merit – was Gaius Flaminius and he would lead his legions to what would be, for a short time, the greatest military failure of the Roman Republic."
"The Battle of Lake Trasimene." Rufus grimaces.
"Indeed. Although quite fortunately for him," you joke. "It was only the worst failing in the history of the Republic for six months or so until Cannae."
A raised eyebrow is the only reply. Not, it seems, a funny joke. Perhaps not then.
"I'm sure you've studied the battle to some extent. Needless to say Hannibal continued as he had been, by luring yet another Consul and yet another army into the worst possible location for them to give battle."
You pause for a moment. Not for the wine this time, but rather to ensure what came next had the proper impact.
"An entire army," you say. "Killed or captured. Their Consul, whatever little he was worth, falling with them."
This time your pause is for the wine.
It is Rufus this time who breaks the silence, clearly keen to reach the crux of your assertion. In truth you are as well because only in giving voice to it, in defending it, will you be able to confirm you are not mistaken.
"And so we come to Fabius, who you call a saviour of Rome, simply because he avoided defeat. Even against Hannibal, is that such an accomplishment?"
"A touch unfair don't you think Rufus?" You ask lightly.
There's a small smile of amusement in place as he replies. You think he might be starting to enjoy this, but then as much as he has improved as a soldier Rufus is still at heart a scholar.
"You've yet to convince me of that."
"I'd best get to it then," you retort.
"As you say, militarily Fabius undertook a strategy of 'avoiding battle', or rather avoiding battle unless he could determine the time and place of battle. He choose instead to skirmish with his outriders and strike Hannibal's supply lines. This matters because it was now quite clear – or should have been – that Hannibal was exceptionally skilled at goading his enemy into taking a battle at a disadvantageous location."
"That's true," admits Rufus slowly.
"And so Fabius denied him this until he finally trapped him in Campania."
"And let him escape."
You chuckle quietly at the interruption. Rufus is being drawn into this little discussion; you can almost see him sobering before your eyes as he becomes more engaged.
"Yes, he did," you start. "But here we reach the crux of the matter. The state of Rome before Fabius was that of sheer terror and panic, hence his appointment as Dictator, and we know what happened next don't we?"
Rufus looks slightly quizzical, many things happened next and he's clearly trying to decide what exactly you're referring too. In the end you let the silence stretch, giving Rufus time to think.
Eventually, though, you take pity on him and give him a prompt.
"The election."
"Ah!" He exclaims, jumping slightly in his seat. "Varro then, not the elevation of Minucius?"
"Exactly Rufus. While the elevation of Minucius to co-dictator and his immediate defeat in battle does serve as an interesting point – and beyond that is a constitutional curiosity – it is the following years' election that is important.
Rome went, over the course of a year, from feeling that the time of Rome was over to electing a populist demagogue who advocated an aggressive strategy utilising overwhelming force against an enemy who had destroyed one army after another. That is the key."
This is what you have come to realise. Fabius' strategy wasn't just one to counter Hannibal militarily and deny him the pitched battle he sought, but also a strategy to counter him politically! Although admittedly, the election of Varro was surely not his intent.
Before you, you can see Rufus' mind whirling, now perched on the edge of his chair rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"The mob is… volatile Atellus, this has always been true," Rufus murmurs. "Varro seized on Fabius' inaction and whipped them into a frenzy to gain power in the election. What more is there to it?"
"The fact that he could Rufus!" You enthuse. "The legions are the strength of Rome, the best-trained fighting force in all the world. But even the greatest soldier cannot win a battle if he walks into it expecting to lose!"
A quick swig of wine soothes your parched throat before you continue quickly.
"The Fabian strategy was not simply to deny Hannibal battle, and thus victory, but also to rebuild the morale and confidence of all of Rome," you begin excitedly. "You must remember Rufus, Rome had received one blow after another and like a gladiator who had taken strike after strike to the head, it was dazed and confused. The soldiers in the legions and the people of Rome had come to expect defeat!"
Immediately Rufus understood, though he didn't quite look convinced.
"That is not…. Unreasonable," he admits.
"Defeat, defeat, defeat… and then suddenly 'this territory has been recovered', 'such and such a town has been retaken' and on and on. That each place had only just been subjugated by Hannibal a month or so before was not reported. That Fabius was, in essence, following Hannibal around Italia and liberating what he had just conquered once he moved on was not reported. For a year all the people of Rome knew was that they had an army in the field that Hannibal had not destroyed and that while Dictator was avoiding battle – cravenly in their view – he had made one small gain after another."
"Fabius," you conclude with a flourish, "undertook the difficult and yet absolutely necessary task of rebuilding the confidence and self-belief of Rome. And even though in doing so he made Rome confident enough to elect Varro, and his foolishness at Cannae almost ended Rome itself, if he had not done this then Hannibal may very well have triumphed."
Silence reigns in your room with both of you content to be alone – together – with your thoughts.
This was something you had begun to grasp in Samnium, that a strategy in war might require a political victory to enable a military victory. But you hadn't considered that the political component might be aimed at your own people, or even your own legion. That you might have to convince them the victory you sought was even possible before you could pursue it!
It was almost anathema to you as a Roman, that victory might not be possible.
Victory was not just a possibility in all situations, it was expected! Even here, in a foreign land with your people at home divided, and under a commander who might prefer you be dead due to your connections you had no doubt Rome would emerge victorious in this conflict.
Rome was victorious. Always.
Fabius might not have saved Rome by destroying its enemy. But he was the reason that Rome was in a position to be saved in the manner most people would view 'saving'.
"Atellus, forever doing your duty."
You quirk an eyebrow at Rufus in question.
"To guide and educate your fellow Tribune of course!"
Letting out a bark of laughter you slump back in your chair and smile, basking in the simple joy of a having convinced another through the power of your argument. Even here, where you were not challenged, it is a pleasant feeling.
War you are beginning to see, requires a broader gaze than you imagined. And greater wisdom than knowing what to do when battle is joined.
Well you've always been the thoughtful sort.
Wisdom in war it is.
