Interlude-Scenes From Elsewhere III

Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus had spent the whole year chasing Samnite raiding parties all around Latium and Picenum. Everywhere his army went, he found raided villages and plundered caravans, but very little in the way of Samnites. The buggers moved fast, too fast for his army to catch them. By the time they had gotten word that the Samnites had struck, mustered their forces, and arrived at the scene, the raiders were long gone. It was infuriating. At the very least, the Samnites hadn't hit a major city again, thank Fortuna for small blessings. The biggest problem was that the tax and tribute caravans to Roma seemed to be high priority targets, which meant that raising and equipping a third army was difficult due to a lack of funds.

Fortunately, it seemed that the Epirote King had seen fit to lend the Senate funds enough to raise and equip 4 Legions. Not enough to turn the tide on their own, but the Epirote mission was not the only mission that had gone out. Even now negotiations with Carthage for a similar loan were being held. With 8 more Legions in the field, Rome would be able to once again strike at her enemies. She needed time to field those Legions properly, and above all, she needed the loan money to safely arrive in Roma.

That was why Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus currently found himself in Picenum, escorting a caravan filled with Epirote Drachmae down the Via Salaria from the Socii port of Ancona to Roma. The Senate demanded he take the bulk of his army to protect this vital caravan from the Samnites. Privately, he thought the Samnites would be foolish to attempt to raid so heavily guarded a caravan and would instead, raid into Latium now that the majority of his forces were away.

Indeed, as he moved down the Via Salaria towards Roma, he found many settlements had been attacked. Small towns with wooden walls, villages, and caravans all had varying degrees of damage from Samnite raids. Still, no major cities or larger towns had been attacked, however. It seemed that even with most of his forces away, the Samnites still lacked the force to deal with solid fortifications. That meant that even with farmland pillaged, the granaries in the major cities had been spared.

Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus returned to Roma bearing the Epirote Silver as the first days of winter crept over Italia. As he delivered the silver to the treasury, he sent a runner to the Senate House to ask for updates on the rest of the war. Chasing Samnite raiders had left him little time to keep up with news from other fronts, after all.

The Urban Quaestor at the Tabularium kept him for longer than he had expected, so it wasn't for several hours that Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus heard the latest news. It seemed that a reformed Etruscan Army had camped at Clusium for the winter after ejecting all Roman garrisons from Etruria. In a bit of Good Fortune, the Umbrians seemed to have abandoned the campaign in favor of attacking the weakened Senones. The worst news, however, was saved for last. A Samnite Army under Gellius Egnatius had struck into Campania while Rome was distracted. Volumnius marched out to meet them in battle near the mountains but had been attacked while crossing the Liturnus River and a third of his army had been caught mid-crossing and annihilated. Volumnius retreated with the remnants of his force and was now besieged inside Capua. Rome needed time to raise and equip a new army, but it seemed that time was running out.

As Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianus barracked his forces outside the city for the evening, he received new orders from the Senate. He was to take 20,000 men, around half his army, and relieve Volumnius as soon as was practicable. That meant waiting until spring, as the road south into Campania he would need to take would go through the mountains. In the meantime, the other half of his army would be commanded by a new commander, Sextus Julius Libo, who would be in charge of training 4 new Legions in Latium.

He just hoped that Volumnius could hold out till then. . .

XXXX

Gisgo was a merchant of Carthage. His father had been a merchant before him, and his grandfather before that. His family specialized in the trade of dyes, mostly Tyrian Purple, but also other, cheaper, colors. Mostly blues, greens, yellows, and reds. It was the foundation of his family's wealth going back several generations and had been enough to make them very wealthy, to the point of buying seats in the Assembly for his brother and uncle.

That was why, while many other merchants were talking of the Roman embassy and their request for a loan, Gisgo had other concerns on his mind. You see, one of his trading vessels had recently made a trip to Rhegion in Magna Graecia and had returned with bad news. The Agora in Rhegion had contained dyes in green and red that were much richer than anything in his family's current line of dyes. The quality was comparable to even the Tyrian Purple so prized by dye makers. When his man had asked the other dye merchant where he'd gotten the dyes from, the other merchant had told him they came from Epirus.

He was not alone in his concerns. Malchior the cloth merchant sold linen and wool cloth that was being undercut by Epirote Sea Silk and Wool cloth, one due to quality and the other due to price. Carthalo the Ironmonger also was being edged out of the Iron Trade by higher quality Epirote Ironwork. Magna Graecia was usually a lucrative market for all 3 of them, but it seemed Epirus was not only stepping up commercial interests there but beginning to edge them out.

"This is intolerable! We cannot lose the Market to the Greeks!" Fumed Carthalo.

"Calm yourself, Carthalo, it is not the end of the world." Replied Gisgo.

"Easy for you to say, with your Tyrian Purple, you have no need to fear losing a market. Iron is my stock and trade! Epirus is ruining me!" Scoffed Carthalo.

"Far be it for me to complain, especially as Sea Silk is still limited enough in supply that I will still turn a profit regardless of Epirote meddling, but if they seize control of the Markets in Magna Graecia, does that not undermine the finances of our city? What was the point of fighting a war with Syracuse if we lose the Market anyway?" Asked Melchior.

"Unfortunately, my brother tells me that the Assembly is more focused on developing our control over the metals trade in Hispania. Tin and silver are more valuable than linen and iron and that is not something likely to change any time soon." Sighed Gisgo.

"So what can we do? If the assembly will not step in, what are we to do?" Asked Carthalo.

"I propose we combine our resources. From there, we will have enough coin to diversify our interests into other areas that Epirus cannot meddle with. Wine, tin, and other areas. If they think they can take the Markets in Magna Graecia from us, then we simply need to present a unified front and strike back in areas they cannot contest." Replied Gisgo.

"Will that work? Combining our enterprises like that?" Asked Melchior.

"It is certainly better than doing nothing. If the Assembly won't step in, we have to do something." Nodded Carthalo.

"Then it is settled. We three will share resources and diversify into areas that the Epirotes cannot contest." Affirmed Gisgo.

Thus was born the first consortium in history. Their first move would be to acquire control of a vineyard whose owner was too prone to dice for his own good. They bought his gambling debts and entered the winemaking business. Carthaginian wine was much better quality than Epirote wine, after all. Using the profits from that to enhance their combined ventures, they would next look into buying into the Hispanian tin trade with a little aid from Gisgo's brother and his assembly friends, they acquired a tin mine in the lands of Carthage's Turdetani Clients.

With these, they would begin to fight back. . .

XXXX

AN: So, here you see brief snippets of Rome and Carthage.

Rome isn't having the best time in the war at the moment, but the longer they hold on, the more they can mobilize. It's hanging on that is the issue.

Carthage is starting to notice the effects of all the trade treaties that the SI signed in Magna Graecia and they don't like what they see. Unfortunately, the assembly is too invested in the extremely lucrative tin and silver trade in Hispania to intervene directly, leading to independent merchants to get crafty in order to compete.

Next up we'll be back with the SI.