Curia Hostilia: Consulate of Celsus and Barba

[Celsius]

"Hmmmmm. It will take at least 5 Legions to dispatch them. With a few more as reinforcements. If we can draw out 10,000 of Phyrrus' men, we can crush them on open field. The probelm will be taking the City of Cannae."

[Raglan]

But senator, we do not need to take cannae. We are going to war as Cannae's allies, i hope you are not suggesting treachery

[Philos Sophos]

"I have to agree with the question of senator Culleolous and will ask senator Felix as well if he suggest treason against our allies. If we do that, it is obvious that our allies may turn against us and join the Greeks, which we do not want to happen.

Also, I believe that we should destroy the Phyrrus and his army near Cannae with as much men as possible and then take the city of Tarentum. After that, taking Croton will be easier."

[Celsius]

"The City of Cannae. Not out Allies that reside within it. Soon, Phyrrus will take Cannae before we can dispatch his forces. This will result in problems for us and our allies. We either need to try to protect the City, or we allow Phyrrus to take it and take Cannae away from him for Rome."

[Philos Sophos]

"Yes senator Felix, they are not our allies at the moment, but they could be as they suggested an alliance between our us. An alliance with them would be good for us and them, as we would gain more troops for our armies which could act as the front bulk and they would gain a good trading partner. Besides, they did not ally themselves with the Greeks so I do not believe we should conquer their city for us."

[Celsius]

"I did not say we should conquer their city. IF, and only if Phyrrus takes that City, we will have no other choice but to occupy it. They will become our allies if we send troops to their Aid. Even Macedonians wont shoo away help in a situation such as this."

[-Aquila-]

Then we must have confidence in the people of Cannae in defending, and holding off, Pyrrhus. I say we send a naval force around Cannae and land our legions at Tarrentum to trap Pyrrhus between us and Cannae. Leaving him to chance of escape. By Cannae succeeding they prove themselves as our allies, and cement their loyalties to us. There is no need to march an army through Cannaean land, for that will only look like an act of war! We have signed no military rights with them, nor have we even signed this alliance yet.
I trust that the Cannaeans will not just roll over at the sound of Pyrrhus' name but fight him till they have won or until they all lay dead!

[Celsius]

"If we as Romans allow Phyrrus to take a friendly city, he will doubt slaughter it's people. Our public opinion will be crushed. We cannot just stand by as a Greek army invades the Peninsula. The time for talking is over! We need to take action on the situation before we here forget what it is about."

[Ozy]

"Then perhaps we should form an official alliance with Cannae, if only for the duration of this war. I propose that we sign a pact, allowing us Romans to enter the lands belonging to Cannae, in order to help them with Phyrrus. As for the proposal to send troops to Tarentum by sea, I really would not support such an act. Considering we have no ships in the Adriatic, it would take a long time to build those ships and then send the troops there. The land is a perfectly plausible way to transport our men! The plan presented by my colleague should work in a similar manner as that strategy, trapping Phyrrus between an army at his North, and an other one at the South, which should cut communication between his army and Epirus.

In short, what I propose is this:

I. A military alliance shall be formed between Rome and Cannae.
II. Such alliance will last for the entire war with Epirus, and be over by the time the conflict ends.

and,

I. Rome will follow the course of war proposed by Consul Celsus.
II. Said plan consists of sending 1 Consular Army from Naepolis, to go across the Southern Apenines and attacking the city of Tarentum.
III. A second Consular Army will be sent from Apulania to Cannae, where it will stop Phyrrus progress to the North.

With that, we could begin moving our troops and finally get rid of Phyrrus of Epirus."

[Stildawn]

Senator Titus stood...

"Ill support this motion.... Be we must act quickly before the opportunity slips from our grasp..."

[Elendil of Númenor]

"So will I. But indeed, let us not wait much longer, time is desperate. If the motion receives no opposition, put it to vote, quick."

OOC: We're behind schedule, and there isn't much sense in waiting for opposition here, then voting, literally 'again'.

[Celsius]

"I fully support the Proposal brought up my Consul Barba."

[Captain Blackadder]

I support the proposal

[Raglan]

Senators, let us put it to a vote. The dual plan meets my acceptance, i would have had much to say if we were to avoid Cannae, but since we will support them....

ooc; stick it up, and give it a shorter than usual duration

[Ozy]

Senators, it may be safe now to say that the motions have passed. My colleague and I shall proceed, then, to our armies, and begin this war. May the gods protect us all Senators, wish us luck.

[Raglan]

Consuls, before you go i would like to remind you of the Quaestors bill, as it is now, there is no investment in Rome, and no funds set aside for your war

[Ozy]

Oh...I see, well, we'll have to work on that now won't we? I will put the Quaestor's plan for vote. I would also like to ask him what he thinks about our situation and what money should be allowed to the Consuls in our campaign for mercenaries and such, if any. Certainly the more troops we get, the better for our campaign. Regardless of that, I think it would be prudent if my colleague and I began assembling our troops, more than half of the year has already passed, and Phyrrus has already begun moving.

[Xavier Dragnesi]

Marcus Furius Camillus slipped quietly into the Senate Hall, drawing minimal attention. As he sat in his old seat, he looked around. New faces, mostly, a new generation of senators. With Italy soon to become embroiled in a major war against a foreign power, it would be interesting to see how this new senate would cope. He sat back to listen.

[Crozimodo]

With our economy sorted for the year would the house object to giving the remaining denarii solely for the use of the consuls in this war? Mercenaries will lower our own losses as well as being quite invaluable to the war effort.
Furthermore, the quicker this war is finished the quicker we will profit from it and we will recoup our losses.

[Elendil of Númenor]

Weeks after the Consuls left, the tense silence was finally broken, when the great doors of the Curia burst open, every Senator gazing at the man standing between them. The man was torn, wounded in many places; his armour was pierced, his cape stained with blood, his weapons in their hilts behind him on the pavement outside the House. The man fell on his knees, coughed, took long, painful gasps. And when everyone feared the worst, he looked up. His face tormented by his wounds, but his eyes filled with fire.
“Pyrrhus,” he said, his voice hoarse, “is dead.” A massive sigh of relief went around the hall. “His army is destroyed. General Celsus met him on the fields before Cannae; we have lost many lives... but we have won.”

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

"The Consul asked me to ride to Rome with all haste and inform you of our victory. The army now rests outside Cannae, awaiting further orders and news from Consul Barba."
The messenger looked up shyly at the many faces turned to him, waiting for someone to address him.

OOC: I will write a more detailed report on the weekend if I have time. And sorry for not changing my name on the scroll, I just didn't really bother to do that. Take it as if it was "Marcus Julius Celsus" there.