When the junction of the troops had been effected, Cæsar sought above all to approach the Roman province, in order to carry succour to it with more ease; he could not think of taking the most direct road, which would have led him into the country of the Ædui, one of the centres of the insurrection; he was, therefore, obliged to pass through the territory of the Lingones, who had remained faithful to him, and to proceed into Sequania, where Besançon offered an important place of arms. (_See Plate 19._) He started from Joigny, following the road which he had taken when he marched to meet Ariovistus (696),[513] and the winter before, when he moved from Vienne to Sens. After reaching the Aube at Dancevoir, he proceeded towards the little river Vingeanne, crossing, as the “Commentaries” say, the extreme part of the territory of the Lingones (_per extremos Lingonum fines_).[514] His intention was, no doubt, to cross the Saône, either at Gray, or at Pontailler. Whilst the Romans abandoned that part of Gaul which had revolted, in order to approach nearer to the province, Vercingetorix had assembled his army, amounting to more than 80,000 men, at Bibracte; it had come in great part from the country of the Arverni, and counted in its ranks the cavalry furnished by all the states. Having been informed of Cæsar’s march, he started at the head of his troops, to bar the road through Sequania. Passing, as we believe, by Arnay-le-Duc, Sombernon, Dijon, and Thil-Châtel, he arrived at the heights of Occey, Sacquenay, and Montormentier, where he formed three camps, at a distance of 10,000 paces (fifteen kilomètres) from the Roman army. (_See Plate 24._) In this position Vercingetorix intercepted the three roads which Cæsar could have taken towards the Saône, either at Gray, or at Pontailler, or at Chalon.[515] Resolved on risking a battle, he convoked the chiefs of the cavalry. “The moment of victory,” he told them, “has arrived; the Romans fly into their province, and abandon Gaul. If this retreat delivers us for the present, it ensures neither peace nor rest for the future; they will return with greater forces, and the war will be endless. We must attack them, therefore, in the disorder of their march; for if the legions stop to defend their long convoy, they will not be able to continue their road; or if, which is more probable, they abandon their baggage in order to secure their own safety, they will lose what is indispensable to them, and, at the same time, their prestige. As to their cavalry, they will surely not dare to move away from the column; that of the Gauls must show so much the more ardour, as the infantry, ranged before the camp, will be there to intimidate the enemy.” Then, the cavalry exclaimed, “Let every one swear, by a solemn oath, never to return to the home of his forefathers, his wife, or his children, if he has not ridden twice through the ranks of the enemy!” This proposition was received with enthusiasm, and all took the oath.