 Fabius, when he found out during a prisoner exchange that Hannibal held 247 people more than the Romans did, and the Senate declined to fund their ransom, sold part of the property to ransom the prisoners, and then refused to accept any money from the freed prisoners.The Fabian Policy of following Hannibal around Italy but refusing battle had become so unpopular that the Romans named Fabius Hannibal’s “paedagogus,” after a certain class of slave who followed a Roman child to school carrying his books.Hannibal either took Geronium by assault after his terms had been refused by the townsfolk, or he simply took possession of the town because the inhabitants had fled after burning the town buildings, because part of the town wall had collapsed, making it vulnerable.