Rome must fall.

Chapter 20 Shameless Maximus

Although Enomui's idea is a bit naive, the Ania Avenue adjacent to it has become very depressed when the northern region of Vesuvius was messed up by the rebel forces. It is almost impossible to encounter the good things like before. Impossible, but the issue he mentioned is indeed what everyone is most concerned about: It has been a month since they escaped from Capua. The team has expanded to nearly 5000 people, but there are less than 500 people who can possess simple weapons (that is, armed with wooden weapons). shield, dagger or spear).

Everyone has thought of many ways during this period, but they have still been unable to change the dilemma of lack of weapons.

After a period of silence, Spartacus said in a deep voice: "Enomuyi's suggestion is still good. You can let Oakmar send his men to give it a try. However, our focus should be to intensify our efforts on the brothers starting tomorrow." Carry out training and improve their combat effectiveness as soon as possible, so that when the Roman army arrives, we can defeat them and seize their weapons and equipment! If they don't come for the time being, we can't wait until Rome gathers an army to surround us later, we must attack first Small towns like Pompeii, get their arsenals and equip your brothers so that you can have a chance to fight the Roman army.”

Whether it was to defeat the Roman army or capture the city, it was very difficult, but everyone realized that the insurrectionary team had no other choice, and finally agreed.

After the meeting, Hamilka summoned all the baggage train personnel in the courtyard and announced to them: Maximus became their new captain!

As soon as he finished speaking, there were cheers all around, and some people even clapped desperately.

Hamilka turned to Maximus and said: "We made a right decision. It seems that they all want you to be the captain."

"That's not because of your full support, teacher, and you have selflessly taught me a lot during this period!" Maximus said with a sincere face. After he helped Hamilcar do things and often asked him for advice, he began to call Hamilcar "teacher". At first Hamilcar was very uncomfortable with it, but Maximus never changed. Finally, Hamilcar He tacitly recognized him, and therefore trusted him more, often letting him do whatever he wanted. This time, he took the initiative to recommend him to Spartacus, which was one of the main reasons.

"It's all for our team. The baggage train is left to you. You have to take good care of it and don't make any mistakes!" Hamilka solemnly asked: "If you encounter any difficulties that cannot be solved, you can come at any time. Come to me and we can discuss the solution together."

Maximus immediately took over and said, "Teacher, I have a difficult problem now and I hope to get your support."

"You're so rude, you boy." Hamilka cursed, but he wasn't angry at all. After getting along with him for this period of time, he had become accustomed to this young man's shamelessness: "Tell me, what's the problem?"

"The baggage train is short of manpower!" Maximus was afraid that Han Mirka would object, so he explained quickly: "Although the number of people in the baggage train seems to be quite large, there are nearly 200 people, and it is still increasing every day. , but you should know very well who they are. There are more than 50 women, more than 30 elderly people over 40 years old, more than 20 children, and although there are more than 80 adult men, they are not thin, They are just sick... In short, most of the people added to our baggage team now are the old, weak, sick and disabled——"

"You should know that the Roman army will attack at any time. The slave brothers who join us must be organized into combat troops first. Now is not the time to prioritize the baggage train!" Hamilcar finally interrupted him and reminded him.

"I understand this, but when Bardacus and the others are fighting, our baggage team has to follow the action. Normally, it doesn't show up when we capture farms and collect grain. However, during the entire battle, it is difficult for the baggage team personnel to adapt to the intense action. , not only will it not play its due role, but it will become a drag!" Maximus said solemnly. He had already considered this, and even used words to block Hamilka's possible remedies: "Even if During the battle, teams will be sent to assist our baggage corps, but they are not familiar with the affairs of the baggage corps, which will cause confusion. They may not obey the command. If our baggage corps is abandoned at a critical moment to participate in the battle, then our baggage corps will be able to It’s dangerous... Therefore, it’s best to assign some strong slave brothers to our baggage team!”

After hearing what Maximus said, Hamilke's expression became serious. He pondered for a while and then said: "Okay, I will mention this to Spartacus first. , you are now the captain of the baggage team and can participate in the meeting of military commanders. The next time we all meet, you can discuss this matter. But even if it is passed, there will not be too many manpower allocated to the baggage team. "

"That's fine." Maximus smiled.

"Are there any other problems?" Hamilka blinked.

"Not yet." Maximus replied with a smile. He actually had a suggestion, but he had to eat the food one bite at a time.

Watching Hamilka leave, Maximus secretly clenched his fists with excitement: All the hard work during this period was not in vain, and he finally became the captain of the baggage train! Although this is related to the fact that he can write and calculate, and apart from him and Hamilcar, there are no other gladiators participating in the riots in the baggage team to compete, but the ability he has shown is obvious to all, otherwise even if Hamilcar recommended it, Nor could it be passed at a military council. In the eyes of those gladiators who only knew how to fight bravely and fiercely, the baggage train was a place for weaklings, but when Spartacus appointed Hamilcar as the baggage train captain, and Hamilka could participate in the military as the baggage captain. When the chiefs met to discuss military affairs, he had already realized that a young man like him, who had little prestige among the gladiators and was stained, wanted to gain enough voice in the uprising team as soon as possible, join the baggage team and become a baggage captain. Captain is undoubtedly the best choice! It's just that he achieved his goal so quickly, which was beyond his own expectations.

Just when he was excited, a man came over and said with a smile: "Captain Maximus, you have taken office, should we celebrate?"

Maximus looked at her.

This woman in her thirties is called Anikos, who comes from Egypt. Her family became slaves due to heavy debts and was sold to a large farm in the Vesuvian region. Her husband was assigned to farm while she worked as a cook. Two years ago, her eldest daughter was forcibly taken into the house by the farm steward. After she became pregnant, she was abandoned like a worn-out shoe. She eventually died in childbirth. The couple buried her hastily in grief, but they did not dare to reveal anything about this to the steward. Hatred, her husband died of depression not long after. She endured her grief and carefully guarded her underage daughter, for fear of being harmed by him again. She has lived in fear for the past two years. Thanks to the uprising team, they broke into the farm and killed the farm steward who resisted on the spot. She was the first slave on the farm to actively join the team. She also chopped up the steward's body with a cleaver on the spot. Die to vent your anger...

Later, the number of people in the baggage team increased, and Hamilka wanted to appoint a leader to take charge of the kitchen. He originally paid attention to another male slave who joined the team, but Maximus strongly recommended Arconis to him. Because when he was young, he often worked with the baggage team members, and he found that although Akonis was a woman, she was energetic and capable, and she was quite popular among the people working in the kitchen. Maximus, who came from modern society, did not have the discrimination against women in this era. With his insistence, Akonis became the first female leader in the uprising.

Maximus did not have the habit of doing good deeds anonymously. He passed on the role he played in it to Aconis's ears through other people's mouths, thus winning Aconis's gratitude.

At this moment, he said to Arconis with a serious face: "Thank you for your kindness, but now is not the time to celebrate. We must first finish the job at hand and prove to the brothers who are running around fighting outside, that Spartacus It’s the right thing to make me captain.”

(End of this chapter)