Rome must fall.

Chapter 327 Kill one to serve as a warning to others
"So it was the Scotish people who started it?"

"Correct."

"No one from the Scodischi who participated in the fight was injured?"

"There were injuries, but none of them were serious, because the Skodischi who were fighting were relatively young, while most of the Segestika villagers were older."

"How did you handle this conflict?"

"After I got the news, I personally led two hundred-man teams to Village 81 and questioned all those involved in the fight. Then I arrested the three Skodish slaves who were identified by the villagers of Segestica as the most ferocious fighters and the most likely cause of the deaths of the two men. I detained them in the East Village and planned to hand them over to the Ministry of Justice for trial after the wooden bridge is opened today."

"Hmm..." Maximus nodded, approving of Carminus' cautious approach.

Seeing this, Carminus breathed a sigh of relief, and then said carefully: "Chief, these three young Scodischi have been oppressed by the Segestica people before. One of them even lost a relative at the hands of the Segestica people. They have a deep hatred for the Segestica people, and because they are young, they can't stand the slightest provocation..."

As Carminus spoke, he secretly observed Maximus's expression. Seeing that he was listening carefully, he continued, "I have some impression of these three young Scodischi people. After we captured this place, they were the first group of slaves to join the tribe. One of them even took the initiative to help us persuade slaves from the surrounding tribes to join the tribe...

When I divided my troops to wipe out the leaders and nobles of each tribe, the defense of the East Village relied heavily on these Skodis slaves. These two performed well and played a good leading role... Chief, I wonder if the punishment for these three people can be -"

"Pardon their death sentence and allow them to continue serving the tribe. That's what you want to say to me, right?" Maximus looked at him seriously.

Calminus suddenly felt a strong pressure coming at him, making him dare not respond.

"Did you read the tribal laws to these Skodishchi slaves before assigning them to the villages? Did you instruct them to live in peace with the Segestika people in the villages?"

"Yes! Of course! My men and I have repeatedly reminded him many times!" Carminus responded hurriedly.

"In this case, they have already understood the laws of the tribe, but still dare to violate them. They are breaking the law knowingly! Whether it is them or the two dead villagers of Segestica, they are all members of the Nix tribe. Whoever kills someone must pay with his life. This is the iron law of the tribe and must be enforced!" Maximus said in a firm tone.

Carminus bowed his head and replied, "Yes."

"If we want to annex Segestica more smoothly and make the Segestica people who join the tribe loyal to the tribe, we should treat them like our own people, be fair and selfless, and should not be partial." Maximus said calmly: "This incident is a bad thing, but it is also a good thing on the other hand!
The Skodischi slaves used to be the weaker party, but now that we are here, the people of Segestica who lack strong labor have become the weaker party. In addition, we and the Skodischi slaves once had similar situations, so we will naturally be closer to them. It is inevitable that they will become arrogant because of this, and the people of Segestica who join us will feel worried.

So this time, before executing these three Skodishchi slaves, I will have the Ministry of Justice escort them to various villages to give them a personal testimony, to warn the Skodishchi who have just joined the tribe, and to reassure the people of Segestica."

Although Calminus felt that this was a bit cruel to the three young Scodischi who had committed the crime, he did not dare to raise any objection.

"In this matter, the officials responsible for assigning new villagers to each village are also inexperienced. They shouldn't have assigned three such active young Scodischi to the same village. Too many brave people will easily cause trouble!" Maximuslo was a little sad, but he relaxed his brows again: "Fortunately, now that the bridge is completed, the heads and subordinates of various departments will move here and concentrate on solving the problems on the east bank!"

At this point, Maximus' voice became gentle again: "I know you have been very hard-working during this period, and the soldiers of the Third Legion here have also been very hard-working, but now is not the time to relax and rest. The First Legion has completed the settlement, household registration, and land distribution of all villages between the Didonarenxi Mountain and the Gonammi Lake in the West Village... and only more than 30 villages in the surrounding areas of the East Village have completed the settlement—"

Carminus wanted to explain, but was stopped by Maximus, who said gently: "This is not your fault. You don't have enough manpower, and you are responsible for such a large area. It is not easy to maintain order... So starting from today, all the soldiers of the Third Legion in the West Village will be transferred here, and the First Legion will also transfer 2000 soldiers to the East Village--"

"The soldiers from the First Legion are coming too?" Carminus was a little anxious when he heard this. It has only been three years since the establishment of the Maximus Army, but there is already a sense of competition between the various teams. This arrangement by Maximus seemed to indicate that the Third Legion could not handle its own tasks and needed the help of the First Legion. This was a little difficult for Carminus, the commander of the Third Legion, to accept.

Maximus certainly understood his thoughts and explained, "These 2000 soldiers of the First Legion are mainly to transform a riverside village near Lake Gonamite on the east bank into a military camp, which will be used together with another military camp that has been built by the First Legion on the other side of the river to prevent the enemy from the south from harassing our territory. In this way, the Third Legion can safely enter various villages and complete the conquest of the territory of Segestica on the east bank as soon as possible."

Calminus asked with some concern: "Will this camp to be built be manned by soldiers from the First Legion?"

"Of course, your Third Legion will be responsible for this." Maximus smiled and said, "I have already told you before that according to the results of the discussion in the Political Affairs Hall, all the people in the First Legion will move to the villages on the west coast, and you, the Third Legion, will all settle on the east coast.

Regardless of whether it is for the sake of the soldiers themselves or for the sake of the tribe, the Third Legion must complete your mission within ten days while the Pannonians are still recovering, so that the tribe can better concentrate its strength to deal with the next challenge from the Pannonians!"

"Captain, don't worry, the Third Legion will not let you down!" Carminus solemnly promised.

"I believe you will lead the Third Legion to get things done." Maximus encouraged, then he stood up and walked out.

The attendant Marcellus was standing outside the house. When he saw Maximus coming out, he hurried forward to report: "Captain, Aracosia wants to see you."

..............................................................................

"The Pannoni Tribal Alliance sent an envoy?!"

"Chief, there is not one messenger, but four people in total." Alakosia explained in detail: "When they passed through Lake Gonammi by boat and landed on the west bank, they were discovered by the cavalry of Hagux. They took the initiative to reveal their identities and were blindfolded as required by our cavalry, and then taken all the way to the west camp.

I heard from them that the four of them were from the four major tribes of Brochi, Mazii, Peruste, and Disione, and this time they were ordered by the Pannoni tribal alliance to come to us to negotiate a truce and peace. "

"Peace talks? ... Peace talks..." Maximus stroked his chin, thought for a while, and asked: "Aracosia, what do you think about this?"

"Chief, we can't negotiate peace with the Pannoni Tribal Alliance!" Alakosia answered without hesitation, obviously having considered it beforehand: "The Pannoni Tribal Alliance is stronger than us, but now they are actively looking for us to negotiate. Obviously, they suffered heavy losses in this war, so they don't have the ability to go to war with us again and help the Segestica people regain their territory, so they want to achieve their goal through negotiation.

I'm afraid they also have another purpose, which is to take back the Pannoni warriors we captured so that they can recover their strength faster. No matter which one it is, we can't agree to it. However, we can't be too hasty to refuse. We can talk to them slowly and let them have some hope. As long as we can delay for a while, the tribe's rule here will be more stable. "

"Well said!" Maximus praised. "Pygris is now on the other side of the Kupa River, and then he will go to Ardei. You are his deputy, and you will be responsible for the negotiation with the Pannonian envoy."

"Yes, Chief." Alakosia responded loudly and excitedly.

"Just talk to them as you thought just now, and when you can't drag it out any longer..." Maximus' eyes flashed with cunning light: "Tell them that the Pannoni Tribal Alliance launched this war without authorization in an attempt to exterminate us, the Nix. Therefore, the Nix tribe, from the leader to the tribe members, cannot trust the Pannoni Tribal Alliance, especially Brochi and Mazii, the main messengers of this war.

But Nix is ​​willing to negotiate with Desitiatai, Disione and Perustai, who were forced to participate in this war. If these three tribes show enough sincerity, Nix will not only sign a truce agreement with them, but also consider releasing the captives of their tribes. "

"Release the captives from these three tribes..." Alakosia frowned at first, then remembered something and asked, "Like Segestica who negotiated with us before?"

(End of this chapter)