Rome must fall.

Chapter 70 Quintus

In the past, Matsimus had tolerated Cross's provocations at military meetings, with Hamilka and Spartacus helping him deal with them. But now, as the supply camp has grown, he has become bolder. I feel that I can no longer allow Cross to target me like this, otherwise I will only be looked down upon by other newly joined leaders in the future, and how can I have influence in the upper echelons of the entire rebel army!
  "You—" Cross's face changed drastically. He didn't expect that Maximus, who had always been forbearing, would suddenly retort.

"Okay, you two are already leaders, and you are still noisy like children. What do you mean?" Spartacus immediately scolded him, using the name of noisy to cover up the conflict between the two, and the matter was settled. Let it go.

After the meeting, Hamilka took the initiative to find Maximus and criticized: "You were too impulsive just now and you should not have a quarrel with Cross."

"Teacher, you have just seen it. Cross bullied others too much. If I don't fight back, he will only become more aggressive in the future. Then how can I have the dignity to attend the military meeting as the leader of the supply camp!" Maximus was still angry. said.

Hamilcar said earnestly: "He is wrong, but you should not threaten him with words such as reducing food supply! You are the leader of the supply camp, which provides food security for the entire army. If others disagree with you, If you don’t agree, you can use this method to threaten him, then can other leaders trust you to take charge of the supply camp?!”

Maximus was stunned for a moment, then said sincerely: "Teacher, you are right, I was just excited and didn't think more about it. I really shouldn't have said that!"

Seeing that he had admitted his mistake, Hamilcar patted his shoulder lightly: "Just be careful in the future. Regarding whether to agree to the Lucelia people's request and attack Pompeii, you and I are both concerned about the lack of supplies, but Si Bardax needs to consider the situation of the entire team, uh, so—"

"Teacher, I understand that every leader has his own considerations. This is why we have a meeting of military commanders. How could I blame Spartacus?" Maximus said disapprovingly.

Quarrels are a normal part of the meeting of military governors, but the reason why Hamilka went out of his way to appease Maximus was because the baggage camp was becoming more and more important to the rebel army under the leadership of the young gladiator:
  Even if there are more and more soldiers and the team becomes larger, the supply camp can always provide sufficient and delicious food;

Soldiers train very seriously and are not afraid when fighting. That is because the medical team can take good care of wounded soldiers. Some soldiers even want to be injured so that they can stay in the medical team;

The supply camp set up a construction team to build roads between several brigade camps, and even helped other brigade repair camps in their spare time;
  The baggage camp also set up a weaving team, and based on Maxim's suggestion, they also wanted to try to provide the entire army with linen tunics dyed in the same color to make the rebel army more regular;

The supply camp also organized those children to train and work during the day and study together at night. Maximus once explained that "this is to prepare for the future of the rebel army"...

The number of people in each brigade is increasing day by day, but only the baggage camp is not only always in order, but also showing a prosperous scene. This fully demonstrates Maximus' leadership ability and allows Spartacus and Hamilka to confront him. He valued Spartacus even more, so Hamilcar came here specifically to explain, fearing that he would have any dissatisfaction with Spartacus.

Hearing what Maximus said, Hamilka also felt that he was making a fuss out of a molehill, and then he heard Maximus say again: "Teacher, where are those Lukelians?"

"At the camp of the First Brigade."

"Can I go meet them?"

"You want to attack Pompeii?!" Hamilka looked at him in surprise. "If the whole army is not mobilized, how can we take Pompeii with just the few people in our supply camp!" Maximus shook his head and said: "I want to see them because they were once subordinates of the Roman dictator Sulla. I want to Learn from them something about the city of Rome and southern Italy.”

"Oh, that's right. But we didn't agree to their request. I'm afraid they won't be willing to tell you more."

"I think it's better if I take the Lukelians to the camp of the baggage camp and provide some food. Maybe they would be willing to talk to me."

"That's fine."

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Quinius Quintus, a Roman citizen from Latium, was born a commoner. He got married at the age of 20 and was drafted into the army a year later. After many years of fighting, he was promoted to the chief centurion of the Roman legion through meritorious service and was also awarded the title of Chief Centurion of the Roman Legion. After being interviewed and commended by Sulla, he was assigned acres of state-owned land when he was arranged to settle in Campania's colonial city of Kelia.

However, with no experience in managing farmland, he listened to the advice of some thoughtful people and used the money he had saved over the years to buy a lot of slaves, farm tools and seeds in preparation for a big start. However, a drought hit and the harvest dropped sharply, so he lost money. . He was not willing to give in and wanted to make money again, so he borrowed another debt on the recommendation of a caring person. The harvest the next year was not bad, but his wheat could not be sold because the price of wheat on the market was very low. Selling at a higher price, not only did he not make any money, he also lost money.

Quintus was able to become the chief centurion not only because he was very strategic, but also because he always had a stubbornness in his heart that refused to admit defeat. Since wheat did not make money, he would plant grapes instead to make money in order to pay off the debt. debt. So in the third year, he continued to borrow money and started growing grapes. However, the technical requirements for growing grapes were very high. He had no experience in this area, let alone slaves who were good at growing grapes (such slaves have higher prices in the market and are extremely popular). ), so I lost it later...

Over the years, he owed a lot of debt, but luckily his creditors never pressed him until he learned of Sulla's death and rushed to Rome to attend the funeral. At this moment, creditors from Pompeii came to collect debts with a large number of people. When Quintus's son could not come up with the money to repay the debts, they forcibly took away the land deeds to pay off the debts, which led to a conflict between the two parties. In the end, Quintus His only son fell to the ground seriously injured and died half a year later. His daughter-in-law also followed him away in grief. Only Quintus, whose family was broken up and his only grandson, was struggling to survive...

For many years, his grievances have not been redressed and he has been tortured by hatred. Quintus, who is not yet over fifty, has completely white hair and beard. He has a skinny figure and wrinkles on his face. Only his eyes are sharp and penetrating, like burning flames.

Quintus was followed by two Lukelians, both of whom had similar experiences.

The three of them entered Maximus' military tent and after they all sat down, Maximus said straight to the point: "You three, we have discussed your request and finally believe that attacking Pompeii at this time is not feasible - —”

One of the Lucelia men immediately expressed his dissatisfaction: "You have tens of thousands of troops, and you don't even dare to attack a small Pompeii city. You still claim to resist Rome and gain freedom! It's better to tie your own hands early. Go to Rome and surrender, maybe you can avoid the torture of crucifixion and die faster!"

Another middle-aged man then begged: "Please don't make a decision so quickly, and discuss it carefully! We know the situation in Pompeii very well, and we are willing to fully assist you! Although Pompeii is small, its maritime trade is prosperous , is rich in supplies. As long as you can capture it, you will obtain a large amount of supplies, which can greatly improve your existing equipment... Please think about it again!"

Maximus said slowly: "Although Pompeii is small, it has high walls and thick walls and is well-defended. Although we have many people, we have just formed an army. We have no siege experience and lack of siege equipment. We cannot attack like this." A city must pay a lot of casualties, and it may not succeed. There may be a lot of supplies in Pompeii, but which town in Italy is not like this, so why do we have to smash our heads in Pompeii and shed blood!"

(End of this chapter)