Chapter 13 About Slaves

When the food was almost ready, Hamilcar did not take it out immediately. Instead, he asked Maximus to bring the most prestigious gladiators such as Altonix, Enomui, and Torquevaldo. Several people were called in and asked to go out and distribute the food.

"If we carry this food out ourselves, the brothers who are already panicking from hunger will definitely swarm us, and chaos will break out at that time. But if Enomue does it for them, the brothers will not dare to snatch it. In fact, in the army, there are usually hundreds of The captain led the slaves in the team to distribute food to the soldiers. We have just come out and have not yet established the rules. It will be fine in the future," Hamilcar patiently explained to Maximus.

Maximus couldn't help but ask: "I heard Spartacus say before, have you ever been in the Roman army?"

Hamilcar was silent for a moment and said in a low voice: "Yes, we were once recruited for coveting Roman money, but our entire tribe was killed because of this!"

Hearing Hamil Carson's cold voice, Maximus felt his hair stand on end. He did not dare to ask further questions, and instead asked: "If we follow the standards of the Roman army, how can we prepare a team like ours?" How many people are needed for dinner?”

Hamilka thought for a while and said: "Each ten-man team in the Roman legion has two slave soldiers, who are usually responsible for doing chores, and the food is mainly prepared by them. We have about 250 people. According to their requirements, We only need fifty people to prepare a meal, but the Roman legions are very demanding, so twenty of us are enough to cook.”

Having said this, he looked at Maximus with relief: "I'm glad you can ask such a question. It shows that you are seriously thinking about our meal. Unlike those guys in the morning, I asked them to help. Everyone is very reluctant to work, these guys can’t do anything except killing, they are very good!”

Maximus said modestly: "I just feel that no matter how brave we are, if we don't have enough to eat, we may not have the strength to defeat the enemy."

"You are right, the food supply of a team is very important! The Romans are indeed hateful, but the energy they invest in this aspect is unmatched by other forces."

Hamilka sighed very much. It was rare for someone to listen to him say this, which made him interested. He immediately took Maximus and sat down at the door of the kitchen. He asked the slave to scoop up two bowls of mutton soup and tore a large piece of hot bread. , while the two were eating, he continued: "I just gave a rough idea. How many people are actually needed to cook for an army depends on the actual situation. If there is no danger around, the kitchen and food are all Ready-made, as we are now, ten people can meet the needs of more than two hundred people, because we have enough time to prepare slowly, but if we are on the march or in enemy territory, the situation will be serious It’s different…”

Maximus listened carefully to Hamilka's explanation and understood many important points about logistics supply, such as "Why is it mainly wheat, not ready-made flour, that is used to transport military rations to the army? Because it is easier to preserve, so this is also the case for the Roman army." The reason why slave soldiers often carry hand mills..."

Although Hamilcar was kind and didn't talk much, Maximus's request for advice scratched his itch. Once he opened his mouth, he couldn't stop until a gladiator came to him and said: "Spartacus has Discuss the matter with him." Then he stood up and said, "Maximus, I'll leave the matter here to you, is that okay?"

"No problem." Maximus responded readily. After Hamilka left, he turned to look at the people in the kitchen. They had been busy for more than three hours in a row, and they were all sweating profusely from exhaustion. Al Tonix and the others no longer come to the kitchen to ask for food, and it seems that the gladiators are almost full.

"Let's all take a break. Eat something first to regain your strength." As soon as Maximus finished speaking, the people in the kitchen immediately dropped the cooking utensils, grabbed the bread and started eating.

After the food was gone, hunger subsided, and they stopped gobbling, Maximus walked up to a slave. From his previous observations, this man was the one who worked the hardest: "Why didn't you just want to go with us?" ?”

The slave raised his head in confusion.

"You are a slave. You are ordered by your master to work hard every day, just like cattle and sheep. If you join us, not only will no one dare to order you anymore, but you will also have mutton soup to drink and bread to eat every day. It will be great to be free. Why? Not willing?" Maximus asked with confusion.

The slave lowered his head and whispered for a long time: "...I don't want to be crucified by the Romans."

Maximus did not get angry and looked at the other slave next to him. This man was the slipperiest at work and had been warned several times by Hamilka: "What about you?"

"I..." The slave rolled his eyes and replied: "The master treats me very well. I don't think I am a slave, so why should I leave."

Maximus was dubious about his words.

At this time, the old man looked at Maximus and said seriously: "I used to be a slave. I grew up in Dionysius's house since I was a child. My master really treated me like a family member. That war decades ago After that, the Romans recognized the people of all Italy as Roman citizens, and the laws of Rome also applied to all Italian towns, including Naples. So the master paid for me to become a free citizen, and waited for me for a few more years. After meeting the conditions, the master applied to the city hall and made me a Roman citizen——"

Speaking of this, he straightened his chest: "Later, the master also let me serve as the supervisor of this farm, and the monthly salary was not low. Since then, I have married and had children, and even have grandchildren. And the two of them—— "

The old man pointed at the two freedmen: "I was also a slave before. With the permission of my master, I gained my freedom three years ago. And you guys, don't worry, work hard, and you will be like me in the future."

After what the old man said, the deepest memory of the original owner was also stirred up, and Maximus suddenly realized: Roman law did indeed have provisions that allowed slaves to gain freedom and become Roman citizens, but slaves had to save enough money. It is impossible to redeem yourself without the owner's permission, but the Romans seem to be more tolerant and generous in this regard. One important reason for this is that the Romans have a long tradition of being a guarantor.

The benefactor provides political and daily protection to the patron, and the patron provides political support and military help to the patron. The relationship between the two is not a complete dependence and dependence, but mutual support and cooperation as much as possible. Progress... The Romans implemented this ancient tradition by convention. No one dared to destroy it, and the entire society was relatively stable. When a slave became a citizen, he naturally formed a deeper relationship with the original owner. Since the Roman Civil War decades ago, when all Italians became Roman citizens, this special Roman tradition has become popular throughout Italy, and Naples is no exception.

The reason why the original owner of Maximus was willing to spend money and energy to train the original owner, a low-status domestic slave, was of course the same idea. It was a pity that his whole family was killed, which led to the original owner ending up in this situation... If all the slaves in Italy were like the slaves on this farm, who had not suffered too much abuse, had a path for advancement, and had hope for the future, would they be willing to stay and not rebel?

Thinking of this, Maximus felt uneasy: In this case, could Spartacus still start a slave uprising?

Countless thoughts were swirling in his heart, and Maximus's face was uncertain. Seeing this, the old man thought that the thief was angry because he dissuaded the slaves from joining them, and quickly said: "Actually, the reason why my master is like this He takes care of us because there are not many people here. He even often asks the little master to come here to help with the work, so everyone is important... But those big farms are different. Not only do they have a large area of ​​cultivated land, but they also have There are also many slaves, many of whom are new. In order to make the slaves work well, the owners of the large farms not only sent multiple overseers, but even thugs, who used whips and sticks every day to force the slaves to work honestly. , which also caused riots in the past few years..."