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 5,000 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 to 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 do not come for the time being, we cannot wait until Rome gathers an army to surround us, we must attack first. Small towns like Pompeii, acquire their arsenals and equip their brothers so that they can fight against 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 let’s discuss it 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 cannot it 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 teams will be sent to assist our baggage team during the battle, they are not familiar with the baggage team. On the contrary, it will cause chaos. They may not obey the command. If we abandon our baggage team to participate in the battle at a critical moment, our baggage team will be in danger... Therefore, it is best to assign it to our baggage team. Some strong slave brothers!"

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. You can discuss this matter next time we meet. However, even if it is passed, there will not be too many people allocated to the baggage team. "

"That's fine." Maximus smiled.

"Are there any other problems?" Hamilcar 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: The hard work during this period has not been 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 weak chickens, 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 been living 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 used a cleaver to chop up the steward's body 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 right to make me the captain.”