Chapter 22 Suggestions from my subordinates (2)

Maximus listened carefully and kept writing on the wax tablet with the stylus in his hand. After finishing writing, he did not reply immediately, but looked at Pygris: "What difficulties do you have over there? "

"Captain Maximus, just like Uncle Cornelius, I also have three problems here." Pigris followed Cornelius's example, stretched out three fingers, and responded solemnly: "The first problem , I led the carriage team out with the large army every day. I was supposed to transport all the captured loot back here, but in fact after the farm was captured, the carriage team was the last to be allowed in. As a result, many of the things inside had been It was taken away by people from other brigades, and they even said in front of me many times that we just picked up some of their leftovers——"

Having said this, Pygris seemed a little angry, but he immediately realized that something was wrong, and quickly calmed down his anger, calmed down, and continued: "The second problem is that the carriage team lacks carpenters who can repair the carriage. Originally, the team There are a total of twenty carriages here, but only thirteen are in use now. They haul so many things every day, and they have to walk up this hillside. The road is uneven, and one of them is broken almost every two or three days. , although it can continue to be maintained by seizing carriages, it is a pity that these broken carriages are abandoned in the yard. If they can be repaired, our carriage fleet can transport more things at one time, and we will not have to make multiple trips back and forth a day;

The third problem is the sheep that Chief Hamilka put me in charge of at the beginning. At that time, there were only a dozen sheep. I still had the energy to feed them with the horses. Now they have increased to more than 240 sheep. There are six cows. There was no sheep pen in the farm originally, but now the surrounding areas are occupied by other brigades. We can only build a simple large sheep pen about two miles north of the farm to facilitate the rest of these sheep and to make it convenient for them. We go out to graze during the day, but this makes it difficult to keep an eye on us. We don’t have enough sheep herders, and people from other teams often come to steal sheep. Sheep are lost every day. Sexippus has complained to me many times. But I have no choice. My energy is mainly focused on the carriage team. The sheep pen is too far away and I really can’t manage it..."

After Maximus heard this, he did not respond immediately and looked at the three of them: "Do you have any questions?"

"No more, that's all." Arconis responded first, and Pygris and Cornelius also shook their heads.

Maximus looked at the wax tablet filled with Latin text and pondered for a long time, and then said to them: "The problem you raised can be summarized as a lack of people and a lack of things. This lack of people is more than just ordinary things." You need more labor, Aconis, who knows how to manage the kitchen, Cornelius, you want people who can count to help you sort out the stored supplies, Pygris, you want carpenters to help you repair your carriage, and also I want some people who know animal husbandry to herd cattle and sheep... This is not more important. What is more important is that the three of you jointly mentioned that our baggage team lacks security and relies too much on external forces——"

Maximus looked at the three of them and said in a serious tone: "In other words, our baggage team lacks a patrol team directly under our control that can ensure our safety and prevent people from other teams from causing trouble!"

"Captain, you are so right!" Akonis said loudly, no longer hiding her likes and dislikes: "We have mentioned these issues to Chief Hamilka before, but he didn't care at all, how can he be like you? You attach so much importance to us! Old man, Pigris, are you right?”

Cornelius nodded vigorously, but Pigris just touched his chin and did not respond.

Seeing this, Maximus coughed heavily and said: "It's not that Chief Hamilka doesn't care, but he knows that it's not easy to equip you with enough manpower, and it's necessary to let the baggage team have a team of its own." The patrols are even more difficult. Now each group is busy expanding its manpower to deal with the Roman army that may attack at any time. Naturally, they will not agree to allocate the young adults who join the team to us. But you don’t have to worry, I will remember all these. In my heart, I will try my best to solve your problem, but it will take some time. "

The sincerity shown by Maximus made the three of them feel that the newly appointed captain was not just perfunctory, but really wanted to solve the problem. Therefore, instead of feeling frustrated, they all expressed their understanding and advised Maximus not to be too aggressive. in a hurry.

"As for the lack of kitchen utensils, warehouses, and tents you mentioned... I think this problem is relatively easy to solve -" Maximus paused and said in a deep voice: "Since this farm no longer has enough space for storage Supplies, we can use other farms as another base for our luggage fleet to store supplies. I remember there is a large farm producing olive oil not far below the hillside——"

"But... although our army has captured the farm before, there are no soldiers stationed near the farm now. If our baggage team sends people to station at the farm, it will be dangerous if the Roman army suddenly attacks. !" Cornelius raised his concerns.

"Of course we cannot enter that farm alone. We need other brigades stationed nearby to ensure safety." Maximus had already considered this and said: "Our army now has many people, but they are all stationed on this hillside. It’s too dense! It’s better to divide some of it and occupy a few more farms to expand our territory... I will suggest this to Spartacus and other leaders and try to convince them.”

"If what you said, captain, can be implemented, it will indeed solve the problem of lack of cooking utensils in the kitchen, but we are already short of people, and this will make us even more short of people!" Aconis reminded.

"You don't have to worry about this. As long as Leader Spartacus agrees to designate other farms as the material base for our supply team, then they will have to add more manpower to us." Maximus replied confidently .

"But if other farms also have kitchens, warehouses and transportation teams, will they also have new leaders?" Aconis asked immediately.

After hearing this, Maximus looked at Aconis who looked nervous, then at Pygris who looked calm but pressed his hands tightly on his thighs, and then at Cornelius who looked indifferent. , he nodded: "That's for sure, for the convenience of management. However, the baggage team will definitely be larger in the future, so on top of these leaders, I will set up a kitchen chief, a warehouse chief, a transportation chief, etc. To manage them to avoid chaos." When he said this, Maximus looked at the three people with a smile.

The meaning of these words was so obvious that Arconis immediately became excited, and Pygris sat up straight. Only Cornelius still had the same indifferent expression as before.

After Maximus finished drawing the pie for the three of them, he continued: "Pygris, listening to what you just said, do you no longer want to take care of the sheep?"

"Captain, I lead the carriage team to transport supplies from morning to night every day. I don't have time to take care of the cattle and sheep!" Pigris explained hurriedly.

"In that case..." Maximus said in a pretentious tone: "Then let's set up another herding team and send someone else to take charge. Do you have anyone to recommend?"

"Sexippus." Pigris blurted out: "He can do it. He was originally a slave who herded cattle and sheep for the Romans, and now he is still responsible for taking care of the sheep."

Sexippus... Maximus tried hard to recall, and finally a vague face appeared in his mind.

Maximus had been staying in the baggage team and was familiar with most of the people. However, he was a little unfamiliar with Sexippus. The reason was very simple. This man drove his sheep out to graze during the day. Maximus It was rare to have contact with him, so he responded: "You can call him over later, and I will talk to him first."