Chapter 23 The first thing a new official does when he takes office

Pygris looked troubled: "Captain, it's late at night now. Sexippus sleeps over the sheepfold at night. How about I call him here tomorrow morning?"

"Okay." Maximus suppressed his smile, looked at the three of them, and said solemnly: "If I want Spartacus and other leaders to agree to my suggestion and solve the problem of our baggage team, start now Our baggage corps must do better than before, so that the soldiers in other brigades realize the importance of our baggage corps, and then they will be happy to see the baggage corps grow. "

The three of them looked at each other in confusion after hearing this.

Maximus further said: "The three of you are very serious and responsible in your work, but we can do better. For example, in the kitchen you are responsible for, Akonis, breakfast is a bowl of barley porridge, two pieces of bread, A piece of cheese, a bowl of broth, a small portion of vegetables. Dinner is a small piece of bacon, two pieces of bread, and a bowl of broth... It has remained almost unchanged for more than 20 days. The soldiers only eat to fill their stomachs. That's all. Of course, it's not easy for your kitchen to provide enough food for so many people, but it would be better if you could spend a little more energy and think carefully about how to make the food taste better. .

For example, when stewing soup, adding some dried sea vegetables and shellfish. I remember I seized some from a large farm four days ago. It will definitely make the broth taste more delicious. Another example is brushing freshly baked bread with a layer of honey water, or occasionally killing two or three more sheep to make barbecue and sharing it with the soldiers, or occasionally killing some chickens and ducks and making soup for them to drink——"

"But Captain, if we do this, our daily expenses will be very high!" Aconis couldn't help but interject.

"Our things are all stolen, so there is no cost. There are many farms here. After the good things are eaten, other good things will be confiscated." Maximus smiled disapprovingly.

Aconis came from a poor background, and so did Hamilcar. They advocated diligence and thrift in their bones. Maximus could understand it, but he could not continue to do so. As a newly appointed captain of the baggage team, he needed some obvious changes in the baggage team as soon as possible to win the recognition of the soldiers. Of course, he did not express this intention aloud, but continued to say with dignity: "Brothers who join the team They suffered a lot in the past, but now they have to fight against the Roman army, and they may die on the battlefield at any time. Let them eat delicious food and make their trip to this world worthwhile. This is the only thing our baggage team can do for them. ! Let’s put more effort into making this food more delicious, so that they can be surprised from time to time, and they will be grateful to us, and we will receive support when we make requests..."

Akonis was deeply touched by what Maximus said, and she immediately expressed her stance: "Captain, you are right. I will do what you said and try my best to make the food more delicious."

Pigris then asked: "Does the carriage team also need to make some changes?"

Maximus nodded to him happily, glanced at Cornelius again, and said, "I do have some ideas for the transportation team and warehouse, but it's not time yet. We'll talk about it later."

"Oh." Pigris responded worriedly.

"That's all for tonight's discussion. Let's go back and have a rest. Don't affect tomorrow's work." After Maximus finished speaking, he remembered something and stopped Aconis who was about to leave the house.

"Captain, don't worry, I'll ask everyone to prepare breakfast tomorrow morning." Aconis said hurriedly.

Maximus knew that she would be wrong, so he smiled and said: "Go and call Akago, Cassius, Garrus, Nasuya... these children. Although my room is small, It’s okay to sleep with the kids, at least it’s better than sleeping in the yard.”

Nasuya is the youngest daughter of Aknis. She immediately replied with a smile on her face: "Okay, I'll call them right away."

After the three of them went out, Maximus fell into deep thought: Judging from the performance just now, of the three leaders under him, Aconis was very enthusiastic in doing things and was willing to obey his orders; Pygris was also very active. , and also had the idea that maybe because he was a trader before becoming a slave, he was more thoughtful; Cornelius showed a muddle-headed attitude, maybe because he was old and didn't want to bother anymore...

Therefore, Maximus is a little dissatisfied with Cornelius as the leader, but he currently has no better candidate in his pocket to replace him, so he can only take a look at it for the time being. Because of this, he decided to call a group of children into the room to rest. Not only was he concerned about their physical health, but the children's learning ability was stronger. He wanted to step up tutoring so that they could be put to use as soon as possible.

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In the early morning, Maximus woke up and went to the kitchen alone without waking the sleeping children.

The kitchen was filled with smoke, and dozens of people were busy, making fires, making porridge, kneading dough, and baking... Even though the baggage team had remodeled the kitchen before and opened up several adjacent rooms, the room still looked... It was quite crowded, and the room was unbearably hot. Sweat soaked through their thin clothes, and some people even went shirtless.

Akonis's voice overcame all the noise. She stood in the middle of the kitchen, waving her hands and loudly directing her men to work.

Maximus stood at the door and watched for a while, then turned back to the main building, climbed to the top of the third floor, and looked around.

When the uprising team first arrived here, there was a green area around the farm. The trees at regular intervals were covered with grapevines. The layers of green leaves were dotted with bunches of small grapes, like inlaid green pearls... Now the trees, The vines had all been cut down by the soldiers, and the dark brown land was dotted with tents of various sizes and shapes, as well as simple shacks made of wood, extending from near the farm to far away. There are no earthen fences or trenches outside these tents. In the open space between the tents, there are still many people lying down and sleeping soundly... This does not look like an army station, it is completely a refugee camp.

It is precisely because of the disorder of the army station that Spartacus recently gave up resting on the farm and lived directly in the camp, sharing the joys and sorrows with the soldiers. Then many gladiators such as Cross and Altonix also learned from him, so the relationship between the gladiators and the slaves who later joined the team was very harmonious.

However, the discipline of the team is still a problem. Just like now, the people in the baggage team put the partially prepared breakfast on the wooden cart. As soon as they left the farm gate, the people in the camp rushed over and grabbed it like hungry ghosts reincarnated. Even if the officers shouted loudly to stop, it was better than nothing. Only the patrol team arrived and beat them with sticks, barely maintaining order.

Maximus looked at the messy scene at the entrance of the farm and sighed secretly: I hope the military training that is about to begin can train these ignorant and slow slaves into a qualified army!

After breakfast, Maximus took the children to the warehouse.

Cornelius, who was taking a walk to eat, saw it and asked in surprise: "Captain, what are you doing?"

"Aren't you short of people here? I'll ask them to help." Maximus said, pointing to the children behind him.

"Them?! What do a group of children know? They will only cause chaos, no, no, no!" Cornelius shook his head repeatedly.

"No one is born with it. Although they are young, their arithmetic skills are better than others. As long as you teach them more, after they learn it, won't it be easier for you in the future?" Maximus's words made Cornelius was somewhat moved.

Akago, who had been warned by Maximus in advance, took the opportunity to say: "Grandpa Cornelius, we will treat you well and work hard!"

"I'll tell you the ugly story first. If anyone doesn't obey, I will drive him back and he will not be allowed to come back again. Do you understand?!" Cornelius's words did not frighten the children. They nodded excitedly.

Seeing these children being brought into the warehouse by Cornelius, Maximus turned around and left with relief.