Chapter 87 Divide the troops and go south

Secondly, the rapid expansion of the number of people also led to the rapid decline of military discipline. Conflicts between soldiers and armies increased. As early as half a month ago, all the rebel armies were no longer in the same city of Pompeii, but were stationed in the towns they had conquered. Although the discord was temporarily resolved, each group The imbalance of military development is still a hidden danger.

For example: Compared with other armies, Maximus' team has very abundant supplies, and it can also do business with southern merchants through the port and continuously increase its reserves. For this reason, leaders such as Cross and Enomui proposed several times to "let Maximus hand over the port and share it with everyone." Maximus firmly refused, but also made some compromises and was willing to provide other teams with some urgently needed supplies for a fee.

It was these two reasons that led the rebel army's military commanders meeting to discuss the issue of the entire army going south, and a consensus was quickly reached. Then a military meeting was held, which won the approval of most soldiers, and the plan to march south was quickly implemented.

Cross and Enomui, the two leaders who were the first to take action and were the most active in moving south, chose the marching route of the army they led, which was to go straight south along the Latina Avenue and enter the Lucania region. Upper Arniya Avenue. The end of the Ania Avenue is Regim on the Strait of Messina, but their destination is Turiyi halfway...

Then the other armies of the rebel army set off. Instead of going straight south, they turned around and headed north, passing through the city of Capua, then turned east, entered the Samone Mountains, and reached Benevento.

Benevento is the largest town in the Samone region and a transportation hub with a large population and prosperous business. The Samnite mountain people were also very bloody (after all, they were a mountain race that had defeated the Romans many times and carried Rome for decades), so the strength of the city guard was not weak, but in the face of the mighty uprising of more than 40,000 people The Benevento people did not have the courage to drive away these invaders at all. They huddled in the city early and allowed the rebels to ravage the fields and pastures outside the city.

But when the frightened people of Benevento lined up in a long queue in front of the Temple of Heracles in the city and sincerely prayed for peace, they never expected that they would be like locusts plundering everything left outside the city. The rebels who had no supplies had no plan to attack the city of Benevento at all.

Maximus looked at Spartacus, Altonix, Hamilcar and the two leaders who came to see him off, and said solemnly: "Everyone, please take care, we are leading the army to set off first! "

"You should also take care and keep in touch in time. We will meet again when we all arrive in the south!" Spartacus reminded in a deep voice.

"We will!" Maximus's wandering eyes finally rested on Hamilka. Facing the concern he showed, Maximus nodded slightly, then stretched out his right hand and beat his chest vigorously: "Bye Tarentum!"

"Goodbye Tarantum!" everyone responded.

Maximus got on his horse, waved his right hand forward vigorously, and shouted loudly: "All troops set off!"

"Woo!..." The high-pitched and long copper horn sounded, and the soldiers of Maximus' army who had already lined up began to move forward. Although their equipment was a bit messy and the queue was slightly scattered, they were all full of energy and momentum. High-spirited...

Spartacus saw this and said, "Maximus has trained his soldiers well!"

"That's because he has recruited the fewest recruits among us, and he has exclusive control of Pompeii port, so he can get enough supplies to satisfy his soldiers..." Altonix's words revealed dissatisfaction.

Spartacus said nothing.

Hamilka glanced at him sideways and thought: Maximus' possession of Pompeii port was agreed upon by everyone after discussion. He also opened up trade with southern merchants by himself, and he did not keep the rare materials he obtained for himself. Everyone To some extent, if it were you, Altonix, would you be able to do what he did? If nothing else, even if you were given a port, would you have the idea of ​​attracting merchants to trade? !

Hamilka thought so in his heart, but did not say it out loud. After all, Altonix from Thrace was one of his own, and he had always been dominated by Spartacus, so the relationship between them was relatively close.

"Besides, these soldiers of Maximus are just well-trained and lack combat experience. We have captured so many cities and towns in the past two months. Maximus is either hiding in Pompeii or following other people." Behind the line——"

"What you said is wrong." Hamilcar finally couldn't help but speak and pointed out the other party's fallacy: "Except for Pompeii, wasn't the city of Arbela captured by Maximus's army? And it was his army. The army conquered it alone without asking for help from others!"

Altonix was stunned for a moment, then muttered: "It was just that once..."

"Stop talking, we are here to see off our brothers today." Spartacus frowned and reminded: "Arttumus is here."

Hamilcar and Altonix stopped talking. They looked up and saw leader Arttumus leading his soldiers, following Maximus' team, heading this way...

The rebel army divided its forces in Benevento: the two armies led by Maximus and Attumus were to go east through the Samnite Mountains, enter the Apulian region, and then turn south to reach their destination. It is northeast of Tarantum; while the army commanded by Spartacus, Artonix and the two newly joined leaders will march directly southeast, passing through the Samnai Mountains and passing through Lucani. sub-region, eventually reaching the vicinity of Tarantum.

The reason why they divided their troops and went south was because Spartacus and other leaders considered that the rebel army was now quite large. If the hedgehogs gathered together, it would be inconvenient to march, and it would also be difficult to collect enough food along the way. Triggering conflicts, and dividing the troops to attack the south will also be conducive to the further expansion of the rebel forces.

Of course, there is another important reason for the rebel army to divide their troops in Benevento. There are two avenues leading to the south converging here.

One is the Via Appia, which runs from Benevento, through Tarantum, to Brindisi. This was the earliest highway built by Rome leading to Magna Graecia. At that time, King Pyrrhus of Epirus led the mercenary When the army came to Magna Graecia, it was through this road that it marched towards Rome. This was the road that the army led by Spartacus and other leaders wanted to take.

The other road is the Via Minucchia, built by the Romans after the First Punic War, from Benevento through Canossa to Bari and ending in Brindisi, Maxim This was the road followed by the armies of Si and Attumus.

It is actually not easy to reach Magna Graecia from Campania by land. The Samnite and Lucania regions are covered with rolling mountains, making transportation from north to south difficult. Fortunately, the Romans built a highway that connected them. It promoted personnel exchanges between the north and the south and strengthened the rule of the south, but it also facilitated the enemy's invasion...

Maximus was riding on his horse, looking at the long queue of soldiers meandering along the avenue, with its head and tail covered by green mountains. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart: Look at Minu at his feet. Although Via Chia is narrower than Via Latina on the Campania plain, it has all the roadside trees, tombstones, milestones, sidewalks, stone benches, drainage ditches, and driveways, and the overall width of the avenue is also The average length is about five meters, and the road surface is also paved with neatly cut stone slabs, which are flat and solid. This is not easy, considering this is in a mountainous area! The infrastructure capabilities of the Romans are truly amazing!

While sighing, Maximus was also grateful: Thanks to such a road, it would be much more convenient for his troops to march in the mountains!

The carriages, ox carts, and donkey carts driven by the baggage team took the middle lane, and the soldiers walked on the sidewalks on both sides, with a large group in front and behind as guards. The march was basically safe. It can be said that the roads built by the Romans were just for marching and fighting. …

"Report, Leader Maximus!" A horse was galloping from the front.

Maximus's heart was slightly shaken, and he pretended to be calm to suppress the sudden rise of nervousness, and asked: "What happened? Is there an enemy situation?"

The messenger turned over and dismounted, saluted respectfully and said: "Chief, the military officer Frontinus found a suitable place for camping in front, and suggested that the army stop marching and start building the camp now."

Maximus subconsciously looked up at the sky and said with some surprise: "It would be too early to start camping now."

Before the messenger could answer, Quintus, the staff officer beside Maximus, coughed slightly and said: "Chief, I think Frontinus's suggestion is right. It is winter now, and the mountains are comparable to the plains." It's cold in the weather, and marching consumes a lot of money for the soldiers... and it's not easy to find a good camping spot in the mountainous area. If the soldiers can build the camp earlier, they can enter the tent to rest before night, which will help them better Recover your strength for the march the next day...

Although Quintus and Frontinus usually compete secretly from time to time for some reason, as long as the other party's suggestion is right, Quintus will not deliberately oppose it, but when he tells the reasons for his support, he will Somewhat annoyed: This is common knowledge in the military, why did I forget to mention it earlier? Are you really old?

The two most experienced Roman veterans in the army both made the same suggestion. Of course, Maximus followed suit. He laughed: "It seems that this step is to let Frontinus go to assist Pheasalus, who is the vanguard." You made the right move! Just follow his suggestion and we’ll start camping now. Akago, you can take people to inform the various departments to prepare for camping!”

"yes!"

"Cassius, go and inform the engineering captain Adreus and ask him to lead the team to the front to preside over the construction of the camp!"

"yes!"

"Garrus, you rush to the rear immediately, find Chief Attumus, and tell him the reason why we are camping now. I hope he will help us take unified actions."

"yes!"

…

Maximus calmly typed out orders one after another, and the group of young attendants behind him quickly began to execute them...

Tinibazus, who had just been promoted to centurion not long ago, was speaking to encourage the already tired soldiers. Suddenly he heard cheers from the team in front, and then a messenger holding a token came from the outside of the sidewalk. Speeding past, he shouted at the same time: "Chief Maximus has given an order for all troops to stop marching and build camps in the valley ahead!"

Tinibazus's soldiers also cheered.

He immediately cursed: "What's so exciting about this? No matter how tired you are, walking is easier than digging!"

"Captain, we all know this, but at least we can go into the tent and rest early." A soldier responded.

"Well, since you think building a camp is easier than marching, I will keep an eye on you for a while. If you dare to be lazy when digging the soil, I will look after you." Tinibazus said with a straight face.

The soldier quickly shouted: "Captain, I didn't say that digging was easier than marching!"

"I don't care. Anyway, you have to work hard for me in a while!" Tinibazus said a little rogue.

The soldier obviously understood the temperament of his captain. Although he was helpless, he did not defend himself. The other soldiers burst into laughter.

The speed of the team in front suddenly increased, and Tinibazus and his men followed closely.

After bypassing the mountains in front, the team left the road and entered the mountain col on the right. This is a large slope with a relatively gentle terrain, covered with grass and some trees, but few rocks. There is a creek on the edge... It was not a very ideal place to camp, but it is not easy to find such a place in the mountains, and it was not far from the road, which was good enough for an army.

When Tinibazus arrived with the centurions, some of the teams that had arrived earlier were already working, some were cutting down trees, and some were clearing weeds...

"Captain, our fifth brigade is over there!" A sharp-eyed soldier pointed to the front right and shouted, where many soldiers gathered, with a flag erected in the center, with a large, white linen flag embroidered on it. The special number "5" taught by Maximus.

Tinibazus, who has been studying in the night class for nearly two months, certainly knows the meaning of the number "5". Most of the soldiers just remembered its shape and gave it the nickname "Sickle Flag" ".

Tinybazus led the soldiers to the gathering point of the fifth brigade: "Report to the brigade captain, the 200th brigade is here to report!"

Crusinus Rufus, captain of the fifth battalion, was originally a veteran of Marius, but later became an army slave like Frontinus. After joining Maximus' team, he first stayed in the advisory group, and later Went to the Staff Corps.

After the capture of Pompeii, the rebel army expanded rapidly. Although Maximus was more cautious, the number of soldiers under his command finally increased to 6,000. Including other personnel, the entire team exceeded 7,000. There were more soldiers, but the officers were far away. insufficient.