Chapter 88 Marching and Camping in Mountainous Areas

Therefore, the original soldiers who were well-trained and performed outstandingly in the raid on Pompeii and the attack on the city of Arbela were promoted, such as Tinibazus.

However, the position of the captain was too important. Maximus believed that most of the officers in the army were over-exerting, so an experienced captain was needed to control the team and ensure combat effectiveness. Therefore, in addition to the original four captains, Phesalus, Toleruge, Carminus, and Aulus (Maximus's guards were expanded into a battalion), the remaining two captains were selected from the original army slaves and the Lucerlians who joined later, and Rufus was one of them.

At this moment, Rufus said to Tinibazus: "There is no arrangement for our fifth battalion for the time being. You should rest here and recover your strength as soon as possible."

Hearing that they could rest first, the soldiers of the second hundred were not happy, but sighed, because based on their previous military training experience and the experience of camping outside the city of Benevento yesterday, they felt that they would definitely have to dig the ground in a while.

Seeing this, Rufus frowned and winked at Tinibazus.

Tinibazus pretended not to see it, thinking: I am tired myself, how can I have the energy to comfort them.

Seeing that Tinibazus did not respond, Rufus suddenly frowned and stared at him.

Tinibazus felt a little guilty, so he had to force a smile and said loudly: "Brothers, what are you mumbling about? Hurry up and rest! Even if it is our turn to dig the ground later, it is better than putting on armor again and standing stupidly to defend the camp. Besides, we have dug trenches and built earth walls, so we can eat directly without worrying about other things. Isn't this good! Do you want to be like them-"

Tinibazus pointed to the soldiers who were working: "When we rest, they still have to build tents."

"The captain is right, let's not complain, let's rest first, so that we can work better later..." Some soldiers responded, and everyone's complaints soon disappeared.

Rufus was relieved to welcome the newly arrived team.

The soldiers carefully placed the wooden shields and packages on their shoulders on the grass, took off the cowhide water bags tied around their waists, drank a few bags of cold boiled water to quench their thirst, and then wrapped themselves tightly in the thick cloth sheets they were wearing (according to the suggestions of Frontinus and Quintus, Maximus issued a wool blanket to each soldier, but even through transactions with southern merchants and the spoils after the capture of the city of Arbela, the wool blankets obtained were far from enough to meet the needs of so many soldiers, so the warehouse supervisor Capito asked the women in the army to sew together multiple layers of linen to make Thick sheets, although a bit heavy, are not bad for keeping warm. They were distributed to the brigade formed later. They lay down on the dry grass and dozed off with their eyes closed...

Tinibazus and the soldiers did not rest for long. Spukara, the deputy captain of the engineering team who had surveyed the terrain and drawn a sketch of the camp, came over. After discussing with several captains who were waiting, Rufus grabbed a handful of branches and walked to his team, shouting: "Soldiers of the Fifth Brigade, get up. It's our turn to work!" After that, he turned and walked forward.

Under the shouting of the centurions, the soldiers got up one after another, picked up their packages again, and followed.

Not far from the stream, Rufus stopped, stuck a branch beside him, then measured a hundred steps with his feet, stuck another branch, and turned back to shout: "Fortus, this section belongs to your first team!"

"Yes, captain!"

Rufus measured another hundred steps and stuck a branch again: "Master Tiriba, this section belongs to your second team!"

"Got it, captain." Master Tiriba responded, but did not immediately urge the soldiers to work, but gathered his 10 centurions together, divided the area responsible for their hundred-man team into ten equal parts again, and clearly allocated them to each team.

After that, he said loudly to the soldiers: "Brothers, don't stand there stupidly, start working quickly, finish it early, and rest early!"

"Yes... Captain..." The soldiers' response was not enthusiastic, but they did not hesitate to work. They quickly took out the digging tools from their backpacks and followed the centurion to the area they were responsible for and started digging...

Although Master Tinibaz was a centurion, he did not dare to be lazy, because he knew very well that if he did so, the soldiers would not work hard, and if they could not complete the task on time, they would not only be scolded, but also embarrassed in front of other centurions... Alas, this is why he only wanted to be a soldier at first!

However, after Tinibazus, who had always been an ordinary soldier in the Pontic army, joined the rebels, he became a centurion soon, commanding more than a hundred people, which gave him an unprecedented sense of accomplishment and gave him a motivation, so he still wanted to perform better.

Master Tinibaba called a few soldiers to follow him to the baggage camp, and brought a few wooden frames for filling with soil and ten digging tools - crane-head hoes. After returning to the team, he picked up a hoe and started to work...

The army was building the camp, and the baggage team was not idle either.

Before the army was about to move south, Maximus temporarily merged the warehouse and kitchen departments into a baggage train. Capito served as the captain and Aconis served as the deputy captain. They also received marching training beforehand. The two parties cooperated well. In addition, the personnel of these two departments have been receiving military training in their free time, so there have been no major mistakes since the departure from Pompeii.

At this time, under the command of Capito, the coachmen had driven the horse-drawn carriages, ox-carts, and donkey carts to the lower part of the slope, where the planned camp baggage was, arranged in a huge ring, and then unloaded the cattle and horses. Feed them fodder in the center of the carriage ring and start making a simple stable.

At the same time, another group of baggage personnel moved out various materials for the camp from the carriages: tents, ropes, iron poles, wooden frames, hoes... and then distributed them to the soldiers from each unit who came to collect them.

Akonis led the kitchen staff to take out the cooking utensils and ingredients from the carriage, set up simple stoves next to them, put on the large copper pots specially made by Percy Anasis for the kitchen, and poured the cooked food into them. Clean the stream water, put in a lot of hulled wheat, light the firewood collected by the soldiers, and start making porridge. Then cut in some bacon bits, and when the porridge is almost ready, add a few washed wild vegetables and a little salt... Finally, a can of marching porridge, which Maximus calls convenient and nutritious, is ready. It's ready.

Each soldier could scoop up two earthen jars of wheat porridge and eat them with the dry bread he brought with him. This was a complete dinner.

When the sun was about to set, the slopes that were originally covered with grass and swaying trees turned into a camp with trenches and earthen walls outside and countless tents inside. The noisy and lively scene gradually returned to silence, and the largest in the center of the camp A candle was lit in the military hat.

"Chief, the soldiers of each group are ready to go to bed, and the personnel and materials of the baggage train are also arranged properly..." Military officer Frontinus reported to Maximus the situation in the newly built camp.

After Maximus listened, he then asked: "How are the security arrangements for the camp at night? Has the enemy been discovered?"

"Tonight it is the turn of the second brigade to be on guard duty. I specifically reminded Torrelugo and sent a team of 100 people to guard the sentry post at the highest point of the slope. If there is an enemy attack, they will be able to detect it early because of their condescending position. Notify the entire army for defense in time..."

Staff officer Quintus pointed to a sketch of the camp drawn by Spukala placed on the wooden table and explained in detail: "When the camp was being built, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd brigades were responsible for the defense. They found a small number of Samnites snooping near the slopes, and after being driven away, they left without showing any hostility. The spies we sent also observed that the city gate of Aequum in front of the road was closed. , there is no sign of sending troops... Judging from these circumstances, what Ramdolos said should be correct, the Samnites have no intention of opposing us. "

Ramdorus was a poor shepherd from Samnitae. When he was young, he participated in the Marsi War (Italian League Civil War) and fought against Rome. Not long ago, he led dozens of compatriots to join Maximus' army, and soon He was soon appointed centurion and served as guide on this march south.

He once made suggestions to the leaders of Maximus's army: As long as the army does not plunder the Samnite area, the Samnite people will never become enemies of the rebels.

And he also told the reason: This is because in the Roman League War (90 BC) more than ten years ago, although the Samnite region joined the uprising later, after the "Julius Citizenship Law" was promulgated, After most of the rebellious areas laid down their weapons, the Samnites still fought against Rome. It was Sulla who finally pacified the Samnites. He led his army to massacre in the Samnites, which led to the resentment of the Samnites. Therefore, during the civil war between Sulla and Marius, most of the Samnites sided with Marius. This led to Sulla severely suppressing the Samnites after he became the dictator. Even though he had been dead for many years, the Samnites People are still dissatisfied with the Senate controlled by the Sullas. They are happy to see the rebels defeating the Romans one after another and weakening the Senate...

Frontinus couldn't help but said: "Speaking of which, we should be grateful to Sulla. If it weren't for his hatred of the Samnites, we might have run into trouble while marching in this mountainous area."

Quintus glared at the Marius veteran, hesitated, and finally did not say anything to defend Sulla.

Maximus saw this in his eyes and automatically ignored it, and then said cautiously: "Although the Samnites did not show hostility to us, we cannot be careless. The army must be ready for all exploration, vigilance, and defense at any time! At the same time, We must also restrain the soldiers, strictly abide by military laws, and do not harass or anger the Samoni people, so that we can pass through this mountainous area as soon as possible!"

Frontinus, Quintus and others nodded in agreement.

"According to our current marching speed, how many days will it take to get out of the Samnai Mountains and enter the Apulia region?" Maximus then asked.

Frontinus thought for a while and said: "Chief, you said before that our team is marching independently for a long distance for the first time, and everything must be safe. So today our marching speed on the road is only about 20 Here, although the number of our soldiers is not as large as that of the troops led by Chief Spartacus and Chief Cross, the supplies our baggage team has are too large, so the marching speed in the next few days will not be greatly affected. Ascension, so I estimate it will take another three or four days to get out of the mountains and into the plains of Apulia.”

"Well, it will take about three or four days." Although Quintus and Frontinus were a little unhappy in private, this did not affect his agreement with the other party's judgment.

Maximus pondered for a moment, then said with an expression: "Compared with the marching route of Spartacus and Cross, it only takes three or four days to pass through the mountains and enter the plains. This is not too slow. Let the soldiers Let’s slowly adapt to this wartime situation.”

After Maximus finished speaking, he looked at the administrator who was sitting quietly next to him: "Vorenus, do you have any suggestions?"

Since the army left Pompeii and started marching, Volenus, who was nicknamed the "Butler of Maximus's Army", had nothing to do, so he stayed in the baggage train during the day, helping Capito and A. Cornish does things.

"Chief, Capito and Arconis manage the baggage team very well." Volenus remembered something and added: "The children are also very good, and they have been helping the baggage team with work." Volanus knew how much Maximus valued those children, and as expected, as soon as he said these words, a smile appeared on Maximus' face.

"Thanks to the preparations you made for us, Chief, the food reserves carried by the baggage trains are enough to support the entire army for three months..." Volenus continued: "When we first captured Pompeii, there was more food. But as a large number of new people joined us, our food reserves became tense for a while... Since our march, no one has come to join us in the past few days, but I am worried that after entering the Apulian region, there may be more There are many people coming to join, we should be prepared in advance..."

"Vorenus, what you are worried about is not a problem." Maximus raised his eyebrows and said in a deep voice: "Although we are not planning to plunder supplies in the Samnite Mountains, when we arrive in Apulia—— "

Maximus slapped his right hand on the wooden table: "We have to have a big fight!"

Everyone's spirits were lifted.

At this time, the cavalry captain Hagux entered the military tent: "Chief, Chief Attumus is coming with his men."