Rome Must Perish
Chapter 64 - 63 Volenus’s Proposal

Chapter 64: Chapter 63 Volenus’s Proposal

Maximus understood the implication of his words. Although he had clear memories only of the Vesuvius raid and the final battle, he was not familiar with the detailed combat process of Spartacus’ rebellion army. However, he understood one thing: from the Vesuvius raid to their approach to the Alps, Spartacus had hardly faced any defeat. Now, with the help of someone like him who had crossed time, it was impossible for the rebellion army to suffer defeats. Therefore, he confidently said, "Don’t worry, once Spartacus encounters the Roman Army, they are bound to win!"

After Maximus finished speaking, he looked at the members of the military advisory group and noticed that some were not convinced.

"Ahem..." Flanitnus promptly interjected, "Among the more than 300 slaves joining the ranks today, 67 of them were formerly serving as Phalanx Long Array Soldiers in the Pontus Army, with at least three months of military service."

Upon hearing this, Maximus felt a surge of joy, dispelling his earlier displeasure. He said excitedly, "This is indeed good news. Our Supply Camp often suffers when allocating personnel; this time we’ve finally gotten lucky. However, with so many veterans in the new team, these newly appointed team officers will have a hard time managing them."

"It’s a test for them too," Flanitnus remarked.

"You’re right," Maximus replied with a hearty laugh, turning to the other side to the clerk, "Vorenus, what’s the situation with the remaining 91 slaves? Any good news?"

The clerk Vorenus stepped up immediately, looked at the roster in his hand, and said, "Among these 91 slaves, there are 37 women, 8 children, 25 elderly or disabled men. Ten injured men and three injured women have been sent to the Medical Team for treatment. Additionally, there are three carpenters, one stone mason, one bricklayer, two potters, and two literate and numerate young slaves, whom I’ve singled out according to past practices."

"Ha, we indeed have quite a few talents," Maximus’s smile grew broader, yet still unsatisfied, he asked, "How many of those women can weave or sew grass sandals?"

"According to their own introductions, about 20 people," Vorenus replied after flipping through the roster. "But in the end, we still need to wait for Shemirret, the Weaving Team leader, to assess them before reporting back to you in detail."

Maximus nodded and asked again, "Why are there so many children this time?"

"Mainly because there are five couples among this batch of slaves."

"Oh, then you need to arrange their accommodation well. What about the two potters... can they make high kilns?"

"High kilns?..." Vorenus was puzzled; he was knowledgeable about agriculture but not very familiar with handicrafts.

"Never mind, I’ll ask them later," Maximus waved his hand and said, "Assign those carpenters, stone masons, bricklayers, and potters to the construction team, and those two literate slaves under your command. As for the education of those 8 children, start arranging it now..."

"Yes, leader." Vorenus responded respectfully, having fully pledged his loyalty to Maximus.

This young leader appointed him as clerk, giving him charge of all literate personnel in the Supply Camp. The statistics on personnel, the consumption of resources, and all major and minor matters in the camp were first consolidated by him before being reported to Maximus. Once Maximus made a decision, he would have to find people to execute it... This role of conveying information up and down, paying attention to all aspects, resembled the duties he once performed as a steward for his previous master but with greater power and higher demands for capability. It was like a second wind in his career, making him work diligently every day.

"With so many people joining today, do we have enough supplies?" Maximus asked again.

"Pottery jars, outerwear, grass sandals, linen sheets, bags, each of the new slaves can get a set, but there are ten new soldiers without wooden shields or wooden swords."

After Vorenus finished speaking, Maximus instinctively glanced at Capito.

Capito immediately complained, "It’s not our fault. My men and I go out every day to cut trees and make these things laboriously, but with so many new recruits arriving at once, they’ve taken all the wooden shields and wooden swords we’ve painstakingly accumulated. Our weapons warehouse is still short of people!"

The weapons warehouse was now so empty that mice could run through it; why employ so many people there... Maximus thought to himself but refrained from saying it aloud because he understood Capito. Although Capito was a retired veteran, his temperament was more like a scholar’s, somewhat aloof and proud, so Maximus spoke softly, "You’re right, it was my oversight. Vorenus, assign two people from the remaining 25 slaves to the weapons warehouse."

"Yes, leader." Vorenus stepped up again and whispered, "The storage of pottery jars and linen is running low, and if more people come to join in the coming days, the Supply Camp won’t be able to provide these supplies! ... Leader, about the suggestion I mentioned before—"

Even though Vorenus hadn’t continued, Maximus understood what he wanted to say.

The uprising army, which had just risen for less than half a year, still had no production capacity at all. All supplies were entirely reliant on confiscation and pillage. In this fertile land south of Campania, there were many farms but hardly any handicraft workshops like pottery workshops or weaving workshops. Of course, they might exist in towns, but the uprising army currently lacked the capability to conduct siege warfare. As the number of uprising army members expanded rapidly, the consumables like pottery jars and linen collected from various farms could not be replenished in large quantities, hence naturally leading to a deficit.

Vorenus had already discovered this situation and proposed his own suggestion: The Supply Camp’s warehouses held a large stock of wine and olive oil, both of which were highly in-demand commodities throughout Italy but rarely used by the uprising army (only consumed during army celebrations or small amounts added during porridge and stew for extra fat for the soldiers). Rather than occupying warehouse space, selling them to Italian merchants to exchange for the much-needed supplies of the uprising army would be better. In other words, it meant engaging in trade with Italian merchants.

In Mediterranean countries, it was a military tradition for merchants to accompany the army in their campaigns to conduct trade, Rome included. However, when Maximus brought up this suggestion at a Military Commander Conference, it was ultimately not approved for a simple reason: the leaders feared letting merchants into the camp for trade might allow them to spy on military situations or secretly engage in sabotage, potentially causing problems for the uprising army’s future battles. Given the rebellion army’s current weak and vulnerable state, surrounded by enemies, they had to be cautious and prudent.

Maximus decided not to tell Vorenus that "his suggestion was not approved at the Military Commander Conference." Smiling, he said, "When Spartacus and the rest come back victorious, I will bring this matter up with them, don’t worry, this is ultimately something with more benefits than disadvantages, and I believe they’ll eventually agree."

"If it passes, we wouldn’t have to worry about a lack of supplies anymore. Even weapons and tents for the soldiers could receive additional security!" Vorenus said excitedly in a low voice. As someone akin to the steward of the Supply Camp, he naturally wished for their team to be well-stocked and resource-rich.

"What proposal is it?" Capito, with his sharp ears, immediately asked.

Maximus really didn’t want to spread the word before things were settled and was thinking about how to brush it off when he saw Hagux riding over from the front. He immediately raised his voice and asked, "Hagux, is there any enemy situation?"

"Leader, there’s no sign of enemy forces around the camp, but a few horse scouts came from Napolet."

"Seems like the Napoletans already know that our main forces have left and want to probe the camp’s situation. Given their timid nature, without hearing news of our defeat, they probably won’t dispatch troops." Flanitnus said softly.

This time, Maximus was guarding the camp but was no longer as tense as two days ago when he led a team away from the main force and camped at a farmstead. Perhaps it was because he already had experience, or maybe his strength had been augmented, and he appeared relatively calm. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Since that’s the case, let’s not let those three Centurions sit idle here. Have them conduct armed march training around the camp, make the scale larger if necessary."