Rome Must Perish
Chapter 69 - 68 Quintus

Chapter 69: Chapter 68 Quintus

In the past, when faced with Cross’s provocations at the military meetings, Matthias always endured, with Hamilcar and Spartacus helping him handle the situation. But now, as the Supply Camp has grown, his courage has also increased. He feels he can no longer let Cross target him like this; otherwise, he’ll only be looked down upon by the new leaders joining, and how can he have any influence in the upper echelons of the rebel army!

"You—" Cross’s face changed dramatically; he didn’t expect the always patient Maximus to suddenly retort.

"Alright, you two are leaders now, yet you quarrel like children, what does that look like!" Spartacus immediately scolded them, using the excuse of their bickering to cover up the conflict, and the matter ended there.

After the meeting, Hamilcar took the initiative to find Maximus and criticized him, saying, "You were too impulsive earlier; you shouldn’t have quarreled with Cross."

"Teacher, you saw it just now, Cross is too overbearing. If I don’t fight back, he will only become more arrogant in the future. How can I have any face as the leader of the Supply Camp to attend military meetings!" Maximus said angrily.

Hamilcar spoke earnestly, "He’s in the wrong, but you shouldn’t threaten him with things like reducing food supplies! You are the leader of the Supply Camp, which is to provide food security for the whole army. If someone disagrees with you, and you use such methods to threaten them, how can other leaders trust you to manage the Supply Camp?!"

Maximus was taken aback and then sincerely said, "Teacher, you’re right. I got too emotional earlier and didn’t think it through. I really shouldn’t have said that!"

Seeing him admit his mistake, Hamilcar gently patted his shoulder, "Just be careful in the future. Regarding whether or not to agree to the Lukaiya people’s request and attack Pompeii, both of us are concerned about the lack of supplies. But Spartacus needs to consider the overall situation of the team, so—"

"Teacher, I understand, every leader has their considerations, which is why we have the Military Commander Conference. How could I blame Spartacus?" Maximus said indifferently.

Disputes are the norm in the Military Commander Conference, but Hamilcar specifically comforting Maximus was because, under the leadership of this young gladiator, the Supply Camp was becoming increasingly important to the rebel army:

Even though more and more soldiers are joining and the team is getting larger, the Supply Camp can consistently provide plentiful and delicious food;

The soldiers train seriously and are not too afraid in battle, because the Medical Team takes good care of the wounded; some even desire to be injured to stay in the Medical Team;

The Supply Camp established a construction team that built roads between battalion camps and even helped repair other camps when idle;

They also established a Weaving Team, planning to provide uniformly dyed linen waistcoats for the whole army, under Maximus’s suggestion, to make the rebel army look more formal;

They organized children, training and working during the day, studying together at night; Maximus once explained, "This is preparing for the rebel army’s future"...

The number of people in all battalions is increasing, but only the Supply Camp remains orderly and shows prosperity. This fully showcases Maximus’s leadership ability, making Spartacus and Hamilcar value him more, hence Hamilcar came to explain in case he had any dissatisfaction with Spartacus.

Hearing Maximus speak, Hamilcar wondered if he was making a mountain out of a molehill and then heard Maximus say, "Teacher, where are those Lukaiya people?"

"At the First Battalion’s camp."

"Can I go see them?"

"Do you want to attack Pompeii?!" Hamilcar looked at him in surprise.

"The whole army isn’t moving, just our Supply Camp couldn’t possibly take Pompeii!" Maximus shook his head and said, "I want to see them because they were once subordinates to the Roman Dictator Sulla and want to learn about Rome and southern Italy from them."

"Oh, that’s it. But since we didn’t agree to their request, I’m afraid they won’t be willing to say much."

"Perhaps if I take the Lukaiya people to the Supply Camp, provide some food, they might be willing to talk."

"Okay then."

........................

Genius Quintus, a Roman citizen from Ladim of plebeian birth, married at 20, was conscripted a year later. After years of warfare, he rose in ranks to become chief centurion of the Roman army and even received Sulla’s audience and commendation. As a result, when he was settled in the colonial city of Lukelia in Campania, he was given forty acres of state-owned land.

Having no experience in managing farmland, he listened to some suggestions to buy many slaves, farming tools, and seeds, preparing for a significant effort, only to encounter a drought, drastically reducing yields, causing a loss. Not resigned, he wanted to earn it back and thus borrowed money under someone’s recommendation. The next year’s harvest was good, but he couldn’t sell his wheat, as market prices were very low, selling would mean not only not earning money but also losing money.

Quintus became chief centurion not only because he’s shrewd but also because he’s always had a resolute spirit of not admitting defeat. Since wheat wasn’t profitable, he decided to switch to growing profitable grapes to clear his debts. However, grape growing required high technical skills; he lacked experience and skilled slaves (such slaves were expensive and in high demand), so he ended up losing again...

Years later, he was deep in debt; luckily, creditors never pressed him until he learned of Sulla’s death and rushed to Rome for the funeral. During this time, the creditors from Pompeii brought a large group to demand payment. When Quintus’s son couldn’t pay, they wanted to forcibly take the land deed to settle the debt, leading to a conflict. Quintus’s only son was severely injured and died six months later; his daughter-in-law died from grief, leaving the destitute Quintus struggling with his only grandson...

Years of grievances had no redress; enduring hatred had prematurely turned Quintus’s hair and beard white, making him gaunt and wrinkled, only his eyes remained sharp and penetrating, like burning flames.

Following Quintus were two other Lukelia people with similar experiences.

The three entered Maximus’s tent and, after sitting down, Maximus got straight to the point, "Gentlemen, we’ve discussed your request and concluded that attacking Pompeii at this time is unfeasible—"

One Lukelia man immediately expressed dissatisfaction, "You have tens of thousands of troops, yet you don’t dare attack even a small Pompeii. What bullshit about resisting Rome and gaining freedom! You might as well bind yourselves, surrender to Rome, and maybe you can avoid the crucifixion and die faster!"

Another middle-aged man followed with a plea, "Please don’t make a decision so quickly, let’s discuss this further! We know Pompeii’s situation very well and are willing to fully assist you! Although small, Pompeii flourishes in maritime trade and has abundant supplies. If you can conquer it, you will gain a large amount of supplies to greatly improve your current equipment... Please reconsider!"

Maximus slowly said, "Pompeii may be small, but its walls are high, solid, and prepared. We may have many men, but they are newly formed, without siege experience or siege weapons. Attacking such a city would cause heavy casualties and not necessarily succeed. Pompeii may have many supplies, but which town in Italy isn’t like this? Why should we crash into a wall specifically at Pompeii!"