Augustus Road

Sabo's surprise was not without reason. At that time, the governors sent by Rome to the provinces often paid a lot of bribes to go to the rich provinces when "drawing lots" to decide where to go, so they would exploit the provinces more and more during their term of office. Catiline and Verres before them were all like this. The people in the provinces were, first, the provincial obligors who were politically treated as "foreign subjects", mostly indigenous people, who had to pay one-tenth of their income; second, the colonies composed of Roman immigrants, who had the right to tax exemption, but had the obligation to join the army. Because the governor had the power to control the "tax lever", in order to facilitate the extortion, to make up for the debts brought by seeking official positions, and to seek wealth for himself, the governor often "had a variety of tricks" in taxation, hiring a large number of tax farmers to fish in the pond, and finally the amount of tax paid by the obligors was far more than one-tenth, but could reach one-third or even one-half, which was also the reason for the repeated outbreak of rebellion in remote provinces (Mithridates VI used this to incite Asia Minor to wage war against the Romans).

At this time, the treasurer actually collected taxes according to the 10% rule, which surprised Sabokemus. Libida smiled and said, "There are also additional conditions. The tribes from Osier to Italy must pay 15% more "blood tax" on the basis of 10%. They can pay money, cloaks, sheepskins, weapons and other physical objects, or send able-bodied men to join the army. But compared with other governors, this is also a very light burden."

"Send people? How to send them?"

Hearing this question, Libida took another writing board from Habaluka. The young man looked at it and saw detailed rules for conversion. How much is a sword worth, how much is a sheepskin worth, how much is a barrel of olive oil worth, how much is a packhorse worth, how much is a able-bodied man worth, it is very convenient to convert blood tax. More cautiously, it is clearly stipulated that copper ingots and wild animals should not be paid to make up the number, because only mints and zoos need this, and they can only choose from the types of materials specified in the rules.

As a result, the surrounding tribes that received the letter were very excited and paid the taxes and additional blood tax in just a few days. The Chuni tribe, which was in the mountains, sent 150 lightly armed skirmishers and 60 cavalry; the Kafa tribe was relatively wealthy, so they sent a batch of olive oil and sheepskin; the Conistorians sent a large number of nails and swords...

As for what Sabocemus was concerned about just now, whether Caesar knew about my doing this or not is not what I want to care about now. As long as I can form an elite legion, I can fight from Osir to Numansia, and the money looted is enough to balance the income.

After everything was done, Lepidus left the Phoenicians in the city to collect supplies and set up warehouses. The rest of the main force, now a total of 400 infantry, 100 cavalry and 200 projectile skirmishers, a total of 700 people, plus almost the same number of military slaves, craftsmen, and a small number of artillery, engineers and six crossbows, set off and marched towards the city of Osir. Lepidus adopted the suggestion of Sabokemus: Fifty stadia outside Orsi, there is a mountain village called Chimera, with dense forests, highlands and good springs, and it controls the road to Vituni. A winter camp can be built there, using it as a springboard base to go to Vituni to recruit soldiers or go to war.

During the journey, Lepidus ordered all the camps (after a collective life on a market day, the ten-man committee of soldiers had selected decapitators from each camp, who were either brave and strong or old and visionary) to follow the marching formation and protect the baggage and packhorses in the middle without any negligence. Those who violated the order would have their wages deducted by 30%. While selecting decapitators, Lepidus cleverly issued an order through the ten-man committee to pay wages every four market days (that is, January), reforming the practice of other Roman legions that paid wages every six months or even a year. Lepidus believed that this would not only allow the soldiers to rest assured about their duties, but also restrain their hearts. Once they were paid every six months, they would definitely waste their money on gambling and gambling, and their loyalty and obedience to the officers would also be shaken.

Therefore, the pace and neatness of the marching of the various camps made Lepidus very satisfied. When they passed through the city of Osir three days later, they did not disturb the local residents, but went directly to Chimera and ordered all officers and soldiers, regardless of their ranks and positions, to pick up shovels and pickaxes to build camps and walls. Lepidus set up twin camps: the soldiers lived in the camp on the high slope, and the military slaves and mules and horses were concentrated in the open camp below, with corridors and trenches surrounding and connecting them.

Shortly after the camp was set up, Caesar's messenger cavalry rushed into the camp. Lepidus asked someone to drag the soldier down and beat him with ten sticks, then opened the letter and took out the vellum. The order on it was: recruit soldiers within a winter period, and after the spring, they must sweep towards Newmansia with a full legion.

"We have a winter to train, and your current military appearance cannot face any intensity of battle." Sabo suggested.

"No, two months of training will be enough. We will enter Vittoria in the middle of winter!" Libido slammed his gilded baton on the table. He was a little angry, feeling ignored. Why can't I command a regular army? Since Caesar gave me this opportunity to act independently, I will do my best to show you what I can do.

In the following days, under the condition of ensuring sufficient food and salary, Li Bi Da's training reached a strict level: he constantly asked the infantry to go out of the camp for training every morning. After dinner at 2 pm, the infantry continued to dig a long trench around the camp and build a half wall. The standard of the trench was very strict. The depth must be nine Roman feet, the width must be thirteen Roman feet, and the cross-section must be an inverted triangle. After completion, it must be filled up immediately, and the digging will continue the next day. The same is true for the wall. He will require the infantry to temporarily use bricks and stones to build a blockade wall within the specified time, and then dismantle it and build it again at irregular intervals.

As for the skirmishers and cavalry, Lepidus adopted a free-range attitude. He let these people gallop through the woods, deep streams and steep slopes every day, practice the skills of circling and galloping, and chase the rabbits and deer everywhere in the Iberian Peninsula with slingshots and hunting spears. Even the treasurer himself did not mind being laughed at for his immature riding skills, and insisted on going out hunting with these people frequently. He knew that hunting was a war in peacetime, and all the skills on the battlefield could be learned in this activity, as well as the close cooperation between the cavalry and the skirmishers.

In addition, he also required the military slaves to drink boiled water and put salt in the meat, which could effectively prevent the outbreak and spread of plague and avoid unnecessary casualties to prepare for the war in the near future. (To be continued.)