Rome Must Fall

Maximus was right that there was goodwill on both sides and the agreement was quickly reached.

The agreement drawn up is as follows: Article 1. Maximus, the leader of free Italy, purchased the land of Varidosi from the Ardei tribe of Illyria for eighty-three silver talents, and the money was paid in one lump sum. After the Qing Dynasty, Varidosi and the surrounding land will permanently belong to Chief Maximus and his subordinates.

During the negotiation process, the land purchase price was the focus of debate between the two parties. Pygris lowered the price to less than fifty silver talents on the grounds that "the core area of ​​Varidosi is swampland and uninhabitable." Cleobrotus and others believed that "Although Varidosi is now a swamp, it will still be suitable for living and farming once the climate improves", so they tried their best to raise the price. In the end, Maximus personally determined the price, avoiding unnecessary arguments between the two parties.

For more than a year, the army led by Maximus first occupied Pompeii and then Sarapia. During this period, they plundered countless farms and accumulated a lot of wealth. Although a lot of it was spent through port trade, But later he plundered the rich town of Padua and replenished it, so dozens of talents were nothing to him. Winning the friendship of the Ardei tribe was more important.

Then there is the second article. The Ardei tribe formed a defensive military alliance with Chief Maximus and his army. If one side is attacked by a foreign enemy, the other side of the alliance must send reinforcements to help the ally repel the foreign enemy.

Originally, Maximus hoped to form a comprehensive military alliance with the Ardei tribe, but Cleobrotus considered that Maximus had already expressed his strong intention to attack the Pannoni. Once this happened, Alliance, the Ardei tribe may be involved in a long-term war with the Pannoni. The now weakened Ardei tribe cannot afford such losses. In the end, at his insistence, the two sides changed to a defensive Military alliance.

Then there is the third article, which establishes a market between the Ardei tribe and Maximus's army, allowing both sides to conduct free trade again (this article is Maximus's strong request);

Then the fourth article, except for the markets jointly established by both sides, one side is not allowed to enter the territory of the other side without invitation (this article is Cleobrotus's request, after all, Maximus's army is an outsider) , there are many foreigners among them, and they are afraid that they will mess up and disturb the villages in Ardei);

Next, Article 5 states that if a dispute arises between the two parties, it must be jointly handled by people sent by Chief Maximus and the chief of the Ardei tribe. No single party may impose punishment without authorization;

Then Article 6 allows both parties to marry freely, but the woman does not have to pay a dowry. (This was Maximus’ request because there were more men than women in his team. He also heard from Budokaribas that it was because of the years of war with the Pannonians and the fact that some tribesmen often ran away to become pirates. , there are more women than men in the Ardei tribe, so he made this proposal, and Cleobrotus readily agreed, because he believed that intermarriage would make the relationship between the two parties closer.)

Continuing with Article 7, if the army led by Maximus defeated the Pannonians and occupied their land, no matter who the occupied land once belonged to, it would belong to Maximus and his men. (This is of course the strong request of Maximus, and Cleobrotus did not object, because if Maximus’s army really took the initiative to attack the Pannonians, this would be the heartfelt wish of the Ardei tribe. hopefully.)

What was originally just a matter of land purchase turned into an alliance, but it was a matter of course because both parties were willing.

There are only seven clauses in the agreement. This is because Maximus does not want to waste too much time discussing the complicated details of the agreement. He urgently needs to settle down his troops who have been marching and fighting for more than four months as soon as possible.

After the alliance and land purchase agreement was confirmed, the text was engraved on the thick wooden board (in Latin and Greek. The Illyrians did not have their own writing, but they were deeply influenced by the Kingdom of Macedonia. The nobles (people usually learn Greek), the agreement ended with the names of Archuppagus and Maximus, and then the names of everyone present on both sides.

According to Illyrian tradition, alliance is one of the most important events for a tribe. Both parties need to conduct sacred ceremonies to solemnly promise that they will strictly abide by the agreement.

Maximus now showed his identity as an Illyrian, and the place where his army would live next was Illyrian territory. Of course, he did not hesitate to express his willingness to take the sacred oath.

So the Aldis envoys set up a simple altar near a creek to worship Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. During these hundreds of years, the Illyrians, who were mainly engaged in piracy, mainly respected this sea god, hoping to receive his protection on the sea.

At the request of Cleobrotus, Maximus also reluctantly slaughtered a white horse and sacrificed it to Poseidon. A group of people faced the altar and solemnly swore that they would abide by the agreement and never violate it!

After the agreement of the alliance ceremony was concluded, Cleobrotus also said: After they return to the Ardei tribe, the terms of the alliance agreement will be engraved on the big rocks and buried in the Varidosi and Ardei tribes. The junction of territories serves as a permanent witness.

Maximus certainly approved of this.

Then Cleobrotus asked him: Tomorrow the envoys will return to the Ardei tribe. If Maximus, the leader, is willing, he can lead the army tomorrow and they will lead them to Varidosi. If Leader Maximus feels that they are in a hurry, he can rest here for a few more days and wait until the arrangements are made by the Aldiyi tribe before sending someone to pick them up and take them to Varidosi.

Maximus's answer was naturally: set off with them tomorrow morning.

For this reason, Cleobrotus asked several young followers in the envoy to immediately rush back to the Ardei tribe to inform the chief leader Acoupagos and various villages about the alliance with Maximus's army and its plans. He is about to live in Varidosi to avoid misunderstandings after Maximus' army enters the mountains.

After everything was arranged, Maximus asked his attendants to inform everyone in the army: After dinner, gather in the open space to the north of the camp. He had something important to announce.

At dusk, the sun sets in the west, leaving only the afterglow hanging on the horizon. The foraging birds have returned to the mountains and forests, and the insects in the grass have begun to sing. People sit on the grass that has been scorched by the sun all day and still has heat. Dark mosquitoes hover above them, but it also attracts countless dragonflies and bats to hunt for food. The chatter of the crowd and the buzz of mosquitoes interweave into a unique summer night symphony.

The members of the Aldi Envoy stood on a large raised rock not far away, overlooking the dense crowd.

"I have counted several times, and it seems that there are only about 14,000 people here. Even including the soldiers they left behind to guard the camp, it is far less than 20,000." Cleobrotus said.

"It seems that although they won the battle against the Romans, their losses were not small!" Calsipempas sighed.

"But this has also greatly trained them." Budokalibas interjected. His village has fought with the Pannoni for a long time and has a lot of experience: "Look at them, although there are so many people, but there are so many people." They don't stand up at all. They sit in a very orderly manner. They are in big chunks and spaced apart from each other, as if they are forming a formation. Even the old people and women can do this. It is absolutely impossible for ordinary armies. Do it!”

"That's not all." Ciceliotes continued: "Look at the camp they built. They can build it in one day. It is definitely not something that an ordinary army can do! There are also the soldiers they left behind to guard the camp. , and the soldiers standing guard outside, from head to toe, are fully armored!

At the banquet before, I quietly asked the compatriot named Pheasalus, and he told me that every soldier in their army has the same equipment, which is quite remarkable! Think about us, most of our clansmen don’t even have armor, even the shields they hold are just a simple wooden board——"

"It's no wonder they were able to defeat the Romans." Cleobrotus interrupted Ciceliotes. He was tired of hearing the cry of these elders: "It seems that Chief Maximus dared to fight with Pannon If people start a war, they have the confidence to do so!”

"That's right." Budokaribas said with a smile on his face: "Actually, the Pannoni are better than us, but they can never do what they have done."

"Hey, Chief Maximus is out!" Carl Sipempas reminded.

I saw Maximus walking into the small open space in the center where the crowd was sitting, and the lively venue suddenly became quiet.

Ardie's envoys were surprised because they knew very well that only a leader with high prestige could do this. Apparently they underestimated Maximus's influence on this army.

"Brothers and sisters!" Maximus said with bright eyes and a loud voice: "We set out from Sarapia and marched north. We participated in three major battles, experienced many raids, and trudged thousands of miles. After more than four months, our army finally left the area controlled by the Romans and arrived here..."

Maximus took a breath and shouted with all his strength: "This is a great victory! Your heroic deeds will surely be praised among all the people who were oppressed by the Romans, and inspire them to rise up and fight bravely!"

"Hoo!!! Hoo!!! Hoo!!!..." The excited roars of the soldiers resounded throughout the venue, startling the birds resting in the forest.

Maximus pressed his hands down to signal everyone to quiet down. After waiting for a while, he continued: "You have traveled so far and fought for so long. Are you tired now?!"

"Tired!!!" After the soldiers shouted their hearts out in unison, a centurion suddenly stood up and shouted loudly: "Dear Chief Maximus, it's okay for us to be tired, but we are very tired." Confused, because we don’t know where we are going! Should we continue this march?”

"That's right!!! That's right!!! We don't know where we are going?!!..." His words resonated with everyone.

Maximus looked at the centurion and said loudly: "Your name is Tinybazus, from Pontus, right?"

"Yes, Chief... Chief, your memory is so good!" Not only was Tinibazus not surprised that Maximus actually knew him, but he looked nervous and muttered in his heart: Tinibazus, you big guy When will the problem with the mouth be corrected? Leader Maximus has remembered it this time, and is waiting to be punished!

Tinybazus was complaining to himself, but he heard Maximus say with a smile: "You asked this question well! I think everyone here has the same doubts, right?!"

"Yes!!!..." Everyone responded in unison.

"I am going to tell you tonight, where is our final destination?!" Maximus pointed to the mountains on the right and said passionately: "Beyond these mountains, on the other side of the mountains is Illyria. Human territory, and our new home is there!

Today I have entered into an alliance agreement with the envoys sent by the Ardei tribe of Illyria, and purchased a piece of land from their tribe called Varidosi. Varidosi is our new home! You see, the envoys of the Ardei tribe are standing there, and tomorrow they will lead us to Alidosi! "

Everyone turned to look at the Ardei messengers standing on the boulder.

Being stared at by tens of thousands of curious eyes, Cleobrotus and the others managed to remain calm and waved.

"Chief, tell us, what kind of place is Varidosi?!" someone asked loudly and impatiently.

“It is a flat and fertile land where two rivers converge. Due to flooding in the past two years, it has turned into a shallow swamp, but I believe that as long as we work hard to control it, Varidosi will soon return to its original appearance! On both sides of the swamp are low hills, the land is equally fertile, and to the west of the swamp are dense forests and mountains, these will all belong to us!

Maximus carefully recounted the situation of Varidosi introduced by Cleobrotus before, and the audience uttered admiration from time to time.

"Chief, why do we want to live in the mountains?!" someone in the crowd asked loudly, probably soldiers from the coastal areas.

"This is because the Romans have controlled the entire Mediterranean. Only on the other side of the mountains, the Romans have never entered! When we get there, with the support of the Ardei allies, we no longer have to wander around and fight constantly. , and we can settle down with peace of mind and build our own home.

Of course, we are not without enemies there. The Pannonians northwest of Varido have always wanted to occupy this land. But since we can defeat the Romans, I believe we can also defeat the Pannonians. You are right. wrong? ! "