Rome Must Fall

"Yes!!!..." everyone shouted confidently.

"After we arrive in Validosi, we may still be like we are now, and everyone will have to live in tents in the camp for a while. When we open up wasteland and measure the land, we will allocate the land to everyone. By then you You can build your own house, cultivate your own land, and graze your own cattle and sheep..."

Maximus' words triggered another burst of excited shouts from everyone.

"Chief, are we women going to be given land too?!" Aconis, who was sitting at the front, stood up and asked the thoughts of all the women present.

"Of course we will also be given land!" Maximus replied loudly without hesitation: "Our soldiers are fighting the Romans in the front, and our women are working in the rear day after day, cooking food and sewing clothes. , treating the wounded... Our success in getting here is not only due to the efforts of the soldiers, but also to the efforts of women and old people. So I just said that we must allocate land to everyone, and all the land will be allocated! It’s the same amount!”

"Long live Chief Maximus!!!..." Amid the cheers of the women, a sentence suddenly popped up: "Chief Maximus, I love you!"

Suddenly there was a burst of laughter in the venue.

Maximus rubbed his nose slightly embarrassed.

"Chief, how much land can each of us get?!" someone asked eagerly.

"Exactly how much land can each person be allocated? We will have to wait until we arrive at Varidosi and measure the land to determine it, but here I can tell you clearly that it will definitely not be less than the land owned by ordinary citizens of Rome! "Maximus said loudly.

"Moreover, if we defeat the Pannoni and take away their more fertile and vast land, then the land owned by each of you will increase several times!

Brothers and sisters, you have had your land taken away, lost your home, been saddled with huge debts, become slaves or refugees, been oppressed by the powerful nobles, had your relatives died tragically, and you were driven by them like cattle and sheep... The first half of your life is full of troubles. The suffering! …”

Maximus's eyes flashed with tears, his tone was low, and suddenly he raised his voice: "But starting from today, I hope that all of you will live in a luxurious house, with acres of land, mountains of wheat in the barn, and stables." You have flocks of cattle and sheep, you have good horses to ride on when you go out, you are respected when you go out to the countryside, and you have family members to look after you when you come back... You also have many sons and daughters, they are smart and filial, and they all have teachers to teach them knowledge... This is not only My hopes, and I will do my best to turn these hopes into reality!

Brothers and sisters, I once led you to a surprise attack on Pompeii, which has a strong wall, and captured Sarapia, which has a large population. Our team was better fed, better clothed, and better equipped than other teams. We were in the battle. The performance is also better, and fewer people died in battle... I have led you to create so many miracles, so are you willing to continue to follow me and work with me to realize the beautiful future I just mentioned? ! "

"Chief Maximus, we are willing to follow you to the death!!!..." The entire venue burst into huge cheers. Everyone had tears in their eyes, was excited, cried and screamed, and looked like crazy.

Even the people in the city of Tarsatica, not far to the south, heard the deafening shouts. They thought it was the rebels who were about to attack the city. They were so frightened that they hid in their houses and closed the doors and windows.

Maximus could never have imagined the impact his final speech would have on the hearts of everyone present. Late at night, when everyone should have fallen asleep, many people were too excited to sleep.

"Samoras, did a bug bite your ass? You tossed and turned, making me unable to sleep!" Tinibazus cursed in a low voice as he looked at the dark human silhouette beside him.

But instead of calming down, Samoras came over and whispered: "Tinibazus, I was thinking just now, just like what Chief Maximus said, in the future I will have a lot of money, and I will buy Is it better to buy sheep?"

Tinybazus was speechless and said angrily: "It's such a small thing, do you need to think about it? Just buy some cattle and sheep!"

"But I can only raise cattle, not sheep."

"Then just buy cattle, not sheep."

"But I want to buy one, but I'm afraid it won't be good enough."

"If you don't know how to raise sheep, you can learn to do so. Aren't there some people in our team who were born as shepherds?"

"Yes, you reminded me. I have decided to buy some cows and sheep."

"When you think about it, go to bed and stop talking!"

“But how many cows and sheep do we need to buy each?”

Tinybazus rolled his eyes in anger and was about to reprimand another soldier next to him who sat up and said excitedly: "Captain, when Chief Maximus gives me the land and money, I won't To buy cattle and sheep, I have to find a wife and have children first. I think Alela from the medical camp is very good——"

"Of course Alela is good, but people don't like you. But the last time I was injured, she was very kind to me!" Another soldier suddenly interrupted him: "I think I can marry - "

"Stop dreaming! She is a nurse, she treats all wounded soldiers like that——"

"Okay, shut up, both of you!" Tinibazus cursed angrily: "If you two act stupid again and let other teams laugh at us, I will punish you two to carry everyone's packages tomorrow!"

Tinybazus's anger did not quiet down the tent. Another soldier came over and asked: "Captain, when you have land and money, what do you want to do?"

"Me?" Tinibazus snorted: "I want to build a strong house, ask someone to make a comfortable bed, close the door tightly, and sleep well. You bastards, don't even think about waking me up!"

…

Such noisy scenes happened in every tent.

But in a few tents the situation was different.

"Kedsos, Mark... Chief Maximus said that when we reach Varidosi, everyone in the team can share the land. Can we also share the land?" A blacksmith asked hopefully, what he wanted The "we" refers to the group of people who defected from the camp during the Battle of the Womanus River, mainly blacksmiths, and they are still being escorted into custody.

"I don't know either." Kedessos said cautiously: "But... Chief Maximus once said, 'As long as you obey the army's orders and no longer violate military laws, after the army march is over, you will not If you are no longer considered a criminal...', then you should also be a member of the army. "

"Yes, that's it. Leader Maximus needs us! As long as we can build weapons and armor for his army, and build a lot of weapons and armor, he will definitely be able to give us some land!" Another blacksmith cheered loudly. .

Although these blacksmiths had good wages in Sarapia before, they had never owned their own land. Although they made a living by blacksmithing, their desire to own land was no weaker than that of others, and Maximus What we are talking about is that each person is given land no less than that of ordinary Roman citizens. The area of ​​​​the land is definitely not small!

"Huh, don't have such sweet dreams. Maximus will never give us land! When we get to Varidosi, he will make us his slaves and work for him until we die!" Someone was saying The darkness sneered.

"Shut up, Sititus, it's all your fault! If you hadn't incited us, we wouldn't have defected, and we wouldn't have been worried about whether we could divide the land—"

"Did I incite you?! Didn't you hate Maximus for forcing you to leave your hometown and wander around with swords and spears, so you decided to escape! You also said at that time that you would help the Roman army disrupt their camp and let They fight a big defeat to save themselves—"

"Damn Sititus, shut up!" A man roared angrily, jumped on Sititus, and smashed his fist into his head.

Sititus lowered his head to avoid it, and just as he was about to fight back, another person rushed over...

Soon, Sititus was pressed hard on the bed, and fists hit him one after another. At the same time, there were multiple voices shouting: "It's all this guy's fault, hit him hard!"

"He still dares to talk nonsense, so just tear his mouth out!"

"Stop it! If we break Sititus, we will all be in trouble!"

…

…………………………………………………………………………

Early the next morning, Maximus' army broke out of camp and set out. Under the leadership of the Aldiyi tribe's envoys, they bypassed the city of Tulsatica, walked a short distance along the coast, and then began to head east into the mountains.

Before entering the mountains, Maximus listened to Charles Pampas's advice and dismantled all the pack cars (the reason why he did not abandon them was because Charles Pampas said that there was a lack of supplies in the mountains and all the parts of the pack cars were They were all good things, which gave Maximus a certain understanding of the hardships in the mountainous interior). The supplies in the car were carried by pack animals, and the rest was carried on the backs of each soldier.

Indeed, as Cleobrotus said, the weather becomes cooler after entering the mountains, but this is mainly because the mountains are high and densely forested, blocking the scorching sunshine.

Sometimes, the rebels were trekking along the winding path in the valley, with mountain peaks standing on both sides. When looking up, they could only see a sliver of sky. Wild sheep were jumping between the cliffs, and the falling stones left the soldiers with nowhere to hide.

Sometimes the rebels walked in the mountains and forests, where ancient trees towered into the sky, and broken branches and leaves accumulated into thick soil. Snakes and insects crawled among them, groups of wild boars shuttled through the forest, and large bobcats crawled on the trees... Even if they were cut by hand... The warriors of many enemies are trembling while walking among them;

Sometimes the rebels crossed the ridgeline. Even though it was already a hot summer, the place was still covered with snow, and clouds and mist shrouded their feet. Every step they took made it difficult to breathe, not to mention the beasts of burden that needed to be pulled forward and backward before they were willing to move forward... …

Marching during the day was difficult, and resting at night was even more of a problem. There was no large open space to build a camp, so we could only clear the ground as much as possible, light bonfires, and set up more sentries. Others wrapped blankets around themselves and sat on the ground around the bonfire. And sleep.

People were injured and sick every day. Everyone's excitement and enthusiasm for finding a new home was also exhausted in this difficult march, and complaints began to appear in the team.

In this regard, Maximus could only ask his attendants to spread among the team, "It is so difficult for us to walk in this mountainous area. Those Roman soldiers who live a superior life must not dare to go into the mountains. We can only live on the other side of the mountain." It's safer..." With words like that, everyone's mood became calmer.

Maximus said so. In fact, he was always nervous during the days of marching into the mountains, because he did not expect that it would be so difficult to march in these high mountains. The consumption of the entire army was very large, and they were completely unfamiliar with the terrain here. If an army ambushed them here and attacked them, it would probably lead to a rout. Maximus regretted rashly bringing the team into the mountains. He secretly told Pekote: Keep a close eye on all the members of the Ardi envoy group. If there was an accident during the march, they should be arrested immediately! Facts proved that Maximus' suspicion was unnecessary. The soldiers did not see any enemies or even human figures in nearly 20 days of crossing mountains and ridges. The only living thing they saw was the wild beast. Then the height of the mountains suddenly dropped, and everyone's vision suddenly became much wider, and their breathing became smoother. More importantly, they saw a river rushing in the valley. From time to time, groups of wild deer could be seen drinking water by the river. They even saw a hunter walking by the river with a javelin and prey on his shoulders. The hunter was so scared when he saw a large group of strangers suddenly appear in the valley that he quickly threw away his prey and turned to run, but was stopped by an elder in the Ardi tribe's envoy group.

It turned out that the hunter was a member of the village managed by the elder, and the village was on a hill not far from the river.

After asking the hunter, he learned that everyone in the village had been informed that Maximus' army had formed an alliance with the Ardi tribe and would enter the territory, but he did not connect this matter with the group of people in front of him.

"When you get here, you have entered the territory of our Ardi tribe. You can move forward with confidence." Cleobrotus said proudly, and then pointed to the river in front of him and said, "This is the Kupa River, which is one of the two rivers flowing through Varidossi."

"So, if we follow this river, we can reach Varidossi." Maximus looked down at the river in the mountain stream. It has a large drop, a fast current, a width of thirty or forty meters, and clear water, but you can't see the bottom.

"No, no, no." Cleobrotus waved his hand and said, "The Kupa River makes a big circle ahead. If we follow its banks completely, it will take at least two months to reach Varidossi, so we will only follow it for a while."