"Yes, Chief!" Akegu responded loudly, his tone filled with excitement.
"Torrelugo." Maximus looked at the most senior warrior in the group and spoke sternly, "Although your squad’s soldiers didn’t make mistakes at the blacksmith’s shop, they still failed during their duty. If they had promptly noticed the resentment this injured blacksmith harbored toward us during their watch and reported it in time, we could’ve taken measures to resolve the issue and avoided such a situation. Do you agree?"
Thinking the matter was already over, Torrelugo scratched his head in embarrassment and said sheepishly, "You’re right. Next time we’ll definitely learn from this."
Maximus nodded, standing up, "Let’s go to the medical team."
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Near Capua, the rebel army annihilated the main force of the Roman Army, forcing Valerius to lead his cavalry and supply team back to Rome.
The citizens, upon hearing the grim news, were both shocked and furious, and protested to the Senate, demanding severe punishment for Valerius.
The Senate, responding to the people’s demands, quickly passed a resolution, citing "Valerius’ cowardice, failure to personally command the army in battle, and resulting in the catastrophic defeat of the legions." He was stripped of his Senate seat and expelled from Rome.
Although Valerius was scapegoated to vent the public’s anger, many senators came to realize through the devastating defeat of the Roman Army that the rebel army was not merely a group of unruly rabble but a force with remarkable combat capabilities. Hence, the decision to "reorganize the army and march to Campania to suppress the rebels" was swiftly approved, along with the proactive dispatching of personnel to scout the rebel forces.
Days later, the gathered intelligence shocked the Senate: the rebel army’s numbers had exceeded ten thousand, with a continuous stream of people joining daily. They had built large-scale camps in the Vesuvius Region and were conducting military training daily...
A rebel army with organizational capabilities garnered even greater attention from the Senate. They determined to intensify recruitment efforts; however, before these measures could be enacted, another shocking piece of news arrived: Pompeii had fallen!
When Roman spies received this information, Pompeii’s citizens had not yet been expelled from the city, leaving the senators unaware of the full details of its capture. They instinctively believed it must have been taken by force.
The rebels possessed siege capabilities! The Roman senators’ concern about the rebels deepened further, prompting them to issue new recruitment orders to towns across the Latium Region. The new recruits entering military camps began rigorous training to improve their combat effectiveness.
However, while the Romans were tirelessly preparing for war, the Senate had yet to appoint a commander to lead the campaign against the rebels. This was because the escalating conflict required commanding more legions, and governors were undoubtedly the best candidates for such leadership. But as November approached, the Romans had more pressing matters than suppressing the rebels—to conduct their annual consular elections.
The outgoing governor, Lucullus, had already made clear his desire to serve as governor in some Eastern province. The other governor, Longinus, was willing to lead the military campaign, yet prominent Senators such as Catullus opposed him. The official reason given was that "the newly recruited soldiers required further training before engaging in warfare, and by then, new consuls would be elected. To avoid complications, it would be better for the newly inaugurated consul to lead the expedition." In truth, most senators doubted Longinus due to his lack of war experience and lack of notable achievements, believing he was unlikely to successfully quell the rebellion.
Roman consular elections followed a complex procedure: senators wishing to run had to first file applications with the Senate, where the current consuls and Chief Elders performed an initial screening, quietly advising unlikely candidates to withdraw. Current governors also consulted Rome’s religious calendar to select auspicious dates to convene the Citizens’ Assembly for voting. During the period leading up to the assembly, candidates utilized various means to rally as many voters as possible.
On the eve of the election, the current governors submitted the candidate list to the temple, where the divination priests silently prayed over it before the gods. If auspicious omens were observed, the list was approved; if ill omens occurred, the candidate was disqualified from the election the following day. On election day, all candidates gave public speeches before a crowd of Roman citizens from all directions, and some even engaged in debates. The two candidates receiving the most votes became the new consuls...
This year’s consular election hinged heavily on the topic of the Campanian uprising. The southern reaches of Campania were in chaos, with land trade routes nearly entirely severed, adversely affecting the lives of Roman citizens who were quite dissatisfied. The candidates were all aware of this and made similar promises: that if elected, they would promptly deploy forces to eliminate the rebels and restore peace and prosperity to Rome.
The consular elections lasted over a month, and in the end, Senator Cneius Cornelius Lentulus Crodianus and Lucius Gaius Publicola were elected as the new consuls for the year.
During this time, the rebel army in Campania underwent significant changes.
Shortly after capturing Pompeii, the rebels launched successive offensives, overcoming towns such as Lora, Abella, Suysula within just over a month. Their reputation spread far and wide, attracting a continuous stream of volunteers, swelling their ranks to fifty thousand.
The reckless ravaging by the rebel army inflicted tremendous suffering upon the Campanians, whose pleas for help poured into Rome like a flood. However, the rebels’ formidable strength led the two newly appointed consuls to act cautiously. They unanimously called for further recruitment, delaying military action, intensifying training, and raising the soldiers’ combat effectiveness to ensure the rebels’ eventual defeat.
This time, the Senate did not rush the consuls into immediate action. The rebels’ growing power was one reason, but more importantly, the capture and devastation of several towns in southern Campania had led to the slaughter of many local nobles. Even if order were restored, the region’s power structure would inevitably face a reshuffling. For the Roman senators eyeing Campania’s fertile lands, this presented a perfect opportunity to seize greater control of the region. Unspoken yet mutually understood, they agreed with the consuls’ proposal to delay action, with some even silently hoping for more chaos in Campania.
But the Roman senators were unaware that the rebel army no longer intended to remain in southern Campania and was preparing to march further south.
Although Spartacus had proposed this plan during the capture of Pompeii, taking action in less than two months was driven by rapidly shifting circumstances.
The rebels’ consecutive triumphs over Campanian towns and their growing renown not only attracted impoverished Samnite shepherds led by Atmidonos but also displaced farmers from southern Italy’s Apulia region, led by Tormas. These new recruits informed the Military Commander Conference that countless impoverished compatriots in their homeland shared their plight and yearned to join the rebellion against Rome. However, their fears of reprisals from city-state nobles and the distance prevented them from coming forward, urging the rebel army to march southward to liberate them.
Although ostensibly thriving in southern Campania, the rebel army faced significant challenges.
Firstly, the rapid increase in troop numbers exacerbated resource consumption, especially as the forces of Enomai and Attutmus, lacking foresight, had nearly run out of food supplies, forcing them to rely on aid from other units. Now, apart from several difficult-to-conquer towns, southern Campania was virtually pillaged, leaving little opportunity to obtain more supplies in a short time.