From his heart, Maximus did not want to hand this position to Gaius, because this guy was always lackadaisical and did things half-heartedly. But with the establishment of each department this time, the scale was so large and the talent pool so small, the most suitable candidates, Capito and Volenus, already had their assignments. Looking around, only Gaius seemed barely suitable. After all, he was a senior member, with a long-standing history, and he had experience in material storage.
As for Magus, he was still too young, only 15 years old. While he could manage the finances, managing subordinates and gaining respect from the public would be difficult. Promoting him too quickly might not benefit his growth!
Although he was now the deputy supervisor of the warehouse, he was basically idle. He never cared much about it because, although he joined as a slave, he used to be a Roman citizen and had complex feelings towards Rome. Moreover, he never believed the rebel army could be a match for the Roman Army, so he drifted along with the tide, taking things as they came.
But now, the situation was different. They had arrived at a new place, with no more ties to Rome, and with vast fertile land here, everyone was pushing hard to build a new home. Watching those who joined later than him being given important roles, the long-suppressed ambition in Gaius’s heart started to stir too. However, he knew well that Maximus’s impression of him wasn’t good, so he started to feel regret in recent days, cursing himself for not being more proactive in the past.
Unexpectedly, Maximus called out his name.
Afraid that his hesitation might leave Maximus with an unwilling impression, he sprang up and loudly declared: "Leader. I am willing to take this role as Financial Officer, and I will strive to do it well!"
Maximus was also surprised, seeing Gaius so enthusiastic for the first time, and then he smiled: "With you saying this, I can rest at ease! Let me recommend you a Deputy Officer, Magus, you will take on the role of Financial Deputy Officer, responsible for managing the treasury."
"Yes, Leader!" Magus replied loudly.
"Leader, with Magus guarding the treasury, I will be much more at ease." Gaius instantly flattered.
So, you old fellow also know how to flatter! ... Maximus thought to himself, maintaining a stern expression as he said: "How should the financial department collect taxes? From whom? How to allocate resources? How to pay the officials? ... We’ll discuss these details later. But there’s one thing you need to remember: the financial department holds the tribe’s money and resources; it’s the place most prone to corruption. You must strictly manage yourself and your subordinates, I don’t wish to see any financial department personnel among the criminals judged by Sidonius in the near future!"
Gaius felt a chill in his heart and quickly assured: "Leader, rest assured, our financial department will be strictly managed, and such situations will never occur!"
"That’s good." Maximus nodded.
After Gaius sat down, he glanced at Capito not far away, thinking: back then, when you were the warehouse supervisor, you were so domineering, never letting me intervene in anything! But now I’m on the rise again, a Financial Officer, oh, you’ll come to me for favors in the future.
Capito seemed not to notice, his gaze remaining fixed on Maximus.
At this moment, Maximus made a gesture indicating everyone’s attention and continued: "The next department is related to everyone, it’s called the Civil Affairs Department."
"Civil Affairs Department?" Everyone whispered this unfamiliar term, pondering what it could mean?
"The Civil Affairs Department is a department for supervising and managing tribal officials, responsible for assessing the achievements of officials during their tenure, deciding whether they should be promoted, and recommending suitable talents for each position to me. It also assesses whether the citizens and officials in the tribe should be promoted in rank and given titles—"
Maximus paused and said: "Titles! I will talk about this later. The head of the Civil Affairs Department is the Civil Affairs Officer, equipped with two Deputy Officers and five subordinates. Karina, how about you take on this role as the Civil Affairs Officer?"
When Maximus mentioned this person’s name, everyone was stunned: What?! The supervisor of the officials will actually be a woman?!
Karina herself was also dumbfounded: "Leader, you want me to be this Civil... Civil... Civil..."
Even she, usually straightforward, stammered at this moment, drawing laughter from inside the tent.
"Civil Affairs Officer!" Maximus said sternly, eyes scanning the crowd, and the tent immediately quieted down.
His gaze softened when it fell on Karina: "Karina, you have done an excellent job as the Female Camp Captain. Whether in encampment or marching, you’ve brought no trouble to the team, and your contributions have been immense in our successful arrival here.
However, as we settle down, everyone will get their share of land and have their homes. Naturally, the position of Female Camp Captain will be abolished... But I think you are daring and good at managing people, making you suitable to be the Civil Affairs Officer!"
"But I... am illiterate," Karina whispered, lacking confidence.
"If you are illiterate, you can find a literate Deputy Officer to assist you initially." Maximus said in a deep voice, "However, if the Civil Affairs Officer is illiterate, there will be people mocking in the future. So you are only a temporary Civil Affairs Officer now. You must learn to read and count within a year; otherwise, someone else will replace you in this position.
Are you willing to find a husband in the future, farm, and have children, living an ordinary woman’s life? Or are you ready to accept this challenge and contribute more to our tribe alongside other officials? Give me an answer now."
"I am willing to be the Civil Affairs Officer!" Karina said resolutely.
"Good!" Maximus looked at this tall and steadfast Gallic woman with admiration: "I look forward to your future performance!"
As Karina sat down, she still felt a little dazed: she originally only wanted to be a warrior in the team, not expecting the reality to be so far from her wishes! Supervisor of the officials...!
Karina looked around, gradually revealing a trace of a smile: this should be very interesting!
"The next department is the Cultivation Department," Maximus continued, "Which has two parts. One is education. Our tribe will establish schools to teach our children to read, write, learn arithmetic, acquire various skills, and also undergo basic military training... Cultivating them as future talents of the tribe is the responsibility of the Cultivation Department.
The other responsibility is to establish and manage etiquette. Although our Nix Tribe is newly established, it is not an ordinary tribe and will have greater development in the future. We cannot be as barbaric and crude as other tribes. Therefore, there should be fixed etiquette between leader and officials, between officials, and between officials and civilians. Worshiping the gods should have rituals, and receiving foreign guests should have protocol...
This way, everyone understands etiquette, the tribe will have order, society will be stable, and it will also demonstrate our civilization to other tribes! The head of this department is the Ritual Officer, equipped with two assistants, and tentatively five subordinates—"
At this point, Maximus sighed: "Ideally, this Ritual Officer would be filled by a person with deep knowledge to fulfill the duties of the Ritual Officer well. I’ve looked carefully, and there is no suitable person among us—"
"Leader, may I recommend someone?" Volenus interjected.
Maximus recalled how Volenus had once replaced him to organize his subordinates in teaching children, students, and some soldiers literacy and arithmetic, and he instantly became expectant: "Go ahead."
"Among my subordinates, there’s someone named Kefisofon, who used to be a scholar in Athens. Later, his family fell into decline, accumulating debt, unable to remain in Athens, and he thought to try his luck in Italy. Unfortunately, he was captured by pirates en route. Unable to pay the ransom, he was sold into slavery.
The purchaser was a major noble in Sarabia, intending for him to be a personal slave tutor for his children. However, when we occupied Sarabia, literate slaves like him were incorporated into the team to teach the children. Among all the teachers, he is the best teacher!"