Maximus had considered this, and he answered seriously, "Yes, it can’t be concealed forever, but as long as we can keep it hidden for a year or two, by that time these Scodisqi tribe members will have their own houses, their own land, even marriages and children in our tribe. They won’t be willing to give up all that they’ve worked hard to gain, and take the risk to run off to the unstable, possibly war-torn east, even if they learn that the Scodisqi tribe still exists."
Maximus’ words received widespread approval, because everyone had been a slave before and knew what slaves yearned for the most.
"Pequot!" Maximus looked at his Guard Captain, a smile once again breaking out across his face, "I didn’t expect you to bring such good news to the tribe while achieving such great battle meritorious deeds! If the Political Affairs Hall doesn’t promote you two levels, not only I, but all the tribe members won’t agree."
Pequot smiled but didn’t reply, feeling relieved inside. He could sense that Maximus’s appreciation for him had increased.
"Quintus!" Maximus’s spirits were high, his brows relaxed, "We need to hold a Political Affairs Hall meeting immediately. Since the east of the Pannonians is threatened by Dacia and the Scodisqi people, I believe the war between them will likely continue. The other major tribes of the Pannonia can’t spare any effort to aid Segestica. We should come to a conclusion about the discussion on relocation!"
With these words, everyone else in the tent became excited.
With Maximus’s full support, the Political Affairs Hall approved the proposal for the entire tribe to settle by the middle reaches of the Kupa River, but the tribe couldn’t migrate immediately. First, people had to be sent to the two vacant villages by the Kupa River to count the number and size of the houses and make plans for allocation and reconstruction in advance.
Meanwhile, the Legal Department at the temporary camp issued the Nix Marriage Decree to all tribe members.
Then Maximus announced that all Second-class Tribe Members of the Nix Tribe who intended to marry the women in the tribe should register their marriages with the Legal Department within three days, as this would determine the subsequent distribution of houses and land.
Upon this announcement, the entire camp erupted. Countless men immediately flocked to the Female Camp. Although Karina received orders from Maximus to temporarily allow men the right to enter during the daytime, too many came, causing chaos in the previously orderly Female Camp, with even several violent incidents over women occurring.
Karina, furious, ran to Maximus to protest.
Maximus immediately realized he had made a wrong decision. The troops he led had always managed matters between men and women most strictly in the entire rebel army. Once the restrictions were lifted, the soldiers’ hormones, repressed for over a year, exploded.
Maximus, along with the Guard, swiftly went to the Female Camp. With his prestige, he managed to drive all the men out of the Female Camp with considerable effort, and publicly punished the troublemakers by the Military Law, depriving them of the right to participate in this marriage registration, instantly intimidating the young men in the tribe. Then, on site, he convened the Chief Officers of nine departments for an emergency discussion and decided to hold an extraordinary matchmaking event.
Originally joining the rebel army were over 3,000 women from the Nix Tribe, more than 1,400 Scodisqi women newly joining the tribe (including those just brought back by Pequot), and over 3,000 Pannonian women captured after conquering the two villages to the east (almost half unmarried or had husbands who died in battle), amounting to over 7,400 people.
They were all required to assemble in the open area outside the northern camp and line up largely in a giant semicircle as instructed, with the original rebel army women in front, Scodisqi women in the middle, and Pannonian women in the back.
Men from the Nix Tribe entered the central area in batches to be chosen by the women. If a woman selected and the man agreed, the couple could leave the formation hand in hand.
Subordinates from the Legal Department brought several wooden tables and sat not far from the crowd to register the marriages of successfully matched couples.
Maximus, learning from his previous mistakes, dispatched two platoons of soldiers to maintain order at the entire venue to ensure no more chaos occurred during the matchmaking process. Of course, these soldiers would be rotated.
Everything was set up, and the women began to enter and take their seats. The women of the rebel army and the Scodisqi female slaves followed the arrangements conscientiously, but many Pannonian women had to be forcibly made to enter the venue and reluctantly sat on the grass.
"Leader, some people have not come for the matchmaking!" suddenly someone from the front stirred up.
"That’s right, our supervisor Acronis hasn’t come. She’s hiding behind that squad of soldiers!"
"And our Female Camp Captain Karina too!"
"They order us to obey their commands all day, yet they want to have special treatment. That’s not fair!"
"Usually, Sister Acronis takes care of us very well. Now that we’re all about to wed and start families, we don’t want her to be alone."
"Captain Karina is usually quite fierce, and we’re curious to see if she’ll be better after finding a man?"
It was Maximus’s first time witnessing how terrifying countless women all talking at once could be. He quickly exited the venue, saw the two being forcibly brought over by guards, and with a stern face, criticized, "What is going on with you two! Didn’t you hear what I said earlier, all the women in the tribe are to come here for matchmaking. I said ’all’! Is it that your wings have grown strong, and you don’t want to follow orders?!"