"Volenus, now you have all the manpower you need. Tell me, how many days will it take to complete the task of land measurement and allocation?"
"Hmm... about 15 days."
"15 days is too long. I’ll give you 10 days."
"10 days is indeed a bit too short, leader. I just mentioned, even if you allow me to draw people from the entire tribe, there are very few who actually know how to measure land—"
"Don’t worry for now." Maximus confidently turned his gaze toward the Ritual Officer not far from Volenus: "Kefisofon, how many of our children are proficient in arithmetic and capable of calculating the areas of geometric shapes?"
The Chief Officer of the Cultivation Department, Kefisofon, thought for a moment, then uncertainly said, "Around seventy or eighty children, I think."
"It’s not enough for the children to just learn; they must be able to apply their knowledge in practice," Maximus said warmly. "In the coming days, you’ll be in charge of leading these children to assist the Agricultural Department in measuring the land. What do you think?"
"No problem! I believe the children can perform excellently," Kefisofon replied earnestly. "And I’ll bring other children to observe. I only hope that after they complete the task, leader, you can give them some encouragement to spark their enthusiasm for learning and let them understand that what they learn is truly useful!"
Maximus approvingly said, "You are a good teacher! Rest assured, not only will I encourage them, but I will also reward them. If they do well this time, they will have even more opportunities in the future to apply their knowledge!"
"I thank you on behalf of the children!" Kefisofon bowed to Maximus.
"Volenus, you’ve heard everything now. Do you still think there’s not enough manpower?" Maximus asked leisurely.
Volenus hesitated slightly, mainly doubting the children’s capabilities: "I’ll give it a try... tentatively 10 days to measure and divide the land."
"Good. Tomorrow, inform the tribesmen that the land will be allocated in 10 days!" Maximus promptly gave the instructions, addressing Casius and Akegu standing behind him. They now belonged to the Secretariat under Maximus. One of the responsibilities of the Attendant Office within the Secretariat was to convey the leader’s orders and announcements to the tribesmen.
Maximus then asked, "Volenus, do we have enough land to allocate at the moment?"
"Leader, over the past few days, I’ve ridden around several times from Snowdonia to the Westeni area and carefully examined the situation. With my years of farming experience, I believe there should be enough land..." Volenus said with confidence. "Currently, we have one First-class Tribesman who needs 80 acres of land. There are 14,872 Second-class Tribe Members, each needing 60 acres of land. Among them, there are 2,897 couples, also Second-class Tribe Members, who each require 80 acres. Altogether, we need over 776,000 acres of land. The land we currently possess should be sufficient; no additional clearing is required.
However, a considerable portion of the land is on the northern bank of the Kupa River. The Segestica people have not built a floating bridge over the Kupa River. Westeni Village at least has a dock and boats for ferrying, but the Segestica people probably found it troublesome, so the northern land is rarely cultivated.
As for Snowdonia, there isn’t even a dock. The land the Aldeans originally cultivated on the northern bank has been abandoned for several years and is now overgrown with weeds. If we want to measure the land on the northern bank and allocate it for cultivation, it would be best to build a bridge across the river!"
Maximus had long considered this issue. He nodded and said, "Constructing a floating bridge over the Kupa River to connect the southern and northern banks is essential for the tribe’s overall development! Capito, can the Public Works Department accomplish this?"
"Leader, over the past few days, the Public Works Department has also recognized the necessity of building a bridge over the Kupa River," Capito said with pride. "But instead of a floating bridge—which, while easy to construct, would block the river and hinder its transportation—we want to build a real wooden bridge so that ships can pass underneath without obstruction."
"Building a proper wooden bridge would, of course, be ideal. However, it will likely take quite a long time and require significant manpower. I’m concerned it may disrupt the planning of the tribe’s overall territory," Volenus said with some apprehension.
"It’s just a wooden bridge; it won’t take much time," Capito said lightly. "Winter is approaching, the water levels of the Kupa River are decreasing, and the narrowest part of the river is less than 50 meters wide. Spukala’s engineering team has already conducted a detailed survey and determined the location for the bridge. He estimates that it will take less than 15 days to complete a wooden bridge. If we build another bridge in the Westeni area, even constructing two wooden bridges wouldn’t take more than a month."
"Only 15 days to build a wooden bridge over such a large river as the Kupa?!" Several tribal leaders, except for Quintus and a few veteran soldiers, were astonished. While they had seen engineering teams quickly and safely build camps during marches, and the crafts of the Supply Camp artisans were both exquisite and practical, they still believed building bridges to be an overly challenging task—beyond the capabilities of their newly established tribe, composed mostly of Roman slaves and poor citizens.
However, Maximus was not surprised. Capito’s words reminded him of the time, over a decade later, when Caesar, serving as the Governor of Gaul, constructed a wooden bridge over the wide Rhine River in just over ten days to strike against the Germanic people, which shocked them. Road-building and bridge-making had always been hallmarks of the Roman Army, and so it was only natural that the rebel army’s engineering teams, which had former Roman veterans as their backbone, had inherited this expertise.
"Of course, we can!" Capito declared confidently before adding, "but—" He paused. "To expedite the bridge construction, the Public Works Department would need the leader to meet some of our requirements."
"Go ahead, what do you need?"
"Constructing a bridge is a complex task that allows no room for error. Only Spukala has the extensive experience required, so he must oversee and guide the construction process at all times. During this period, he won’t be able to handle other tasks.
By comparison, land measurement is much simpler, and several members of the engineering team are skilled in this area. I can dispatch experienced personnel to assist the Agricultural Department in completing the task."
Maximus turned to the Agricultural Officer and asked, "Volenus, what do you think?"
"As long as the land measurement can be completed quickly and accurately, I have no objections," Volenus replied.
"I can guarantee it," Capito said decisively.
"Fine. Spukala will be in charge of constructing the wooden bridge, while Capito, you will reallocate personnel from the engineering team to assist the Agricultural Department with the land measurement. Do you have any other requests?"
"Not only do we need a substantial amount of timber for the bridge construction, but we will also require it for expanding the settlement and building new houses. Therefore, I hope the leader can mobilize the tribesmen to go into the mountains to fell trees and stockpile as much timber as possible."
"That won’t be a problem. Before the land is allocated, most tribesmen are relatively idle aside from tidying up their homes. This will be a good opportunity to give them something productive to do.
Flanitnus, you will be responsible for organizing this. Arrange for the three legions and the Guard to take turns going into the mountains to cut trees and stockpile timber for constructing the bridge and expanding the settlement."
"Yes, leader," Flanitnus acknowledged as he rose to his feet.
"Are there any other requests?" Maximus continued to ask.
"Not for now," Capito shook his head.
"But I have a request for the Public Works Department," Maximus said, fixing his gaze on him and speaking with heightened emphasis: "While constructing the bridge and expanding the settlement are urgent priorities, we also need to establish the Iron Workshop, the Pottery Workshop, and the brick kilns to meet the needs of the tribe and its people. Does the Public Works Department have any plans in this regard?"