"We arrived suddenly, and the only ones who could muster an army to attack within a day nearby... I’m afraid only Pompey and Lucania. Flanitnus, is it possible for them to send an army?"
"How dare the Pompeians come out to provoke us? As for Lucania—" Flanitnus showed a complex expression: "As far as I know, this is a colonial town built by that dictator to settle his soldiers. If they have not lost their fighting spirit after more than a decade, they might indeed send troops to attack..."
"If Lucania were to dispatch troops, how many would they send?"
"I have no idea." Flanitnus shrugged: "After Sula attacked Rome, I became a slave. It was while we were repairing the Roman Road that we heard about the establishment of Lucania’s colonial town in southern Campania. As for how many soldiers are stationed in the city? How many residents are there now?... How could I possibly know? However, when you caused a stir in the Vesuvius Region earlier, Lucania made no movement at all, so if we don’t provoke them, they likely won’t provoke us."
"According to the interrogation just now, the owner of this farm is an elder from Rome with no relation to the Lucania people..." Maximus mused and said solemnly: "We’ve marched this far, managing to capture such a large farm. If we simply return, it will not only affect morale, but I fear other groups might mock us when they learn of this. Moreover, leaving such a vast wheat field behind would be too much of a waste... I have decided we will harvest these wheat fields before heading back!"
Maximus paused, then proceeded with the deployment: "I will have Hagux lead a reconnaissance team toward the southeast to investigate Lucania City’s movements, while also sending someone to report our situation to the camp. Three platoons’ worth of soldiers will lead these slaves to swiftly harvest the wheat fields. Vorenus, you’ll be in charge of the specific arrangements."
"Uh..." Vorenus was taken aback for a moment, then responded, "Okay."
"Flanitnus, do you see anything else that needs attention?"
"I don’t think you should have everyone go to harvest the wheat, at least leave one platoon to guard the farm in case of any accidents."
"...Makes sense, I was a bit hasty." Maximus thought it over and candidly admitted his mistake: "Then let’s have the first platoon guard the farm, and once the other platoons are exhausted, rotate with them. This way it’s fair and allows them to recover their strength. What do you think?"
Flanitnus nodded. This young rebel leader’s ability to humbly ask for advice and adopt suggestions is one of the reasons why Flanitnus and the others are willing to stay in the Supply Camp and work for him.
"Vorenus, can we finish the harvest in one day?"
Vorenus considered and said: "...The captives just mentioned there are about 1,270 acres of wheat fields here. Our two platoons plus over 400 slaves, more than 600 people, all are very capable workers. If arranged well, one day should be enough."
"Then I’ll leave the arrangements to you. If there’s anything you need me to do, just let me know."
........................
Maximus, leading the Guard, stayed at the farm. The once-blood-boiling battle scene quickly turned into a scene of toiling sweat profusely.
During this time, Hagux reported several times of "small groups of Lukania people approaching to investigate," but ultimately Lucania did not dispatch any troops to launch an attack.
When the soldiers finally finished harvesting the wheat fields and Maximus issued the "return to camp" order, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Though nothing unusual happened during this day, Maximus remained on edge throughout. It was his first time away from the team, executing such a dangerous mission alone, with the lives of hundreds hanging on him, causing immense pressure, but it was also a tremendous training for his character.
When the Guard from the Supply Camp returned, fifteen horse-drawn carts fully loaded with wheat (five of which came from this farm and were originally used for grain trade), three ox carts full of wheat, and more than 400 slaves, except for a few women, each carried a sack of wheat on their backs. Some remaining wheat could not be taken, but Maximus did not order it destroyed; instead, it was neatly piled in the farm’s warehouse, waiting for the right person to discover it so as not to waste it.
Nearly 800 people set out on their return journey early in the morning. Due to the burden of supplies, the journey involved frequent stops, and it took them an entire day to cover a mere twenty-five-mile distance, reaching the camp by dusk.
Maximus barely had time to catch his breath before he was greeted by the rebel army headquarters’ messenger: Spartacus was calling for an urgent Military Commander Conference.
When Maximus arrived at the farm’s hall, the other rebel leaders were already seated inside.
"I truly apologize for being late!" Maximus immediately greeted everyone with an apology.
"I never expected Maximus to be so daring, taking only 300 soldiers to venture deep into the south. We were all worried for you; you didn’t run into any danger, did you?" Spartacus asked with concern.
"What’s there to worry about? Now the entire Vesuvius Region and its surroundings are our domain. Who dares provoke us?" Cross chimed in.
"Indeed, there wasn’t any danger. We seized a large farm, suffering no casualties and harvested about 36,200 kilograms of wheat, with over 400 slaves joining our ranks," Maximus said with ease.
"So much wheat! This greatly eases the pressure on our food supply!" Hamilcar said joyfully.
"After the meeting ends, I’ll need you to inventory the supplies and slaves we brought back." Maximus said to his mentor.
"Alright," Hamilcar nodded.
"Your Guard at the Supply Camp did a great job this time!" Spartacus praised before looking around. His expression turned solemn as he continued: "The reason for today’s urgent meeting is that our scouts received intelligence that a legion of Romans has already left Rome and is heading toward us."
"A legion?!" Antonix’s face changed.
"It’s just one legion; if they dare come, we can definitely defeat them!" Enomai said without fear.
"Absolutely, now our troops number close to ten thousand, and after two months of training, their combat effectiveness has greatly improved. We can certainly defeat them in field battles!" Cross was also full of confidence.
Attutmus, a Great Captain who joined the rebellion later, had a rough and rugged appearance. His figure was robust and agile, and having spent years battling the waves on the sea, he was very bold. Though he had never experienced battle, he expressed boldly without any shock, "Once the Roman Army arrives, we’ll fight them! Since we were able to defeat them once, we can defeat them a second time!"
"Everyone is right; we need not worry about the Roman legion’s attack." Spartacus saw the group’s morale far exceeded last time, and seized the opportunity to continue, "But we shouldn’t wait for the Roman Army to attack; we should take the initiative to attack them."
"Take the initiative to attack?!" The others were stunned; this was completely unexpected: before the last battle with the Romans, Spartacus was more cautious than them, but this time he had become so aggressive.
However, Spartacus did not consider himself aggressive. Instead, he had developed a broad tactical strategy after learning lessons from the previous battles and carefully analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the Romans and the rebel army. He did not elaborate but glanced at Hamilcar.
Hamilcar understood and said, "According to the information obtained by the scouts, the legion sent by the Romans this time is marching along Ladaya Avenue, divided into two parts, with the vanguard of 2,000 arriving in Cales this afternoon, and the main force of 4,000 in Suissa, about half a day apart from each other—"