This remark made several leaders pause.
Cross immediately asked, "What have you all acquired?"
Torrelugo glanced at him, "I’m not exactly sure what specific resources there are; you can ask Leader Maximus later."
Antonix said worriedly, "Since you’re going to stay here for at least another three days, these Pompeians are always a potential threat."
"You don’t need to worry about that. Leader Maximus has already considered it. Early in the morning, he sent someone to shout through the neighborhoods, requiring the Pompeians to stay indoors and not move around, or they would be killed without mercy. However, as long as they obediently followed the orders, their lives and property would be safeguarded. The Pompeians were weak and quickly obeyed the command; that’s why you see the city so quiet. Moreover, we are also quickly incorporating the Pompeian slaves who are willing to join us into the Guard to strengthen our forces—"
"The Supply Camp dares to privately expand their own troops!" Cross shouted sternly.
"Cross, you have the gall to say that! Your second brigade has long exceeded 5,000 soldiers, right? Are those all assigned by headquarters?! Don’t think that just because your camp is the furthest away, that quietly doing so means no one knows. The cooks we stationed there apply for supplies just as much as the other camps every time, but the consumption is the fastest. Is it because every soldier in your second brigade can eat so much?!"
Torrelugo’s sarcasm made Cross rather furious, and he shouted loudly, "Our second brigade is to fight against the Romans, recruiting more soldiers is necessary! You at the Supply Camp are responsible for logistical support; why do you need so many soldiers?!"
Torrelugo adopted a look of understanding, "Oh, you who are responsible for combat dare not attack Pompeii but are taken down by us who are responsible for logistical supplies."
As soon as these words were spoken, the leaders’ expressions changed.
"Enough, stop talking!" Spartacus loudly interrupted the two’s conversation, "It’s an extraordinary achievement that the Supply Camp was able to capture Pompeii, worthy of all our respect!"
After praising with this sentence, he didn’t want to argue about the expansion of the troops any further. In fact, ever since defeating the Roman Army, there have been many people joining the rebel army every day, and private troop expansion has been happening within each brigade, only to varying degrees. As the rebel army grows stronger, the control of headquarters over the various troops has become increasingly weaker...
Spartacus then asked, "Prohibiting the Pompeians from going out is a good idea, but have you thought that those without food at home may go hungry?"
Torrelugo calmly replied, "Leader Maximus has already thought of this. He has instructed soldiers to inform all Pompeians in the city that if anyone runs out of food, they can paint a picture of bread on a wooden board and hang it outside their house. If a patrol team sees it and verifies the situation, they will deliver wheat to them... Hmm, we’ve seized a lot of grain in the city, giving them some is nothing.
Moreover, Leader Maximus said that although it seems a bit troublesome to do this, it can make the Pompeians feel some goodwill from us, thus reducing any potential resistance and ensuring that our Supply Camp can secure the town in a short time."
The leaders appeared thoughtful.
"Aside from guarding the city gates, where are the rest of the soldiers of your Guard from the Supply Camp?" Spartacus asked again.
"Some are at the port, where there are a lot of resources and people, requiring concentrated guarding; another part is in the wealthy residential area, where the people have mostly been cleared out, serving mainly as places for the brothers to rest and eat, and recruit new slaves; next to the wealthy area, in that arena, a new army is being formed. Additionally, one Centurion is responsible for patrolling the entire city, and another Centurion—"
Torrelugo pointed in front, "Is responsible for guarding there — the Pompeii City Hall, where Leader Maximus is."
The group had entered Pompeii Square, walking toward the tall white stone building indicated by Torrelugo’s finger. As they passed the fountain in front of the building, they paused briefly to admire the towering and imposing stone statue of Poseidon standing in the pool.
Leader Maximus, having received the news, quickly walked out of the city hall doors, descending the steps in two strides, spreading his arms wide, and said excitedly, "Spartacus! Cross! Enomai! Antonix! Attutmus! Haha, I’ve been eagerly waiting for you!"
Spartacus also laughed, "Maximus, you really gave us quite a scare this time!"
Maximus didn’t ponder whether Spartacus’s words had another meaning and asked curiously, "Why didn’t Leader Hamilcar come?"
"We all came, someone had to stay and watch the camp." Spartacus looked at Maximus and emphasized, "But before leaving, Hamilcar told us all that since he can’t come, during the Military Commander Conference, I can vote on his behalf."
In other words, you have two votes... Maximus thought to himself, maintaining his composure, "That’s really a shame, I was hoping he’d come to taste some of Pompeii’s specialty foods."
"No worries, there’s always next time," Spartacus’s seemingly casual response gave Maximus more to think about.
"Maximus, now that you’re in such a hurry to have us come over, don’t ramble on. Hurry up and get to the point, what’s the matter?" Cross said impatiently from the side.
"Alright, let’s go inside first, sit down, and discuss slowly."
The leaders of the rebel army entered the city hall and arrived at the administrative officer’s office.
Maximus initially wanted Spartacus to sit on the administrative officer’s throne but was refused. So he called for six wooden chairs to be brought, and everyone sat in a circle.
"Maximus, since you’re in such a hurry to gather us, why don’t you tell us what’s going on first?" Spartacus initiated.
Maximus didn’t stand on ceremony, cleared his throat, and directly said, "Here’s the thing, our Supply Camp has captured Pompeii City; this city has various resources we desperately need, not only abundant but also in large quantity. Just speaking of grain, our army’s total number is—"
"Close to 20,000," Spartacus interjected.
"Twenty thousand... hmm, yes, the grain in Pompeii alone is enough for our 20,000 men to eat for four months; there is also enough linen for every brother who joins to wear a brand new waistcoat; there are a lot of pottery jars to allow our brothers’ worn-out jars to be replaced with new ones; there are also plenty of herbs stored here, enabling our Medical Team to provide better treatment for the wounded...
Moreover, there is a blacksmith shop here, and the two blacksmiths in the shop have already been ’invited’ to join our Supply Camp. They can use their iron furnace to forge some weapons and equipment for us..."
Maximus paused for a moment to give the leaders a chance to think, then emphasized, "If we choose to make Pompeii City our new camp, there’s another advantage—having more comfortable and weatherproof barracks, solving the problem of lack of tents.
But if we choose to abandon this city, first of all, our Supply Camp does not have enough manpower to take away so many resources, and some resources are not convenient to transport, so we must abandon them; second, although the blacksmiths will , abandoning the iron furnace means they can only help us with repairs in the future... Anyway, although Pompeii City was taken by the Supply Camp, it belongs to our entire force. Whether to abandon it or keep it? We all need to decide together!"