Rome Must Perish

Maximus listened intently, his iron pen writing continuously on the wax tablet. After finishing, he did not immediately respond but looked at Pigeris: "What difficulties do you have on your side?"

"Captain Maximus, like Uncle Gaius, I also have three problems here." Pigeris, imitating Gaius's manner, extended three fingers and solemnly replied, "The first problem, I lead the convoy daily to follow the main force out, intending to bring all the spoils back here. However, after the manor was captured, our convoy is the last to be allowed entry; as a result, many things inside are already taken by other units. They even repeatedly say in front of me that we're just picking up what they have left behind—"

At this point, Pigeris appeared somewhat angry, but he immediately realized the impropriety and quickly composed himself, easing up before continuing: "The second problem is the convoy lacks carpenters who can repair the carts. Initially, the team had twenty carts, but now only thirteen are usable, carrying so much every day, and still having to go up this slope, the road is uneven, almost every two to three days a cart is damaged. Although we can continue to maintain with captured carts, it's a shame to abandon these broken carts in the courtyard. If they could be repaired, our convoy could transport more in one go, avoiding multiple trips each day;

The third problem is initially Leader Hamilcar assigned me to manage those sheep, which were only in their teens back then. I still had the energy to let them feed with the horses. Now they've increased to over two hundred forty sheep and six cows. There was originally no sheep pen in the manor, and now the nearby areas are occupied by other units. We can only build a makeshift large sheep pen about two miles north of the manor for the sheep to rest and graze during the day, but this makes it difficult to manage. We lack shepherds, and others often come to steal sheep, with losses daily. Seksepis has complained to me many times, but I can't help it; my focus is mainly on the convoy, and the sheep pen is too far to manage..."

After hearing this, Maximus did not immediately respond but looked at the three: "Does anyone have any more questions?"

"No more, just these." Acronis replied promptly, and Pigeris and Gaius also shook their heads.

Maximus, looking at the wax tablet full of Latin, pondered for a moment before saying to them, "The problems you raised can be summarized as a lack of people and resources. This lack isn't just for ordinary labor; Acronis, you need more people familiar with kitchen tasks, Gaius, you want someone good with numbers to help organize stored resources, Pigeris, you want carpenters for cart repair and some knowledgeable in livestock to tend the sheep and cattle... But even more importantly, you've all mentioned that our supply team lacks security and relies too much on external forces—"

Maximus looked at the three, emphasizing his tone: "In other words, our supply team lacks a patrol team directly under our command that can ensure our safety and prevent others from causing trouble!"

"Captain, you're absolutely right!" Acronis said loudly, no longer concealing her feelings: "We used to bring up these issues with Leader Hamilcar, but he didn't care like you do! Old man, Pigeris, don't you agree?"

Gaius nodded vigorously, while Pigeris just rubbed his chin without responding.

Seeing this, Maximus coughed heavily and said, "Leader Hamilcar doesn't lack concern but knows it's hard to provide you with enough manpower, and it's even harder to have our own patrol for the supply team. Now, each unit is busy expanding its manpower to counter any Roman Army attacks, so naturally, they wouldn't agree to give us strong youth. But don't worry; I remember these issues and will find a way to solve them. It just takes some time."

Maximus's sincere attitude made the three feel that the new captain genuinely wanted to solve these problems, so instead of feeling frustrated, they expressed understanding and urged Maximus not to worry too much.