Rome Must Perish

"Did anyone take it privately?" Maximus interjected.

Flanitnus hesitated slightly, and the Military Judge Sidonius immediately said coldly, "Yes, there are a total of three people, all from the same squad, who have been caught. I plan to publicly administer the rod punishment during dinner to alert the entire army! Moreover, the centurion of that squad has shown poor leadership, and I recommend reprimanding him and removing him from his position!"

"Alright, do as you suggested." Maximus nodded approvingly, then turned his eyes seriously to Flanitnus, "Since we have established military law, it must be strictly enforced. Do not fear complaints from the soldiers. Even if they want to leave, I will not stop them. Removing those with weak resolve will only make our unit more cohesive and disciplined. Besides, we are not short of manpower now; there are countless slaves and commoners outside willing to join our ranks!"

"The leader is right. Our soldiers come from all over the Mediterranean, and if we tolerate these violators of military discipline even slightly, the army could fall into chaos."

Quintus sternly reminded, "Look at Spartacus. Originally, his troops had good discipline, but then those southern people came. He allowed them to form their own troops and agreed to let them follow his forces. However, these southerners had no military discipline and plundered everywhere, corrupting the soldiers of Spartacus’s army. Now he is completely unable to control his army. I foresee more trouble for him in the future..."

Maximus felt the same, but Flanitnus did not want to listen to Quintus’s chatter and hurriedly said, "Besides the seized goods, we have captured over 600 slaves from these rich men’s estates and more than 100 of their family members, mainly women and children. I wonder how you plan to deal with them, leader?"

Maximus thought for a moment, then called out, "Volenus! Volenus! Volenus!!..."

"Leader, what is it?" The administrative officer of the Maximus Army, who was examining the Sarabia town documents, stood up hastily, knocking over the wooden chair behind him.

"What has got you so engrossed?" Maximus asked curiously first.

"Leader, I was looking at the records of trade taxes collected in Sarabia over the past two years." Volenus, holding a stack of papyrus, said excitedly, "Though Sarabia City is not large, last year’s trade taxes amounted to nearly two thousand Gold Aureus (the most valuable Roman currency, made of gold)! But that’s not the main point. More importantly, there’s a weapon workshop in Sarabia City!"