Rome must fall.

Chapter 290: Conquering Segestica

“…There are also many Segestica tribes in the east, and most of them are blood relatives of the great chieftain’s family. This requires us to be vigilant. I have ordered Carminus to lead the army in the East Village to quickly strike and conquer the eastern tribes to prevent them from uniting and causing trouble for us.

In the south of Segestica, the Sava River forms a large lake. Although the terrain there is also flat, the lake water rises during the rainy season, often forming some small swamps, which seriously affect farming. Therefore, the number of Segestica tribes there is significantly less than that in the west and east.

In the south, we are adjacent to the two large Pannoni tribes, Brochi and Mazii. I believe you are all familiar with Brochi. Last year, the Pequots caused a big disturbance in its territory and took away many Skodis slaves. So this time the Pannoni tribal alliance formed a coalition to attack us. It was the Brochi leader Bricks who made great efforts. It seems that Bricks has regarded us, the Nix, as mortal enemies.

Moreover, the terrain between southern Segestica and Brochi is flat and convenient for travel, so it is very convenient for us to attack Brochi or for Brochi to harass us. In the future, southern Segestica may become the main battlefield between us and the Pannoni..."

Maximus gave a brief introduction to the territory of Segestica, and everyone looked down at the map while thinking.

"Captain, where is this Mazii?" asked Quintus.

"Mazii is east of Brochi." Maximus roughly tapped on the map a few times and said, "Its north is adjacent to the south of Sestica, but it's all mountainous, with some forests and swamps in between. So if they want to attack us, it's more convenient to attack through Brochi's territory. Of course, we can't rule out the possibility that they will send a small number of warriors over the mountains and through the swamps to harass the south..."

After listening to this, Quintus pondered and said, "Chief, from what you said, we should first occupy the land in the west of Segestica and concentrate our efforts on managing it well, while also taking care of the east. Once the west is stable, we can develop towards the east. The north can be ignored for the time being, and as for the south, that is where we must focus our defenses..."

"Well, you summarized it very well!" Maximus praised, picked up half a piece of bread in his hand, and said to everyone: "The territory of Segestica is like a cow, and we are just a snake. If the snake wants to eat the cow, it will choke to death if it swallows it in one bite. However, if it bites it bit by bit, one bite at a time, it will be slow but safe, and it will eventually be able to eat the cow..."

Maximus broke off a small piece of bread and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing it, and continued, "Last night I persuaded the Segestica people who fled to this village to join our tribe. Although very few people responded, those Segestica people who were released by me should have told other people in the village about my kindness after returning to their own villages. So when you came over, they did not actively attack you, nor did they flee in panic. They were still waiting and watching. No one is willing to leave their homes where they have lived for more than ten or twenty years unless it is absolutely necessary.

Tomorrow, let Phesalus divide the First Legion into centuries and have them stationed in all the villages from Xizhai to Linkouzhai as soon as possible. If there are extra centuries, they can continue to station in other villages. The three battalions and the crossbow team of the Third Legion will be concentrated in this village, ready to deal with any possible enemy situations at any time.

Each hundred-man team stationed in a village must have a Segestica recruit, who will mainly explain our newly revised twenty-noble system to the Segestica people in the village and patiently persuade them to join the Nix tribe and become a reserve tribe member—"

"Three days!" Maximus held up three fingers and said in a deep voice, "I will only give you three days. After three days, all the Segestica people who are unwilling to join us or who verbally agree but are unwilling to swear an oath will become foreign auxiliaries and will be directly escorted to this village for centralized custody. Their houses, property, land, and food will all belong directly to the tribe!——"

"Chief, some of the people of Segestica who have been forced to become foreign vassals and lost their property may rebel!" Volenus warned.

Maximus' eyes flashed with a fierce light. "The soldiers of the First Legion must severely crack down on any hostile actions of the people of Segestica. Let them know that Nix treats them not only with gentle breezes and drizzles, but also with thunder and gale. They must make a good choice in order to continue living on this land."

"Chief, the soldiers of the First Legion are scattered across the villages, which has added a lot of difficulties to our food supply..." Armament Officer Lebirus reminded softly.

"The Centuriae scattered to various villages do not need our food, nor will they consume our food. They will confiscate the food and property stored by the leaders and nobles of the villages where they are located, and live in their houses. We have captured many Segestica leaders and nobles in previous battles. If the Centuriae encounter the remaining Segestica leaders and nobles in the villages, they must arrest them and publicly try them in front of the people of Segestica, just like we did in Pompeii and Sarapia. Even if they are of the same clan, these high-ranking leaders and nobles will always do some wrong things and commit serious mistakes...

Chiefs and nobles who cause the hatred of the people will be executed in public; those who have only committed minor offenses will be escorted to our territory on the Kupa River and sent to the Ardi tribe along with the captured Segestica chiefs and nobles there. Whether they become slaves or miners is not our concern. "

Maximus said indifferently: "As long as these Segestica leaders and nobles are still on this land, the people under their command will unconsciously move closer to them and be influenced by them, which will seriously hinder the people from integrating into the Nix tribe, so they must be eliminated!"

Everyone had no objection to this. In fact, they had done this before after defeating the Segestica army and capturing a large number of prisoners last year. Later, in order to disrupt the upper echelons of the Segestica tribe, they took the initiative to release the captured leaders and nobles, but this time it was obviously not necessary to do so.

Maximus looked at Cornelius and said, "Confiscate the grain stored by the leaders and nobles of the tribes of Segestica, as well as the grain of the Segestica people who refused to join the tribe, and 60% of the grain of the people who joined the tribe and became reserve tribesmen... If we save some of this grain, plus the tax grain that the tribesmen paid to the tribe this year, it should be enough to support us until the autumn harvest next year, right?"

Cornelius estimated in his mind for a long time before hesitantly saying, "Chief, the food supply has certainly increased greatly, but the number of foreign auxiliaries and newly joined Scodischi has also increased greatly. I think... it may still be a little short... However, we can still borrow food from our ally Aldi. By the way, we can also borrow food from our tribesmen. For the sake of the tribe, everyone will definitely be willing to lend, including me. The food problem can definitely be solved in the end!"

"Hearing what you said, I feel relieved." Maximus' expression eased a little, and then he continued: "After the First Legion's various centuries send the foreign auxiliaries in the villages here, they will go to other villages and continue to repeat these measures... Continue to expand outward like this, and strive to comb through all the villages in the west of Segestica within a month, and initially stabilize the entire western territory."

"Chief, while the First Legion is clearing out the western villages, I'm afraid some Segestica people will flee out of fear..." Quintus warned.

"Not afraid, but definitely." Maximus said disapprovingly: "If ordinary people want to escape, let them escape, but they are not allowed to take away food. But those tribal leaders and nobles cannot be allowed to escape, and they will be executed on the spot after being caught...

Most of those who escaped will go to the south, or even to Brochi's territory, which will actually reduce our burden and make the territory more stable. But they will live under someone else's roof, and their future living conditions will never be good. When they find that the tribesmen who did not escape before have been given a lot of land and are still living well, and they regret it, we still welcome them back, and then they will be more proactive in becoming our people."

Maximus took a sip of oatmeal and continued, "Frantinus is now in the Kupa River territory, so Quintus, you will be fully responsible for the affairs of the army on the Sava River. Not only the First Legion, but also the Third Legion. Supervise them to complete the conquest of the villages of Segestica, crush any possible resistance, and finally complete the occupation of the entire Segestica territory!"

Maximus's appointment put Quintus under great pressure, but at the same time it also cheered him up, because he knew very well that as long as the Nix tribe could successfully annex Segestica, the Nix would no longer have to worry about the covetousness of other tribes, and it would grow more rapidly, and their power, status, and wealth would also rise...

Thinking of this, the 50-year-old man replied in a rare loud voice: "Don't worry, Chief! Tomorrow morning, I will rush to the First Legion to make every soldier understand our newly revised twenty-title system as soon as possible, and assist Phesalus in training every centurion soldier sent to the village so that they can better convince the people of Segestica.

Then I will come back here, keep an eye on the situation in the entire territory, and be ready to mobilize the army to kill any enemies that may appear. Therefore, I hope that you can give me half of the cavalry so that I can command the army more conveniently."

(End of this chapter)