Rome Must Fall

Chapter 53: Learning in Battle

“Don’t be impatient,” Maximus calmly said to the three of them. “The main purpose of our outing this time is to apply what our brothers have learned in their regular training to real combat. We can’t just rush in like before.”

Tolerugo was straightforward in his response, “Alright, I’ll follow your lead. Just give the order.”

Maximus turned around and shouted: “Ready the ballistae!”

Ten ballista operators at the rear immediately lifted two ballistae from the wagon and placed them at the forefront of the formation. Under the guidance of the military advisor group, they quickly assembled the siege weapons.

“The target is the wooden gate of the farm!” After Maximus gave the command, two lead projectiles were shot out, hitting the walls near the wooden gate and leaving two dents, causing the enemies inside the courtyard to shout in alarm.

Then two more rounds of lead projectiles were fired, still failing to hit the wooden gate, but causing several cracks in the nearby walls.

“These ballistae sound intimidating, but their power is not that great. It’s better to let our brothers launch a direct attack!” Tolerugo couldn’t help but shout.

Before Maximus could speak, a member of the military advisor group beside him spoke up, “They haven’t trained for long, so it’s normal for their aim to be off. How about this, let us take over.”

“No need, we have plenty of time. If we don’t train them properly now, how can we expect them to be useful in a major battle in the future!” Maximus deliberately said loudly.

The ballistae operators who heard him became more focused and serious. In the next two rounds of bombardment, they not only hit the wooden gate but also brought down the adjacent wall, creating a large breach in the front of the estate.

Ignoring the chaos inside the farm, Maximus gave his orders earnestly, “Phaselus, lead the first platoon and attack the main gate.”

“Understood!” Phaselus responded excitedly.

“Wait a moment!” Maximus continued, “If you approach the breach and the enemies keep throwing javelins from the courtyard walls, what will you do?”

After thinking for a moment, Phaselus replied, “We will form a tortoise formation and charge in.”

“That’s the plan then. I want to see how proficient your first platoon is with the tortoise formation.” After Maximus finished speaking, he looked at Tolerugo and Carminus, “Soldiers of the second and third platoons, go to the wagons and get the long ladders. When the first platoon attracts the enemy’s attention with their attack, the second platoon will climb up the front wall of the farm, and the third platoon will attack from behind. Tolerugo, since you’re still injured, stay behind and command. Don’t go into battle.”

“Don’t worry, Maximus, I’m not stupid. I want to live a few more years,” Tolerugo said and laughed heartily.

The three hundred soldiers quickly moved into action.

Before long, the three hundred soldiers shouted and rushed towards the farm 100 meters away. Their figures scattered across the flat fields, creating a significant momentum that gave Maximus a feeling of commanding authority.

Of course, although the logistics camp was in charge of supplies, not all of the 300 soldiers were fully armed. More than half of the soldiers in the third platoon were still wearing simple clothes and carrying wooden spears. That’s why Maximus arranged for them to attack from the rear to minimize unnecessary casualties.

There was no way around it; the number of rebels was increasing too quickly, and the reserves of weapons and armor were already insufficient. As the leader of the logistics camp, if Maximus only focused on satisfying the needs of his own troops, it would inevitably cause dissatisfaction among other leaders. However, after today’s battle, the equipment of the soldiers in the third platoon should be significantly improved.

The battle quickly came to an end. In fact, when the ballistae smashed the gate and the fully armed soldiers began their attack, many enemies inside the farm were already intimidated. However, the three platoons were so focused on practicing the tactics set by Maximus that they completely ignored their surrender until they broke into the courtyard and captured them all.

Upon receiving the news that the army had occupied the estate with only five soldiers lightly injured, Maximus did not take pride in it. Instead, he asked Frontinus, “What do you think of this battle?”

Frontinus answered earnestly, “There were no issues with the tactics you set up and the execution by the soldiers, so the battle went smoothly without any casualties. However…” Frontinus shifted the focus of his words and questioned, “You attacked only a farming estate, and the enemies were just farm guards. They couldn’t cause you any trouble. But if it were a small town with a hundred Roman soldiers stationed inside, our light ballista would not be able to break through the city gates. What would you do then?”

Maximus immediately responded, “It would be unwise for 300 people to attack a small town defended by 100 soldiers. I would abandon the attack unless our numbers increased to 1,000. Then I would be willing to give it a try.”

“What if you had 1,000 soldiers?” Frontinus continued to inquire.

“I would first build a camp…” Maximus pondered, “…although we don’t have heavy ballista, the logistics camp has a construction team. We can build siege towers, right?” As he said this, his gaze turned to the other members of the military advisor group.

Frontinus nodded.

“We can build siege towers, but it will require a considerable amount of time,” Frontinus reminded.

“That’s okay; we can use this time to do something else,” Maximus said, stomping the ground with his foot. “The soil here is loose. We can secretly send some soldiers to dig tunnels directly under the city walls and collapse them.”

“Experienced soldiers won’t be unprepared for that.”

Maximus calmly said, “But they still have to allocate manpower to defend, right? One hundred soldiers are not many. It’s impossible for them to fully defend the city walls of the entire small town. I will first use light ballistae to bombard the city walls, undermining the enemy’s morale. Then we will attack the city gate and wall from the front with siege vehicles and towers, distracting the enemy. The remaining soldiers will use ladders and tunnels to attack the city. At the same time, we can utilize secret tunnels… Can the enemy withstand such a full-scale assault?”

Frontinus fell silent for a moment and said, “You’re committing all your forces. What if the enemy has reinforcements?”

“Look at you, always making things more difficult for me. Originally, it was just an attack on a small city, but now with reinforcements, who knows, my supply route might be cut off later… With you as the enemy’s insider, how can I possibly win?” Maximus jokingly replied.

Frontinus spoke seriously, “I think you have learned quite well. What you lack is experience.”

“You, as an instructor, rarely praise people. It makes me a little proud,” Maximus laughed and waved his hand. “Let’s go inside the farm and enjoy the fruits of victory. Vorenus, you go in first and count the supplies.”

“Understood.” Vorenus headed towards the farmhouse, followed by Akgo, Cassius, Marcus, and several other young boys. These children listened to Maximus’ lectures every night and practiced in the warehouse during the day. Their arithmetic skills had improved rapidly, and they could now provide some assistance to the logistics camp.

“We should go and do our job.”

Maximus’ next task was to publicly interrogate the captives in front of these newly liberated slaves. Those found guilty would be handed over to the slaves for punishment, often resulting in angry slaves killing them. As a result, the majority of the slaves would willingly join the uprising, and some of them, due to their favorable impression of the logistics camp, would actively request to be assigned to the team.

Maximus had been following this approach during the recent raids, and it had proven to be very effective.

After the interrogation was over and Vorenus finished counting the supplies, Maximus frowned and said, “Such a large farm, so many people, and they only have this little amount of food?!”

“It’s normal,” Vorenus, knowledgeable in agriculture, said. “The wheat outside is already ripe. It can be harvested soon, providing new food. They don’t need to store much of the old grain.”

Maximus pondered for a moment and said, “Should we stay here for another day? Let the soldiers and the liberated slaves harvest these wheat fields and transport the grain back after it’s threshed.”

The reason the guards of the logistics camp were allowed to participate in looting in recent days was due to the rapid increase in the number of rebels, leading to a shortage of food. All the teams were dispatched to intensify the collection of provisions.

“We’re too far from the camp. What if the enemy attacks while the soldiers are harvesting?” Vorenus expressed his concern.