"Hey, hey, hey, can't use your hands! Can't use your hands! Hear me, you drunkards, brutes. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info"

At the Roman barracks of the Tenth Legion in Gaul, Appis was standing around a makeshift soccer field, shouting to the players on the field to pay attention to the rules. However, the rules of this fledgling sport were too complicated for the savage Roman soldiers, who preferred simple and violent physical confrontations, and in order to grab the ball, they simply used all kinds of tricks, some soldiers even rushed directly to the side of the ball carrier, and then punched it over, snatching the ball to their feet...... In short, any rule is like a vase here, it becomes an ornament, and this sport, which was originally full of skill, has become a sport full of violence, just like American football, when you get the ball, you rush ......

For this reason, Apis could not be said to have cried and laughed, and he was very troubled to teach this group of Roman soldiers the rules of football. Even after Appis took out the red card, these GIs on the field still didn't care, the big deal was to end the game, anyway, there were at least six people left on the field, and their fists were hard enough......

"Oh, please, can you not be so violent as the barbarians? We need to use rules to regulate a game, just like a gladiatorial fight in an arena, if there are no rules, the gladiator will even use his teeth to bite the opponent, what is the difference between such a fight and a beast fight? Can you be more civilized? Play by the rules? ”

Appis trotted up to one of the fallen players and helped him to his feet. At the same time, he scolded the soldier who had just punched him. The GI immediately stood up straight and listened to his legion commander's lecture seriously, however, Appis knew that they were well-behaved now, but once the game entered the climax stage, the group of GIs would soon be revealed again. Power, speed is fundamental to their experience of this game, and the rules, limit the release of these Roman elements.

"Oh, I really don't know how to standardize them and make a ball game the way I want it to be."

After the whistle blew, the "elites" selected from the two hundred-man teams began to fight hand-to-hand again. Appis reluctantly walked to the sidelines, drank water, and complained to Sekras.

"Maybe the rules you imagine need to be changed, I mean, to make it more in line with Roman tradition. For example, it doesn't have to be 11 people scattered to stand together, they can stand together and grab the ball together. Also, it's too much trouble to kick it......"

Sekras's answer almost caused Appis to vomit blood, these soldiers seem to be a virtuous person, it seems that football really needs to be changed in ancient Rome, at least this group of Romans fully abide by its rules, it's a dream.

After a short break, Apis handed the whistle to Tulus. Himself and Sekras walked up to the stands. A plan that Apis had been thinking about for a long time began to instruct his men to complete.

"Come, Sekras, let's get down to business. Tomorrow, instead of me, you will personally go to Gaul to collect grapes and wine in the towns and villages of the Narvian and Carnudes. ”

"What? Collecting wine in Gaul? ”

Sekras was watching the game with great interest, and was momentarily surprised by Appis's order.

"Yes. Also, if there is a surplus of local olives, you can also collect some appropriately. Remember, collect as much as you have. Take advantage of large purchases to drive down their unit price. I have sold the villa in Aletion, which Caesar had given me, and this asset, together with the assets I have saved over the years, is enough to purchase all the grapes and wine of these two tribes. ”

Appis said calmly.

"But what do you do with all the grapes you buy from the tribes of Gaul? The corps did not need so much wine. ”

But for Appis's brain-opening idea, Sekras obviously couldn't understand. In winter, the legion stockpiles enough wine for them to use until the following spring, or even summer. What does his own legion commander want to collect so much wine?

"Used to stock up, buy and sell. Sekras, I will only tell you one person about this, you must keep it a secret for me, and at the same time, I will do this task alone, not with the rest of the legions, you hire some freemen or slaves along the way, and go with you to Gaul to import this shipment, and make them into wine on the Roman border, and store them in the border cities. Caesar had ordered all the farms and farmlands outside of Rome and Capua to be planted with wheat, and I guess Caesar wanted to ensure that the legions were fed for the coming year. But doing so will inevitably lead to a scarcity of other agricultural commodities, such as wine and olive oil, which are essential to the daily life of the Romans, and whose prices will rise by this time next year. ”

Appis pulled Sekras aside, tilted his head sideways, and whispered.

"Do you want to hoard wine and sell it to the inhabitants of Rome at a high price?"

Sekras reacted and asked.

"Yes, grain grains can't be stored for too long, at most they have to be eaten in the same year, otherwise in the second year, it is difficult to guarantee that the grain stored last year will not spoil and spoil this year, but wine is different, Sekras, you know, whether it is a Roman wine or a wine from Gaul, if it is stored for three or five years, it has no effect on its quality and composition, and even the longer it is stored, the better the taste. So this makes it possible to stock up on goods. Caesar now only ordered the cities around Rome, the countryside, to be replanted with wheat, not the northern Gauls to be replanted with wheat, and we should hurry up and procure these commodities at this time next year, and these commodities will be scarce in the market, and, crucially, it will not spoil. When the time came, we only had to send someone to rent a place in the market, put the wine and olive oil on it, and immediately became the object of contention among the citizens of Rome. ”

Faced with Sekras's doubts, Apis sat in the makeshift stands and talked confidently about his plans. And the reason why this plan can be realized is actually because of the special factors of the times at this time. In fact, in modern times, wheat grains can be stored for a long time only in a specific granary, at a specific temperature and in a dry environment, but obviously in ancient Roman times, there was no such a well-closed granary to store grain. The reason why Caesar did not require Gaul to also change to grain and wheat is because in this era, grain was transported over long distances, and the road consumed a lot, and there was no good storage space, and the grain on the road was easy to be inedible because of moisture or dirt and insect moth. Therefore, the crops in Gaul were still cultivated as before, while the farms and fields in Rome had to be converted to cereals according to Caesar's requirements. Plus Pompey and the Senate also controlled vast areas of Africa, Egypt and the East, which obviously would no longer send grain, wine, and other goods to Rome. All kinds of factors made this business possible for Appis...... (To be continued.) )