"General......

At the end of the crowd were several soldiers of the Ninth Legion, who had been encircled and killed by the slave army, their bodies were stabbed all over their bodies by their short swords, the blood had dried up, frozen on the surface of their armor and clothing, and the bare internal organs indicated how ferocious and bloody the battle they had just experienced. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

"There must have been some of those slaves who had been gladiators."

After reading it, Appis said to Klein beside him with a solemn expression.

"Just like us......"

The term gladiator may not have been very familiar to other Roman soldiers, but to Appis and Crane, it was a profession that could not have been more familiar. They used to be the ones who survived the Death Arena, and they were the darlings of the god of fate. As for the gladiators who fought the beasts in the arena every day, both Apis and Crane were well aware of their methods and cruelty, although Apis had sympathy for the group of slaves, but now his position was Caesar's deputy, the general of the Roman legions, and mercy on the enemy would only lead to his own destruction.

"They will take the towns, it is impossible for them to hide in the mountains and forests, they did not carry too much dry food with them when they turned away from us, only enough food for two days, there is no food in the mountains to sustain this slave rebel army, they can only get supplies by capturing the towns."

After thinking about it for a while, Apis came up with a conclusion for everyone, and this conclusion also indicated that the legion would no longer follow this slave rebel army into the mountains and forests, because this was probably the enemy's lure strategy, and the leader of the slave rebels was likely to let some gladiators with combat ability and mobility lure the Roman legions into the mountains and forests, and then they would conquer nearby towns and plunder some food and daily necessities.

"We don't have to go into the mountains and follow them, because it's a trap, a ruse. We took a detour to the town of Clifania, where I suspect our enemy has assembled and is preparing to storm the city......"

Then, in the silence of the crowd, Apis continued.

In the evening, the Ninth and Tenth Legions did not pursue the rebellious slaves into the woods, but advanced directly to the town of Crimea, the closest place to the slave rebellion, and Appis guessed that the town was either conquered or besieged by the slave rebels.

……

"You cherish every soldier too much, and that's why you're in this situation, aren't you? At the beginning, if you had sent more soldiers to watch these slaves, there would not be such a thing today, Apis, we ourselves are born from slaves, and we know what kind of fighting power can burst out of people who have no freedom. That's what you should have thought of, didn't you? ”

While camping for the night, Crane took off his armor and sat down by Appis's campfire in civilian clothes, talking to his longtime friend about the current situation and what had happened these days.

"Yes, I attach too much importance to the life and death of every soldier, which is why we have today's situation, we defeated the rebels of Pharnacis, but we had to turn around and deal with our own people first, as you said, if I had sent more soldiers to watch this group of military slaves, this situation would not have happened today."

"So, why are you doing this? Do you really care so much about the life and death of every soldier? Appis, we have been partners for many years, brothers, and from what I know of you, you are more sensible than anyone else except for your personal feelings. Don't be perfunctory, I may have guessed your intentions in this matter. ”

In the quiet of the night, the Roman legions, Crane approached Appis, staring at Apis with curiosity and strange eyes.

"Alright, well, I'll tell you, brother."

Appis saw his doubts and speculations in Crane's sly eyes, and if he didn't tell him, he didn't seem to be a buddy enough.

"Wait, let me guess."

Crane's playfulness was evident at this point, and he deliberately stopped Apis from continuing.

"You want to tell the soldiers of the Tenth Legion that you value each of them very much, and that you are very concerned about the life and death of each brother, so that you will not risk them to carry out the tasks that are a little more dangerous, but the tasks that can be glorified will be carried out together. Well, I think, that's what you should have done, Appis, you look at the expressions on the faces and the words in the mouths of the soldiers these days, they are all blaming themselves, they should have taken the initiative to go out of the camp, looking at those military slaves, you have once again become the object of their guilt. Well, you're cultivating a bond with your soldiers, making them feel like they owe you and that you're protecting them. So, while the slaves have rebelled, the soldiers have become more loyal to you. ”

Klein's words surprised Apis a little, this rough, straightforward man may not be as careless as he seems, he is actually very smart, Apis does have this meaning, let the soldiers of the Tenth Legion not go out of the camp to take risks, just to keep each of them, even if the slave army rebels, it is not a difficult thing to exterminate it, and through this matter, the veterans of the Tenth Legion will be more grateful to themselves, and even as Klein said, they will have a little guilt, guilt for themselves. And why he kept fighting for the Tenth Legion, Apis still didn't fully tell Klein. But maybe not the time to tell him too much, Apis thought......

"One day, we will need them, and now it is not surprising that we will do more for them, but my brother, you are too clever to see my intentions. But that's not good, because we're causing ourselves problems. ”

There was something about what might happen in the future in Rome Apis didn't tell Klein in the end, after all, what happened in history doesn't necessarily happen here, and if Crane asks himself, how do you know that? How do you answer that? Appis pondered, but in the end he only told Crane half of the truth, as he had imagined.

"But you can't be blamed for that, Pharnacissus is too cunning, he is the only enemy who has not been caught in the trap you designed."

Appis's honesty made Klein smile heartily again, and then, he helplessly comforted Apis. (To be continued.) )