Chapter 250 The Disadvantages of the Twenty-Title System

Cornelius's face changed when he heard this.

Capito even lost his voice and said: "Chief, if we can't stop the Pannoni army in time and let them break into our territory, if they stray to the north bank of the Kupa River again, they will destroy the workshops we have worked so hard to build. Especially the iron workshop, all the hard work you have done before will be ruined!"

Maximus looked calm and did not respond immediately. He walked around the wooden table, pacing back and forth while thinking, and suddenly said: "We can't just wait for the Pannonians to attack. We should take action first to disrupt their attack." plan!"

Frontinus frowned and asked: "Chief, do you mean that we won't wait for the armistice agreement to expire and launch an attack on the Segostica territory first?"

"If our Nyx tribe doesn't keep its promise, how can we win the trust of other tribes here!" Maximus shook his head, looked at Frontinus with bright eyes, and said in a deep voice: "I mean... ...Even if Segostika and Broch are planning to attack us from both sides at the same time after the armistice agreement expires, their main stronghold is far away from our territory, and it is impossible for them to attack our territory immediately. .

On the contrary, we can immediately attack the Segestika stronghold adjacent to Westney, forcing the Segestika people from the north to hurry up and fight us as soon as possible.

I guess by the time we finish them off, the enemies in the south may not have reached the Korana River yet. And since we are on the inside, our marching speed will definitely be faster than theirs. We can block them before they enter our territory, and then defeat them! "

Insider... Quintus whispered the unfamiliar term Maximus said, and soon understood its general meaning, and praised: "Chief, this is really a wonderful way to solve the enemy's two-sided attack!"

"This method is indeed better than what I just said." Frontinus expressed his opinion sincerely: "But it is not easy to implement it well."

Maximus smiled slightly and said seriously: "I am just providing an idea. Since both of you agree, then spend time perfecting this idea into a feasible military plan. In addition, you must also consider what happens if Panno The Nis only concentrated their forces to attack on one side, and we should not ignore the possibility that the Pannons would send part of their troops through the mountains to the south and invade our territory...

In short, you must consider various possibilities of Pannonian invasion, come up with ways to deal with these possibilities, and conduct targeted training for the people. This is the responsibility of your military department! Only in this way can we be truly prepared when the Pannonians launch an attack! "

"Yes, chief." Frontinus and Quintus responded in unison.

Maximus added: "Although it is the Pannoni attacking this time, we may fight on our own land most of the time, and the food consumed should not be much, but it is best to prepare 20,000 people to fight one The food needed for the month... So if something unexpected happens and the war is prolonged, we don’t have to panic. Cornelius, will our tribe have enough food after this autumn harvest?”

Cornelius did not respond immediately. He calculated with his fingers for a long time before saying: "If these 20,000 soldiers can carry their own rations for five days, our food will definitely last for a month."

Maximus looked at the only person in the room who had not yet spoken: "Lebirus, can your Arms Department ensure the supply of weapons, equipment and food for 20,000 soldiers?"

Lebilus, who had been holding back his words for a long time, couldn't wait to say: "Chief, when we were in Italy, we had more than two legions, basically equipped with armor and weapons. Later, after annihilating the Roman army three times, we were allocated some weapons. equipment.

Even though the soldiers suffered many casualties on the way here, with the help of the baggage battalion, these weapons and armor were brought here without missing a piece. In the past few months, the iron workshop has repaired all the damaged armor and weapons. Repairs were made, and some new weapons were built...

Counting the armor and weapons owned by the veterans themselves and stored in the warehouse, it is enough to equip three complete legions. There is still enough left to equip thousands of people with shields and short swords. However, the armor is slightly insufficient, plus what you just said, leader. As for the 500 crossbow troops mentioned, our Ministry of Armaments can just provide enough weapons and equipment for 20,000 soldiers.

As for food supply, since the Ministry of Property has sufficient food, the Ministry of Armaments will have no difficulty in transporting food to the army. Our troops should be stationed and operate near the borders at both ends of the territory. Short-distance transportation is already easy. In addition, it is on both sides of the Kupa and Korana rivers, so water transportation is more convenient and labor-saving.

This time the First Legion went south to fight. I followed the fleet to transport food, and I deeply realized the benefits of water transportation. When the fleet returned to the tribe, there was even a small part of the food that had not been eaten, although our tribe does not have many ships now. , but transporting it back and forth several times will not affect military operations.

As for making food for the soldiers, before the battle, our Ministry of War also wants to obtain your approval from the leader to recruit some people to do this. "

"Of course there's no problem."

"At that time, I would also like to lend someone to you, leader."

"Arconis?"

"Yes, General Arconis has been the person in charge of our team's kitchen before. This time our Arms Department can learn some experience from her."

"That's no problem, is there anything else?"

"there is none left."

"Very good!" Maximus said approvingly: "Although the Armament Department was established late, and it is the first time for you, Lebirus, to take on such an important task, you are very thoughtful. I believe that you can lead the Armament Department to meet the needs of this operation."

After listening to Maximus' encouragement, Lebirus looked excited.

Maximus looked at the others: "Do you have any questions about the upcoming war with the Pannoni?"

"Chief, I have a question about the soldiers' meritorious service in killing the enemy--" Frontinus coughed twice and said in a deep voice: "I think there are some problems with the current system of twenty titles. I am afraid it needs to be renegotiated?"

"Oh?" Maximus raised his eyebrows and looked directly at Frontinus: "Tell me about it."

Frontinus said seriously: "This time, the First Legion exposed some problems in the battle between the Ardi and the Otariates. After they repelled the charge of the enemy's left wing, Phesalus ordered a counterattack, but the soldiers in the front row did not obey the order immediately, but were busy cutting the enemy's ears. The trumpets kept blowing and the officers kept urging them, and they started to act.

After the enemy's left wing was completely defeated, according to the original plan, the First Legion should quickly reorganize its formation and continue to attack the enemy's center. The front and right wing of the army were occupied, thus winning the entire battle. However, the soldiers were all thinking about killing the fleeing soldiers and making merit, and completely threw the previous orders aside.

The officers could not restrain themselves, and the First Legion was scattered. If it were not for Phesalus' quick reaction, risking his horse to rush to the center of the battlefield, waving a big flag and gathering the troops first... it would be hard to say who would win or lose in that battle.

After the battle, it was also very troublesome for the military affairs department to count the merits.

First, it was difficult to determine whether the enemy's ears handed in by the soldiers were obtained in the frontal battle or cut off after killing the fleeing soldiers; second, there were many disputes among the soldiers because of this. For example, this soldier killed the enemy but did not have time to cut off his ears, but another soldier cut off his ears...

The staff responsible for recording merits found it difficult to make a correct judgment on this. The soldiers also fought over this, and the team became disunited...

The First Legion has been back for two days, but our military affairs department has not yet completed their merits, and the staff are still at home. The courtyard is troubled by this matter——"

Frantinus hesitated for a moment, and said in a strong tone: "Leader, the twenty-title system you formulated did inspire the fighting spirit of the soldiers, enabling the First Legion to fight bravely and win when facing the large-scale Otariate army. But it also made the soldiers ignore the orders of the officers because they wanted to be promoted too much, and even caused disunity in the entire team. If we encounter a strong enemy in the future, these problems may cause us a lot of trouble! "

Maximus listened calmly and asked: "Since you have noticed these problems, how do you think they should be solved?"

Frantinus cheered up and expressed the idea he had considered for a long time before: "Leader, I think the twenty-title system should be revised for some of the merit evaluation standards for the army and soldiers!

It is no longer necessary to let a single soldier cut off the enemy's ears for merit, but to commend the entire team. For example, if a large team encounters about the same number of enemies, it will be After defeating the enemy, the entire brigade can get a medium merit, some soldiers in the brigade can each be counted as a small merit, and the soldiers who are at the front of the team and fight the enemy head-on can be counted as two small merits...

The promotion standards for the tribesmen should also be modified accordingly. For example, it takes two small merits to be promoted from an ordinary tribesman to a second-class tribesman. In this way, some soldiers of the brigade mentioned above need to participate in another battle and win before they can be promoted, while the soldiers in the front who have really fought can be promoted directly...

If this brigade encounters an enemy that is much weaker than it, even if it wins, it can only be counted as a small merit, and it can only be half a small merit if it is evenly distributed to each soldier...If this brigade encounters an enemy that is stronger than it, and finally wins in a bloody battle, this is a great merit, and each soldier should be counted as a medium merit...

If this calculation method is used, the soldiers will focus on obeying orders and defeating the enemy instead of busy cutting ears, and the whole team will be more united. And for our military department, it is also easier to record their merits and not easy to make mistakes.

Of course, we will also give special credit to those brave soldiers who first break through the enemy's stronghold or kill the enemy's leader..."