Chapter 1118
"Yes, sir."
"Maximus!" A middle-aged man in a white robe walked over.
"Kopanis." When Maximus saw who it was, a smile immediately appeared on his face. "We just had a battle yesterday. Instead of treating the injured soldiers in the medical camp, you came here to stroll around. Aren't you afraid of being criticized by Sir Hasdrubal?"
"There weren't many injured in the battle yesterday, and their injuries weren't serious. One doctor and two nurses were enough to treat them. I didn't have to treat them myself. I've been bored staying in the medical camp for too long, so I came out for some fresh air and to take care of the training soldiers. Commander Hasdrubal saw me and even praised me for being responsible, "Kopanis said rather proudly.
According to the requirements of the Ministry of Military Affairs, the supervisor of the medical camp had to be a doctor who had graduated from Diónia's Academy of Medicine, had worked in medicine for more than ten years, and had rich experience in emergency treatment. However, because the border legion stayed at the northern border of Etruria for a long time, they were always in danger. Unlike the regular legion, the medical personnel could go home after the war ended, and they were basically not summoned for regular military training. Therefore, the senior doctors of Diónia who had settled down and lived a good life were basically unwilling to take up the position of supervisor of the border legion's medical camp.
Therefore, the Ministry of Military Affairs had no choice but to lower the requirements for the supervisor of the border legion's medical camp, and they were prepared to rotate the position every six months. Even so, not many doctors signed up. Kopanis had only been a doctor for five years after graduating from the academy, and he was not even 30 years old. The reason he was chosen by the Ministry of Military Affairs was not only because of his decent medical skills, but also because he was willing to work in the border legion for a long time.
Because of his young age, he would occasionally do something out of line, but because he had led the medical personnel to do many things in the past year, everyone was tolerant of him.
Maximus smiled but did not say anything.
Kopanis stopped smiling and said seriously, "I received news from Pisai yesterday. In a few days, a batch of herbs, bandages … and other medical supplies will be sent from Rome. I need a pack to go to Pisai port to collect them."
A legion of Diónia usually had a relatively large pack. It had 300 to 500 laborers, 150 to 200 cows, horses, donkeys, and other pack animals, and 80 to 150 carts. It seemed like there were quite a few of them, but every time the army advanced, the supply camps, engineering camps, and medical camps all had large amounts of supplies that needed to be transported. In reality, the transportation capacity was rather tight. Due to the fact that the supply camp took up the majority of the transportation, there were also more transportation tasks, and the supply officer had more management ability than the medical chief and engineering chief. In order to make it easier to manage and command, before the Western Mediterranean Sea war, the Ministry of Military Affairs had already made a rule: the army's caravans would be placed under the supply camp, and the supply officer would be in charge of managing it. If the engineering and medical camps needed transportation, the supply officer would have to take care of it.
Therefore, Maximus asked directly, "How many medical supplies do you have?"
"About a ton … Hmm, maybe two tons …" Kopanis stammered. "You know, the medical camp has been here for more than a year, and their supplies have been replenished once, but there are always wounded soldiers … Now, the herbs and bandages are almost used up —"
"How many resources are there? I can't remember, but at least give me a rough number. " Maximus said in annoyance. After spending a year with this young man, he knew that this fellow was not sensitive to numbers.
This time, Kopanis spoke more fluently. "I heard that there are two cargo ships coming."
Maximus thought for a moment, then said, "I'll send you thirty carts, but for safety's sake, I'll have to request a company of guards from Lord Hasdrubal."
"Request from me for what?" Hasdrubal had already appeared beside them.
Maximus and Kopanis immediately explained the situation to Hasdrubal.
Hasdrubal nodded in agreement, then asked, "Maximus, has the military rations that the Etruscans promised us every year arrived?"
Maximus immediately explained the situation to him.
Hasdrubal immediately frowned. "That won't do. You have to hurry them up and get them to deliver the rations as soon as possible."
"Yes, Lord Commander!" Maximus replied loudly, then asked in a slightly suspicious tone, "Is there something going on?"
Hasdrubal hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to tell them his guess so that they would be on their guard. "Autumn is the harvest season, and it's also the time when the natives go on a rampage. According to the Etruscans, the Gauls are usually the most rampant during this time, but this year, the Gauls' attacks have lessened, which is a little unusual.
These few days, the scouts from the mountain ridge have come back to report that the Gauls who live near us in the mountains to the north have suddenly migrated north. They wanted to go further north to investigate, but the Gauls have increased their vigilance and manpower there, resulting in the deaths of a few scouts. They did not get any more information, but the situation is so unusual that I'm afraid it's not a good thing. We have to be vigilant and prepare our defenses! … "
After chatting with his two subordinates for a while, Hasdrubal ran to the heavy infantry to lead the soldiers in training.
"Lord Hasdrubal, you're thinking too much. Maybe it's because our presence has made the Gauls feel that the price of looting here is too high, so they've moved to another place," Kopanis said disapprovingly.
Maximus looked at him and said seriously, "If that's the case, the Gauls won't be the most terrifying enemy in the eyes of the races in northern Italy. Hurry up and bring your supplies back. We might be busy from now on … "
As a citizen of Rome who had personally experienced the Gauls conquering his homeland, Maximus knew how terrifying the Gauls were. Even though he hoped that Hasdrubal's intuition was wrong, his rationality told him that he could not be too wary of the Gauls.
It was almost dusk when Hasdrubal gathered his troops and returned to the barracks under the afterglow of the setting sun.
The first thing the soldiers did when they returned to the barracks was not to eat dinner, but to take a shower. When the engineers chose a site for the barracks of the border corps, they specifically chose a place beside a river. When they built the barracks, they even buried a clay pipe between the barracks and the river, so that the water from the river could be drawn directly into the barracks. Part of the water could be used for drinking, and the other for bathing.
The commander's residence was located next to the central command of the barracks. It was rather large, and had its own kitchen, dining hall, master bedroom, secondary bedroom, servants' quarters, stables, and a small private bathroom. It could be said to be quite luxurious, mainly because the Ministry of Military Affairs allowed the family of the commander to follow the army, so there would inevitably be some servants.
But in fact, Hasdrubal had stayed here for more than a year, and had never allowed his wife and children to stay in the barracks for a period of time. Usually, only two servants took care of his daily needs, and even his meals were mostly eaten in the collective dining hall. To make sure that the residence was not wasted, he even allowed his adjutant and a few high-ranking officers to stay in the barracks. From time to time, he would go hunting in the mountains, and if he hunted a lot of game, he would hold a small banquet in the residence, inviting his subordinates and mid-ranking officers to attend.
But today, there were only two people in the dining hall of the residence — Hasdrubal and his adjutant, Kisego.
Even though Kisego was a member of the Magonid Family, and had once led an army of tens of thousands in battle, it was not an easy task to become the adjutant of the Legion of Dionysia. According to military law, the adjutant of a legion was a mid-ranking officer, and must have at least five years of military service, participated in at least one war, served as a squad leader, division leader, or even a company leader, and then studied for a year in the staff office of the Ministry of Military Affairs before he could become the adjutant of a legion. It was only because of Hasdrubal's insistence and the special approval of the Devers that Kisego went through a few months of special training and became the adjutant of the Etruscan border corps.
At this time, Hasdrubal was reading a letter. He looked up in shock. "Carthage and Diónia have formed an alliance?!"
"It's not an alliance of equals. It's Carthage who serves Diónia!" Kisego reminded him.
"Huh?!" Hasdrubal was taken aback, and then anger appeared on his face. "Last year in Turií, I heard Hakkar mention this. After returning from Okridon, the Carthage Senate has not responded. I thought they had become tougher this time, but … I didn't expect them to be even weaker than before! This is a disgrace to the Carthage people! "
"I heard from Dido that the reason Carthage agreed this time is because the 17th Legion sent by the Ministry of Military Affairs (the military base is in Lili, and the soldiers are from the western region of Sicily) easily wiped out the rebellious Masili tribe, enslaved all of their captives, and distributed their land to other tribes in West Numibia … The Carthage Senate must be terrified, afraid that they will become the second Masili, so they took the initiative to ask for an alliance with Diónia —"
"Afraid of death!" Hasdrubal snorted coldly. Suddenly, he remembered something and asked, "How did the Carthage deal with Hanno, Taypanlak, and the others?"
"According to our request, they were banished from the city of Carthage!"
"Just banishing them is too easy for these d * mn bastards!" Hasdrubal was not satisfied with this. He immediately asked, "How did Dido react when he heard the news?"
In the past, in the southern part of Iberia, Hasdrubal was busy fighting all day and did not see Dido often. Although they were cousins, they were not close. It was not until he led his legion to be stationed at the northern border of Etruria that he became close to Dido who lived in Rome. Because they were both in a foreign country and a foreign land, kinship became precious. The two of them began to interact more (mainly with Dido's help and support), and their relationship quickly improved.
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