Chapter 132
The training time for the squads was not long. With the help of Septimus, Arsinis quickly integrated into the squad.
Then, the squads merged into the company and went through further formation training. Arsinis and the others began to familiarize themselves with more complicated tactical instructions and flags: What rhythm of drums, what speed of marching? What bugle calls advance? What bugle calls retreat? What bugle calls charge?
Also, under different drums and bugles, they had to pay attention to the direction of the squad flag. If the squad flag pointed forward, it meant that they were advancing, rushing, or charging in that direction; if the squad flag pointed backward, it meant that they were retreating, slowly retreating, or retreating in that direction; if the squad flag kept drawing circles, it meant that they were not advancing, resting, on guard, or preparing … They also had to learn how to quickly form columns into horizontal lines, to form a dense phalanx, and then quickly split the phalanx into columns to advance quickly; there were also some complicated tactical actions, such as the second and third squads defending the middle, and the first and fourth squads attacking from the flanks …
Next was the combined training of the brigade. At this time, there were no complicated tactical instructions, but more about changing formations. For example, the fish scale formation (what the Devers called it, in fact, the chessboard formation in Rome) would quickly change into a compact phalanx, and then the phalanx would return to being a fish scale formation; the front row would retreat, and the back row would advance, forming a new large phalanx; and the phalanx would rotate left and right while maintaining a compact formation, and so on.
Finally, it was the combined training of the whole army. Not only did they have to change formations in front, but they also had to coordinate with other brigades and troops. For example, when advancing, the Light Infantry at the back would quickly pass through the gaps in the Fish Scale formation and rush to the front of the formation. They would form a line of soldiers that would throw and shoot. Then, they would quickly retreat to the rear through the gaps in the formation, and the Fish Scale formation would quickly merge into a large phalanx. When a sharp bugle sounded, it was a signal for the cavalry on the flanks to attack. Although there were only a dozen of them, the Devers had specially prepared a tactical space for them. The Light Infantry that had retreated to the rear of the phalanx, the Light Infantry that had retreated to the rear of the phalanx (i.e., the Seventh Brigade) would now quickly move to the rear of the cavalry. When the cavalry charged with their spears, the Light Infantry would hold their wooden shields and long swords and follow closely behind in a loose formation, while the Heavy Infantry phalanx would slowly press forward …
There were many novel offensive and defensive methods that Arsinis had never seen before, which was an eye-opener for him. At the same time, he had a headache because of the constantly changing flag commands. But with the constant reminders from the squad leader Septimus and his comrades, Arsinis did not make any big mistakes. The same was true for the other recruits. Gradually, they were able to keep up with the pace of training.
… …
When the training ended, it was still early because it was already May and the sky darkened later.
At this time, the Archon Devers walked up to the makeshift podium.
The tired soldiers began to get excited.
Devers went straight to the point. "Brothers, what are we going to do next?"
"Football!!!"
"After the last practice, are you familiar with all the rules?"
"We're familiar with each other!"
"Hurry up and start!"
"Then, just like last time, we'll set up four arenas first. It'll still be the first team from the first company of the first brigade versus the first team from the first company of the seventh brigade, and then the first team from the first company of the second brigade versus the first team from the first company of the third brigade … There will only be four hourglasses of time for each round. The team with the most points will be the winner, and the loser will be eliminated. The winning team will advance to the next round …"
When the soldiers were waiting for the consul to say the words "begin preparing", the Devers continued, "Now I will announce a new rule. The participating team must have five Lucanian slaves."
The soldiers were in an uproar.
Capus, Dracos, Hieronymus … and the other senior officers had already been informed by the Devers in advance. They knew that this was the consul's effort to integrate the Lucanians.
No one dared to refuse the Devers' order, so Bagoule and the other forty Lucanian slaves were brought to the training ground.
Originally, Bagoule and the others were grinding stones, but Alexis suddenly gathered them together and pointed out the forty people led by Bagoule. She said that they were the forty slaves with the best performance today. As a reward, they would be allowed to play football with the Duke's Militia of Amendola.
Because most of the Lucanians did not understand Greek, it was Bagoule who acted as the translator. The slaves were restless, worried that this was a plot by the Greeks to harm the forty people.
Alexis swore to God that they would be back before nightfall!
Only then did Bagoule and the others were brought into the training camp uneasily and stood in front of the Greek soldiers.
When most of the soldiers were at a loss for a while, Olivers, the captain of the first team of the first company of the first brigade, quickly made his move. He quickly picked out Bagoule and the other four strong Lucanian slaves. Only then did the others react. In a flash, the forty slaves were divided up by the teams participating in the first round.
The Devers used a very short time to explain the rules of the game to them. Of course, it was still Bagoule who acted as the translator. Then, Bagoule and the other four, who did not really understand, were added to Olivers's team.
The football field was a flat grassland about a hundred meters long and fifty meters wide. Every ten meters, there was a white line. In order to prevent the limestone powder from being wiped off during intense movements, there were wooden poles inserted at the intersection of the white lines on both sides.
According to the Devers's requirements, the company captain could only be the coach of his team, and the team captain had to be the team's quarterback. This was because the coach had to arrange tactics according to the strengths and weaknesses of his team and the opponent, and the quarterback was the core of the team on the field. He had to change tactics according to the changes on the field and lead his team to victory. The Devers wanted to train the leadership and command ability of the team officers. He believed that in the modern competition of his previous life, football was a competition very similar to ancient cold weapons. The confrontation in the middle, the assault on the flanks … Not only could it train the strength, speed, and agility of the soldiers, it could also cultivate the unity and cooperation of the whole team. At the same time, it could also train the company captain and team captain to think calmly in the fierce competition and quickly make the correct response. This was of great benefit to the army as a whole, for the systematic, complex, multi-service (short of cavalry for the time being) composite army that Dyvers had created depended heavily on the abilities of the middle and lower ranking officers in order to exert its true power.
First, both sides drew lots to decide the order of attack.
Olivers was lucky to draw the first attack. "Coach" Antonios began to arrange tactics for the team. "Bagoule, you've just arrived and are not familiar with the game yet. Watch and learn from the field first."
Bagoule nodded. It seemed like they were really playing a game.
The soldiers around them all looked serious, and the Lucanian slaves were infected.
"You, you, you, you … You guys go first. After the opponent kicks off, pay attention to receive the ball. After receiving the ball, don't hesitate and immediately pass the ball to Olivers. Olivers, you pass the ball to the big guy and let him run with the ball. Test the opponent's strength. The others pay attention to block the opponent for him!" Antonios was arranging tactics for the players on the field.
At this moment, the whistle sounded, and the referee, Drax, urged the players on both sides to go on the field. According to the rules, the captain was the referee, and there were four referees. Since Epitenis, the captain of the seventh brigade, was also the captain of the first company, Ledes, the captain of the cavalry, took over.
The soldiers took off their helmets, greaves, swords, and all other metal clothing, only wearing linen breastplates to prevent injuries. At the same time, both sides prepared strips of linen dyed red and blue to bind their bodies tightly, so as to separate the two teams. There were 55 players on one side plus five slaves, and only 11 players were needed at one time. However, rugby was a very physically exhausting sport, and the soldiers were already a little tired from training, so they had to keep changing players to maintain combat effectiveness.
At Dracos's order, the game began.
The hourglass also began to count down.
The Epitenis team kicked the ball to the opponent's half of the field and immediately rushed toward the opponent.
Antonios found that the opponent had actually sent five slaves at the beginning of the game. Could it be that the slaves were using their greater physical strength than the soldiers to hinder their attack? Antonios decided to watch the game first before making any adjustments.
A soldier jumped up, and as soon as he received the ball, the opponent was almost in front of him.
Although he was also wearing a linen breastplate, he looked like a Lucarian.
The soldier holding the ball was stunned, and he was immediately caught by the opponent. Fortunately, he fell to the ground in time and pressed the ball under his body.
The players on Antonios's team sighed with regret, while the other side cheered loudly. Several players excitedly went up to the Lucanian to show encouragement.
An opportunity to attack was wasted just like that. According to the rules set by the Devers, the attacking side had three chances. During this time, they had to advance a distance of one wooden pole (about ten meters) in the opponent's half of the field. After advancing, they would get three more opportunities to attack. Otherwise, it would be the opponent's turn to attack.
Olivers was not in a hurry. He joked, "Xenotimus, did you exercise too much with your wife last night? Is that why your hands and feet are so weak that you can't even pass the ball?!"
The players laughed.
"Okay, brothers, this time we must let them see the strength of the strongest team in the army!" (According to the rules set by the Devers in the Military Law, the "1" in the military code was not just a number, but also a reflection of ability and honor. The first unit was the strongest unit in the army, and so on. The first unit of the first unit was not only the strongest of the units of the unit it belonged to, but also the strongest of all the units in the army.)
The soldiers roared and roused their spirits.
The two sides lined up on the marking line where the ball was stopped. The two sides in the middle were facing each other, and on both sides, one side was ready to receive the ball and sprint at any time, while the other side was ready to block at any time.
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