Chapter 11: Conquest of the wasteland
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The arrival of so many legionaries, each with hundreds of battles behind them, caught my attention. It intrigued me so much that I took the time to ask the Decanus in charge of the garrison if these were the reinforcements Lanius had mentioned.
But even the Decanus didn't know why so many veteran legionaries were arriving en masse. However, I noticed something peculiar: many of the slaves were women, and they were pregnant. When I learned why they were here, it became clear that these were not reinforcements,they were veterans retiring from Caesar's campaigns, being granted lands near Castra Sol Rubrum to secure the crossroads and ensure the continued trade of goods and slaves with the Legion.
This presented a new business opportunity. If Caesar intended to establish a new colony for his veterans across the river, they would need everything,houses, water, electricity, temples. And since they would likely focus on agriculture, selling tools, seeds, and even creating irrigation channels could be a profitable venture. But it all depended on whether the lands would simply be handed over to the veterans to build themselves, or if the Legion would create a fully-fledged colony.
I couldn't resist visiting my contact within the upper ranks of the Legion,someone I knew would at least listen to me before dismissing me.
Since Lanius had returned from his campaign a few days ago, he was in the central building of the city's garrison. Although everyone seemed very busy, I was allowed into the room where Lanius was holding a meeting with all his centurions.
"True to Caesar, Decanus Gaius. What brings you to this meeting? I hope there aren't any issues with the tribute your tribe owes," said Lanius, fixing his gaze on me as I was allowed to enter.
"True to Caesar, Legate Lanius. There are no issues with supplying your cohorts in the mission Caesar entrusted to us. You'll have all the ammunition you requested as payment and tribute by mid-year, along with two thousand bolt-action rifles by the same time, and five thousand leather armors by year's end. We're still working on producing the engines you requested, but we'll meet the deadline by the end of the year," I said calmly, even under the penetrating stares of all the centurions.
"We need the armor by mid-year, Decanus. You'll have to increase production; we need to build up reserves before we mobilize again," said Centurion Nicodemus.
"That puts me in a tight spot, as I was counting on having the entire year. I don't have the financial capacity to buy enough Brahmin and process the leather, or simply purchase the leather for manufacturing... But I have an idea, which is the reason I came here," I said, standing firm under the watchful eyes of the Legion's officers.
"I've heard that Lord Caesar has retired thousands of his veterans to colonize these lands. I was wondering if you'd be interested in hearing a proposal, Legate Lanius, about how to proceed with the veterans," I said with a slight smile.
"Caesar's orders are to grant lands to his veterans near Castra Sol Rubrum to secure the territory by establishing his fiercest warriors with their families. There's nothing more to discuss," Lanius said, making a dismissive gesture with his hand.
"But that would go against Lord Caesar's ideals," I said, noticing that some centurions widened their eyes and looked at Lanius.
"Explain yourself, Decanus... Do you think you understand Lord Caesar's orders better?" Lanius said with a more serious tone.
"No, Legate, but let's not forget that the Son of Mars created the Legion to civilize the wasteland and bring order after the wrath of Mars. Lord Caesar would find it satisfying if a model colony were built with all the ideals the Legion stands for,a city made in the image of Rome. A city where the next generation of legionaries will be born and raised, while also providing supplies and eternal loyalty to Lord Caesar. A city that will be the embodiment of the Son of Mars's triumph over the wasteland, a city that upholds Caesar's ideals," I said with great eloquence, although I wasn't sure if my words would convince him since Lanius never removes his mask.
Lanius stared at me with a fierceness that could intimidate even the largest radioactive beast I had ever seen. No one was breathing; all the centurions held their breath, waiting to see what the Legate's response would be.
"Decanus... Caesar's orders are clear... but they weren't interpreted as they should be. I find reason in your words, but I need to see reason in your actions. I want to see your idea of a model Legion colony that the Son of Mars himself would be proud to see," Lanius responded in a more neutral tone after several seconds of agonizing silence.
"If my eyes don't deceive me, there's a map of the area. Do you mind if I make a few quick changes?" I asked, pointing to the map and a pencil on the table.
Lanius simply showed his open palm, giving me free rein.
I heard several centurions start to breathe again, exhaling audibly.
I began dividing a flat area into several rectangles near my vault, recreating the way the Romans used to build their military colonies. I made sure it had everything necessary for future subsistence,sewage, administrative buildings, a Legion garrison, a temple, several urban sectors, commercial sectors, wide streets to facilitate vehicle movement, and if needed, thick walls with several bunkers forming kill zones to defend the city from an attack, though I doubted anyone would reach so deep into Legion territory without facing the army of fanatic legionaries.
In the outer area of the city, I showed how hundreds of irrigation channels could be connected to the river and how to divide the farmland among the thousands of veteran legionaries.
When I put down the pencil, I saw everyone looking at my drawings in astonishment, and Lanius was silent, just observing the sketches I had made.
"In the city, we could house fifteen thousand inhabitants, or even increase that number by expanding the size of the dwellings. When we conquered the tribe of the Executives, you might recall their tall buildings. If we construct similar structures, we could accommodate up to eighty thousand people in the same area. All of them would be governed by Caesar's laws and could provide future legionaries and supplies for more campaigns. And considering Caesar retires legionaries every year, we'll need to build more cities," I said, breaking the lingering silence in the room.
"Indeed, Lord Caesar would be pleased, Decanus Gaius, but how much will it cost to build this colony?" asked Lanius, a hint of doubt in his voice.
"Well, let's see. I'll need several hundred tons of steel, much more cement, an enormous amount of bricks, labor, electrical wiring, a sewage system, an electrical grid, power generators, likely solar panels, plumbing systems, and of course, my fee. This would be the estimated cost for constructing the city. The costs could be significantly reduced if we enlist the legionaries to help build their own homes. I doubt they would refuse," I said, handing Lanius a sheet of paper with the estimated costs.
Lanius stood with arms crossed, observing the map and analyzing everything I had said.
"It's quite a lot... Well, the Legion can afford it, but I need you to reduce your fee somewhat. We can offer you more slaves and rights over future captured technology instead, since I still need you to deliver the munitions and weaponry to the Legion, so I can't reduce your debt," Lanius said, still with his arms crossed.
"I'm not a huge fan of payment in slaves... wait... actually, yes, payment in slaves would be excellent. I could use them as labor for tasks that don't require much skill, and eventually, they'll learn more complex trades. But I need the Legion to give me an initial payment to get everything moving and start purchasing materials," I responded to Lanius's offer.
"Very well, Decanus, give me two days, and I'll gather the funds. It's fortunate that we haven't yet spent all the tribute obtained from our subjects so far. Make the necessary preparations in the meantime, and don't forget about the engines; they're essential. We need your tribute by mid-year," Lanius said, once again signaling the exit with his hand.
This time, I left and returned to my duties for the next two days as usual, except I began negotiating with merchants in the area and even from the city across the river to secure materials and prepare new industries to process all the raw materials that would be arriving.
After the time Lanius requested had passed, I was given an enormous sum of gold and silver in chests, along with four thousand slaves.
I immediately got to work, arranging for my duties as Decanus to be carried out in the construction zone so I could spend the whole day supervising the work.
Every day, merchants arrived bringing wood, iron, coal to my shelter, where the thousands of slaves were working to process them into steel and lumber for construction. I also had hundreds of slaves making bricks in kilns.
Once we had gathered a large amount of processed resources, the eager veteran legionaries, who were excited to have homes with all the amenities I had promised, and even their personal slaves began helping us prepare the land.
At all times, I tried to negotiate prices to save funds, knowing that the Legion would be giving me a monthly payment to continue construction. Every bit I saved on purchasing raw materials could go toward the processing costs, which went directly into my pocket to buy Brahmin and fulfill the armor order.
Days passed, and the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, as the barren area slowly began to take shape into the city I had designed. The first priority was the veteran housing, followed by the housing for the slaves, so they wouldn't be sleeping in tents.
Once that was completed, all attention shifted to the farmlands. Although the soil wasn't ideal for crops, we were doing everything possible to ensure that the fields never lacked water. In any case, if a retired legionary wanted to increase their production, they could purchase fertilizers from my tribe or other methods we used in the hydroponic farm to revitalize the land.
After finishing those constructions, the veterans' help ceased since they now had what they cared about: a home and land to work with their multiple slaves, something I had anticipated. The Legion continued to grant me more slaves for labor, now totaling nearly six thousand lives working to complete this project as soon as possible.
Time was running out because we were already halfway through the year, and the Legion was preparing to march north, yet the city still required much work, and a problem arose—I had no one to whom I could delegate the construction once I left.
"All the workers were slaves, and the few I had freed were barely known to me—I doubted I could trust them. The robots weren't an option I could use outside the shelter.
But then I remembered someone who could help me, someone with experience in a different kind of slavery.
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