Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War

Orville's thinking was slightly restricted by the name "Joan of Arc", and he did not think about whether this weird and abnormal behavior was reasonable, because he subconsciously thought that Jeanne Dacre was an unreasonable woman. So it is expected that there will be unreasonable things.

But just because he thinks this way, it doesn't mean that everyone else will think this way.

One day after that, Ragnar was talking to Stilico. Both of them had Germanic ancestry. They seemed to have an indescribable intimacy and they were both talented people, so Ragnar liked to chat with Stilico.

"I have a question. I heard that the number of locals harassing you is significantly less. Is this true?"

"We have reached an agreement with the defenders in the city. We will not rob, they will not harass, and we will fight for integrity without violating the law of the river."

Stilico was relatively satisfied with this result. Although to be honest, he didn't mind using bloody policies against the locals, but it was good to save a few people. This approach was in line with his concept of virtue.

Ragna was somewhat disapproving: "Stilicho, I admit that I may not be as brave as you in fighting on the frontal battlefield, and I also admit that the Romans may be stronger than us, but my experience in these things is far better than yours." I have presided over more than 40 robberies in my life. I know very well what the locals think. They gave up harassing you not because they listened to persuasion or because they temporarily gave up their hatred out of fear, but more likely because of the local people. People are attracted by other things. This thing is more important than a petty incident like harassment, and it is more troublesome for you.

Considering that I took your money and you never mind answering my questions, I will just say a few more words. Whether you listen or not is your own business. Let your legion commander be more careful these days. Maybe one day a Gallic army will attack you with a large group of peasants. Speaking from experience, everything they did before a decisive victory was a delaying tactic to delay the attack. I was fooled by this many times when I first started raiding. "

Stilicho was lost in thought. He was a military man with normal thinking. Although he had some inexperience, he could roughly distinguish right from wrong based on his rationality. There was nothing wrong with Ragnar's understanding. It would be better to be cautious now.

"You come with me and explain the situation to His Highness the Prince. If you have convinced me, you should be able to convince him as well."

…………

After the incident reached Orville's ears, he quickly realized that it was necessary to be on guard against others. It was better to be cautious and assume that the Gauls were planning something.

So far, the defenders in the city have still not taken any action, sitting and confronting the Romans outside the city. This is an abnormal situation.

Paris has a large population, but the Romans did not set up a special strategic storage granary here. Even if they emergency stored some food before the siege began, it should not be particularly large. Optimistic estimates can only feed the people in the city for three or four months. This is not the confidence of the Gauls. Orville will not regard his opponents as idiots.

He gave instructions to old Trajan: "I feel that the Gauls are very likely to make moves recently. Let the two legions around us be careful and try to get closer to Paris. If the situation is not right, we will gather together. Together, prepare for their attack on our positions."

But after waiting cautiously for several days, the expected attack did not come. Instead, extremely disturbing information came from the German Legion defense line on the other side.

The Frankish King declared war on the Roman Empire, and the army was currently gathering, ready to cross the Rhine and enter the Roman Empire at any time.

This caught Orville off guard. He had known before that the Franks had been restless recently, but he thought they would not choose to start the war in October, so that they would fight the Romans in winter, which would actually be very disadvantageous for the attacking troops. Due to the situation, the war is generally started in early spring rather than late autumn.

Maybe they realized that if the Romans were allowed to pacify Gaul, they would really have no chance, so they took this strategy. In any case, the two sides were already at war.

The Germanic people in this time and space were mainly Franks, forming a relatively unified early feudal kingdom. Its territory was in Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic in later generations, and it had been tit-for-tat with the Romans since its establishment.

The origin story of a nation is a window to show the spiritual concept of a nation. If the origin story of the Romans shows their cultural dependence on Greek culture, then the origin story of the Franks shows the dependence and dependence of the Germanic people on the Romans. Ambition.

The Romans believed that their ancestors originated from Greece. Their ancestor was the Trojan prince Aeneas, the son of King Priam of Troy during the Trojan War and exiled in Latium. Therefore, they were regarded as the successors of Greek civilization for a period of time. and the transcendent.

The relationship between the Franks and the Greeks is better than nothing, but the Franks believe that they are descended from another Trojan prince, Francio, who not only gave their tribe his name, but also led them on a long journey to Western Europe , settled on the Rhine, so they were blood relatives of the Romans.

This is a concept of imitation and confrontation that is repeated throughout history.

Because of this "fate", when the descendants of Aeneas (Romans) gradually weakened and no longer enjoyed the qualifications to lead, this kinship allowed the Franks to replace them and become the rulers of the world instead of the Romans, convincing everyone from the bloodline.

Rome has not weakened yet, and of course it sneers at this "high imitation". The high-ranking officials of the Roman Empire, including Vespa, look down on these pretentious Franks.

The Franks basically did not hide their ambition to replace Rome. It is certain that they will have to struggle for a while. It is unknown who will live longer between the Franks and the Roman Empire, and whether the future "Charlemagne" will become the "Emperor of the Romans" and "the most serene Augustus, the great and peaceful emperor who was crowned by God and ruled the Roman Empire".

Orwell also did his homework on the Frankish Kingdom. Now their ruler is suspected to be Pepin the Dwarf, who will create the Carolingian Dynasty in the future. He is the one who donated land to the Pope of Rome to establish the Papal States. He can be regarded as a generation of heroes and heroes for his conquests in the east and west.

Vespa did not dare to deal with such an opponent rashly. He transferred a legion from Orville to support the German Legion's defense line. At the same time, he frankly stated in a private letter to Orville that he was only the commander-in-chief and was responsible for organizing and making decisions. The one who was really responsible for commanding the war was a veteran with many years of experience and achievements.

He knew his own abilities and had no problem with organization and deployment. If he really faced those military geniuses, he would probably suffer a loss. Rather than risking a setback, it would be better to play it safe.