Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War

One legion was missing to protect Auvers, but the battle was still going on. Because he was worried that the Gauls would surround him from the outside, he would be in trouble if he was attacked from both sides. Auvers spent a long time to strengthen the defense line, and now the entire defense network can be said to be impregnable.

He dug a ditch between the fence and the V-shaped trench, and diverted water from the Seine River to make it a moat, and buried a large number of traps in the open space between Paris and the fence, leaving only a few necessary passages for the army to directly attack Paris.

Then he arranged a network of alarm posts on the open space outside the wall. If anyone broke in within a radius of ten kilometers, the alarm would be immediately sounded, alerting the Roman army, and the probability of being raided was almost zero.

He even asked the legionnaires to work overtime to manufacture heavy crossbows and set them up on various tower outposts. If the Gauls dared to attack, they would be defeated.

He was still not at ease after this step, so he ordered people to bury obstacles in the upper and lower reaches of the Seine River, blocking the navigation of ships. Now it became very difficult for the defenders of Paris to supply soldiers and food by ship.

Ragnar was watching all this with his eyes wide open. He was not very troubled by the interruption of navigation. Viking longships were short, compact and flexible ships. The largest would not exceed 30 meters and carry about 30 tons. When necessary, they could perform land sailing - the Vikings carried the boats directly on land, and then put the boats into the water to continue sailing at the designated location.

That's why their mobility was so exaggerated. They could sail from their hometown Scandinavia all the way to the Black Sea or Sicily in the Mediterranean.

He was surprised on the one hand because of Orville's indescribable paranoia, and on the other hand because of the Romans' incredible civil engineering capabilities. They only took more than ten days to complete such a huge project and seemed to be calm. Everyone seemed to be familiar with these things and didn't think these projects were a big deal.

Orville was a little addicted to construction. After completing the basic fortifications, he even began to use stones to reinforce the walls of the military camp and build this defense line according to the standards of a long-term camp.

He was not afraid that these things would not be used, but that these fortifications would not be available when they were needed. That would be really fatal. Orville's thinking was like this. Since he knew that he might not be a great military talent, the best solution was to fight a safe battle.

It was embarrassing to build a strong camp and fight a stupid battle, but it was not terrible. What was terrible was that you lost the battle and were defeated.

——

At the same time, hundreds of kilometers to the north, in Tiya's camp.

She had finished the necessary official business for the day and was now reading the letter sent to her by Orville.

During the war, the two sides exchanged letters frequently, but mainly official business. Orville and Tiya exchanged the situation on the war front with each other, and it was important to keep a comprehensive understanding of the war situation.

Before Orville realized that something was wrong, Tia had already discovered it. Her thinking was different from Orville's. She believed that the ultimate goal of the Gauls was not to rescue Jeanne d'Acre in Gaul, but the army of one of her and Aurelian.

Jeanne d'Acre's choice to enter Paris must have a strategic purpose. It is impossible for her to surrender and wait for Orville to lead his men to surround her. Tia believed that this move was intended to attract the attention of the Roman army. After the Siege of Orleans and the Battle of Alesia, Jeanne d'Acre was the Romans' top target, and her importance was even higher than that of Bagauda.

In terms of results, the Romans' attention was indeed attracted by the city of Paris. The number of soldiers strategically deployed nearby was quite large, and three legions were tied down around the city of Paris.

In this way, the Roman army in other places would be relatively reduced, which would give the Gauls an opportunity to take advantage of it.

Fundamentally speaking, the art of war is to create a situation where the majority defeats the minority. Since the Gauls have been reluctant to fight a decisive battle with the Romans and have a considerable degree of strategic depth, the main Roman army is now divided into three groups.

Even if each army is difficult to deal with, it is also a hidden danger that can be used by the Gauls and gambled. Otherwise, it is actually a slow death for the Gauls, and no matter how hard they struggle, they can only delay the time of death.

The most likely target is Tia herself, followed by Aurelian, whose specific location is unknown now. Attacking Auvergne is not a good choice, because Auvergne has built a fortress outside Paris, and tens of thousands of people can't conquer it in a short time. At that time, the situation will really evolve into the Battle of Alesia, and this time Rome has a large number of troops to provide reinforcements.

After confirming this, Tia also began to be alert.

Tia stood up, ran her fingers across the map hanging on the wall, and her white fingertips finally stopped at a nearby plain.

If the Gauls really attack, this is the place she chooses for the decisive battle. Although she only has more than 10,000 people, Tia is not afraid of a direct war. Like Orville, she has long been tired of the endless security wars and the guerrillas of the villagers. It is not a bad thing to take this opportunity to end everything.

She is confident in her ability and the soldiers under her command. She will not lose to the Gauls.

——

While the two of them were nervously dealing with the possible existence of the Gaul army, Aurelian, who was far away in Brittany, felt relaxed.

After leading the main force across the Loire River, he did not follow the usual thinking and directly attack Rennes, the center of the Gallic uprising, because he knew that the Gauls must have set up layers of checkpoints along the way waiting for him.

He was confident in his command art and the combat effectiveness of his troops, but Aurelian knew that he did not have much time. The army only brought 15 days of food, and the subsequent supply lines had not been established. If he was stuck by the enemy for a few days, it would be more troublesome. He might have to retreat to the south of the Loire River to regroup, and then there would be no such good opportunity as now.

Winter is coming. Even if the professional soldiers of Rome can fight regardless of the season, the climate here is still too cold for the Romans who are accustomed to the humid and hot climate of the Mediterranean coast.

He did not prepare winter clothes for his soldiers. Now his soldiers were still marching and fighting bare-legged. The weather in October was already a bit cold for them. If he delayed any further, he might have to withdraw to the warm and pleasant Lugden Gaul province to rest and replenish his army with winter clothes. It would take several months to go back and forth, and it would be late winter and early spring before he could fight again.

So he could not be delayed now, so he changed his marching route and made a strategic detour.

The troops detoured to the Brittany region, and then went around from the north to the city of Rennes, and launched a staged decisive battle with the Gallic army that had hurriedly returned to support, and the outcome would be decided in one battle.