Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War

As for the loss of soldiers and weapons and equipment, it was not so great that it was unacceptable. Although the rebels mixed in with the civilians caused a lot of trouble, it was limited to this. Tiya and others did not encounter decent formal resistance. The sporadic casualties accumulated to about a hundred people, which was a number that was neither too many nor too few.

It was incomparable with the previous victories, but in fact the strategic goal had been achieved. Tiya's goal was to seize the stronghold rather than destroy the enemy's manpower. From this perspective, they actually won, but this victory caused some psychological trauma to Tiya.

The civilians in Camel Town suffered heavy casualties, almost half of them were injured or killed. Tiya could not blame her subordinates for their incompetence. She knew that the situation was complicated at the time, so she could only take these people away and place them in other villages and towns under the rule of King Yaquita.

In addition, the women, children and the elderly who escaped and were captured were not treated so well. Tiya had sympathy, but her sympathy was not overflowing. She would not lie to cover up these people. Those who followed the rebel leader to run away could only be regarded as rebels.

There are three solutions for the rebel prisoners: kill them on the spot, sell them as slaves, or send them to the local or Roman rulers. None of them is good, especially the specific policies for treating women, children and the elderly. Most of them will be executed in the subsequent trials. Tiya is familiar with the laws and customs and has a clear understanding of this.

It is very uncomfortable to be betrayed by goodwill. Tiya's starting point is undoubtedly good, but the result can be said to be a mess - she wanted to reduce bloodshed but it was better to attack the city directly, she wanted to solve it peacefully but had to go to war, she wanted to show respect for others but was used in reverse...

In short, Tiya is very uncomfortable now, and Orville also sees this.

He stepped forward and comforted her, carefully considering his words: "People's personalities are basically fixed after they grow up. If you want to change, you have to pay a price. If you can absorb this experience and make the future results better, then I think all the losses this time are worthwhile."

Tia looked up at him and said: "Then tell me, do you think I did something wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong, but you just lacked a little consideration, or it was others who considered too much."

I don't know if Orville's words therapy has any practical effect, but Tia's mental state seems to be better.

………………

Just as Tia expected, after clearing all three strongholds one after another, Vespa began the trial. First, he recognized the fait accompli and pardoned all ordinary residents, and then began the trial of these rebels.

Almost all Roman officers and staff disagreed with the pardon, and Vespa himself did the same. All the captives were taken to the open-air stadium in Tiberia, where 2,400 captives who were considered old or useless were executed on the spot. Vespa selected 6,000 high-quality captives from them and sent them to the capital, and the remaining 30,000 were auctioned off as slaves.

It can be said that no other nation in Europe during this period understood slavery better than the Romans. They not only captured slaves, bought slaves, and used slaves, but also began to speculate on slaves ahead of time, raising market prices and making corresponding investments.

The future of these people is uncertain. They may die during sea transportation or in a mine with poor conditions. They may be lucky enough to spend half their lives as servants of some self-employed farmers. If they are luckier, they will become freed slaves, and it is not impossible for their descendants to obtain citizenship.

Vespa can't see that far. In his opinion, this is the best solution. Some money can be pocketed, the local instability factors will disappear, and the Roman side will remember his political achievements. In general, the war in the past six months has been smooth and successful for him.

After finishing the last few things, Vespa began to command the troops to garrison in various locations. The military activities of this year entered the final stage. As long as there are no accidents, the army usually rests in winter.

Vespa slightly relaxed his restrictions on Orville, allowing him to go to Philippi, the residence of King Archita, to train his hundreds of men. It was not that Orville minded staying in Caesarea, but mainly because his men were more comfortable in a familiar environment, and the Roman city was too unfamiliar to them.

In addition to himself, Valerian and his ten men also moved into Philippi, on the one hand to help train new recruits as the backbone for command, and on the other hand to monitor them.

Now, he was running around the city wall with his men. Since the people he selected were all in good physical condition, they were not military men, but they had been working for many years and were strong, so they were in good condition. The only one who was half dead like a dehydrated fish was probably Orville.

Although he had the body of a former rebel leader, he was also a cultural person who did business and studied, and his physical fitness was acceptable, but it was far worse than the standard of a soldier.

That's why Orville took the initiative to train with them, showing that he was sharing the same hardships with them was just a lie. The main purpose was to strengthen his physical fitness, otherwise if something really went wrong, he wouldn't be able to run. He knew that only by building a strong body could one run faster.

The training methods of Roman soldiers nowadays were actually not fundamentally different from those in the Scipio era. These soldiers were not instructors, but they could always copy others. They imitated their instructors, followed the team forward, and shouted various slogans. It seemed to be quite effective, and most of them worked hard in training.

Orville or the Romans did not really expect them to play a big role. The war still relied on Rome's own heavy infantry. These "Roman auxiliary troops" or auxiliary troops did not even have a formal legion organization, but were scattered in the form of a 600-man brigade and assigned to each legion when needed.

When Orville recovered a little, Valerian came closer and asked: "Let's discuss the equipment issue. There is no shortage of shields now, but other weapons are not enough. What do you want to do?"

Orville also made plans: "Use all those javelin heads to make them into long-range and short-range throwing spears. Bows and arrows are given priority to experienced hunters, and the rest of the people can use slings uniformly."

This is a weapon that is relatively simple to use and has a relatively high lower limit. From King David to the slingers in Palestine, it runs through the history of this region for thousands of years and can be said to be the local intangible cultural heritage.

Easy to use is one aspect, and saving money is another. As long as a belt and a small piece of rope can be made into a qualified sling, it is quite durable, which is much cheaper than javelins and bows and arrows.

Valerian also knew that this was the most realistic option, so he did not raise any objections: "That's no problem. You'd better go to the legion commander to approve some funds tomorrow. We need to purchase some materials. I will start teaching them the basic methods of using javelin heads to make javelins and slings tomorrow."