Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War

A few days later, Orville was chatting with Rollo. He wanted to make sure that these Vikings could adapt to life in the Roman Empire.

As a result, Rollo nodded with a smile: "Very good, very good, everything is good. My brothers and I are very satisfied. There is nothing wrong."

As Rollo said, these Vikings lived quite comfortably in Trier with the commissions they settled. Basically, they ate, drank, and gambled every day, and there was no day when they were uncomfortable and happy.

Trier was not a small city in the Roman Empire, and it was even more so for the northerners. Apart from those unwelcome robberies, this was the largest and richest city they had ever lived in. There was a sense of novelty like North African refugees sneaking into Europe.

Especially Rollo himself, his Hercules-like figure, coupled with his exotic and not ugly and well-worn face, made him very popular with local women. These people's lives were generally quite open, and many people did not mind talking about life with such a barbarian leader.

Of course, openness does not mean the unbridled postmodern openness. There were also legal and moral restrictions in ancient times. The Roman Empire had corresponding legal constraints at the beginning of its establishment, and it was not the kind of corruption and erosion imagined by later generations.

The "Julius Adultery Crime. Extramarital Relationship Law" stipulates that if a wife has an affair with a woman, any citizen has the right to report it. The law stipulates that not only the wife and the adulterer are guilty, but also the husband and the woman's father who know about it and do not report it are guilty, and they have committed the crime of "assisting in the sale of silver."

At the same time, the husband is also prohibited from having sexual relations with women other than his wife (excluding slaves and prostitutes). In the ancient environment, it can be regarded as a constraint.

By the way, the Romans have been far ahead in stipulating that women who do not give birth should pay additional direct taxes, and men without children should be partially restricted from inheriting their inheritance rights. The ancients also took great pains to deal with the low birth rate.

Now let's get back to the point. Orville certainly knows about these things about the Vikings, but he wishes that these people could make money and spend it in Rome, and he wants to take them home as soon as they are separated. He didn't want the Vikings to take the money back home. It was better for the Romans to put the money in their pockets than to let it flow out. A lot of silver flowed out of the East every year.

"I understand. You guys should enjoy yourself for a few more days. We will leave here in a few days. The destination is Rouen. We will set up a headquarters there and then set up a dock nearby. Do you have any suggestions?"

Orville didn't know much about the sea, but he didn't hesitate to ask, because there was a professional sailor in front of him.

"If you want to attack Britain, it shouldn't be difficult. In fact, my people have already established several outposts there. Ragnar has several good sons. Ivar the Boneless and another Viking leader Olaf the White have successfully conquered most of Ireland and often looted Angland unimpeded. The locals can only cause a little trouble to the Vikings.

If it were the Romans, I believe you would be able to do similar things. I have seen your wealth and civilization. It's just a question of how big a fleet you want to form. I heard that the warships in the Mediterranean are all built in a particularly large and magnificent style. You and I should have some differences in our understanding of warships. It's better to confirm this point first."

Generally, a decent large Viking longboat has twenty to thirty pairs of oars, about thirty meters, and can carry more than one hundred warriors. The rowers are Viking warriors.

After all, they came here to plunder and harass, and it was impossible for them to row the boats with slaves, which would be a waste of precious space. The sea conditions in the North Sea did not allow it. The supplies they carried with them were only enough for themselves, and the human resources were not that abundant. In short, this model was suitable for the Vikings.

The Mediterranean was a completely different version. For example, the three-layer oared warships that the Athenians liked to use had a hundred people rowing on the lower deck and another hundred soldiers fighting on the upper deck, a total of two hundred people, and this was still an "outdated" ship type.

When the Romans and their arch-enemy Carthage were engaged in an arms race, the common ship type was the Punt, which was a five-layer oared warship that was longer and larger. It was said that there were three hundred people rowing and two or three hundred soldiers fighting on the deck.

When the Viking army invaded England, 350 ships could probably fit about 10,000 to 20,000 people, which was not a small number, but it was not of the same order of magnitude as the Mediterranean.

For example, when Cleopatra and Octavian fought a decisive battle, 150,000 people were crammed into 520 ships. Either the Egyptians were actually Indians with the ability to compress space, or the Egyptian ships were several dimensions larger than the Viking ships and were more crowded.

The Mediterranean galleys basically sailed along the coastline, without much need to bring supplies, or even without staying overnight on the ship. The two had different concepts of using ships.

Ships of this size were unimaginable to the Vikings. It was not necessarily that their shipbuilding technology was so much worse than that of the Mediterranean people. In fact, their shipbuilding skills were definitely not bad. It was more that such ships could not be sailed in the North Sea at all, and the waves came and broke them in half.

What Rollo meant by what he said was also very simple - you should first understand the concept of shipbuilding.

Orville himself had to confirm what the shipbuilding was used for and for what purpose.

Just send people to Britain safely, fight for control of the English Channel, compete with the Vikings for maritime hegemony near the British Isles, and expedition to the Vikings' homeland in Scandinavia, Northern Europe.

Different standards require different ships, which is essentially the same as the difference between the "blue water navy" and "green water navy" in later generations.

Orville himself cannot make the decision on this matter, and frankly speaking, he has not thought about it yet, so Rollo's reminder is right. He has to think about this matter clearly before making any requests or suggestions.

"I understand, thank you." Orville stared at Rollo, "But is this okay for you? I am using the power of the Roman Empire to build a navy in the Atlantic Ocean, which will threaten the stability of your Vikings in the North Sea."

Rollo shrugged: "Don't measure us Vikings by the standards of a complete country. We do not obey the same Jarl (lord), and we are not even from the same country. I am from Norway, and Ragnar and his men are mostly from Denmark. Our interests are not completely consistent.

Now I have become your mercenary, and I am eager to get my place in the Roman Empire, so I should do something. Otherwise, will you trust me? What I desire is honor, wealth and status. If I don't have your trust, can I get these things in Rome?"

It is indeed as Rollo said, by the Vikings' standards. He is a relatively different person with more aristocratic habits. For Orville who deals with him, this is not a bad thing.