Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War

Orville looked at him with interest. Due to the indescribable coinage technology in the Middle Ages, Alfred on the coin looked a bit inhuman and his original appearance could not be seen at all. Seeing him in person, one could clearly feel that he had a good temperament.

He looked about the same age as Orville, with thick black short hair that was neatly groomed. His face was not handsome but looked very calm. He was wearing a red robe with gold edges. He could not see the mysterious appearance of an emperor, but he was indeed a handsome man. He looked neither humble nor arrogant, and he could clearly feel a sense of confidence.

"Your proposal is very attractive, but I'm sorry I can't accept it. How many years have passed since Augustus' death? If I'm not mistaken, it should be 58 years. So many years have passed, and naturally there should be some policy changes. The era of military contraction in the Roman Empire has passed. In the next few decades, the empire's military policy will become expansionary, and you are unfortunately the first target.

Here is my suggestion, you can consider it. The Kingdom of Wessex will be incorporated into the territory of the Roman Empire, and at the same time some of your rights will be retained. I will persuade the Senate to give some of you nobles seats in the Senate, so that you can become part of the Roman Empire. Your wealth, land or servants will be reduced, but they will still maintain a certain number, and you will still be nobles.

Everyone must abide by the laws of the Roman Empire. The laws themselves may be a bit cumbersome and harsh for you, but they will never be unfair. I will also reward those who perform well. I need local nobles to help me govern Britain. I will choose helpers from among you. It depends on your situation. I will choose the one with the most outstanding talent. "

Orville told his plan to the other party in a gentle tone, while Alfred frowned. Although he had expected this answer, he did not expect the other party to say it so simply and straightforwardly.

"This is beyond our bottom line. Can we reach some appropriate consensus? I think neither of us wants to talk about war lightly. It will not benefit both of us."

"We can reach some consensus on the treatment of prisoners and not affecting civilians, but Britain's submission to the Roman Empire cannot be compromised.

Obviously, there will be conflicts between us. I tend to win or lose on the battlefield first and then on the negotiation table. Of course, I don't expect you to understand each other. I just share my decision and ideas with you."

From any angle, the Kingdom of Wessex cannot surrender without resistance. First, it will make the civilians in the country extremely angry, and second, it will make the Romans who advocate force and bravery despise it. Alfred, who has visited Rome for study, certainly knows this.

Alfred smoothed his frown, and then began to discuss with Orville some details of the war, such as hoping that the Romans could treat noble captives preferentially, hoping that the Romans could exchange prisoners of war with the Kingdom of Wessex regularly, hoping that the Romans could consider the local people's livelihood and not use the Three Alls Policy, etc. Orville was still interested in discussing these details, so he had a conversation with the other party for about 20 minutes, which was also one of the few achievements of this negotiation.

Everyone knows that the preliminary negotiations are just a statement and a show. If you want to solve the problem at the negotiation table without fighting, there is still hope before the army sets out. Once the army is mobilized, it will be a state of arrows on the string that have to be fired for both sides.

Since there is no expectation of solving the problem through diplomatic means, the communication between the two sides will be very smooth. After discussing these necessary things, Alfred will not return empty-handed.

After finalizing the last gentleman's agreement, Alfred finally revealed a trace of worry that was difficult to soothe: "Is this what the Roman Empire expected? How can such hegemony last long if it is established through war, blood and conquest?"

"One generation only needs to consider the affairs of one generation. I am not the helmsman of the empire. I am just one of the oars. I only need to complete my own tasks. By the way, speaking of war, blood and conquest, you Germans probably don't have the face to laugh at us Romans. This land was not called Angland when we discovered it. You also used war, blood and conquest to open up your homeland, and you did much more than us. Except for the real natives who lived here thousands of years ago, who is innocent? It's just a matter of first come first served.

Of course, I am indeed a heinous crime to you, and I may really be like this. There is no need to refute it. I am a general, not a philosopher and writer. People in later generations will naturally give me a fair or biased evaluation. I just need to do my job."

Alfred did not refute it when he heard it, but just sighed heavily.

——

The next day after sending the enemy away, Orwell officially ordered the troops to start besieging the city.

The situation was not much different from what was expected. The enemy would not go out of the city to fight with the Romans. They chose to defend, hoping that the Romans would retreat or at least defeat the enemy's spirit first.

Orwell had already repaired the barracks a long time ago. Faced with this situation, he was still not in a hurry. He began to lay out a network system consisting of outposts, fortresses and obstacles with the barracks as the center.

Judging from the standards of cities in remote areas, Winchester's city defense was obviously carefully designed - after all, it was a war zone, and the location of the royal court needed to be well repaired, otherwise it would be quite dangerous.

There are two walls, one high and one low. There is a ditch about two meters deep in front of the wall. It is not a good choice to attack rashly without knowing the enemy's supply situation and the number of defenders.

The walls of the Holy City are quite different. They are wide, thick and tall, a bit like the walls of a certain country in the East, and they are still stone walls built at no cost. The walls of Winchester are more typical. They are high and thin stone walls. The width is not so exaggerated, only about three or four meters.

In fact, for the Romans, this kind of wall is a bit difficult to deal with, because they can't stand in formation when attacking the city. For medieval wars, the number of defenders is often not so abundant, so it doesn't matter if the width of the wall is reduced. Anyway, it can't be filled. In this era, artillery or super-heavy catapults have not been invented. There is no essential difference between a three-meter-thick wall and a five-meter-thick wall in many cases. Anyway, it can't be broken or collapsed.

This is not always the case for the attackers, who often have the advantage in numbers, but if the walls are too thin and can't hold a few people, this advantage is difficult to play out, and the defenders are likely to be blocked on the walls and die.

At present, Orwell is not particularly worried about this kind of thing, because the quality of the Romans' individual soldiers is a level higher than that of the enemy, and they are not too weak when it comes to close combat.