Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War

Just when Orville was about to convince himself with this logic, another thought suddenly came to his mind.

[Is it necessary to be so timid? ]

Now the main force of the Wessex Kingdom's defenders has been besieged in Winchester by the Ninth Legion. It stands to reason that with the mobilization capacity of an early feudal kingdom, it is impossible to pull out many serious soldiers anyway. The army of thousands or tens of thousands of people in Orville's mind is theoretically impossible to exist.

The biggest possibility is that this is a slightly larger number of scattered soldiers with a certain level of organization. Maybe the number is not as large as the baggage train. Orville actually doesn't need to be so afraid. He is often too cautious.

It's not his fault, because Orville has never led an army independently. He has always been assisted by experienced adjutants. Although he will follow orders, after all, there are people with confidence. Now he is alone and has no one to rely on, so it is inevitable that he will be a little panicked.

He subconsciously glanced at Rollo standing next to him. The strong man was silent and did not say a word, just ready to execute the orders issued by Orville. Rollo is actually a smart man. He knows what his position is, so he won't take over the job of a military adviser. He is just a mercenary leader and part-time guard captain. He just needs to do his job well. He doesn't need to show that he is eager to give Orville some random suggestions. Such a self-willed person may not be liked by the master.

In fact, Orville really hopes that Rollo can exchange opinions with him now, but he knows that it's impossible to see the other party's expression. However, despite this, he still feels a little relieved, because Rollo still has that cold face, looking serious and calm, and he is not affected by the previous cavalry at all. He is just concentrating on his own job.

After all, whether it is a mercenary or a pirate, they are all working with their heads on their belts. Those who do this job to a certain extent must have a big heart. Now this feeling of being stared at by the enemy must have been experienced by Rollo dozens of times. Of course, he will not be as panicked as Orville.

He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, then issued an order to everyone with a stern face: "You all saw that there are enemies wandering around us now. This is a very dangerous signal. Stop the march temporarily and connect the baggage wagons into a circle as our cover. We rely on these wagons for defense."

At this point in time, the Romans had not fought many times with nomads, and had not yet developed a method of restraining cavalry and infantry attacks such as chariot formations, but it did not prevent Orville from following the example and creating a monkey version of the chariot formation. He originally planned to use it against the Franks or Parthians in the future, but he did not expect it to come in handy now.

Originally, due to lack of experience and training, some panicked soldiers suddenly had a backbone because of Orville's orders. When people are panicked, their rationality will decline, and they will either follow blindly or fall into chaos. Fortunately, the current result is the former rather than the latter.

Of course, these soldiers have never come into contact with things like chariot formations, but what Orville said is easy to understand. Under the dispatch of the centurion of the personal guard, they soon followed and got busy.

The nearly circular chariot formation was quickly built. The chariots were unloaded and placed outside the formation. The horses were gathered together and placed in the center of the position. The soldiers relied on the chariot formation with thick wooden boards for defense and attack. In this way, the position of Orville and others was completed.

The agricultural civilization on the other side of the Eurasian continent often had to deal with nomadic peoples, and for this reason, they accumulated a lot of relevant experience. The chariot formation was proven to be an effective means to deal with cavalry. It can offset the impact of cavalry and provide cover for the infantry in the position. This made the infantry in the position not so afraid of the attack of projectile weapons. If the enemy outside the position wanted to break through the formation, it could basically only rely on close combat.

Seeing the position being prepared, Orville turned his head and looked at Rollo beside him: "I'll trouble you with the following matters. You will be rewarded for your bravery. I know your plot. You want land and a stable residence. I can provide you with all these. How about starting from this battle? I think the huge Kingdom of Wessex can still find a place for you to settle down."

To be honest, Orville could not fully trust Rollo. He brought him out instead of Belisarius or Stilicho because the two officers were busy fighting and could not spare time. It was too much of a waste to let the general serve as his bodyguard. Orville only had a few capable people under his command, so he had no choice but to let Rollo accompany him.

Unexpectedly, this has become a battle to test Rollo's loyalty, which is also the result of a series of mistakes.

Luo Luo himself didn't seem to have any bad intentions. He just responded and nodded heavily: "I will prove that my loyalty is worthy of your reward, and I will also prove that we are excellent warriors. Just watch." After that, he picked up his exaggerated two-handed battle axe of comic size, put on his helmet and armor and entered the battle state. There is a reason why Luo Luo's nickname is "Walker". He was born too tall and strong, and the Nordic horses were relatively short and could not bear his weight at all, so he could only walk on foot. That's why he was called a walker, not because he was a monk who had not been formally ordained like Wu Song.

In ancient times, fierce generals have always been popular. Rollo, a meat mountain, stood in the middle of the army like a stabilizing needle to stabilize the morale of the army. After they calmed down, Orville took the opportunity to start his brief pre-war speech.

"We should thank Jupiter for giving us the opportunity. We can defend the wealth and honor of the empire together. This is our glorious mission and duty. Don't be afraid of the enemy, don't be afraid of the climate, don't be afraid of the terrain, let me see your bravery and courage, don't let me look down on you! Let us survive together, and the victor will eventually be rewarded, whether it is money, land, freedom or even citizenship. As long as you have made a contribution, it's easy to say. I will reward all the brave and meritorious people. Each of you will have at least 20 dinars to get."

Routine polite words are inevitable, but there are also many people who are really tempted, especially after Orville claimed that warriors who killed more than five enemies could get 100 dinars and citizenship.

As the saying goes, there is always a brave man under a big reward. Orville was willing to spend money because he didn't want to take the money to the grave and pay it as toll to the ferryman of the Styx.