Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War

The Council of Sages did not have a fixed meeting place. Orwell himself set the venue of this council in a manor outside the city of London. Strictly speaking, this was definitely against the rules, because it was either decided by the king or by the important members of the meeting. But now no one cares about Orwell's little usurpation. He immediately announced the meeting after the Battle of Hastings. It took about four or five days for him to arrive in London, and more than 20 sages had arrived at the scene to prepare for the meeting.

This is very exaggerated in terms of the efficiency of information flow in ancient times. It can only be said that these sages really care about their own lives and property, and do not take such issues as a joke.

From various angles, England is not a big country. Its area is about the same as that of Anhui Province, a big country in the East. The scope of the Council of Sages of Orwell is limited to the surrounding areas of East Anglia, which is even smaller. In later generations, it is probably a county in the UK and a large county in a big country in the East. In such a small area, the spread of news will not take long.

In about three to five days, everyone will basically receive the news, and in another three days, they will make decisions and travel. Almost everyone who should come will come.

Seeing that more than sixty "wise men" have arrived, Orville decided to formally convene a wise man's meeting after resting in the manor for three days.

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More than sixty people sat in the not-so-spacious conference room. The production in Britain is not developed, and there is no advanced construction technology like the Romans. This is just an ordinary country manor, and the supporting conference room is naturally not big.

In addition to the local gentry and nobles, there are many foreign tyrants who came to East Anglia spontaneously. Their original purpose was to help the locals here repel the Romans. Now many people saw that the situation was not good and slipped back directly, but there were also many brave people who chose to participate in this meeting together.

Orville naturally sat in the chairman's position, and his trusted personnel were close to him on both sides: there were Roman officials he temporarily appointed, generals like Belisarius, local nobles like Alfred, and even Celts like Boudica, Jeanna and Cuchulain. Basically, each party sent a few representatives here.

This meeting will determine the tone and general policy of the Romans' rule over Britain, so everyone attaches great importance to this meeting and sent people to listen to the vote.

After Orville took his seat, everyone bowed their heads to show respect and obedience to him, either truly or falsely. In any case, the situation was stronger than the person. After looking around, Orville slowly began to speak.

"I think the matter should be settled now. Enough blood has been shed. If you have no objection, I will not kill people or start a war. Of course, if you still feel that you haven't fought enough, then another battle is not a bad idea. My army is ready to respond to challenges at any time."

Everyone either looked at Orville respectfully or bowed their heads in silence. In short, no one sang against Orville, and he was quite satisfied with the result.

The desire for power is indeed a very subtle thing. Even if Orville himself is not a person with much desire, he still feels comfortable and has a kind of obsessive pleasure when he sees these nobles and priests who hold the power of life and death of civilians being respectful to him.

He was not addicted to it, and continued to communicate with everyone with a normal expression: "Some of you here are local nobles in East Anglia, and some of you choose to continue to fight here because you can't stand us Romans. I treat you all equally. From now on, England will be directly classified as a province of Rome, and the emperor himself will send officials to govern it in the way of provinces.

You should have a certain understanding of how to do it. You can ask my adjutants for details, and they will answer your doubts in detail. You can't give in on this matter. You have already lost the war, so naturally you have to accept some decisions made by the victors."

Some people were obviously unhappy, but no one directly raised any objections. Those who really had the courage to resist either died in the battle or were now regrouping their troops in their hometowns to fight to the death. Most of those who came here had weaknesses and didn't want to be buried with the old kingdom.

Boudica was the first to raise an opinion: "I have a question. How do you plan to deal with the Celts in the west and north?"

"You are friends and helpers of the Roman Empire. We will not interfere too much with your sovereignty. To be honest, this is a loss-making thing. You can certainly retain a certain degree of autonomy. It's just that we hope you can open up trade and provide us with a certain number of mercenaries when the empire needs it. We can hire them with money.

If you need something from the empire, either exchange it with your resources or with the service of soldiers. The specific quantity can be discussed. I will give a condition that satisfies both parties."

Orville did not want to occupy the Celtic land. It was not particularly valuable and the cost of occupation was too high. These lands in England could not be developed in his lifetime. There was indeed not much potential for deep cultivation before the industrial age. The land in England was enough to satisfy his greed. Any more would be a bit greedy.

Instead of fighting with the tribesmen in the mountains, it would be better to develop the great plains of the Gaul province. The potential there is obviously much greater.

Then again, he believed that places with advanced economy and culture would naturally attract population concentration. There was no doubt that Rome's political system and production levels were several levels more advanced than those in the tribal era. Perhaps in a few decades, or perhaps one or two hundred years, the Celts would sooner or later be influenced and assimilated by the Romans little by little.

Boudica was somewhat dissatisfied with this condition: "You know, we have been occupied by the Angles and Saxons in large areas. I don't expect to get all the land back now, but I hope you can give us some fertile and rich land."

"I can give you some disputed land on the border, which is within my authority. If you want to farm in the provinces of the empire, it's okay. I will find a way to give you some preferential treatment. But I can't give you too much territory. This is beyond my ability."

"You are the emperor's adopted son and the leader of the army. Is there anything beyond your ability?!" Boudica thought this was a perfunctory statement.

"I can't stand the criticism of the Senate. From my point of view, I really think it's not a big deal to give you a few fertile lands. If you insist on needing it, we should be able to reach some consensus, but you should think carefully about the future. What will happen after I leave?"