Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War

After burning, killing and looting in the Holy City for several days, the Idumeaine people left contentedly. Only a few people stayed as supporters of John and joined the Zealots.

According to the general, he was reluctant to leave because there was a problem in his territory, so he had to go back.

Simon and Idumea, the generals who checked John, had left. Now the Zealots jointly nominated John, who saved them and turned the tide, as their leader. John, an outsider, became the new king of the Holy City, but he was not necessarily wise.

Although he urged his men to arm themselves and strengthen fortifications as soon as he came to power, and even demolished the palaces of the king and nobles as materials for the city's defense, like Simon, he hardly restrained his men and allowed them to do whatever they wanted in the city, plundering and looting. Originally, they were restrained because of the existence of the priest party, but now they were even more reckless.

It's not that no one advised John to organize the army, restore military discipline, and deal with the Romans. John's response to this also made them silent.

"If civilians are afraid of being robbed, then why don't they join the Zealots and rob others? The Zealots will protect the safety of the Holy City from the Romans, so it's not wrong to enjoy more for this. If civilians think it's wrong, then join the Zealots."

Many civilians couldn't stand it, and they didn't have enough force to confront the powerful Zealots head-on, so they simply left the city to join the Romans. The Zealots labeled these people as traitors of the Parvi people, and if they were caught, they would be executed directly.

Even so, they couldn't completely stop the fleeing crowd, and a large number of residents and refugees tried to escape.

A few days later, in a secret room underground, a group of people sat in their seats in silence.

First, a man dressed as a priest burst into tears and said angrily: "Those bandits did the dirtiest things, turning the entire city into a hostel, killing people, and the holy city. It was a complete disaster."

They were the remnants of the priest party, and they were lucky to save their lives, but the current situation is not optimistic.

Another old man braced himself: "Now we have to consider what to do in the future, give up this city and our wealth to join the Romans, or find a way to make a comeback and overthrow the Zealots."

Both sides have their own opinions on these two views, but both agree that they are no longer able to confront the Zealots head-on, and if they go to the Romans, they will not be taken seriously, at least they will lose some skin.

Finally, someone who had been silent said sinisterly: "Those Zealots were the first to break the rules, using force to bring in the Idumea gang. We can follow their example."

"You mean to bring in the Romans? They are still a long way from here. Along the way are strongholds and towns controlled by the Zealots. It will take March or April to come here no matter how much it costs. Besides, it is winter and it is difficult to send troops."

The man gritted his teeth and said: "I didn't want to bring in the Romans. Recently, there is a new force in the southwest called the Short Knife Gang. They robbed and absorbed strength everywhere, making a big fuss."

Everyone was silent. Everyone knew that this was a complete gang, even worse than the Zealots.

In any case, in the past year or so, the Zealots still acted according to the rules. Although the members of the organization were mainly middle and lower class civilians, their radical ideas of opposing the mixed-blood Herod royal family, opposing Roman rule, and being completely loyal to the law and freedom still attracted the support of many nobles and wealthy businessmen.

The members of the Dagger Party were different. Although they claimed to be a branch of the Zealots and many of them were former Zealots, they were almost completely a warlord bandit force. They were enemies of the Romans, but they did not have a clear political goal.

Now he wanted to bring the Dagger Party in. To put it nicely, it was called fighting poison with poison, but to put it bluntly, it was called inviting a wolf into the house.

Seeing that everyone was hesitating, he continued to persuade them: "How about this, the Idumeaites are now going back to confront the leader of the Dagger Party, Bar. Giora. I am optimistic about the Dagger Party. If the result is indeed in favor of the Dagger Party, we will contact him. The Dagger Party has never concealed its desire for the Holy City and will definitely not refuse.

'Chaos is a ladder', those civilians said so, wantonly provoking chaos and destroying the stable situation we have finally established. This was the case during the Herod period and it is still the case now. They like this, so let's show them the chaos and see how vulnerable they will be in front of the mob without the protection of the nobles! Especially John! Disaster will suddenly befall him, and he will be corrupted in an instant and there will be no cure!"

The noble's eyes were red and his breathing was heavy. He was completely out of control, but the people present did not want to blame him.

Anyone who lost all his wealth and status, or whose family was killed or looted, would not be able to remain calm. On the contrary, everyone present had been treated in this way to some extent, and their emotions were also aroused.

He became more and more excited as he spoke: "I know this is inviting a wolf into the house, and we all know it. But this holy city has been polluted by countless sins. If the Romans come, perhaps this city will usher in a just judgment, and our God will be able to rest assured. If we can't control the situation, then we will take advantage of the conflict between the Dagger Party and the Zealot Party to join the Romans. We have created chaos in the holy city, which is more or less a merit. This is our step up, what do you think?"

Seeing that everyone was somewhat moved, but most of them remained silent, he asked again: "What do you think?!!"

This awakened everyone. They looked at each other's expressions and then raised their hands to agree with this plan.

From beginning to end, the Zealots, the Priests, the Idumaeans or the Daggers did not seem to ask what the local civilians thought. They only thought about what was most beneficial to themselves.

——

Turn your attention back to Orwell. He got unexpected news in Cyprus, an island on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean.

The new emperor Galba died, and another emperor succeeded him. He was Galba's deputy Otto, who was also the mastermind of the murder.

Just like Orwell's idea on the road, the most powerful Germanic Legion was not convinced and announced an uprising against Galba.

At this critical juncture, Galba, who had no descendants, made a mistake again and chose a native Roman noble as his heir. As his deputy, Otto, who had always supported Galba and hoped to become his heir, was disappointed and decided to murder Galba.

He won over the Roman Guards, and after making Galba's death a fait accompli, he forced the Senate to crown him emperor.

Now, the new emperor who murdered the previous emperor had to deal with the main force of the Germanic legions that were coming in full force.