Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War

The current Frankish Kingdom is the Carolingian Dynasty. Although the previous Merovingian Dynasty is said to have produced many lazy kings, there are still many "old people from the previous dynasty" within the decades of the change of dynasties. They may choose to oppose the current rulers because of the bond formed by blood or simply because of interest disputes. In short, no one can satisfy everyone. King Charles still has many political enemies, but his strength is strong enough and his skills are good enough, so all these problems have been suppressed.

Many of King Charles' domestic enemies were sent to these armies in the lowlands. A considerable part of them were excluded old people from the previous dynasty. They were closer to the former Merovingian royal family in political stance. Unfortunately, Orwell can really find a descendant of the royal family of the previous dynasty. This person is Judith, the new wife of Belisarius.

She is the widow of the former Kingdom of Wessex and the orthodox descendant of the Merovingian dynasty. This identity is still quite valuable for some people, especially among them. There are many people who have opinions about the current Frankish king. In this way, the Romans have a lot of room for cooperation with them.

For these nobles now, the so-called national sentiment basically does not exist. Their loyalty refers more to their feudal monarchs. Therefore, in the eyes of many people, loyalty to the Merovingian royal family takes precedence over loyalty to the Frankish king.

After discovering that Judith was still alive and became Belisarius' wife, many captured nobles fell into a state of hesitation and entanglement. Orville did not treat these people too harshly. Instead, he treated the captives according to the rules. These people were placed in a spacious manor with a good environment, and their quality of life was quite guaranteed.

After a while, Orville took the time to meet them.

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In the reception room of the manor, in order to show friendship and equality, Orville deliberately changed the table inside to a round table. He only sat in one of the more conspicuous positions. He did not highlight his identity as the host, but instead implied that he had a certain equal status with them.

Looking around at the nobles who were seated, Orville had also conducted some investigations during this period, and he had a rough idea in his mind.

There were more than 50 major nobles in total, and about one third of them were former Merovingians. The rest also had sufficient reasons to oppose King Charles - either they were deprived of certain local privileges, or they were deprived of certain territories, or they had some previous feuds with the Carolingian family. In short, everyone present could obviously find a common point, that is, they were all very unhappy with King Charles, the tyrant.

Orville said a lot of insignificant polite words at the beginning, and then quickly got to the point and began to explain his purpose today.

"I gathered you all together today to discuss cooperation with you. I think we are all dissatisfied with the Carolingian royal family that is now seeking power and usurping the throne. Since King Charles came to power, Frank has been at war with surrounding countries. He is an ambitious and greedy conqueror who does not know how to satisfy his desires.

The reason why you were captured by me and lost soldiers and generals in the war is ultimately because of King Charles' harassment and attacks on our province. If he is a person who knows the limits and can be satisfied, I think there is no need for us to go to the point of war."

In fact, the authenticity of this statement is completely questionable. According to the records of the German-Roman relationship by Pliny the Elder in this time and space, since the founding of the Franks, or even from an earlier era, the conflicts between the Romans and the Germans have never stopped. Both sides obviously have a greed for each other's territory. It is impossible to say who is right or wrong in this matter. If you have to say, the Romans are more greedy, because the territory of the Roman Empire is obviously much larger than that of the Franks.

However, the nobles present did not intend to refute. They were not hot-blooded idiots. They knew that raising these things was just an excuse. In fact, Orwell was inviting them to fight against the Carolingian Dynasty and the current King Charles together with the Roman Empire.

An old man who looked energetic was the first to raise questions. He seemed to be the leader of this group of people: "King Charles has a well-trained army and sufficient food. He has many capable ministers and generals. Our strength alone is not enough to compete with King Charles, otherwise we would not be driven to the lowlands to die.

We need support from the Roman Empire to fight against King Charles. What can you provide us?"

"As the governor, I can't give you too much. After all, the land of Britain is not rich. It is barely enough for self-use, but I think His Majesty the Emperor will strongly support your cause. I have reported your situation to the emperor. Now the letter is being sent to Rome at full speed. I believe I will get a reply from the emperor soon. , it is not difficult to get his permission. The emperor and the Senate are already tired of King Charles.

We can provide you with weapons, food, money and various necessary materials. As long as you need them, and the ultimate goal is to fight King Charles, I think any of your requests can be met. The empire has sufficient human and material resources and does not care about such a small expense. "

The promise of a pie in the sky cannot deceive these people. After all, they are almost all landed nobles with their roots in the Frankish Kingdom. If the Frankish king knows that they have surrendered to the Romans, the king will certainly have sufficient reason to confiscate their homes. If they want them to take this risk, they must give them enough benefits.

Orville understood this idea, but he refused directly: "I will tell you the truth. As far as the current situation is concerned, I am not going to release you back to Frank, and whether you are really ready to cooperate with me or not, I am going to spread the news that you have surrendered to the Romans.

You are now captives. I dare not say that I can decide your fate, but I do have some power to deal with captives. King Charles has always had opinions about you. After this news spreads, it is conceivable that King Charles will definitely take advantage of it and make a fuss about your family. From this moment on, you have no choice."

As soon as these words came out, except for a few people who were not surprised, most people immediately glared at Orville, but now Orville is not a rookie, and he has turned a blind eye to this kind of eye attack.

"In short, this is my decision. Those who are unwilling to cooperate with me, I will also properly place them in a place and take good care of them until the dispute with the Kingdom of Frank ends. As for those who are willing to cooperate with me, the Roman Empire always welcomes new friends and new collaborators."