Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War

Domitia was surprised and said, "Really?!"

Tia certainly didn't know that Orville would have such a rich psychological activity. Her eyes subconsciously paused on Orville's palm and Domitia's head, and then immediately turned elsewhere: "Orville did not lie about this, I can prove it. Our mission in Gaul and Britain has ended. If my father didn't make new arrangements for us, we should just go back to Rome."

Hearing this, Domitia smiled on her face - unlike Orville who was not sensitive to the environment and Tia who had a strong tolerance for the environment, she really didn't like the world outside the Mediterranean world. Since she took the initiative to follow, she wouldn't make a fuss and insist on going back, but for her, being able to go home was a very happy thing.

Orville didn't notice Tia's little move: "Speaking of this, I want to take Alfred with me when I return to Rome. I want to find him a seat in the Senate."

The first one to have an opinion was Domitia: "My brother, you have to know that not everyone is qualified to enter the Senate, especially for the barbarian leaders, they can't even understand the meaning of the Senate."

Tia seemed to have a similar attitude to her sister this time, and did not support Orville's sudden whim.

Orville patiently explained to the two: "Alfred studied in Rome before. He can understand our culture and can read and write Latin. I think the British need a channel for communication, and we also need friends in the Senate. Anyway, there is a vacancy in the Senate now, right? Alfred will return to Britain for just one seat, which will not have a bad impact on the overall situation."

If you change your mind and say this, the two will have no objection. It is indeed good for them to let Alfred become a senator. There is no conflict of interest between the two parties, and it is still a marriage relationship.

Tia continued to add: "This matter is probably not simple. Including the barbarians in the Senate is something that needs to be discussed carefully."

"Let Alfred worry about it. I believe he can satisfy the people in the Senate."

Although Augustus and others have done similar things to win over the locals, they cannot avoid disputes every time. The people in Rome and the locals have more or less opinions. This is the remnant of the cultural consciousness of the Roman city-state era. However, Orville felt that the matter was not too difficult to handle. After all, he only wanted one quota instead of ten quotas. From the perspective of appeasing the locals, the Senate would probably agree reluctantly.

…………

A few days later, the Governor's Mansion welcomed an unexpected guest──Ivar came alone and said that he had something to discuss with Orville.

Since the other party came very suddenly, a reading club was being held in the Governor's Mansion at this time. Domitia and Tia were in high spirits. Orville did not intend to spoil the fun. He originally planned to leave the courtyard to go to the study to discuss things, but Ivar refused Orville's kindness and wanted to join in the fun. Orville felt that there was no need to refuse, so he simply sat back in his seat and asked someone to pull a seat for Ivar. The reading club continued.

It was called a reading club, but it was actually more like a reading. Several singers who came with Domitia were reciting "Aeneid". Now they have talked about the part where the goddess of beauty Venus (Aphrodite) came down to help the Trojan prince Aeneas.

"I am looking for Italy, my homeland, where my ancestors, descendants of the supreme god Jupiter (Zeus), came from. I obeyed fate and took twenty ships to the Phrygian Sea, guided by my mother, the goddess Venus; under the attack of the southeast wind and the stormy waves, only seven ships survived. I am now a stranger away from home, with nothing. Asia drove me away, Europe drove me away, and I came to this Libyan wilderness..."

The Aeneid, written by the Roman poet Virgil, is of great historical and cultural significance. To some extent, it clarified the confused thoughts of the Romans at that time. The story tells that Aeneas, a Trojan prince whose country and family were destroyed, sailed across the ocean and finally came to Italy to establish a kingdom after suffering hardships. To put it bluntly, this is the origin story of the nation. Virgil connected Aeneas with Romulus, the founder of Rome, and the Julius family who became emperors, forming a set of origin stories that are basically self-consistent in logic.

Everyone present was not considering the issue from a serious perspective, but simply appreciating art. Although some later views believed that this story was essentially praising Augustus and telling him that he was destined to be king, he personally liked this story. It was rare in this era to discuss the suffering of mankind and the hardships of life in a profound way.

If Virgil was still alive at this time, Orville thought he would have a common language with him, but unfortunately he had been dead for a hundred years.

The entire epic has twelve volumes, which is not short. It is impossible to finish reading it in one or two hours. After reading three volumes, it is almost the same as the part about Aeneas' seven years of wandering, his father's death, and the people's suffering from the war. The singer's voice was a little unbearable. Orville asked these performers to withdraw, pulled Ivar out of the courtyard, and left the space for Tia and Domitia. He didn't want to disturb his family's rest time.

As he walked, he asked Ivar: "You shouldn't have heard our epic before, what do you think?"

After thinking and hesitating, Ivar chose to tell the truth: "I feel that your epics are very heavy. Our epic stories are more about heroes and adventures, without so many reflections on wars and disasters, and your gods are also very troublesome, as if they are using you as toys and entertainment."

"I think these words are really right..." Orville echoed with deep agreement, "If you have a chance, you should take a look at those things of the Greeks, but it is better to talk about serious things first. What do you want to talk to me about?"

"I noticed that your military deployment has changed recently. It seems that you are preparing to shrink your troops in England. Are you preparing to transfer troops to other provinces?"

Orville's eyes condensed when he heard this. Ivar's sense of smell is still quite sharp. Through a little clue, he can know that Orville is going to transfer part of the army.

He did have the idea of ​​transferring part of the British army, because it does not take too many troops to maintain order here. One legion plus the auxiliary soldiers provided by the locals are enough. He could use the freed-up troops as backup or deploy them directly to Egypt. Anyway, these were standing troops with good obedience, so he didn't have to worry too much about the troops' resistance to changing their garrisons.