Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War

After multiple tortures of war and famine, the number of civilians living near the Anthony Wall has been reduced to one tenth of the actual number. The soldiers who saw this scene couldn't help but feel sympathy. For the last few hundred people left, Tia asked them to stay in the detention center for a while, and sent them to the rear after they were confirmed to be safe and physically recovered.

The officers and soldiers were all sympathetic and did not raise any objections. They could still handle these few hundred people.

After the army cleared the city, Orville found Tia again and he wanted to make some suggestions.

"Based on the current situation, I think the best way is to use fire attack."

Tia hesitated a little: "I heard that this place has a history of more than 600 years. It is the holy place of your nation. Is this okay?"

Orville sneered: "According to tradition, blood cannot be seen in the temple. Soldiers and robbers with blood stains cannot enter the temple. It is unacceptable to tamper with buildings or set fire in the temple. These people have committed all of them.

This is not the end. According to tradition, everyone must keep the Ten Commandments. They have violated seven of them. Not remembering the Sabbath, not respecting parents, sharp silver, killing, stealing, false accusations, coveting other people's property, houses, wives and daughters, seven of the Ten Commandments, I think it is unnecessary to talk about tradition and culture with these people. Culture is for people with bottom lines.

Every day that is delayed, more families are broken, more people die, and now the temple is inhabited by Zealots and daggers. There are not many civilians among the party members, so I think we should act quickly. The sooner we launch the attack, the better. "

Looking at Orville, who was completely different from before, Tia was a little worried: "What's wrong with you?"

"I heard some things when dealing with refugees, which tortured my conscience. I want to do something to remedy it as soon as possible."

"Share it with me, it may make you feel better. You are very uncalm now. We are not prepared for the attack at all, which will only increase casualties."

Orville glanced at her: "You don't want to hear it, and you will definitely regret it after hearing it."

Tia took a deep breath: "Speak, as the commander, I have reason to know the details of the city. This is my duty. I can't regret it. I don't want to order you in a private conversation, so you'd better speak quickly."

Orville was silent for a few seconds, and then handed Tia a piece of paper with a true story written on it.

There was a woman named Mary in the city. Her family was quite wealthy, but all her wealth was taken away by the party members. She experienced all the hardships in the war. In the end, hunger overcame her reason and emotion. She killed the baby who was still breastfeeding in the swaddling clothes with her own hands, roasted her own child, ate half of it, left the rest, and hid them.

The party members smelled the food, so they threatened the mother to hand over her food. The mother pushed out the cooked child that she had not finished eating. The party members were terrified and shocked.

The mother said: "This is my own child, and I did it. You take your time, I have eaten my share. Don't be more timid than a woman, don't be more soft-hearted than a mother. If you are too reserved and don't like the sacrifice I made, then well, since I have eaten half, you might as well leave the rest to me."

The party members almost collapsed on the spot and ran out, and the hearts of the civilians collapsed with them. This story was widely spread among all the civilians. Orville also heard this story, and his feelings and shock were no less than these civilians.

Because he knew this mother before, the original owner of the body had a good impression of her, she was a very cheerful and optimistic person, and he didn't expect such a thing to happen.

Tia covered her mouth with her hand halfway through reading. She had a strong sense of morality and could not accept such a thing. Orville felt upset when he read it.

After reading the whole story, Orville took the letter from the silent Tia, and Tia waited for a long time before speaking.

"I want to continue to lie to myself and claim that I am not responsible for this tragedy, but I can't do it anymore. I am still a very young commander. Maybe if my father was here, the two sides would not have to go to this point. But it is useless to blame myself now. The war must continue. You are right. We must end the war quickly, but we are not ready yet. When we are ready, I will do it.

I promise you that I will bury this tragic infanticide and cannibalism in the ruins. I will not leave the city where my mother survives in this way in the wide world and under the sun. I promise you that every villain in this tragedy will eventually pay the price, whether it is the Romans or the Parvi people. I promise you, my friend."

On the one hand, he was comforting Orville, and on the other hand, he was actually comforting Tia herself. There was a flame burning in Tia's heart.

——

After that, Tia burst out with a work enthusiasm that made others feel worried. She supervised the work day and night, conducted inspections and speeches to boost morale, and hardly rested for a long time every day. She would not sleep until the last shift of soldiers returned to the camp, and would be ready to go before the first shift of soldiers left the camp. She only slept three or four hours a day.

They flattened most of the Antonine Wall, and then began to build siege earth embankments in front of the walls of the Holy City. The surrounding wood had been cut down by the Romans, and they had to transport wood more than ten kilometers away.

But even so, the work progressed very quickly. All the soldiers felt Tia's enthusiasm and anger, so they worked hard.

The two sides repeatedly fought a tug-of-war around the earthen embankment and the temple. Either the Romans threw stones into the city or the Parfis went out of the city to attack the Roman army at night. It was very lively.

The state of the defenders in the city was declining, and their food reserves were beginning to bottom out. Only a few people could guarantee to eat enough, and the rest could only fight the Romans on an empty stomach, which was a very serious blow to morale.

In addition, there were catapults throwing stones day and night, and the Romans also launched a night attack from time to time. They simply couldn't rest well, and this impact was even greater.

It is difficult for people to persist in fighting when they are hungry and sleepy. Occasionally there will be such iron men, but most of these party members are not.

Negative emotions slowly spread among the Parfi army, and everyone gradually began to realize that they seemed to be about to fail.

PS. I am not trying to be curious or disgusting to readers. This is recorded in history books. I have only made some modifications. I wrote this to make you understand what kind of environment the protagonists or supporting characters face every day, so that the motivations of the later characters can be reasonable.