Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War

To put it nicely, Orville and Vespa are like-minded, but to put it bluntly, both of them are somewhat greedy.

When he heard Orville constantly making various "constructive suggestions", Vespa also became excited and began to discuss with Orville.

When Vespa was young, his family was not rich. When he first started his political career, he could not make ends meet and had to mortgage his house to exchange for money. When he was in the army, he also maintained an unseemly business of selling mules. He was very receptive to Orville's various suggestions. There are more insidious people in the business world these days, but at least Orville still speaks according to certain rules.

Tia must have a hard time getting a word in at this time. It's okay for her to discuss tax laws with judges or tax officials, but she really can't think of many such weird "little tricks to make money".

They have already discussed the idea of ​​collecting "toilet taxes" from workers in Rome who collect urine to wash wool. Tia frowned when she heard it and really couldn't get a word in.

But she didn't feel awkward. Logically, she knew that this was something she had to do. If she didn't make money, she couldn't pay the soldiers' wages this year. It was right for the two of them to discuss making money here, but she felt morally uncomfortable. At the same time, she didn't think that Orville had stolen her limelight. Anyway, this was an occasion where people could speak freely, and she couldn't say what Orville said.

She didn't expect the succession to the throne, but she also understood that Vespa asked Orville to "marry" her because Orville was bad enough at certain times to make up for her shortcomings. The two complemented each other in this regard. There was no need to envy Orville. She didn't lack occasions or self-confidence to show off.

But just as the three of them were talking freely around the table in the living room, someone was secretly watching everything in the dark corner.

The conversation lasted for almost an hour. At the end of the conversation, a layer of fine sweat beads appeared on Vespa's forehead, which made people worry about his physical condition.

Orville and Tia were also a little worried. Just when Vespa wanted to continue, they stopped the conversation and asked him to go back and rest.

As an emperor, and a diligent and people-friendly emperor, he has too many things to consider every day. Vespa is not known for being strong or energetic, which is a heavy burden for a sixty-year-old man.

The slaves in the mansion led them to their respective rooms. Tia asked casually at this time: "Where is Domicia? Did she go out?"

"The young master has gone to bed. Do you need me to take you there?"

"Forget it," Tia waved her hand and looked at Orville, "I will take you to see my sister tomorrow. Our family is not big, with only a few family members. But it's too late today, let's talk about it later."

"Can we postpone it a little and meet formally at lunch? I need to prepare something."

"No problem, tomorrow morning is the right time to prepare a gift." Tia did not doubt him, and left after telling Orville a few words, returning to her room to rest, read a book and prepare to go to bed.

Orville did not plan to rest too early, so he put on his cloak and prepared to leave the mansion. Before leaving, he deliberately brought several guards from the mansion with him. Although Rome was theoretically very safe, Orville had not yet completely recovered from the war and was very vigilant. It was always a good thing to be prepared.

Under the guard and guidance of the soldiers, Orville walked around the city twice and became familiar with the general layout of the city. At least there was no nightlife in the city at this time. Today, the square was very lively because of the public banquet, but except for the square, it was basically dark. Occasionally, you could see a little candlelight from the windows of some houses. From time to time, you could meet patrolmen on the street. There would be supply convoys entering the city at night on the main road, which was to avoid the peak period.

The supplies needed to support a giant city with tens of millions of people were also huge. When it was late at night, these carriages and horses carrying supplies would enter the city in batches, injecting fresh blood and nutrition into the city.

After basically familiarizing himself with the layout and divisions of the city, Orville returned to the Flavi Mansion with satisfaction and went to bed to rest.

——

The next morning, with the diligent service of the house slaves, Orville got up, dressed, and prepared to go out.

He certainly didn't like the feeling of having someone watching him when he got up, dressed, and ate. In Orville's opinion, it was unnecessary to lie down and wait for the slaves to feed him food. However, this was the trend of the times. Orville had just arrived, and it was difficult to refuse Vespa's kindness. He could only make do with it for the time being and change to his favorite way when there was a chance.

He left the house early. He deliberately didn't eat breakfast in the mansion, but bought some bread in the civilian area to fill his stomach, and then went straight to the suburbs outside the city.

He had just arrived in Rome, and he had to deal with some things. There were always a lot of things to do when he first arrived, and he had to be busy for a few days.

The most important thing was the matter of the 500-man Palphian guard. They did not follow Orville into the city. After all, their identities were sensitive. Orville discussed with the officials who came to hand over and temporarily let them live in a temporary military camp outside the city, but this was definitely not a long-term solution.

In fact, this was a loophole. When Tia and others returned to Rome, they handed over their military power, and almost no normal auxiliary troops would participate in the triumphal ceremony. Vespa may have missed him, or he may have done it intentionally. In any case, his military power was not taken back, and Orville still commanded these hundreds of young and middle-aged men.

At least near Rome, Flavius's surname is still very useful. Orville didn't spend much effort to buy a small farm on the outskirts of the city, let these soldiers live in it first, as a resettlement point, continue to train every day, and provide them with food regularly.

The handover work will take a week or two, and Orville doesn't have to worry about it. Vespa's secretary will help deal with this matter, and he only needs to pay.

Since it's all his own private affairs, Orville didn't want to trouble Vespa too much, so he chose to do the rest of the things himself. Seeing that it was not too late, he took people to the slave market again.

The main thing is to need teachers who can speak Aramaic and Latin, the common languages ​​of the East. There are very few ordinary citizens in Rome who can speak Aramaic, and they are probably people who have experience working in the eastern provinces and have some power and status. Instead of trying hard to find such people, it is better to buy them directly. There is no shortage of people who have become slaves for various reasons in Rome now.