Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War

Orwell's "prediction" of the will was completely correct, which made Vespa stunned for a long time. Only after his subordinates reminded him did he come back to his senses. He looked at Orwell several times before he reluctantly began to deal with the affairs of the Ptolemaic royal family.

Back to the will itself, Vespa saw clearly that Berdinus was cautious, but to be honest, he really didn't care about these things - it didn't matter who was in charge of Egypt in name, as long as Rome's core interests were not damaged and Egypt could continue to supply food and other important commodities.

Although he was a little dissatisfied with Berdinus's usurpation, he didn't take it to heart, because Berdinus was also very sensible and was willing to take out a huge sum of 2,500 talents from Ptolemy's treasury as a thank you for Rome's protection of Egypt, and was willing to give Vespa 500 talents privately.

He pointed out that Berdinus was bribing Vespa, and Vespa really fell for it.

According to the current situation, one talent is about 26 kilograms, and the talent in this context refers to 26 kilograms of silver. The silver content of a denarius silver coin is about 3.5 grams, and one talent is equivalent to about 7,500 denarius, and 3,000 denarius is a full 22.5 million denarius.

The standing army is a money-eating beast, and the Roman standing army is treated very well. To maintain a regular legion for a year, including equipment, salary, food, retirement pay, slave expenses, etc., the cost is about 2.5 million denarius, which is enough to maintain nine legions for a whole year. Rome's total fiscal revenue at that time was only 400 million denarius, and 22.5 million denarius was not a small amount of money that could be ignored for the country.

The Egyptians basically paid for the military expenses of the expedition to Gaul. Vespa only needed to nod his head in agreement and acquiesce to Berdinus's undermining of the Egyptian royal family. It was not a big deal for him. Anyway, Berdinus could ensure that the interests of Rome would not be infringed. If there was a real problem, the tens of thousands of Roman garrisons there would not be vegetarians.

There was no need to weigh the pros and cons. Vespa acquiesced to Berdinus's approach, but secretly warned Berdinus not to be so smart in the future.

With the Romans nodding their heads in agreement, the situation was basically stable. Berdinus's face was almost broken with laughter. At the same time, he did not forget to make arrangements and give benefits in Rome. Many important senators in the Senate received gifts and gold and silver from Egypt, and even Orville was no exception. The bribes he received were about 100,000 dinars.

For the uncrowned king of Egypt, the nobles also felt that there was no need to stop him, because he obviously showed a submissive attitude to Rome, which was enough. The little king and queen don't know what's going on yet, and they may not be as happy as this eunuch.

Ptolemy Egypt is the last legitimate successor of Alexander, the world conqueror of the Macedonian Empire, and it also has considerable influence on the restless Greeks. The Senate does not want to see the influence or power of the Ptolemy royal family too great, and it is good for everyone to let them maintain this puppet state.

——

After confirming his guess, Orville was not particularly concerned about the affairs of Ptolemy Egypt. He was only capable of that, and if the problem escalated to the relationship between the kingdom and the Roman Empire, his right to speak was actually very little, and he could only blow "pillow wind" to Vespa.

Instead of caring about such things that had little to do with him, it would be better to study how to fight the Gallic War well. He regarded this war as his own turnaround battle and could not afford to lose.

Just when he and Tia were studying geography and military affairs, someone else came to him.

After Belisarius made a report, he entered his room and brought a message: "There is a Greek man at the door who is looking for you. He said he wants to discuss the hotel business with you."

Owell felt a little strange, but he still asked Belisarius to invite the man in for a detailed discussion. Meeting each other is always the best way.

The man was a Greek in a simple long gown. He didn't look very old, probably in his thirties. He was a little timid and obviously quite afraid of Orwell.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. I came here to meet you and give you something."

He trembled and took out a well-decorated small box with a golden Mithra statue inlaid in his arms. Belisarius took the box and presented it to Orwell.

Opening the buckle of the box, a pearl earring lay quietly inside. The style was very familiar to Orwell. It was the one that Cleopatra gave him at that time. The two made a perfect pair.

"Her Highness asked me to send you greetings. I think you should have an impression of the things inside?"

Orville did not speak, but took out another cedar silver box from his locker, took out the earrings stored inside, and showed them to the other party, so that the two sides probably had a secret code.

Belisarius, who was unaware of the situation, put on an expression of watching a play and eating melons. He did not know about the things between Orville and Cleopatra, so he could naturally make up a lot of things in his mind, such as this thing was a token of love between the two, and that Prince Orville had an affair with the Egyptian princess before.

And now that the Egyptian princess is engaged to his own brother, Belisarius may have already written the outline of a long, sad and vulgar novel in his mind.

"I probably understand the situation, but I need you to answer a few questions for me. Why did you come to see me, and how did you come to meet me? I didn't see you appear in the Egyptian envoys."

The messenger's expression was a bit bitter: "Bodinos will not allow me to board his ship. Anyone involved with the royal family will be the target of his wariness. If I show that much closeness to the royal family, maybe I will now already dead.

I am Princess Cleopatra's geography teacher, responsible for teaching her the necessary knowledge of geography and astrology, and the reason why I have come to meet you is simple. It was the Ptolemaic royal family who established the Library of Alexandria and gave us scholars a stable salary and a comfortable environment so that we could learn knowledge with peace of mind.

Now the authority of the royal family is being questioned, and it is encountering unprecedented risks and challenges. I am a person who repays kindness, so I asked Her Highness the Princess to entrust me with this task and let me deliver the message to Rome.

I came to Athens from Egypt via merchant ship for academic exchanges. This kind of thing happens quite frequently to me so it won’t arouse suspicion. After arriving in Athens, I came to the city of Rome through the hotel system you created. Because I was worried that the princess's situation would be leaked, I used the excuse of negotiating business to cover it up. I hope you won't blame me for being dishonest."

Of course Orville would not blame him. The courage of the other party was commendable. He ran from Egypt to Rome to come to him: "What is your name? I will remember it?"

PS. The data I found says that the maintenance cost of an army during the Caesar period was about 1.5 million dinars. Taking into account inflation and the increase in military salaries, the maintenance cost of the army in the early empire was just over 2 million. This is my estimate. I don’t know if it is correct. , welcome to point out if I’m wrong, I really couldn’t find the legion maintenance fee data at this time.