Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 100 Farewell Banquet

No matter what, the war is not over yet and the troops still need to be mobilized.

After arriving at Placenshe as planned, Tia and Orville became much more serious. At least they never acted too casual or close in front of the soldiers. It was better to be careful in a place like a military camp. They both knew the rules.

The first step in taking over the troops is reorganization. Old Trajan has already made a rough outline of this matter. The rest may have to be achieved through marching and fighting, so that all levels of this legion can truly be integrated.

They belonged to the advance team that set out first. Tia was also a very mobile person. Vespa would not arrive for another two days, so she planned to leave first. After having a farewell banquet today, she would set off for the front line tomorrow.

That was no problem. Since the commander-in-chief had said so, Orville followed his instructions. The cooks accompanying the army began to prepare a sumptuous dinner. Orville even paid out of his own pocket to add more meat and seafood to his legion's table, unloading a whole cart of ingredients directly from his own carriage.

He was kind and friendly, and didn't put on airs. He ate the same food as the other soldiers. The soldiers of the Ninth Legion had a good first impression of this generous relative.

Orville was also enjoying his farewell dinner. Who knew how long he would have to eat marching bread afterwards? That stuff was baked very dry and hard, and it hurt your teeth. If you hit someone on the head with it, you might knock him out. Now, he had to eat these white bread, barbecue, steamed fish and other things carefully and cherish them.

It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. I didn’t feel anything when I was fighting, but after staying in Rome for a few months, I felt a little uncomfortable eating dry bread again. This is human nature.

Just as Orville was chewing a leg of lamb, Stilicho came over hesitantly, leaned over and whispered, "Something has happened, please go and take a look."

Orville looked at him in surprise, but did not refuse. He washed his hands with water from the bucket, wiped them with a towel, stood up and left the banquet with the other party.
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The two men walked through the feasting soldiers and came to one of Orville's supply wagons.

The carriage was being guarded by a dozen soldiers, all of whom looked nervous, fearing that something might happen.

Looking inside the carriage shed, Domitia was sitting in the carriage. She had changed her clothes into a short shirt suitable for traveling.

She also carried with her the short bow and sword that Orville had given her. It seemed that she wanted to "smuggle" herself into Orville's convoy and go to the front line.

Giving her a helpless look, Orville quickly made a decision and said to the soldiers around him, "Give me some private space. I have to take care of some housework. Please don't blame me. You have done a good job and are very qualified. Go to Belisarius to get five dinars each. You don't have to worry about things here."

The surrounding soldiers quickly left the scene. Although they were very interested in the royal gossip, it was better not to get involved for the time being as they could easily be implicated.

After everyone around had left, Orville sat on the unloading port of the carriage and communicated with the other party.

"I don't know how you managed to sneak in without being noticed by the guards, but it was difficult. I will assume that you are very smart, which is good. However, you can't follow me to the battlefield no matter what. I won't tell Tia about this, otherwise she will scold you.

It's getting late today, so I won't ask you to go back to Rome right away, but I will arrange for the Guards to send you back tomorrow morning. You are not old enough to fight a war yet, but we can discuss it in a few years. Not now, you are not ready to deal with these things. "

Orville was fine. Even when the empire was at its worst, they would not let children aged 12 or 13 go to war, let alone a girl. Growing up in a military camp might sound cool, but the military camp environment was not a guarantee for healthy growth. Besides, he had no control over how other nations fought. The Romans believed that it was absurd to bring women into battle, but Orville would not violate this taboo.

Of course, since the other party dared to sneak here in a carriage, they certainly cannot be persuaded with just a few words.

Domitia looked at Orville coldly: "Can you answer me, how long will you be out this time?"

"It could be as short as two or three years, or as long as three or four years. No one can predict the outcome of war. I know this is not pleasant for you, but the fact is that there is always a war waiting for us. If we don't go, the result will only be worse."

"You always have one reason or another. In my thirteen years of life, I have only seen my family a few times. You didn't even care about my feelings. My father and sister proclaimed themselves emperors in Egypt, causing a stir in Rome. If it weren't for my uncle's family protecting me, I might have died by now.

But now, my uncle has died at the hands of Vitellius because of political differences. I have no relatives in Rome except that timid "mother". What's the point of staying there? You think I can't stand the harsh environment in the provinces. The time I spent in Rome was actually heart-wrenching and the days were like years.

You can't understand how much I hope that I can be blessed by God like my sister, how much I hope that I will be born a man, how much I hope that I can grow up quickly and leave the city of Rome. Because you are a gifted person like your sister, born a man, and have grown up and been entrusted with important tasks.

I tell you very clearly that Domitia Flavia Vespasia will not return to Rome and will stay with her family."

Domitia was already sobbing by the end of the conversation, but she still insisted on finishing her words. Orville looked at her with mixed feelings - he had never raised a child before, so he really didn't know what to do.

No matter in which time and space, Vespa and Tia are role models of fatherly love and filial piety. In another time and space, Vespa even confidently handed over the command of the Royal Guards to Tia. The two fought side by side on many occasions and became a legend for a while.

Generally speaking, the youngest son is more favored, but it is completely the opposite for Vespa. Tia obviously receives more love and care. In addition, her father and brother are busy with government affairs in other provinces all year round. Orville believes that Domitia's somewhat deformed personality in later generations was caused by this.

Orville's thoughts have changed a little now. Perhaps in this time and space, Domitia, who lost Jill, is no longer an obstacle to Tia's succession to the throne, but he still wants to have a complete and peaceful family environment as much as possible, so he can't sit idly by when he has the opportunity to correct the other person's character.

After thinking it over, he said, "Well, dry your tears and follow me. I'll show you what you should see. If you still insist, I'll take you to see Tia and let her or my father decide on this matter. I don't have much say in this matter."

She nodded slightly, took a few minutes to adjust her mood, tidied her clothes, and then walked out of the carriage with Orville.

Orville did not return to the banquet, but took Domitia to the warehouse and took out some large bread, dried fish, fish sauce and some vegetables.

These are farewell banquets for the auxiliary troops. Their treatment is relatively much worse, which is inevitable.

(End of this chapter)