Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 110 Vikings

[Paris] This name originally came from the Parisians who lived on this land. Due to the unique geographical environment, ethnic groups settled here very early and developed towns.

At this time and space, the overall level of development of Gaul was higher, and Paris became one of the top cities in Gaul.

It was not known whether it was due to the superior military proficiency of the Gallic generals accompanying the army or because of Jeanne d'Acre's so-called "divine inspiration", but in any case they had arrived in Paris before Orville and were stationed there. Orville did not find a good opportunity to attack, and the other side was already on guard.

At the same time, there were not only Gauls and Romans entrenched near the city of Paris, but also a third force besides the two.

They were a group of North Germanic people from Scandinavia, more familiarly known as the "Vikings".

The Vikings, who had been causing headaches for European countries for hundreds of years, also appeared in this world ahead of time. They took their long ships, went upstream from the mouth of the Seine, and came to various places along the coast to plunder.

During the Roman rule, these people annoyed the local governors, who often had to deal with these pirates. In order to save trouble, many Roman governors even chose to pay these pirates privately to settle the matter, so as to avoid the annoyance in front of them.

Although they had not yet reached the peak of their military careers, the combat capabilities of these Vikings were still quite remarkable. Otherwise, they would not have been able to conquer England, rule Novgorod, sack Paris, acquire Normandy, conquer Sicily, and even almost capture Constantinople.
Being a barbarian does not necessarily mean that their combat capability is weak. According to scouts’ reports, there are about four to five thousand Vikings stationed here, which is not a small number and can affect the balance of the Battle of Paris.

Orville would definitely not be at a disadvantage against this group of people alone. In a fair fight between equal numbers of infantrymen, the Romans should not be afraid of any infantry. However, if the other side joins forces with the Gauls, things would be more troublesome.

Orville was not absolutely sure of defeating both of them at the same time, especially since the nominal commander of the Gauls was the legendary saint. It would be better not to challenge the opponent if possible.

Now these Vikings are setting up camp to wait for the price, waiting for the Romans and Gauls to make an offer to them. Orville is not afraid of this, because the Romans are much richer than the Gauls, and they have the upper hand in financial strength, so he is not too worried.

The camps of the Gauls, Romans, and Vikings were arranged in a triangle. They were wary of each other. Orville didn't care about their complicated thoughts and just started to build the camp.

After the camp was built, he continued to reinforce it and began to build a defense network consisting of small fortresses, watchtowers and fences around it, making it clear that he was going to wage a sit-in war.

Anyway, his goal is to delay Jeanne d'Acre and her army. It would be best if there is no war, so that neither side will suffer casualties. Orville is very careful about his reputation, and every death is a loss. At the same time, he can get military merits, so it is in his best interest to wait and see.

In the end, the first to be overwhelmed were not the Romans or the Gauls, but the Vikings who did not bring much food.
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One night, Orville got the news that the Viking leader Ragnar Lothbrok came personally as an envoy and wanted to discuss the war with Orville.

He did not rush to agree, but first called Belisarius and Stilicho out of the army and brought them to his side to ensure his own safety.

The pirate king Ragnar is a half-legend and half-historical figure. It is said that he sacked Paris in history, and his descendants were responsible for the Viking invasion of England. Orwell was wary of him not because of anything else, but mainly because he was very likely to be a gifted person, so he had to bring bodyguards around to ensure his safety, so as to avoid the other party's anger and blood spilling five steps. In some legends, Ragnar is positioned as a fan character of the famous dragon slayer Siegfried. There are even claims that he married Siegfried's daughter, the half-human, half-god Aslaqi, so the sons he gave birth to later were a bit weird.

For example, Ivar the Boneless may have been born with only cartilage or may be weak and boneless. And Sigurd the Snake-Eyes has an Ouroboros pattern in his eyes, which naturally reminds people of the Midgard Serpent, the Ouroboros Jörmungandr.

Another way to translate Sigurd is actually "Siegfried" in German. The grandfather of this "Siegfried" is the dragon slayer Siegfried, the grandmother is the Valkyrie Brunhilde, and his mother is a half-human, half-god who can predict the future. Ragnar, who has such a son, feels a little "out of scope".

In Orville, we are playing a farming script, but over there we are playing a heroic legend. The heroic legend in this world may really be a heroic legend, so we must be on guard against others. It is always right to be careful.

After ensuring that he was protected, Ragnar Lothbrok was invited into the tent.

Unlike the stereotypical Vikings who say "I'm going to use your skull as a bowl!" or "I'm Thor, for the glory of the North!", Ragnar does not look like a muscular bodybuilder. Although he looks strong, his height is not outstanding, and his face looks rough and a little gloomy.

The other party simply saluted Orvel and said, "Ragnar Lothbrok, leader of the Vikings and commander-in-chief of this raid."

Procopius spoke on behalf of Orville: "In front of you is Orville Flavius ​​Vespasianus, prince of the Roman Empire and commander of the legion. What do you want, Ragnar Lothbrok?"

"I come to the Romans and offer them a good price, hoping that you will hire me and my brothers to fight for you."

At this time, Procopius was silent. He could not interfere in financial matters because the money was in Orville's own hands.

Orville straightened up slightly from his seat and stared down at the other person condescendingly: "How much do you want?"

"Each person gets fifty dinars a month, and I have five thousand men in total. At the same time, I want fifty thousand dinars a month as a command bounty. After the city is captured, I will have to loot for three days."

Orville said with a smile: "You are asking for too much, are you really so confident in your own strength?"

A quick calculation shows that he costs himself 300,000 dinars a month, and the salaries and maintenance fees of all Orville's subordinates combined are not as expensive as 300,000 dinars.

"I came to you first because the woman in Paris was very disrespectful to me and even instigated people in the city to beat me up first. Although it didn't work in the end, it still made me very upset. I heard that Romans have always been wealthy and generous. They can come up with the money, right? My price is very fair. It's inevitable that you have to charge a lot for a very special matter."

(End of this chapter)