Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 111: Letter of Persuasion

Upon hearing this, Orville showed Ragnar the simple map used in his army.

The approximate positions of the various Roman armies are marked above. There are flags of two legions behind the army of Auvers. Near Auvers, there are flags of two legions of Tia in the north. There are five fully-strength Roman legions nearby.

"I hope you don't get the situation wrong. We don't need you. If you want to help those Gauls, that's fine. If you want to try to go to war with the Romans, then come on. Bullying the weak governor here may have given you the illusion that we are easy to blackmail.

The Gauls will eventually fail. If you are willing to be buried with the Gauls for that little bit of silver, then I wish you good luck. You can try to see if you can return to your hometown. Now there are more Roman legions waiting at the mouth of the Seine, and we can block the river at any time.

I will not give you better treatment than the regular army of the empire, so my offer is 100,000 dinars per month, 50,000 dinars in one go, and a total bounty of 200,000 dinars after you win. You are not allowed to plunder any wealth belonging to the empire, and you don't have to be too eager for money other than that, otherwise you won't be able to take it away."

The Vikings later plundered a lot of money. According to legend, Ragnar demanded 7000 pounds of silver, or nearly dinars, from the French King Charles the Bald. Later, when the Vikings plundered England, they demanded even more "Danish gold", which was similar to the annual tribute of the Northern and Southern Song dynasties.

It increased from 1.6 pounds to 2.4 pounds, 3.6 pounds, and 1016 pounds. The largest amount was 7.2 pounds in . This amount was an astronomical figure for a small country at the time, and it was also a huge sum for a big country. Eight or nine million dinars of silver were given to the Vikings in exchange for temporary peace.

But now, it is impossible for them to snatch such a large number from the Romans, because the Romans have the ability to defend themselves and are not lambs to be slaughtered. The Vikings will not gain any benefit if they provoke these professional soldiers.

So after considering it, Ragnar gave in a little and didn't confront Orville head-on. He came here to make money, not just to fight.

"I need to think about it. Can you let me see your barracks and troops? I need to know how strong your fighting capacity is."

Orville was generous about this matter: "It's up to you. You will know the biggest difference between us and the Gauls and Germans."

He was not afraid that Ragnar would leak the secret to the Gauls. Most of the Gauls' officers came from the Roman barracks, and the barracks were no longer a secret. And if Ragnar wanted to steal the skills, it would be impossible. Not every country could afford a standing army, and the Vikings' system was not suitable for an elite professional standing army.

Besides, if they wanted to learn, they would learn. The Romans were also happy for other nations to learn from them. This was the best manifestation of their own advancement, so there was no need to hide anything.

Ragnar walked around the military camp several times, and Orville asked Stilicho to treat him to dinner before he left the camp slowly.

After finishing his work, Stilicho returned to Orville's tent. Orville was still working in the tent, processing various intelligence coming from the surroundings and compiling them into a book.

Seeing him pull open the curtain and come in, Orville asked him, "How do you feel about Ragnar?"

Stilicho was not very good at speaking. He thought for a while before replying: "As a barbarian leader, he should have all the qualities that are reasonable, but apart from that, he probably won't have too many. After all, he is a barbarian, not a Roman." Although he is also a barbarian, both the Stilicho in history and the Stilicho here have the identity of being a Roman and have some Roman spiritual qualities, and they are somewhat disdainful of these truly authentic barbarians.

"That's enough. We are looking for mercenaries, not reviewing the issuance of citizenship. Combat effectiveness has nothing to do with morality."

Stilicho hesitated, but asked, "Are you sure they won't come after the Gauls?"

"I am sure that the spiritual leader of the Gauls, Jeanne Dacre, has a more serious moral obsession than me and Commander Tia. She and Ragnar don't get along even better. And as long as Ragnar sees the Roman camp, he shouldn't think we will lose. Even if the mercenaries are greedy for money, they should know the principle of helping whoever wins, right?"
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Before Ragnar made his final decision, Orville received a letter from Jeanne Dacre. From the handwriting, one could tell it was written by a man. It was estimated that Jeanne in this time and space was illiterate as in history, and could only dictate and then have others in the army write the letter for her.

The corners of Orville's mouth kept twitching as he read the letter. After he finished reading it, he covered his face with his hands, not knowing what to feel.

This letter really shocked him, and he couldn't tell whether it was right or wrong.

Procopius, who was recording his words and deeds for future biography, was curious: "Can you show me the contents? Why are you reacting so strongly?"

"Read it, and tell me what you think."

Procopius took the letter from Orville and did as he was told: "Please hand over all your occupied territories in Gaul to this girl sent by God! Then, she will use a peaceful solution to restore everything to its original state.

If you do not listen to God's advice, the Roman army will suffer great losses, because God will give the girl and her army a power that you cannot resist.

Then you will understand which side is right, God's rights or your rights.
Although I do not deny that there may be other gods besides the Roman gods, it should be quite rare for someone to write a letter to the enemy general in this name. She is either really the chosen one of God, or she has delusions like Emperor Caligula. That's all I can say."

Procopius was speechless with a hint of disdain. In Justinian's time, he was inclined towards Greek and Roman polytheism. Now, let alone, he was a devout polytheist. Although he grew up in Palphi, he was not interested in the Eternals.

"I mean no offense to you, Your Highness. If the Eternal's power is as miraculous as the Parvi people's scriptures say, why did they allow us to crucify the most powerful prophet? If he is really that powerful, why didn't they save the Parvi people who believe in him? Instead, they let us break into the holy city and burn down his temple."

Knowing that Orville did not believe in the Eternals and that he was familiar with him, Procopius did not have so many reservations when speaking. He spoke freely and directly according to his own understanding.

(End of this chapter)