Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 117: Bagoda

As long as he wins, he can undermine the Gauls' will to resist and use the food stored in Rennes to supply the army. Of course, the cost of losing will be terrible. He will have no way to retreat and may be trapped there.

However, Aurelian never thought that he would lose. After fighting with the Gauls for so many days, he knew the Gauls' situation very well and they could no longer sustain another decisive battle.

The manpower was severely damaged and the troops were scattered throughout Gaul. Now the army that could be mobilized near the city of Rennes was only tens of thousands of people, not much more than his. This battle was completely unequal.

After repeatedly confirming that the army was in good condition, he ordered his adjutant: "Start a forced march from sunrise tomorrow, and reach the city of Rennes as quickly as possible to force the Gauls to fight a decisive battle with our army."

The adjutant objected out of duty: "Isn't it a bad idea to waste the soldiers' strength like this? And will the Gauls in Rennes come out of the city to fight with us?"

"It's not a prosperous city, nor is it a strategic location. The city's defenses are average, even worse than places like Orleans and Tours. If necessary, we can fight them in street battles. It's not difficult to attack the city.

Rennes became the core city of the Gaul rebellion because it was far from the Roman army stationed there and because it was the hometown of Bagauda. It was not because it was suitable for defense or had any serious religious significance, but was just a subtle coincidence.

The adjutant also understands his superior's temperament and character. Once a decision is made, it is not easy to change it, and he is very proactive, which are necessary characteristics of an excellent commander. An indecisive person cannot survive on the battlefield.

"Understood. I will arrange for the captains and centurions to step up their operations tomorrow."
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After inspecting the lines, Orville would write letters to his family, which was his favorite thing to do.

The letters written to Vespa were mainly to report safety and situations, and occasionally he would ask him about things related to the Franks and Gauls. Vespa was not stingy in imparting his experience, and kept writing letters to teach Orville how to control his subordinates, how to win over the locals, and how to be a qualified legion commander. Overall, he was fulfilling his responsibilities as a father and was quite responsible.

The letters to Domitia were mainly about family matters, ensuring that she could get used to living in Trier, and asking about her well-being. She now lived with Berenice in the city of Trier, away from the front line. Vespa was of course dissatisfied with his second daughter's behavior, but Orville and Tia pleaded for her, and the matter was barely muddled through.

The main reason was that Orville found her a very good temporary teacher. Astronomer Ptolemy was also a well-known figure in the Library of Alexandria. Even if the best teacher could be found in Rome, he would only be of this level. After testing, Vespa felt that Trier would not affect Domitia's growth too much, and he also felt a little guilty about her, so he went with the flow.

The letters to Tia were mainly reports, but Orville would sometimes write her some casual chats, usually at the end as a break. Sometimes he found some interesting food or animals nearby, sometimes Domitia learned something, sometimes something funny happened in the army, in short, they were all trivial and insignificant things.

The military camp is a high-pressure environment, and Tia is the kind of person who is very strict with herself and has great self-discipline. Orville noticed this when he was in Palfi. Although Tia herself didn't say it and might not feel it, she would accumulate pressure at such times, and without a normal way to release it, problems would easily arise if she held it in for too long.

Orville wrote these things at the end without even expecting a reply. He just hoped that the other party would smile when they saw them. It was also for her sake, to relieve her pressure. That was all he could do.

Orville also used letter writing as an effective way to relieve stress. Leading troops in battle and working under someone else as a staff officer were two completely different feelings. In addition, this war actually put a lot of pressure on Orville, so he also needed to relieve stress. The way he chose was the most harmless and literary one, at least it didn't affect others.

After finishing his daily duties, Orville walked out of his tent and began to sit in a quiet position to observe the plains outside Paris and the sparkling Seine River. This was his usual way of calming down and thinking.

There are actually not many people in this military camp who need to think like this. Most of them just need to concentrate on performing their tasks. In addition to Orville, Procopius who is sitting here is one of them.

He did not need to provide military advice or manage anything. The task Orwell assigned to him was to write with the army, to write a history book for the Romans and future generations to read. This can be regarded as some of the marks Orwell left for future generations.

Writing is also a very brain-intensive task, especially for Procopius, who was a bit of a perfectionist in this regard. He often spent a lot of time conceiving the language and structure of the article, and then he would hesitate to write a few words.

Both of them needed quiet time to think, so they often bumped into each other inadvertently in some places, and occasionally Orville would chat with the other to pass the time.

Although his temper was not so good, he was undoubtedly an intellectual. Moreover, because he had to write, he had a certain degree of understanding of the local customs and practices. Orville could also learn a lot of interesting things from him.

"Procopius, do you know what 'Bagoda' means in Gaulish?"

"Your Highness, it means warrior. In fact, this name is similar to a nickname. It originated from the movement of local people against the Romans. The rebels called themselves Bagauda. In fact, most of these rebels were lower-class civilians, and there were not so many upper-class people involved. After all, they understood our Roman culture better and knew that we were a nation superior to the Gauls, so they would not want to resist.

The reason why the man with the surname Julius was named Bagauda was, on the one hand, because his resistance was the most courageous and outstanding, and the local people were more in awe of him; on the other hand, because he wanted to win over the civilians, he took the initiative to change his name to a name that could unite the local civilians.

Although this kind of resistance and small thoughts are just a last-ditch struggle, it is also very interesting. I will introduce this matter in my book. "

"And what do you think of these bagauda themselves?"

Orville was curious about what Procopius thought of these rebels. He knew it wouldn't be very positive, but he wanted to know the difference between them and himself. He just wanted to have a casual chat, and there had to be a topic.

(End of this chapter)