Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 122 French Island
The next night after returning, the Gallic noble, who was afraid that Orville would change his mind, launched a military coup.

He ordered his subordinates to open the gates of Paris to welcome the Romans into the city, and cooperated with the Romans to fight against Jeanne d'Acre's army.

Orville was the only one in his life who betrayed so smoothly and decisively. He thought the other party would at least hesitate for a while, but he didn't expect that he would act faster and more efficiently than Orville.

In fact, if Orville dared to attack the city repeatedly despite the casualties for many days, he would have realized that there were not many defenders in the city. Not counting the citizens who were temporarily mobilized, there were only about 5,000 people in total, about half of whom were the soldiers of the nobleman. The remaining half of the soldiers belonged to Jeanne's side.

After several offensive and defensive battles, manpower would be stretched thin, but Orville was too cautious and finally did not decide to attack the city but to attack the hearts of the people.

These people were simply unable to defend a city as huge as Paris. After a symbolic resistance, the main force withdrew to the Ile de Cite on the Seine River.

This is an island in the middle of the Seine River. The earliest urban area of ​​Paris was built on this island. It covers an area of ​​about two hectares, which is not large, but it is the origin and core area of ​​Paris.

Later buildings such as Notre Dame de Paris and Sainte-Chapelle were built on this island. In this era, the Ile de Cité was also the last line of defense for the city of Paris. Now the Gallic army was staying on the island and could not leave.

Orville could have easily attacked the island by force, and Ragnar had already prepared the ships, but he did not give the order, but instead asked for peace talks with the other party again.

Ragnar was not surprised by this request. In his opinion, the other party should surrender. "So do I need to prepare a boat for you? The fairest way to negotiate is for both parties to negotiate on the boat. The river is not within the control area of ​​either party. This is the most fair and just concept."

"There's no need for that. Just send me to Xiti Island and I'll negotiate with them in person."

This time Ragnar's expression was very surprised. In his opinion, the Roman prince was a very cautious person and did not seem like someone who would make such a bold decision.

"Are you sure? A lame old wolf can bite people too."

"I'm sure. Just send me there."

Orville decided to take a gamble. The Gauls were very important to his subsequent plans, and among the Gauls, the one with the greatest appeal and the one he was relatively willing to cooperate with was Jeanne d'Acre.

After the negotiations between the two sides, Orville took several of his servants to the island of Citi. To show his sincerity, he did not even bring Belisarius or Stilicho.

As soon as he arrived on the island, he found that all the defenders on the island were eyeing him covetously. It was no wonder, as the two sides were enemies in the war.

Orville ignored the hostility of these people and came to a stone church on the island, where the conversation between the two sides would take place.

To be honest, after traveling through time, Orville has never been into a church. He would occasionally go to the temples of Athena or Minerva to feel the atmosphere because the Flavian royal family believed in Minerva.

Standing at the door of the church, he suddenly felt a little guilty. He was the one who instigated the burning of the largest and most glorious temple of God. He didn't know how powerful the gods of this world were, but Orville estimated that if possible, there would probably be a few winged angels chasing him down and chopping him. The person who led him into the church was Gil. He didn't look good to Orville, but just said coldly: "Wait a minute, Jeanne is praying."

"Whatever, I'll just wait." Orville didn't take it to heart. He had plenty of time, so it didn't matter if he was left alone for a while.

After entering the church, Orville began to observe the interior environment. The most conspicuous person was Jeanne Dacre, who was kneeling in front of the altar and praying with her head bowed. Orville couldn't see her demeanor and micro-expressions, but he thought she was concentrating. He didn't disturb her enriching spiritual world, but just found a seat and sat quietly.

Looking at the cross in front of Jeanne that was obviously erected temporarily, Orville felt a sense of confusion as if he was traveling through time and space.

The Romans in this era were fond of crucifying people. This was a cruel instrument of torture, and it later developed into a symbol of the sect, which should have been about three hundred years later.

Christianity at this time was still very immature. Perhaps during the time when Orwell was daydreaming, a gospel of the New Testament was being written somewhere in the Mediterranean. The New Testament was mainly written to preach to the Romans, and Christians were still often persecuted in Rome.

Early Christians considered themselves a variant of Parviz, not a new religion. Parviz members generally believed the same, which shows that their faith was still in its immature stage.

But the situation in this world is somewhat different. Although people in Gaul and other places also believe in the Eternals, they have developed their own understanding of faith earlier. It has not reached the level of later generations, but at least they do not think that what they believe in is a variant of Parphicism.

Jeanne d'Acre claimed that she was the daughter of God. In fact, Orville couldn't understand how some of the Gauls in this world viewed this matter, and how they understood the God of the Eternal. He could only say that at first glance it seemed similar to later generations, but in fact there were many differences. The ones here were obviously more simple and less dogmatic.

After waiting for a while, Jeanne Dacre stood up and walked towards Orville. When he got closer, Orville found that her mental state was not good - some dark circles under her eyes, her expression was haggard, and her eyes, which were originally full of confidence, were a little dull.

She was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Are you here to persuade us to surrender?"

"That's a secondary reason. The main reason is that I want to save your life. Surrendering is probably the only way for you to survive now."

Jeanna did not speak, but Gilles glared at him, his hand already on the hilt of his sword. He had a typical warrior character, rough and somewhat overbearing.

"Don't be so quick to get angry with me. You'll still have time to get angry after you hear what I say." Orville looked at him calmly.

Jeanne stretched out her hand slightly and grabbed Gilles, signaling him not to act rashly and letting Orville continue speaking.

"You all know the story of Vercingetorix, the leader of the Gallic uprising. He died in the end because the Romans thought he was a big enough threat and could not let him continue to live. I personally think that Jeanne d'Acre is already a spiritual totem of the Gauls. If my father or other senators in the Senate were to handle this matter, there would only be one result.

You will be detained and taken to Rome for a triumphal procession. After the procession, you may be executed, exiled for life, or imprisoned. It is impossible for you to return to Gaul. My father may be fine, but the people in the Senate are very unhappy with you. What is waiting for you is assassination, and then the public will say that you died of fever in a certain place. They are capable of such a thing. "

(End of this chapter)