Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 124 Alexander's Ghost

Orville's persuasion was successful, and all the defenders of Citi Island laid down their weapons and surrendered to the Romans.

Their weapons were confiscated and they were kept under proper custody. The Siege of Paris finally ended with few casualties on both sides and the city of Paris was not looted by the Romans or Vikings. It was an outcome that both sides were relatively satisfied with.

The only ones who were a little depressed were probably the nobles in Paris. Just because Orville didn't like to squeeze the blood of the common people didn't mean he wouldn't blackmail the nobles. Every noble had paid a price to enjoy the property discount package that Orville had carefully prepared.

Having said that, Orville did not completely let down his guard. Who knows if there will be more scattered Gallic troops that can reach him? Orville was not relieved until Tia's army was withdrawn.

At this point in the war, except for a small number of rebels in Brittany who were still resisting, there were no large-scale rebels in other places. The news of the fall of Paris and the surrender of Jeanne d'Acre also spread, and the Gauls' will to resist basically collapsed.

In half a month or so, except for the Gallic rebels who stubbornly resisted in the deep mountains and forests, the Gallic War could be almost declared over, and the Romans could return home.

Considering that there were still a lot of ingredients left from what Orville had bought, Tia and he decided to open champagne at halftime and hold a celebration party.

Because these temporarily formed legions will most likely be disbanded after the war, and will not follow them back to Rome, but will be reorganized on the spot and return to their hometowns. If they don't celebrate at this time, there will be no chance to do so in the future, so generous generals will often hold a celebration and farewell banquet at the appropriate time.
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The soldiers who were unfortunately chosen to be on duty would be replaced the next day, and most of the remaining soldiers held a celebratory party on the spot inside the fortress built by Orville.

Unlike the upper-class activities where a few people get together half-lying down, the public banquets in the army are more like buffets, where you can just eat to your heart's content.

During marches and battles, the soldiers had only hard bread, bacon, and fruit vinegar for a long time. The soldiers finally had a chance to eat to their heart's content, so they ate to their heart's content. Tia only restricted them from drinking too much wine, and didn't care about anything else.

Even the auxiliary soldiers from Egypt or Parphi received a very sumptuous treat. The Roman soldiers were in a good mood after winning the battle and did not mind that they ate almost as well as themselves.

Orvel and Tia did not attend the public banquet this time, but held a private banquet in the camp.

Accompanying them were several necessary people such as Ragnar and Procopius. At Tia's request, Orville also invited Jeanne Dacre out of the hostage tent to attend the banquet.

Orville was quite respectful to her, and tried his best to meet all her requests except for restricting her freedom, and would not treat her harshly. However, she never made any requests, but just ate, prayed, and slept quietly, and most of the time she didn't say a word, which seemed to indicate that she had not yet accepted such a reality.

Not everyone likes the half-lying way of eating, so the military camp kept it simple. Everyone was given a small table and sat on the ground with their own food, and servants served everyone.

The Romans ate in that way and of course they didn't feel awkward. Ragnar quickly got used to it and didn't feel there was anything wrong. However, Jeanne Dacre sternly refused to be served and insisted on doing it herself.

Procopius frowned slightly. He was a little unhappy with this reaction. In his opinion, letting the defeated attend was the greatest respect. It was a bit too much to insist on the customs of one's own nation. Roman banquets must follow Roman rules. Orville, on the other hand, had a normal expression and asked the attendant to leave, because he was actually not used to it at first, and it was normal for the other party not to like this extravagant way.

Ragnar's performance was the most natural. He seemed to be here just to enjoy the food. He would take the initiative to start a conversation from time to time, asking Orville or Procopius all sorts of questions and sharing his own experiences in various places. It was quite interesting for everyone to listen to them. It was indeed rare to find people who traveled thousands of miles like this in ancient times.

"We northerners eat a lot of fish, mainly sea fish like herring, salmon, and trout. The other things we eat are definitely not as rich and luxurious as you Romans eat, but we have something very good, which is mead. I found that you don't have this thing here, probably because you don't produce so much honey here.

That stuff is really delicious. It is brewed by fermenting honey and water. You can also add various grains, fruits and spices according to your taste, so each household has a different taste. My favorite is the mead brewed by a good brother. He said that he added apples and oranges to it, but I think he must be hiding something from me."

After drinking a little, the other party became a chatterbox, and Orville and others also chatted with him with a smile.

Tia did not participate in it, but stared at Jeanne with interest, trying to see through this person's background.

Like most Romans, she found Jeanne a bit mysterious, and thanks to the letters that Auvers sent her, she knew more details than anyone else.

For example, she is only seventeen years old this year, and she is illiterate and has not received any qualified education.

Tiya has extensive experience in military battles and considers herself to be a gifted and hard-working general. She understands how much talent is required in marching and fighting. But even so, she does not believe that anyone can lead troops into battle in their teens. The key is that there is no need for any learning; this talent is in the blood from birth.

Alexander was indeed such a brilliant man that he could fight excellent battles at the age of eighteen. However, he received elite education from the rulers since he was a child. His father was an excellent military talent, and his teacher was Aristotle, the "Hegel of ancient times" and "the most learned figure among ancient Greek philosophers." Only with such education and environment could such an Alexander be born.

Tia believed that education and family background played an important role in shaping military capabilities, and she also believed that not everyone could be compared with Alexander, so she could not quite understand how Jeanne Dacre did it all.

As if Tia's gaze was a little too naked, Jeanna followed Tia's gaze and greeted her gently.

Tia smoothly shifted her gaze away, turned her attention back to her own dining table, and began to enjoy the delicacies bestowed by the gods as usual.

There are many things I don’t know, but I will find out slowly in the future, so there is no need to rush.

(End of this chapter)