Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 13 Local Intangible Cultural Heritage

As for the loss of soldiers and weapons and equipment, it was actually not so great that it was unacceptable. Although the rebels mixed in with the civilians caused considerable trouble, that was all. Tia and others did not encounter any decent formal resistance, and the sporadic casualties accumulated to about a hundred people, which was neither too many nor too few.

It cannot be compared with the previous victories, but in fact the strategic goal has been achieved. Tiya's goal was to seize the stronghold rather than destroy the enemy's manpower. From this perspective, they actually won, but this victory caused some psychological trauma to Tiya.

The civilians in Camel Town suffered heavy casualties, with almost half of them killed or injured. Tia could not blame her subordinates for their incompetence. She knew the situation was complicated at the time and could only take these people away and relocate them to other villages and towns under the rule of King Yaquita.

In addition, the women, children and the elderly who were captured while escaping were not treated so well. Tia was sympathetic, but her sympathy was not excessive. She would not lie to cover up for these people. Those who followed the rebel leader to escape could only be treated as rebels.

There are three solutions for rebel captives: killing them on the spot, selling them as slaves, or sending them to local or Roman rulers. None of them is good, especially the specific policy for treating women, children and the elderly. Most of them will be executed in subsequent trials. Tia is familiar with the laws and customs and has a clear understanding of this.

It is very painful to have your good intentions betrayed. Tia's starting point was undoubtedly good, but the result can be said to be a mess - she wanted to reduce bloodshed but fewer people died than if she attacked the city directly, she wanted to resolve the issue peacefully but had to go to war, she wanted to show respect for others but was taken advantage of...

In short, Tia is feeling very uncomfortable now, and Orville sees it.

He stepped forward and comforted her, carefully considering his words: "A person's personality is basically fixed after adulthood. If you want to change, you have to pay a price. If you can learn from this experience and make future results better, then I think all the losses this time will be worth it."

Tia looked up at him and said, "Then tell me, do you think I did something wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong, you just didn't think enough, or someone else thought too much."

I don’t know if Orville’s talk therapy has any real effect, but in any case, Tia’s mental state seems to be better.

………………

Just as Tia had expected, after clearing out the three strongholds, Vespa began the trial. He first acknowledged the fait accompli and pardoned all ordinary residents, and then began the trial of these rebels.

Almost all Roman officers and staff disagreed with the amnesty, including Vespas himself. All the captives were taken to the open-air stadium in Tiberias, where 2,400 captives who were considered old or useless were executed on the spot. Vespas then selected 6,000 high-quality captives and sent them to the capital, and the remaining 30,000 were auctioned off as slaves.

It can be said that during this period in Europe, no other nation understood slavery better than the Romans. Not only did they capture, buy, and use slaves, they even took the initiative to speculate on slaves, raising market prices and making corresponding investments.

The future of these people was uncertain. They might die during sea transportation or in a mine with harsh conditions. They might be lucky enough to spend half their lives as servants of some self-employed farmers. If they were even luckier, they would become freed slaves, and it was not impossible for their descendants to obtain citizenship. Vespa could not see that far ahead. In his opinion, this was the best solution. He could make some money, the local instability would disappear, and the Roman side would remember his achievements. In general, the war in the past six months was very smooth and successful for him.

After finishing these last few things, Vespa began to command his troops to garrison in various locations. The military activities of this year entered the final stage. Unless there were any unexpected events, the army would generally rest in the winter.

Vespa relaxed the restrictions on Orville a little and allowed him to go to Philippi, the residence of King Architas, to train his hundreds of men. It was not that Orville minded staying in Caesarea, but mainly because his men were more comfortable in a familiar environment. The Roman city was too unfamiliar to them.

In addition to himself, Valerian and ten of his men also moved into Philippi. On the one hand, they helped train new soldiers as the backbone of the command, and on the other hand, it was also for surveillance.

Now, he and his men were running around the city wall with weights. The people he selected all had good physiques. Although they were not military men, they had worked all year round and were strong, so they were all in good condition. The only one who looked half-dead like a dehydrated fish was probably Orville.

Although he has the body of a former rebel leader, he is also an educated man who is good at business and studies. His physical fitness is acceptable, but it is far from the standard of a soldier.

That's why Orville took the initiative to train with them, showing that he was just sharing the joys and sorrows with them. The main purpose was to strengthen his physical fitness. Otherwise, if something really went wrong, he wouldn't be able to run. He knew that only by building a strong body could he run faster.

The training method of Roman soldiers nowadays is actually not fundamentally different from that in the time of Scipio. These soldiers are not instructors, but they can always imitate others. They imitate their instructors, following the team while shouting various slogans. It seems to be effective, and most people train very hard.

Orville or the Romans did not really expect them to play a big role. They still relied on Rome's own heavy infantry to fight. These "Roman Auxiliary Troops" or auxiliary troops did not even have a formal legion organization, but were dispersed in the form of battalions of 600 people and assigned to various legions when needed.

After Orvel recovered a little, Valerian came closer and asked, "Let's discuss the equipment issue. We have enough shields now, but other weapons are not enough. What do you want to do?"

Orville also made plans: "Use all those javelin heads to make them into long-range and short-range javelins. Bows and arrows will be given priority to experienced hunters, and the rest of the people can use slingshots."

This is a weapon that is relatively easy to use and has a relatively high skill level. From King David to the slingers in Palestine, it has been used throughout the history of this region for thousands of years and can be said to be the local intangible cultural heritage.

It is easy to use on the one hand, and it saves money on the other. You only need a belt and a small piece of rope to make a qualified slingshot, which is quite durable. It is much cheaper than javelin and bow and arrow.

Valerian also knew that this was the most realistic option, so he did not raise any objections: "That's no problem. You'd better go to the legion commander to approve some funds tomorrow. We need to purchase some materials. I will start teaching them the basic methods of using javelin heads to make javelins and slings tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)