Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 132 Naval Issues
A few days later, Orville was talking to Rollo, who wanted to make sure the Vikings were getting used to life in the Roman Empire.

As a result, Luo Luo nodded repeatedly with a smile: "Very good, very good, everything is good, my brothers and I are very satisfied, there is nothing wrong with it."

As Rollo said, these Vikings lived quite comfortably in Trier with the commissions they received from the settlement. Basically, they ate, drank, and gambled every day, and they never felt uncomfortable or unhappy.

Trier was not a small city within the Roman Empire, and even less so for the northerners. Apart from those unwelcome robberies, it was the largest and richest city they had ever lived in, and it felt like the novelty of North African refugees smuggling into Europe.

Especially Rollo himself, his Hercules-like physique, coupled with his exotic and not ugly but weathered face, made him very popular among the local women. These people are generally quite open-minded in their lives, and many of them do not mind talking about life with such a barbarian leader.

Of course, openness does not mean the unbridled postmodern openness. There were legal and moral restrictions in ancient times. The Roman Empire had corresponding legal constraints at the beginning of its establishment. It was not as corrupt and decadent as later generations imagined.

The "Julius Law on Adultery and Extramarital Affairs" stipulates that if a wife has an adultery with a woman, any citizen has the right to report it. The law stipulates that not only the wife and the adulterer are guilty, but also the husband and the woman's father who know about it and do not report it are guilty, and are guilty of "assisting in the sale of silver."

At the same time, husbands were also prohibited from having sexual relations with women other than their wives (excluding slaves and Chang women). In the ancient environment, this could be considered a restriction.

By the way, the Romans were already far ahead of the times in stipulating that childless women had to pay additional direct taxes, and childless men had their inheritance rights partially restricted. The ancients had gone to great lengths to cope with the declining birthrate.

Now back to the point, Orville certainly knew about these things about the Vikings, but he wished that these people would make money in Rome and spend it in Rome, and take it home as soon as they parted. He didn't want the Vikings to take the money back home, because it was better for the money to end up in the pockets of the Romans than to flow out. A lot of silver flowed out of the Eastern trade every year.

"I understand. You guys should enjoy yourself for a few more days. We will leave here in a few days. Our destination is Rouen City. We will set up a headquarters there and then build a dock nearby. Do you have any suggestions?"

Orville really didn't know much about things at sea, but he didn't hesitate to ask because there was a professional sailor in front of him.

"If you want to attack Britain, it shouldn't be difficult. In fact, my people have already established several outposts there. Ragnar has several good sons. Ivar the Boneless and another Viking leader Olaf the White have successfully conquered most of Ireland and often plundered Angland unhindered. The locals can only cause a little trouble for the Vikings.

If you are the Romans, I believe you should be able to do something similar. I have seen your wealth and civilization. The only problem is how big a fleet you want to build. I heard that the warships in the Mediterranean are all built in a very large and magnificent manner. You and I may have some differences in our understanding of warships. It is best to confirm this point before we talk about it. "

A typical large and decent Viking longship had twenty to thirty pairs of oars and was about thirty meters long. Some could carry up to a hundred warriors, with the rowers being Viking warriors.

After all, they came here to plunder and harass, and it was impossible for them to row the boats with slaves, as that would be a waste of precious space. The sea conditions in the North Sea did not allow it. The supplies they carried with them were only enough for themselves to eat, and the human resources were not that abundant. In short, this model was suitable for the Vikings.

The Mediterranean was a completely different story. For example, the Athenians liked to use three-decker oars, with 100 men rowing on the lower deck and another 100 soldiers fighting on the upper deck, a total of 200 men, and this was still an "outdated" ship type. During the arms race between the Romans and their arch-enemy Carthage, a common ship type was the Punt, a five-decker oared warship that was longer and larger, with 300 men rowing and 200 to 300 soldiers fighting on the deck.

When the Viking army invaded England, the 350 ships could only accommodate about to people, which is not a small number, but it is not on the same order of magnitude as in the Mediterranean.

For example, when Cleopatra and Octavian had their final battle, 520 people were crammed into 15 ships. Either the Egyptians were actually Indians with the ability to compress space, or the Egyptian ships were several dimensions larger than the Viking ships and were more fully packed.

Galleons in the Mediterranean basically sail along the coastline. They do not need to carry much supplies or even stay overnight on the ship. The two have different concepts about the use of ships.

A ship of this size was unimaginable to the Vikings. It was not necessarily because their shipbuilding technology was so much worse than that of the Mediterranean people. In fact, their shipbuilding technology was definitely not bad. It was more because this kind of ship could not be sailed in the North Sea at all and would be broken in half by the waves.

What Rollo meant was very simple - you should first understand the concept of shipbuilding.

Orville himself had to first confirm what the shipbuilding was used for and for what purpose.

Just send people to Britain safely, fight for the control of the English Channel, compete with the Vikings for the maritime hegemony near the British Isles, and expedition to the Vikings' hometown in Scandinavia, Northern Europe.
Since the standards are different, the ships required are of course different. The difference between the "blue water navy" and "green water navy" in later generations is actually essentially the same.

Orville himself cannot make the decision on this matter, and frankly speaking, he has not thought it through yet, so Rollo's reminder is right. He needs to think about this matter clearly before making any requests or suggestions.

"I see. Thank you." Orville stared at Rollo. "But is this okay? I am using the power of the Roman Empire to build a navy in the Atlantic Ocean. This will threaten the stability of you Vikings in the North Sea."

Rollo shrugged. “Don’t judge us Vikings by the standards of a whole country. We don’t obey the same Jarl (lord), and we are not even from the same country. I am from Norway, and Ragnar and his men are mostly from Denmark. Our interests are not completely consistent.

Now that I have become your mercenary, and I am eager to gain my place in the Roman Empire, I should do something, otherwise will you trust me? What I desire is honor, wealth and status. If I don't have your trust, will I get these things in Rome? "

As Rollo himself said, by Viking standards, he was a relatively different person with more aristocratic habits, which was not a bad thing for Orville who dealt with him.

(End of this chapter)