Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 152 Joan of Arc
"Michael didn't give me any advice. I think you should regard this action as a challenge and training for yourself." Jeanne rejected Orville's bad intentions and wanted Orville to find a way to solve these problems by himself.

Orville shrugged and didn't care much. He didn't want to rely on the other party from the beginning. He was just trying his luck. Since there was no oracle, then forget it. He had more than 10,000 soldiers under his command. He didn't need to rely on the oracle to decide the war strategy.

"Then let's talk about something serious. How do you think we should deal with the locals?" he asked casually.

Jeanne replied to Orville seriously: "It is a done deal. No matter what, the result is already like this. We cannot kill or expel all the Germans who come to Britain in the future. In fact, according to my understanding, all nations can coexist peacefully, but the prerequisite is to avoid the evil deeds of a few upper-class people against the common people."

What she meant was that she did not want to expel all the Germans, but just wanted to achieve as much harmony as possible.

Orville nodded slightly when he heard this. The two people's ideas did not conflict. Although Joan of Arc was portrayed as a symbol of the French nation in later generations, she herself did not seem to be a standard nationalist in many aspects.

It can only be said that historical figures also serve political situations, and Joan of Arc is such an example. After the French king recovered, he consciously did not publicize the story of Joan of Arc because they did not want the public to think that the French royal family was saved by a village girl.

But after the rise of nationalism and romanticism in modern times, Joan of Arc has once again become the object of praise by many literati and poets. They did not want to praise Joan of Arc herself hundreds of years ago, but just wanted to promote the ardent nationalist enthusiasm that Joan of Arc brought about.

After the end of World War I and World War II, a new trend emerged. Anti-traditional and anti-conservative views prevailed for a time. Joan of Arc, who became the representative of tradition and nationalism, naturally became the target of criticism by these people, and countless people tried to deify the saint.

In recent years, the trend of conservative tradition has begun to rise again. In order to fight against those who disagree with their own ideas, they have brought out historical figures such as Joan of Arc and Saint King Louis for worship.

Historical figures who have passed away would not care what future generations think of them, and future generations do not really worship these historical figures. They just want to find an endorsement for their own thoughts and behaviors in reality. We can only say that history is like this. Orwell was quite curious about how he would be evaluated. He thought that he was also a character who could leave a mark in history.

Some things about his past life flashed through his mind, but Orville's expression was still calm: "Of course, you will get what you want. By the way, when do you want to set out to negotiate the Celtic land? I have asked someone to figure out the route. We need to go around the coastline to Wales, and then Ireland across the sea is also a target range."

Jeanna chose to solve the problem as quickly as possible: "The sooner the better. We can't waste time. It would be best if you could give me a few boats to take me there."

For the sake of the other party, Orville gave a little advice: "We or you Gauls haven't had official contact with the locals for many years. You may not even speak the same language as them. I'm afraid they will be hostile to us Romans. Are you sure about going there now?"

Jeanne smiled: "I have solved this problem. There are several small towns on the coastline of Gaul. The locals secretly interact with the Celts on the British Isles. Some of them understand the local language, and some of the locals understand Gaulish. Of course, it will be a bit difficult for you Romans to speak Latin or Greek." It is obvious that Jeanne has not been saving people all these months. She has also been preparing for the future, or better ways to save people. No matter how Orville understands it, the result is good anyway.
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After sending out a small fleet to see Jeanne off, Orville continued to command the army's operations.

If they really forced a march, they would probably reach Winchester, the capital of the Kingdom of Wessex, in two or three days, but Orville went at his own pace, just as planned, repairing roads and building military camps while marching.

Many of the dirt roads here are not wide enough to support horse-drawn carriages and ox-drawn carts, so Orville would order the army to expand and compact the roads so that the baggage trains behind could move unimpeded. They would build bridges when they encountered rivers and cut down trees when they encountered forests, in order to leave a good path for the people behind and to have a way to retreat in case of accidents.

It took nearly two weeks to travel the short distance with many stops and starts. By then, the main force of Wessex had returned to provide support.

By the standards of a small kingdom, Wessex moved quickly. After the news of the Roman capture of Portsmouth spread, the army was transferred back from the front line guarding against Viking invasion to the vicinity of Winchester, and then the two sides began to confront each other around the city.

The reconnaissance cavalry sent out by Orville estimated that the enemy had about 8,000 to 20,000 people. The number was difficult to estimate because the Wessex people had already entered the city, but it was basically certain that the enemy's combat effectiveness was definitely weaker than that of the Romans.

Orville did not rush to besiege the city, but set up camp outside the city and waited for the other party's envoys to come. Just as he expected, two days later the other party took the initiative to send diplomatic envoys to negotiate.

Orville was very interested in the person who came. The envoy was Alfred himself, who was the king's assistant at the time.

After the routine diplomatic etiquette, both sides began to get straight to the point. Alfred was the first to ask questions. Orville sat in his seat, leaning his head on his shoulder and listening quietly to what the other party said. He already had a kind of aura of authority without even getting angry.

"Your Highness, the Roman Empire has set rules since the time of Emperor Augustus. The Roman Empire should not blindly expand abroad. The purpose of the imperial army is to defend the country rather than to expand its territory. Britain is not Roman land. We beg your army to withdraw and rest. For this, we are willing to pay a tribute of 5 million dinars and become an ally of the Roman Empire, contributing blood taxes to the empire."

It can be said that the other party was very aware of the current situation and was very realistic. They knew that the Roman Empire had to bring something practical back when it came here, so they didn't even think about asking the Romans to leave unscathed. They were ready to pay a heavy price. Five million was a huge sum of money for a small country, and Wessex, which had been at war for years, could only come up with this much money at once.

If it was a Viking or an officer or governor who only wanted to make money, it would be acceptable for things to have happened this way. But unfortunately, Orville's purpose was not to make money or gain fame. He was seriously looking for a place to settle down.

(End of this chapter)