Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 153: The Empire Has One Paddle, Rowing Wherever It Is Needed
Orville looked at the other person with great interest. Due to the complicated coinage technology of the Middle Ages, Alfred on the coin looked a little non-anthropomorphic and his original appearance was completely unrecognizable. But seeing him in person, he could clearly feel that he had a good temperament.

He looked about the same age as Orville, with thick short black hair that was neatly groomed. His face was not handsome but looked calm and composed. He was wearing a loose red robe with gold edges. He did not look like an emperor, but he was a handsome man. He looked neither humble nor arrogant, and one could clearly feel a sense of confidence in him.

"Your proposal is very attractive, but I am sorry that I cannot accept it. How many years have passed since Augustus' death? If I am not mistaken, it should be 58 years. So many years have passed, and naturally there should be some policy changes. The era of military contraction of the Roman Empire has passed. In the next few decades, the empire's military policy will become expansionist. Unfortunately, you have become the first target.

Here is my suggestion, you can consider it. The Kingdom of Wessex will be incorporated into the Roman Empire, and at the same time some of your rights will be retained. I will persuade the Senate to give some of you nobles seats in the Senate, so that you can become part of the Roman Empire. Your wealth, land or servants will be reduced, but they will still remain a certain number, and you will still be nobles.

Everyone must abide by the laws of the Roman Empire. The laws themselves may be a bit cumbersome and harsh for you, but they will never be unfair. I will also reward those who perform well. I need local nobles to help me govern Britain. I will choose helpers from among you. It depends on your situation. I will choose the one with the most outstanding talents. "

Orville told the other party about his plan in a gentle tone, while Alfred frowned. Although he had expected this answer, he did not expect it to be so simple and straightforward.

"This is beyond our bottom line. Can we reach some appropriate consensus? I think neither of us wants to talk about war lightly. It will not benefit either of us."

"We can reach some consensus on the treatment of prisoners and not affecting civilians, but Britain's submission to the Roman Empire cannot be compromised.

Obviously, there will be conflicts between us. I prefer to win on the battlefield first and then win at the negotiation table. Of course, I don't expect you to understand each other. I just share my decisions and ideas with you. "

From any perspective, the Kingdom of Wessex could not surrender without resistance. On the one hand, it would make the civilians in the country extremely angry, and on the other hand, it would make the Romans, who valued force and bravery, look down on it. Alfred, who had studied in Rome, was certainly aware of this.

Alfred smoothed his frown, and then began to discuss some details of the war with Orville, such as hoping that the Romans could treat noble captives with favor, hoping that the Romans could exchange prisoners of war with the Kingdom of Wessex regularly, hoping that the Romans could consider the local people's livelihood and not use the Three Alls Policy, etc. Orville was still interested in discussing these details, so he communicated with the other party for about twenty minutes, which was also one of the few results of this negotiation.

Everyone knows that the initial negotiations are just a statement and a pretense. If you want to solve the problem at the negotiating table without fighting, there is still hope before the army sets out. Once the army is mobilized, it will be a state of affairs for both sides where the arrow is on the string and has to be fired.

Since there was no expectation of resolving the issue through diplomatic means, the communication between the two sides went smoothly. After discussing these necessary issues, Alfred did not return empty-handed.

After finalizing the last gentleman's agreement, Alfred finally revealed a trace of unrelieved worry on his face: "Is this what the Roman Empire expected? How can such hegemony last long if it is established through war, blood, and conquest?" "Each generation only needs to consider the affairs of that generation. I am not the helmsman of the empire. I am just one of the oars. I only need to complete my own task. By the way, speaking of war, blood, and conquest, you Germans probably don't have the face to laugh at us Romans. This land was not called Angland when we discovered it. You also used war, blood, and conquest to open up your own homes, and you did much more than us. Except for the real indigenous people who lived here thousands of years ago, who is innocent? It's just a matter of first come, first served.

Of course, to you I am indeed guilty of heinous crimes, and I may indeed be guilty of such crimes. There is no need to refute them. I am a general, not a philosopher or writer. People in later generations will naturally give me a fair or biased evaluation. All I have to do is do my job. "

Alfred didn't refute when he heard this, but just sighed heavily.
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The next day after sending the other party away, Orville officially ordered his troops to begin besieging the city.

The situation was not much different from what was expected. The enemy would not go out of the city to fight a battle with the Romans, but chose to hold their ground, hoping that the Romans would retreat or at least defeat the enemy's morale first.

Orville had already repaired the military camp a long time ago, so he was not in a hurry in the face of this situation. He began to build a network system consisting of outposts, fortresses and obstacles with the military camp as the center.

Judging from the standards of cities in remote areas, it is obvious that Winchester’s defenses have been carefully designed - after all, it is a war-torn area, and the location of the royal court needs to be well repaired, otherwise it would be quite dangerous.

There are two city walls, one high and one low, and a ditch about two meters deep in front of the wall. It is not a good choice to attack rashly without knowing the enemy's supply situation and the number of defenders.

The walls of the Holy City are quite unique, they are wide, thick and tall, a bit like the walls of a certain Eastern country, and they are still stone walls built at all costs. The walls of Winchester are more typical, tall and thin stone walls, and the width is not that exaggerated, only about three or four meters.

In fact, for the Romans, this kind of wall was a bit difficult to deal with, because they could not stand in formation when attacking the city. For medieval wars, the number of defenders was often not that abundant, so it didn't matter if the width of the wall was reduced, because they couldn't stand full anyway. In addition, artillery or super-heavy catapults had not been invented at that time. There was no essential difference between a three-meter-thick wall and a five-meter-thick wall in many cases. Anyway, they could not be broken or collapsed.

This is not always the case for the attackers. They often have the advantage in numbers, but if the city walls are too thin and only a few people can stand on them, it will be difficult for them to make use of this advantage and they will be easily blocked on the walls by the defenders and killed.

At present, Orville is not particularly worried about this kind of thing, because the individual quality of the Romans is a level higher than that of the enemy, and they will not be too weak to the enemy when it comes to close combat.

(End of this chapter)