Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 154 Welsh Celtics

This time, Orville did not intend to surround the enemy without attacking and wait for death like he did when he besieged Paris. Instead, he prepared to engage in a siege war with the enemy, so he ordered his soldiers to start cutting wood to build embankments, siege platforms, siege towers and other equipment, and began to coordinate the logistics team in the rear to transport heavy weapons such as scorpion crossbows and catapults. Orville wanted to attack in the standard way of the Romans and demonstrate his military capabilities.

This was a battle to establish his prestige in Britain. If all went well, the Anglo-Saxon countries would surrender immediately, and he would then only have to deal with the Celts remaining in the mountains and the Vikings who were out of reach.

Paris had been besieged before. Relatively speaking, it was a larger city, so the legionnaires and auxiliary soldiers were familiar with the task. Now it was just a matter of following the same procedure. Orville didn't have to worry too much, as the captains naturally arranged the tasks properly.

The preliminary preparations took about a week, during which the Romans were constantly attacked and ambushed by the defenders in the city, and the two sides continued to engage in small-scale battles around the space outside the city. Relying on their familiarity with the terrain, the Wessex people in the city often went out of the city at night, and while harassing, they would also bury a large number of simple traps in inconspicuous places. Although most of them were not fatal, under the sanitary conditions in ancient times, being injured was also a test of life, and some of Orville's men could not survive.

There were some casualties, but overall it was acceptable, just a little troublesome. The Roman army gradually surrounded Winchester and built a blockade line bit by bit.

At this time, Joan of Arc, who went to Wales to contact the locals, received news that the local leader wanted to meet with Orville face to face to ensure that Orville was an invader who could be trusted a little bit.
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Temporarily handing over the task of dispatching the army to Belisarius, Orville led his personal guards to the port, and brought Rollo, who had nothing to do, as his guard. On the one hand, he was to receive the supplies shipped from the other side, and on the other hand, he was to find time to meet with the other side's leader.

In the ancient world, there was inevitably a time lag in information. By the time Orville and his men arrived at Portsmouth, the other party had already arrived.

Orville casually asked Jeanne: "Tell me what this person is like. I think it's polite to know more about the person you are negotiating with in advance."

"Queen Boudica was a very determined warrior. According to your Roman point of view, she possessed many virtues and was a respectable person."

According to real history, the Iceni Queen Boudica's uprising against the Romans took place about ten years ago. Coincidentally, Orville's adoptive father Vespa was one of the people who participated in suppressing the uprising, and he gained a lot of military merits from this.

Perhaps the Roman rule in Britain during that period was indeed somewhat unpopular, and the rule was also somewhat loose. A few years after the Boudica uprising was suppressed, a second uprising broke out in Britain. It is said that the Celts here had a cultural tradition of letting women lead troops into battle, and the leader was a queen named Chaltemandu.

In terms of time, the time when Orville landed in Britain was almost exactly the time when the Roman legion in another time and space landed in Britain to suppress the Cartimandu uprising. The only difference was that the enemies of both sides had changed ethnic groups. Perhaps this could be considered a subtle commonality.

This one is not as well-known because she is somewhat different from Queen Boudica. She is not much of a national uprising in Cartimantua, but more like a mercenary leader on the border who became powerful and independent. The two are different from a modern perspective, and Boudica's personal morality in the records is more likable. Orwell thinks that some records are simply to discredit Emperor Nero of the Roman Empire, to make the barbarian queen have good morals and self-control, and to make the emperor of the empire lose his virtues due to his debauchery. In fact, the difference in personal morality between the two barbarian queens may not be that great.

Under the pen of some writers of the empire, the enemies of the empire must be portrayed as barbaric, ignorant, and immoral. This has become a correct thing. It's just that the Black Emperor Nero became a greater correct thing for a period of time, so a barbarian woman Boudica was temporarily needed to set off. In fact, these people in historical records have become victims of dragging down and outputting opinions. Of course, they themselves certainly don't care, because they are dead anyway.

Some trivial knowledge and irrelevant thoughts from the previous world flashed through his mind, and Orville nodded to Jeanne, allowing her to invite the person in.

Similar to Boudica as described by historian Dio, this woman was tall, stern, with piercing eyes and thick red hair that fell to her waist. She wore a large golden collar, a brown-gray tunic, and a thick cloak that was tightly fastened with a collar pin. She looked quite eye-catching and gave people a sense of majesty without anger.

Before Orville could speak, the other party spoke first: "I have heard about your deeds through some channels, the prince of the Roman Empire. You, like those Anglo-Saxons, want to extend your hands to our original land."

Orville did not deny or make a high-sounding excuse for himself. He just nodded and agreed with the other party: "From your perspective, it is true that my goal is to establish order and stability in Britain. At the same time, I personally hate violence, exploitation and disorder. This is one of the manifestations of barbarism and backwardness. I think we can reach a consensus on this point. This result should be better for you."

Boudica sneered: "Maybe, but how are you going to prove what you said?"

"You can always cross the channel to see my achievements and listen to your relatives' evaluation of me. I have to admit that some Roman governors are idlers, but I am not one of them. Moreover, I can guarantee that the next few British governors will not be useless and greedy.

But how can you prove your ability and role to me? You will soon be able to clearly see the role and ability of the Roman Empire, and you have already seen our construction capabilities. Please answer me, how can you prove that you are a friend who can cooperate with the Roman Empire? This will determine your final treatment, and it is possible to become a vassal state or a province. "

"In the mountains to the west and north of the so-called 'Anglan', I can mobilize 60,000 soldiers and 500 chariots. These soldiers should be enough for you Romans to pay attention to. You can ask the messenger you brought with you for details. You should really thank her, otherwise I would not even think of talking to you."

(End of this chapter)