Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 16 Gain and Lose Again

Thinking of these questions, cold sweat instantly broke out on King Yaquita's forehead. He looked at the young man with sudden enlightenment, and there was a hint of gratitude in his eyes.

"Good! You did a good job! Very good, Commander Tiya wants 100,000 dinars, right?" He spoke a little incoherently.

"That's right."

"Okay! Give the legion commander two hundred thousand dinars. This is my, Herod Agrippa II, gratitude for her brave fighting. In addition, the purchase of the spoils of the 12th Legion is also given to you. You are responsible for estimating the price and finally hand it over to me. I will take it all!" He gasped heavily, not because he felt sorry for the money, but because he felt dizzy when he thought of the overthrown Herod royal family.

Agrippa II would feel bad if he spent this much money on just buying things, but if it came to the topic of the survival of the royal family, even if there was only a slight possibility, he would spend money without blinking an eye. It was not a large number that he could not afford, tens of millions of dinars, and his treasury could afford hundreds of thousands of dinars.

Berenice, who was not sensitive to politics and had not yet understood what was going on, looked at the two of them blankly. She had no idea what riddle they were talking about, but she felt that her brother was being particularly generous today.

"Don't worry, no one will go against money. I will get it done."

"I will discuss this matter with Vespasian later. Anyway, you are a good person who cares about the country. For a loyal person like you, there should be some rewards. Just tell me what you want."

"I just want a knowledgeable teacher of classics. I hope you can fulfill my wish." Orville made an unexpected request.

Aquita II agreed generously: "That's easy. I will provide you with three people who will take turns to serve you."

When Orville left the hall, Aquita II turned around and said to his sister: "This is a good man. It's rare to see such a loyal young man."
-
"Brothers! Men! Good news! The king of the Palfi people wants to buy the spoils in your hands at a high price, 20% higher than the current market price. This is a deal reached between Commander Tiya and the king. She has already sold all the spoils in her hands for silver. The king and I used to know each other in the Holy City. If you need, I can help you sell them! I will definitely not treat you unfairly in terms of price, brothers. It is convenient and cost-effective to come to me!"

Orville was shouting back and forth at the camp gate like a profiteer. Fortunately, it was a day off today and he was one of us, otherwise he would have been beaten up.

This business is highly profitable. It is said that Crassus, one of the three great men in Rome, became rich by buying the property of the confiscated Senate members at a low price and then selling it at a high price.

What Orville is doing now is essentially the same as what he is doing. There are many potential competitors, and if they really compete, he will most likely not be able to win, but those people are definitely not as fast as him.

On the first day after the battle, he shouted at the gate of the military camp and met with local nobles and paid them on the spot, and the price was quite reasonable.

Now his competitors were either wandering around on the sea or in port cities like Caesarea. No one was faster than him. He lived here and had planned it in advance.

Even if the locals could get out of the shadow of war and smell business opportunities, they had to wait until these soldiers started selling their share of the spoils in the city. Orville had already done the job before they could react and start raising money.

These soldiers of the 12th Legion did not like the Palfi people, but they would not go against money. When they heard that Orville provided one-stop service, most of them did not mind him calling them brothers without permission.

Only a few people were willing to spend time wandering around the city selling things. Besides, the price offered by Orville was not low, and it was almost the same as selling like this. With the added bonus of Tia's popularity, word spread quickly, and most soldiers turned to Orville to deal with the spoils.

Architas II was quite concerned about these matters and sent several experienced merchants to help him estimate the price, so things went smoothly. Because of this, when Tia returned to Philippi from Caesarea a few days later, she saw the piles of silver in her tent and her expression was obviously confused.

She was a little unconvinced: "Two hundred thousand dinars, is this what you earned from selling the spoils?"

"In fact, it's not entirely true if you look into it. King Aquita II also hopes to have priority in purchasing the spoils of war obtained by the 12th Legion and you personally in the future, so he spent a little more money. The value of the spoils alone is 100,000 dinars."

This price was enough to surprise Tia. In fact, she was not an experienced general, after all, she was not very old, but she still had an idea of ​​the basic prices of things. That pile of things was not worth 100,000 dinars.

"How did you convince Architas II to buy so many things? I heard that you basically took over all the spoils of war for your soldiers."

"I told the king that a kingdom is worth more than a few hundred thousand dinars, so he was willing to pay. This has to do with cultural ideas, and it is difficult to explain."

After hearing this, Tiya did not ask any more questions. He knew that there was a cultural gap between the two countries and there would always be some parts that they could not understand each other.

"By the way, I have also prepared a few Parfi law tutors. You are well aware that this nation mixes the law and the scriptures together, so the scripture scholars are also very good law scholars. If you need to learn something this winter, you can use them."

He knew that Tiya was learning the laws of the local people, so he wanted those scholars. This was also a way to show goodwill to the royal family. Asking for this was to imply that he was not coveting the royal family's wealth, which could add some impression points to the other party.

Seeing Orvel being so thoughtful, Tia was surprised but also quite satisfied: "You did a good job, beyond my expectation. Now if my father asks me for you, I will be a little reluctant. As a reward for you, let me show you this thing."

She handed a letter to Orville, and seemed to think of something very interesting. Tia narrowed her eyes slightly, raised the corners of her mouth, and a charming glow appeared between the subtle smile lines.

Orville took the letter, opened it and read it carefully. The more he read, the more he felt something was wrong. In the end, he also laughed.

The letter was a briefing from a noble in the Holy City, introducing the latest developments and news in the Holy City.

It said that the Zealots and Priests were in conflict with each other, and the atmosphere was not right. I knew this a long time ago, mainly because it also mentioned things about Orville.

Since he hid in a cave for a long time before being caught after the siege of Orville, the information about him was confusing and most people thought he was dead.

Under such circumstances, a Zealot leader named Elijah ben Simon began to mourn for Orville. Not only did he mourn himself, but he also led the entire city to mourn together. The crying was so earth-shaking that it seemed that anyone who did not mourn for the leader of the rebels would be a traitor to the nation. Many people, especially the Zealots, followed Simon's lead and invited professional mourners to their homes to help with the mourning.

The reason was that among the rebel leaders sent out, others either surrendered or fled, and he was the only one with status who died. This made Orville the typical representative and was deeply mourned.

The reason why Tia laughed was that Orville was mourned while alive, but was regarded as a war spirit totem after surrendering. The reason why Orville laughed was that his family property was basically swallowed up by Simon. The former might be gloating, while the latter must be laughing in anger.

(End of this chapter)