Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 172: Opening the City

Orville's original plan was to use the urgently assembled naval fleet to seize control of the English Channel, or at least allow transport ships and troop transports to move unimpeded between England and Gaul.

Now that the admiral has been killed and many naval ships have been damaged, morale is extremely low. If we don't do some ideological work, we won't be able to get them to continue fighting in the short term.

If such an army were to fight against the Vikings' large fleet, Orville did not think that his fleet could win even if it had an advantage in the tonnage of ships, so he gave the sailors an order that they would welcome.

Avoid fighting and protect the ships, just stay in the port of Caen and act as a "existence fleet".

This means that their supply lines may be attacked by Vikings. At the same time, Gaul and various places along the British coast may also be plundered by Vikings. The battle line will be lengthened to some extent, which is extremely unfavorable to Orville's military deployment.

But now that things have come to this, there is nothing else to do. Orville has to find a way to stop the losses in time and think of countermeasures against those Vikings.

These people are like nomads on the sea. They can neither be caught up nor defeated. Orville can only passively defend and wait for the navy to come out again before engaging them in a fight.
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While waiting for the situation to change, Orville took some time to visit Cu Chulainn, who was still recuperating in bed.

Hearing the footsteps of Orville and the guards approaching from afar, Cu Chulainn subconsciously opened his eyes and looked outside the tent, meeting Orville's gaze.

Orville was the first to speak up and break the silence: "I have to admit that you impressed me a lot. Among the many warriors I have seen, you are also one of the most brave ones."

No one dislikes the compliments of a great man. Cu Chulainn showed a confident and forced smile: "This is natural. I am very confident in my martial arts and fighting ability. This is the bravery and ability of us Irish people. I hope it can leave a deep enough impression on you."

Orville pulled out an exquisite silver pot from his arms, unscrewed the stopper and poured the liquid in it on Cu Chulainn. The blessed liquid quickly penetrated into Cu Chulainn's body. After more than ten seconds, Cu Chulainn felt that he had recovered a little strength.

He looked at the empty jar in Orville's hand with some surprise: "What is this? A potion prepared by the Romans or the blood of some ancient mythical beast?"

"It's just blessed water. I'll just give you a little thanks. Without your help, I would have been in a lot of trouble. I will write a letter to thank your uncle, King Comfort of Ulster."

"It doesn't matter, as long as you remember the promise you made." Cu Chulainn looked at Orville with burning eyes.

Orville nodded slightly. "I will do this. Eventually the Vikings will be driven out of the island of Ireland. This is certain."

Cu Chulainn closed his eyes slightly when he heard this, indicating that he was satisfied with Orville's answer.

After making sure that the other party was not seriously injured, Orville left the tent. The civil servant Procopius who had been following him raised his question after he left. "The gift that Princess Berenice gave you should be quite precious. Is it appropriate to just give it away? Let Cu Chulainn recuperate in bed for a while. He can recover by himself. There is no need to waste your precious treasure."

Procopius was born in Caesarea, Parphi, and therefore knew a lot of secret knowledge unknown to ordinary Roman scholars, such as the ability of the Parphi royal family to bless holy water, which could produce very precious healing potions.

The things in Orville's hand were obtained from Berenice when he was fighting in Palphi. There were about three portions in total. Since he valued his life very much and was cautious, he had never used any of them himself until now. He gave one to Tia and one to Cu Chulainn. Now he only has the last portion left to save his life.

He actually understood Procopius's idea, but he had a different idea from Procopius: "Things are made to be used. Although Cuchulainn is a barbarian, he has helped us a lot. It is our duty to express gratitude for this. We can't be stingy, otherwise it will bring disgrace to the Romans."

Now Berenice lives in a villa near the city of Caen. She comes to visit Tia and Domitia from time to time. She has a good relationship with Orville. Making this kind of holy water is a troublesome and energy-consuming task, but with the relationship between the two families, it is not difficult for Orville to get a few more.

After all, Orwell and Herod Architas II had a good relationship, and the two families were considered partners. For this reason, Orwell felt at ease asking for some gifts. King Herod had taken advantage of him a lot, and he had also taken advantage of King Herod in the past. Now they had common interests, so it was not so difficult for him to ask for some holy water.

"I see. Your generosity is touching." Procopius lowered his head and showed his humility and obedience to Orville.
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A whole day passed after that before news came from the city of Winchester.

It was not the surrender that Orville had expected, but a hasty civil war. The fortresses in the city were ablaze, and shouts of killing could be heard faintly from a distance.

An officer suggested that he take advantage of the chaos to attack the city, but Orville still ordered his troops to stay put and wait for the situation to become clear. As he expected, the flames in the city gradually dimmed after a while, and the war seemed to subside quickly, as if the problem over there had been solved.

The red dragon flag of the Wessex royal family is still hanging on the castle, indicating that Alfred and his brother Ethelred are still in charge.

Orville began to order his soldiers to prepare to take over the city. As he expected, half a day later Winchester announced its surrender and King Ethelred declared his submission to the Romans and became a vassal of the empire.

The soldiers hurried into the city and announced the occupation of the city. They then carried out handover activities with the Wessex garrison in the city. Orville himself freed up his hands to deal with the affairs of Alfred's brothers.

In the central camp of the Roman legion, Orville was talking with Ethelred.

In fact, he is not much older than Alfred, but he looks much older. It is probably because of the various things that have happened in recent years that he has been exhausted. In short, he looks like a middle-aged man in his forties.

Ethelred looked old and tired, but his speech and behavior were still very decent and he had quite a demeanor. Facing Orville, the prince of the empire, he remained neither humble nor overbearing, and put forward his most core demands.

(End of this chapter)