Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 176 The war expands
During the march, Orville rode at the front of the army, accompanied by Rollo and Cu Chulainn, the two guards with the highest martial power.

He was listening to Rollo and Cu Chulainn's conversation about cultural concepts.

"We Norse people worship ravens very much, because our great god Odin uses ravens as his messengers. He keeps two ravens named Fogin and Muni. Ravens are the incarnation and eyes and ears of our god. Having ravens means the great god's attention. Warriors who feel that they are being watched by the god will naturally fight bravely.

In addition, we also use ravens to explore land. There is a good sailor in our tribe named Floki who has the ability to tame ravens. He will release ravens in different directions at regular intervals on the sea. If the ravens in a certain direction do not come back, it means there is land in that direction, and land represents wealth and food. I don’t need to say more about the rest.”

Rollo was happy to share his experiences and observations. He was not worried that the Celts or Romans would learn from him. Just a few words of conversation would be fine, but it would be very difficult to put it into practice. Orville and Cuchulainn were just listening for fun.

Cu Chulainn did not fly into a rage when he heard about the looting. If he had such a small temper, he would not be worthy of being called a hero. Instead, he chatted with Rollo with great interest. In ancient times, it was difficult to even meet a foreigner, let alone a foreigner from thousands of kilometers away. Even if Cu Chulainn met one, the only way for the two sides to communicate was through axes and swords. Now, the opportunity to have a calm conversation was actually rare.

"We Celts believe that ravens are a very bad symbol because they would hover around soldiers who died on the battlefield and peck at their bodies. Plus, their color is too gloomy. We regard ravens as the embodiment of bad luck, the incarnation and messenger of the goddess of death, Morrigan. It seems that there is a big difference in our thinking between the two places."

Luo Luo laughed heartily in response: "Haha, maybe it's because the gods who bless us are different."

The two were just chatting and didn't pay much attention to it, but Orville, who was listening nearby, felt something strange - he knew that the image of Irish ravens in later generations was not good. To some extent, it was the influence of the Vikings' raven flag. Plunderers and robbers preferred this kind of flag, so it would be strange if the corresponding raven's image among the people could improve.

Just as he was complaining in his heart, a small group of cavalry came galloping up to him and respectfully presented him with a letter. Judging from the wax seal, it should be something from Gaul.

Orville took the letter and opened it immediately. Sure enough, it was something Tia wrote to him.

She first praised Orville in the letter for his good work and successful resolution of the problem of the Kingdom of Wessex, but at the same time she also conveyed a very bad message.

When the news of the Roman invasion of Britain reached the Frankish Kingdom, it naturally caused strong dissatisfaction among the Franks, and they indeed had good reasons to be so dissatisfied.

After all, the princess of the Carolingian royal family married into Wessex and gave birth to Astolfo, the nominal prince of Wessex. The alliance between the two sides has never been terminated. Now the Romans are attacking their allies without any reason and in a blatant manner, which is a slap in their faces.

It was already June, and the harvest would come soon. The war was difficult, and the Franks could not organize an army to confront the Romans again, so they could only resort to diplomatic protests and verbal abuse. Although the Franks' army was mainly composed of conscripted light infantry, they also had many elite warriors who could leave their jobs. These warriors were mainly cavalry. Although they were not as good as the knights of the Middle Ages, they were excellent cavalry in various ways. The Romans gave them many praises when they hired them. They were brave in combat, had excellent qualities, and were numerous. It could be said that this was the most powerful cavalry force in the world north of the Mediterranean.

On the one hand, it was to contain Orwell, and on the other hand, it was to make a gesture. Tia had already received relevant news that the Franks had gathered a cavalry and were preparing to go north across the English Channel to support the local Anglo-Saxons.

It was obvious that Orville now had to deal with many more enemies, but he was not worried. His original plan was to fight the Franks. The only surprise was that he did not have a decent sailor. There was nothing he could do about it. It was acceptable for the Romans to have an accident on the sea. After all, it was not the first time.

He beckoned to his servants, who skillfully brought a large military map from the carriage and slowly unfolded it in front of Orville.

His eyes swept across England, and finally stopped at a familiar spot: "Send a message to the captains of each legion, informing them that the Franks have now joined the war, and ask them to be careful. In the meantime, the marching plan will proceed as usual, and we will reach the gates of London within five days."

The guards nodded in agreement and immediately dispersed to report the situation.

Orville still felt uneasy, so he immediately called in a team of signalmen and asked them to pass messages to the cavalry commander, increasing patrols while being on guard against the German cavalry that might appear at any time.

According to his thinking, the enemy army supported by the Franks should become more confident and aggressive. They may not actively seek a decisive battle with him, but they will definitely fight more freely. In this case, he can only capture the enemy's resistance center first to avoid any more trouble.
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With the Franks joining the war, the level of the entire war was once again magnified. The original definition should have been a small-scale conquest war of Britain by the Romans, but now it has become a game and struggle between the Roman Empire and the emerging Frankish Kingdom.

While preparing to send troops across the sea to support their Germanic cousins, the Franks were also not idle on the European continent and continued to provoke the Romans on the border. It was obvious that the Carolingian royal family wanted to prove that they were not afraid of the current conquerors, the Romans. This was a prerequisite for the Frankish royal family to survive, and they had to be strong enough to represent the fundamental interests of many Franks.

Faced with this blatant defiance of imperial authority, the Romans could not remain silent and quickly responded.

Now the Danube Legion has completed its rotation and has been reorganized into a new Germanic Legion with some new recruits. Their military chief is not a mediocre person, but a very hot-tempered military talent. Under his leadership, the garrisoned Romans and the Franks have had high-intensity military frictions, and both sides have won and lost. If we have to say, the Romans are slightly better, after all, their size and military advantages are there.

(End of this chapter)