Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 177 Encyclopedia
In the Flavian Palace in Rome, Vespa was handling government affairs in his study.

Due to his old age and the large amount of government affairs he had to deal with, he couldn't help feeling sore in his back and waist. He had to stop and rest after watching for a while. At this time, his mistress, Chenis, would consciously come up to him and rub his shoulders, and at the same time, gently offer him fruits and wine as snacks.

Although she was a mistress, the two of them had been friends for 20 years. Vespa just had not made her the queen. Zenis did not care about this kind of thing. She did not understand what kind of responsibilities a queen needed to bear. For her, this kind of wealthy and comfortable life was already very satisfying. Since Vespa did not mention it, she would not shamelessly ask for more. She thought that everyone should do their part well.

Vespa smiled and thanked him, then felt a little depressed: "It would be great if Orville and Tia were also in this study. After they left with Domitia, the whole mansion was empty and not very popular. It's such a waste of such a big house. It cost me a lot of money to buy it. Those guys in the Senate said they were giving it to me, but in fact, I still had to bleed to live in it."

Chenis did not talk about politics, but only about family matters: "When they grow up, they will definitely have to live their own lives. You, a grown man, must know this better than me. It is only a matter of time before they leave home. As for Domitia, I don't understand. She has everything she wants in Rome. It's such a good life. Why does she have to go to Gaul with her sister and brother? It's really a pity.

I see you've been writing letters to their three children, shouldn't you suddenly feel lonely?"

Vespa waved his hand. "It's just that I've been having some troubles lately, so I have to complain a little. Now there's no trash can to listen to my complaints, so I always feel unhappy."

After a few more words to Zenith, the other party knew that Vespa had to deal with government affairs and his time was precious, so after chatting for a few words, he took his leave, leaving Vespa alone in the study.

Vespa now turned his attention back to governing the country and continued to think about issues related to the Franks.

Even though he had prepared himself mentally when talking to Orville before, he still didn't expect the other party to react so strongly, as if he was ready to start a war at any time.

This was undoubtedly contrary to Vespa's strategic conception. He was planning to recuperate. Vespa knew very well that he did not have strong military talent and would not live long. Now his top priority was to leave an empire with well-governed internal affairs and abundant treasury to his heirs. He could leave the matter of fighting to future generations, who would probably be better than him.

But now, Orville's Gallo-British plan directly put Vespa's idea into danger. However, he did not mean to be angry with his adopted son, because he was the first one to agree to this matter, and naturally he had to be prepared to bear the consequences.

Just as he was lost in thought, an old man with gray hair and beard walked in under the guidance of his servants and saluted respectfully to Vespa.

"Your Majesty, do you have something to ask me?"

"It's nothing serious. I just want to invite you to dinner. It's boring for me to stay alone in the mansion. By the way, I want to ask you something. What do you think of the Franks?"

Pliny the Elder looked at him puzzledly, not understanding why his old friend was asking him about this: "You want me to lead troops to fight? It's not impossible, but there are obviously better options, right?"

Vespa laughed out loud. "I can't hide it from you. Of course, I didn't mean to hide it. I really hope you can go on my behalf, and I don't have a better choice." He retorted, "Isn't Aurelian very popular recently? I have met him a few times. Although he is not as knowledgeable as I thought, he is definitely better than me in fighting. What you need is a general, not a scholar. That's enough."

Vespa just shook his head slightly. He couldn't say that he had taken his adopted son's words to heart. He felt that Aurelian was a threat to his daughter's future succession to the throne, so he was secretly wary of him and didn't want to give him another chance to gain military merit. He could only pretend to let the other party stop asking questions.

Fortunately, he was the emperor, and Pliny the Elder was tactful and did not continue to ask further questions.

"If you don't want to talk about it, forget it. At my age, I don't care about your political struggles. It shouldn't be a big deal if we talk about it while eating."

"It's better to solve it before the dinner table. We have more good things to discuss."

"Then I asked directly, what do I want to do and what can you provide me?"

"There are 15,000 legionnaires and supporting auxiliary soldiers. There is more money than you can afford. Go and support the German Legion on the front line. If the Germans dare to attack again, you will immediately serve as the financial officer of the local legion to help and monitor the German Legion in combat."

Pliny the Elder was an authoritative naturalist thousands of years later, and he was also an encyclopedic talent. Such people generally had their own way of doing things. Not only did he write the 37-volume tome "Natural History", he also served as a cavalry officer in the Germanic region. His experience was enough to write a book, so he wrote a book called "On Cavalry Throwing Spears", discussing various issues and details to pay attention to when cavalry used spears.

In addition, he also conducted in-depth research on the wars and history of the Germanic people and wrote "Wars in Germany". The Flavian royal family has recently read this set of books and they all felt it was refreshing and that it could be seen that he had a lot of knowledge.

Among all kinds of academic military talents, Pliny the Elder was at a relatively good level. He was not very experienced, but he was certainly experienced. The key was that Vespa trusted him and he was reliable, and the relationship between the two had always been good.

After weighing the pros and cons, Pliny the Elder agreed: "No problem, I can take on this mission, it shouldn't be difficult. When do you want to leave? I can leave at any time, just give me the army when you can."

Vespa smiled. "No hurry, no hurry. Let's eat first. We'll talk about military matters later. Now let's relax. My old subordinates brought a lot of rare and exotic animals from the south of Africa. Let's taste them together. I asked the chef to prepare the ingredients. We can eat in a while!"

After the official business was settled, Pliny the Elder put these things behind him and began to chat with Vespa. The servants in the mansion were mobilized, and the mansion gradually became lively with singing and dancing.

(End of this chapter)