Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 187 The dust has settled
Once there was a breach, a second and a third soon appeared, and the German formation was quickly riddled with holes.

Along with the battle line, the Germans' will to resist was also broken. After their formation was broken, most people lost confidence in fighting. Some chose to launch suicide attacks, some chose to surrender on the spot, but more people chose to flee.

Most of them were local Anglo-Saxons, and it was not particularly difficult for them to find a place to hide locally. The number of soldiers who remained calm in fighting became fewer and fewer, and in the end, only Harold and his guards were left.

His will to resist was worthy of respect. Until this time, he had not considered retreating. He still stayed on the front line to command the troops and tried to restrain the deserters to return to the battlefield.

Orville saw all this and felt a little bit of appreciation for talent in his heart. He still respected people with strong bones, but it was just a thought in his mind, because judging from the situation, Harold Godwinson should have to die.

First of all, the Romans had to have someone to blame for their war in Britain, and Orville would not push Alfred of Wessex to take the blame. The only person who was in the right position was Harold himself. Secondly, Harold was the culprit for the death of Trajan the Elder, and Orville had a friendship with Trajan the Elder, who was also a close confidant and friend of Vespasian. Orville had to give a complete explanation to Vespasian and Trajan the Elder's family.

On the one hand, his adoptive father Vespasian was one, and on the other hand, the son of old Trajan was another. After all, Trajan, one of the Five Good Emperors, was far more important to Orville than Harold.

Finally, under the siege of the soldiers, Harold, who was unable to continue, was shot in the eye by a hail of arrows while commanding his troops. Although the gifted people in this world have stronger combat capabilities, their bodies are not much stronger than ordinary people.

Harold was shot in the vitals and died on the spot after struggling for a few times. He died with hatred in his heart. The German army, whose commander was killed, completely lost the will to resist.

Everything that happened afterwards went smoothly. Most of the German troops who remained on the battlefield and had not surrendered now surrendered on the spot. The very few soldiers who were determined to resist finally launched a suicide attack, but it was still a drop in the bucket. The war was declared over at this point.

As the losses on his side were also heavy and the soldiers were generally in poor condition, Orville did not order his soldiers to pursue the fleeing soldiers. They were not familiar with the terrain and would easily suffer losses if they advanced rashly.
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Leaving the auxiliary soldiers to clean up the battlefield, Orville led most of the soldiers back to the occupied city of London.

He openly displayed his captured soldiers, flags and various trophies to the residents, but the cold facts dampened the enthusiasm of most people to resist.

Orville was dressed in ceremonial ornate brass armor, dressed like the heroes in the sculptures. He rode a tall horse and walked at the head of the army with great dignity.

Arriving at the small square in the center of the city, it was now full of civilians watching. Belisarius was worried that there might be assassins among them, so he wanted to evacuate the crowd, but Orville himself rejected the proposal. He stood on the platform in the center of the square, looking down at the civilians around him.

Most of their expressions were very complicated: some were afraid, some were angry, some were sad, and of course the most were anxious and confused about the future. They didn't know where they would go. Orville didn't make a long speech this time. The first person to stand in the middle of the square and speak was Alfred. Although he was not the local king, he was also quite well-known in the British Isles. The civilians gathered in London knew a little more about the world. They knew that the one holding the red dragon flag was the royal family of the Kingdom of Wessex, the most powerful and recognized ruler in the area.

Standing in the center of the crowd, he took some time to adjust his mentality before speaking: "Everyone, I understand how you feel now. You don't know what the future holds, and you don't know what the newly arrived Romans will be like. What I say may not be credible, but I still hope you can believe me. I believe these Romans will bring order and stability, and you will live a better life than before."

In fact, it is just some official rhetoric, painting a rosy picture to appease people's hearts. No matter whether Alfred thinks so in his heart or not, he can only say this now.

After Alfred finished speaking, temporary officials arranged by Orville would come to hand over the work. These people were considered professionals, so there shouldn't be too many problems. Orville didn't waste too much time on the local residents. He inspected for about twenty minutes, and after confirming that everything was going according to plan, he left the central square and headed for a farm outside London.

During this period, the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in Britain were generally in the early feudal period. There was no sign of so-called monarchical centralization. In addition to the king, there was another very important organization that played a role, namely the local Council of Wise Men.

Strictly speaking, this was a council convened by the king, and most of the participants were the king's close ministers, local superior gentry, powerful local nobles, and some religious priests.

The original king of East Anglia was a mediocre man. When facing the Vikings, he only wanted to compromise and did not think of resisting at all, so he was killed by the angry local people. After the king was killed, the Council of Wise Men elected Harold Godwinson as the leader, and united under his banner to fight against the Romans and Vikings.

From this point of view, Orville had every reason to be hostile to the participants of the Council of Sages. After all, they were local tyrants who wanted to go against him. However, as a newcomer to the area, he could not openly become an enemy of everyone.

No matter how powerful the Romans were and how deep their foundation and background were, they only had a military force of less than 20,000 people in Britain, which was only one percent of the local Anglo-Saxons. They could not govern this land by bloody and terrorist rule.

He believed that maintaining a relative balance was the key to stable governance. As for what exactly the balance was, this question should be decided at the meeting, rather than him just promoting his wishful thinking.

So after winning the battle, he announced on the spot that he would convene a new Council of Wise Men and asked all those who were qualified to participate in the Council of Wise Men to gather in London immediately. He did not give a specific deadline, but those who cared about this news would naturally arrive soon.

As far as Orville knew, this was indeed the case. There were already more than twenty people waiting near the venue.

(End of this chapter)