Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 196 Civilization
On the northern border of England, in a long-standing fortress built by the Romans, Orville is inspecting the frontline environment.

Looking at the clothes worn by the soldiers on the front line, he couldn't help but complain in his heart - he finally realized that it was a punishment to try to save face.

When his army was spending the winter in the northern province of Gaul, he actually prepared trousers for the soldiers. However, most of the soldiers from the Mediterranean world generally believed that wearing trousers was unmanly and barbaric, so they refused to wear them.

Now they have come to the north of England, and autumn has arrived. The weather is getting cooler, which makes these people who were born in the warm Mediterranean area feel a little overwhelmed. After a lot of ideological struggle, most of the soldiers finally choose to put on pants, warm coats and cloaks.

Once this happened, it would happen again. After the first century chose to wear long trousers, the rest of the Roman army chose to wear long trousers in a very short time. Orville couldn't understand how these soldiers stationed in different places could do so in unison.

Looking at these soldiers, Orville shook his head helplessly, and then he asked his secretary Procopius: "What do you think of the environment here?"

Procopius subconsciously raised his head and looked at him: "Do you want to hear the truth or just some polite talk?"

"Just tell the truth. Am I that narrow-minded?"

"The environment here is terrible. The sea is full of water, the ground is full of water, the air is full of water, and everywhere is foggy and wet. It's not warm at all, it's cold and wet, and it's not suitable for normal human life. I'm afraid only uncivilized barbarians can adapt to this deadly climate."

As if a valve had been opened, Procopius began to rant about the terrible environment in Britain. He had no intention of concealing it. The soldiers around him could also hear him and nodded in agreement. It was obvious that their thoughts were similar to Procopius'.

For the Romans who were accustomed to the Mediterranean climate, the environment here was indeed not pleasant. If it were just a little bit worse, it would be fine. For example, the Germanic provinces were at least quite well built, and the garrisons of the Roman legions were usually cities with very complete facilities, including theaters, baths, arenas and even public facilities such as libraries.

The treatment in Britain is not so good. For the Romans who are accustomed to civilized life, the environment here can only be said to be a place where they can survive without dying.

Now, since the Romans had just arrived and had not encountered any difficulties, the soldiers were relatively supportive of Orville. This dissatisfaction was limited to verbal complaints, but Orville should indeed pay attention to this problem. Once the situation changed, dissatisfaction might escalate. He was a general who cared more about the emotions and support of his soldiers. Otherwise, a mutiny or assassination would not be worth the cost.

Orville looked around at the soldiers and comforted them: "I know that the environment in Britain is not comfortable for the Romans to live in, but please believe me, new cities and settlements will soon be built here, and we will build this place into a livable and safe new province. Everything we do now is for our future and our descendants.

The Gallic provinces are a vast land. After full development, they can accommodate tens of millions of people in peace. If you want the Gallic provinces to be stable, you must stabilize the British provinces. Otherwise, the barbarians and pirates attacking from Britain will make the residents of northern Gaul restless. Everything is necessary. Please be patient for a while. It won't be long. I think within two years, the situation will change fundamentally.

I won't write you useless empty checks. The financial situation of the central government of the empire is not very good now, and I don't have much spare money either. When the financial situation is more comfortable, you will have everything you desire. I promise to give you a triumphal ceremony, generous bonuses, and enough land for your descendants to cultivate. As long as you perform your duties and endure the current difficult environment, it will be fine. "After Orville's brief impromptu speech, everyone on the scene felt much better, and they regained the fighting spirit when they first landed in Britain - he has always been a man of his word, and he will eventually deliver on what he promised to the soldiers. Therefore, the soldiers did not think that Orville would make empty promises, but chose to believe it all.

Seeing that morale had obviously recovered, Orville was satisfied with the results. He instructed Procopius: "Collate the content of my speech and post it in various garrisons. I want my soldiers to know that their struggle is not meaningless."

"Yes."

Procopius looked at him with admiration, then hurried off to prepare the paperwork, leaving Orville and the officers and soldiers at the scene.

Orville coughed twice and continued to ask the captain stationed there: "How is the situation recently? You have been stationed here for more than half a month. You should be familiar with the local situation."

"The soldiers have basically adapted to the climate here. We have already prepared for fetching water, storing food, and stockpiling weapons. The relationship between the locals and us is still quite tense, and soldiers fetching water are often attacked, harassed, and followed. We followed your instructions and did not cross the border to suppress the locals, but the soldiers were also very dissatisfied with this passive situation, so we reported the situation to Legion Commander Belisarius."

For these professional soldiers, this situation was undoubtedly very frustrating, so the captain seemed a little aggrieved and indignant when he spoke, and was quite dissatisfied with the Celts in the north.

"Have you figured out the details of the barbarians in the north?"

The captain smiled bitterly and shook his head: "I still don't know clearly, and I believe that it would be similar if someone else took over. The situation of those barbarians is too chaotic, I don't know where to start."

Orville motioned the captain to continue, and he began to complain to Orville, who took the opportunity to listen to the details.

Relatively speaking, Boudica's barbarians were the most developed and civilized, because they had been dealing with the Anglo-Saxons in the east for many years, and they always brought a lot of new things into the wars. In Orville's opinion, these people were probably at the level of a tribal alliance. As for the barbarians in the north, they were generally at the level of scattered tribes, not even up to the level of a tribal alliance.

The captain wanted to negotiate with the other side, but he had no idea who to contact. The other side did not have anyone authoritative and powerful enough to represent the entire tribe and negotiate with the Romans.

(End of this chapter)