Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 197 Crown
On the Vikings' large dragon-headed warship, the envoy from Frank was trying earnestly to persuade Ivar, who was keeping his head down and silent.

"The Romans are a nation that is not worthy of submission or obedience. They are the plunderers of the world. There is no place on land for them to continue squandering, so now they are reaching out to the sea. The wealth of their enemies will arouse their greed, and the poverty of their enemies will fuel their arrogance. Neither the East nor the West can satisfy the hunger of the Romans. They burn, kill and plunder everywhere in the name of the empire. They also say that it is for world peace, but in fact they are turning the world into a desert.

Don't you understand this? We need to unite to fight our greatest enemy. Only when all Germans work together can we fight the Romans. Our people recently discovered that Rollo has completely sided with the Romans. The current situation is not optimistic for us. We need to unite more than ever. His Majesty the King needs you to mobilize the military forces of the Vikings to fight the Romans. His Majesty the King has persuaded the King of the Danes (Denmark), and he will help you mobilize the warriors.

His Majesty the King is very generous to his friends. As long as you can drive the Romans out of the British Isles, His Majesty the King is willing to give you a generous reward.

I believe that ordinary wealth, women or slaves cannot satisfy a brave and powerful warrior like you, so King Charles is willing to pay a greater price. Do you think land and a crown are worthy of your status?

As long as you can drive out the Romans, King Charles is willing to let you be the King of Britain. This is the best opportunity to leave a name for posterity. Think about it - Your Majesty King Ivar, what a tempting opportunity this is! "

Faced with the eloquent words of the messenger, Ivar remained unmoved. He just nodded formally and signaled the other party to leave.

The messenger looked disappointed, but he still said, "The king's promise will always be valid. If you have this idea and succeed, you can always ask the king to fulfill his promise. If you encounter any difficulties in the battle with the Romans, you can also ask for our help at any time. We will try our best to meet your requirements."

The messenger finally said this, then boarded a small boat that was close to the dragon-headed warship and left the scene, preparing to return to the royal court to report to King Charles.

After watching the messenger leave, the sturdy warrior who had been standing silently beside Ivar immediately spoke impatiently: "Why didn't you accept King Charles's invitation just now? This is a great opportunity for us! Why would we become pirates when we have the land of Britain? There is enough land there for the whole country to move in. Just by collecting taxes, we can have no worries about food and drink for the rest of our lives. Isn't occupying England your goal all along?"

Looking at his brother [White Shirt] Halfdan calmly, Ivar knew that he was an impatient person, just like most northerners, but fortunately he was able to keep his composure in front of others and did not let King Charles' envoy discover his flaws.

"King Charles is related to the former King of Wessex by marriage. The Franks have close relations with the Angles or Saxons, and can only be said to be reluctant to recognize us. Do you think that if the Romans are really driven away, King Charles will be close to us, or will he continue to support his relatives?"

Haverdan was puzzled: "But King Charles has always kept his word. Since he promised to make you the King of Britain, he will not break his promise, right?"

"He can indeed fulfill his promise, because there will be no loss if he fulfills his promise. We have 7,000 to 8,000 people at most, and there are millions of people in Britain. We won't even make a splash if we throw them in. Even if we mobilize people from our hometown to move here, 30,000 to 50,000 people would be good. After all, the journey is long, and such a small number of people is still useless.

What good is it to be a king? We can only hold on for a few years, and if we can no longer stay here, we will be driven away."

After hearing this, Haverdan understood and asked, "Then what should we do?"

"Don't be too sure about things. Just act according to circumstances. Didn't Ubbe come from his hometown recently? Let him lead people to plunder the coast. Be careful to pick safe places to rob first. After you have some results, send people to King Charles to ask for aid supplies. After you get the supplies, we can talk about other things."

Haverdan shrugged: "Okay, then let's do as you say. You are the smartest and it's right to listen to you. But can you tell me what our final plan is?" "No matter what, there is no turning back."

...............

Orville stayed a little longer on the northern border, only to receive an unexpected visitor four days later.

The English prince Astolfo, who had been seen earlier, emerged from the mountains in the north, and then came to the Roman camp in a carefree manner to ask for supplies.

There were dozens of locals following him, looking around curiously. Orville found this scene new and simply asked the captain to let them in to replenish supplies.

After entering, Astolfo saw Orville, who was leading the group, was stunned for a moment, and then he started laughing: "Isn't this a coincidence? I didn't expect to see you here!"

Orville exchanged a few polite words with the other party, and then began to ask about the other party's background. Astolfo had no need to hide anything from Orville, so he told him the truth.

After he left Wessex, he wandered around for about half a month, and then on a whim he went north to "explore" the Celtic territory. It should be said that his martial arts skills, sense of direction and luck were quite good, and he successfully made a long circle in the Celtic territory and returned to England intact.

The locals who followed him were attracted by his force and actions and joined the event spontaneously. According to Astolfo himself, there were even more followers at the beginning, and the remaining dozens of people were the minority who chose to come to England with him.

Orville was very good at getting to the point: "You just came back from the northern lands. How's the situation there?"

"It's pretty good, right? The people are simple and honest, and the scenery is nice. What do you want to do by asking these questions?!" Astolfo was puzzled.

Obviously, he really enjoyed it and thought he was exploring the unknown world like the great heroes in the legends. Orville's thoughts did not match his opponent's for a while. After being in the army for a long time, his thoughts were a bit too direct and utilitarian.

"Then let me put it another way. Have you seen any traces of Vikings in the north?"

"That's right," Astolfo suddenly realized, "Those guys not only wanted to rob me, but also kept kidnapping the locals, making the locals miserable. I had a lot of conflicts with them and even fought several times!"

Orville suddenly felt relieved, as if Astolfo had come to his rescue.

(End of this chapter)