Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 222: The Former Dynasty Elders Forced to Revolt

The current Frankish Kingdom is the Carolingian Dynasty. Although the previous Merovingian Dynasty is said to have produced many lazy kings, there are still many "old people from the previous dynasty" within the decades of the change of dynasties. They choose to oppose the current rulers because of blood ties or simply because of conflicts of interest. In short, no one can satisfy everyone. King Charles still has many political enemies, but his strength is strong enough and his skills are good enough, so all these problems have been suppressed.

Many of King Charles' domestic enemies were sent to these armies in the lowlands, and a considerable number of them were excluded old men from the previous dynasty, who were closer to the former Merovingian royal family in political stance. Unfortunately, Auvers was able to find a descendant of the royal family from the previous dynasty, and that person was Belisarius's newlywed wife Judith.

She was the widow of the former Kingdom of Wessex and the legitimate descendant of the Merovingian dynasty. This identity was quite valuable to some people, especially those who already had opinions about the current Frankish king. This gave the Romans a lot of room for cooperation.

For today's nobles, the so-called national sentiment is basically non-existent. Their loyalty refers more to loyalty to their feudal monarchs. Therefore, in the eyes of many people, loyalty to the Merovingian royal family takes precedence over loyalty to the Frankish king.

After discovering that Judith was still alive and had become Belisarius' wife, many of the captured nobles fell into a state of hesitation and entanglement. Orville did not treat these people too harshly, but instead treated the captives well according to the rules. These people were placed in a spacious manor with a good environment, and their quality of life was quite guaranteed.

After a while, Orville found time to meet them.
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In the reception room of the manor, in order to show friendliness and equality, Orville deliberately replaced the table inside with a round table, and he only sat in a more conspicuous position in it. He did not highlight his status as the host, but instead implied that he had a certain equal status with them.

Looking around at the nobles seated there, Orville had also done some research during this period and had a rough idea in his mind.

There were more than fifty major nobles in total, and about one third of them were former Merovingians. The rest also had good reasons to oppose King Charles - either they were deprived of certain local privileges, or they were deprived of certain territories, or they had some previous feuds with the Carolingian family. In short, it was obvious that everyone present could find one thing in common, that is, they were all quite unhappy with King Charles, the tyrant.

Orville started out by saying a lot of insignificant polite words, then quickly got to the point and began to state the purpose of his visit today.

"I have specially gathered you all together today to discuss cooperation with you. I think we are all dissatisfied with the Carolingian royal family who are now seeking to usurp the throne. Since King Charles came to power, the Franks have been at war with the surrounding countries. He is an ambitious and greedy conqueror who never knows how to satisfy his desires.

The reason why you were captured by me and lost your troops in the war is ultimately because of King Charles' harassment and attack on our province. If he was a man who knew his limits and could be satisfied, I think there would be no need for us to go to the point of war."

In fact, the authenticity of this statement is completely questionable. According to the records of the Germanic-Roman relationship by Pliny the Elder in this time and space, since the founding of the Franks, or even from an earlier era, the conflict between the Romans and the Germans has never stopped. Both sides obviously have a greed for each other's territory. It is impossible to say who is right or wrong in this matter. If you have to say it, the Romans are more greedy, because the territory of the Roman Empire is obviously much larger than that of the Franks. However, the nobles present did not intend to refute. Everyone present was not an idiot who was overwhelmed with passion. They knew that mentioning these things was just an excuse. In fact, Orville was inviting them to fight against the Carolingian Dynasty and the current King Charles together with the Roman Empire.

An old man who looked energetic was the first to raise the question. He seemed to be the leader of the group: "King Charles has a well-trained army and sufficient food, and he has many capable ministers and generals. Our strength alone is not enough to compete with King Charles, otherwise we would not be driven to the lowlands to die.

We need support from the Roman Empire to fight King Charles. What can you provide us with?"

"As the governor, I cannot give you too much. After all, the land of Britain is not rich. It is barely enough for self-use. But I think His Majesty the Emperor will strongly support your cause. I have reported your situation to the Emperor. Now the letter is being sent to Rome at full speed. I believe I will get a reply from the Emperor soon. It is not difficult to get his permission. The Emperor and the Senate are already tired of King Charles.

We can provide you with weapons, food, money and various necessary materials. As long as you need them, and the ultimate goal is to fight against King Charles, I think any of your requests can be met. The empire has sufficient human and material resources and does not care about such a small cost. "

Big promises could not fool these people. After all, they were almost all landed nobles with their roots in the Frankish Kingdom. If the Frankish king knew that they had defected to the Romans, he would certainly have ample reason to confiscate their property. If he wanted them to take this risk, he had to give them enough benefits.

Orville understood this idea, but he rejected it directly: "I will tell you the truth. As things stand, I am not going to release you back to Frank. And whether you are really ready to cooperate with me or not, I am going to spread the news that you have surrendered to the Romans.

You are now prisoners. I dare not say that I can decide your fate, but I do have some power to deal with prisoners. King Charles already has a problem with you. After this news spreads, it is conceivable that King Charles will definitely take advantage of it to make trouble for your family. From this moment on, you have no choice. "

As soon as these words came out, except for a few people who were not surprised, most people immediately glared at Orville. However, Orville was no longer a rookie and was accustomed to such eye attacks.

"In short, this is my decision. For those who are unwilling to cooperate with me, I will properly place them in a place and take good care of them until the dispute with the Frankish Kingdom is over. As for those who are willing to cooperate with me, the Roman Empire always welcomes new friends and new collaborators."

(End of this chapter)