Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 232 Elders

To a large extent, Vespa was just speaking in anger, but his words were also somewhat reasonable. At least in the eyes of traditional Romans like him, the Greeks were really a bit ungrateful. The Romans had given them many privileges and preferential treatment, but they still didn't like the Romans very much, and they would clamor for an uprising whenever there was a problem.

Orville comforted him: "Don't be too angry. Sooner or later, they will realize their situation. They are not the rulers of the world, but just an ordinary nation under the rule of the rulers. Maybe a real war will make them realize their status. Time will prove this."

Vespa calmed down after he finished his rant. "So, the Ptolemaic royal family cannot be touched now. I also have to consider their influence among the Greeks. Do you understand what I mean?"

Orville nodded slightly. "You mean, I can't show hostility towards the Greeks, so as not to let the Greeks misunderstand us and think that we are targeting the Ptolemy royal family, right?"

Vespa nodded with satisfaction. "Besides that, you have to help me confirm one thing. Are Berdinus and the little king of Egypt really friends of the Romans? This will determine our attitude in the matter. The situation in Greece is very delicate now. If the Ptolemaic royal family takes the lead and raises its arm, the situation will be very unfavorable to us. Greece, Anatolia, Egypt and other regions will unite to resist us. We don't have many troops stationed in the east now. If we experience another major war, we may be damaged. Our main goal in the past few years is to recuperate. You have to help me confirm that Egypt needs to be law-abiding."

"Why don't you just go and talk to the Governor of Egypt about this matter? As far as I know, he is a very capable person, and he also helped you ascend the throne of emperor, so he should be trustworthy."

"Him? He has too many little calculations in his head, and he has received too many benefits from Berdinos over the years. I'm afraid he has done a lot of things to deceive his subordinates and hide things from his superiors. He may think that hiding some things doesn't matter, but in fact it is not the case."

Vespa actually heard a lot of news from Orville rather than from the Governor of Egypt. Although the two sides were important allies of interests, they were not of the same mind after all. After confirming this, Vespa actually did not trust the Governor of Egypt very much. He could only say that he was no different from many other governors and was not a person worthy of full trust.

Vespa added, "That's why I asked you to help me take a look. You and Berdinos don't share the same interests. As a bystander, you may be able to discover more."

Orville understood this very well: "I will do a good job of this matter, please rest assured. How do you want to arrange for me to go there?"

"You wrote to me and told me that the Vikings wanted to smuggle luxury goods. You can just use this as an excuse to go to Egypt. I will prepare the documents for you. Egypt is a distribution center for Eastern goods. Although others may be suspicious, it is a plausible reason. I heard that you brought those Vikings into the city, which will be very convincing. It's okay to have your own ideas about what you do in the future. Everyone has some ideas, but don't forget your identity."

"Of course I am now Orville Flavia Vespasianus, and no one else."

Vespa was satisfied with Orville's reply. He waved to Orville, indicating that he could leave.

But at this time, Orville hesitated and presented a small metal pot: "I got this thing from the Palfi people. It should be good for your health. Try it and drink it directly."

This is the healing potion that Berenice gave him before. Although it is not known whether it is effective for his old age and frailty, this thing has an almost magical effect and there will be no harm in drinking it.

Vespa took a look at the small pot, unscrewed the cap without hesitation and drank it. After drinking it, he did not feel any significant changes. "I have heard of the alchemy potion of the Palfi people. It is said that the healing effect is very good, but it should not be of much use to my old bones. After all, I didn't have any external injuries. I just got older and my body naturally deteriorated."

"I will try to get more from Palfi later. No matter if it's useful or not, there's no harm in trying more. I can guarantee that."

For ordinary people and even most Roman nobles, it is not an easy task to obtain this kind of medicine that is monopolized by the Herod royal family. However, Orville has a good personal relationship with the Herod royal family. If he wants to get these medicines stably, he may not even need to spend money. He just needs to persuade them with emotion and reason.

Vespa nodded to Orville, knowing that this was for his own good so he didn't refuse, with a look of relief in his eyes.
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After the reunion dinner in the evening, everyone started to get busy again the next day. The first thing they had to deal with was the issue related to Alfred.

Orville formed a political alliance with the other party, and of course he had the obligation to find an official position for the other party in Rome so that he could enter the Senate.

Orville brought Alfred to the Senate chamber and gave Alfred the opportunity to perform. He did live up to expectations and performed quite well.

He behaved gracefully in the Senate meeting room and was able to communicate with the senators fluently in Latin, which was a big plus in the eyes of the senators.

After all, in their eyes, granting a seat in the Senate to a barbarian has completely different meaning from granting a seat in the Senate to someone who is familiar with Roman culture. The former can almost be called a humiliation to them, while the latter, for them, if it is for political considerations, can be barely considered an acceptable thing.

After all, Britain was a newly conquered province, and giving up a seat in order to achieve a political balance with the local native rulers was not unacceptable.

After all, there are 600 seats in the Senate, and many of them are there just to make up the numbers. Giving out more than a dozen would certainly require careful consideration, but giving out one or two is not a big problem.

So, after a speech of about an hour and careful consideration by the Senate members, they finally agreed to grant Alfred a seat in the Senate, and he finally got the opportunity to enter the core layer of the Senate as he wished.

Alfred's demands were basically met. He did not ask for interference in the core politics of the empire, but only asked for a channel to speak.

There was still one thing left to be discussed - how to deal with the Vikings' demands.

(End of this chapter)