Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 248 Departure
Stilicho was not an unfaithful person. He did this entirely for Orville's sake, because in his opinion the matter in Egypt was not so urgent and it was completely acceptable to delay it for a while.

Orville refused: "No need, things may be more complicated than you think. You can leave in five days. I will let the guards get ready. Do you want to go with me or go first?"

Seeing this, Stilicho knew that he could not persuade Orville this time: "Then I will go out with the supplies in advance. I will help you reorganize the troops in Palfi. They come from different systems, and it will take some effort to make them obey orders. This way, you don't have to waste time when you arrive, and you can directly deploy them."

Orville nodded in agreement to the other party's request, and Stilicho took his leave and went to prepare things.

Trajan did not leave with Ivar. Orville took him with him as an aide. After Stilicho left, he stepped forward and asked, "Is it necessary to write to King Architas and ask him to prepare soldiers as well?"

Orville seriously considered the other party's suggestion, and finally rejected it: "It's meaningless, forget it. You may not know the situation of King Herod. It's a bit difficult to maintain the rule now. Their soldiers' combat effectiveness is generally not very good, and they don't even know why they are fighting. There is not much point in bringing such an army. The few that are still okay are the king's own guards. King Herod can mobilize them at any time if he wants.

Moreover, it is easy to cause disputes after bringing them. I believe that the efficiency of multiple coalition forces is far lower than that of a complete army. Our army is already complicated enough now. If we add more, it will start to become bloated. "

Trajan did not refute and acted like he was being taught.

…………

To be fair, after getting married, it is inevitable that Orville wants to take a break, but it is impossible now. Tia seems to be in a similar situation. Out of a strong sense of responsibility, except for the first and second days of rest, she quickly returned to work.

But leaving aside the official situation, she seemed to blush more in private, often holding Orville's arm without saying a word. In addition, Orville went back very late the next day. At first, he didn't want to disturb the other party and was going to go back to his room to rest, but he found that Tia fell asleep directly in his room.

There are many such examples. All signs indicate that after falling in love, the other party behaves more like an irrational teenage girl rather than a married woman in her thirties who can be a mother.

Orwell could be said to have anticipated this situation, because some signs indicate that Titus in history was more or less "love-brained". Just look at his long-term relationship with Berenice of the Palphi royal family. Later, he refused to repent even when the civilians in the capital rioted. If it were an ordinary person, he would probably not have the courage or motivation to do this. Infatuation is a very rare trait among emperors.

Although he was suspected of being in love, Dia had not delayed his work, so Orville did not care too much. Anyway, the Roman citizens did not oppose him and would not cause a riot because of his affairs, so he just let her be. It was a good thing to be a little willful in a busy life, at least Orville did not object.

Taking this as a change of pace in life, Orville paid attention to Vespa's health before leaving. He had sent a Parfit alchemy potion to Vespa before, but he did not write to King Herod in Parfit for it. He asked Berenice directly. She had always been brought by Orville and Tia not far from them, from Rome to Gaul, from Gaul to Britain, and then from Britain back to Gaul.

This kind of high-quality potion can only be made by royal family or senior priests who inherit the blood of the high priest. It is very hard for Berenice to do this job. She can usually only produce two or three potions a day, and she will be almost exhausted from exhaustion.

However, after learning that these things were for the emperor, she finally remembered that she also had some responsibilities as a diplomatic envoy. She knew that she should try her best to please the Romans, especially the emperor at the top. Berenice barely cheered up and forced herself to make forty or fifty doses of potion.

These potions were enough to last until Orville arrived at Palphi, and then he could get some potions from King Herod's treasury.

Orville didn't know whether these potions could cure Vespa's physical problems, but drinking them was better than nothing. According to real historical circumstances, Vespa's rule would last for ten years, and now it was already the fifth year, so Vespa might only have five years to live. He himself had a vague premonition about this, and it was not a good sign.

Whether out of personal feelings or out of practical considerations of interest, he did not want Vespa to die early. Orville had almost regarded Vespa as his real father. And then again, even if he was not his father, he was still his emperor and father-in-law, someone who should not die. Orville wanted to do his best to prolong the other's life, every day longer would be a better life.

In addition to the potions, there were some other things that Orville had been thinking about before, such as the "souvenirs" from the prophet Jesus, which were the legendary Spear of Longinus and True Cross. These things were kept by King Herod, and maybe if he looked harder he could find holy relics such as the Shroud of Turin.

Astolfo had asked Orville about the whereabouts of these things before, and more than once, four or five times in the past few years. Although Astolfo looked like he was a bit stupid, he was actually not stupid at all. He had a reason for asking the same question over and over again, but Orville didn't know what the other party's reason was yet.

But one thing was clear - these things should be kept properly now. He planned to take these holy relics from King Herod after arriving in Parphi. Who knows, they might be useful to him in the future.

Even if it was useless, he still suspected Astolfo. He was not sure what the other party's motive was for following him. It was right to be a little cautious. He could not keep these things, but he absolutely could not let them fall into the hands of the Franks. No one could tell what would happen.
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A few days later, Orville had made the final preparations and was ready to set off.

After obtaining permission from Vespa to mobilize the Guards, Orville prepared to go to the Guards camp and lead his guards to Egypt.

(End of this chapter)