Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 265 BUFF Stacked
In addition to military settlers, the Ptolemaic army also included local Egyptians and mercenaries, neither of which can be mobilized at present, or even if they are mobilized, their combat effectiveness is still questionable.

As mentioned earlier, the situation in Egypt is rather special. Most of the land is in the hands of the royal family and the temple, and most of the local Egyptians are tenant farmers. In order to control costs and control upward channels, these people will not receive very good military education. The combat effectiveness of tenant farmers who have not received good training and join the army can be imagined. They come here just to make up the numbers.

As mentioned before, in the eyes of these Greek immigrants, Alexandria was not the Alexandria of Egypt, but the Alexandria next to Egypt. The Egyptians had a kind of contempt for this city from the bottom of their hearts, as if the conquerors were looking down on the conquered people. Now the conquered people were asked to surround the city for them. Regardless of whether the Egyptians would do it or not, many locals did not want to see it. Therefore, most of the troops from the native Egyptians were turned away and transferred to the border with Parphi to be on guard against Cleopatra's soldiers.

As for mercenaries, they are somewhat reliable. After all, they do have some combat effectiveness sometimes. The Ptolemaic Dynasty would recruit retired Roman legionnaires or elite Greek mercenaries as combat force supplements, so this group of people was considered to be guaranteed.

However, due to the long period of peace, it has been too long since the defense was thrown to the Romans. There are few mercenaries in Alexandria now, and temporary hiring takes time. It is impossible to do anything to Orwell on Soros Island in a short time.

All in all, the army of the Ptolemaic Dynasty has been fully loaded with buffs, with military households, tenant farmers, and mercenaries. It may be okay in the early days of the dynasty, but one can imagine its combat effectiveness over time.

In history, Caesar encountered similar armies. When Alexandria did not have the advantage of terrain and people, he only needed a few thousand people to exhaust the enemy's 20,000 to 30,000 people. The quality of these troops can be seen. It can only be said that except for a few troops, they were basically rotten.

Now that Orville was guarding the island, a team of 100 men could block the causeway, and the opponent's numerical advantage could not be brought into play. The two sides could only fight head-on, and the result of the fight was not good for the Ptolemy royal family - they had 300 to 400 casualties in one day, while the opponent's casualties were estimated to be at most dozens, and most of them were probably lightly injured.

The casualty ratios of both sides are not on the same level. It is obvious that the current soldiers cannot do anything to Orville's army. If they want to change the situation, they must send a more powerful army into the field.

Berdinos looked a little gloomy. He glanced at King Ptolemy on the throne behind him and asked him: "In my opinion, the current situation requires General Achilles' army to be dispatched. What do you think..."

"No problem! I'll mobilize the troops right away! Those useless soldiers are useless, so we still have to rely on the most powerful guards to decide the outcome of the battle."

The person who spoke was Achilles, a general of the Royal Guard. It was obvious that he lacked basic respect for the king. He agreed to Berdinus's order without waiting for the king's nod. Berdinus was still smiling, and there was no sign of displeasure, but there was a clear flash of hostility in the eyes of the young King Ptolemy. This kind of behavior of taking the place of another's father would make everyone unhappy. After all, he was a king (or someone who thought he was a king).

Finally, he took a deep breath and did not lose his temper in public, because he knew that even if he was angry, it would be useless. These people would continue to despise the royal authority, which would only lower his image in the eyes of the few loyal ministers and make them turn even more to Cleopatra, who had a backer.

"Then let us do as you say, Berdinus. Have General Achilles mobilize the army and launch the attack the next morning."

After saying this, he gave a few simple instructions, then announced the end of the meeting and returned to his palace to recuperate, citing illness as an excuse.

The officials basically did not leave, and Berdinos continued to organize the meeting and make various detailed arrangements for Ptolemy's instructions. …………

Elsewhere, Orville and Cleopatra stood side by side on the top of the Soros Island Fortress, observing the brightly lit defensive positions below.

This Egyptian princess was indeed quite capable. Through good lobbying methods, she successfully mobilized many people in the small town to help with defense. The addition of hundreds of local laborers and the cooperation of the locals greatly eased the pressure on Orville's side.

Cleopatra did not mention what price the townspeople demanded. I guess she settled the matter herself and did not let Orville know.

This made Orwell think a little higher of her. The two were certainly not completely of the same mind, but Cleopatra was still capable. When needed, one capable ally is better than ten fake losers. This is a consensus.

Holding the casualty statistics report in his hand, Orville didn't hesitate and handed the paper to the other party: "Is this what you want to see? In fact, there is no need to go this far. What will the Egyptians think of you after this?"

Cleopatra glanced at the numbers and replied calmly, "Your Highness, I want to correct one thing. It's not about how the Egyptians see me, but how the Greeks see me. The two are different. In my opinion, the royal families of all dynasties have placed too much emphasis on the opinions of the residents of Alexandria, which is why the royal family is in its current situation. They are forced by these self-proclaimed noble citizens to make a choice that is a poison to quench their thirst.

Now the situation should change. First of all, you should let the locals know that you are different from some people in the royal family. You will not cater to the likes and dislikes of the residents of Alexandria. When the residents of Alexandria block the way of the Romans, they must make way. "

Orville was not persuaded by this argument: "So without the support of the local residents, how are you and I going to govern the area?"

"You have to know that there are only a few hundred thousand Greeks here, while there are millions of pure Egyptians. Do I need to say more about who you should win over? From the beginning, the thoughts of Alexander and others are not that important. You have to let them understand this." Cleopatra looked at Orville with burning eyes.

Orville was a little surprised - it was obvious that the other party's thoughts were not limited, and she could see the world outside of Alexandria, which was rare.

He had originally intended to do this, to win over the locals to balance the power of the Greeks. He could provide the locals with a fairer channel for upward mobility, and he could also divide up some of the land that originally belonged to the temple and the Ptolemaic royal family and give it to the locals. In addition to the bureaucratic reforms he was preparing to implement, as long as he treated the locals as human beings, then governing them should not be particularly difficult.

(End of this chapter)