Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 270 The situation suddenly changes

A heated debate broke out in the Senate over how to respond to the events between Ptolemy Egypt and Orville, which was essentially a question of division of interests.

The debate in the Senate was about how to treat Egypt in the future. Those who were opposed now were not actually opposed to incorporating Egypt into the provincial governance system. They were just opposed to Egypt becoming the emperor's property after provincialization. If Vespasian said now that Egypt would become the property of the Senate in the future, most of these senators would probably change their tone immediately, be persuaded by Vespasian's eloquence, and support the use of force against Egypt.

These people just don't want to change the current balance of power and are worried about the lack of power and the inequality of power. They are not really considering Egypt's affairs for the empire. Vespa is very clear about these people's little thoughts and he doesn't want to pay too much attention to them.

During the time when the Senate was arguing, he had already ordered the mobilization of the legions in the eastern provinces without going through the Senate. After the Senate had been arguing for two or three days, he informed the senators of this matter.

Some senators were very dissatisfied with this, but there was nothing they could do as the situation was stronger than they were. Vespa was not like Nero, who had no faults to speak of, nor was he like Claudius, who was a good guy and easy to bully. On the contrary, his power was quite consolidated, and his governing results had always been good. He was not someone who could be easily impeached or overthrown.

It's not worth it to fall out over this matter. Besides, the Royal Guards are still in Tia's hands. If they really want to overturn the table, they have to see if the servants they have are enough to fight the Royal Guards.

All in all, the matter was resolved under Vespa's strong order. He stamped Orville's actions, declared Antonius's treason valid, and commissioned Orville to thoroughly investigate the collusion between the Ptolemaic royal family and Antonius. The legions stationed in the eastern provinces would take action to assist Orville's actions.

A series of military operations were dispatched in secret, and the specific information was only known to a few prestigious and powerful senators in the Senate. Before Mucinus' army arrived at the border, the Egyptians probably didn't know what was going to happen. They thought that the Roman emperor was arguing with the senators and there was no result.

A military mobilization of this scale still takes time. Now it depends on whether Orville can hold on until then.
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Although Orville and the Ptolemaic royal family did not know the specific situation in Rome, they could vaguely guess the general situation. The Egyptians or the Greeks in Egypt did not pin their hopes on the mercy of the Roman emperor. Moreover, the Roman emperor would definitely favor his adopted son. For unknown reasons, the Guards disappeared from the battlefield for a few days, and then they reappeared on the battlefield, launching a fierce attack on Soros Island like a tide with unprecedented intensity.

Under the fierce attack, Orville was somewhat overwhelmed and had to abandon most of the outer stone walls layer by layer and retreat to the core position of the fortress.

The other side took advantage of the victory and organized a very dangerous attack.

The seven gifted ones gathered together and led hundreds of the most elite guards to attack the fortress. There were only five gifted ones on Orville's side (Ivar, Stilicho, Trajan, Alfred, and Cuchulainn), and it was quite difficult for them to cope with them. The city wall was once captured by them, and they almost broke through the fortress gate in one go.

In the end, it was only by using Cu Chulainn's uncontrollable berserk skill, allowing him to rush into the crowd and kill people, that he was able to barely curb the opponent's offensive pace. Several gifted people on both sides were seriously injured, and the casualties of ordinary soldiers were countless. Orwell was obviously at a disadvantage in terms of the number of gifted people, but it was not impossible to make up for it - King Herod gave him a large number of healing potions, and in order to prepare for emergencies, he kept some potions in his hands and did not give them to Vespa, and now they came in handy.

Even if they are severely exhausted, with multiple abrasions, scratches and even sword wounds all over their bodies, they can recover quickly after drinking these potions. The opponent's gifted players are still recuperating in the back, and Orville is already ready for the next round of attack.

The more crucial point is that the other party doesn't know that Orville has so many potions. In the eyes of people other than the top nobles of Palphi, this kind of potion is a rare treasure. Even if the Egyptian royal family bought some at a high price and collected them, they probably wouldn't be willing to use them at this time. They are all used to save their own lives, not as war consumables.

They probably thought that Orville's warriors were also recovering from their injuries, and that they had already figured out Orville's details, and were eagerly waiting for their own talented people to recover so that Orville could catch them off guard.

Opportunity waits for no one. The opponent's high-level combat effectiveness cannot be allowed to recover. He is ready to do so now and is organizing soldiers to plan the offensive.
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Just as Orville was gearing up to plan his offensive, news came from the eastern province of Syria and Parfi that shocked the Egyptian government and the public.

The Syrian governor Mucinus appeared in the Kingdom of Parphi and took over the command of the 12th Legion stationed there. He claimed that he was ordered by the emperor to mediate and demanded that the Egyptian army immediately lay down their arms and accept investigation by the emperor and the prince.

The sudden appearance of the opponent made Berdinus and others panic. They had thought about the possibility that the emperor supported Orwell, but from the perspective of transportation and geography, the news would definitely be transmitted to Alexandria first and then to Syria. It would take a lot of time to transfer the army from Syria to the border. They had enough time to prepare for the defense of Mucinus.

Unexpectedly, Mucinus suddenly appeared in the Kingdom of Palphi with a light load, which disrupted their original deployment. If the 12th Legion joined the war and supported Cleopatra's troops who were now stranded in the Kingdom of Palphi, the original balance there would change.

In fact, Berdinus and others knew that Cleopatra's army was relatively weak, so they only sent more than 10,000 ordinary native Egyptian troops to keep an eye on them. The 12th Legion, including auxiliary troops, had nearly 10,000 people. Even though they were defeated by the Parphi rebels before, they proved that they were still excellent soldiers through their outstanding performance in the Parphi War. The combat effectiveness of these people is definitely several levels stronger than the ragtag army composed of Egyptian tenants.

Another problem is Mucinus himself. He has been guarding the border for more than ten years. He used the strength of four legions to pin Parthia outside the border line and only dared to make some small moves secretly. Countless battle examples have proved that he is an extremely good general and very good at commanding Roman legionnaires. This kind of general will produce a chemical reaction with the 12th Legion, which will increase the combat effectiveness of this legion exponentially. It really cannot be treated lightly.

(End of this chapter)