Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 318 Ancient Civilization
The Nubian Kingdom, or it should be called the Kush Kingdom to distinguish it from a certain mobile phone manufacturer, has been a place with close exchanges with Egypt since ancient times.

To be honest, the history of civilization of this place is not short. It was born together with Egypt and was influenced by Egypt. The history that can be traced back is also three or four thousand years. It can be said to be an ancient country, but it lacks civilization. At most, it can be regarded as a secondary civilization of Egypt.

In Egyptian documents and murals, the Nubians were more often portrayed as tribute payers, slaves, and mercenaries, occupying a relatively low position.

Around 1800 BC, this place had a political power, and then was conquered by the Egyptians for several hundred years in 1500 BC, and regained its independence in 1100 BC. After that, this country had wars and peace with Egypt, and even had a period of prosperity. Around 700 BC, black people from Nubia took advantage of the civil strife in Egypt to conquer the Egyptian Kingdom and established the 25th Dynasty in Egypt, which is the so-called "Black Pharaoh".

After the 25th Dynasty collapsed due to the invasion of the Assyrians, the Nubians retreated to their homeland and continued to maintain the previous state of war and peace, which remains the case today.

The famous literary work "Aida" is actually about the story between Egypt and Nubia. I don't know why Nubia was gradually confused with Ethiopia. Maybe it was because this country no longer existed at that time.

Generally speaking, the exchanges between the two sides were mainly based on trade and contribution, supplemented by war. Overall, Nubia's strength was not as strong as Egypt's. Only when Egypt declined could they see the opportunity to go north and annex land.

Now, facing Cleopatra's questioning, the prince was calm and said: "That's not the case. In fact, it was your garrison on the border that took action first. They plundered our livestock because the central government did not pay them and they could only make a living by being bandits."

Cleopatra rolled her eyes slightly. Even if this was true, it could only be said that the other party's reaction was obviously excessive. According to the reports she received alone, the other party had carried out dozens of cross-border looting activities, and if those that were not reported were included, there might be hundreds of times.

At the moment, she didn't want to argue with the other party about this matter. She just wanted to know what the other party wanted.

"Why don't you just be frank and tell me what the Nubians want?"

"We ask for more food imports, mainly in exchange for livestock and wild animals as before. In addition, we also hope that you can hire more of our warriors and be merciful to give them a way to make a living."

She flatly refused: "Neither of these is easy. We just went through a war and don't need mercenaries. Moreover, we are not self-sufficient in food production. If you want food, we have to go to Palphi, Syria, North Africa and other places to buy it. It costs a lot to go back and forth. We will lose money if we use the previous exchange rate, so I ask you to exchange it with gold."

This place is called nub, which means gold mine in Egyptian. It is a place where gold is produced. Due to the import of luxury goods such as silk and spices, a certain amount of gold and silver flowed out of the Roman Empire every year, so the Roman Empire was still short of gold and silver. In other words, there was no country in the ancient world that did not desire this thing. Gold was the reason for everything. Since there was an opportunity to do business with the other party, Orville would definitely plot against the other party's gold, and so did Cleopatra.

The prince also knew the importance of precious metals and could not easily agree: "Gold is fine, but we have to increase the exchange rate by 40% or so."

"Don't even think about it. If you want to take this opportunity to blackmail us, please don't say a word." "This is not blackmail. Your Majesty, please calculate the cost. How much money will it cost to send troops south? As long as you agree to our exchange rate, we promise that we will not violate the border in the future, and we will also help you deal with those troops on the border that do not obey your command.

We now have more than 40,000 warriors. Even if you want to go to war with us, it will take a lot of effort. It is better to spend some money to settle the matter. With Egypt's wealth, I believe this is not a price you cannot afford. "

"One percent. That's my bottom line." Cleopatra wanted to bargain a little.

"35%. It's impossible to be any lower."

Seeing that the negotiations had reached a deadlock, Orville knocked on the table twice with the knuckles of his right middle finger, signaling with his eyes that Cleopatra should give him a chance to speak, and the other party gladly accepted it.

Orville immediately stood up and looked down at the other party: "Listen, if you want to fight, my army is ready to fight you at any time. You can't even beat the Egyptians, but the Egyptians were conquered by the Greeks, and the Greeks were conquered by us Romans. Egypt is an ally and protector of the Roman Empire. You plundering them is a provocation to the empire.

If you really want to fight now, turn around and leave and get back on the boat. You won't get any food, and my army will go downstream with you. Let us decide who is the master of the world with a battle.

I don't think you have the guts to do that now, do you? Let me guess why you want food so badly. I heard that the land of Nubia is gradually turning into desert and wasteland recently. I'm afraid this is the fundamental reason why you want food. I also heard that the Aksumites (Ethiopia) in the south are also eyeing your land. Can you really spare tens of thousands of people to fight my army in an open battle? I don't think so. "

Orville had a concept of the world map and world geography in his mind. He knew what was happening in Sudan today - land desertification caused by environmental changes was almost unsolvable with the knowledge and technical means of the ancients. Due to land desertification, Nubia's agriculture and animal husbandry declined severely, which was fatal to an ancient country.

Since the last few decades, Nubia has been declining and shrinking until it was annexed by the Ethiopians in the south around 350 AD. Orville hit the nail on the head about this matter, which hit the pain point of these people.

The prince's expression was a little ugly. "You are really blunt. Do you really want to go to war with us? Many people will die, and it will also affect your country's finances. You may not be sure of winning. We are familiar with the terrain and have unparalleled courage."

"Perhaps I will lose something, but I am sure that you will eventually lose your country. I should already have Britannicus in my name, and I don't mind adding Nubicus."

(End of this chapter)