Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 326 Short-sighted
As mentioned earlier, the people on the island of Ireland would balance each other and would not pose a hindrance to the Romans, but the prerequisite was that Belisarius would take action to maintain this balance.

Ivar himself went to the southern province of Egypt with a considerable number of warriors and one of his younger brothers. Now he seems to be a favorite of Orville and his future is limitless. Compared with the Irish who are not on good terms with the prince, Belisarius knows that Ivar holds the key to the future.

But controlling the future does not necessarily mean controlling the present. The Vikings united around Ivar and his father Ragnar. Although his brothers were also strong men, they were ultimately inferior to Ivar. They had a lot of bravery but lacked sufficient philosophical thinking.

After Ivar left, the forces remaining in Ireland were led by [White Shirt] Haverdan, and Ubbe was his deputy. They were able to maintain their power, but anyone with a discerning eye could see that Haverdan's hand was not strong enough, which gave the Irish an opportunity.

Finn McCool is gradually gaining the upper hand in countless open and secret struggles. The only advantage the Vikings have is their strong fighting power, while the Romans will never allow a large-scale bloody conflict to break out between the two sides. The rules are a bit biased, and the Vikings are at a disadvantage.

They were completely at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, and facing the opponent's deliberate harassment, the Vikings gradually found it difficult to hold on.

As the situation gradually improved, the Irish became bolder and began to engage in armed confrontation with the Vikings. Halfdan was not a very rational and strategic person. Faced with this unfavorable situation, his approach was very single-minded - if they had to fight, they would fight, and they would never waste words if the problem could be solved by force.

The two opposing parties are exactly the problem that Belisarius has been worried about recently. Due to the strait between them, the Romans' intervention there is relatively weak, but they cannot allow the two sides to continue to make trouble. There must be a limit.

In the end, the Irish were definitely in the right. This was their land, and the Vikings were just later invaders. However, the Romans wanted to use the Vikings, so they could only continue to take sides.

A fully armed and aggressive group arrived at the Viking colonial city of Dublin and claimed that they would stay there permanently to maintain the local "peace and order". The Vikings could not expand outward, and the Irish could not take back an inch of land.

For the Irish, who were now in an advantageous position, this was obviously not worthwhile, not to mention that this was originally their own land. Some people thought that they had recovered now and could take advantage of the situation to attack Dublin. If the Romans blocked their way, they would go to war with the Romans as well. The Irish could contact the Franks and their compatriots on the European continent, win their assistance, and fight the Romans to the death with the combined manpower and resources of the coalition.

Of course, Finn MacCool himself was not so foolish. The Welsh tribes had been killed as a warning to others, and everyone could see the bottom line of the Romans - not colluding with the Franks was a normal protest, and there was nothing wrong with it. There was bound to be friction between nations, and the Romans were accustomed to it. Once it was discovered that the Franks interfered, it would be a crime of treason, which would lead to crazy revenge from the Romans.

Ireland was a small, weak and poor country, and could not withstand a tightly organized Roman expedition. Faced with the warnings issued by the Romans, Finn and others understood the message and silently gave up harassing Dublin.

After some of Ivar's letters were sent back to Dublin, the Vikings organized another fleet for an adventure, and Dublin's defenses were further weakened. At this time, Finn no longer had any evil thoughts, but began to think about the future.

…………"I doubt what good it would do to send our warriors to a place thousands of miles away. And to be frank, the Romans there are just like the northerners are here, right? If we join them, wouldn't we also have to torture and persecute other nations like the northerners? This is not what we want."

An elder suggested this to Finn, and it won a lot of approval.

The reasons why they agreed with the elder were different, but in Finn's opinion, they can be summed up in one word: a sparrow cannot understand the ambition of a swan.

Finn slowly presented a map to everyone, and a grand picture of the world slowly unfolded before their eyes: "This is something I spent a lot of effort to get, please take a close look at it."

His hand rested on the tiny island of Ireland, which was in the northwest corner of the map. It looked very inconspicuous, like a hideous little insect painted in bright green.

"This is our hometown, where we were born and raised. It is an insignificant part of the world. We are not at the center of the world, nor do we have much status on the stage."

The straightforward and unadorned language made everyone feel a little uncomfortable, but no one spoke out to refute. In any case, they paid some attention to the world and knew that the Romans in Britain were at most a small force. Below the Romans were the Anglo-Saxons and the Northmen, and below them were the Celtic natives.

"Now the masters of the world are those Romans wearing bristle helmets. You must face the reality. For a weak nation like us, whoever can climb a big tree can develop further. The northerners are not only better at fighting than us, but also far ahead in this aspect. The bandit Ivar is now a hot figure under the Romans, and we have no ties with the Romans, only a piece of paper.

Do you know how dangerous this is? If Ivar succeeds in the Romans' hands, we could be given as a reward to the northerners and eaten up by the robbers. "

Some people questioned this statement: "How could the Romans allow the northerners to gain so much power right beside their couch?"

Finn glanced at him and said, "Face the facts. We are not that important. Whether the northerners occupy Dublin or a few more tracts of land as big as Dublin, it will be harmless to the Romans. The meaning of our existence will only be to contain the northerners. As long as we are able to survive, it doesn't matter how the northerners ravage us. They are fully capable of doing such a thing.

In order to avoid this outcome, we must show the Romans our value. Only with value can we have weight in people's hearts. How to create value? Use your brains to think about the problem. Since the Vikings paid blood tax, we must pay it as well, and we must pay more and work harder. We must stand in front of their high-level officials. Belisarius is not high enough. He does everything according to the orders of the emperor and the prince. We must start with these two people to be on an equal footing with the northerners. "

PS. The author tried to change the writing style from the second half of the last picture. Are you used to it? Which one is better?
(End of this chapter)