Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 343 Investigation
He asked bluntly: "How is the defense of Byzantium?"

Constantine smiled mockingly. "Our city is impregnable, with well-trained soldiers and sufficient food. If it were the successors hundreds of years ago, they might have been able to break through the city in a short period of time. But those monkeys in human form won't be able to break through our walls even after a year of siege."

It sounds a bit like setting a flag, but Constantine is really confident in the city's defense. Byzantium is a huge city-state. When necessary, there are tens of thousands of soldiers that can be mobilized in the city. It is impossible to easily defeat so many people defending the city.

"Very good, that's good news. Next, I have a favor to ask of you. If you do it well, I promise that your city will get the status it deserves in the future."

Constantine suddenly perked up: "Please go ahead."

"I have contacted the navy of Cyprus. The island is still under our control. They can provide us with some help. If I send you secretly to Athens or somewhere like that, do you think you can reach Byzantium smoothly?"

"It will be fine," Constantine assured Orville. "I have some reliable friends in my country who can provide me with the necessary help."

"Then please go to Byzantium and help the people there resist Mithridates' offensive. Just hold out for a few months without the city being breached. It may not take a few months, as reinforcements are on the way. The Danube Legion may even recover mainland Greece before me. I'm not asking you to do anything. Just do what you can and protect your own city. This is very important to me."

Constantine quickly understood what Orville meant and assured him: "No problem, I will complete your order."

"The ship will be ready in the next city. I have contacted the relevant personnel for you. Just follow them to arrange the action."

Orville gave the other party a few more instructions, and after the other party listened patiently, he retreated respectfully.

Galen, who was a little inconspicuous even on horseback, came forward at this time. He volunteered to accompany the army to the destination as a military doctor to quell the rebellion. Only then did Orville remember that he was a pure Asia Minor-born person.

"You seem to have something to say?"

"Well," Galen looked a little nervous, but he still forced himself to continue, "I know you are a very kind person, so I am not worried that you will do something cruel. I am not worried that the empire will win in the end, because the empire has all the advantages. But I hope you can give the emperor some advice. I think the reforms you have implemented in Egypt are very good. Can you do the same in my hometown?"

There was another part of the sentence that Galen didn't dare to say - he felt that the locals had reason to resist. The tax farming system is said to be a system that the Romans learned from the Greek city-states. They carried it forward, but few systems have been criticized so widely. To put it bluntly, the state contracts the tax rights of a certain area to someone at a certain price, and that person must pay so much money. If it is less, he will make up for it out of his own pocket, and if it is more, he will keep it in his own pocket.

It is easy to tell that this system would make it easy for tax farmers to exploit the locals. If one must say that the native Greeks were full of resentment because of the economic recession, then the people in some parts of Asia Minor really rebelled because they could not bear the exploitation.

As a doctor, Galen was quite compassionate. He felt that the problem lay not with the local people but with the evil tax-farming system, and that it should be changed if possible.

"If I have the chance, I will do it, but there will be a lot of resistance because it touches the interests of many people. My father is a man who pursues stability, and he may not allow me to do this, but my wife is not the same, so I suggest you put your hope in the future. If she becomes emperor, it is not a fantasy."

Orville patiently explained to the other party that he had also thought about this issue and concluded that it was not something that could be done now, but there might be a chance in the future.
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Just like during the Gallic Wars in the past, when the Gauls had their base near the Brittany Peninsula, Mithridates' core base was on the Black Sea coast, which is now the land in northern Turkey. After discussing with his military advisers, Orville decided not to send troops there first, but to advance along the Mediterranean Sea instead. They believed that this method could force Mithridates to give up the tug-of-war with the Romans on the Greek mainland. If the other side set the final battlefield on the Greek mainland and resisted stubbornly, it would cause great economic and cultural losses. However, if the other side was forced back to the vicinity of Pontus, it would not be a very serious problem. The public and the Senate generally did not have a deep impression of that place, and subconsciously believed that it was a marginal land, and a war there would not cause much panic and controversy.

The most urgent task is to solve the problem of the occupation of the Greek mainland. The senators have a lot of private property there, so the occupation of that place will make the Senate anxious. If it drags on for a long time, it will be difficult for Vespa and Thea to do their job in Rome.

After determining the strategic goal, Orville began to think about how to achieve it. To operate around the Mediterranean, a strong navy is definitely indispensable.

Mithridates had instigated a coup in Rhodes, and now the rebels controlled the navy. Together with the navies of the Greek city-states, this was a very powerful force, at least not something that the Vikings and the half-crippled Egyptian navy could challenge. The navies of Cyprus and Syria were also struggling. Unfortunately, the Greeks were now facing not one or two provinces, but the army of the entire Roman Empire.

The emperor will definitely react to this. The fleets from the mainland and Marseille are being mobilized. By then, the balance of combat power will be reversed and the Romans will once again have control of the sea. This time will not be long. The Senate is extremely anxious and will not procrastinate on key issues. It is estimated that the navy is already on the way.

Orville subconsciously glanced at the map of the coast of Asia Minor - it was so scary, it was all plateaus and mountains. One had to literally cross mountains and ridges to reach the Greek mainland. The Pontic people had countless opportunities to attack them. This was a perfect place to defeat the enemy with fewer troops and to engage in guerrilla warfare. To be honest, Orville didn't want to waste time with the Pontic people in such a place. It would be too time-consuming, and the losses would also make Orville very sad.

So a plan gradually took shape in his mind. Although it was a bit risky and easy to guess, Orville felt that the other party might not be able to react now, so it seemed that he could take a risk.

He told Agricola: "Call Ivar when you get to the next city for supplies. I have something to discuss with him."

(End of this chapter)