Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 346 Argument
Not long after, in the Frankish court, King Charles, who was gradually showing signs of aging, asked his courtiers to read a letter from Greece.

Everyone was curious about why King Charles suddenly changed his mind and started doing these things today, but as soon as the courtier spoke, the doubts were naturally resolved.

"Mithridates, King of Pontus, sends greetings to Charles, King of the Franks.

In order to maintain peace, the rulers of any country may choose to form an alliance with others, but whether this alliance is based on justice will determine the final outcome of the alliance - whether it will be respected or ridiculed.
The Romans have always been a nation that has fought wars with other countries for the sole purpose of their own. They have a strong and endless desire to turn other people's wealth and territory into their own land. Look at their allies: Macedonia, Armenia, Egypt, Mauritania and Palae, each of which was destroyed and enslaved by the Romans' greed.
I urge you to fully imagine the situation where we become losers, because now you have more power than any other king to fight against the Roman army, and only you can end the war with the Romans.

The Romans have long coveted your wealth, your land, your soldiers, and your people! Everything they have - houses, wives, farmland, etc., is the result of robbing the surrounding residents.

The Romans were also refugees in the past, without a country or family, just a group of wanderers. Their country was built on the sacrifices of the people around them. No matter what kind of laws or ethics, they would not allow the evil eyes to discriminate against other ethnic groups and turn them into slaves.

Their swords will point to all nations. However, they will be most courageous when fighting against the nation with the most wealth to plunder. They repeatedly use war and deception to build their own empire. According to their logic, they will either destroy all nations except themselves, or they will destroy themselves.
Today it is ours, tomorrow it will be your great nation's turn. I once again sincerely implore you to lend us a helping hand. I urge you to act. If you choose to let us perish, you are choosing to postpone your own demise. Instead of this, let us unite as one and fight hard. We will surely achieve a great victory over those Romans! "

The original text is a very long letter, which details the history of conflict between Pontus or the Greeks and the Romans, explains the current international situation, and then criticizes the Romans for being so unscrupulous. The fundamental purpose is to persuade the Franks to stand with the Pontes this time and join forces to attack the Romans.

The meaning of the letter that King Charles read now was very clear, which was to seek the opinions of court officials and vassals to see whether they agreed with Mithridates' point of view.

Finally, a courtier boldly said: "I think this person is right, but we may not have enough power to accomplish this."

King Charles said calmly: "The same letter will be sent to many people. For example, the kings of Parthia and Armenia will definitely receive this letter. The question now is, we should consider how those people will react."

If only the Franks jumped out to support, they would be a bit conspicuous. After several years of recuperation, the Romans have now recovered a little from the civil war. At least if they are really annoyed, it will not be difficult for them to organize a foreign war. In a one-on-one battle, it is obvious that the Franks will not get any good results.

It takes several months for information to be transmitted from Frank to Parthia. By the time the Franks and Parthia have negotiated and confirmed each other's actions, Mithridates has been eliminated countless times. This matter cannot be delayed. A decision must be made in a short time. Either turn a deaf ear or mobilize the army now. There is no doubt that with King Charles's temper, he must want to fight the Romans again. It would be best if he could take advantage of the opportunity to get some benefits, or at the very least, let Pontus continue to exist.

Everyone was aware of this, but they were also clear on one thing—it was not a good idea to fight the Romans now.

It seemed that the rebellion in Pontus had a wide impact, but the Romans had hardly mobilized their troops on the border, and had placed enough soldiers on the border with the Parthians, with generals like Mucinus guarding the border, so they basically had no chance.

Although the military strength in some marginal areas was weakened, the Dacians still could not threaten the Romans without two legions, and the Romans could still control Egypt with three legions. This actually had no fundamental impact on the overall situation.

It would be unwise to go to war now, but everyone was intimidated by King Charles's majesty and character and did not dare to raise the issue in public, for fear of offending the other party and making him unhappy.

Just when everyone was hesitating whether to speak the truth, a young man stood up and said to King Charles bluntly: "This is not realistic, because the Parthians will never help us fight the Romans. They are content with the status quo."

King Charles looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was his child. The unhappiness in his heart was reduced a little. He reluctantly said in a gentle voice: "Tell us the reason and why it is not possible."

He spoke slowly: "The current King of Parthia has signed a peace treaty with the former Roman Emperor Nero. The two sides have maintained peace for a long time. He has been content with peace and is unwilling to fight with the Romans. The Romans are not very interested in expanding eastward. The two sides do have disputes, but the disputes are more limited to the silk trade and that little bit of land, which can be coordinated through negotiations. For the Parthians, there is no need for them to start a war that can never end, so they may not accept Mithridates' advice.

The Parthians have become content with the status quo. They will not think that others are too brave. They will most likely think that we will choose to retreat. And you also have to consider that the Parthian king not only does not want to go to war with the Romans, but his generals are still afraid of Mucinus, the Roman governor of Syria. If they are afraid, they will not fight. What do you think?"

King Charles was not angry at his son's rebuttal. Instead, he continued, "That's natural. Once you lose your courage, you have no chance of winning. Mucinus has fought many tough battles. He will not transfer all his troops. He will leave troops to guard the border. He will not be able to attack aggressively but will be able to protect himself. The Parthians can only mobilize 30,000 to 50,000 regular soldiers in a hurry, and they may not be able to gain an advantage."

(End of this chapter)