Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 360 Persuasion
Persia can be considered an ancient country, with strong commercial capabilities and traditions. It was very influential in the Mesopotamian region, Syria and other places. This was one of the reasons why the Parthian king was unwilling to break off relations with the Romans again - they had a trade surplus in normal business dealings, so why bother with bloodshed and sacrifice and doing something thankless? Unless the opportunity was too good, they would at most do some small tricks to disgust their old rivals.

This was also one of the reasons why the Romans often made trouble in the Eastern provinces. They had always had a trade deficit with the East and must have been unhappy and wanted to change the status quo. However, on the one hand, no product could compete with silk, and on the other hand, they could not continue to impose high tariffs (it was the rulers of the Roman Empire who bought large quantities of silk). Since the problem could not be solved through diplomatic and trade means, the Romans had only one last resort, which was to show their fangs.

Fortunately, their fangs are still lethal enough at this stage, and they have been able to maintain a trade relationship with the Parthians that is unsatisfactory but acceptable to both sides. However, the Romans have also thought about changing this balance, and supporting other commercial forces is one of their means.

Palmyra is a concrete example. It was a commercial city-state that the Romans raised to compete with Persian merchants in the east. It did work for a period of time, but Palmyra eventually took advantage of the empire's weakness to raise a tiger on its own. Despite this, Orwell does not think that supporting commercial city-states is a bad idea. The important thing is to maintain a balance between several commercial city-states and not let one dominate.

Mucinus of the Syrian province is supporting Palmyra. His subordinate Lucius is a good example. Orville is also preparing to support the Nabataeans a little during this period, allowing them to compete with Persian merchants in the Mesopotamian region and other places.

Of course, this kind of competition should be limited to land, and maritime trade is the cake that Orville has marked out for himself.

The terms of the exchange of interests were quite good, and the situation was stronger than the people, so the Nabataeans reluctantly agreed to the terms.
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After Orville returned to Egypt, the situation gradually stabilized and the previously restless rebel forces gradually died down. However, Orville was not satisfied with this. He was still worried about the future.

There are actually not that many people he can completely trust, especially when it comes to disputes with the Senate. They may be willing to die gloriously on the battlefield for him, but they may not necessarily go against the patron who has protected their family for generations.

Therefore, the soldiers and officers recruited from the mainland may not be so loyal and reliable, and he may even have to rely on the power of the ethnic groups in the eastern provinces.

Although people from the Iberian province could also be helpful, Orville didn't trust Trajan that much now. It was true that his family and his own family were old friends, but Orville was now quite wary of the world line correction force.

Logically speaking, Vespa's health shouldn't be that bad. He should have died of a fever, not a slow death from a long-term illness. Orville had been trying to send him various supplements, but it was difficult to prolong his life. He could only watch him die.

At this rate, Vespa's time of death would not deviate much from real history. He felt that it was a bit strange that the correction force was so strong.

According to historical circumstances, the person who ascended the throne after Nerva was Trajan. Of course, in history, that was Trajan who was in his forties. The current Trajan, who was in his twenties and still looked like a complete emperor, should not be designated as the successor, but Orwell could not guarantee this. It is better to be safe than sorry.

After careful consideration, Orville decided to confess these things to Cleopatra. It would be safer to have her approval.
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In the Ptolemy Palace, which had been preliminarily renovated, Orvel was telling Cleopatra about the various issues surrounding the succession to the throne. "In summary, I now need the help of the people in the eastern part of the empire." Orvel looked at her with a slightly complicated mood.

"It's quite interesting," Cleopatra said with a slightly sarcastic tone, "The Mithridates incident has just been resolved, right? The previous war has just ended, too. How come there's another massive civil war now? You guys really can't spare any time."

"Perhaps this is the fate of the conquerors." Orville didn't finish the second half of his sentence. Perhaps one day this huge empire would be dragged down by these high-intensity wars.

He wanted to continue speaking, but was stopped by the other party's hand. Cleopatra opened her red lips and said, "There is no need to tell me those things. It is already clear what I will get and what risks I will take. Save some time for both of us. I don't care much about these things. I have been bargaining and arguing with you just to fulfill my responsibilities as a ruler.

Of course I can help you, but I want to ask you one thing, what do you think? Your wife is an overly simple-minded person, even I can make her bow her head and admit defeat. Face the facts, such a person is not suitable to be an emperor, she is not very good at managing her own power, and now your power is actually much greater than hers.

The one with the most powerful army and horses is Augustus, this is what you said when you first persuaded him to ascend the throne. Now your wife is not as suitable as you to be the emperor. If you want, I am willing to provide more help. And she should be able to recognize the facts. Some of the ideas in your two minds are similar. What she wants to do is not to seize power but to use power to realize her political ambitions. You can do the same after you ascend the throne.

So for her, maybe your ascension to the throne will be a better result. Because she doesn't need to deal with things she is not good at, you only need to let her be responsible for the things she is good at."

Before Cleopatra finished speaking, Orville shook his head and rejected her: "No matter how much you say, no matter how willing Tia is to cooperate with me and forgive the past, I am actually trying to usurp the throne. I can't open this loophole again. You should be very clear about the situation of your family. The order and stability of inheritance cannot be destroyed again, otherwise your family's present will be the future of the imperial family.

As for what you're worried about for me, it's actually harmless. We'll naturally divide the work between us and handle the matter when the time comes."

Orville definitely has a desire for power but it is not particularly strong. No matter how he and Tia distribute power, it is just an internal issue. It doesn't matter to him and Tia, but it is very important to others around them. Orville can understand Cleopatra's ideas, but understanding does not mean support.

(End of this chapter)