Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 369 The Final War (4K)

"No problem, the situation you worried about never happened."

Although the theory is not as systematic as that of Dong Zhongshu and others in the Han Dynasty, most regions also have a simple concept of the correspondence between heaven and man. Generally speaking, the logic is as follows:

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius was definitely due to the emperor's dereliction of duty and the fact that he was a woman. It was a warning and punishment from Jupiter and Vulcan (Hephaestus, the god of fire).

A great fire broke out in Rome, an alert from the Roman goddesses, Jupiter and Venus, to the citizens because a woman becoming emperor violated sacred tradition and order.

There was a plague in a certain place, a severe drought in another place, and a rebellion in another place. In short, as long as you want to explain it in this way, it can be said that it was the emperor's dereliction of duty. After all, the emperor was the head of government and head of state, which meant that he was the most suitable person to take the blame.

But after all, these words were spoken by people. In this era, the people who hold cultural power and the direction of social public opinion are obviously the Senate. Orwell has been keeping an eye on the people in the Senate to prevent them from expressing such bad opinions.

Fortunately, these people still had some sense and knew when to stop. After being warned, they rarely said so. This time when Cleopatra came to visit, since digesting Egypt was also related to their vital interests and strategic security, both the elders and the emperor faction chose to deal with it coldly. They did not make too many comments about Cleopatra, which was also a way for her to save face.

"Very good, thank you for your hard work. Keep me informed if there is any development in this regard." After giving the other party a few words of encouragement, Orville entered the hall.

At this time, Tia had not rested yet. She was dealing with a pile of documents in the office. After learning from the servant that Orvel had returned, she called him in time.

There was no need for pleasantries between the two of them. She said bluntly, "I asked you to come here mainly because of Domitia's matter. I didn't want to mention this, but I felt I had to say it."

"What? Did she get into trouble? Or did she say something unexpected?!"

"That's not the case. It's just that the story of Cleopatra reminded me that you said before that she might adopt a son from her sister Arsinoe.

I know very well that I am thirty-four years old now, and it is not easy for a gifted person like me to give birth to a new life, so if I delay it for a few more years, you should understand what I mean, right? "

Orville nodded reluctantly. It could be seen that Tia was still embarrassed to talk about this topic. "I know. Indian doctors told me that the best age for women to give birth is 20-34 years old. It's not good to be over this age. The risk of accidents is very high."

"If the time comes, we will have to decide on the issue of succession, and we should also decide on a marriage for Domitia, unless you intend to keep her as a Vestal Virgin for life. So if necessary, it would not be a bad idea to adopt a few children from her and her husband."

Orville even looked at Tia with amazement. It was rare for her to think about these complicated things. It seemed that she really cared about them.

She and Orville didn't have many offspring, for the same reason that people in history always do - they were too busy.

The two of them often work in different places and have few opportunities to meet throughout the year. And there is one point that needs to be pointed out in particular. In fact, the workload of Tia is usually heavier than Orville's. There is no maternity leave in those days. Out of a strong sense of responsibility, Tia will not allow herself to be absent from central government affairs for too long.

The result is that the current situation is quite delicate. The two of them have time but are almost too old. They can try harder, but they must always prepare for the future.

As for the political marriage that Domitia will face, although it is certainly not good from a modern perspective, this was ancient times, and 90% or even more of the marriages of relatives of those in power were completely non-autonomous, so it was not too difficult to deal with. Domitia had actually been prepared for it for a long time.

Orville hesitated for a while and then continued, "If you do this, it's better to find someone who is more tolerant, who can accept that Domitia is not like those traditional women. She is stable and can help you deal with some government affairs or business. If necessary, you have to accept marriage into the wife's family."

This is not difficult. Whether a marriage into the wife's family is shameful or not depends on the situation. This is a marriage into the wife's family related to the succession to the throne. Except for those very few special cases, such as when one must protect the existence of the family, they will probably accept it after hesitation, and the rest of the people will basically accept it with pleasure.

"I have a pick you'd like to hear about?"

Orville motioned for the other party to continue.

"Didn't you leave Trajan, whom you value, in Egypt to continue serving as governor? I think he's quite suitable. The age gap between the two is not too big, so it won't be awkward. His abilities and character are impeccable, as you have verified through long-term observation. And he doesn't have a complicated family background. He is just a minor noble in Iberia. So far, there have only been two generations of accumulation, and his family was supported by my father. And..."

Tia listed many advantages in a nutshell. Orville was stunned for a moment, then laughed heartily.

"Hahahaha!! I'm going to get a little jealous if you keep talking like that, so don't praise other men too much in front of me. Apart from this, he's really not bad. I personally don't have any objection, it's good like this, it should be good."

In Orwell's opinion, this is a relatively easy suggestion to accept, because it is one of the ways to make history move toward the predetermined track. If the world line correction force continues to operate, after Trajan becomes emperor, it will naturally be the heyday of the Five Good Emperors, the true heyday of the Roman Empire.

As long as Orwell had taken precautions in terms of the system in advance, this prosperous era could have lasted for at least a few decades longer. For a dynasty, a prosperous era of two or three centuries was rare. If he could achieve this, Orwell would have considered himself to have accomplished a great feat.

Even if he didn't do this, maybe the final result of this world would still be Trajan becoming emperor, and then follow the subsequent process. Instead of this, it's better to obey this result now. Anyway, it's not bad. Hearing Orvel agree so readily now, Tia felt uncomfortable.

She clenched her fists tightly, bit her lips with her teeth, and her eyes were very tangled. After a long psychological struggle, she barely squeezed out a few words from her back teeth: "I know this is too unfair to you. If it weren't for you, there wouldn't be this result now. So I have another proposal. If you and Domitia..."

"Forget it, I don't care about this. This is also a good result. I don't think my child will be much better than Trajan. Besides, if I insist that my child inherit the throne, won't I have to be busy for another 20 to 30 years? Trajan has much less trouble in this regard. Whenever I don't want to do it anymore, I can find a successor."

It was hard for Tiya to say this, but Orville didn't have such a strong desire to pass on his family line. Instead of arguing about big heads and small heads, he was more concerned about what he could leave for the world and how he would be engraved on the stone tablet and passed down to future generations.

Under stable circumstances, the succession to the throne must be the best, and Trajan is one of the most outstanding emperors in Roman history. Putting aside the advanced ideas of modern people, Trajan may not be worse than himself. It is better to say that he has surpassed himself in many aspects, but he just can't get rid of the shackles of the times.

As for the fact that his descendants might not be able to become emperors, Orville felt that it was no big deal. As long as he took care of his funeral affairs, his descendants would still be able to live a life of luxury. He deeply understood how tiring it was to be a good emperor. It would be better to let them become wealthy men with prominent family backgrounds. If any of his descendants were willing to make progress, that would be their own business and had nothing to do with Orville now.

".Okay, I understand." Tia nodded, deeply moved, and then stepped forward to hug Orville. In her opinion, this was a considerable sacrifice made by Orville.
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In this way, three years passed which were quite peaceful compared to before.

In fact, this should be a more common situation in ancient times. Apart from the special situation of war at the end of a dynasty, there must be various disputes in various places, but most of the time these disputes would not rise to the level where the central government needed to step in to deal with them, at least there was no need for the emperor to mobilize the army to suppress and massacre by force.

The days when he was fighting everywhere, killing and burning were actually relatively rare. There was not so much land for people to open up. For the current empire, defending the territory and responding to challenges from others was a more important and common thing.

In recent years, the Empire has been responding to challenges and has maintained its absolute strong position.

Barbarians north of England, Germans east of the Rhine, Gauls native to Gaul, nomads in Mauritania, blacks in Nubia and Aksum, native inhabitants of Egypt and Greece, Parthians who controlled the Persian Plateau, Dacians who threatened the Danube, and Huns who kept testing the edge of the civilized world.
Countless nations are seeking their own opportunities, and countless nations are failing. Most wars are controlled to the level of regional conflicts or border conflicts.

Orville and Tia finally chose to marry Domitia to Trajan. In the absence of an heir, this seemed to foreshadow something, causing the senators to talk about it, but most of the voices supported Trajan.

Although he was somewhat influenced by Orville, he was far less radical than Orville, and his ability to handle problems, personal morals and background were impeccable. Even if the senators were allowed to elect their own candidate now, they would probably still elect Trajan, so the senators were at least quite satisfied with this arrangement.

Although some people in the emperor faction regretted that this was not the empress's biological child, they could still accept it. After all, Trajan's child would have the same bloodline, and Trajan himself was a pure emperor faction. From a political perspective and the perspective of bloodline continuation, this was a realistic choice.

Orville and the Queen did not make a clear statement, but as the Queen has yet to give birth to a second child, everyone already knows her actual attitude. The next heir to the empire may have been determined.

Against this background, the Empress transferred Trajan to become the commander of the Lower Germanic Legion, while at the same time, the relationship between the empire and the new nomadic peoples was actually gradually becoming rigid.

They had many conflicts along the Black Sea coast and in the Danube River basin. The Huns had the upper hand along the Black Sea coast because of supply line problems, but in the Danube River basin, with complete defensive fortifications, the Romans had a complete advantage.

Overall, the two sides were still fighting each other, but thanks to the Huns' large-scale invasion of other regions, the relationship between the Romans and their neighbors improved a lot. After all, in front of more brutal enemies, the Romans did not seem so hateful, but rather a person who could be relied on a little bit.

As for the Parthians, the strengthening of nomadic forces in Central Asia made it difficult for Parthia, who were originally nomadic, to cope with the situation. They seemed a little hesitant in the face of Mucinus's tentative attack.

Mucinus originally wanted to launch a massive offensive to seize the Mesopotamian region, but Orville personally went to Syria and persuaded him to stop.

It is not too late to leave this matter to the successors. Parthia is still in decline and there will be no signs of improvement in at least 30 years. It will be easier to start a war later. Now Orville is more concerned about the affairs of those nomadic peoples.

Unfortunately, the feudalization level of the Franks was relatively high at that time, which meant that they had also developed the land to a relatively high level. There were not so many forests on the land to hinder the movement of cavalry, while the number of horses and cavalry technology of the nomadic peoples were much higher than those of the Franks at that time.

However, they were not particularly large in size, nor did they have any elite troops, so they were at a disadvantage when dealing with nomadic peoples who were stronger than them in all aspects except numbers. They had no experience in facing serious nomadic peoples, and seemed to be at a loss after several years of struggle.

The Huns often allowed their troops to plunder their borders, taking whatever came their way, whether it was crops, gold, silver, people or livestock. Within a few years, the Franks' eastern border suffered heavy losses.

They also built some fortifications, mainly in the western part of the kingdom to deal with the Romans, and the eastern border was in a state of being indefensible to a large extent. In recent years, they have built some small fortresses in the east, but the effect is also limited.

After all, they were not a certain Eastern country that could build the Great Wall and a complete supporting defense system. Facing the Huns' increasing harassment, they seemed quite passive.

Calculating the time, Orville felt that it was about time to take action, and the new offensive plan was put forward in the Senate meeting room.

(End of this chapter)