Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 38 The Destruction of the Empire

After everyone had left, Orville stepped forward to comfort them, “Actually, this matter is not entirely their fault. They came from other provinces and don’t know the relationship between the locals and the Romans, nor do they know the specific situation of the various factions in the Holy City. It is natural for them to think that there is an opportunity to take advantage of.

After all, I am a foreigner here, and the people here are known for being stubborn, so it is natural that they are a little prejudiced against me. This kind of thing does not require 11 strokes to kill, although it can rectify military discipline, but morale will be scattered. "

Diya was so angry: "No matter what the reason is, soldiers cannot disobey orders. This is the basic principle. Besides, you are no longer a foreigner. You are a legal Roman citizen and a member of my family. Do you know how some soldiers call you?"

Orville guessed it was a gigolo, but he didn't dare to say it, so he could only shake his head and say he didn't know.

"Felix, that's the lucky one. They think the only thing you have is good luck, which is a denial of your personality and ability. Facts have proved that you may not be good at fighting and your martial arts may be very poor, but your ability to estimate the situation and judge people is very good. I once thought you really had the ability to predict. Those people questioned for a long time, and in the end, dozens of soldiers lost their lives. Their families are still waiting for them to come home. This result could have been avoided."

In fact, Orville thought that this nickname was quite good. The nickname of the famous commander and politician Sulla was also the Lucky Man. Being able to share a nickname with a Roman great man was a compliment to him as a regular Roman soldier. Moreover, he felt that he was really lucky. Not only did he become a regular soldier, but he also survived so many times with Tia.

But Tia didn't seem happy, so he could only go along with her.

"Those who know nothing doubt nothing. They doubt for the sake of Rome's early victory and for their own honor. After this incident, I believe they will be more cautious. Is there any news from the Apennine Peninsula? Our fate is more related to this matter."

After successfully changing the subject, Tia shook her head and denied it: "The last time I heard the news was a week ago. It seems that the Danube Legion and the German Legion are about to fight. It's hard to say who will win or lose. If the Danube Legion wins, we have to be careful of them becoming emperors. If the German Legion wins, then Mucinus, who my father sent there, will have a fierce battle to fight."

"In that case, I think you should ask Father Wei for a deputy. Your current deputy, Trajan, is a brave warrior like you, but he lacks a good sense of the overall situation. It would be useful to ask him to bring an experienced old man over. The situation there is relatively stable, so it won't be a problem to transfer someone. If something unexpected happens, it won't be too late to send him back."

"You are right. I realized this after the battle on the Mount of Olives. The letter is still on the way and I think it will arrive soon. At the same time, we don't have enough manpower. As the attackers, our forces are even much smaller than the enemy's. This is not enough to capture such a strong city. The support should come earlier than expected, at least partial support."
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On the other side, the situation in the holy city is not very optimistic either.

Although their proactive attack brought them considerable results, the Palfi people had two fatal problems that they could not ignore.

The first is internal division, and the second is isolation and helplessness.

Faced with the Roman legions just outside the city, although the various parties could not completely put aside their disputes and conflicts of varying sizes continued, they still agreed to unite and face external adversity.

The strongest force in the city is the Tank Blade Party, followed by the Zealot Party. The Priest Party is not very strong and is also the most guarded.

Everyone knew that some of the Priests had connections with the Romans, and everyone was worried about them. In fact, the Gladius and Zealots were ready to fight the Priests, but the Priests were cautious and never revealed any flaws. In addition, they were openly opposed to the Romans and provided a lot of equipment and money, so the other two parties were a little unsure.

Finally, they decided to let fewer members of the priest party act alone, not let their people guard the city walls, and slowly eliminate these people.

In a courtyard, John Levi is welcoming guests.

He walked forward with great enthusiasm and said respectfully, "Welcome to the Holy City. I hope our dim tunnels don't make you feel too uncomfortable. Life in the city is quite comfortable. Of course, you have to have a big enough fist."

The envoy from Parthia was not in a hurry and began to exchange pleasantries with John Levi: "When I came from Parthia, I heard that the temple of Palphi was magnificent. Now I can see it from afar. I heard that your god..."

The envoy was very knowledgeable and began to talk to John Levi about folk culture. However, John Levi was not a cultured person and he had many things on his mind. After responding for more than half an hour, he finally couldn't hold it in anymore and spoke first.

"We need support from Parthia now, not just some petty thefts like now, sending some armor, weapons, food, money and other insignificant things. We need soldiers, we need cavalry. When will your country declare war on Rome and attack from Syria?"

The envoy was not in a hurry: "The Romans still have enough troops on the border, and Rome's national strength has not weakened yet. If we declare war, it will not be just three or five legions fighting a small battle. Twenty or even thirty legions will be mobilized and organized to go to the eastern provinces. Egypt in the south will send people to support. This country has more than five million people, so it is not difficult to withdraw fifty or a hundred thousand.

We will help, but we have to wait until the central government of Rome is in chaos and weakened. Now everyone is waiting to see what happens in Rome. If the chaos continues for another two or three years, we will attack together and the empire will disintegrate in an instant. You have to be more patient. The situation will change after a while. We will not leave you alone. We will continue to deliver supplies to the city through the underground tunnels. "

In fact, the envoy's words were very straightforward, but John Levi didn't want to hear these explanations. International politics was too macro-issues for him to understand. He just wanted to see support.

"There are more than 20,000 enemy troops outside the city right now. We are being strangled gradually. This is the only result of your inaction. I need military support. I need your proud cavalry to attack the Roman camp from behind. We will defeat the Romans in one fell swoop."

The envoy was not convinced at all. "How about this? If you try to expand the width of the tunnel, we will send you more weapons, including armor, bows and arrows, and any supplies you need. We are more optimistic about you, so we did not cooperate with Bar Giola. The Parthians hope that you can win in the end."

After all, he was still unwilling to send out men to confront the Romans head-on. By the way, he gave John Levi a warning, which was not too serious or too light. He was undoubtedly in a weak position now.

Finally, John Levi gave up and turned to fight for more supplies: "Well, let's do this, I do need something."

(End of this chapter)