Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 55 Return
Orville made a lot of money during the war by selling food, collecting protection fees, etc. Most of this money was used to buy ships. The income and expenditure were balanced with each other, and in the end he basically made back the money he embezzled from Vespa's treasury, the so-called war money.

The bulk of this 500-man guard must have been Parphi people, selected from the nearly 3,000 auxiliary troops he had trained during the war.

Of course, not everyone is willing to leave their homeland, especially the Parfi people who are quite devout. Their faith revolves entirely around the holy city and the temple. Leaving the small area near the temple is basically the same as abandoning their faith.

But Orville could guarantee that they had enough food to eat, and was willing to give them money. He also promised that there was no difference between working in the Guards and working in the Auxiliary Army. After working for a certain number of years, they could obtain Roman citizenship, and Orville would help them arrange their lives at that time.

This kind of job is really hard to find in the broken Palfi Kingdom, and there are many people willing to leave their homes for this, especially the 600 auxiliary soldiers that Orwell picked out at the beginning, half of them chose to follow Orwell. Anyway, there is no worry, and compared with the richness of the spiritual world, more people are willing to pursue having enough food and not going hungry.

Those ships were not galleys that required dozens or even one or two hundred people to operate, but were relatively small flat-bottomed merchant ships with a decent cargo capacity, generally around one hundred tons, which were considered small cargo ships in the Mediterranean at that time.

There are medium and large merchant ships with a carrying capacity of 300 to 400 tons for sale in Cyprus or other places, and Orville has other uses for buying small boats.

He discovered that the only two types of ships in that era were merchant ships and warships, and there were almost no passenger ships.

If someone wants to travel far away, they need to discuss with the owner of the cargo ship or warship to see if they can find a cargo ship going the same way and take a ride with the wind.

Not only is it very irregular, but the living conditions are also very poor. People usually just set up a tent on the deck and sleep on the floor, regardless of the wind or the sun, as long as they can survive.

Those wealthy elders could certainly afford private boats, but there were very few of them, just like how many people can afford private yachts today.

Orville planned to start a transportation business and convert some of the small cargo ships into passenger ships, highlighting a comfortable travel experience and fast transportation.

However, the details of these matters will have to wait until they return to Rome. Now they are on the fleet returning to Rome, and they will arrive at Ostia, a port city near Rome, in about half a month.

Perhaps due to the extreme mental stress and fatigue caused by the war, the passengers on the ship were in no mood to talk and were all taking every opportunity to rest. It was not until they arrived near Rhode Island that everyone's spirits were barely recovered.

Orville took this opportunity to test Tia's ability growth. Apparently, even as an adult, she would still increase her ability attributes through war and other means.

【Tia Flavia Vespasia, the brave and generous general】

Diplomacy: 13
Military: 25》28
Management: 17》18
Strategy: 7》8
Knowledge: 23》26
As a general, she was definitely stronger than before, but it was never her fighting power that worried Orville.

She doesn't have to worry too much about leading troops to fight outside. Under the same conditions, there are definitely not many people who can beat her, not to mention that Rome now has a local advantage over almost any force.

But the situation was different in Rome, where the Senate was the home of power games and politics. Orville knew very well that under the existing framework, even if real politicians came, they might not be able to control these people, let alone Tia or himself, because they were also experienced politicians.

Vespa's intention was to have him assist Dia in becoming emperor. Now that they were under Vespa's protection, the Senate also urgently needed someone to clean up the mess and act as a firefighter, so they would not oppose Vespa. Based on this, they should be safe until Vespa's death, but after Vespa's death, problems would emerge. Orville knew that Vespa's rule would last about ten years, which was the first round of preparation time given to him. He didn't ask for the problem to be solved in ten years, but at least he had to start planning in advance within ten years and not lose the opportunity.

The issue that everyone is worried about now is whether Vespa can end the chaos. No one has considered the issue of the succession of the emperor after Vespa. It is best to make plans in advance at this time. If you lose the initiative, you have lost half of the battle.
-
Just when Orville was thinking about what to do next, Tia threw an orange and hit Orville's head accurately, which made Orville turn his head and look back.

"what happened?"

"We've arrived at Rhodes Island. You asked me to remind you before."

"I get it, thank."

Orville temporarily suppressed his chaotic thoughts and began to observe this island which was quite famous in history.

I rarely had time to travel in my previous life, but the scenery here is really beautiful - the sea and the sky are one color, the air is fresh, and the human buildings on the island are well combined with the natural scenery, which looks and feels pretty good.

Rhodes is a very important ally of Rome in the Aegean region. Although the Romans now rely heavily on shipping and maritime trade, they are also an agricultural civilization at heart. Rhodes is responsible for the security of the surrounding waters, and is also responsible for providing warships and cargo ships to Rome when war breaks out.

The unique geographical advantages also make the trade in this place prosperous. It is one of the important commodity distribution centers on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, and a large amount of Greece's import and export goods have to go through here.

"Do you want to buy something?" Tia asked curiously.

"Yes, I want to buy some raw silk to make something."

Upon hearing this, Tia frowned: "Although I am a bit nosy, you should stay away from the customs of the Eastern world. Excessive enjoyment will make people lose virtue. Rome spends about 25 million dinars to import Eastern products every year. This is a completely unnecessary expense."

Tia doesn't like clothes made of silk. Although it is light and comfortable, the fact that it is more expensive than gold is enough to make Tia boycott it. Silk fabrics from the Eastern country have to go through so many hands when they are sold to Rome, and the price is almost sky-high.

Rome will have frequent conflicts with the Parthians now or in the future. Silk can be one of the reasons and has its place in the peace treaty.

In her opinion, the people of Rome were too obsessed with these external things. For such a light piece of cloth, Rome had to go to war with countries like Parthia. It was completely unnecessary to use the blood of citizens to buy clothes for people.

PS. I changed the format, I feel it is more intuitive. If you think the previous one is better, I will change it back.

(End of this chapter)