Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 58 New arrival
To put it nicely, Orville and Vespa were like-minded, but to put it bluntly, both of them were a bit greedy.

Upon hearing Orville's continuous "constructive suggestions", Vespa became more excited and started discussing with Orville.

When Vespa was young, his family was not rich. When he first started his political career, he could not make ends meet and had to mortgage his house for money. When he was in the army, he also maintained an undignified business of selling mules. He was very receptive to Orville's various suggestions. There are more sinister people in the business world these days, but at least Orville still spoke according to certain rules.

Tia must have been at a loss for words at this time. It was no problem for her to discuss tax laws with judges or tax officials, but if she was asked to come up with any weird "little tricks to make money", she really couldn't think of many.

There was a discussion over there about imposing a "toilet tax" on the workers in Rome who collected urine to wash wool. Tia frowned as she listened, and couldn't get a word in.

But she didn't feel awkward. She knew it was something she had to do. If she didn't collect money, she wouldn't be able to pay the soldiers' salaries this year. It was right for the two of them to discuss collecting money here, but she felt morally uncomfortable. At the same time, she didn't think Orville had stolen her limelight. After all, this was an occasion where people could speak freely. She couldn't say what Orville said.

She hadn't thought about the succession to the throne, but she also understood that Vespa wanted Orville to "marry" her because he saw that Orville was mean enough to make up for her shortcomings at certain times. The two were complementary in this regard, so there was no need to envy Orville. She had no lack of opportunities or confidence to show off.

But while the three of them were talking freely around the table in the living room, someone was secretly watching everything in a dark corner.

The conversation lasted for almost an hour, and by the end a layer of fine sweat had appeared on Vespa's forehead, making people worry about his physical condition.

Orville and Tia were also a little worried. Just when Vespa wanted to continue, they ended the conversation and asked the old man to go back and rest.

As an emperor, and a relatively diligent and people-friendly emperor, he had too many things to consider every day. Vespa was not known for his strength or energy, and this was somewhat of a heavy burden for a sixty-year-old man.

The slaves in the mansion led them to their respective rooms, and Tia asked casually at this time: "Where's Domitia? Did she go out?"

"The young master has gone to bed. Do you need me to lead you there?"

“Forget it,” Tia waved her hand and looked at Orville, “I’ll take you to meet my sister tomorrow. Our family is not big, with only a few family members. But it’s too late today, let’s talk about it later.”

"Can we postpone the meeting a little bit and meet formally at lunch? I need to prepare something."

"No problem. If you want to prepare a gift, tomorrow morning is the best time." Tia didn't doubt him. After telling Orville a few words, she left and returned to her room to rest. She read a book and prepared to go to bed. Orville didn't plan to rest too early. He put on his cloak and prepared to leave the mansion. Before leaving, he deliberately took a few guards from the mansion with him. Although the city of Rome was theoretically very safe, Orville had not yet recovered from the war and was very vigilant. It was always good to be prepared.

Under the protection and guidance of the soldiers, Orville walked around the city twice to familiarize himself with its general layout. At least in this era, cities did not have much nightlife. Today, the square was very lively because of a public banquet, but other places were basically dark. Occasionally, candles could be seen in the windows of some houses. Patrolmen could be seen from time to time on the street, and supply convoys would enter the city at night on the main roads to avoid the peak period.

The supplies needed to support a giant city with tens of millions of people are also huge. Late at night, these carriages and horses carrying supplies will enter the city in batches, injecting fresh blood and nutrients into the city.

After becoming basically familiar with the layout and divisions of the city, Orville returned to the Flavi Mansion contentedly and went to bed to rest.
-
The next morning, with the diligent service of the servants, Orville got up, dressed, and prepared to go out.

He certainly didn't like the feeling of having someone watching him when he got up, dressed, and ate. In Orville's opinion, it was unnecessary to lie down and wait for slaves to feed him food. However, this was the trend of the time. Orville had just arrived, and it was difficult to refuse Vespa's kindness. He could only make do with it for now and wait for a chance to change to the way he liked.

He left home early and deliberately did not eat breakfast in the mansion. Instead, he bought some bread in the civilian area to fill his stomach, and then headed straight to the suburbs outside the city.

He had just arrived in Rome and had to deal with some things. When you first arrive, there are always a lot of things to do, so he would be busy for a few days.

The most important thing is the matter of the 500-man Palfi guard. They did not follow Orville into the city because of their sensitive identities. Orville discussed with the officials who came to take over and decided to let them live in a temporary military camp outside the city for the time being, but this is definitely not a long-term solution.

In fact, this was a loophole. When Tia and others returned to Rome, they handed over their military power, and almost no normal auxiliary troops would participate in the triumphal ceremony. Vespa may have missed him, or he may have done it intentionally. In any case, his military power was not taken back, and Orville still commanded these hundreds of young and middle-aged men.

At least near the city of Rome, the surname Flavius ​​was still very useful. Orville bought a small farm on the outskirts of the city without much effort and let these soldiers live in it as a resettlement point. They continued to train every day, and he would supply them with food regularly.

The handover work will take a week or two, so Orville doesn't have to worry about it. Vespa's secretary will help handle this matter, and he only needs to pay the money.

Since it was all his personal matter, Orville did not want to trouble Vespa too much, so he chose to do the rest himself. Seeing that it was not too late, he took his men to the slave market again.

What was mainly needed were teachers who could speak Aramaic and Latin, the common languages ​​of the East. There were very few ordinary citizens in Rome who could speak Aramaic, and most of them were people who had experience working in the Eastern provinces and had some power and status. Instead of going to great lengths to find such people, it would be better to buy them directly. There was no shortage of people in Rome who had become slaves for various reasons.

(End of this chapter)