Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 73 Imitator

"I'll have people pay attention to see if there are any children who can't make a living or have a very difficult life. If they are of the right age, let them come to the hostel to help out. At least let them have a decent meal. Don't let them do too much heavy work in the hostel. Just let them do something within their ability. Let them learn some skills when they are young. I'll hire a few decent teachers to give them lessons occasionally.

If you find good talents, please inform me and I will promote them appropriately. If they are ordinary people, let them go free when they have the ability to be independent. People should have the opportunity to choose their own destiny, and Rome should give these people the opportunity they deserve. "

In Rome, educating slaves or adopting them was not uncommon, but it was mainly for the private interests of each family. Education or adoption was only to enable them to better serve their masters in the future. People who thought like Orville were rare.

However, Nicanor also knew that this was a good thing. He had a sense of citizenship and responsibility, so he approved of Orville's behavior. Besides, this place was Orville's asset, so he could just arrange his subordinates to do whatever he wanted.

"All of Rome will be grateful for your kindness, which is an act of justice."

Orville is not very interested in compliments. He does not do things for the sake of receiving praise, but just because he wants to do it.

He doesn't lack this little money, so what if he hires a few more people? With his current status, the little that slips through his fingers is enough to feed many people. It is also an investment for the future.

Afterwards, he discussed various business issues with the financial specialist assisted by Vespa, and personally visited the hotel to provide suggestions on various details. After completing the most basic work, he went to the estate outside Rome to inspect the training of his guards.
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Orville brought over several hundred men from Palfi, but strictly speaking, these men were not up to the task of serving as guards because they were trained according to auxiliary army standards.

It was no problem to have them harass the enemy's flank or attract their attention, but it was impossible to rely on them to follow the coach and serve as an elite assault force. A Roman centurion was enough to defeat the five hundred men head-on, and letting them go would only bring humiliation upon themselves. Orville was well aware of the difference in combat power between the two sides.

However, he only had so many military forces at his disposal at any time, and these few hundred people were obtained by exploiting a bug. Vespa deliberately did not mention the auxiliary army, which allowed him to take advantage of the loophole. The Senate and the residents of Rome were very wary of foreign troops stationed near Rome. In theory, troops from other provinces could not enter the Italian mainland. The only formal military force nearby was the emperor's guards.

So there are only so many cards in hand, and if you can't change them, you can only find ways to strengthen them.

During this time, Orville changed the training mode and began to train them according to the standards of regular troops, and also began to forge weapons and equipment for them.

First of all, the most important and most expensive thing is armor. At first glance, Orville has quite a few choices - chain mail, Roman lath armor, linen armor, barbed mail, and scale armor are all available. Plate armor has not yet appeared.

Without much thought, Orville chose chain mail - this thing has been used in Europe for more than a thousand years, from the middle and late Roman Republic to the 14th century when muskets and crossbows began to appear frequently, so it must have adapted to the local environment.

When talking about the Roman Legion, most people think of the shiny and handsome-looking lath armor. In fact, the usage rate of this thing was not very high during its peak period, and it was far less popular than chain mail. Only the garrisons in places like Germany and Italy were equipped with it. Although it had advantages such as light weight and relatively strong defense, its disadvantages were too great.

First of all, it is difficult to maintain and it is easy to rust. Soldiers have to spend a lot of time polishing and oiling it, which is very troublesome to maintain. Secondly, it is difficult to repair. There are many delicate hinges on it. If it breaks, it is not something that a soldier can fix. He needs to go to the military blacksmith shop to tinker with it. Moreover, it is also troublesome to replace the armor plates with new ones.

Secondly, it is uncomfortable to wear. It is said that this thing is very uncomfortable to wear. There are many armor plates and hinges inside, which definitely has this problem. It can even make people covered with bruises. This led to the Roman soldiers having to put on a layer of clothes inside when wearing these armors, and some even put on a layer of chain mail directly.

Finally, this thing is too expensive, and the manufacturing threshold is much higher than chain mail or ziplock.

Armor is not just about its protective performance, other things must also be considered. The advantages of Roman lath armor are far less than its disadvantages, so Rome immediately abandoned this type of armor after its national strength weakened, and only in the last hundred years or so has it been equipped in small quantities. It is a kind of armor that has money but nowhere to spend it.

Mail armor does not have these problems - it is comfortable, lightweight, durable, easy to manufacture, and most importantly, very easy to maintain.

Any soldier can learn how to make mail armor in two days. Mail armor is not afraid of rust. If it is rusty, just throw it in sand and stir it. It does not need oiling or polishing. It is very convenient. Mail armor is not afraid of maintenance. To put it bluntly, it is just a matter of twisting and replacing iron rings. Soldiers can do it themselves with small tools without bothering the blacksmith shop, which greatly reduces the workload of the blacksmith shop, which is very important during marches and battles.

Although it sacrificed a little defense, the gains were so many that it was easy for Orville to make the choice, and no one stipulated that the armor could not be stitched.

Later, the Romans abandoned the lath armor, but retained the reinforced iron shoulder guard of the lath armor, sewing it onto the mail armor to strengthen the shoulder defense against the Germanic people.

Because the Germanic people who grew up eating meat and dairy products were generally much taller than the Romans who grew up eating grains, they bullied the short Romans in battle and liked to chop the shoulders of Roman soldiers with axes and swords, so this was a specially designed reinforcement, and it turned out to be really useful.

If necessary, Orville can also design it this way, adding some plate armor reinforcement parts on it. The iron smelting technology in this time and space is stronger, so this can be done, but there is no rush.

The most important armor problem has been solved, and the only thing left is the issue of weapons and equipment. After careful consideration, Orville decided not to let them use their short-handed attack against their long-handed opponent.

They will probably go fight the Gauls afterwards. These people are much better than the Parvi people with swords or axes. Fighting them in a hand-to-hand fight would be pure humiliation. These people have been fighting like this for hundreds of years, and the Romans have suffered several setbacks.

As for the standard Roman combination of short sword, large shield and javelin, that would be even more self-humiliating. Orville could just transfer a large team to serve as his guard. These people would be useless and embarrassing, so there's no need.

After thinking it over, Orville decided to go all out and imitate Alexander the Great by having these people form a square formation with spears.

(End of this chapter)