Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 9 Advice
Waterdeep City is adjacent to Lake Grenier, hence its name. The lake is neither too big nor too small, large enough for many people to take refuge on it by boat. But Vespa is not a bandit who would rob and run away. He has time to slowly waste time with the rebels.

Vespa did not have the eloquence and speaking habits of his daughter, and his commands were simple and intuitive.

"Surround the entire lake, set up patrols, kill those who escape and detain those who surrender. At the same time, organize people to start making rafts and use them to eliminate the rebels."

The order was faithfully carried out, the rebels were trapped on the lake, and the Romans, who had extensive engineering experience, began to cut trees to make rafts.

Orville watched coldly and silently recorded the war process in the notebook Tia gave him.

The rebels, who had left the city and could not wait for reinforcements, were actually at the end of their rope.

They could only watch as the Romans quickly built rafts in a few days, floated them on the lake and began to mow them down. The Romans lined up their rafts and sailed towards the enemy.

Most of the rebels' boats were fishing boats, not big or stable enough to support them in a naval battle with the Romans. There were not many people on each small boat, and they did not dare to engage in close combat with the Romans on the interconnected rafts. They could only rely on their flexibility to circle around the rafts, throw stones or anything else they could throw at the Romans, and occasionally drive their small boats past the rafts to attack the Romans with weapons from close range.

All these efforts had little effect. Stones were almost ineffective against armor and shields, and whenever the boats approached the rafts, the rebels were often killed by javelins, bows and arrows, and Roman short swords.

More Romans jumped on the boats and fought them hand-to-hand. They were no match for the lack of training and after several days of torture. Some tried to break through, but the Romans were close enough to stab them with javelins. Their boats were captured by the Romans and then easily destroyed. If anyone who fell into the water raised their heads above the water, they would be attacked by bows and javelins. In desperation, some people tried to climb onto the rafts, but the Romans directly used short swords to chop or stab their hands and heads.

A large number of Palphian rebels were killed, and the rest were driven to the shore. The Romans did not intend to show mercy this time, and no one would be taken prisoner. In Vespa's opinion, he had already provided many opportunities.

Many people were killed while wading on the shore, and many were killed by the infantry who were waiting for them after they climbed ashore. Even if they managed to break through the infantry's defense line, there were cavalry patrolling back and forth.
A horrifying scene appeared before Orville's eyes: the entire lake was dyed red with blood, and there were corpses everywhere in the lake and on land. None of these people survived.
-
Two days later, inside the army tent, Tia took Orville to meet Vespa.

"General Vespa, I think it is necessary to clean up the bodies in the lake now. It has been two days. If we don't do anything about it, it may cause a plague."

Vespa didn't look at Tia who lowered her head at the first moment, but looked at Orville with a questioning look.

That probably means: Was it your idea?

Orville shook his head slightly, and at the same time looked at Vespa with sincere eyes.

Vespa could also understand: Although it was not my idea, I thought so too.

After pondering for a few seconds, Vespa asked Tia: "My daughter, why do you think I didn't take any action?"

"After all the fighting and movement, the army needs a short rest. At the same time, it is necessary to show proper dignity and let them see what happens to the rebels." Vespasian nodded, "Very good, that's right. It's not enough to just wipe out the rebels. They may come back in ten or twenty years, and then we will have to pay the blood of our citizens to suppress the rebellion. So I want to solve the problem once and for all, so that the people here will not have the slightest intention of resisting when they hear about Rome. There may be more sacrifices for this, but in the long run it will undoubtedly be beneficial to us, and it may not be a bad thing for the locals."

"I understand your thoughts, but if a plague breaks out, no one will benefit. Our soldiers and allies live nearby."

"I don't plan to use this method against the locals. Our soldiers are enough to defeat any enemy head-on. There is no need to use such inferior methods. It's just that I still have some problems now."

Vespa rubbed his ring and tapped his knuckles rhythmically on the armrest of his chair.

He looked up at Orville seemingly casually: "Do you want to resume your status as governor?"

Orville thought seriously for a few seconds, then shook his head and refused: "I am too fragile and don't have enough courage to make some decisions. So if I can choose, I want to leave the land of Palphi after the war and go to Rome or Alexandria to become a businessman or farmer with a small fortune. A life of blood and swords is not suitable for me."

Vespa discussed the bloody suppression of his own people in front of him, but Orville's reaction was the same as usual, not angry or disturbed by any emotions, he was simply answering the question.

As of now, if he were to truly integrate himself into this dark era, I'm afraid his morality and values ​​would not be able to bear it and would collapse first.

Slavery, massacre, famine, banditry, plague... each of these things is not just a historical term, but is actually displayed before Orwell's eyes. If he looks at all this with the three views of modern people, Orwell would have tremendous psychological pressure. But it is not easy to completely abandon what he has experienced and learned in the past twenty years in just a few days.

The expedient measure he chose for himself was to escape, implying that everything had nothing to do with him and that he, as a spectator, could not change anything. He knew very well that once he had power, he could no longer hypnotize himself and had to make a choice - to integrate into this world or to insist on preserving the original world.

He doesn't want to make this extremely difficult choice, so he will delay it as long as possible. If he can live his life without worries, he can actually accept it.

Vespa was also an experienced person. Although it was impossible for him to guess that Orville was a time traveler, he could guess about 70% from his expression and words.

His eyes moved back and forth between Orvel and Tia, and finally he made his decision.

"Tia, you are right. It is almost time to deal with the bodies. Although the residents of Waterdeep did not surrender to Rome immediately, they can make up for it through practical actions. Let the people of Waterdeep deal with the bodies themselves, pick them up and burn them. I will send a century to assist them. It will be a punishment for them, and I believe it will leave a deep impression on them.

At the same time, in order to show their determination to stand with Rome, they have to pay a blood tax as proof. Recruit 600 people from the residents of this city as auxiliary troops to assist us in our activities. As for the commander, they will be under the command of your legion, and Orville Tyrion will be responsible for recruitment, training and organization. How about this? "

(End of this chapter)