Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 90 Ptolemy and Ptolemy

The other party breathed a sigh of relief, at least he could complete the task smoothly: "Claudius Ptolemy, His Royal Highness the Prince"

Before he could finish his words, Orville stood up abruptly, rushed to him quickly, touched his shoulder, and a string of information entered his mind.

Claudius Ptolemy - a brilliant scholar

Diplomacy: 14
Military: 9
Management: 19
Strategy: 16
Knowledge: 42
Orville turned around silently, then grinned and began to laugh unconsciously.

It can be considered a big win. A rich woman is a rich woman. She can win a big win by sending anyone to deliver the letter. It is basically certain that this person is the scientist Ptolemy in history, who established the geocentric theory and maintained his authority for 1,300 years before being broken by Copernicus.

Modern people may find the geocentric theory ridiculous because it has been falsified, but if any theory can persist for more than a thousand years, there must be a reason. Ptolemy was indeed an excellent astronomer and mathematician in that era.

The method he used to prove the geocentric theory was not metaphysics, but mathematics and geometry. In this regard, he was undoubtedly very good. Just look at the evaluation of him by later generations.

The Arabs called his "Almagest" "Almagest". As world-renowned middlemen, Arab merchants made a living on the sea. Their footprints extended from the western Mediterranean to southern China. To undertake long-distance voyages, one must have a solid foundation in astronomy, otherwise they would die without knowing how they died.

Since they all praised Ptolemy's academic achievements and believed that it was necessary to study them, it means that these theories are more or less useful for navigation and are relatively accurate.

In addition, Ptolemy also made many achievements in mapping. He was the master of geography at that time. He used longitude and latitude in map drawing, and also discussed map projection and scale. He was a representative figure of cartography before modern Europe. Columbus was deceived by the map he drew when he discovered the New World.

To put it simply, he can draw more accurate maps, which is very important for any country with a vast territory. Maps have a huge impact on management, war, trade, etc. An accurate map can even improve the efficiency of the entire state machine.

Orville turned around and smiled for three or five seconds before returning to his seat and saying to the bewildered Ptolemy, "Don't take it too seriously. Keep going. I suddenly had some inspiration for my literary creation. That's all. Sorry for being a little rude."

Ptolemy certainly didn't know what to say, so he could only continue the topic, taking out an envelope from his arms and handing it to Orville for him to read.

When the sealed letter was opened, it contained a piece of letter written by Cleopatra herself in beautiful handwriting, with concise and clear content.

"Your Majesty, I regret that I cannot come to Rome to talk to you in person because my freedom has been restricted. The eunuch Berdinos and the general Achilles are ambitious and want to usurp the power of the Ptolemaic royal family. This is undoubtedly an act of treason.

I can fully understand your difficulties, but I also ask you to provide some help within your ability, whether in Rome or elsewhere. The Ptolemy family will always be friends of the Roman people, and Cleopatra will not disappoint her friends. "

If Cleopatra tried to get close to Orville by using the things that happened with Alexander, Orville would not fall for it. But now the other party did not mention it at all, nor did she even ask Orville to do anything specific, which made Orville a little unsure.

"What does she want me to do? Can you give me some hints?" Ptolemy shook his head. "I don't even know the contents of the letter, so how can I give you hints? But before she left, Her Royal Highness the Princess gave me some royal jewels and gold. She asked me to pass them on to you, saying that she hopes you can purchase some war supplies on her behalf."

"Give me some time to think about it."

After thinking about it, Orville probably understood what Cleopatra meant.

Egypt and Syria have well-developed metallurgical industries. Although they are not as developed as those in Rome, they can still forge weapons and equipment normally. Buying from Orville in Rome obviously means that they require confidentiality in the delivery to conceal their tracks.

She was a teenage girl and had no acquaintances in Rome, so the only person who could get the job done was Orville.

First of all, swords, spears, and halberds are easy to deal with, but armor is also a key control target in Rome, and it is not so easy to buy. Three or five sets of armor may be obtained by ordinary merchants, but thousands or even tens of thousands of sets of armor are just a pipe dream. Orwell still has the conditions to do these things under the name of military procurement, and it will not arouse too much suspicion.

He also had his own fleet, which could transport these weapons and equipment out of Rome and all the way to Egypt. At most, he could collude with the Herod family and say that these weapons were ordered by them and would be shipped to Palae and then transferred to Egypt.

There are actually not many senators in Rome who have such channels. Among these people, the only one Cleopatra could directly contact is Orville. The rest of them would most likely not help, but would instead expose the matter to the eunuch Berdinus.

So after looking around, the only person who can be asked for help is Orville. Orville does have the ability to help the other party, but the question now is whether to help or not, and whether helping will be good or bad in the long run.

Regardless of whether Cleopatra was really beautiful in history, the impression she left on the Romans was not good at all, and she left a very serious negative impression. She was "the woman who cannot be named", and all the nicknames for her were derogatory. The most representative one should be the poet Propertius calling her "the incestuous queen of Canopus", and other people's nicknames afterwards were also unacceptable.

After repeated propaganda, the psychological shadow she left on the Romans was so great that Berenice, the old lover of Titus (Tia) in another time and space, was strongly resisted by the people of Rome and almost caused a riot just because she met the two key words "foreigner" and "queen". At that time, the Roman people called Berenice "Titus' Cleopatra". There was a gap of more than a hundred years between the two, and the impact can be seen.

It is hard to say whether Orville's help to her is an investment for the future or a disaster. It is certain that Berdinos is a man of little ability, and it seems not impossible to let such a mediocre person govern Egypt.

This matter was of great importance, and it might even affect the overall structure of the Roman Empire in the future, so Orville was inevitably hesitant. Ptolemy also saw this, so he also began to get nervous.

If Orville refused, it would be questionable whether he could walk out of the mansion alive.

Finally, Orville made a decision: "I will prepare for Cleopatra what she asked for, but the method may be different from what she originally thought."

(End of this chapter)