The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 323
Varag lowered his head, avoiding Shapur's aggressive gaze, found a chair and sat down, stroking the polished armrest with one hand, and stroking the other porcelain cup with the other.The chairs are made of high-quality wood bought from the Yue State. The porcelain cups are the famous Prince Porcelain of the Yue State. One is heavy and the other is light. They both feel good and are his favorites.The wine bottle that was smashed by Shapur just now was bought by him from a merchant in the Han Dynasty with a lot of money. He was really distressed when Shapur smashed it, but he didn't dare to say anything.

Because he knows that although Axum still has some strength, it is not worth mentioning in front of the Sasanians. Now that the four major empires in the world are gathered here, how can he speak for Axum.Shapur didn't even pay attention to the country of Yue, so how could he pay attention to a small Axum.

Sandwiched between these four great powers, Varag was in a very difficult situation. He was unwilling to be given to the Yue Kingdom by Rome as a gift, but he was not so rash that he turned against the Yue Kingdom with a word from Shapur, of course. Now, he would not simply say no. Since Shapur can tell him this, it is obviously not unprepared.

"There are [-] elite soldiers in Yue, and [-] guards in Rome. No matter how good the prince is at fighting, he only has [-] cavalry. With your strength, it seems that it is not easy to eat them?" Walag thought. For a moment, he raised his head, met Shapur's playful gaze, and showed a shallow smile, appearing very sincere, as if he had agreed to Shapur's proposal and was considering the feasibility.

Shapur has been watching Varag's expression.Valag is not a mediocre lord who can be manipulated by others. In the past few years, he has conquered the north and south, and his power has expanded rapidly. However, in front of big countries like Rome and Yue, his strength is too far behind. There is nothing he can do about bullying, so he has to bow his head and surrender, otherwise the city of Axum will be bloody.The city was donated, and the minister also weighed it, but Shapur knew that Varag was not reconciled, so he came to Varag with confidence.When he first arrived in Axum, he made friends with Varag, and figured out a little bit of Varag's thoughts. Now that he brought it up, Varag was really tempted.

It is normal for Varage to have concerns, but it would be abnormal if he had no concerns.

"You don't have to worry. Although the Yue Kingdom has 400 elite soldiers, they don't have cavalry. Of course, it's no problem to defend the city. But if you want to fight in the field, they are not my Persian opponents. As for the Romans, hehehe..." Shapur sneered , slowed down his tone, and calmly analyzed: "They have long been hollowed out wood by moths. They look scary, but they will fall down as soon as you push them. You don't have to worry about these Romans. I have fought against them several times. They It’s no longer the Romans of three or four hundred years ago. And I’ve already figured out a way to deal with them, but I can’t say it now, and I think you can understand this.”

Varag nodded in understanding, and fell silent, he wanted to analyze how credible Shapur's words were.Shapoor said that the Romans were strong outside but capable in the middle. He was somewhat convinced, but not completely convinced.The Romans have fallen, and they are no longer the Romans of three or four hundred years ago. He believes that, after all, he is also a vassal state of Rome. Shapur said that the combat power of the Romans is not as good as their Sassanids. He also believes that Alexander wants to It wasn't that he was beaten so badly by Ardashir, and he didn't want to ask the Yue people for help, but Shapur said that the Romans would fall down as soon as they were pushed, but he didn't believe it. If this was the case, then why did Shapur come to negotiate?Just direct their cavalry to rush into the city of Rome.

"For such a big matter, you should be more cautious." Warrag said with something in his words.

"Your Majesty is wise." Shapur stood up, put the porcelain cup in his hand on the table next to him, and then walked back and forth in the narrow and long secret room with his hands behind his back, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed in the secret room.Varag said nothing, his eyes moved back and forth following Shapur's footsteps, he knew that Shapur understood what he said, and he had to consider what information to reveal to him to strengthen his confidence.

Shapur walked back and forth more than a dozen times, his footsteps were always steady, and finally he stood three steps in front of Varag, facing the torch on the wall sideways, his eyes were hidden in the deep-set eye sockets, and he couldn't see clearly. eyes, but Valag still held his breath unnaturally.

"My lord, if my Sasanian army besieges the city, can you cope with it, create a little trouble for the king of Yue, make him tired of coping, and even open the city gate to welcome our army into the city?" Shapur didn't wait for Walag to answer, and then He laughed, but his laughter was a bit dry, and he sounded like an ominous night owl: "If your majesty is willing, then Axum will always belong to your majesty, and the fertile Nile River in the north will also belong to your majesty. If your majesty has doubts, that's okay." , Let’s pretend that we didn’t say anything today, and we will never meet again from now on.”

Varag's eyes tightened. He could hear the strong threat behind these words, and of course he was moved by Shapur's generous conditions.He pulled his bushy beard and thought for a long time before raising his head and staring at Shapur: "What if your army doesn't besiege the city?"

Shapur smiled faintly: "Of course nothing will happen."

"Okay." Valag nodded heavily, stood up, pulled out a short dagger from his waist, and stroked his finger lightly, a drop of blood dripped out. He raised his head again, calmly Looking at Shapur: "We swear by the name of Ahura Azdah."

Shapur's eyes contracted involuntarily, and then he laughed again.The Sasanians believe in Zoroastrianism, and their ancestor Sasanian was a Zoroastrian priest. The reason why their family can rise so quickly is of course related to the great talent of his father Ardashir, but It is also inseparable from the support of Zoroastrianism.Ahura Azda is the sole creator of the Zoroastrian belief. Swearing in his name is the most severe oath, and no one can violate it, otherwise you will be punished by Ahura Azda. Punishment, too, was ostracized by Zoroaster priests.Walag wants to swear in the name of Ahura Azda, which can be said to be the best way to protect himself.

Shapur can refuse Warrag. After all, Ahura Azda is the supreme creator and cannot be used to swear casually, but this matter is of great importance. If he refuses, then Warrag will definitely be suspicious.

"Of course, for such an important matter, you must swear in the name of the Creator." Shapur pulled out a dagger from his waist, cut his finger, and faced Sassan with Valag Kneeling down on one leg, facing the swaying torch on the wall, he saluted solemnly, then said his oath, stirred his cut finger in the wine glass, took a sip each, and then took a sip of the other's arm. , looked at each other and smiled.

Sun Shao sat on the ground floor of the Royal Palace, the tallest building in Axum City, looking down at the ancient city with a different style at his feet, with a relaxed and natural expression. He never thought that he could occupy a city in Africa so easily.Although Axum is only two to three hundred miles in size and surrounded by deserts, he couldn't help feeling overwhelmed when he thought of the ancient civilization Egypt to the north, which was tens of thousands of miles away from the big man.

"How did the talk go? Has the Sasanian let up?"

"It's going well." Xia Hourong smiled, "Your Majesty is surrounded by talented people, not only Cheng Jun who is good at doing business, but also Lu Shan who is good at embroidered clothes. , I hardly need to do anything, just watch the Romans and the Sassanids compete." He paused, and then said with some concern: "However, I am still a little worried, the Romans are eager to cooperate with us, this It's understandable, but the Sasanians are so enthusiastic, it's a little too much."

"What are you worried about? Worried that they are playing tricks and showing us?" Sun Shao turned his head and glanced at Xia Hourong. He could see worry in Xia Hourong's eyes.Xia Hourong didn't speak, but just nodded.That's exactly what he was worried about. The Romans were eager to cooperate with the Vietnamese to resist the Sassanids. If they suffered from the cooperation, it would be difficult for them to get effective help.The Sassanians were not in a hurry to support the Vietnamese, but they acted as if they were bound to win, forcing the Romans to lower their conditions. For the Sassanians, this was just a means, but for the Romans Well, every concession is a loss of profit. If it is really unprofitable, then this cooperation will be broken if not broken.At that point, a good thing may turn into a bad thing.

"You don't have to worry about this. We just need to grasp the scale ourselves. Of course we can't do things that are at a disadvantage, but don't let the Romans lose their profits. Let them bargain with each other first, and we will be good people in the end. Why not?" Sun Shao smiled faintly: "In terms of shrewdness in business, how can Shapur compare with Cheng Jun and Lu Shan? Let him think he has the plan."

"But the Romans are in a hurry." Xia Hourong reminded: "Didn't your majesty notice that Alexander came less these two days, and the Romans looked at us a little bit wrong, especially that Maximus, look Seeing us is like seeing the enemy."

"His eyes are a little bit wrong." Sun Shao smiled: "But we are not afraid of him. His 3 people are outside the city, and our 1 people are inside the city. If he wants to harm us, he has not yet That strength. Let him stare at him for a few days, and then we will make some concessions, and his eyes will look better."

Xia Hourong was thoughtful, he thought for a moment, and was about to speak when there was a sound of footsteps outside, and a dark guard came over to salute, saying that it was the king of Aksum, Walag, who was begging to see him.Sun Shao and Xia Hourong glanced at each other, waved their hands, "Please come in."

Valage walked in quickly, knelt down to salute when he saw Sun Shao, then saluted Xia Hourong, and said a few compliments.Xia Hourong smiled: "Your Majesty's Chinese has improved, it's become more fluent."

"Recently there are a lot of Han people in the city, and you can hear Chinese everywhere, so there are many opportunities to learn." Warag said a few gossips, but didn't get to the point. Xia Hourong saw him and said goodbye tactfully.Sun Shao kept looking at Varage calmly, especially noticing the beads of sweat in his temples.Axum is indeed relatively hot, but the palace is built on a high place, the ventilation conditions are very good, and there are so many green plants covering it, and today's sunlight is not very strong, the palace is not very hot, and Warrag's face is also There is no sweat, but there are beads of sweat hidden in the corners of the hair, which shows that he has something on his mind.

"My lord, I have something to report to my lord." Valag lowered his voice.

"What's so important?" Sun Shao showed a gentle smile: "Is someone causing trouble in the city and causing trouble for you?"

Walag quickly shook his head: "Your Majesty's soldiers are very disciplined. Compared with those Romans and Sasanians, they are like heaven and earth. Generals Ding and Zhou have very high demands, and none of the soldiers caused trouble. The entire Aksu People in Mu City say that the king is a god sent from heaven, and only the soldiers of gods can be so good."

The corner of Sun Shao's mouth twitched. He knew that to the people of Axum City, he was now an invader, an invader farther than the Romans. It has no effect, but human psychology is a very delicate thing. If soldiers are indulged in misbehavior, it is easy to arouse psychological confrontation, so from the time he was preparing to take over the city of Axum, he asked Ding Feng, Zhou Yin and others to deal with it. The soldiers of the Destroying Fengying have strengthened their discipline to avoid troubles. From now on, it seems that they are generally good.

"If there is anything, you can tell me directly. Since the country of Axum has become my vassal country, the people of Aksum are also my people, and the soldiers of our country are to protect my people, not to harm them. My people, if such a thing happens, I will definitely punish it severely." Sun Shao said: "Since this is not the case, then what's the matter with you coming to see me in such a hurry?"

Walag suddenly knelt down on the ground with a plop, and kowtowed repeatedly: "I have committed a crime. I have come to plead guilty to the king, and ask the king to punish me."

"Really?" Sun Shao glanced at him, then continued calmly, "What kind of crime is it, you should talk about it."

"I... I have concealed something from the king." Valage raised his head, and said with grief and indignation: "I have never dared to tell the king about a big matter because I was worried."

"Big event?" Sun Shao laughed. Of course he knew about Shapur's visit to Varag's house. He didn't say anything about it for so many days. He just wanted to see how long Varag wanted to keep it a secret. .Now that Varag came to confess on his own initiative, it was somewhat beyond his expectation.He originally thought that Valag would be unwilling to lose the throne of Axum, and he should be tempted by the Sassanian's opportunity. "What's the big deal?"

"My lord, three days ago, Shapur came to the home of my minister, and I wanted my minister to cooperate with him to fight against the king and the Romans."

"Confrontation?" Sun Shao raised his eyebrows, his interest suddenly increased: "How to fight?"

"He asked his ministers to spread rumors secretly, saying that the Romans sold Axum to the Yue Kingdom for their own benefit, and then created a little trouble so that the Romans could no longer gain a foothold here and compete with the Sasanians, so that the Sasanians More people get a little share."

"Really?" Sun Shao raised his hand, rubbed his eyebrows, and asked casually, "What do you think?"

"Your...you should be damned. He said he wanted to give me some benefits. I was a little moved at the time. Although I saw through the sinister intentions of the Sasanians, I was afraid that the king would not trust me, so I never dared to report to the king." Varage said with a face of remorse: "The minister has failed the trust of the king."

"Then why are you here again?" Sun Shao looked at him with a half-smile.To be honest, if things were true as what Valrager said, he would be a little disappointed.

"I thought about it carefully, and felt that the Sassanians were not trustworthy. Compared to the kindness of the king, they were just deceiving me. Moreover, with Sassan's strength, it was impossible for them to protect me. I want to take advantage of my subject, and take advantage of my muddled thoughts. Your Majesty, my subject is guilty, my subject is guilty..."

Looking at Varage who was crying bitterly, Sun Shao was silent for a moment, sighed, leaned over, and helped Varag up: "My king of Axum, get up quickly, people are not gods, How could it be possible that you don't have any selfishness, it's a good thing if you find your way back, and I won't blame you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Warrag nodded gratefully, and then promised: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will never associate with cunning Sasanians again."

"No, you have to continue to communicate with him." Sun Shao waved his hand, interrupting Valager's words.Warrag looked at him in surprise, and Sun Shao said with a smile: "If you don't associate with him, how can you know what bad things he is doing again? You want to associate with him, and associate with him like a good friend. If you need anything, you can tell me, and I will help you."

Valag suddenly realized, and nodded again and again: "Your Majesty is wise, Your Majesty is wise. I understand what your Majesty means. Shapur, a sinister snake, will not give up even if he can't confuse me. He will definitely confuse other people. Only by associating with him can the king keep track of his movements at any time."

"You're so smart." Sun Shao laughed, and patted Varag's shoulder affectionately: "Do it well, and don't make Shapur suspicious."

"Yes!" Valag saluted respectfully, walked back to the door, and walked away with his head held high.Sun Shao looked at his back, smiled and said nothing.After a while, a guard came in and said, "Your Majesty, the Emperor of Rome sent someone to invite you to a banquet."

Sun Shao was a little surprised. Alexander has been busy negotiating for the past two days and has not shown up much. How come he is free today.After thinking for a while, he felt that it was necessary to explore Alexander's current psychology, so he nodded.Not long after, Tu Hu rushed to Alexander's residence with three hundred tiger guards guarding Sun Shao's luxurious walking chariot.

Valage stood on a tall building in the distance, watching Sun Shao's team leave the palace, with a sarcastic smile on his face.Standing beside him, Shapur also looked at Sun Shao who was being worshiped by the people on the street, and smiled: "It seems that your subjects are very satisfied with this new king."

Warrag snorted: "What do these stupid slaves know? They think that the King Yue is a god sent from heaven, but in fact the King Yue is an idiot. I just made up a lie according to your order, and he Believe it."

"Don't think so simply." Shapur leaned on the railing and smiled: "He can do this at a young age, how could he be a fool? Maybe he is testing you?"

Valag frowned, pulled his beard and said nothing, he thought for a moment, then laughed again: "Whether he is real or not, at least we will have no problem meeting now. As for telling him What, isn't it up to us to decide?"

"This is indeed a good thing." Shapur nodded: "I tell you one thing, the negotiation is coming to an end, I have sent the news back to Ctesiphon, and my father will come here to meet them soon."

"How many people are you bringing here?" Varag asked with concern: "There are quite a few people here. If there are fewer people, the city cannot be surrounded."

"No siege this time." Shapur shook his head: "I want you to do me a favor, you go and tell the King of Yue that we Sassanians may bring a large army to Axum, which may be bad for him, so we must He pre-limited a number of people to ensure safety."

"Aren't you besieging the city?" Valag was very surprised, and couldn't help but sink his face.

"It's not that we don't besiege the city, but that we don't besiege the city now." Shapur didn't have to look back, he showed suspicion from Warrag's tone, and continued to explain: "If we bring the army to besiege the city now, we will have to worry about it." We will take the responsibility of breaking the covenant, and they will definitely be on guard. Our chances of success are not great. Only when we let them relax their vigilance and think that we will not come to besiege the city, we will besiege the city again, and then we will be able to defeat them. He stood up, clapped his hands, and pointed to the sea in the east and said, "Besides, now Axum City has enough food for a hundred thousand troops to feed for a year, and there are only [-] thousand troops in the city. They can support two , but we came from afar, can we besiege the city for two years? I want to wait for the Romans to transport the food away and there is not much food here before besieging the city. At that time, hey, they will either wait in the city to die or be forced to Get out of the city. As soon as they leave the city, it's time for my Sasanian cavalry to show off."

After listening to Shapur's explanation, Varag understood his intentions, but then he thought of another question: "If they are trapped in the city, wouldn't it be my subjects who starved to death first?"

"Don't worry, they won't stick to it." Shapur turned his head and looked at Varag, "There are three possibilities for defending the city, either you believe that the opponent will not be able to siege for too long and you have to retreat, and you can persevere, or you can quickly There will be reinforcements coming, or there is no way to escape, so they have to defend. But if the Yue people do not have enough food, why stick to it? The Yue country is more than ten thousand miles away from here, where did they get the reinforcements? Axum City is not them Why are they defending their country?"

Walag thought for a moment, and felt that what Shapur said was reasonable. If the news of the sudden arrival of the Sasanian army came out, the most likely thing for the Vietnamese people was to retreat to the sea before the Sasanian arrived. It was the safest place. , It is definitely not a wise choice to be trapped in the city of Axum.

"So, how long will it take?"

"It can be slow for a year, and fast for half a year." Shapur said with confidence: "We will launch a war in Armenia first, and attract the Romans first. They are worried about last year's defeat, and now they have With the support of the Yue people, I will definitely be eager to fight with us. When the Romans arrive in Armenia, I will personally lead the army as the vanguard and come here to help you restore the country.”

He smiled: "It is said in the military books of the Han people that this call hits east and west."

(End of this chapter)