The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 360

Aguilar rushed over in a hurry, and when he saw Ardasil's eyes, he stopped in his tracks and opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say, with an extremely frustrated expression on his face.They have been worried about miracles, worried that Sun Shao will perform such a miracle again in Taixi Fengcheng, they are always thinking about how this miracle was done, and then they will also counterattack with a miracle, but they never It never occurred to them that Sun Shao would actually show such a miracle in front of them, on this bright and refreshing day.

A spherical object appeared helplessly above the city of Taixi, without a trace of concealment, it just appeared in front of them so straightforwardly, the truth of what they thought was so obvious, but they Do you really understand?

No, they still can't figure out how the ball got into the air, unless it's... God's power.

Aquila can understand Ardashir's current mood. He is very ashamed. As the smartest member of the Sasanian family and the high priest of the Sasanian religion, he can only watch the enemy perform "miracles" in front of him. ", shaking the morale of the army, but helpless.

He is proficient in illusion, but he can't do such an illusion. Even if he wants to tell the common people that this is just an enemy's trick, how convincing can he have?

Aguila felt the powerlessness of Ardashir under the city of Axum. He clearly saw that his opponent was not far away, but he couldn't defeat him.

"I'll go back to take a shower and fast, and then I will pray to Ahura. I believe that Ahura will not just abandon us." Aquila couldn't bear to see Ardashir's desperate eyes hidden under his calm expression. In front of his chest, he bowed to Alda Hill, turned around and left in a hurry.

Ardashir stood motionless in the corridor of the palace, like a statue at the door, until the minister in charge of negotiating hurriedly walked up to him.

"Your Majesty." The minister bowed and bowed, unable to kneel for long.

"Are the Han people still talking?" Ardasil shuddered all over, and then he recovered from his absent-minded state, and asked expressionlessly.

"They rejected the king's request, and then changed their request." The minister took out a roll of paper from his pocket, and handed it up respectfully, not even daring to lift his head, his body trembling uncontrollably.The corner of Ardasil's mouth twitched. He took the paper, unfolded it, and saw Chinese characters again.

"Call those interpreters." Ardasil turned around and strode into the hall.

The interpreters were imprisoned in the palace and soon arrived. Each of them translated a contract and sent it to Ardashir.Ardasil glanced at it. Although there were slight differences in the words, the main content was basically the same.Sun Shao's attitude changed obviously. He was very dissatisfied with the conditions proposed by Ardashir, and said in a sarcasm that Ardashir hadn't recovered from the grief of losing his son in Axum, and he didn't know that the city of Taixi had arrived At the critical moment of life and death, unexpectedly putting forward such indeterminate conditions is obviously intended to push all the Sasanians into the abyss of death.He also said that the Guishan people, the Romans, and the leaders of the barbarians are all eagerly looking forward to breaking Tessiphon, and then taking all the Sasanians into slavery, and sharing the wealth that the Sasanian dynasty has plundered over the years, and he does not want anything else , he only needs to ask Ardashir face to face:

How can you be so stupid?Could it be that after losing Ahura's protection, he even lost his basic sense of judgment, and really thought that with tens of thousands of skeptical people, he would be able to defend Ctesiphon?My big man is Huode, and I am blessed by the God of Light just like the Sasanians. Ahura made a new choice between you and me, and now it is time for you to make a choice.

Surrender, or perish.

Immediately behind, Sun Shao issued an ultimatum, listing a series of harsh conditions. On the condition of preserving Ctesiphon, he demanded that Ardashir cede all cities except Ctesiphon, and compensate all countries for their military expenses. , apologized to the countries, disbanded most of the army, and promised not to initiate wars again.If this condition is followed, then Sassan will die if he does not die, leaving only Tessiphon, how is he different from those city lords?
The more the minister thought about it, the more frightened he became. When he received the contract, he already felt that his head would not be around his neck for long.

To the minister's surprise, Ardashir did not fly into a rage. After reading the contract, he gently let go of his hand, and the paper full of words fluttered to the ground and scattered at his feet.

Silence, breathless silence, the minister fell on the ground, not daring to raise his head, from his angle, he could only see Ardashir's pair of boots embroidered with complicated patterns.

The boots did not move.

The minister felt as if there was a mountain pressing on his back, which made him tremble uncontrollably. His forehead was already pressed to the ground, and drops of sweat dripped from his temples, onto the ground made of blue bricks.

"Go and tell him that if you want to fight, you don't need to babble. As long as he can take Ctesiphon, he will kill and cut without complaint." Ardashir stood up, dropped a word coldly, turned and left .

After Sun Shao received the reply, he didn't say anything. He just invited Quintus, Bodiao and others, and asked the Sasanian envoy to tell them again.Of course, Quintus and Bodiao cursed loudly, clamoring that they must take Ardashir's head off after breaking the Taixi seal.Sun Shao didn't say a word. After the envoy left, he said to Quintus: "Ardashir is crazy. He decided to go all the way to the dark. Then we have nothing to do. Let you prepare for it these days." How is your siege equipment prepared, are you ready to attack the city?"

"It's almost ready." Quintus winked, and Mennolufis hurried forward to report. During the month when Sun Shao and Ardashir were talking nonsense, they mobilized all the supplies, even All the craftsmen among the merchants who accompanied them were conscripted, and a total of 300 siege vehicles, more than [-] ballistas, [-] siege ladders, [-] crash vehicles, and countless other various equipment were built.

"Almost all the trees around here have been cut down by us. We can only make up so much. If the number is not enough, then we can only send people to the mountains to cut down big trees. But in that case, the time may not be able to catch up. Mennolufis said embarrassedly: "Also, here is full of river beaches, no stones can be found, and even the adobe bricks used for those houses have been moved to the city by Ardashir, the number of our cannon stones The gap is huge, if three hundred ballistas go into battle together, it will only be enough for one day."

"One day?" Sun Shao jumped up suddenly, staring at Mennolufis in disbelief: "Are you kidding me?"

Mennolufis shook his head in embarrassment: "It is true. We discussed whether we can use straw bales to fill with soil and use them as bricks."

"Idiot, I think you are the idiot." Sun Shao tried not to curse out this sentence, and made three hundred ballistas, but there was only one day's ammunition, so what a fart.You think that Ctesiphon is Seleucus, and you can take it in a day with a fierce attack.He glanced at Quintus very dissatisfied, and Quintus bowed his head in embarrassment.

"Who wants to be the main commander of this siege? Stand up quickly, anyway, I won't do it." Sun Shao sneered, sat back in his seat, and glanced at the faces of Quintus and Bodiao.Quintus and Bodiao glanced at each other, but they didn't dare to say anything. They had already lost a lot when they attacked Seleucus. Now if they attack again, it may not be enough for all of them to go in.

"So, you two want to watch the battle?" Sun Shao was annoyed and funny: "During the negotiation, you were the ones who wanted to strip the Sassanians clean. Talking, you spread your hands, ready to shrink back, have you already planned to see my jokes? Now that I have spoken out loud, how will it end? You two, how should I end?" The more he spoke, the louder his voice became. Big, almost yelling at the end, the Romans and Guishuang people were very embarrassed by his scolding, but they didn't dare to speak out, for fear that Sun Shao would let him attack first.

Cao Zhang and others also looked at the Romans and the Guishuang people with displeasure. They still want to conquer Taixifeng with this strength?This is simply a joke.

Sun Feng felt that he couldn't stand it anymore. Anyway, there was a Guishuang King and a Roman emperor sitting here. Sun Shao reprimanded him like a grandson, which seemed a little too much.If they were in a hurry and walked away with a flick of their hands, wouldn't it be more difficult to fight.

"Father, they have tried their best, and they didn't intend to delay. Let's think of other ways to remedy it."

"Remedy?" Sun Shao turned his face, glared at Sun Feng, and said arrogantly: "Do you have a way to remedy it?"

Sun Feng was taken aback for a moment, he just wanted to smooth things over, but he didn't expect Sun Shao to directly target him. He was a little caught off guard for a while, and stammered, "I hope everyone can find a way together."

"That means you can't help it?" Sun Shao waved his hand dismissively: "If you can't help it, don't talk, just stand aside." After speaking, he turned around and got angry at Quintus and the others again.Sun Feng hurriedly tugged on his sleeve, and looked at him with pleading eyes, "Father, don't be angry, it's better to think long-term."

"A long-term plan?" Sun Shao became angry. He waved his hand and pushed Sun Feng's hand away: "Do you know how long our food and grass can last? It's only a month at most. He actually told me to go to the mountains to chop wood, and then told me that Pao Shi only It'll last a day. Can you take Cetsyphon in a day? Well, can you?"

Sun Shao's voice was stern, and he roared loudly in front of Sun Feng in front of everyone.No one in the crowd expected that Sun Shao would be so angry that he would not give Sun Feng any face.When they thought that Sun Feng was always very prestigious in front of everyone, but now he was reprimanded by Sun Shao because of their reasons, they were all a little embarrassed, and wanted to persuade them, but they were afraid of being caught by the furious Sun Shao. It's them who are ashamed.

The atmosphere in the big tent was a little weird for a while.Sun Fenghong blushed, and endured Sun Shao's venting. Some of the others lowered their heads, and some looked at Sun Feng sympathetically. Only Cao Zhi was drinking wine, not affected at all.Little Gordian looked gloatingly, with a smug smile on the corner of his mouth, it was not many chances to see King Yue so angry.

"Hmm!" Quintus couldn't bear it anymore, and stood up to persuade him: "This is our negligence, not the fault of the prince. Please don't be angry, Your Majesty."

"Not angry?" Sun Shao laughed back angrily, staring at Quintus: "I said old friend, you said it easily. Now my cruel words are out, Ctesiphon is there, but we only have one day The amount of cannon stones, food and grass can last for a month at most. What do you think can be done? He doesn’t know anything, but he dares to come out and speak loudly. You say I’m angry or not.” He turned his head and glared at Sun Feng again: “You If you have the ability, you will be the chief general and take Cetsifon, after Ctesiphon will be yours, okay?"

Sun Feng was also in a hurry, and replied loudly: "I will take my place, I still don't believe it, we can't take Taixi Fengcheng without the cannon stone? Isn't there a miracle that we can make Ardashir bow his head? I don't believe that these are all the words of the gods."

Sun Shao suddenly realized: "So you expect the gods to help you? Do you think that the Han man standing behind Ahura is you?"

"I don't dare." Sun Feng pouted his neck and said: "I am mad and rebellious. I dare to fight. I was originally a vanguard."

"You have gods to help you, and your waist is hard." Sun Shao nodded with a sneer, and glanced at the crowd: "However, I am worried that only gods can help you now. I will not help you. As for I don’t think you should count on other people, I’m afraid they don’t believe in this Sasanian god either.”

Sun Feng looked at Quintus and the others for help, Quintus froze for a moment and hesitated.Sun Feng's courage is commendable, but isn't it a little too rash to let him call the shots and attack the city?He has not yet reached the age of 20, can he command an army of nearly 20 people, and win the closure of Taixi?
The big tent fell into silence for a while, only Sun Shao's sneer echoed in everyone's ears.

Sun Feng's red face gradually turned pale, and he fell into a dilemma.Right here, Lu Xun and Cao Zhi stood up at the same time.

"I would like to assist the prince in attacking the city." Lu Xun said calmly.

"I, Cao Zhi, am not talented, so I would like to join in the fun." Cao Zhi said casually, shaking his sleeves.

"Well, there are people who are not afraid of death." Sun Shao sneered, and then looked at the others: "I'm afraid you two are the only ones who are not afraid of death."

Li Yan stood up slowly: "Your Majesty is wrong, and I, Li Yan, are not afraid of death." He straightened his clothes, walked up to Sun Feng, and bowed his hands: "Li Yan is not talented, and I would like to obey the prince's orders." , meet the Sasanians."

Cao Zhang slapped his thigh, stood up, and shouted impassionedly: "What's wrong with not enough cannon stones? One day's work is enough to take down this small Taixi city. Cao Zhang is not talented, and he is willing to listen to the prince."

As soon as Cao Zhang stood up, Xun Yun, Adiguai and others stood up to express their support. Seeing this scene, the Romans and Guishuang people couldn't sit still anymore. Mennolufis first stood up to express their support, and then, Quintus also stood up, bowed his hands to Sun Shao, and persuaded: "I said old friend, you see, although the prince is young, he is very courageous. He is indeed your son and Philip's elder brother. We We are all willing to support the prince, we are very confident in this battle."

Bo Tiao also stood up, walked in front of Sun Feng, and patted Sun Feng's shoulder vigorously: "Good boy, I am willing to listen to you, as long as you give an order, I will lead the imperial guards to rush up first." .” He glanced at Mennolufis and grinned happily: “This time, I’m going to get ahead of you.”

Mennolufis was also happy: "That depends on your ability. Look, it's not just me here, there are also several Han generals who want to fight for credit."

"Don't be too happy, wait until you win Taixifeng, and you can brag about it." Sun Shao poured cold water on them: "You think he is really blessed by the gods, and then you won't be able to win Taixifeng, I think you are still like this Support him no."

"Father, with the help of so many good friends, I believe we will be able to win Taixifeng." Sun Feng said vigorously, "Please listen to our good news, Father."

"Hmph, I'll wait." Sun Shao lowered his face and walked away.Everyone was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help laughing again. Quintus hurriedly chased after them, while others chattered around Sun Feng. Sun Feng saluted Lu Xun and Cao Zhang respectfully: "This The second is to ask the two of you to help."

Lu Xun and Cao Zhang glanced at each other, and said with a smile: "Prince, don't worry, as long as everyone works together, we will definitely win Taixifeng. You should go and ask the king first, and General Cao and I will discuss the strategy first, and have a look. What preparations do you have to make?"

Sun Feng nodded gratefully: "If there are gods to protect and win Taixifeng, I will never forget your great kindness."

Quintus caught up with Sun Shao, but Sun Shao was still unhappy, and scolded indignantly: "Little bastard, he hasn't grown his hair yet, yet he dares to contradict me. It's terrible. Don't let him fall Come on, he doesn't know the heights of the sky and the depths of the earth, and he thinks he is omnipotent."

Quintus persuaded: "Old friend, you should be happy. You are blessed to have such a son. Think about it, even if he can't win Ctesiphon, he can get everyone's support with his courage. This is a very good thing. I think when Alexander was at his age, he still had to listen to Momia for everything, and he couldn’t take any ideas of his own. In my opinion, only the Alexander of Macedonia can have this Bar."

"Just him?" Sun Shao pouted, dismissively: "Old friend, don't make me happy, I don't dare to expect to have such a heroic son."

"That's not certain." Quintus rubbed his chin and said with a smile: "If he can command the army to take down Taixi, he will definitely become a hero like Alexander in the future. Well, I have such a hero as an ally in Rome. A very nice thing."

"Then you can help him well." Sun Shao said in a mocking tone.

"Of course, he is Philip's elder brother, that is, my nephew. Of course I will help him, and it is also for the future of my Rome. Naturally, I will spare no effort to help him achieve this career." Quintus shot Pat Sun Shao on the shoulder: "You said it in front of everyone, as long as he wins Taixifeng, he will be the master of Taixifeng, you can't go back on your word."

"Don't worry, I will never go back on my word."

(End of this chapter)