The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 368
The city of Taixi was lively in the early morning. The people who were disturbed by the shouts of killing outside in the middle of the night heard a piece of good news as soon as they opened the door: last night, with the help of Ahura, the Sasanian warriors defeated the enemy. Countless enemies were killed, and more than a dozen teams of soldiers escorted the captured Romans or carried the heads of the Romans with spears, propagandizing back and forth on the main street, dubiously telling the people who were panicked by the fire the day before, but Looking at those captives or heads, it is true that Rome is true, so naturally there is some confidence.

Immediately afterwards, Ardashir paid homage to the true god Ahura in a high-profile manner, thanking Ahura for his guidance and help, and once again pushed the atmosphere to a climax.The Sassanid people, who had little confidence in their future, became excited again, and they believed in the rumors that Ahura performed miracles and rescued Ardashir they heard yesterday.They all accepted the words of the priests of the temple. It was not the true god Ahura who performed miracles in mid-air a few days ago, but the evil god Amanla. He pretended to be Ahura and bullied the Sasanians.

How could the true god Ahura help the enemies of the Sassanids? Only Ardashir is his true favorite Sasanian king.The people said to each other with smiles on their faces.

However, only at noon, the joy came to an abrupt end.

With the help of Sun Feng, the Romans reorganized the camp. Although they suffered a lot of losses, they finally returned to their original state. They erected long wooden piles outside the city in retaliation, along the north wall of Taixifeng. , planted from the east gate to the west gate, hung the Sasanian captives on the wooden stakes one by one, surrounded the city of Taixifeng for half a circle, and threw all the severed heads under the city. Thousands of people seized weapons and armor piled up into a hill, and the ten Sassanid temple spies captured by Yang Xiu were stripped naked and hung at the place facing the city gate.

Comparing the two, the results shown in the city are simply negligible.

In fact, this is not to say that the Romans took advantage. In general, the casualties of the Romans were even greater, but the Sassanians suffered because they had no chance to take away the prisoners or their heads, while the Romans could take it easy after the war. They cleaned up the battlefield, cut off the heads of the wounded soldiers one by one, and brought them all to the city to demonstrate. Even the heads captured by the Han army and the captured prisoners were also borrowed. Compared with this, The Sasanians were naturally shabby to the extreme.

big win?This is clearly a big defeat, although in fact it is unbeatable at all, and even comparing the battles between the Sassanians and the Romans alone, the Sassanids did have the upper hand.But who is this to reason with?Aldashir looked up to the sky and sighed. At first, he thought that although this battle did not achieve the expected goal, it was a small victory after all, but looking at it now, why did he seem to have lost a big battle again?

The matter is not over yet.

After arranging the captives and their heads one by one, the Romans set up a propaganda team in front of the formation and shouted in unison under the command, but the content was to exchange captives with Ardashir. They used a more creative trick, Report the names of the captives one by one, and then report the amount of ransom.

Thousands of voices yelled loudly, even if Ardashir wanted people to interfere, it was impossible for them to report their names one by one, no matter whether it was the soldiers at the top of the city or the people in the city, they could all hear clearly Chu, those who heard the names of their loved ones suddenly panicked. They wanted to ask Ardashir but dared not, for fear that Ardashir would become angry and draw a knife to kill someone. People can say that only five days are given, and if they don't redeem after the time, I'm sorry, they will all hang themselves under the city.

There are too many names, and the first day passed in the name report. Outside the city shouted happily, but inside the city was terrified, afraid that the next one shouted would be the name of his relatives.It wasn't until nightfall that the Romans lit up lamps and fought at night, and finally finished reading the names of more than 5000 prisoners. Then they returned to the camp, leaving the people in Taixifeng in panic.

Ardashir wanted to cry, but he never thought that the Romans would resort to such methods. When they shouted each name, people's hearts were confused by them.

what to do?Ardasil's emergency convening department will discuss countermeasures. If we wait for this day, I'm afraid there will be chaos in the city.

In the big camp outside the city, Quintus hosted a banquet for Sun Feng and others in the big camp. Last night, he fought a fierce battle and defeated the mighty Sasanians on the frontal battlefield. The Sassanids succeeded in a sneak attack, suffered heavy losses and lost their reputation, and could no longer stand in front of Quintus. Because of his lack of strength, he did not dare to set up camp outside independently, and asked to return to the city to participate in the siege. He took the initiative to bow his head to Quintus, willing to accept his leadership.Quintus won consecutive victories, and the scenery was infinite for a while.

Bodiao drank fine wine, seeing Quintus triumphant, and felt a little unhappy, so he teased: "You Rome and Yue are really brotherly countries, and now even the layout of the barracks is almost the same. I thought I was in Prince Yue's camp now."

Quintus squinted at Bo Tiao, a little embarrassed.His big camp was burned to pieces by the Sasanians, and at least one-third of the supplies were destroyed by the fire. He had to borrow a lot of supplies from Sun Feng before relocating, especially his big tent, because it was too hot. He was conspicuous, so he became a hard-hit household, leaving almost nothing behind. Now not only all the furnishings in his big tent are borrowed by Sun Feng, but even his change of clothes are donated by Sun Feng, not with Sun Feng. The camp is the same.

"Your Majesty is wrong." Cao Zhi got up and walked in front of Bodiao, laughed, raised his glass and touched Bodiao: "Your Majesty the Emperor has visited my Dahan many times, and he can speak good Chinese. I am also very familiar with it, and I have been longing for it for a long time. I used to use the utensils of my big man before. It can be said that he is half Han." Cao Zhi picked up a pair of silver chopsticks from the case and stuffed them into Bodiao's hands, jokingly said: "Your Majesty, if If you don't believe me, you might as well try your ability to eat with chopsticks with His Majesty the Emperor, and see if I ever told a lie."

Bodiao took the chopsticks in his hands and looked at them, then put the silver chopsticks on the table casually, he didn't know how to eat with these two sticks, not even silver ones, they rolled back and forth in his hands, and he couldn't even grasp them steadily. Not to mention the food.It has to be said that Quintus is indeed very skilled in this aspect, and he is very close to the Han people.

Thinking of this, Bo Tiao was startled suddenly and felt a little regretful. The Han people are the backing of Quintus. If it wasn’t for the Han people’s help, this time it wouldn’t be as simple as the little Gordian being injured and the camp being destroyed. Maybe even Kuntus Tus was slaughtered.That being the case, wouldn't it mean that he would not give face to the Han people, especially the Sun family and his son, if he offended Quintus?

"Rome and Yue are countries of brothers. They help each other and love each other deeply. I, Wei, are very envious. To tell you the truth, I am planning to have a relationship with Rome. A country of brothers can't think about it, but a country of marriage still exists." Is it possible?" Cao Zhi couldn't help teasing him when he saw the changing expression on his face.

Cao Zhi was just joking after drinking, but Quintus heard it in his ears and remembered it in his heart. He glanced at Balbinus, immediately had an idea, and laughed loudly: "General Cao, I just happen to have a candidate. Maybe the general will like it. Like you, our Balbinus is also the wisest elder in the Senate. He not only writes his own poems well, but also teaches his children well. The daughter is also very eloquent, and she is also unparalleled in beauty, and the general is a perfect match. If the general is interested, I am willing to make a connection and ask for a wedding wine."

Although Cao Zhi no longer writes poems, he is still talented and romantic. When he heard that there was such a talented and beautiful woman, he did not object. He glanced at Balbinus and pondered for a while.Balbinus was tired all night yesterday and had no rest during the day today. Now that he had drunk some wine, he was a little dizzy and dozed off with his head down. He didn't hear a word Quintus and the others said.The little Gordian who was sitting next to him wanted to wake him up, but after thinking about it, he immediately stood up and said with a smile, "General Cao, I have plenty of beautiful women in Rome, and I have a daughter. Compared with Nuss' daughter, she is also a talented woman in Rome, and even the queen praised her a few times when she saw her. If General Cao is interested, I am willing to send him to General Cao's bedside, and please don't dislike her."

After everyone heard this, they booed one after another. Chen Hai stepped forward, put his arms around Cao Zhi's shoulders and laughed loudly: "Brother Zijian, luck can't be stopped. In my opinion, there is no need to refuse. I will accept everything." .The march is lonely, and you will enjoy the blessing of being equal to others."

Yang Xiu also nodded with a smile: "Yes, it is indeed a good thing. The big man and the talented men and women in Rome are a perfect match."

Everyone laughed together, Cao Zhi was a little embarrassed. He originally made a joke, but he didn't expect it to turn out to be true.However, he is romantic by nature. Although he has wives and concubines in his family, and he has other affiliations in his heart, it is not a bad thing to have more Roman concubines. He half-truthfully declined a few words, but Quintus did not dare to neglect him, for fear that Balbino Si lost the opportunity and quickly agreed on his behalf.

A celebration banquet immediately added a lot of joy.Bodiao is hard to say, who ever thought he was just a joke, but the Romans seized the opportunity.Everyone knows that the most powerful of the four vassal states of the Han Dynasty are Yue and Wei. Now that the Romans have established relationships with these two vassal states, Quintus' life will not be bad in the future.Little Gordian rushed to give his woman to Cao Zhi, but he just wanted to get a share of it, so that Quintus would not take all the benefits by himself.

It seems that if Guishuang wants to last for a long time, the ancient method of marriage must still be used.While joking and joking, Bo Tiao looked at the Han people present to see which one might marry Guishuang.That look seemed to be picking a son-in-law. When Chen Hai and the others saw it, they swarmed up and chased after him to find out what beautiful women Guishuang had. Brother Adiguai and other Huns, Xianbei and Wuhuan They also came over and said that they were good sons on horseback like the Guishuang people, and they were the right family. The whole big tent was full of laughter, only Li Yan and others were sitting upright, but their faces were uncontrollable. smile.

After the banquet, Quintus asked Lu Xun to stay for a while, invited him into the back tent, and respectfully saluted: "Thank you General for your good strategy. Today, the morale of our army has been boosted, thanks to the General."

Lu Xun smiled slightly, shook his hands politely, and said, "Your Majesty, you are welcome. This is because His Majesty the Emperor commanded well. The Roman soldiers made great achievements in bloody battles. It should be like this. I am just icing on the cake, not worth mentioning." He paused, He also said: "My country of Yue and Rome are countries of brothers, and now my prince is the general. The Romans fought tenaciously yesterday and repelled the attack of the Sassanids, which also contributed to the overall situation. The prince is very grateful to His Majesty the Emperor. , even if we help a little, we should do it, and please Your Majesty, please don't see outsiders."

Quintus was very happy, nodding his head again and again.He went out to meet Little Gordian yesterday. Unexpectedly, the Sassanians attacked his camp and almost burned it to ashes. He became useless in front of the fire, thanks to Sun Feng who allocated the corresponding supplies to him in time to save him from camping, and Lu Xun even gave him an idea, that is, to show all the captives and captured heads to the public. Let people roll their names one by one, which will damage the morale of the Sasanians.This trick really worked. After the famous song was sung that day, the morale of the Romans was high, but the Sassanians at the top of the city were lifeless. At first they made noise and interfered, but later they could only listen to their unilateral demonstrations.The merit of this plan is no less than the effect of a fierce battle last night.

"General Cao is someone my king admires very much, just like General Xiahou. His Majesty the Emperor's ability to marry him is really a good eye for people." Lu Xun said with something in his words.Quintus blinked and asked tentatively, "Then he will be stationed in Sassanid just like General Xiahou was stationed in Sheba?"

Lu Xun laughed: "I don't know whether he will stay in Sassanid forever, but my king always rewards for meritorious deeds. With General Cao's literary talent and martial arts, meritorious deeds are expected. It shouldn't be unreasonable to get a fief in the future." Possibly. As for whether he will stay here permanently, then I don't know. After all, it is an internal matter of Wei State, not my Yue State's matter."

Quintus understood, and he also knew a little about the affairs of Wei. It was not a secret that the brothers of the Cao family were fighting for the heir apparent. The current King of Wei was Cao Rui, the son of Cao Pi, and Cao Zhi was actually uncomfortable as a general.Lu Xun specifically mentioned Xia Hourong again. If Quintus still can't understand Sun Shao's plan, then he is really stupid.

"General, what will be the next arrangement?" Quintus poured a cup of tea for Lu Xun himself: "The prince must have discussed it with you, right?"

The corner of Lu Xun's mouth twitched: "Your Majesty, don't worry, you can enter the city at any time. However, the prince's heart is kind, and he doesn't want to kill too much, so he has to subdue his heart. The reason why the Sasanians were given five days to redeem them is nothing more than You just want to use this to disintegrate the fighting spirit of the soldiers and civilians. Your Majesty the Emperor, you have made a great contribution. Without these captives, we might not have found such a good opportunity."

Quintus laughed heartily and nodded repeatedly.Lu Xun's idea is really clever. Forcing Ardashir to redeem people will not only damage the morale of the Sassanians, but also turn an undecided battle into a victory for the Romans. Forced into a dilemma.It's just that he couldn't figure out what kind of confidence Sun Feng and Lu Xun had, and dared to say that they could break the city at any time, but when he thought of Sun Shao daring to let Sun Feng be the leader, he figured it out. What kind of secret weapon is they holding, but they refuse to reveal it before the time comes, just like they refused to tell about the oil tank bombs before the war.

……

Ardasil discussed with his courtiers for a day, and finally decided to redeem these captives. If they were allowed to be hanged one by one by the enemy at the city gate, then there would be no need for Sun Feng to attack. Will Kaesong surrender.In order to regain some initiative, he added another item, redeeming the bodies of those who died in battle.

When baskets of belongings were hung from the city wall, the people and soldiers of Ctesiphon—no matter whether their relatives were killed or captured—knelt down on the side of the road in gratitude, reciting scriptures, thanking Ardashir for his sacrifice. Mercy, thanks to the greatness of the true God Ahura, the sound of chanting reverberated in the city, and Ardashir heard it in the palace, but he had mixed feelings. He didn't know whether he should be happy for the result of his treatment or feel sad.It seems that he has kept the support of the soldiers, but he knows that he has actually lost every step of the way in the battle with Sun Feng. The initiative has always been in Sun Feng's hands, and he is just passively accepting the move. Fortunately, But so far, his response has been relatively safe, and Sun Feng has not caught the loophole.However, passive acceptance is not the same thing after all, when can we take the initiative to attack once?
Thinking of taking the initiative to attack, Ardasil felt a dull pain in his heart. In fact, he took the initiative to attack that night in order to save the unfavorable situation that Sun Feng burned the city gate that day.He originally planned to use the ambush after the attrition war between the two sides, when Sun Feng was unable to attack for a long time, but was forced by the situation and had to launch it in advance. Unfortunately, he missed the last step and still failed to achieve the most desired results. Being tricked by the other party, he almost shook the hearts of the people with the lives of thousands of captives.

What to do next?Ardashir racked his brains and thought hard, he was not afraid to fight with Sun Feng to consume, his original purpose was to let the enemy come from afar, hold their troops under the fortified city, fight for a long time without success, and then take advantage of their desperate retreat It is not impossible to fight back while leaving, but with the previous lessons, he always feels that this situation is a little uncertain, and who knows what tricks Sun Feng will play again.

How will he break the city?Ardashir changed his mind, put himself on the side of the siege, and began to consider possible ways of attacking the city. After a long time of calculation, he suddenly thought of something, and he froze there. After a while , he jumped up all of a sudden: "Come on!"

"Your Majesty?" A commander of the imperial guard hurried in and bowed to salute.

"Is there any movement in those tunnels under the city gate?" Ardashir asked anxiously, "Have they dug any more?"

The commander hesitated for a moment, then shook his head blankly: "The past two days...nothing happened."

"Really?" Ardasil was stunned for a moment, and looked at the commander with some doubts.

(End of this chapter)