With the growing growth of the two Silk Roads by land and sea, overseas trade brought more and more profits to the Han Dynasty, which made the Han Empire put the entire military and political focus on the Silk Road.

The army was a powerful arm to ensure the vested interests of the Han on the Silk Road, so both the army and the navy were highly valued by Lu Bu.

Scientific research, financial revenue, education, military recruitment, and military training are all inclined to this aspect, and the countries and regions along the Silk Road are regarded as forbidden by the Han Dynasty and cannot be touched by others.

The civil war of the Kushan Empire was in full swing, and although Bo Tuo lost the support of the imperial capital Peshawar and most of the provinces, he took precautions to control the Royal Academy and the Royal Arsenal.

He has access to a steady stream of self-produced weapons and equipment, and constantly improves them, and the intelligence of the Kushan people is not inferior to that of other civilizations.

Mags occupies the throne, but can only rely on the support of the Han army to engage in a tug-of-war with the waves.

Many local forces in Kushan, especially those of foreign races, have adopted a wait-and-see attitude.

It will even wait for the price to sell, swaying back and forth in the competition for interests between the two sides.

The Celestial Army occasionally helps Maggs fight in the guise of mercenaries, but this will cost Mags a considerable price.

On the contrary, the newly established Sogdian Governorate of the Han Dynasty developed well, and administrative institutions at all levels were established, and many locals close to the Han Chinese were trained to serve as low-level officials.

The garrison formed by the local people as the main body also achieved initial results, greatly liberating the local Han garrison.

The war with the Amcai people in the north continued, but the main body of the battle had been changed to the Kangju and Wusun people, and the Han army only provided them with logistics and rear guards.

Only the development of the situation in the Rest Empire could not make Lü Bu happy, and Vologis VI's younger brother Ardaban had officially parted ways with his brother.

Artaban IV proclaimed himself emperor of the Sabbatarian Empire, occupying Armenia, Hilgania, Artashat and other places, and many local powers turned against him.

Both sides accused the other of being rebels, sorry for their ancestors, and incompetent to resist the invasion of the Romans.

At present, the two sides have not yet fought hard, but there is constant friction, after all, there is a Roman eyeing the side.

However, Vologis VI's sphere of control had been greatly reduced, and his dependence on the Han army had become even more serious.

Aldaban IV also sent an envoy to visit Fazheng, hoping to get the support of the Han and hinting that if the Han could not support him, he might turn to Rome for help.

Lü Bu had a better impression of Vologis VI, and the cooperation between the two sides in recent years was still very pleasant, so Lü Bu did not agree to Ardaban IV's request, but just asked Fa Zheng to try his best to persuade the two sides to negotiate peace.

But Ardaban was really anxious to gain enough power and status to allow his brother to stand up to him.

Since he did not get a satisfactory answer from Lu Bu from the Great Han, he really extended an olive branch to the Roman Empire.

And the newly succeeded Roman Emperor Caracalla naturally did not let go of this good opportunity, and he readily agreed to Aldaban IV's request for an alliance, and allied with Aldaban IV in Antioch.

Caracalla fulfilled Aldaban's desire to be aided by the Roman Empire's troops and equipment, and sent a Roman legion of 50,000 men to launch an offensive against Syria and other places controlled by Vologis VI together with the army of Aldaban IV.

Ardaban gave the Romans all the muskets, grenades and other firearms he received from the Han Dynasty for research, in fact, the Romans had already obtained the firearms of the Han people through the channels of merchants.

And it has already been copied in batches, and this time Aldaban sent a front-loading rifled gun, which is more advanced than a smoothbore gun.

However, Vologis VI's royal guards were already armed with rear-loading single-shot rifles used by the Han army, and received a small amount of mortars.

This is because the Han army has developed new rifles with better performance, and the old rifles are not being eliminated!

This was not gratuitous aid, it was bought by Vologis VI from Lü Bu with real money.

However, this Vologis VI is really a bit like the Chinese like to say that they can't help Adou, of course, in Lü Bu's era, Liu Chan has not yet taken his Lao Tzu's class.

Vologis VI's army wasted its advanced equipment and fought against the combined forces of the Roman Empire and Ardaban, and was defeated repeatedly.

A large amount of weapons and equipment were sent to Artaban IV, which was a bit of a transport captain.

Vologis VI controlled cities one after another were occupied by the enemy, and Artaban IV was ruthless, often choosing to slaughter cities after they were not obedient to him, and the Romans were happy to act as executioners.

Aldaban's coalition forces were full of momentum, conquering one historical city after another in the Sabbatarian Empire, and finally even captured the capital Ctesiphon.

Guarded by a small number of royal guards loyal to him, Vologis VI fled to the east, seeking the protection of the Han dynasty.

At that time, Zhang Yan, the leader of the Han garrison in the Anxi Empire, warned Ardaban IV, hoping that he would not infringe on the interests of the Han in the Anxi Empire and not enter the leased land and military base of the Han in the Anxi Empire.

At that time, the Han Dynasty leased Mulu City of the Anxi Empire as a military base, and stationed the Fourth Division of the Haotian Army.

Vologis VI was exiled and eventually fled to Mulu City, hoping to gain the protection of the Han army.

According to the covenant between the two sides, the Great Han was obliged to provide protection for the personal safety of Vologis VI.

And Ardaban IV was already a little red-eyed at this time, and he was still resentful of Lu Bu's refusal to support him, he thought that he had the support of the Roman Empire, so he didn't have to care about the attitude of the Han Dynasty.

He issued an ultimatum to the Han army in Mulu City, demanding that they hand over Vologis VI, otherwise the city would be broken and no chickens and dogs would be left.

The Han army in Mulu City naturally did not show weakness, and Zhang Yan also gave a final warning to Aldaban IV, if he attacked Mulu City, it would be regarded as a provocation to the Han and would trigger a full-scale war between the two countries.

Lü Bu had long said to all the Han generals stationed in Central Asia and West Asia that the Han Dynasty was of great strategic importance in these regions, especially the good business environment of the Silk Road.

If someone challenges this bottom line, then the Han will teach them a lesson at the expense of war.

Of course, Caracalla will not prevent Ardaban from provoking the Han Chinese, the two sides are mortal enemies, and there is no territorial border, all the wars that take place are fought on the land of the Sabbatarians, and it will not be distressing to break the Romans.