"Tell me, Roman guests from afar, what do you want?"

In Zemontari, a small town on the border of Lucummans, a few Roman "merchants" from afar are sitting with the rebel leader Palicia to negotiate a big deal.

In front of him, Prince Lucumens, the leader of the rebel army, Palicia, sat on a lion-skin chair with a face full of disdain, he did not believe that the Romans really had any sincerity.

"Your Excellency, I think that before we begin our conversation, it is necessary to first explain the identities of the two of us and the purpose of our visit. First of all, we were not Roman merchants, we were the men of the Roman legionary general Appis. And we have come all the way and risked our lives to come here not for some huge profits. We have come to talk to you at the behest of Appis in the hope that some amicable agreement can be reached. ”

Facing Palicia's not-so-friendly attitude. Curinas, the leader of the Roman diplomatic mission, stood up first and respectfully expressed the purpose of his visit.

And such words did not surprise the rebel leader Parisia.

Lucummans is located in the interior of Parthia, where there are no trade routes for silk and spices, and there are no local specialties. It is impossible for a pure Roman merchant to risk coming here. These people have come all the way to come here for only one purpose, and that is for political purposes.

"Appis? I've heard about that Roman legend. He defeated Antony and Octavian. ”

Palicia sat in her chair and said leisurely.

"Not only Antony, Octavian. There were also Germans, Britons, Numidians and Egyptians. ”

The head of the mission was quick to add.

"Does this have to do with your coming here? Do not tell me that your leader Apis is going to conquer the Parthians. ”

Palicia replied with some displeasure.

"No, Your Excellency, you have misunderstood. Appis' purpose was not to conquer Parthia, he had only one purpose, he wanted the head of Sulena. That's why he sent us here. ”

The messenger quickly changed his mind and got straight to the point.

"Sulena? Oh, Parthia's greatest general. He has twice led his army to defeat your army. It's not hard to understand that Apis wanted his head. But what do you want me to do? Can I help you remove his head? ”

Palicia sat up. His eyes were much calmer, and he probably had the purpose and intention of the group of Romans here.

"No, no, General Appis was sympathetic when he learned of what happened to you. He wants you to join forces with us to overthrow the tyrant of Orodus II. Peace, prosperity and equality will be brought back to the land of Parthia. After the overthrow of Orodes, you, your Excellency, are the new king of Parthia. Parthia and Rome would remain allies, and Rome would not have any demands. As I said at the beginning, all Apis wanted was Sulena's head. You know, tens of thousands of Romans died at his hands, and the Romans hated him, and General Apis had to give an account to the people of Rome. ”

The messenger replied.

At this time, the atmosphere is becoming more and more tense, and whether it can be negotiated depends on the unruly Prince Lucummans in front of him.

"This business sounds good, but I'm afraid you're looking for the wrong person. As you can see, I only have a thousand men here, and only a few hundred horses, and even if I want to overthrow Orodus, I can't do it. ”

Palicia's tone softened. There was a bit of helplessness in his words. Apparently, after two wars, his army was defeated by Sulena, and as the rightful heir of Lucummans, he aspired to defeat Sulena, to obtain the lordship, and, he had ambitions to become king of Parthia. The words of the Roman envoy struck a blow to the weakness of his heart, but Palicia was extremely disappointed with the situation before him.

"Your Excellency, you are too unconfident in your own strength. Now that we're talking about it, let's open the window. In fact, before we came here, we had already inquired about what was happening on this land. Yes, Lord Palicia, you are not strong enough. You don't have an army, you don't have horses and weapons. But you have the hearts of the people. As far as I know, in two years, you were able to build a huge army from scratch to fight against Orodes because you had the support of the people. This is very important. Just like Rome, whether it is a political election, or a war between internal and external wars, the will of the people is very important. The people support you, and that's your biggest bargaining chip. Prince of Parisia. Yes, we also know that you were once the rightful heir of Lucummans. But the lord's position was eventually given to someone else by the corrupt King Orodes. Now, the rulers of the land are actually the puppets of Orodus. The people are against him, and this is your sharpest weapon. ”

The envoy of the Roman mission said excitedly.

"You have a point, but how do you prove that you can be trusted? Egypt, Pontus, Armenia, all conquered by you, and the pre-war agreement proved worthless, and after the war, Apis, if he wanted to, could go to war with Parthia with whatever excuse he wanted. ”

The messenger listened to Parisia, but soon, the ambitious and clever prince soon threw the problem to the Roman mission.

"Dear Lord Parisia, I think there are some things that you may not have figured out. There are dozens of small kingdoms like you in Parthia, and their leaders each want to be the king of Parthia. In fact, Appis gave us other goals before sending us here again. If we don't get the promise and support from you, we can go to the next lord's territory and seek cooperation. I think that your country has a vast territory, and among the lions, there are many lion cubs who want to become the leader of the lion pack. ”

Seeing that Palicia was willing to cooperate but looked forward to the future, the emissary representative of the Roman mission quickly threw out another pertinent question. It's like saying, if you don't do this business, there are still a lot of people in the back of the queue.

The words of the Roman envoy made some sense to everyone present. After all, Rome is a powerful empire that is rising in the West, and Lucummans is only an inconspicuous small country in Parthia, and the strength of the two is far from the same......