Defensive shields, hides, battering rams, charcoal, wax, asphalt...... After defeating Sulena's main force, Appis led tens of thousands of Roman soldiers all the way to Ctesiphon, the Parthian capital. Only, unexpectedly, most of the towns of Parthia did not surrender and continued to put up stubborn resistance. For this reason, Appis had to attack the city along the way, and pushed the battle line hard.

The siege battle is actually more difficult than the field battle, fighting in different places, no matter how smooth the military route is, no matter how well the supplies and grain and grass are prepared, it cannot be sustained for a long time, from Asia Minor to Armenia, and then to the Mesopotamian plain, the middle road is long, the consumption of grain and grass is huge, and the cost of surrounding the city and the defending army is more than worth the loss. Although he could have won, considering the military expenses of hundreds of thousands of Sestertels per day, Apis still had a big head and decided to attack the city all the way.

After that, the necessary siege materials were counted, and even if the national strength was strong, it still needed to be carefully calculated when fighting on the front line.

When each batch of siege materials was counted, Appis's heart was undoubtedly weeping blood. His grandmother's is too expensive, and the materials and grain and grass consumed in a siege campaign almost reach half a month's salary of a legion. This is still a case where the siege is smooth, and if you encounter obstacles and can't capture it in a day or two, then the cost will be higher. Because the consumed materials must be resupplied and transported thousands of miles away. In the case of fighting in different places, in many cases, supplies and food and grass were replenished on the spot, that is, the city was captured and the town was plundered. But if it is not captured, the life of the besiegers is actually very difficult.

Fortunately, there were not many defenders in Parthia, and most of the walls were not high, not strong, and mostly made of sand. In the round of siege crossbows, they basically collapsed into gaps. It can make it easy for heavy infantry to climb over and enter the city to fight.

In a month and a half, the Roman legions attacked three cities in a row, and shocked the whole of Parthia. Orodus had to urgently convene a high-level meeting to discuss what to do.

"As I have said a long time ago, the Romans have made sufficient preparations for this invasion, and Appis has spent almost two years building and perfecting the military roads of Armenia, and has hoarded a large number of grain and war supplies, and the wild wolves will eventually come out. Now, we've met this ambitious wolf. ”

"It is useless to say this now, Sihams, and your Majesty has called us here today to discuss measures against the Roman legions, and not to hype up how powerful they are. No matter how strong they are, they are mortals, they are also flesh, and they will shed blood, and our cavalry has defeated them more than once. ”

In the palace, the two ministers quarreled-for-tat. In fact, the main points of their argument were nothing more than two: first, whether to compromise with the Romans and propose peace talks, which of course would be slightly humiliating, and would definitely lead to some unequal treaties. Second, whether to hand over Sulena, as Apis said. Blame the war on Sulena, and the king would be safe, and the Roman legions might even withdraw. But there was also a risk in handing over Sulena, in case Apis reversed course and continued to attack Parthia. Then, with the loss of the huge family of Sulena, the Parthian army's combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced.

"So do you mean we're going to continue to fight the Romans?"

"What's not to do?"

Ghassani said indignantly.

"Three towns in sixty days, an average of twenty days for the Roman legions to capture a town, counting the time they marched, almost every siege battle was settled on the same day. Sulena has been defeated, what capital do we have against the Roman legions? ”

Sihams retorted in a questioning tone. For a time, the loyal minister Ghassani was speechless.

"We can build another army, but it will take time ......"

Finally, Orodus himself stepped forward and said. It's just that even he himself knew that this was unrealistic, and Apis would not give the Parthians that much time to gather an army. After the fall of Sylgara, Apis was only about half a month's distance from Ctesiphon.

"Your Majesty, please trust in General Sulena's fighting power and commanding ability, and he will lead the soldiers of the city against the attack of the Romans. Ctesiphon is not Sylgara, its city is tall, and the supplies and grass are abundant, and Appis wants to besiege the city, and he will not be able to conquer this great city in less than half a year. At the same time, the consumption of his own grain and grass in the siege was also enormous. Also, he had to deal with reinforcements that could arrive at any time. ”

Minister Ghassani turned around and said respectfully.

There was a burning hope in his eyes, a passion for war, an old minister who had served two generations of kings, and would rather die in battle than submit to the feet of the Romans. It's just that Orodus knows that Ghassani and Sulena are good friends in private......

"Your Majesty, no matter how powerful the commander is, he needs soldiers, we have already been defeated once, and the lack of soldiers is the biggest problem now. Even if Sulena had the ability to reach the sky, he would not be able to deal with the powerful Roman legions. As far as I know, Appis is leading the legions forward while replenishing the troops, and the Armenian allies are on the way. And we, there are not so many soldiers to fight. Besides, Apis had said before the war started that he wanted Sulena alone......"

"Do you mean that we are going to hand over Sulena to Apis without resistance?!"

Before Sihams could finish speaking, Ghassani stopped him in a fit of rage.

"This is the only way to keep Ctesiphon. By surrendering Sulena, Apis would have no reason to continue his march, and His Majesty could put the blame on Sulena, and he alone would bear the consequences of provoking the war. ”

Sihams replied.

"You are too naïve to make up countless of them, is it just for one Sulena that Apis attacked our territory? If he surrenders Sulena, he won't march again? Ctesiphon is close at hand, any Roman general will be red when he sees it, his ambition and ** have long surpassed revenge, his purpose has long been not Sulena alone, Sulena is just an excuse for Apis, capture him, Apis will continue to advance eastward, at that time, you go to negotiate peace with Apis, see what kind of conditions he will offer, and reach a so-called peace agreement with you. ”

"Alright, don't quarrel, I've already decided, leave Sulena in the city, command the defending army, against Appis, against the Roman legions."

The two capable ministers fought each other-for-tat, fighting for red faces, which was a picture that King Orodes wanted to see in peacetime, but in such a critical moment of war, the two forces were still so competing, Orodes couldn't help but feel a little haggard, and it was so difficult to consolidate power, not only to defend the inside, but also to deal with powerful external enemies. It's just that Orodus also has his own plans to keep Sulena in the city, and Appis's purpose is not only for Sulena, which Orodus knows. In addition, the treacherous and scheming king actually had the last glimmer of hope for Sulena, hoping that he would lead the defenders to crush the siege of the Roman legions. More importantly, in front of Orodus, it is actually a dilemma, handing over Sulena, his position can be consolidated, but at the same time, the people may not want to. After all, Sulena had led an army to defeat the Roman army, and even after a crushing defeat, his prestige was still high.