There were constant rumors in Parthia, but King Orodes never demoted Sulena to the post, and no one knows what Sulena was thinking at this time, whether he was **inflated, or more grateful to the king. But Appis didn't bother to pay attention to what Sulena was thinking, the Parthian war was imminent. The promise to the people and the time limit for the high priest to occupy the army have expired, and if there is no more expedition, there will be criticism in the country. Once public opinion expands, it will be difficult to clean up.

So, in early summer, Apis embarked on a long journey east to Parthia with an unprecedentedly large expeditionary force. Almost all of Rome is watching this war, and all of Rome is in the service of this war. Taxes from Greece, grain from Egypt, and cavalry from Gaul were constantly sent to the front.

The mountain corridors of Armenia and the Roman military routes in all directions were like the main arteries of the empire, transporting supplies, grain, grass, weapons, and soldiers in a steady stream. Throughout Asia Minor, there were sentry posts and strongholds along the Roman military routes, and there were also grain stockpiles, and in the event of a shortage of grain production that could not be maintained, these strongholds could put grain and grass on the line, so to speak, for this war. As soon as the Roman legions entered Armenia, the Armenian king offered 5,000 ironclad cavalry and 5,000 mountain archers as allies to assist the Roman legions in their march to Parthia. Appis did not even count them, so he handed them over to the king of Armenia himself to command. On the one hand, it shows trust, and on the other hand, it shows the strength of a great power.

The situation was very good for Rome. Parthia, located in the heart of Western Asia, looks stormy. King Aurodus gathered all the troops and soldiers of the whole country and gathered in the capital city of Ctesiphon to deliver a grand pledge meeting. Swear to live and die with the capital city Ctesiphon. 20,000 nomadic archers, 6,000 ironclad heavy cavalry, 20,000 light infantry, plus various auxiliary skirmishers, the total number was close to 50,000. formed the largest army in Parthian history. However, the situation was not so friendly to them, and the rebel army of Palicia had regrouped, having driven the puppet lords of Lucummans out of the country, and could send troops north at any time to attack the central government of Orodes.

"Soldiers, our country, when it comes to life and death, take up your weapons, like your fathers, and rush to the front of the battlefield, we have defeated the Roman army more than once, they are not beasts of the flood, on the contrary, they are not terrible, under our ironclad cavalry and the rain of arrows, they will be crushed at a single blow. Slave to us again! ”

In the capital city of Ctesiphon, Orodes stood at the top of the steps of the main hall and gave his final speech to the assembled Parthian army. However, this could not change the panic of many Parthian soldiers, and Apis made a high-profile march into Parthia, spreading rumors along the way, and proclaiming an army of only 60,000 men as if there were 600,000.

Half a month later, the Roman legions led by Apis, as soon as they left the Armenian plateau, encountered the Parthian coalition army waiting in the desert area.

The battle between the two sides began with a battle for water, and a group of Gallic cavalry of Apis entered a nearby village to fetch water, where they were met by Parthian cavalry, who had also come to fetch water. Skirmishes broke out between the two sides, in which more than a dozen Gallic cavalrymen were killed, and more than two dozen Parthian horsemen were killed in the battle. As soon as the cavalry returned to report the situation, Apis immediately ordered the whole army to march hastily to the village to seize the water source.

That night, the regiment rushed to work overnight and built a protective wall outside the small village. The well water in the village has become an important strategic resource.

"Sulena will definitely be here tomorrow, in the desert, water is a scarce resource, and the Parthians, who have been fighting in the desert for many years, know better than us the importance of water in battle. I guess that the Parthian army will be on the horizon by tomorrow evening at the latest. Let the soldiers seize the time to rest, rehydrate, a big battle awaits us. ”

The camp had just been set up, and Appis spoke to the centurions of the various legions. Immediately, he entered the big tent with Maximus and Klein to discuss the possible battle tomorrow.

The tent was sparsely populated, and Appis was accustomed to high-level military meetings with several people, and he could draw up a battle plan on the spot.

Under the oil lamp, Appis and Klein stared at the makeshift pile of sand. Under the firelight, this battlefield sand table flickered and darkened, as if to indicate that it would be a dark and vicious battle.

"Cavalry strength is precious, don't go into battle lightly. Once the battle broke out, I suspect that Sulena would storm our flanks with heavy cavalry, first destroying our cavalry, and then detouring back to our rear to charge at the heavy infantry. ”

Pointing to the phalanx, Maximus expressed his opinion.

"How many cavalry do they have?"

After Maximus finished speaking, Apis turned to stare at the Arab guide and asked.

"I don't know, it's said that there are 20,000 cavalry, or more."

The Arab guide was more of a jack of all trades throughout the meeting, answering questions and answering questions without suggesting any tactical advice.

"That's the key, twenty thousand cavalry, and our cavalry has nearly ten thousand, plus five thousand ironclad cavalry provided by the king of Armenia, enough to compete with Parthian cavalry. In other words, this time, our cavalry will not be inferior to the Parthian cavalry. Sulena was a clever veteran general who would not risk draining his main army in cavalry battles on the flanks. ”

In response to Maxim's suggestion, Apis was quick to offer the opposite.

"Then they will concentrate superior forces, do the opposite, and break through from the front?"

Maximus then asked rhetorically.

"I can't guarantee it, but I don't think Sulena will use conventional tactics compared to the former, although his cavalry is strong. However, before the battle, he must have investigated our situation clearly, and the Armenians supported our large number of heavy cavalry, and it was impossible for Sulena not to know this information. ”

"If Sulena storms our infantry line head-on...... Well...... This is a real problem. ”

After Appis finished speaking, Maximus and the others fell silent.

The Parthian cavalry equipped with stirrups was not to be underestimated, and the armoured cavalry and the use of stirrups could completely break through the defense lines of the Roman heavy infantry. This is a cross-generational invention, after Apis defeated Octavian's main army, it was inevitable that the stirrup was transmitted to the eastern part of Europe, and now, the Parthians who were good at riding and charging learned to use this thing, which was undoubtedly the greatest threat to the Roman legions. Everyone knows that the current Roman heavy infantry phalanx is not invincible. Appis's concern is indeed a problem.

There was silence.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know if you have heard that in the far east, people used a tool called thistle against the nomadic cavalry."

Then, in the midst of the silence, Apis spoke again......