"Do you have to discuss this matter with Appis before making a decision?"

In the autumn of October, when Apis set out for Egypt and won the victory, the little Crassus, who was stationed in Syria, could not bear it anymore, and without consulting anyone, he took all his legions and drove to the Parthian border, the region of Hadeba. Crassus's lieutenant, Herris, kindly reminded the proud and bold general, but Crassus Jr. scoffed at this......

"Is it necessary to consult with Apis about everything before it can be done? He has achieved so much in Egypt, and I am wasting my time here. My father had died in this desert, and now, with the enemy at hand, I sat in the comfort of my mansion and had nothing to do. Crassus's character. ”

Crassus Jr. was dissatisfied with the reaction of the adjutant around him, but considering that the expedition was imminent, a temporary replacement was not a wise choice, so he calmed down, retained Herris's military position, and led the army to continue to advance.

Three days later, the Roman legions led by Crassus the Younger captured the first Parthian border town. And let the soldiers sack that town. The Parthian king was somewhat surprised by the blatant initiative of the Roman side to start a war, and there was no reason or excuse. A few days later, a Parthian messenger came to Crassus the Younger with a message of peace, demanding that the Roman general halt his eastward advance. But since little Crassus came, he didn't plan to go.

"Peace? It was a pact made between Apis and you, and I did not agree to it. If you want peace in your life, hand over Sulena's head and 10,000 Roman soldiers who you have captured! ”

In the big tent, little Crassus was arrogant, and he had such capital. On this expedition, Crassus the Younger brought three regiments of heavy infantry, three regiments of auxiliaries, six regiments, and more than 30,000 men, while correspondingly, the Parthian defenders on the border were only a few thousand men. With a bitter hatred for the Parthians, Crassus the Younger rudely refused any conditions and requests made by the messenger to his face.

……

A few days later, the legion marched directly into the Mesopotarian plain.

Crassus the Younger was advised to march cautiously, to enlist the support of the Armenians first, wait for their allies to arrive, and then march together on the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon. But little Crassus directly refused-

"You know why I march day and night, we don't have time to wait for the Armenian allies, it's already October, and you can feel the temperature difference between day and night increasing as you march across this land, and at night the temperature here is even colder than in the Germanic forests of the north. We must march as fast as we can, and before the onset of winter, take Hadeba. Otherwise, by the time the Confederates arrived, it would be difficult to carry out all the plans for the year. ”

Faced with the doubts and anxieties of many subordinates, Crassus Jr. explained. More crucially, as the commander of the legion, Crassus Jr. did not say that he was worried about Appis, and that Apis would come to hinder him when he found out. He knew the character of Apis and was known for his prudence. If he had known that the Roman legions had entered the plain directly without allies, he would have certainly hindered himself. But little Crassus couldn't wait, how many times, he staggered with the Parthians, just lacked the opportunity to completely defeat them. Now, Apis had achieved brilliant achievements in Egypt, and he himself would lead his legions across Mesopotaria, deal a fatal blow to the Parthians, tell the Romans, tell the citizens of Rome that he had avenged Crassus, won back glory for Rome, and won dignity for his family. As a man with a lot of money and nothing to lose, establishing merit on the battlefield is the only pursuit.

Eventually, however, he was met with stubborn resistance from the Parthians.

Half a month later, the Parthian coalition appeared in the vast desert. They were outnumbered, still with archers as the main force, spread out along the dune line, and the younger Crassus also placed his cavalry troops on high places, the Gallic cavalry was armed with spears and Celtic swords, well-dressed chain mail, and cross-era stirrups on their feet, and the cavalry of the Roman legions was not a little better than the Parthians in terms of equipment alone. However, the Parthians possessed more sophisticated horsemanship and cavalry tactics, and more importantly, they were almost entirely cavalry, with infantry accounting for only a small part.

In an encounter on the dunes, little Crassus sucked his father Licinius. Crassus's lesson, the baggage and all the ballista were surrounded in the middle, and the perimeter was protected by the heavy infantry in a phalanx, so that the fragile troops of the ballista and the baggage would be scattered by the Parthian hoplites in the event of a battle.

Crassus Jr. then placed a mix of archers in the middle of the heavy infantry, so that when the main heavy infantry was hit by a rain of enemy arrows, the archers could counterattack. The cavalry was led by Crassus the Younger and was ready to support him. Under this seemingly impregnable tactical arrangement, the Roman legions faced the Parthian army with high morale. Although they were fighting again in the desert, with the "ingenious" arrangement of Crassus the Younger, many of the soldiers seemed to have lost their fear, believing that this time the Roman legions would defeat the Parthians.

However, Sulena, the commander of the Parthian army, once again taught the Roman legions how to behave...... They spread out their army along the circular position of the Roman legions, and those archers ran along the perimeter of the legions, scattered, with almost no formation to speak of, but they were all over the perimeter of the Roman legions, and the rain of arrows was not strong, but from time to time some fell, so that the soldiers of the Roman legions could not rest and could not attack. As soon as the heavy infantry of the Roman legions attacked, the Parthian cavalry retreated, volleying arrows as they retreated. And the Roman squads, which pursued too far, became the meat targets of the Parthian cavalry. Trample back and forth.

However, Sulena was not in a hurry to attack the main phalanx of Crassus the Younger, because the phalanx improved by Crassus the Younger was both offensive and defensive, especially the hundreds of ballistas in the center of the position, which would be a nightmare for the Parthians. Sulena and his men climbed the sand dunes and looked out over the battlefield, knowing that the situation was different now, and that a strong attack on the Roman legions, as they had done eighteen years ago, would be a defeat for both sides.

"Damn, what do they want to do? Neither fight nor retreat, are you going to consume us here ?! ”

Finally, after a whole day of confrontation, there were almost no casualties on both sides, only more than a hundred soldiers were routed in the unauthorized attack, and the others stood intact in their positions. However, the Roman officers became impatient, and the legion commander Celestial Celestial angrily confronted Crassus the Younger and began to doubt his command.

"My guess is this, Silio, tomorrow you will take a troop of cavalry and go to the great river we pass by to fetch water, as much as you can. Damn, it's my fault, we're well prepared for everything, it's just that we don't have water. ”

Little Crassus frowned and said, he had a faint feeling that these Parthians did not seem to be as easy to deal with as he imagined......