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Lu Xun frowned and patted the armrest gently, not only excited by Sun Shao's grand plan, but also felt that the burden on his shoulders was very heavy. Although Sun Shao, the www.biquge.info of the pen "Fun" Pavilion, has not yet said it explicitly, he has already revealed the meaning of leaving him here to assist Sun Feng, and now he is asking him if he is sure to take Tessifon, if he nods and says yes, then the task of attacking Tessifon will definitely fall on his shoulders, and taking Tessifon will be the first credit he deserves, and Tessifon is his place of governance.

This is an opportunity that anyone will be blushing, and Sun Shao left it to him.

However, he was not sure. Lu Xun is not an impulsive person, he will weigh twice before doing anything, just like the last time he ambushed Ardashir, he had already analyzed the psychology and strength of Gordian and Ardashir, so that he could make such a decision. Otherwise, is it really that coincidental? Pinning hope on luck has never been Lu Xun's style.

Lu Xun believes that it is not impossible to take Ctesiphon, as long as he is given time, he can integrate the army of nearly 200,000 and finally conquer Ctesifeng. The problem is that Sun Shao lacks time. To support such a large army expedition, the consumption of grain and grass is definitely not a small number. Although the Romans and Kushans had exerted their greatest strength, why not the Yue Kingdom? After more than a year of fighting, the accumulation of the previous years has almost been consumed, and the people of Tianzhu know that the Yue country is in a big war, and the price of grain has been raised several times, almost three times that of the year before. Merchant ships are taking on the main tasks of transportation, and these are all paid, and the treasury of the country is depleting at an incredible rate.

Sun Tzu said that the army of 100,000 went on an expedition of thousands of miles, and it cost a thousand dollars, and the current situation in Yue Guo is roughly this situation, if it were not for the solid family foundation accumulated over more than ten years, this battle would have been unable to be fought a long time ago.

"What if...... In a year's time, I'll be sure to take Ctesiphon. Lu Xun was silent for a long time, then turned his head, raised his hand, and pointed to the east. Sun Shao thought for a moment: "Water attack? ”

"Yes." Lu Xun nodded and said slowly: "The Diyala River originates in the Zagros Mountains, and there is a lot of water, and it has to be flooded every summer. This is the mouth of the Diarra River where it joins the Tigris, and the city of Ctesiphon is easy to defend and difficult to defend because it faces water on three sides, but if a dam is built here, Ctesiphon will suffer from it. The city of Tessie is an earthen city, and as long as it is flooded for three months, it will be self-defeating. It's just ......" Lu Xun smiled bitterly and shook his head: "This is not a small project, the manpower and material resources required are even more amazing, I doubt that I can support it until that time." ”

Sun Shao nodded, then shook his head again. In these years, most of the cities were earthen cities, and water attack was of course the most effective method, and the city of Taixi was between two big rivers, which was a good place for water attack. But the water attack also has the weakness of the water attack, that is, it takes a long time, and the manpower and material resources required are very huge, and if you don't have enough strength, you don't have to think about this trick at all, thinking about building those dams to stop the water is enough for you to go crazy, not to mention that the Tigris River will be cut off here. Even if we start preparing now, it will be a question of whether we will be able to complete the project by next summer.

"You don't have to think about it, it's definitely not going to work, there's not that much time." Sun Shao turned his head to look at the battlefield that was in full swing, and the corners of his mouth raised slightly: "Do you think those people will have the patience to fight for a long time?" If the city is not broken for two months, they will go home. ”

Lu Xun sighed helplessly. He couldn't have imagined this, and that's why he was so worried.

"If there is no quick victory, then we will have to take Seleucus and make peace with Ardashir." Sun Shao said: "Don't worry, think about how to take Seleucus first, I don't have much confidence in the Romans and the Kushans, their courage is commendable, but the means of attacking the city are inevitably worse." ”

"It's not a bad thing to make them suffer a little." Lu Xun said in response.

"Hahaha......" Sun Shao, who had already walked forward with his hands behind his back, glanced back at Lu Xun, and the two of them showed a knowing smile.

At the same time, Ardashir stood on the top floor of the high royal palace, squinting at the Seleucian, and the warships on the river naturally did not escape his eyes, although these warships looked just black spots, but he seemed to be able to imagine that Sun Shao must be on the boat, and he must be thinking about how to conquer Ctesiphon.

However, Ardashir was very confident, and he believed that Sun Shao and they would collapse if they could not support the day when they attacked Ctesiphon. He had 20,000 garrisons in Seleucus, enough food, and a general of his cronies to guard it, and in order to stabilize the people's hearts, the priests of the temple went to several places. Although the coalition forces were aggressive, it was not easy to capture Seleucus. When they consume too much under Seleuc, even if they finally take Seleuc, I am afraid that they will not have much strength to attack Ctesiphon. When they were exhausted and could only retreat under the city of Ctesiphon, the Sassanid Iron Horsemen, who had been holding back for months, would go out with their whole army to hunt down these robbers who dared to come to Sassanid soil, and let them bleed forever in this fertile land.

The final victor will be me, Ardashir said to himself. Overcoming the strong with softness, defeating the strong with weakness, and striking at the back, this is the truth of the Han sages, but I can also use it to defeat these Han people in turn.

Until the end, how can you know who is the winner? Ardashir looked up to the sky and sighed. He has been leading the army for nearly thirty years, and during these years, he has been smooth sailing, first becoming a famous general in the Parthian dynasty, and then defeating the Parthian king, establishing the Sassanid dynasty, restoring the glory of his ancestors, attacking Kushan in the east and Rome in the west, he has always been the victor, but this time he was beaten to the ground and almost died in the valley. This was a major setback for him, not only did he lose the battle, he lost his two sons, but also ruined the prestige that he had accumulated for thirty years, and no one expected that one day an enemy would come to attack Ctesiphon? The Sassanid Iron Cavalry is invincible and unfavorable, and has always taken the initiative to attack others, so how can it be attacked by human soldiers.

However, Ardashir did not despair, and he felt that it was a rebirth for him, and that he had learned more from this defeat than he had learned from all previous victories. He felt that he had suddenly broken through the original realm and risen to a new level. Mazda took another step closer.

He longed to compete with Sun Shao once again, and to prove himself as an invincible king blessed by the god of light.

Under the Seleuc, the shouts of killing shook the sky, and in the northwest corner, the phalanx of the Romans was lined up three hundred paces from the city, and the soldiers rested on the spot, watching the battle situation in front. Menofilus, the commander of the Fifth Legion, commanded the siege of the city, and the three siege engines, each propelled by two hundred strong and shirtless slaves, were about the height of the city walls, braving the rain of arrows pouring down from the city. On the siege vehicle, the archers hid behind the wooden walls, constantly suppressing the archers at the head of the city with long arrows, and the warriors with spears and shields looked at the city head getting closer and closer, waiting to jump on the head of the city and fight.

As the distance narrowed, the attack on the head of the city became more and more violent, and the archers on the horses protruding from the walls also reversed course and fired fiercely at the slaves hiding behind the siege engines. The slaves were sturdy, but their naked bodies could not resist the long arrows, and although they were protected by shield soldiers, the Sassanids condescended and shot the arrows from above, so that the shield soldiers could not defend themselves, and one after another the slaves were hit by arrows, and let out a terrible scream. The warlords wielded their whips and whipped the slaves who were howling in pain from the arrows, screaming loudly to get the slaves to speed up and get closer to the walls as quickly as possible.

The slaves had no other way to survive, they could only grit their teeth, exert all their strength, and push the heavy siege vehicles with all their might, almost every step had to cost several lives, and the blood was sprinkled on the battlefield that was already bloodstained, and the new blood stains covered the old bloodstains, and then they were trampled into a ball by the messy feet, and they could no longer distinguish which was new and which was old.

At the cost of the slaves' lives, the three siege engines were getting closer and closer to the city wall, and the soldiers on the siege vehicles were overjoyed, they raised the bridge ladder, ready to put them on the city wall at any time, and the soldiers behind also put down their masks, clenched their weapons, bowed their bodies, and prepared to rush to the city.

The Sassanid counterattack seemed to be somewhat weak, and although the horns at the head of the city were loud, they could not stop the Romans from approaching, and could only watch as the Romans lowered the stairs. As soon as the staircase was hung at the head of the city, a group of Roman warriors rushed with shields and short swords, shouting.

"Stop—" A centurion roared, directing his spearmen to rush ahead, pointing their spears at the Roman soldiers who were rushing up the stairs.

"Kill—" The Romans cried out, cowering behind their shields, and slamming into them without hesitation.

"Poof!" "Gah-"

"Poof!" "Whew-"

"Poof!"

The sound of spears piercing into flesh and the sound of striking shields and iron armor were mixed in with each other. The Roman soldiers who rushed to the front rushed through the Sassanid spear array with their bodies, and the soldiers behind rushed in, wielding their short swords and slashing hard, trying to take a place at the head of the city, and squeeze the Sassanids out of the way to make room for their comrades in the back to enter the city. As soon as the Sassanids saw the Romans ascending the city, they also frantically intercepted them, and under the command of the trumpet, more and more Sassanids swarmed over and gathered in a thick formation in front of the Romans. The Romans were forced by the limitations of space, and the warriors behind them could not help, so they could only do it in a hurry, watching one after another their comrades being killed by the Sassanids at the head of the city.

Three siege engines leaned against the city walls, and the Romans rushed over to fight the Sassanids at the head of the city, but none of them would let go, the shouts of killing were deafening, and the strangers, who had no grudges and no grudges, sacrificed their lives for a place for a reason that even they could not explain.

Blood flowed down the battlements of the city, smearing the Seleucid over and over again.

The siege vehicles leaned against the city wall greatly stimulated the morale of the Romans, they roared loudly, and struck the shield with the short sword in their hands to cheer up the comrades in front, Menofilus was even more enthusiastic, the siege of the city for three days, this was the first time that three siege engines at the same time leaned on the city, if they could break the city in one go, the Romans would seize the opportunity, and he was the first to act, not only had the right to choose the spoils of war first, but also increased the bargaining chips for future promotions. Stimulated by fame and fortune, he gave the order to intensify the attack, and asked the remaining soldiers to rush to the city with a ladder, preparing to use the most primitive method to ascend the city and take Seleucid in one go.

Another two thousand men rushed into the battle, carrying a dozen ladders to the city wall, and Quintus, who was watching the battle in the rear, was also excited, he seemed to have seen the dawn of victory, and the efforts of the past three days finally saw the fruit, and the Sassanids could not hold on.

"Beat the drums, cheer for Menoluffis!" Quintus gave the order loudly.

The skyrocketing drums exploded, echoing above the hustle and bustle of the battlefield. In the distance, the Guishan people, who had just been frustrated in the siege and were resting, felt very uncomfortable when they heard it, and slashed at the railing of the command car with a scolding slash. He felt that he had suffered a loss, the Romans had 80,000 people, and he only had more than 20,000 people, of which a few thousand had just arrived, his physical strength had yet to recover, and his attack power was too bad compared to the Romans, and it was not easy to break through the city before the Romans.

"Withdraw the army." Bo called out impatiently, "Let the Romans attack the city, and let's have a good rest." ”

The retreat of the Kushans relieved the Sassanids at the head of the city, and they immediately strengthened their defenses in the northwest. Seleucid was a common circular city, and after a quarter of a circumference along the curved wall, the defenders from the southwest rushed to the northwest and threw in the attacking warbands.

The Sassanid reinforcements overwhelmed the Romans, who were already struggling to hold on, and they were pushed back step by step, and their foothold at the head of the city became smaller and smaller, and people were constantly being squeezed by the Sassanids and fell off the walls, screaming in despair. Menoluffis was in a hurry and urged his subordinates to hurry up and ascend to the city to provide support for the soldiers at the head of the city.

At that moment, the Sassanids shouted a trumpet, lifted a huge log to the edge of the city, and smashed it against the stairs. There was a loud "boom", and the bridge ladder let out a series of groans, which broke with a bang, and the soldiers on the siege vehicle who had not had time to retreat fell down, and the soldiers who had already attacked the city were also cut off.

The Sassanids cheered, and more rushed forward, killing the desperate Romans one by one.

Before the tea was done, the bridges and ladders of the three siege engines were smashed by the Sassanids, and the warriors who had already rushed to the head of the city were slaughtered, and then a large number of archers rushed to the edge of the city, and fired a burst of fire at the Romans who were carrying the ladders and preparing to annex the city, shooting them to a disgrace and suffering heavy losses.

The victory, which was already beckoning to the Romans, was like a seductive girl, who seduced the Romans to go crazy with a look, and then drifted away.

Menoluffis looked at the cheering Sassanids at the head of the city, and was furious, but he was helpless, after the siege vehicle was destroyed, it was impossible to climb the city by ladder alone, and it would only increase casualties in vain if he did not retreat. Reluctantly, he gave the order to retreat, and the warriors who were unable to move at every point of the Sassanid were withdrawn from range to rest.

In this attack, Menololufis lost more than 700 men. He signaled to Quintus to retreat and rest, allowing the other legions to continue the attack. Quintus was extremely disappointed, but he had no choice but to replace himself with a legion to prepare for the attack, allowing Menolophes to retreat temporarily. Menolophes asked the lieutenant general to withdraw from the battlefield with his people, and he rushed to the command car of Quintus with his personal guards, held his sword, strode on the command car, saluted Quintus, and said ashamedly: "Your Majesty ......"

"Alright, alright, don't be upset." Quintus said magnanimously: "You still have made progress this time, we finally have three siege engines on the city wall at the same time. Maybe there will be five or ten next time, and the Sassanids won't be able to support it for long. ”

Menoluffis saluted gratefully, and then said, "I have found some Sassanians on the walls coming from the south, and I suspect that the Kushans have stopped their attack. ”

Quintus frowned, and said unconvinced, "Is there such a thing? ”

"I have to guard against it." Little Gordian said lightly: "It is possible that they heard the news that we were about to break the city, and they were unwilling to let us Romans take the lead, so they deliberately withdrew from the battlefield and let the Sassanids come to reinforce it." He paused, then added, "It's easy, just send someone over and see what they're doing." ”

Quintus hesitated for a moment, but still adopted the idea of little Goldian, and sent a cavalry to the battlefield of the Kushan people, in the name of reporting the news, to see what the Kushan people were doing, but the result was quickly reported back, the Kushan people were resting, they said that the siege was not good, and decided not to attack today.

Quintus was furious and said that everyone would attack the city together, and now the Kushans actually released water and let the victory that had already been in hand fly again, and the Romans lost hundreds of people in vain, is this what the allies should do? He immediately rushed to the position of the Kushan people in person, and angrily reprimanded Bo in person for not preaching morality.

Bo Tiao's face was innocent: "How do I know that you guys are about to enter the city?" I've also been attacking for three days in a row, and I've suffered heavy losses, only a lot more than you Romans, so I can't take a break and drink saliva? You didn't attack it, so what does it matter to me? Why are you still framing me for deliberately releasing water? ”

The two disagreed and quarreled, Quintus was so angry that he brushed his sleeves away and ordered a retreat, and I stopped fighting, and rested for two days.

Cao Zhang and others, who were watching the battle in the rear, saw that the front had not yet reached the time to stop, and originally thought that they were resting temporarily, but later they saw that both sides had returned to the camp, and they couldn't help but be a little surprised. Cao Zhang and Li Yan laughed and shook their heads in unison.

(To be continued)