The flames of the Tigris were still burning, and the black smoke was full of dead bodies, ruins everywhere, and the docks were burned.

Dad Hebone's horses cut through the mess. The Sassanid cavalry had long since retreated unharmed, and there was nothing left to do but leave a few men to clean up the mess.

He looked at the corpses all over the ground, quite some of them Parthian soldiers. Many of them did not have time to put on their armor, and the weapons they held in their hands were not horse weapons such as spears or spears, but scimitars that they carried with them, indicating that they were awakened in their sleep and rushed to fight.

The army that protected the warehouses consisted of half a brigade, more than a thousand men, almost one-twentieth of the strength of Parthia. Now the body of Yasar, the thousand-man captain who led this force, lay in front of him.

Dad Hebone looked at his old subordinates, red eyes, sad and angry.

......

"There's nothing left of any food or grass left!" said Dardhebourn mad, "Yasar, this old fool, a thousand-man army, a thousand! ”

In the commander's big tent, every captain trembled for fear of provoking the furious general.

Routine military meetings, which are usually attended by only the captain of a thousand people, are also present with Solomon and Inalao, and the two stand side by side, exchanging glances from time to time.

"I will not retreat, I will make Shapur, a smug boy, suffer, and let him know how powerful the Parthian heavy cavalry is!" Dadhebone waved his fist, still losing his temper.

Among the captains of the thousands, a young noble general with a somewhat arrogant face couldn't stand it anymore at this time, and said: "It will take fifteen days to raise and transport grain and grass from Ctesiphon, and once there is a problem with the transportation, we will be very dangerous. General, you should calm down, there is no shame in retreating, we are not defeated after all. ”

Dad Hebone blushed and stared at the captain viciously. The captain smiled apologetically, but not too nervously.

The general's face turned red and white, and everyone was worried. Thankfully, Dad Hebone finally calmed down a little, and he went to his seat and sat down, and let out a long breath, and everyone followed him.

"Surin, how much grass do we have left?" asked Dardheburn, gasping slightly.

"It's only enough for ten days," replied the young nobleman who interjected, "and we have lost about half a year's worth of food and grass this time. ”

"It takes at least five days to raise food and grass. Dad Hebone said dejectedly. Several other thousand-man captains were beside him, nodding silently without speaking.

"By the way, Solomon, there was a commotion in the barracks last night, what happened?" he suddenly remembered.

As soon as Solomon heard that it was his turn, he immediately replied: "It was in Captain Daolao's camp, two captains of 100 people rebelled, and Captain Daolao found out that there was a battle between the two sides, and now the two traitors and dozens of their helpers have all been eliminated. ”

"Rebellion? Is it the Sassanid thing?"

"Yes, for specific details, Captain Inaura, please answer!"

Dao Lao nodded, "It was the Iron People and Purple Night who rebelled, and they were tempted by Sassanid to lead their men to prepare to set fire to the barracks in response to the attack on the granary. There were more than twenty people involved, all Zoroastrians, and all of them have now been eliminated and captured. I'm sorry for this, these two men have been following me for years, and I really didn't expect them to defect. ”

"It's not your fault, there are fewer and fewer loyal people. You say they're Zoroastrians? These followers are everywhere right now, and it's causing panic. "Let's concentrate and consider whether we should withdraw or not!"

At this time, Solomon interjected: "Sorry general, when it comes to the withdrawal of troops, the king is waiting outside the tent, and he asked me to apply to you to participate in this meeting, and it is said that he has an important proposal for you!"

"The king, he had never fought a war, and he knew anything about military affairs. ”

Dao Lao said: "It's good to see him, he is the king after all, and he should be respected in both feelings and reason, not to mention that if the capital needs to raise grain and grass, the king's order may be more effective!"

Dadheone pondered Inalao's words, but did not say a word. Su Lin asked in surprise: "Is His Majesty the King in the army?" Then the rumors are true, if His Majesty wants to attend the meeting, he should not be allowed to continue to wait, otherwise it will be too disrespectful." ”

"That'...... Hopefully he has a good proposal. Dad Hebone reluctantly agreed.

Solo immediately went out of the tent to invite the king, and in a short time the king entered the tent with Zhang Bai, dressed in a red robe. Dad Hebone frowned when he saw Zhang Bai's child also come in, but there were enough things to worry him about now, and he didn't want to do more.

Surin was the first to step forward, "Your Majesty, it's great that you can come, your arrival is like the sun shining brightly, removing the haze in our hearts." Please sit here!"

Inalau and the other captains of the Thousand Men welcomed the king, and Dad Hebone nodded to the king and snorted through his nose.

Zhang Bai, who was following the king, watched coldly, and laughed in his heart: "This Dade Hebuun doesn't know how to greet his superiors at all, and he really looks like a direct minister!"

King Aldaban V didn't care at all about the attitude of the general, nor did he care about the flattery of others, he sat straight in the designated position, and said without looking away: "I know your predicament, my personal guard captain Zhang Bai has a suggestion, let him say it himself!"

"Captain of the guard?" Su Lin thought it was strange, such a child said that it was almost a courtier, could he still protect the king?

Several officers who didn't know Zhang Bai also had similar thoughts. However, Dadehebun, Solomon, and Daolao all knew Zhang Bai's ability and knew that he was scheming, so they didn't care at all.

Zhang Bai first bowed to the king, and then said loudly: "Everyone knows our predicament, the grain and grass have been burned, and it is impossible to support it for a long time with the current grain stockpile. There are still a few options now, let me analyze them for you. ”

"The first is to withdraw the army, which is a wise choice, and the army can be retreated to Isfahan or the capital city of Ctesiphon. The advantage is that it can quickly stabilize the morale of the military and preserve its strength. The disadvantage is that it is easy to be pursued when retreating. And with the loss of most of the Medes, this rich region will be plundered, and the economy of Parthia will be severely damaged. ”

"I agree to withdraw the troops, this is the only rational decision, the army must be kept. Surin said resolutely on the side. Zhang Bai greeted him with his eyes to show friendliness, but was noncommittal.

"The second is the opposite decision, which is to stay here and wait for supplies to come. The advantage is that the enemy is not given a chance to take advantage of it, and the Median region can be saved. The disadvantage is that it is impossible to realize, and the military rations in the capital, even the transportation of belts, will not be completed within about a month. Zhang Bai said.

Hearing this, Dad Hebone clasped his hands on his chest and sat up straight.