B.S. give me back my army! ”

Ctesiphon, the capital of the Persian Empire, a huge voice roared and echoed in the Palace of the Four Seasons, and a man in a white robe walked back and forth in the palace waving his hands, his majestic face now twisted with rage, blue blood bursting from his temples on both sides, and gray hair swaying with his shaking head.

Everyone inside and outside the palace held their breath, for fear that they would accidentally make a little noise and draw the anger of Shapur II. The ladies carefully packed up the furniture and belongings that had been thrown into disarray by Shapur II, while the chamberlains bent over to bring in the ministers.

Seeing all the ministers enter, Shapur II finally quieted down, and sat down on the jewel-encrusted gold chair, his right elbow resting on the armrest of the chair, while the palm of his right hand supported his chin. His brow furrowed, his wrinkled face filled with sorrow and trouble.

Shapur II waved weakly and beckoned his courtiers to sit down, and then leaned back in worry. Seeing that his monarch did not have the calm that he was afraid of danger before, all the courtiers knew in their hearts, I am afraid that His Majesty the Emperor was not just a "thunderous wrath" this time. They were all important ministers of the Persian Empire, but they all knew that it seemed that a big event was happening in the East, and only one or two ministers vaguely guessed the reason for Shapur II's anger.

So these seven or eight ministers began to speculate, was Tianzhu calling? It's impossible, Tianzhu has been weak since ancient times, so a big place is like a pot of porridge. How could it be possible to suddenly rise up and offend the mighty Persian Empire? The "great" Dikushan Empire suddenly returned to its soul? Impossible, the once powerful Kushan Empire is now crushed by the Sakyas (i.e., the Serbs), the Tocharians and the Tianzhu people from three directions, how can it be possible to start a war with the Persian Empire! The savage Scythians to the north? These nomads have always been a threat to the northeast of the Persian Empire, and they have done a lot of things. But over the years, under the continuous blows of several powerful Persian emperors, plus the use of other means, the relationship between the Scythians and the Persians has become much closer, and many Scythian tribes have even become mercenaries of the Persian Empire. Moreover, these Scythian tribes were numerous, and there was no unified state and alliance. Even if it turns against the Persian Empire, it is only a part of the tribe, and it is not a problem.

After careful investigation by the ministers, the most likely eastern event that angered Shapur II was the mysterious and fierce nomads marching westward. Since the Sai people were driven out of the area west of the Yili River by the Da Yue clan, Wusun and Xiongnu. It kicked off the prelude to the westward migration of the oriental nomads for hundreds of years. Fortunately, only a small number of tribes had previously ventured westward, and most of the nomads had either settled in the two rivers or turned directly to the northwest and headed straight north of the Caspian Sea. But this small number of people also surprised the Persians. Because these attacks had all but destroyed the mighty Payati Empire, could it be that now a powerful eastern tribe was coming west.

Thinking of this, the ministers also felt heavy, and heard that there was a powerful nomadic empire called Xianbei or Rouran in the east that replaced the Xiongnu. Have these people shifted their gaze from their rich south to the far west?

"Read this." Shapur II pointed to the paper that had been thrown to the ground and said weakly to a chamberlain behind him.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The chamberlain hurriedly answered, then bent down to pick up the paperwork, and stood aside and read it in a sharp voice.

"The prince of Bezwi led 200,000 Persian troops and 100,000 Tocharian troops to fight a decisive battle with the people of Beifu at the foot of Mount Posi (Mount Posi) east of Sogdiana. A day of fierce fighting. The whole army was defeated. More than 100,000 Persian nobles and soldiers from B.C. were captured, and the rest of the people were estimated to be more than lucky. ”

The chamberlain finished reading the first paperwork. Then read the second document below: "More than 100,000 people from Beifu swept through Sogdiana like a pack of wolves, and divided their troops into two routes, all the way north to Khorezm, all the way south to Bactria, and even crossed the Uhu River, and captured the city of Bari, and the cavalry was advancing towards Sistan (i.e., Tocharostan, southern Afghanistan). Herat and other places were full of refugees who had fled westward, and there was panic everywhere, even seriously affecting Khorasan. And since the 30,000 Scythian mercenaries were also destroyed, the Scythian tribes north of Khorasan who got the news began to move, and their movements were unknown. In short, at present, Khorasan is in trouble with foreign and external troubles, and is in urgent need of reinforcements. The governor of the province of Khorasan, Dagadia. ”

The expressionless voice of the chamberlain echoed in the Four Seasons Palace, but the ministers were covered in a cold sweat when they heard it. The annihilation of the 200,000 Persian army meant that the province of Khorasan and even the entire eastern part of the Persian Empire had become an undefended region. But who is this Beifu person?

Ang Sali asked tentatively, "Your Majesty the Great Emperor, who is this from Beifu?" "He was Shapur II's most trusted minister, in charge of the finances of the Persian Empire, and was the head of all the ministers, so he was the only one who dared to ask questions in such a situation.

"The people of Beifu call themselves Huaxia, the regime they established is called Beifu, and their Emperor His Majesty is called Emperor Dajin, and they are said to be from Seris (the ancient Greeks called China), and they are said to be descendants of the Qin and Han people." One of the chamberlains next to him replied with his head bowed. He was the official in charge of gathering intelligence under Shapur II, so he naturally knew about it.

"Now our most urgent problem is to immediately strengthen the defense forces of the Khorasan Province, whether the people of Beifu have any plans to continue the offensive to the west, we must make the Khorasan Province have enough strength, otherwise the whole eastern part of the country will be in chaos." After Ansari understood the question of the people of Beifu, he went on to say the most crucial question.

Hearing Ang Sali's words, Shapur II, who had always had a gloomy face, moved slightly, and secretly admired in his heart, he really deserved to be my most trusted courtier, it is difficult for me to use him so much over the years, and pointed out the most critical problem at the moment in one word. The province of Khorasan was the easternmost part of the Persian Empire, and it was also the forefront of the defense against nomadic peoples such as the Sai and Yue clans over the years. Moreover, there are many ethnic groups there, most of them are half-farming and half-pastoral tribes, and in the event of an accident, the spread is not safer than the autumn grassland fire.

"What do you say you should do?" Shapur II finally spoke in a rare way.

Your Majesty the Great Emperor, our relations with the Roman state have eased to the border areas of Asia, Suliston (i.e., Syria), and Canaan (i.e., Palestine) to mobilize some troops, and then recruit some cavalry from the Saracens. I calculated that there should be at least 50,000 troops. He then ordered Dagadia to act as governor of Khorasan. Recruit young and strong people, reorganize the army, and add reinforcements we send, as long as we maintain 100,000 troops. It should be possible to temporarily stabilize the situation in the province as a whole. Onsali replied.

Seeing that the ministers nodded one after another, and their faces softened a little, Ang Sali looked at Shapur II, who was still gloomy, but poured a basin of cold water on everyone: "Next, we will contact the people of Beifu." Find out their intentions. Now the initiative is in the hands of the people of Beifu, as long as they continue to move westward, and our reinforcements cannot go up for a while, this Khorasan will be very dangerous. ”

"Pcydore." Shapur II was silent for a moment, and called names.

"His Majesty the Great Emperor. The minister is here. Pusedore replied hurriedly.

"I authorize you to go to Bari Heicheng on my behalf and contact the commander of the Beifu people. Get out of now. Shapur II said in an unquestioning tone.

"Yes. His Majesty the Great Emperor. What is my mission? Puccidore did not hesitate and immediately replied.

"Find out the intentions of the people of Beifu. And then at all costs, let the footsteps of the people of Beifu stop in Sistan. Shapur II said in a chilling tone.

"Yes! Your Majesty the Great Emperor, I will leave immediately after the meeting! With that, Pusedore replied with a stoop and saluting.

"Your Majesty the Great Emperor, there is another important thing that we must rescue the captured nobles." Onsali continued.

Hearing this, Shapur II's face couldn't help but become even more gloomy, and he could almost wring out water. He and all the ministers knew in their hearts that not to mention the officials in the other armies, the ironclad cavalry alone was all composed of nobles. Due to the huge cost of ironclad cavalry, no one can afford to support it except for the nobles, so the Persian army metchaclad cavalry is composed of middle-level nobles and above, and the entire Persian army is less than 40,000 ironclad cavalry, and it lost 10,000 at the foot of Bosi Mountain, and the loss of this made Shapur II feel painful.

After all, there are at least three or four thousand nobles lost to Persia in the hands of the people of Beifu this time, and because of the national policy formulated by Shapur II, most of the nobles who served in Khorasan Province are nobles from the two river valleys and the hinterland of Persia, and these families are the backbone of Persia, and if the Persian Empire lets their children alone, he will make a lot of trouble.

Angsali's words pierced Shapur II's sore spot, and he hated his son Brisk's recklessness and impulsiveness even more, It doesn't matter if you are captured by Beifu alone, but how can you let such a nobleman be a prisoner with you? I don't know how Odoria taught the Brackes, this clever chamberlain who grew up with him, had to go to Khorasan with the Bez, and I heard that he was captured with the Bezs in this battle, and he must have been dragged down by the Blistes.

"Your Majesty the Great Emperor, to save these nobles is nothing more than spending more gold and silver." Onsali watched Shapur II's face become more and more ugly, and hurriedly spoke to divert his attention. However, there is another layer of meaning in his words that is not spoken, which is based on the fact that the people of Beifu are all "civilized people", and if these people of Beifu are uncivilized barbarians, maybe these captured Persian nobles have become some kind of ornament or utensil. However, Angsari prefers to believe that these Beifu people who defeated the huge regular army of the Persian Empire should be descendants of the creators of the mysterious civilization of the East, the "Qin and Han people", and they will definitely not be barbarians, unless their brilliant civilization has been overwhelmed by barbarism and backwardness.

Ang Sali pressed this thought and continued: "At that time, let these nobles pay for their own money to redeem the children of each family, which can be regarded as solving the problems of the empire." ”

Shapur II nodded hatefully, this can only be done, if the treasury is allowed to pay, so many people are not a small number, Persia just had a bloody battle with the Roman Empire a few years ago, and suffered heavy losses, just recovered his breath, how can he afford this huge amount of money? I can only take care of my own family.

Next, Angsaly raised several questions, mainly how to improve relations with the border areas bordering Greece and Egypt of the Roman Empire by mobilizing baggage and materials. Shapur II didn't make much noise, just listened to Ansari asking questions and proposing to solve them.

The meeting was quickly over, and Shapur II also felt a little more comfortable, now that the facts have been created, the most important thing is how to solve these problems, it seems that he has just lost his temper. Shapur II sighed in his heart, why is the Persian Empire always in such a cycle of history? Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, the Kushan Empire, the Egyptians, the Payati, the Saracens, and now the Beifu people surrounded the Persian Empire like a pack of wolves, and even the most powerful empire would decay and perish in this long bloodshed.

Watching the figures of the ministers disappear outside the palace gate, Shapur II couldn't help but feel that the strength in his body disappeared all at once, and the calm and composure that he had barely supported in front of the ministers just now was all gone, followed by endless anxiety and worry on his face. Internal and external troubles, Shapur II involuntarily remembered the word. A few years ago, Shapur II defeated the Roman Empire's expeditionary force, which brought himself and the prestige of the Persian Empire to the highest point, Shapur II has always wanted to take this as an opportunity to recover for a few more years, accumulate strength, and then expand the territory to Armenia in the north, Saracen and Egypt in the west, and Sistan in the east, leading the Persian Empire to the peak of history.

Shapur II let out a long sigh and looked at the far east, what would those mysterious and unknown Beifu people bring to the Persian Empire in the future? War or Peace? I wonder if I can lead the Persian Empire out of this temporary "difficulty"? What is the way to completely dispel the greed of the people of Beifu for the Persian Empire, whether to use war or peace?

Shapur II stood on the roof of the Palace of the Four Seasons, watching the slowly darkening sky, and remained silent, his white hair looking particularly vicissitudes in the heavy twilight.