Chapter 543 Parthia: I was really stunned [Happy New Year]

The border of the Parthian Empire stretched for thousands of miles from east to west, with rich landforms, plateaus, rivers, and mountains interspersed.

In particular, the water system is well developed and the resources are abundant.

The Murghab River is located in a basin in the east of Parthia, and to its west is the Aria Plain.

To the northwest of Aria is Nisa, the capital of Parthia.

Therefore, the Murghab River is the eastern barrier of the capital city, Nisa.

After crossing the river, there is a plain with no strategic location to defend.

When he learned that the battle situation was unfavorable, Vologases immediately sent troops eastward in order to build a new line of defense relying on the river.

At midnight, the moon was dark and the wind was strong.

Ma Chao and Pang De, the northernmost border troops of the Wei army, took advantage of the central army's tearing and destruction of Parthia's eastern defense line to quickly penetrate into its hinterland, and then marched southward from the northern line.

Their target of the overnight attack was the city on the banks of the Murghab River.

"Generals, ahead is Moore City, our target.

It is a medium-sized city located on the high ground beside the river bank..." said the guide of the Polly and Alans.

Ma Chao was following the two men's gaze, looking at the city in the distance:
"Their garrisons have all been transferred to the front to reinforce the defenses that were breached by our army. A city with insufficient garrisons needs no further explanation!"

"Ling Ming, the central army broke through Parthia's eastern defense line in just three days. If we can't break such a city, we are not worthy of being Wei's generals.

You and I will lead the way, and then we will attack in a cross-direction."

Pang De nodded and tightened the sword in his hand.

The veteran soldiers from Liangzhou under their command suddenly took action.

……

The news of the attack on Mur City was returned to Parthia the next morning.

The capital city of Nisa was already shrouded in gloom and sadness.

When they first engaged in battle with the Wei Dynasty, they were really stunned by the series of attacks.

It took three days to break through the eastern defense line, and now even the area along the Murghab River has been attacked.

The Cao army's deployment this time was like a tiller turning over the soil. Once it started, they moved in a chain and advanced westward in a crosswise manner.

Vologases, the ruler of Parthia, also received another piece of bad news from Rome to their west.

Rome had been keeping an eye on the war in Parthia.

The two sides are old enemies and have infiltrated each other quite badly.

Therefore, the news of the war learned by Parthia could quickly reach the Romans.

Rome is currently at a stage where it is declining, but has not yet officially become weak.

Especially their military strength is still very strong.

The current Roman Emperor Severus was a North African who seized power during the civil strife in Rome through a military coup.

Rome had just gone through a period of chaos.

The country was in turmoil, corruption was rampant, and various parties were vying for power. After the Guards rebelled, they actually put a price on the emperor's position. If the emperor did not obey their orders, they would immediately kill him and replace him with someone else.

The process was somewhat similar to the turmoil at the end of the Han Dynasty, when various princes rose up and held the emperor hostage to control the disobedience.

It was under such circumstances that Severus wiped out the Praetorian Guards, suppressed the chaos, and seized imperial power.

The process by which he took control of Rome was somewhat similar to that of Cao Cao.

He attached great importance to military power and army building, but hated and suppressed the Senate, another major political system in Rome, and wanted to monopolize power.

In history, Severus, like Vologases, was a famous tyrant.

So the two of them met and fought to the death.

Seven years ago, Severus led his troops eastward and personally captured Ctesiphon, an important western city of the Parthian Empire.

He was also given the title of "the greatest Parthian conqueror", but it was soon taken back by Parthia.

When the Wei Dynasty launched its Western Expedition, Severus initially just wanted to watch the fun.

His initial judgment was that the Wei people in the east were bound to suffer a disastrous defeat as they had to march far and wide to fight against Parthia, a powerful enemy of the Roman Empire.

Most Romans thought so.

The people of Wei will pay a heavy price for their ignorance of the immensity of heaven and earth.

They also held several meetings to discuss how to deal with the current situation.

The Wei Dynasty's westward expedition dragged Parthia into the war, which was undoubtedly a good thing for Rome.

The Romans watched from the sidelines, ready to send troops to attack Parthia from the west, waiting to take advantage.

Soon after the war began, news of the battle in Parthia came in:
"The Wei army invaded Parthia and captured the strong city of Mulu in the east in the first battle."

"The next day, the Wei army penetrated into the Amu Darya River in eastern Parthia and captured the city on the river bank."

"On the third day, the Wei army attacked from two directions and broke through another line of defense."

"In three days, the eastern defense line of Parthia has been completely breached by the Wei army."

"Several generals, including the Second Legion's commander Woz, died in battle!"

Inside the main hall of the Roman Imperial Palace, the atmosphere became eerily quiet for a moment.

They had that long case conference format with assigned seats.

Severus sat in the main seat.

He was in power for twelve years and reunited the then-fragmented Rome through a coup. Now he is an old emperor, sixty years old.

He had dark brown curly hair, a broad nose, deep eyes, sharp gaze, and a shallow scar on the left side of his forehead, indicating that he was an emperor who dared to fight on the battlefield.

"God, is this news... wrong?"

Jubino, a Roman minister on Severus's flank, widened his eyes:

"The Wei Kingdom in the east may not be weak, but it is impossible to penetrate Parthia's eastern defense line in three days."

"None of us Romans can do that."

"..."

The participants were talking about it.

Severus also thought it was impossible because it was too unbelievable. If it was said that Parthia lost the first battle, he would believe it.

But the entire eastern defense line was breached in three days?

Severus thought about it and realized that this was indeed something that Rome could not do.

You should know that the establishment of the Roman Empire was the result of a sweep and annexation of dozens of countries around the entire Mediterranean Sea, including Macedonia, Egypt and other countries known for their warlike prowess.

For hundreds of years, all Romans proudly and firmly believed that they were the undisputed most powerful country in the world.

Since Parthia was able to hold out against them for so long, it should obviously be ranked second.

It took the Wei army three days to tear open the Parthian defense line... After Severus analyzed it calmly, he said:

“Go again and tell the spies in Parthia to confirm the accuracy of the information.

In addition, we must be on guard against the cunning Parthians who are spreading false information and tricking us." The palace guard quickly agreed and went down to pass on the order.

Severus looked around at the dozens of Roman officials at both ends of the long table:
"The news just now may not be accurate, but it is certain that the battle between Parthia and Wei is tense and chaotic."

“There is another piece of news that we have verified repeatedly.

The Parthian king Vologases successively dispatched more than three legions to the east to resist the Wei people.

Including a reorganized legion in the area bordering Rome, which was also secretly transferred away."

There was a slight commotion in the conference hall.

All Romans realized that this was a rare opportunity.

"Transfer a reorganized legion! From this point of view, the Wei people are indeed stronger than we thought, otherwise Parthia would never dare to withdraw the legion to the east, leaving only two legions to guard against Rome?"

"The land they border with us, including the seaport and the great plains, cannot be defended by two legions."

"Your Majesty, we should seize the opportunity and attack Parthia's western defense line."

Severus nodded.

The Romans quickly reached a consensus.

October.

The Wei Dynasty was advancing rapidly on the east side of Parthia.

The Romans also suddenly sent troops to the west to attack Parthia.

The border between Rome and Parthia is always heavily garrisoned, so once the order is given, the war can begin immediately.

Upon hearing the news, the Parthian king Vologases was so exhausted that he almost fainted.

For the first time, he realized that if the situation continued to deteriorate, the country might be in danger of being destroyed.

Since declaring war, the Wei army has been approaching the Parthian capital of Nisa at an alarming speed of advancing one big step a day and breaking through one line of defense.

The Divine Glory Legion sent out by Vologasis has just entered the battlefield.

The Wei army has captured the city of Mur and officially landed on the Aria Plain.

Vologases had previously wanted to stop the Wei army east of the Arian Plain.

However, before the troops he sent out arrived, Cao's army had already reached the plain.

The speed at which he mobilized troops could not keep up with the speed at which the enemy broke through the defense.

More importantly, Rome was also attacking from the west.

There are strong enemies in both directions.

Vologases suppressed his trembling heart, summoned his ministers to discuss, and said:

"Rome is our old rival. We know how they fight. Let the western defenders shrink their defenses.

If the situation is not good, we can abandon some cities."

"The Romans can't get in for a while."

Vologases took a breath:

“But the Wei people…have continuously breached our defenses. The key is how they will use their troops next. It is difficult for us to predict.

Aria is a plain. Since the Wei people have already reached Aria, we should not engage them on the plain. Otherwise, even if we win, we will be too exhausted and will not be able to deal with Rome later. "

Parthia could no longer afford to lose.

The Wei army was too fierce. If they lost again, they would be out of cards.

Vologases decided to take a break:
"Send a message to the Divine Glory Legion, asking them to retreat. Let's concentrate all our efforts on defending Nisa.

Use the surrounding cities to support each other."

"Our army will switch to defense, increase the depth of the Wei army, and fight a war of attrition with them."

Switching to a defensive stance was a forced move that would magnify the shortcomings of Cao Wei's expedition and strain Wei's supply lines.

If it takes too long, Wei will have no choice but to withdraw.

This is the best strategy for Parthia at the moment and it is more secure.

It can also give them time to see through the Wei people's tactics and then think of ways to deal with them.

The Divine Glory Legion, a joint force of the two major sects of Zoroastrianism and Babylonianism, which had already entered the Aria Plain, received the order that afternoon.

Three hundred miles ahead of them was the aggressive Cao Wei army.

Before the two armies engaged in battle, the Parthian main force, the Divine Glory Legion, chose to retreat and avoid a head-on confrontation.

They retreated all the way back to the royal capital, Nisa City, mobilized all the troops that could be mobilized, fortified their defenses and cleared the fields, preparing to meet the Wei army.

Just as Parthia was gathering strength and waiting for the Wei army to attack Nissa, they received new news from the front line.

The Wei army did not come to Nisa, but went straight west from the Aria Plain!
That direction is the central part of the Parthian border, the plateau area between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf.

This is the Iranian Plateau in later generations.

The city of Ecbatana, an important city in Parthia with abundant grain, products and commerce, is located west of the plateau.

It was one of the most prosperous cities in Parthia.

When Vologases mobilized heavy troops to defend Nissa, Cao's army chose to attack Ecbatana further west.

The Cao army did not touch Nisa, who was defending with all his might.

The two sides seemed to be fighting each other.

Parthia wanted to delay Cao Wei and engage in a war of attrition.

Unfortunately, Cao Wei not only did not take the bait, but also started a new game.

The situation suddenly reversed. If Parthia did not follow, it would lose an important city, which would be a huge loss.

If we follow, all the previous defensive strategies will be wasted.

When Vologases received the news, he was so angry that his throat felt salty and sweet, and he almost coughed up blood.

He took great pains to make arrangements and shrink the defense line, but was outmaneuvered by Cao Cao.

In military operations, this is called pointing east and attacking west.

If the enemy deploys defenses in layers, we will find a weak point and start another round to see if they will follow us.

In later wars, the instructor would like you to fight yours. I will start another round and we will fight our own to see who can withstand it.

Boss Cao is an expert in military strategy and is very good at this kind of tactics.

His previous intention was obviously to attack Nisa. When others were drawing troops and resources to defend Nisa, he suddenly cheated, saying that he was just teasing him, and turned around to attack another place.

After the Parthians joined the battle, their hands and feet were numb from being beaten, and they had completely lost their accurate judgment of the battle situation.

At the same time, another meeting was being held in Rome in late October.

The news they received in recent days seemed to be true after multiple verifications.

The hall was surprisingly quiet.

The Romans are reading a new battle report.

Ps: I just realized after reading the comments last night that I made a mistake in the names of Kushan and Parthia at the beginning of Chapter 539. I was thinking about how to fight Parthia later, so I wrote Kushan as Parthia. Sorry, I have changed it. Thanks for the reminder~
Happy New Year to everyone! Good luck! Please give me a ticket~
(End of this chapter)