God Three Group Chat: Three Kingdoms

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No matter how high the risk, it will not affect the construction and execution of the ideal.

While the Yuezhi military camp was in self-isolation to avoid subsequent political repercussions, Cao Cao made up his mind and ordered his army to set off. He took this opportunity to seize the key nodes on the road to the south, push his forward base there, and shorten the logistical supply distance between the army and reduce the difficulty of road transportation.

Although doing this was tantamount to tearing off the mask of civility between the two sides, maximizing their hatred and plunging them into a state of mutual attack, it was all worthwhile for Cao Cao at this time.

There are only a few places along the Khyber Pass that can be used as forward outposts, and the distance between each point is quite far, and the roads are quite rugged.

It can be said that only after capturing a place and using it as a forward base can there be a possibility of plotting for subsequent bases.

However, it is precisely because of the unique characteristics of each stronghold that once an army can occupy a stronghold, it is not too worried about it being taken back by the enemy.

Because whether it's offense or defense, everyone's strengths and weaknesses are very obvious.

That is, along this route, the difficulty of attacking any forward stronghold is the same.

Whether it was Cao Cao's forces or the Kushan Empire that chose to attack, they both had to bear the costs and difficulties that came with the offensive.

For Cao Cao at this point, this was a stroke of good fortune amidst misfortune.

As long as we can capture a forward fortress stronghold, we don't have to worry about the enemy taking it back. Then we can proceed slowly and gradually push the battle line southward, which is perfectly normal.

Just thinking about these things made Cao Cao, who was usually a very good-natured man, revert to the demeanor befitting a regional warlord. He eyed the south with predatory intent, mobilizing his troops and generals, striving to conquer it in one battle.

To ensure the success of this attack, Cao Cao not only recalled the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, but also mobilized veteran soldiers and well-trained elite troops from his forces.

Because they believed they could win in one decisive battle, they naturally had to invest considerable resources to minimize unexpected events and increase the likelihood of success.

The Han troops, which were located within the Parthian Empire, especially the troops that had retreated after the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry withdrew, could only retreat continuously in the face of the Roman Empire's aggressive offensive and tactics. They provided some support in the relatively peripheral areas close to the core, while also providing a certain deterrent capability to prevent the Roman Empire from becoming too unscrupulous.

The Roman Empire was indeed wary and concerned about the presence of the Han army, and even left behind a certain number of troops to guard against the Han Empire's army.

After a series of wars, the Roman Empire had come to understand the typical behavior of the Han Empire's army. Therefore, even if they thought the Han Empire's army was mentally unstable, they did not openly mock them based on the strength of the Han Empire.

The Roman Empire was quite pleased with the Han Empire's attitude of showing some concession.

Based on this satisfactory attitude, the Roman Empire increased its resources and scale of operations, further eliminating and searching for Parthian forces, and continuously encroaching on Parthian territory. This forced Parthian forces to gradually retreat eastward and deprived them of the ability to replenish their supplies locally. By continuously suppressing Parthian logistics, the Roman Empire significantly weakened its war potential, thus ending the war in a shorter period of time.

If things really come to this, even if the Parthian Empire still has people, it probably won't have enough land to feed them.

Without land, without labor, without war potential, how long can the empire sustain itself, even with its military strength?
Moreover, for a semi-nomadic people, the Parthian Empire had done quite well. Unfortunately, the Roman Empire was stronger and made fewer mistakes, relying on its absolute strength to forcefully forge the final victory.

Even though the outcome of the battle was not yet clear, Cao Cao's men had already calculated the final victor.

It is precisely because of this calculated result that, at this juncture, investment in the Parthian Empire has been reduced to avoid excessive sunk costs that could not be recovered at all, which would result in extremely heavy losses.

If the Roman Empire had defeated the Parthian Empire, all the resources the Parthian Empire had invested would naturally have fallen into Roman hands. To reclaim them would require either an extremely high price or some other kind of 'price'.

The victor takes everything from the vanquished, especially in wars between empires, which is generally the case.

Especially after actually estimating the distance between the Roman Empire and the Parthian Empire, Cao Cao and others believed that the possibility of the Roman Empire effectively controlling the Parthian Empire was relatively high.

On the one hand, this distance is within a controllable range; on the other hand, it is also to further strengthen the corresponding ethnic propaganda, to completely eradicate them, and to avoid the embarrassing phenomenon of them springing up again.

The empire is powerful in both its fighting force and its vitality. Given the opportunity, it will naturally carry out a thorough purge.

Having learned from the example of the Xiongnu, every Han citizen knows the extent to which it takes to deal with such an enemy.

If the Roman Empire were to carry out this level of purge and exploitation of the Parthian Empire's war potential, the consequences would be enormous.

Therefore, in order to avoid further losses, the arrangements in the Parthian Empire were terminated in advance, and the assets were gradually recovered to further reduce losses.

Even if doing so, to some extent, is tantamount to cooperating with the Roman Empire to weaken the Parthian Empire's war potential, as long as they are not caught with substantial evidence, it is not difficult for them to cover it up.

"Afterwards, write a letter to Vologus V, explaining our situation. Of course, we should be tactful in our words, and we should also make a clear determination regarding the rights and wrongs of both sides. We are an army with a legitimate cause, not one that is taking advantage of the chaos." Looking at the assembled army and supplies, Cao Cao turned to Xi Zhicai and explained his arrangements for the Parthian Empire, especially for the Parthian emperor.

"What about Sima Zhongda's side?" Xi Zhicai nodded calmly, then asked thoughtfully, "Sima Zhongda has invested heavily; if the final result is as we predict, he will likely suffer heavy losses as well..."

"Sima Zhongda?!" Cao Cao slowly uttered Sima Yi's name, sighed softly, and then said, "Let's hand over all the arrangements we can't take with us from Parthia to him, and also tell him to prepare to minimize our losses."

Even if we don't care about the monk's reputation, we should at least lend a hand out of respect for the Buddha. He did help us out before, so it wouldn't hurt to lend a hand again. (End of Chapter)