God Three Group Chat: Three Kingdoms

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Parthia knew that the Han army was using low-cost deterrence to reduce the actual number of troops the Roman Empire would commit to the Parthian army.

Similarly, the Romans knew that the methods employed by the Han Empire were essentially a form of deterrence.

However, since the Han Empire had the strength and the ability to participate, the Roman Empire could not simply ignore it.

Even if one is 90% certain that the Han Empire will not engage in the next war, one must still contain and prepare for any possibility that may exist.

The larger the scale of defense and containment, the lower the probability of the Han Empire's army being defeated. Conversely, if no corresponding troops are deployed for defense, the higher the probability of the Han Empire being defeated.

It can be said that in the war between Rome and Parthia, it was not only the Romans who used overt strategies, but the Han Empire did the same.

In wars between empires, there are many ingenious schemes that yield substantial benefits.

However, it is not because there are enough plans in this area that the benefits obtained are large enough.

In reality, for an empire, a stable and reliable strategy is the only way to defeat another empire.

The most dangerous kind of plan is one that leaves no choice but to follow a predetermined path.

However, such plans are generally based on a significant disparity in strength, where the planr can rely on superior strength to ensure its success.

Between Rome and Parthia, the Romans, determined to wage a full-scale war, naturally possessed the strength to do so.

Therefore, Rome's requirements for its own staff were clear from the beginning.

That is to discover and weaken the ingenious schemes and tricks devised by Parthia and others as much as possible, or simply ignore these schemes and tricks, and then make the most of the strength and combat power of the Roman army.

Rome could not possibly lose as long as it engaged in large-scale, head-on battles.

Even in the rare event of an accident, the Romans, under a total war system, had a high enough tolerance for error to make amends.

If one war cannot determine the outcome, then start the next one.

The sheer size of the Roman army was enough to withstand defeat after defeat.

The Parthian army, with its smaller numbers and lower quality, was already unlikely to win in such a clash of armies.

Even if they were to win by sheer luck, the casualty ratio they achieved was often a ratio of killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of their own.

Often, the elite troops accumulated from victories in war are simply insufficient to meet the demands of war.

In particular, the Romans made thorough arrangements for their own army to ensure that when their army entered a state of war, there was sufficient and rapid information transmission and support from friendly forces.

With information spreading rapidly and armies able to quickly support each other, it is extremely difficult for Parthia to achieve a victory nowadays.

Sima Yi, stationed in Central Asia, understood even better the extent to which Parthia needed to achieve victory in a war. Against the Roman army, Parthia could not deploy more than half its strength; if they did, Rome would notify neighboring armies to provide support before the battle even began, directly negating any perceived numerical advantage.

This troop size would decrease further, especially when facing certain cautious Roman officers.

The most stable situation is precisely when the troop sizes of both sides are roughly equal. In this case, Roman officers will not immediately contact allied forces for reinforcements, which gives the Parthians an opportunity and a chance to wage war.

In this situation, Parthia only needed to maintain a steady pace of operations, and then, before the Romans could react, dismantle their command structure and disrupt their large army formation within a very short period of time. If they could then retreat in an orderly manner before Roman reinforcements arrived, they would be able to win the war.

Having spent so much time in Central Asia, Sima Yi had practically never seen anything like it, which required fulfilling these conditions and truly achieving a victory in war.

If this situation occurred even once, the corresponding Parthian commander would be blacklisted by the Romans.

The next time he leads his army into battle, the quality and quantity of the Roman army he faces will be completely different.

Parthia's own combat strength and military power were insufficient to significantly increase the size and combat effectiveness of its army in a short period of time.

Subsequently, in this rapidly escalating battlefield, even the most talented Parthian commanders would eventually perish and be buried on this battlefield.

It can be said that if Parthia wants to achieve continuous victories in war in this way, then the only way is for Parthia to continuously produce geniuses, each of whom is qualified to reach the pinnacle of humanity.

If such frequency and strength are not available, then the emergence of a genius who surpasses the peak of humanity can also solve this problem.

Even if we can't reverse the situation, we should be able to maintain the current battlefield situation and conditions.

At this time, on the Central Asian battlefield, especially in the Tigris River basin, the difference in strength between the two armies was so great that, in Sima Yi's view, even a master strategist of god-like ability could at most ignore the disparity in raw strength between the two sides.

When the gap in hard power is this large, even a military genius would find it extremely difficult to achieve victory.

“However, if the Parthian Empire were to produce a military genius, we would probably be the ones most worried…” Sima Yi sighed as he thought of this possibility while sitting in his tent.

Vologis V was indeed an excellent monarch and a very capable emperor.

However, Vorogis V was ultimately a Parthian emperor, representing the interests of the Parthians, not the interests of the Han Empire, and could not replace their interests.

Having already coveted this land, Sima Yi naturally could not allow the Parthians to produce a military genius.

In Sima Yi's view, maintaining the status quo was already the best possible outcome.

On the surface, they did help Parthia, and in fact, they did provide assistance, fulfilling their obligations under the covenant. Parthia's inability to pay the corresponding benefits under the covenant can be considered a breach of contract.

By maintaining a deterrent presence, it can certainly win over public sentiment.

In this way, when Parthia was completely destroyed, the Han Empire's entry and assistance would be more legitimate than Rome's, and its resistance would be less. (End of Chapter)