God Three Group Chat: Three Kingdoms

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When things really come to that point, perhaps many people will be able to perceive the Han Empire's thoughts and calculations, but if things really come to that point, Sima Yi estimates that the vast majority of people will no longer care.

Even the few wise individuals who care can easily handle and resolve the situation after conducting a genuine horizontal comparison.

If we only look at actions and not thoughts, then the Han Empire did not do anything wrong, fulfilled its obligations and responsibilities, and was not a party that breached the alliance.

Not only did they do their utmost to help during the war, but even after the war ended, they continued to help the people of Parthia so that they could quickly escape the terrible environment and living conditions after the empire was broken and continue to live like human beings.

If there is no loss in terms of national righteousness, the local people will not only not resist, but will mostly be grateful. Even if there are a few wise people who can sense that something is wrong, they will be powerless to reverse the situation.

Even in terms of the legitimacy of survival and continuation, the Han Empire possessed an extremely high degree of legitimacy in its continuation.

Parthia's war against the Roman Empire ultimately ended in defeat, and it became a defeated nation.

Under normal circumstances, the original people of the Parthian Empire had only one choice: to submit to Rome, accept Roman rule and oppression, and live a life far worse than before.

With the entry of the Han Empire, the Parthian people would have another option: to choose one of Parthia's former allies.

Judging from the early measures of territorial expansion, land reclamation and construction were the main themes in the areas under the rule of the Han Empire.

With a view to the future, in the initial construction process, instead of exhausting resources, we will try to expand the pie and involve as many people as possible so that everyone can share in the benefits, thereby quickly winning people's hearts and minds and strengthening cultural identity, etc.

Under this mindset and operating method, compared to the Romans' inevitable exploitation of resources after their victory, living under the help and rule of the Han Empire seemed far better than living under the Romans.

During his time in Central Asia, Sima Yi not only studied the Roman Empire and Parthia, but also focused on planning how to rebuild Parthia after its defeat.

Intervention was carried out from multiple angles—political, cultural, economic, and military—using practical means and visible comparisons to change the mindset of the local people and strengthen their sense of identity with the Han Empire.

With this relatively slow assimilation strategy, it would only take 30 to 50 years to completely change the cultural orientation and cultural identity of this region.

The reason it is a somewhat uncertain time, or even a very wide time, is because it requires a very important comparative parameter, namely Parthia under Roman rule.

The more obvious the difference in comparison, the shorter the time required for this assimilation strategy can be.

Therefore, the Roman Empire's measures toward Parthia, and its subsequent governance policies, would greatly influence the Han Empire's reception and cultural assimilation of the Parthian people.

"We need to find a way to strengthen the Romans' arrangements in this regard..." Recalling what he could do, Sima Yi realized there wasn't much left to do. Since he had already done what he could and made the necessary arrangements, he could now focus on the other side, which was the point of comparison.

The worse Rome performs, the better the Han Empire performs, and the faster its progress will be.

To get Rome to go in this direction, we must think from Rome's perspective: what are the benefits and advantages of doing so?
The final decision will inevitably result in short-term gains from exploiting resources to the point of exhaustion, rather than long-term sustainable benefits.

To achieve this result, when considering short-term gains, one can choose to increase the amount of profit obtained by exploiting the resources to the point of exhaustion in the short term, or expand the demand for use that requires obtaining huge profits in the short term.

Similarly, one can also plan for long-term interests, reduce the effectiveness of long-term interests during the assessment and identification process, influence the other party's thinking and judgment, and also use physical or political means to affect the stability within the region, thereby significantly reducing the sustainable gains of long-term interests.

By addressing these two major aspects and from different angles, it is possible to guide or even mislead the Romans into making corresponding choices.

Since everything is based on choices that maximize benefits, there won't be any problems.

Even if they sense that something is wrong, they will inevitably make this choice.

This is because it is the choice that maximizes benefits and is the optimal solution under given circumstances.

Sima Yi, who planned from this perspective and with this mindset, was also well aware that such arrangements and plans had flaws. However, as long as the direction was correct, it was still a legitimate strategy, a strategy that pursued the maximization of benefits.

Rome was ultimately a country with an extremely large population, but the number of Roman citizens as a whole was not particularly large.

With the population of the Roman Empire now making up about 15% of the total population, forcibly absorbing the Parthian population and subjecting them to long-term, sustainable exploitation would mean that the percentage of the Roman citizen population would fall below 10%, and the majority of the population at that level would be extremely likely to die suddenly.

"The visible short-term benefits and national needs, the foreseeable long-term risks, and the national risks—one orthodox and one unorthodox—under this dual pressure, even the Roman Empire can only follow my plan." By arranging for personnel to make arrangements, Sima Yi made preparations in advance so that after Parthia's complete fall, he could launch a contingency plan, seize the established Parthia at any time, and plan the established direction for the subsequent development of Parthia.

The idea of ​​plotting to build two empires from the perspective of their own interests, with a very high probability of success, is exhilarating just to think about.

In this planning process, the Roman Empire did not suffer any losses; it maximized its own interests and benefits.

The people of Parthia didn't lose out either; after the nation's defeat, they were able to maintain a relatively good life, even better than those under the seven noble families. (The seven Parthian noble families were undoubtedly the worst in terms of exploiting their people.)
The Han Empire did not lose out either. It not only gained a vast territory, but also won over a population with low morale, which facilitated the subsequent spread of its culture.

If neither side incurs losses, and even profits, then the sole loser is self-evident. (End of Chapter)