I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1050 Seeking Peace and Rest
In the latter half of December of the fourth year of the Kaiyuan era, Su Yao led his victorious army away from the Kushan stronghold, which had been renamed "Dingxi City," and marched in a grand procession toward Mulu City.

Upon hearing the news of the annihilation of Bahram's 50,000-strong army, the cities along the way surrendered without resistance, and many local nobles offered up provisions and wealth to curry favor with the Han army.

Su Yao didn't put much effort into these towns and villages. He sent a small number of people to take over and gradually promote the new integration policy, while he led the main force to continue their rapid advance.

Three days later, a scout rode up to report: "General, the city of Mulu is thirty miles ahead! The Parthian flag has been raised on the city walls!"

Su Yao reined in his horse and gazed into the distance, where the majestic outline of the city walls could be faintly seen on the horizon. This pearl on the Silk Road was now shrouded in the shadow of war.

"Order the entire army to set up camp on the spot," Su Yao commanded in a deep voice. "Tonight, we'll rest and recuperate; tomorrow, we'll attack the city!"

That night, the central command tent was brightly lit. Su Yao was discussing the strategy for attacking the city with his generals when suddenly a commotion arose outside the tent.

"Report—!" A guard rushed into the tent. "A Parthian messenger has been captured outside the camp. He claims he has important business to discuss with the General!"

Su Yao raised an eyebrow: "Bring him up."

A moment later, a middle-aged man dressed in a magnificent purple robe was escorted into the tent.

Although his hands were tied behind his back, he stood tall and straight with bright eyes. Su Yao recognized him as his old acquaintance, An Moti.

"It's you?"

Su Yao chuckled and gestured for the soldiers to untie themselves and take their seats: "It's been a while since we parted ways in Kushan. I didn't expect we'd meet again so soon."

Anmoti straightened his clothes, bowed and said, "Your Highness, it is a pleasure to meet you again."

"Let's skip the formalities."

Su Yao waved his hand: "The envoy from Anmoti is visiting so late at night, surely he's not here to reminisce?"

Anmoti took a deep breath and solemnly said, "I have come here on the orders of His Majesty Vologasis V to negotiate peace with Your Highness."

Upon hearing the translator's words, an uproar immediately erupted inside the tent.

Zhang Liao first snorted coldly: "Peace talks? Didn't you Parthians boast of a '100,000-strong army' when you launched your invasion? What, you want peace talks now that you've just suffered a defeat? There's no such thing as a free lunch."

Anmoti replied calmly, "General, you are wise. This conflict was a misunderstanding. His Majesty originally thought that the Kushan Empire was in turmoil and that it was a good opportunity to send troops to recover lost territory. He did not expect to clash with your army."

Su Yao looked at him with interest: "Oh? So what are your Emperor's plans now?"

Anmoti took out a roll of parchment from his bosom and presented it with both hands:
"Your Majesty wishes to form a brotherly alliance with the Han Dynasty and recognize the Kushan Empire as a vassal state of the Han. Furthermore, you are willing to cede all the territory east of Mulu City and pay reparations of ten thousand catties of gold, a thousand fine horses, and ten cartloads of precious jewels."

"what?!"

The soldiers were greatly surprised when they heard this.

Unexpectedly, the Parthians were quite sensible, offering incredibly generous terms.

"It seems that the complete annihilation of Bahram's army has indeed dealt a heavy blow to the Parthians," Zhang Liao remarked.

Upon hearing this condition, the Han soldiers were in high spirits and found Anmoti more agreeable, telling Su Yao that they would seriously consider it.

“Our army has been on a long and arduous expedition, having been abroad for nearly a year. If the Parthians are willing to submit and pay tribute, it would be a good thing.”

However, Su Yao merely sneered and casually tossed the parchment scroll onto the table:
"Envoy Anmoti, does your emperor think I, Su Yao, am a three-year-old child, so easily fooled?"

Anmoti's expression changed slightly: "What makes you say that, Your Highness?"

Su Yao stood up, his gaze sharp as lightning:

"The land east of Mulu, including Mulu itself, belongs to the Kushan Empire. When did it become part of your Parthian territory? Using other people's land to negotiate with me, your Majesty certainly has a clever scheme in mind!"

Anmoti hurriedly explained, "Your Highness misunderstands. Khwarezm and Khorasan were originally part of Parthia's territory, which was seized by the Kushans. Our country also contributed to Your Highness's campaign against the Kushans."

Anmoti immediately brought up the matter that Su Yao had asked him to demonstrate his sincerity, proposing that Su Yao himself had allowed them to take action in the west first, with the two countries joining forces to attack Parthia.

Now that the Han army has swallowed up Parthia in one fell swoop, Parthia was caught off guard and in a moment of anger, some misunderstandings and conflicts broke out between the two armies. They accepted the bitter consequences, but the Han army could not deny the territory they had conquered when the two sides were allied.

"I have heard that the Great Qin of the East values ​​integrity above all else. Your Highness is a hero of our time; surely you would not break your promise?"

Upon hearing this, Su Yao burst into laughter: "What a quick-witted envoy!"

He strode up to Anmoti, looking down at this Parthian high-ranking official:

“You’re right, I did tell you to make the first move in the west. But what did your emperor do? He sent out three armies simultaneously, one to Khwarezm, and another right up to my Kushan Empire. Is this some kind of alliance to attack the Kushans?”

"I heard that the Parthian king swore an oath at Merv under the pretext of avenging the Kushan king?" "If we're talking about breaking the alliance and going back on one's word, it was your Parthian king who did it first."

Anmoti's face turned deathly pale instantly, and he was covered in sweat. He hadn't expected the Han army's intelligence to be so accurate, even knowing their slogans during the oath-taking ceremony.

"Your Highness, you are wise; those were all..."

"okay."

Su Yao waved his hand: "There's no need to explain further. If you really want to negotiate peace, it's not impossible, but you have to agree to three conditions."

“Your Highness, please speak,” Anmoti said repeatedly.

"First, hand over Merv and have the entire Parthian army withdraw from Kushan territory."

"Secondly, I have heard that the King of Parthia has a strange beast called a griffin that can fly in the sky and go underground. I want to bring it back to Luoyang to present as tribute to the Emperor."

"Third, there can be no two suns in the sky and no two rulers among the people. The two countries have concluded a tributary treaty, and Parthia will also be under the protection of our Great Han."

Upon hearing these three conditions, Anmoti's face instantly turned ashen. He took a deep breath, his voice trembling slightly:
"Your Highness, aren't these conditions a bit too harsh, especially the third one... Does this tribute mean that our country must become a vassal state of the Han Dynasty?!"

"What's wrong? Didn't your Parthian king love to proclaim himself 'King of Kings' everywhere? Now that it's his turn, he's unhappy?"

The generals in the tent burst into laughter.

The Parthians' eagerness to seek peace indicates their current weakness. If they don't exert pressure now, when will they?
"But don't worry."

Su Yao said slowly, "Considering that Parthia is a great nation, if you are pragmatic, I can offer you a better deal—our Han Dynasty will not interfere in your internal affairs, as long as you open up trade, marriage alliances, and allow us to station troops and pass through your territory."

Anmoti remained silent for a long time after hearing this, as if he was thinking seriously. Then he bowed and said, "I understand Your Highness's meaning, but this matter is of great importance. I must report to the King and let His Majesty make the decision himself."

"can."

Su Yao nodded, glanced at the sky, and said, "It's getting late today, so I'll give you one more day—if you can't give me a satisfactory answer in two days, then I'll have to personally invite the King of Parthia to Luoyang as a guest."

“Luoyang?!” Anmoti’s face turned ashen.

He had heard of the capital of this Eastern dynasty, even though it was far away in Parthia.

So Anmoti bowed deeply and hurriedly returned.

After the envoy left, Zhang Liao couldn't help but ask, "General, do you think the Parthians will agree to these conditions?"

"of course not."

Su Yao blurted out, "If the King of Parthia had even a shred of imperial dignity, he would never have agreed to this condition before he had played all his trump cards."

"Then why do you still want it?"

"Give him this chance?"

Su Yao chuckled and looked at the busy soldiers outside the tent: "We always have to put on a show, right?"

"Whether it's for the Parthians or for our soldiers, I want everyone to see that it's not that I, Su Yao, am denying them a chance for peace, but that the Parthians themselves are ungrateful."

Zhang Liao clasped his hands in a fist salute: "The General is wise!"

That night, Su Yao announced his decision to the entire army.

To his surprise, most of the Parthian soldiers, despite being exhausted from their long journey, could not hide their desire to fight.

Many people even said that the general was too kind and shouldn't have been so kind to them.

Seeing that the army's morale was high, Su Yao felt much more at ease. He ordered his men to rest while also intensifying preparations for the decisive battle two days later.

After all, Su Yao had no idea how powerful the legendary griffin was.

But then something even more unexpected happened.
"what?"

"Parthians, have I agreed to your terms?"

"This Parthian king, doesn't he have any shame?"

Su Yao was shocked.

(End of this chapter)