I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1060 Liberation
"Ouch!"

"The Chanyu has misunderstood, General Tian, ​​please calm your anger!"

The beaten soldier begged for mercy repeatedly:
"We didn't do anything to this girl."

"Isn't it because I saw that his tricks were too difficult, and I was thinking of getting him to surrender quickly?"

Su Yao glanced coldly at the Hun soldiers, who hurriedly released their grip. Safia staggered and ran wildly into her father Bahram's arms, wailing loudly.

Bahram knelt on the ground, snapped the arrow off his right wrist, and barely held his daughter in his arms. With his left hand, he hurriedly picked up his weapon and stared intently at Su Yao.

"Despicable Han Chinese!"

"We've already given you the money and women as you promised, so why are you betraying us and attacking us?!"

Bahram roared angrily.

He never imagined that despite his immense sacrifice, offering up his beloved concubine and niece, he wouldn't even get a single night's time with them.

"You're saying I'm a traitor?"

Su Yao sneered:
General Bahram seems to have forgotten who swore an oath atop the walls of Merv, vowing to avenge the Kushan king? And who simultaneously sent envoys to negotiate peace while dispatching a large army to launch a surprise attack on our northern forces?

He dismounted and walked step by step toward Bahram, each step feeling like a blow to the man's heart: "The money and women you offered were nothing but bait to buy time. Otherwise, why don't you tell me where the Parthian king you promised to surrender is now?"

Su Yao's words were like a sharp knife, slicing through all his pretense. Bahram's face turned ashen, and he could no longer utter a single excuse. He could only tremble as he gripped the knife, as if it were a lifeline, his last vestige of dignity and courage.

Su Yao glanced at his trembling knife tip and snorted coldly, "What? Our lion is still not convinced and wants to continue fighting?"

The Lion of Armenia.

This is the title Bahram earned through countless battles; it is a symbol of his honor and proof of his fearlessness.

However, now, watching Su Yao approach step by step with the golden pestle in his hand, his heart wavered uncontrollably.

He had already witnessed Su Yao's unfathomable, superhuman abilities once on the battlefield. That immense power had shattered his proud army of 50,000 with a single blow.
Now, can he fight back?

"Father, stop hitting him." Safia choked back tears, grabbing her father's wrist, her hands stained with blood. "Let's surrender."

"Shut up!"

Bahram's eyes blazed with fury, his face burning: "How can we, the people of the Suren family, kneel before such barbarians from the East!"

He had already escaped once.

His previous crushing defeat had tarnished his family's honor, and he had been hearing a lot of gossip about him in Mulu City lately.

Especially since they were the ones who received money and women from the Han soldiers, many people cursed them behind their backs, saying that it was because he fled in the face of battle that the army suffered a crushing defeat and this was the result.

Bahram dared not imagine how his family would view him if he surrendered again, or how the Parthian king would deal with his family.

"I would rather die than surrender!"

Bahram roared and shoved his daughter aside, then staggered toward Su Yao, knife in his left hand: "For peace!"

Su Yao raised an eyebrow, then casually swung the golden pestle—

"clang!"

Bahram's scimitar snapped in two, and he was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the courtyard wall.

As he struggled to his feet, Su Yao's golden pestle was already pressed against his throat. "Commendable courage," Su Yao said calmly, "but unfortunately, it's being used in the wrong place."

"I've lost, just kill me!"

Bahram roared, "My daughter is innocent! Spare her, or I'll haunt you even in death!"

Upon hearing this, Su Yao suddenly laughed: "Bahram, do you think you're in a position to negotiate with me now?"

He retrieved the golden pestle, squatted down, and patted the other man's bloodied cheek: "However, your daughter's life shouldn't have been buried with you, you fickle wretch. But rest assured, my Han army isn't as barbaric as you Parthians. As long as she behaves herself, she will receive the respect she deserves."

"As for you," Su Yao stood up, his gaze sweeping over the mess on the floor, "keeping you alive is more useful than killing you."

Bahram looked up abruptly, his eyes filled with humiliation and incomprehension.

Su Yao ignored him and said to his personal guards, "Take Bahram away and keep a close watch on him. Give him only one meal a day of plain water and coarse rice. Don't let him die." He then looked at Safia.
"Send this young lady to Anmoti, to be with the two princesses. Give her a private room and assign a maid to take care of her. No one is allowed to approach her without my order."

“Father!” Safia cried out, trying to rush to him, but was stopped by her guards. Bahram looked at his daughter’s terrified, tearful eyes, let out a trapped beast’s sob, and finally slumped down.

With Bahram subdued, all the Parthian leaders in Merv were arrested, and the resistance in the city became insignificant and was quickly quelled.

By the time dawn broke, the Han army had completely taken control of this important Central Asian town. However, the Parthian flags flying over the city walls had not been taken down, and even the Han army camps outside the city walls were gone, as if everything from the previous night had been just a dream.

However, the people of Mulu knew that the city's rulers had quietly changed.

The soldiers patrolling the streets were replaced by Han soldiers in black armor and red robes, but their behavior was surprisingly restrained—not only did they not engage in the expected burning, killing, and looting, but they also posted notices to reassure the people, announcing tax reductions and the resumption of commerce.

"The Holy Lord has decreed!"

A Kushan soldier accompanying the army stood in the center of the square and read aloud in a proud tone:
"From this day forward, the city of Mulu returns to the embrace of the Kushan Empire, protected by our Holy Lord and the mighty Han army. All citizens, regardless of rank, may live in peace and prosperity, and taxes will be halved for three years! Anyone who reports any remnants of the Parthian rebellion will be rewarded with ten taels of silver! Anyone who wishes to marry a Han soldier will have their entire family exempt from taxes for ten years!"

The news spread like wildfire throughout the city. People hiding indoors peeked out, unable to believe their ears.

More and more people gathered in the square, whispering among themselves:
"Taxes halved for three years, and marriage alliances with the Han army can grant ten years of tax exemption? Is this for real? Or are you dreaming?"

An elderly man with gray hair and beard shakily squeezed out of the crowd: "Sir, is this true? Those were the Parthians who forcibly conscripted people before?"

"Don't worry, sir!" the Kushan soldier patted his chest. "His Holiness's word is law; he says the reduction is done! What the Parthians have stolen these past few days is being inventoried and recovered; it will all be returned to everyone in the next couple of days."

"Great, great!"

Some are happy, while others are anxious:
"Etc., etc!"

A middle-aged man squeezed in, stretching out his hands and shouting, "Yesterday the Parthians kidnapped my daughter, saying it was to pay tribute to the Han soldiers, and they've already sent her out of the city!"

"Don't rush, brother. Why don't you take a look over there first?"

The Kushan soldier pointed, and there on the main road to the east, a hundred or so Han soldiers were protecting a group of brightly dressed women as they slowly walked toward the center of the square.

The middle-aged man looked closely and saw that his daughter was right at the front of the line.

"daughter!"

"Daddy!!!"

Father and daughter embraced, weeping with joy.

Soon, touching reunions, just like those between him and his daughter, unfolded one after another in the square, and more and more people recognized their relatives. The women who had been forcibly taken away by the Parthians were now all safely back with their families.

Congratulations! Congratulations!
(End of this chapter)