I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1075 The Lion Returns to Its Heart
Looking at the familiar faces before him, Bahram shuddered. These people... were all his scattered subordinates?

In particular, the leader recognized him immediately as his lieutenant, Kamran, the loyal subordinate who had fought alongside him and dealt a heavy blow to the Roman legions on the Armenian steppe.

"You...how could you..."

"General!" Kamran's voice choked with emotion, "Your subordinates are incompetent and utterly unable to defeat the enemy, leaving us no choice but to surrender. But fortunately, the Holy Lord is magnanimous, not only sparing our lives but also allowing us to continue following you!"

Kamran crawled two steps on his knees and held up a bronze token with a lifelike lion carved on it: "The Holy Lord said that as long as the general is willing to come out of seclusion, the commander of the Parthian Guard will be in your hands! The brothers all say that without the general's 'Lion's Token,' our camp is like a soulless place!"

"This..." Bahram was in tears, but he still turned around resolutely: "No! A loyal subject does not serve two masters. It's one thing for you to surrender, but I can never betray His Majesty again!"

"Betray His Majesty?"

Anmoti, who had been observing coldly from the sidelines, sneered: "General Bahram has probably forgotten that it was His Majesty's most trusted secretary who stole your beloved woman."

"What did you say?!"

Bahram glared and roared, "Don't think I don't know it was your conspiracy! If it weren't for the Han army..."

Bahram's roar was abruptly cut short as he saw a familiar figure slowly approaching in the moonlight.

“Zage?!”

Under the moonlight, the beautiful figure walked slowly, her steps composed, her brows showing no trace of humiliation or haggardness. She was even still wearing the same gauze dress she had worn when she left that night, as if the two had only been apart for a brief moment.

"Sazi? Is it really you?"

Bahram, dragging his shackles, took two steps, nearly tripping, when suddenly Shaki ran towards him and caught him.

"Master, it's me."

Saki's voice was as gentle as a night breeze, yet it struck Bahram like a thunderbolt. He trembled as he reached out to touch his wife's cheek, making sure it wasn't a hallucination: "They...didn't hurt you?"

Saki shook her head, tears welling in her eyes: "The Han army treated me like an honored guest, and the Holy Lord even more so—" She glanced at Su Yao, her cheeks slightly flushed, "and has never overstepped his bounds. On the contrary..."

"On the contrary?" Bahram pressed.

Saki bit her lip and whispered, "On the contrary, it was the court secretary's confidant, General Aspav, who secretly switched me out that night, intending to take advantage of me."

Upon hearing this, Bahram was struck dumb, staggering back two steps: "Aspav?! That beast!"

Saki quickly supported her husband, saying, "My lord, don't panic. That scoundrel has already been killed on the spot by the Holy Lord's personal guards. If the Holy Lord hadn't secretly sent people to protect us, I'm afraid..."

As she spoke, she took out a bloodstained family crest from her sleeve—the very same Shapur family heirloom that Asparf always wore close to his body.

All of this happened on the night the Han army captured Mulu.

There were too many things happening at the time, and things were developing too fast. Bahram had no time to think things through before he was defeated and captured.

He had always assumed that with Saki's beauty, she must have already been taken by a Han general and was indulging in nightly revelry. But he never imagined that the one who truly desired his wife was a trusted confidant of the Parthian king to whom he served!
"That's not all."

Princess Amina stepped forward gracefully and handed Bahram two letters.

That was what they had seized from the Parthian king's camp, and it contained all sorts of shameless attacks on him by the court secretary Shapur and the treasurer Denam.

They not only shifted the blame for the disastrous defeat of the central army and the perilous situation in Merv onto themselves, claiming it was due to his cowardice and fleeing at the first sign of trouble, but also jointly petitioned His Majesty to severely punish him as a warning to others. Furthermore, Shapur's letter was not merely an implication, but a blatant suggestion to use this defeat to dismiss Bahram and hold the vizier accountable, thereby reducing the influence of their Suren family.

Beneath that letter, the Parthian king's handwritten approval in red ink stood out starkly.

"This...this is impossible!" Bahram's hands trembled, almost unable to hold the parchment pages. "How could His Majesty..."

"General, don't you understand?" Amina sighed softly. "The King of Parthia has long been wary of the power of your Suren family. In this eastern expedition, regardless of victory or defeat, you will not escape your fate."

Bahram was struck dumb, staggered back a few steps, and already knew the answer in his heart.

He recalled the meaningful glances the Parthian king had given him after each time he performed meritorious service, and how Shapur had always subtly sown discord. It turned out that all of this had been premeditated!
"General, do you understand now?"

Amina stepped forward at the opportune moment, her clear voice filled with pity and indignation: "Vologassis V is by no means a monarch worthy of entrusting one's life to, but a suspicious and incompetent tyrant who treats his meritorious subjects as worthless weeds!"

"On the other hand, although the Holy Lord swept across the world with force, he never killed innocent people indiscriminately, nor did he suspect meritorious officials. He treated those who surrendered with sincerity and kindness."

"Now that the Holy Lord is willing to entrust you with the position of Commander of the Parthian Guard, how can that kind of magnanimity be compared to that of a foolish ruler?"

"Is such a powerful, benevolent, and wise ruler not worthy of your loyalty, General Bahram?"

This woman has a really good mouth.

Su Yao didn't know what Bahram was thinking, but he felt incredibly comfortable after being flattered, almost to the point of feeling elated. No wonder she was a woman who could thrive even in her enemy's harem; she was truly capable.

"Cough cough."

Su Yao coughed twice and said magnanimously, "General Bahram, this is a serious matter. You don't need to make a decision immediately. I'll give you three days to consider it."

"No need."

Bahram abruptly looked up, clenching the blood-stained emblem tightly in his palm:
“I, Bahram, have fought half my life and have only ever recognized those worthy of my loyalty.” His voice was hoarse like sand, yet it carried a sharp edge that severed the past. “Since Vologasis V has betrayed me, why should I continue to be blindly loyal?”

Having said that, he suddenly turned around, dragging his shackles, and knelt down with a clang before Su Yao, his forehead slamming heavily against the cold stone slab.

"This humble general, Bahram, is willing to lead his people to submit to the Holy Lord! From this day forward, we will brave mountains of knives and seas of fire without fear!"

The sound of bowing was exceptionally clear in the moonlight.

Su Yao raised the corners of his mouth slightly, a smile flashing in his eyes. He personally stepped forward to help him up, and with a wave of his hand, easily shattered the shackles on Bahram's body.

"Very well! From this day forward, the Parthian Guard will be under your command, General. I assure you that as long as you serve loyally, I will protect your family and your men."

"This humble general will certainly not fail the Holy Lord's trust!" Bahram kowtowed heavily.

Soon, Bahram was reunited with his daughter. After the father and daughter embraced each other with tears in their eyes, he personally went to the prison, freed his close followers, led them to regain their freedom, and drank with his old comrades until dawn.

With his surrender, another group of stubborn Parthian nobles gave up their resistance, and the conservative forces in Mulu City were completely disintegrated.

Meanwhile, the Suren family, a great family descended from the ancient Persian Empire, which produced many talented individuals and even executed Crassus (one of the three giants of ancient Rome), also officially began to split.

(End of this chapter)