Diqin Designer

Chapter 558 The Army Marches on Seleucus

Upon hearing the resounding "We are confident!", Cao Shen didn't say anything to dampen morale. They were about to set off on a campaign, and it would be foolish to undermine their own troops' morale.

Cao Shen waved his hand and commanded, "Let's go to war!"

Although the main fighting force numbered only a little over 10,000, the number of civilian laborers and auxiliary soldiers transporting provisions and various equipment was in the tens of thousands.

When a large army is mobilized, it is never just soldiers who are mobilized; laborers, craftsmen, and doctors must also be brought along. You can't just take soldiers to fight without bringing anything else.

Soldiers also need to eat, repair broken weapons, and receive medical treatment when they are sick or injured.

Led by Cao Shen, Guan Ying, and others, these tens of thousands of people marched toward Seleucus.

While Cao Can and his men set off with the more than 10,000 borrowed Parthian soldiers, everything in the border town adjacent to Parthia remained as usual, with no sense of crisis whatsoever.

Of course, it's understandable that the Seleucids didn't feel any crisis.

For them, two months had passed since Fitalos and his companions were killed by unidentified men.

There's been nothing happening for the past two months, so it's normal to let your guard down.

That force was small in number, and unless they could persuade the Parthians to send troops, it was unlikely that they would dare to come with their own small force.

The reason why Fitalos and the others were killed was because they did not know beforehand how powerful that mysterious force was. If they had been more careful, and that force dared to come again, they would have been killed without ever returning.

Do you really think of the Seleucids as sculptures made of sand? If you think like that, you'll end up with a mouthful of sand sooner or later.

With these thoughts in mind, the border town of Seleucidity returned to its usual state, and no one thought that the army would dare to return.

There were some concerns when Fitalos died and we were on high alert, but after two months, those concerns disappeared. It was clear that the army would not be coming back, so why be so tense?

Cao Can and his group originally thought they would be discovered quickly upon entering Seleucid territory.

After all, two months ago they killed hundreds of Seleucid cavalrymen in Seleucid territory, so the Seleucids would likely be on high alert and send out many scouts to patrol.

Unexpectedly, they traveled for a long time after entering Seleucid territory without being discovered, indicating that the Seleucids did not send out many scouts, and were most likely just sending out scouts to patrol as usual.

After a moment's thought, Cao Can and the others understood what was going on: probably after two months, the Seleucids' initial vigilance had subsided.

Indeed, after more than two months of silence, it's understandable that people let their guard down.

As they continued their investigation, Cao Shen and his companions were eventually discovered by Seleucid scouts.

The Seleucids neither increased the number of scouts they sent out, nor did they stop sending out scouts altogether.

The Seleucid scouts were greatly alarmed to discover a large army entering their territory, and this army seemed to be the same mysterious force that had appeared more than two months ago.

They carried the same flags as those of the time; one flag had a pattern of the character "Qin," which could be some kind of writing or just a picture; the other flag looked like a bird and a strange snake...

Whether it's totems or writing, they don't recognize them.

However, judging from these flags, the large army that arrived today is related to the mysterious force that came more than two months ago.

No, after a closer look, the Seleucid scouts quickly noticed something strange about the army: the soldiers in the army were clearly Parthians.

Have the Parthians launched an attack?

Did the Parthians send troops on their own initiative, or were they persuaded to do so by that mysterious force?
Regardless of the truth, the fact before them is that the Parthians have launched an attack.

A few scouts were left to keep an eye on the army, while the others turned their horses around and hurried back to report.

Inside the border fortress of Seleucus, the middle-aged city lord was feasting. The atmosphere at this border was both tense and relaxed.

The tension lies in the fact that this place is located on the border, and war could break out at any time; the ease lies in the fact that war usually does not occur.

As long as there is no war, there is not much to do here on weekdays. It is not as prosperous as the capital city, where there are many entertainment options. He can only find some fun to pass the time, and the most common way is to invite people to a banquet.

Actually, decades ago, this place wasn't a border post. It was that bastard Arsak who turned it into one.

That bastard Alsak, why did he have to rebel when he could have just lived a peaceful life as a lowly native?

As it turned out, that bastard rebelled, turning this place into a border post.

Just as the middle-aged man raised his glass to invite others to drink together, a guard rushed in from outside.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man put down his cup, and the others also put down their cups and looked at the guard.

If they come in at this time, something big must have happened, and the banquet certainly cannot continue.

Sure enough, the guard said to the middle-aged man, "Lord, there is an urgent military report. The person is outside!"

Upon hearing "urgent military intelligence," the middle-aged man and everyone else in the hall became serious. Urgent military intelligence was a matter of utmost importance!
The middle-aged man said, "Quickly, let them in!"

Three Seleucid scouts entered the hall and were about to bow to the middle-aged man when he stopped them, saying, "No need!"

He asked directly, "Are those people of unknown origin here again?"

A scout reported, "Lord, from what we've seen, those people have returned, but it's not just them; there are also Parthians, numbering in the tens of thousands!"

The Parthians mobilized tens of thousands of soldiers to attack them. Upon hearing this news, the middle-aged man and everyone in the hall were shocked, as this was no small number.

But the middle-aged man quickly calmed down and asked again, "Where have they gotten to? When will they arrive?"

The scout said, "We spotted them two hours ago."

The West already had a 24-hour system at that time, invented by the ancient Egyptians and perfected by the ancient Greeks.

Upon hearing the scout's reply, the middle-aged man's face turned angry. It was only about half a distance from the border to his border post, yet these scouts had only discovered the enemy two hours ago. How long had the enemy been away from here?

The middle-aged man angrily rebuked, "You only discovered the enemy when they were already deep inside our territory? What were you all doing? Next time, are you going to wait until the enemy is at the city gates before you find out?"

But the middle-aged man realized that he had let his guard down and hadn't sent out more scouts, so his angry shouts gradually subsided.

The middle-aged man then asked, "How many cavalry and how many infantry do they have?"

The scout reported, "There are about two or three thousand cavalry, and around ten thousand cavalry." The middle-aged man nodded. This was a very typical Macedonian phalanx of infantry and cavalry; the enemy was clearly coming to deploy their Macedonian phalanx.

Knowing that those people of unknown origin had returned, this time with Parthians, the banquet could not continue.

The middle-aged man ordered the banquet to be canceled. He had hosted the banquet today, and many important officials and generals from the border were present. Only a few were absent, and there was no need to make a special effort to summon them.

The middle-aged man looked at the official closest to him and said, "Aiger, didn't you say last time that those people wouldn't dare to come back? What's going on now? Not only have they come back, but they've brought Parthians with them!"

This guy analyzed it for him: that group of people was small, and although they were audacious enough to kill Fitalos and the others, they were still afraid of Seleucus, which is why they fled to Parthia and would definitely not dare to come back.

Hearing the middle-aged man's question, Eger had no choice but to stand up. He had actually thought about this situation before, but he thought it was impossible at the time, so he didn't mention it.

Who exactly were those people that they could command the Parthians to send troops?

Aigel did not defend himself, but said, "This was indeed my dereliction of duty, please punish me, Lord!"

Seeing that he readily admitted his mistake, the middle-aged man said, "He certainly needs to be punished, but not now. The enemy is about to arrive; we must find a way to meet them. What are your thoughts?"

Upon hearing this, Aiger understood that the middle-aged man was giving him a chance to redeem himself. After all, he was the city lord's trusted advisor and strategist, and could not be punished arbitrarily.
Moreover, the city lord at the time probably thought the same as him, and didn't take that mysterious force too seriously.

A military map was hanging in the hall. Aiger walked up to the map and asked the three scouts who had returned to report, "Where did you spot the enemy?"

The three scouts walked up to the map, studied it carefully for a while, and then one of them pointed to a location on the map, exclaiming, "Here it is!"

Looking at the location the scout pointed to, many people in the hall silently calculated in their minds, and then their expressions became solemn.

They were calculating the enemy's marching speed and then determining when the enemy would arrive, and according to their estimates, the situation was not optimistic.

Aeger then asked, "How many of the enemy soldiers are of unknown origin, and how many are Parthians?"

The three scouts thought it over carefully, and one of them replied, "There were only a few hundred people of unknown origin; the rest were Parthians."

The other two scouts did not object, clearly indicating that they also agreed with the number.

Hearing this answer, Eiger breathed a sigh of relief, and the middle-aged city lord and the others also understood why Eiger had asked this question.

They had fought the Parthians many times, but the Parthians' fighting strength... was just so-so.

With roughly equal numbers of troops on both sides, they often have the upper hand.

But that force of unknown origin was different; despite possibly having fewer troops than Fitalos, they annihilated Fitalos and his men.

Defeating them is easy, but annihilating them is difficult, especially since Fitalos was leading a cavalry force.

This proves that the fighting strength of that force far surpasses theirs. If more of those people had come, this battle would have been difficult...

There were only a few hundred people. On a battlefield where tens of thousands of people were fighting, such a small number would not even make a splash.

But this made Aiger even more curious about the origins of those people. They only mobilized a few hundred people, while the Parthians mobilized tens of thousands.

This is clearly the Parthians helping those people send troops, but why would the Parthians help those people?

What do those people have that makes the people of Restless so willing to send tens of thousands of troops to help them?

Furthermore, why did the Parthians only send out tens of thousands of troops? Did they think they could defeat them with tens of thousands of troops?
They have tens of thousands of Seleucid soldiers stationed at this border. The Parthians sent tens of thousands of soldiers. Aren't they afraid that these tens of thousands of soldiers will be annihilated?

Even if the Parthians came with elite troops, the troops stationed at the border were also elite.

The Parthians knew how many soldiers they had on the border, so they couldn't have made such a mistake; there must be a reason they didn't know.

After thinking for a moment, Aiger spoke his mind: "Lord, the Parthians know how many soldiers we have, yet they have only sent tens of thousands. There must be a reason for this, and we must be on guard."

"I believe that we should not engage the enemy rashly before we have ascertained the cause; defense should be our priority. I propose that we defend the city from within, rather than venturing out to fight the enemy!"

After hearing this, everyone felt that this was indeed a very important point of doubt and that it should be dealt with with caution.

On the battlefield, most of the time it's a competition of who makes fewer mistakes.

This is why many famous generals prioritize avoiding defeat over achieving a great victory over their enemies.

First, establish an invincible position. Although this may not guarantee a great victory over the enemy, it will also prevent significant losses. Moreover, once the enemy makes a mistake, seize the opportunity to turn invincibility into victory.

The middle-aged man pondered for a moment and felt that things were indeed as Aiger had said. He looked at everyone in the hall and asked, "Does anyone else have any opinions?"

The Parthians' military campaign was highly unusual, especially since they were with people of unknown origin, making it seem as if those people were instigating the Parthians.

What if there are traps involved? Should we not fall into them by proposing to take the initiative to send troops to fight the enemy now?
The others decided to wait and see, and once they were sure there were no traps, the tens of thousands of enemy soldiers would be their victory.

Seeing that no one else objected and echoed Aeger's words, the middle-aged man said, "Then let's do as Aeger says. Order all troops to prepare for defense and not to leave the city to fight the enemy. In addition, order the city officials to manage the people in the city well. During this battle, I do not want anyone to cause trouble in the city!"

The city had ample food and military supplies, so he was not worried even if the enemy besieged the city.

Meanwhile, the mission also sent out scouts to investigate the enemy's situation. They discovered that the Seleucids had not sent a large army out of the city, but instead were strengthening the city's defenses. They quickly returned to report to Cao Can and others.

Upon receiving the news, Cao Can was not particularly surprised, as this was a situation he had anticipated before sending out his troops: the Seleucids would not engage in battle outside the city, but instead would remain inside to defend it!
Predicting the enemy's psychology and anticipating their next move is also something a qualified general should do.

Their deployment of troops was indeed strange to the Seleucids. If they had sent an army of 30,000 to 40,000, the Seleucids might have taken the initiative to come out of the city to fight. But they only had tens of thousands of soldiers.

Unless a Seleucid was stupid, he would definitely suspect something was amiss.

Cao Can said to Guan Ying, Ardaban and the others beside him, "These Seleucids are not stupid. We sent too few troops, which aroused their suspicion."

Ardaban shook his head and laughed, "So what if the Seleucids aren't stupid? Their actions were already anticipated by the generals."

Before setting out, these Qin generals had conducted pre-battle analysis and prepared contingency plans based on various scenarios.

Even though the situation on the battlefield may change rapidly and not develop according to the plan, having a plan is always better than having no plan.

The Seleucids' current reaction is exactly what the Qin people anticipated in their deductions.

(End of this chapter)