The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 342

Ardashir rushed out of the valley under the escort of the guards. The endless desert was illuminated by the bright moon into a silver sea. The sandy dunes were like frozen waves, and the Sasanian cavalry was like a flood that broke a bank. Scattered for thousands of miles, wantonly spread across the ocean.

Ardashir rode his horse and galloped all the way, not even having the courage to look back. He knew that even looking back would be useless, and would only make him angrier.More and more cavalry followed him and rushed into the desert, gradually leaving the sound of brutal fighting behind.

Lu Xun looked at the Sassanians who disappeared in the desert, a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth, and then he ordered the remaining 1 Sasanians to be surrounded.Ardashir broke through the siege, and the Sassanians hoped that he could come back to save them, but it seemed that Ardashir was gone forever, and the pursuers behind and the ambush soldiers on the cliff refused to let him go. They had a chance to breathe, and these Sasanian troops who were originally mercenaries put down their weapons and surrendered soon after they supported them.

Dawn came quietly amidst the cries of killing that gradually subsided. When the first ray of sunlight shone into the valley, the valley was filled with the smell of blood and burnt flesh. The captured Sasanians lined up dejectedly. The long line, guarded by the Vietnamese army and the Bedouins, dragged their heavy legs into the designated area. After fighting in the middle of the night, their muscles and bowels are now wet, and they just want to have a mouthful of food and a mouthful of water Drink, nothing else is considered.

The Bedouins and Roman mercenaries were overjoyed to see the spoils of the valley. These weapons, armor and horses were what they longed for, but they did not fight this battle alone. It was their turn to wait until Yueren picked them.

Although Xia Hourong was also very tired, he was in a very good state of mind. He stood side by side with Lu Xun, chatting casually, waiting for the statistical results.They are all people of status, even though they are very excited in their hearts, but there is not much difference on their faces.

"At least tens of thousands of enemies were injured in this battle, and thousands of prisoners were captured. The general's record is really enviable." Xia Hourong looked at Lu Xun with more sympathy, comparing the speed of infantry and cavalry, even if Lu Xun advanced After walking for nearly three days, even if the Sassanians were delayed by him, it is admirable to dare to use troops like this.More importantly, Lu Xun went to the desert first and then rushed back in the middle of the night. This style of play had never been heard before, but it was this kind of tactic that fooled an experienced veteran like Aldashir.

Lu Xun became famous in the first battle.After this battle, no one dared to say that Lu Xun became a general because of nepotism.

"General Xiahou's daring to go deep is the key to the success of this battle. If you hadn't been chasing after us, the Sasanians would not have panicked and retreated in panic, and the losses would not have been so great. Ardashir is a very It is not easy for a man of prestige to make him lose ground." Lu Xun turned his head to look at Xia Hourong, and said with a smile, "Aren't you worried that this is Ardashir's trick to lure the enemy?"

"Worried." Xia Hourong smiled, "If I don't get accurate information, I wouldn't dare to rush in at night."

"Really?" Lu Xun raised his eyebrows and said in surprise, "It seems that you have very good scouts under your command."

"Yes, but it's not mine, but the Teutonic." Xia Hourong pointed to Stiliko, who was talking and laughing with several barbarian leaders in the distance, and said: "That barbarian has a centurion under his command. Not only brave and good at fighting, but also thoughtful, he led people into the valley and found General Lu setting up an ambush here."

As soon as he heard that it was a barbarian, Lu Xun immediately lost interest. He glanced at the excited barbarians gathered in the distance, with a natural arrogance in his eyes, and said casually: "Really? General Xiahou has such a barbarian to help him. It’s hard not to make meritorious deeds. General Xiahou, Ardashir fled into the desert, do you have any plans?”

Xia Hourong smiled, and asked back, "Does General Lu have any plans?"

Lu Xun shook his head: "I only have 2 people here. In order to speed up, I didn't bring heavy crossbows, and the arrows are almost used up. Wouldn't it be boring to catch up? Let him go. Wait until he returns to Taixifeng Take a breath, the army of the Romans and the Guishan people will attack the city, and it will not be too late to take his head at that time."

"The general is right." Xia Hourong breathed a sigh of relief: "I originally planned to fight him at all costs, but now that General Lu has beaten him to death, there is no need for me to force myself to do so. Just prepare to take the Bedouin in the desert to harass him non-stop, so that he can't sleep well. As for the results of the battle, I won't force it."

"That's good. The Bedouins are very familiar with the desert. With them trailing behind, Ardashir will definitely not be able to sleep at night."

"Hahaha..." Xia Hourong laughed heartily, pointed to those barbarians and said, "When I took them out and chased them out, I promised to make them rich, but I didn't get any advantage along the way, and now I'm fighting with General Lu." I won a small victory, I wonder if General Lu can..."

Lu Xun glanced at Xia Hourong with a half-smile: "Don't worry, I won't treat you badly."

Xia Hourong cupped his hands: "Then I would like to thank General Lu. After dividing the spoils, I will start to chase."

Lu Xun nodded and said nothing.Xia Hourong's timely attack this time helped him a lot, and it was only natural to share some spoils with them.What Lu Xun wants is to severely injure Ardashir and complete Sun Shao's overall arrangement. Now that this task has been completed, Sun Shao's reward will definitely not be less. Zitie, the excellent weapons are the best among all armies. Except for the horses, he really doesn't like the Sasanian equipment.

Half a day later, the statistical results came out. About 8000 Sasanians died in battle, nearly half of them were killed by arrows and stones, and more than 2000 were killed by the pursuers led by Xia Hourong. All of them were trampled to death by their own people.There are more than [-] captives, most of them are barbarian mercenaries. Their only request is that they cannot be distributed to those barbarians, because the barbarians either behead their captives or make them slaves. Even if they want to be slaves, they are willing to do more. As a slave of the people of the country, everyone knows that the people of the country of Yue are the richest, even if they go to the country of Yue as slaves, they can live a good life.

The Vietnamese army made the first contribution. Although the barbarians regretted that they could not get slaves, Lu Xun handed over all the captured weapons and armor to them, which can be regarded as compensation for their losses. The barbarians were naturally happy.

After resting for a day, Xia Hourong rushed into the desert with the Bedouins and followed the footprints left by the Sassanids. Lu Xun rested in place for another two days before taking the Vietnamese army and thousands of soldiers. Roman mercenaries rushed to the city of Gudes.Along the way, those who were left behind kept returning to the team. They originally complained to Lu Xun, but after hearing what the soldiers who participated in the battle said happily about the battle that night, they regretted it. They regretted that they could not keep up. Great opportunity for meritorious service.

Two days later, Sun Shao caught up with the army with the Zefeng camp and three thousand Axum slave troops. As soon as he saw the full load of trophies and the smiles on the faces of the soldiers, he knew that he had won the battle, although he did not know the victory No matter how big it was, it was won after all.

Lu Xun led Cui Qian and other generals out of the camp to greet them. As soon as they met and saluted, Cui Qian said first, "Your Majesty, you are late and did not see the ambush commanded by General Lu. , It’s amazing.”

Cui Qian shook his head while talking, which made Sun Shao couldn't help laughing.

"Jianzhong, did you enjoy this battle?"

"Exciting." Cui Qian said with some exaggeration: "It's even more enjoyable than the battle to kill Maximus."

Sun Shao couldn't help laughing, pointed at Cui Qian and said, "You big pirate, don't pretend to be cute in front of me. If something goes wrong, you are a monster. When did you, Cui Qian, ever be so cute? When I saw you like this, I knew you must be a criminal." If something is wrong, sell it to me first."

"No." Seeing Sun Shao joking with him, Cui Qian let go of most of the burden in his heart. He praised Lu Xun and mentioned his military exploits. He knew that Lu Xun could not be messed with now. He had offended him before, and he was afraid Lu Xun said something in front of Sun Shao, so he deliberately showed that his relationship with the king was extraordinary in front of everyone.It's just that it's a little embarrassing to be pointed out by Sun Shao in person.

Lu Xun welcomed Sun Shao into the camp, told the story lightly, and put the main credit on the heads of the generals, especially Xia Hourong's credit, even those Roman mercenaries praised him, Sun Shao was very happy Happy and warm greetings to those barbarian leaders.The barbarian leaders came forward to salute one by one, and everyone rushed to say flattery words, and praised Sun Shao to the sky.Sun Shao just responded with a smile, asking about their situation from time to time.

Stilicho finally stood in front of Sun Shao, with a very strange expression on his face. He stretched out a finger to point at Sun Shao, but found that this was a bit rude, so he quickly retracted his hand, but stuttered and couldn't speak. Come on, your face is flushed.

Cui Qian was furious, and stood up with a sullen face, about to get angry, but was stopped by Sun Shao.

"Don't worry, take your time." Sun Shao comforted me gently.Stiliko nodded gratefully, calmed down his mood, stroked his chest and gave a deep salute, and then asked in blunt Chinese: "My lord, have I... have we met before?"

Sun Shao was taken aback, and thought for a while: "Have you ever been to Axum?"

Stilicho shook his head quickly. Sun Shao was very curious. He had never set foot on the Roman border. This time he set off from Axum and rushed to Gudes via the Red Sea. He also went to the Bedouin territory. How did Rico meet him?Could it be that this barbarian wants to get close?He smiled: "Then we must be friends who have been friends for a long time."

After hearing the interpreter, the barbarian leaders couldn't help laughing, saying that Stilicho was cunning and came up with such an excuse in order to get close.But Stiliko stubbornly shook his head, pulled his beard and thought for a long time, then suddenly realized, and shouted: "By the way, you look a lot like my son-in-law."

In a hurry, he called Germanic, and Sun Shao didn't understand it, but some of the barbarians knew Germanic. When they heard this, some of them changed their faces in fright, and hurried up to hold him back. Stilicho, some gloated a little, waiting to see Stiliko dragged out by the Yue people to beat the board - he compared the Yue king to his junior, a little centurion, this is not asking for bad luck, what is it? ?
The interpreter hesitated for a moment, did not dare to translate, and looked at Sun Shao timidly. Sun Shao was puzzled and waved his hand: "It's okay, what did he say?"

"My lord, this barbarian can't choose what to say, saying... that you are like his daughter's husband."

Sun Shao didn't react for a while, but Cui Qian was furious. Huo Di stood up, pointed at Stiliko and shouted loudly: "Cuo'er barbarian, dare to be rude to my king."

Stilicho didn't care to look at other people's faces, and quickly explained: "Your Majesty, you...you really look like my son-in-law."

"Your son-in-law?" Sun Shao was angry and funny. Does this barbarian have a daughter who wants to marry me?Do you have to say that I look like his son-in-law?He looked at Lu Xun inexplicably, and Lu Xun said disapprovingly, "It's inevitable for a barbarian who doesn't understand etiquette to say the wrong thing. Your Majesty doesn't have to argue with him." In front of the pale Stiliko, he asked anxiously, "Is your son-in-law a black-haired warrior? The one who is very brave in battle?"

After listening to the interpreter's translation, Stilicho nodded repeatedly.Annoyance flashed in Lu Xun's eyes, he turned around and walked quickly to Sun Shao, leaning over and whispering something in his ear.Sun Shao was taken aback for a moment, showing surprise: "It can't be such a coincidence, can it?"

"Isn't it? Please take a look and you'll know?"

Sun Shao froze for a moment, shook his head, and smiled meaningfully: "No hurry." He raised his hand and called the interpreter, and asked him to tell Stiliko a few words. Although Stiliko didn't understand what he meant, he Seeing that Sun Shao spoke carefully, he didn't dare to be negligent, so he nodded quickly.

"Okay, it's really a great pleasure to meet you today. The army is simple, so I can only entertain you with thin wine. When I get to Gudes City, I will invite you to drink." Sun Shao said boldly and loudly. Said, ordered people to prepare a banquet, and invited various barbarian leaders and meritorious people to eat.

Looking at these yelling Germans, Gauls, and Goths, Sun Shao’s eyes were full of smiles, and there was a hint of emotion. Who would have thought that the descendants of these barbarians would later dominate the world, claiming to be The heirs of Roman civilization, are civilized people, everyone else is barbarians, even the real Romans are sidelined.In fact, it is more than just the Romans. Now the four great empires have all fallen. The Guishan people have disappeared in the long river of history. The Persians are killing each other. The land that once gave birth to the two rivers civilization is raging, and the Han Empire is collapsing. After that, the Wuhuluanhua, full of blood and tears, was ushered in immediately. In the next nearly 2000 years, it was ravaged by countless barbarians in turn, and even two barbarians unified the country. Now there are still enough arrogant Han people. Shamelessly worshiping the barbarian who ravaged him as a great hero.

Is this how history insults people?Sun Shao was in a daze for a moment.Lu Xun saw it, thinking that he still had to think about the black-haired warrior, and felt sorry for his momentary mistake.

After the banquet, Sun Shao returned to the back tent, and Lu Xun sat respectfully opposite him, holding a beautifully decorated long sword in front of Sun Shao with both hands.

Sun Shao took a look at it, turned around and handed it to Ao Lei, and then glanced at Lu Xun with a calm face: "Why didn't you take it out and use it?"

"There is no need for this." Lu Xun said lightly: "Your Majesty's sword is an important weapon of the country, how can it be shown lightly to others?"

"Hmph." Sun Shao sneered: "My generals, I still know that they are used to being domineering, and they don't know the heights of heaven and earth. Now is the time of war, and it is time to employ people. It's a little too much. But, Boyan, the war is coming to an end, if they continue like this, wouldn't they want to destroy the relationship between our monarch and minister?"

Lu Xun hesitated for a moment, and then he understood Sun Shao's intentions, with a look of shame on his face, he lowered his head and said, "I... I am stupid."

Most of Sun Shao's generals have fought with Sun Shao for many years. Many of them are very arrogant and feel that they are the heroes who do their part.During the war, the general will take the lead, and other ministers will endure even if they have some opinions, but now the situation has changed. The Sassanians are caught in the siege of the Three Kingdoms. Even if they survive, it is expected that their power will be greatly reduced.After the civil strife in Rome, it has also been seriously injured, and it is impossible to provoke a major war in a short time.The country of Yue, which seems to be the most beautiful, has actually exerted its strength. It is impossible to further expand the scale of the war in the short term. Instead, it should stop and digest the fruits of victory.The reason why Sun Shao made every effort to make Lu Xun the general was because he valued his ability on the one hand, and on the other hand, he hoped to help him up to counter the old generals headed by Cui Qian, so that they would not be too arrogant and develop to the point where they could not The point of tidying up pushed the relationship between Sun Shao and them to the point where they couldn't control themselves.

However, for his own personal plan now, he did not take such a tough attitude. Although Cui Qian and the others no longer despise him now, there is still some distance to the purpose of keeping Sun Shao.

In other words, he did not fully achieve Sun Shao's goal.

"No one is perfect, and you don't need to blame yourself too much. I am satisfied with being able to fight the war to this extent." Sun Shao waved his hand, signaling Lu Xun to be relieved, "Ardashir just entered the desert, can you return to Taixi? Feng is really a problem. Don't hesitate to call the Romans to prepare to attack Ctesiphon immediately after arriving at Gudes. This time, if you don't kill Ardashir, you have to shed a layer of skin."

"Your Majesty, besides the [-] Bedouins led by Xia Hourong, are there other intercepting troops?" Lu Xun asked tentatively.

"Of course." Sun Shao showed a smirk: "My habit is to either not take action, and to take action to kill him. Don't look at the Sassanians who are now losing one after another, but the real Sassanid elites have limited losses. , most of the casualties were mercenaries from the subordinate countries. If Ardasil returned to Taixifeng safely, he would only need two or three years to recover, but now, there are [-] elite cavalry from Guishuang people and Cao Zhang Waiting there, will his life not be so easy?"

"Wei cavalry has arrived?" Lu Xun was taken aback. His biggest headache this time was that he had no cavalry, so he could only use infantry to deal with the Sasanians. Unexpectedly, the Wei cavalry, who had been delayed for a long time, were sent to that front by Sun Shao In this way, the Sassanids would face the attack of [-] fine cavalry recharging their energy just after they walked out of the desert, and its lethality can be imagined.

"Of course we are here." Sun Shao curled his lips proudly: "Not only Cao Zhang has arrived, but also Cao Zhi, and at the same time there is Li Yan from the Kingdom of Shu. It is a pity that there are only 2 cavalry, and the infantry brought by Cao Zhi and Li Yan The pawns are the main ones, and their role this time is limited, so they can only be used when besieging Tesiphon."

Lu Xun was dumbfounded. He always thought that Sun Shao's hand was big enough now, and he used himself as a bait to attract the Sassanid elite to Axum, where the Romans, Bedouins and him intercepted the Sasanians who had returned in vain. The Shan people severely damaged the main force of the Sassanid people. Unexpectedly, Sun Shao had even bigger ones. He actually transferred all the cavalry from the Kingdom of Wei and the infantry from the Kingdom of Shu to cooperate with the Guishuang people to intercept and kill the Sasanian people again. The siege of Taixifeng was a major action that spared no effort, and he made full use of all the forces that Sun Shao could use.

"Your Majesty... Gao Ming." Lu Xun murmured.

"You are good at fighting, and if you use these methods, then I dare say I am the only one." Sun Shao said without humility.

"Your Majesty..." Tu Hu appeared at the door of the tent and gestured with his eyes.Sun Shao immediately put away his smile, turned around and sat upright, and nodded.Tu Hu backed out, and not long after, a young man in a Han military uniform came in, looked at Sun Shao who was sitting on a high seat, and smiled slightly: "My son, I pay my respects to my father." He bowed to Lu Xun: "Nephew pays respects to uncle."

Lu Xun looked at Sun Feng, who behaved elegantly and looked heroic except for his dark complexion, and quickly returned the salute: "I have seen His Royal Highness the Prince."

"Uncle, you are welcome." Sun Feng accepted the gift calmly, then cupped his hands and said, "Father has always said that uncle is a crouching dragon, and one day he will soar above the nine heavens, and today it really came true."

"Don't dare. If the prince hadn't gone into the mountains late at night to investigate and let General Xiahou lead the army to attack, and the prince took the lead and forced the Sasanians into a panic, I wouldn't have had the chance to make a name for myself."

"Cough!" Sun Shao coughed angrily, "I asked you to come because you are flattering each other?"

Both Sun Feng and Lu Xun couldn't help laughing.There was no smile on Sun Shao's face, and he said with a sullen face: "Zhuzi, you are so brave, you actually became a mercenary, and you will always charge forward in every battle. Have you forgotten that you are the prince of the Yue Kingdom? You really deserve it!" Are you an ordinary scholar?"

Although Sun Feng was reprimanded by Sun Shao, he felt the deep concern under Sun Shao's gloomy expression. There was a warm current in his heart, he put away his smile, bowed and said: "Father, my son is not filial, and my father is worried. However, this son-in-law is also imitating his father's feat in Xijuan City, increasing his actual combat experience and sharpening his body."

"You..." Sun Shaoyu choked, then stood up, and said angrily: "Little Zhuzi, are your wings stiff? How dare you talk slyly in front of me and pretend that I dare not deal with you? Do you know that, since You changed the route without authorization, and the fifth battalion lost your trace, how worried is your mother?"

As soon as the bridge was mentioned, Sun Feng's face showed a deep feeling of longing, and he choked up and said, "Father, how is the eldest mother?"

(End of this chapter)