The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 359
Quintus saw that Sun Shao was serious and didn't look like he was joking, so he didn't make a sound, and lowered his head to drink tea, only to find that the teacup was dry. Sun Shao beckoned, and Emily came over quickly, holding each other's arms. He stretched out his arm like a tender lotus root, and lifted the silver pot to refill Quintus with some water.Quintus took the opportunity to change the subject and winked at Sun Shao: "How about it, my Roman woman is not bad, right?"

Sun Shao smiled, and glanced at Emily and Diana, who were blushing, "You, an old friend, can't do anything wrong with the arrangement. I'm very satisfied. I haven't thanked you yet. I'll replace wine with tea. Thank you." It's kind of nice."

"As long as you like it, as long as you like it." Quintus laughed, "It is also their blessing that they can be your women. Emily, Diana, take good care of His Highness. Only by making him feel comfortable physically and mentally can we Fight a good battle. Only by winning the battle will the Emisa family benefit more."

"Look at you, it's good to stay still." Sun Shao didn't know whether to laugh or cry, he waved his hand, interrupted Quintus's words, put away his smile, and said solemnly: "This is my opinion, I don't know if you can accept it , I just want to say hello to you first, you go back and discuss with the courtiers to see what they think."

Quintus smiled and said nothing, his goal had been achieved, at least now Sun Shao didn't insist on withdrawing immediately, but asked him to go back to discuss it first, which shows that there is still room for negotiation.He said no more, got up and said goodbye.

"Your Majesty, do you really want to retreat?" Emily leaned against Sun Shao and asked softly, "I'm still planning to invite my family to Taixifeng."

Sun Shao glanced at her, put his arms around her shoulders, and said with a smile: "What do you know? Although we took down the ancient city of Seleucid, the casualties in Rome and Guishuang were not small, and Taisifeng is stronger than Seleucus. Ten times, do you think we should take it as soon as we see it, or do we have to be bloody when we meet?"

Diana, who was packing up the paperwork on the case, thought about it seriously for a moment, then nodded: "Then it's better to accept it as soon as it's done."

"That's right, why don't they understand a question that even you can understand?" Sun Shao patted his thigh lightly and shook his head repeatedly, sighing.

When Quintus returned to the big tent, Momia was hugging Philip and teaching him to read the flashcards word by word. When she saw Quintus' expression, she was a little surprised and hurriedly asked Philip to be carried away. , and asked someone to pour tea for Quintus.Quintus waved his hand: "No need to pour tea, I have to talk to someone later."

"What happened?" Momia asked inexplicably, "Today's victory over the ancient city of Seleu is just when everyone is happy. Why don't you look so happy?"

Quintus sighed, and told Momia what Sun Shao said just now.Momia listened quietly, sipping tea slowly, until Quintus finished speaking and looked at her expectantly, then she raised her eyelids and looked at Quintus: "I think he is right to worry .”

"Is he right?" Quintus was a little disappointed, and then tasted some more: "Is he worried?"

"Yes, think about it. What he said is indeed true. Although Seleucus was captured, you and Bodiao suffered a lot. Not to mention the Guishan people, your 3-strong army At least 1 people will not be able to fight in the short term, and the most elite [-] people are still in the hands of young Gordian. If he still refuses to go out, how many people can you use? Seleucus only With [-] defenders, you have paid such a high price, so how can you say that you will be able to win Ctesiphon? Even you, don't you feel sure?"

Quintus nodded silently. He just felt that he was not sure, so he didn't insist on it with Sun Shao.But he felt that it was a pity to give up like this. Not only did it leave future troubles, but Sun Shao did not contribute much except for a trip, but he got the most benefits, which seemed a bit unfair.Seleucus was won by him and Bodiao, so Taixifeng should be fought by Sun Shao. How could he let go of the situation and quit?

Momia seemed to see Quintus' displeasure, and she went on to say, "Do you think the Han people can win Ctesiphon?"

Quintus pondered for a while: "No."

"You don't have the power to fight again, and he is not sure to break through the city alone. Wouldn't it be the best way to give up now? Your Majesty, Seleucus is the result of the alliance of the three kingdoms. How can you ask him to take Ctesiphon alone? ?” Momia’s tone was calm, and there was no trace of worry. Quintus’s impatience gradually calmed down. He savored Momia’s words carefully, and a smile slowly appeared on his face. .

"He's worried that we won't help?"

Momia nodded slightly. Seeing Quintus, he chuckled, shook his head and said, "He is still so careful. He obviously wants us to help him, but he wants to act like he doesn't want to fight." He After thinking for a while, he said, "I see. I'm going to discuss it with them. I must boost their morale. Otherwise, this battle is really not easy to fight."

"Your Majesty is wise." Momia flattered just right.

Quintus walked out of the big tent in a relaxed mood, summoned several important generals, first analyzed the current situation with them, and asked for their opinions.After Mennolufis and others weighed the pros and cons, they all felt that if possible, it would be better to take down Tessiphon in one go, and no matter how bad it was, they would go to the city of Tessie to put direct pressure on Ardashir. Forced him to sign the contract.Of course, if you want to do this, you must first ensure that the Romans have the strength to fight, and the most important thing is to force young Gordian to fight.

After everyone agreed, Quintus asked Balbinus to go to young Gordian.Balbinus understood it, and went to look at the big tent of little Gordian, who was pacing regretfully in the tent. When he saw Balbinus, he came up to him with an embarrassing expression on his face. Zhise: "My friend, did I say anything wrong?"

Balbinus comforted: "It's not a big deal, but you reminded everyone that Ctesiphon is not easy to fight, and our chances of victory are not great. Why don't we just withdraw like this."

Before he finished speaking, little Gordian became anxious.He led the two most elite legions, but returned to Rome without any success. How could he have the face to meet his father and Roman citizens?He originally planned to force Quintus to let him play in front of everyone, and it would be better to squeeze each other and raise the price, but he didn't expect these useless guys to be really frightened.

"How can that work? We came all the way here, just take down a Seleucus and leave? Ardashir is not a person who repays his kindness, so don't kill him this time, wait for him to catch his breath , then Rome must be the first to be retaliated."

When Balbinus saw it, he breathed a sigh of relief. He pretended to talk about some difficulties, and cryptically pointed out the adverse effects of the internal discord among the Romans. Only then did the young Gordian understand Balbinus's intentions. The real intention, but the words have reached this point, he can't go back on his words, so he can only pat his chest and say that as long as Quintus intends to attack, he will take the lead and go all out.

Balbinus returned satisfied.

At the same time, Bodiao also understood Sun Shao's worry. He was not as troublesome as Quintus. As long as he decided to continue the attack, the Guishuang people would have no other opinions.

Sun Shao received the assurance from Bodiao and Quintus, he still hesitated, but he couldn't resist their insistence, so he had to let them take the time to rescue the wounded, and at the same time try to contact Ardashir to see if they could win without a fight .If it doesn't work, then there is only one more fight.Seeing Sun Shao's reluctance, Quintus and Bodiao were involuntarily taken away by him. He not only promised to work together, but also promised that Sun Shao would arrange the distribution of spoils for breaking Taixifeng to make up for what he had paid for it. loss.

Satisfied, Sun Shao immediately asked Jiang Gan to go to Taixifeng City in person.

With Sun Shao's handwritten letter, Jiang Gan boldly came to the city of Taixifeng.As soon as Ardasil saw Jiang Gan, he sneered: "Your king didn't bring an army to attack the city, why did he send you here? Do you want to use your mouth to bring down my Taixi Fengcheng?"

Standing neither humble nor overbearing, Jiang Gan looked at the exotic palace wrapped in colored glaze, and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, I'm not Meng Jiangnu. I don't have the ability to knock down the city wall."

Ardahill was confused, who is Meng Jiangnu?
"However, I came here with the sincerity of my king." Jiang Gan took out Sun Shao's handwritten letter from his arms, and handed it to the eunuch who caught up with him.The eunuch ran away and handed it over to Ardashir.Ardasil took it in his hand, and glanced at the handwriting on the cover first.Sun Shao wrote it in Chinese characters, and the elegant lower case looks very comfortable. Although Ardasil couldn't understand Chinese characters, he also tasted the calmness of his strokes. It can be imagined that Sun Shao wrote this letter Time must be happy and calm.Thinking of this, Ardashir felt a sense of disgust.

"I don't know your Chinese characters." Ardasil threw the letter on the case in front of him, pretending to be disdainful and said: "If you have anything to say, just say it."

Jiang Gan didn't mind, and said in response: "It's actually simple. There are two main things. One is the Seleucid War. We captured more than 8000 prisoners. Considering that they all have families and mouths. I can't bear to let them become ghosts under the knife, and I don't have the heart to let them go far away and become slaves, so I suggest that the king redeem them, if the king is willing to truce and make peace."

"A truce to make peace?" Ardashir obviously hadn't considered this plan, and was a little stunned for a while: "You want to make peace?"

"Yes." Jiang Gan said with a smile: "To show our sincerity, we can even release dozens of people first, as long as the king pays a symbolic ransom." Then, he took out another list and handed it up.Ardasil took it over and saw that most of these people were centurions and thousand commanders, and they were all relatively important people, and the prices listed later were indeed not high.He couldn't help being a little moved, and looked up at Jiang Gan: "How do you plan to make peace?"

"As long as Your Majesty is sincere, how to make a peace can be discussed." Jiang Gan said with a very easy-going look: "My Majesty's letter contains a preliminary plan, please read it and give your opinion, and then we will discuss further. Here Before, the king gave me the ransom to take back, and we will release these people back."

Ardasil just wanted to say that I don't know Chinese characters, but after thinking about it, I feel that these are very embarrassing. There are also many Han people in Taixifeng City. It should not be a big problem to understand this letter. If the officer you want is redeemed, you can also inquire about the strength of the opponent, and then decide whether to talk or fight later, and you can be more confident.He sneered secretly, although Sun Shao took down Seleucus at a rare speed, but he must have suffered a lot of casualties, and he was a bit powerless to fight Taixifeng again, so he came to ask for negotiations.

Ardahill did not hesitate, and immediately asked Jiang Gan to take the ransom back.Jiang Gan easily completed the task, left Taixi Fengcheng, and returned to the other side in a warship.Here Ardasil asked someone to translate Sun Shao's documents, and Sun Shao also sent back the prisoners at a very fast speed. Of course, he did not forget to convey the news of the negotiations to these prisoners in advance, so as to Said that he sincerely wanted to negotiate.

Ardasil was not an idiot either. He arranged for special personnel to take these captives back to the city, preventing them from having any chance of contacting others. At the same time, he also detained the translator who was invited to try to prevent the news of the negotiations from leaking out. So as not to shake the morale of the army.However, when he heard about the miracle, he was still very shocked.

There is no flaw in this miracle, but the illusion he arranged failed completely. Could it be that it is really a miracle?If no flaws can be found, what if the miracle appears again when Sun Shaobing approaches the city?Will Taixifeng follow in the footsteps of Seleucid and be captured by Sun Shao in a very short period of time?

Ardashir had never thought of negotiating, but now, he was a little shaken.No matter how great a person is, there will always be a kind of fear from the bottom of his heart in front of unknown forces.Ardashir was not sure if Ahura was still on his side now, and he also knew the impact on morale that the Seleucid City was breached in less than half a month. Although he tried his best to block the news, there was no guarantee that he would If it leaked out, if the soldiers knew that it was God's will, no matter how many defenders Tessiphon had, they would not be able to defend the city.

Ardasil pondered for a long time, and decided to procrastinate. Anyway, his purpose was to delay Sun Shao's support. Now that Sun Shao took the initiative to negotiate, he certainly couldn't wish for it.So he sent an eloquent minister across the river to negotiate with Sun Shao.

Sun Shao was very enthusiastic. He personally met the minister and said enthusiastically that if Ardashir really wanted to negotiate in good faith, he would bring up the past of the Quadruple Alliance and expose the unpleasant things. In the future, he will still be an ally and jointly maintain peace in the world , to give the common people in the world a stable living environment.Then he appointed Jiang Gan as the negotiator, and told them to show sincerity, not to be perfunctory, and to seek happiness for the people of the four countries.

Jiang Gan did have sincerity, and at the beginning, he threw out a very attractive proposal, which was to allow the Sasanians to redeem the remaining captives, and the price was also fair.The Sasanian envoy was right in his arms when he heard that, how wonderful it would be to have [-] soldiers go back to help defend the city.The two parties were interested, and the matter was quickly negotiated. Ardashir was rewarded, and there was no objection, and he immediately arranged for someone to deliver the ransom.The moment he saw the [-] soldiers returning safely to Taixi Fengcheng, he almost thought that Sun Shao really wanted to negotiate.

However, Alda Hill soon regretted it. The 8000 people are not dozens of people. Many soldiers guarding the city knew about the return of these captives. The news that the king was negotiating with the enemy was unavoidably leaked out, and the entire western city was immediately plunged into a strange atmosphere. During the process, gradually the family members of the captives came to intercede, asking for their family to be reunited. At first Ardashir planned to procrastinate, but later he found that it was okay not to procrastinate; Let a group of people go out first.

As soon as these people left the guard, the news that they were negotiating could no longer be controlled, and the miracles outside the Seleucid City quickly spread throughout the city.

Ardasil regretted Mo Di, he was very careful, he was very careful, but Sun Shao found the loophole.Now it is useless to tell the soldiers that he is just delaying the attack. He can only re-evaluate this matter and seriously consider the possibility of negotiating with Sun Shao.

Ardasil proposed that if negotiations are possible, all Romans, Hans, and Kushans must withdraw from the land of the Sassanids, and then negotiate further.

As soon as Sun Shao received the news, before he had time to react, Quintus and the others became anxious and quit the land of the Sasanians?This is simply impossible. After working so hard for so long, can you still spit it out again?They immediately came to Sun Shao and strongly expressed their opposition.Sun Shao smiled, don't worry, prepare for the siege with peace of mind, how could I agree to Ardashir's condition, he is forcing me to take the initiative to attack the city.

Quintus breathed a sigh of relief, "Then what are you going to do?"

"I will let all the Sasanians know that Ardashir has no sincerity to negotiate, and he wants to gamble with the lives of the whole city." Sun Shao sneered: "I want to tell the whole city of Sasanians, Ardasil Hill is no longer the incarnation of Ahura, he is now the incarnation of Ahriman, who will drag all the [-] Sasanians into the abyss of death."

Sun Shao decided to terminate the negotiations and immediately arranged for an army to cross the river. The 20 army surrounded the north of Taixi City, and hundreds of warships with more than 8000 sailors also blocked the Tigris and Dia rivers.The Sassanids, who had been expecting a successful negotiation, were disappointed when they saw the army suddenly besieging the city. Ardashir was overjoyed, and immediately sent someone to announce that Sun Shao was not sincere in negotiating, and he would eventually attack the city.Anyway, Sun Shaoren was outside the city, so even if he had something to say, he couldn't get it to the city, and the people in the city could only hear his side of the story.

He never expected that before his order had spread throughout the city, someone would report it. Suddenly, a lot of papers floated down from the sky. The requests made by Ardashir were written on the papers. The root cause of the breakdown of the negotiations was just time has spread.

Ardasil was taken aback. He rushed out the door and looked up, only to see Taisifeng City as if it had snowed. Countless pieces of paper fluttered down from the sky and scattered everywhere.He raised his head and looked, and with all his eyesight, he only found a big blue ball in the sky—against the blue sky, he couldn’t tell if he didn’t pay attention—and the snowflake-like piece of paper was Scattered from that big ball.

Suddenly, Ardashir seemed to understand the origin of the miracle.

(End of this chapter)