A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

When the army that had been on the eastern expedition reached the western front, Ardashir ordered them to rest for a day before personally leading a large army to launch a counterattack on the Roman Empire's homeland.

Ardashir no longer cared about his noble birth and ordered his army to burn, kill, and plunder, refusing to accept surrender!

He didn't have enough food to feed the surrendered troops. Now Ardashir could somewhat understand the killing god of Qin. It wasn't that he was unwilling to accept their surrender, but that the food supplies simply didn't allow it, so he had no choice but to order them to be buried alive.

News from the front lines sent shockwaves through the entire Roman Empire.

In particular, when Ardashir's order to refuse surrender was issued, countless citizens of the Roman Empire were massacred, and the entire city of Rome was filled with condemnation of Ardashir.

Severus and the Senate quickly made a decision: in addition to the 10 Eagle Legions previously drawn, they would draw another 10 Eagle Legions and 50 Barbarian Legions to replenish the Barbarian Legion forces, bringing the total to 100 legions, 50 regular troops, plus 50 auxiliary troops, to directly stop Ardashir.

At the same time, Severus, the military emperor, also took this opportunity to get the treasurer to approve a large amount of money for him to recruit soldiers and expand the army in the country.

The Roman Empire had a population of over 5,000 million, several times that of the Parthian Empire.

However, among these 5,000 million people, there were a huge number of barbarians, and the number of true Roman citizens was around 700 million.

Severus's conscription was not limited to Roman citizens; he also conscripted barbarians who were not Roman citizens, promising them the opportunity to become Roman citizens through military merit.

Once the Roman Empire's war factory was activated, a steady stream of legions departed from Rome to support the front lines.

With his powerful army, Ardashir made rapid advances in the early stages, capturing many cities of the Roman Empire and plundering a large amount of money and food. His entire army was filled with a murderous aura.

The Roman legions, relying on their elite troops and the unwavering support of the local populace, along with the barbarian legions' yearning for the common people, managed to hold back Ardasi despite their inferior numbers.

This is also related to the fact that some members of Ardashir's army have become wealthy.

Those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who wear shoes.

Having nothing before, those generals were able to fight fiercely without any scruples.

Those generals now possess considerable gold and silver treasures. But once a person dies, all their wealth is useless. The risks of fighting bravely are too great, so naturally they are not so willing to engage in such activities.

One side had a large and powerful force, while the other had the advantages of favorable timing, location, and popular support, along with a continuous stream of reinforcements. The two sides began a protracted war in Cappadocia, the eastern province of Rome.

Both empires were mired in war.

On the other side, the Eastern Front.

After receiving intelligence that the western front of the Sassanid Empire was in a stalemate, the allied forces once again divided their troops, leaving behind enough to confront the main force of the Sassanid Empire, while the armies of each country began to march toward the territories they desired.

Yuan Shao, Liu Bei, and Sun Jian each led their armies that were still willing to follow them, bypassing the fortified city of Asak, and marched towards Mesopotamia, the heartland of the Sasanian Empire.

The rewards and risks are directly proportional. This region, as the most fertile area of ​​the Sasanian Empire, is extremely rich in resources and is the soil that nurtured the empire.

However, at the same time, they will also encounter the fiercest resistance here, and will have to face the immense pressure from the Sasanian Empire.

Faced with a mad empire on the verge of collapse, no vassal state dared to confront it directly. Only Yuan, Liu, and Sun, though the losers in the chaotic war among the Central Plains warlords, had forged their spirit, which far surpassed that of the major vassal states.

Fortune favors the bold; if they want to establish themselves here and occupy this fertile land, they have no choice but to take risks.

The three of them respectively chose the regions of Ganzak, Ecbatana, and Susa, building a defensive line from north to south for the various fiefdoms and cutting off their reach into Mesopotamia.

This time, the numerous vassal states, along with Yuan, Liu, and Sun, occupied more than half of the Sasanian Empire. This was more than half of the empire's territory, and they were of different races but the same ethnicity, making them extremely difficult to govern. Even with many vassal states, establishing a stable rule was still a very difficult task.

The nations must slow down and digest the situation before proceeding with the next step of their rule.

Based on their experience in expanding overseas, it will take at least 20 years, or even a generation, for them to assimilate this experience.

This is also why they were willing to let Yuan, Liu, and Sun occupy the Mesopotamian region.

The three of them had to hold off the Sasanian Empire for 20 years. Only after 20 years, when all the feudal states had absorbed the occupied territories, would they reunite their allied forces and completely destroy the Sasanian Empire.

At this time, the Sasanian Empire approached the Allied Forces, hoping to get Asak's 500,000-strong army back to Ctesiphon on the condition that the Han Empire recognize its rule over the occupied lands.

The various vassal states scoffed at this, saying that their territories had already been occupied by them, so what was the point of their acknowledgment?

Do you think you can take it back?

Giving you this army of 50 would be a stupid idea; it would just be asking for trouble.

Moreover, the 50 elite troops were extremely coveted by the various feudal states, including Yuan Shao, Liu Bei, and Sun Jian.

If they can be subdued, their power will expand instantly, which will be extremely useful for both consolidating their rule and resisting the Sassanid Empire.

Ardashir was still fighting the Roman Empire in Cappadocia. Ctesiphon's army was better able to defend itself than to advance. The six noble families dared not speak out against the power of the various states.

The once mighty empire had fallen to the point of being bullied by others, and the last vestiges of the Parthian nation seemed to be fading away.

The army dispatched by Cao Cao completely plunged the Sasanian Empire into an endless abyss.

After a long journey of more than a year, the army led by Cao Ren, Xiahou Yuan, Zhang Liao, Huang Zhong, Xun You, and Xi Zhicai finally arrived at the front line.

After a month of rest and recuperation at the front lines, and having recovered to their peak condition, they launched an attack on Ctesiphon, the capital of the Sassanid Empire.

At this time, Dong Zhuo also emerged from the Arabian Peninsula and joined forces with Cao Ren and the others to attack Ctesiphon.

Although Ardashir had left behind many trump cards, he was no match for the combined forces of 60 elite Daqian troops and Dong Zhuo's Xiliang cavalry.

Ctesiphon sent 13 letters of appeal to Ardashir, who was almost driven to despair.

How could the Han Empire have such strong war potential?!

He is still unaware that the Central Plains have changed hands; he still believes it is the Han Empire.

In order to guard the Central Plains and the northern frontier, the various vassal states suppressed the local inhabitants. According to Ardashir's calculations, the entire Han Empire, plus the armies under the various vassal states, had a combined force of more than 500 million.

He believes this number is likely less than the actual number.

Even under these circumstances, the Han Empire was still able to spare nearly a million troops, making its army comparable to the total population of the Sasanian Empire!

Gan!