My XX deal with Sister Nero

After announcing the execution of Rosa, Tony refused to see visitors, locked himself in his study, and quietly waited for the moment of Rosa's execution three days later.

"Brother, don't those nobles feel that they are contradictory? They were clamoring to execute Rosa before, but now that the time has come, they are collectively asking you to withdraw your order and spare Rosa's life."

Sitting on the sofa, Nero gently stroked the little head of his brother lying on his legs and asked softly.

"They don't want to save Rosa's life, they just want to keep their own wealth. Rosa can bring them wealth, so they want to save Rosa's life now. If Rosa is really an envoy of the Han Empire, Rosa's death means that the Han Empire can no longer trade with the Roman Empire. If Rosa is not an envoy of the Han Empire, then Rosa's death means that I will control the border and border trade... So they plead for Rosa, their purpose is nothing more than to ensure that their own interests are not harmed." Lying comfortably on his sister's thighs, Nero enjoyed his sister's massage while picking up a piece of dessert from the table next to him and took a bite.

Hmm, it tastes good. This thing should be some kind of pancake with grape juice added?

It's delicious anyway.

"You...eat all over the place." Gently wiping the bread crumbs from the corners of Tony's mouth, Nero looked at Tony with pity. His brother...is getting cuter the more he looks at him.

"Ahem, sister, what are you doing?" Tony, who was eating snacks, suddenly saw his sister looking at him with her head down. Tony couldn't help but shudder and asked in panic.

"Ah...Sister is fine." Nero said softly, touching his face awkwardly.

"Okay." Tony sat up and scratched his head awkwardly. He put down the snacks in his hand and looked out the window. Suddenly he muttered to himself, "In fact, our biggest enemy now is not the Senate or the Parthian Empire, but... those guys."

The guys Tony was referring to were naturally those who were beyond human power to defeat, like Cephalus, Archimedes and Solomon. Compared with them, Parthia and the Senate could only be regarded as small fights.

But what Tony didn't expect was that at this moment, the Parthian Empire, which he thought was just a small-scale empire, actually won a great victory!

Chapter 495: The Attack of Parthia (Part 2)

"Is His Royal Highness the Prince finally leaving?" After learning that Tony had taken Rosa away from the front line, Tiridates breathed a sigh of relief. Although he did not think that Tony could pose any threat to him in terms of war, but... Tony's mind was too flexible. He might not be good at commanding a certain war, but his overall strategic view was really too strong.

Moreover... as time went on, after the last two armies of the Roman Empire landed in the coastal areas, Tiridates felt more and more that Tony's strategic ideas were really fantastic, so fantastic that Tiridates even doubted that if this guy learned how to deploy troops, how many generals of the Parthian Empire would be his opponent?

Now, Tony is gone, and the only one left here is Bruce.

As mentioned before, Bruce was a steady general. He was born into a traditional aristocratic family and was not as good at fighting as Vespasian. When it came to the basic skills of deploying troops, he was quite solid, but when it came to grasping the dynamics of the battle, because of his nature of not seeking success but avoiding mistakes... he was destined to miss many opportunities.

If Tony was still there, Tiridates might only dare to passively defend. After all, Tony's thinking is too erratic, and you have no idea what his next plan is. If you think that your cavalry unit is strong and can quickly break into the territory of the Roman Empire and stir up trouble, then Tony is likely to play an extreme one-for-one game with you and capture Ctesiphon first.

Now, Tony is gone, and only Bruce is left. So... he's nothing to be afraid of, okay?

After discussing with several lieutenants, Tiridates decided to launch a tentative attack first.

"You said that a small village under the city of Samosata was looted by the Parthians?" A few days later, Bruce was stunned when he heard the report from his subordinates, and then he understood what the Parthians were going to do.

They planned to disperse Bruce's troops and then defeat them one by one.

Will Bruce be fooled? No.

Because he knew that even if he had an army of 100,000, once he went out to fight the Parthians in the field, the consequence would be his defeat. So, like his predecessors and those Roman generals who had conquered the Parthian Empire, Bruce took one step at a time, either occupying the city or setting up a large camp. In short, he would not give the Parthians a chance to charge, minimize his own casualties, and compress the living environment of the Parthian cavalry as much as possible.

But the problem is coming.

The Parthians could not attack a city with high walls, but could they break into a village without much defense?

of course!

In almost a short moment, Bruce made what he thought was a correct judgment.

The other side planned to lure the Roman legions into dividing their forces for defense, so that they could surround the point and attack the reinforcements, thus wasting as much as possible on the reinforcements sent by the Roman Empire.

So Bruce's decision was simple.

I continued to do what I wanted and followed my previous strategic plan, advancing slowly and not giving the enemy any chance.

As for these cities and villages...let them organize their own militia to defend themselves.

So, with this kind of thinking in mind, Bruce continued to lead an army of 100,000 to slowly encroach on the territory of the Parthian Empire.

However, what Tiridates wanted was Bruce's own way.

After tentatively attacking several villages, Tiridates had figured out Bruce's intentions, so he began to act boldly.

Thirty thousand cavalrymen were separated and, under the order of Tiridates, they broke into the territory of the Roman Empire and implemented a strategy of local supply, just like Tony did back then. Their purpose was to cause unrest in the morale of the army on the front line and then defeat them one by one.

If Bruce could ignore the attacks on small villages before, now, 30,000 troops bypassed his camp and attacked the Roman Empire. If he didn't respond, Nero might not let him go.

This is Yang Conspiracy.

Didn't you not care before? Well, now my army is invading, will you care? If you don't care, then fine, I will turn the tables on the Anatolian Peninsula and let you be punished by your emperor. If you care, then it's even simpler, no matter how many troops you send, I will take them all!

What, Bruce plans to attack Ctesiphon and force the Parthians to withdraw by attacking Wei to save Zhao?

Sorry, this is impossible. After such a long period of preparation, the Parthians have assembled a group of slave light infantry to defend Ctesiphon. Tiridates does not expect them to hold out for long. Three days, they only need to hold out for three days, and the remaining tens of thousands of cavalry will be able to completely crush the 100,000-strong Roman Empire!

So Bruce panicked.

Just as Tiridates had expected, Bruce was in a state of neither advancing nor retreating at this moment. He did not know whether he should return to defense or learn from His Highness to attack Ctesiphon by attacking Wei to save Zhao.

In the end, in order to prevent the achievements made by His Highness from being ruined in his own hands, Bruce gritted his teeth and stomped his feet, leading his army to Ctesiphon.

Then he ran headfirst into Tiridati's ambush circle.

In mid-October, Bruce led his army to the city of Ctesiphon. After a night's rest, the next morning, Bruce personally took to the battlefield to command the army to attack Ctesiphon!

It has to be said that the light infantry of Ctesiphon performed very well.

It is not known what Tiridates promised them, but in any case, in this siege, the combat effectiveness displayed by the Parthian light infantry was enough to attract the attention of the Roman legions.

Since the morning, the Roman legions had been attacking almost continuously for more than ten hours. Seeing that the sun was about to set, Bruce, who had been attacking for a long time, couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

Because under Tony's leadership, Bruce had captured several Parthian cities in succession, so he had some idea of ​​the combat effectiveness of the Parthian infantry. So when the Parthian light infantry in front of him showed combat effectiveness that could compete with the Roman legions in a short period of time, Bruce was a little annoyed.

He didn't even take Ctesiphon in one day? How would the nobles in Rome view him?

Originally, as the emperor's teacher, Bruce, like Seneca, was ostracized by the Senate. However, unlike Seneca, Seneca himself was a true celebrity and philosopher. Among the people, Seneca also had a very high prestige. Bruce did not have Seneca's ability, so Bruce's life... was not very good.

Bruce was determined to win and wanted to use victory to gain political capital, but now, facing the weakest light infantry of the Parthian Empire, the Roman legions were unable to defeat them after a long siege. This... was simply a great shame and humiliation!

"Do we need to mobilize the Royal Guards?" Bruce muttered to himself as he watched the tragic battlefield ahead.

PS: I really want to cuckoo today, my hands are so sore.

Didn’t I start a business in Changchun before? I returned to Chongqing at the beginning of the year, but I didn’t bring too much luggage because I thought I would go back again. Later, I went back in May and took some things with me, but there were still a lot of things left. So I told my friends who were still there that when the rent was paid and you were leaving, tell me before you leave, and I’ll ask you to send the remaining things to me in batches.

As a result, he sent them all to me a few days ago, even the table I didn't want... Today, I climbed up the fourth floor carrying four large packages... I almost died at home, and now my hands are sore, damn this idiot

Chapter 496: The Attack of Parthia (Part 2)

Bruce was conflicted, considering whether to use the Royal Guards.

If he used the Imperial Guards, he would definitely be scolded when he returned. It was actually necessary to use the empire's most elite legion to deal with a few light infantrymen; but what if he didn't use it?

Looking at the sky, Bruce thought for a moment. If he didn't use it, then... he would definitely not be able to capture Ctesiphon before dark today.

By then... I will be scolded even more miserably.

"... Pass the order down, the Royal Guards are on standby and ready to... attack Ctesiphon at any time!" After thinking for a while, Bruce finally gave the order to the deputy general beside him.

"Yes." The deputy general nodded. The time had come to this point, and mobilizing the Royal Guards... was already expected.

If his opponent was the Parthian cavalry, it wouldn't matter if the battle took longer, but his opponent at the moment was not the Parthian cavalry but a group of light infantry gathered temporarily. With this combat power... Do you think the nobles in Rome would believe that the other side could suddenly become a Super Saiyan and hold on for a whole day?

But then again...what about the Parthian cavalry?

Thinking of this, the deputy general suddenly shuddered!

Yeah! Where are the cavalry? !

Although the Parthian armored cavalry and horse archers were cavalry, they could actually dismount and defend the city and fight on foot. Therefore, when the Roman Empire invaded Parthia in the past, there were also armored cavalry nobles wearing their armor standing on the city wall and giving orders.

But right now, on the Ctesiphon side, looking around the city walls, almost all of them were ragged light infantry, so the question was, where did the Parthian cavalry go? !

The Parthians... no, it should be said that Tiridates is not stupid. He certainly cannot escape with the remaining half of the main force, so... they must be nearby!

Damn it! Before, everyone's attention was drawn to Taisifeng. I didn't expect this. If this is really the case...

"General Bruce!" Thinking of this, the deputy general did not have time to think about it. He quickly shouted to Bruce beside him: "General, we..."

Almost at the same moment when the deputy general opened his mouth, a shaking sound suddenly came from the end of the earth.

"Is this... cavalry?" Feeling the earth shaking, Bruce's face suddenly turned pale. This feeling... he had felt it not long ago. This was... the vibration caused by the cavalry's charge!

Damn it, it's the Parthian cavalry!

After looking around and confirming that the cavalry was rushing from the left side of his troops, Bruce shouted hurriedly: "Quick! Order the left wing infantry to assemble and resist the impact!"

"Yes!" Without a second thought, the deputy general quickly passed down the order, asking the left wing troops to form a tortoise shell formation and prepare to resist the attack of the Parthian cavalry.

But...is it too late?

Under normal circumstances, the Roman Empire would certainly be able to quickly form a tortoise formation, but at this moment, Bruce was busy attacking the city, and a large number of Roman troops were gathering under the city of Thesifon. How many people were left behind by Bruce's side?

Just three legions!

Excluding the 10,000-strong Praetorian Guards, the remaining two legions only had a little over 10,000 men in total. In other words, at this moment, the left wing of the Roman Legion's main camp had only one legion with 5,000 men at most!

And the Parthians? Tens of thousands of cavalry!

Five thousand Roman infantrymen who had no time to assemble into a tortoise shell formation, faced tens of thousands of Parthian cavalry. There was only one outcome for them, and that was death!

In just one encounter, the defense that the Roman heavy infantry had temporarily assembled was like paper, and was shattered by the Parthian armored cavalry.

"Damn it!" Bruce's face suddenly changed when he saw the cavalry rushing towards him. It was too fast, really too fast!

"General!" Seeing Bruce standing there in a daze, the deputy general shouted anxiously. After hearing the deputy general's shout, Bruce came back to his senses and made a subconscious move.

run away.

Or to put it another way.

Avoid danger.

That's right, everyone has the instinct to seek good fortune and avoid danger. No one wants to die, and Bruce is no exception.

But because of his subconscious action, the Roman legion suffered a great defeat.

Just like China, no, even more comprehensive than China, each battalion of the Roman Empire had its own battalion flag, and each legion had its own legion flag. Similarly, on this expedition, Bruce carried the flag of his own front, as well as the flag left by Tony, which symbolized the battle of the Eastern Legion of the Roman Empire.

Bruce's retreat was accompanied by the retreat of the Guards who followed him. The most direct result of the retreat of the Guards was that the flags symbolizing the Mesopotamian Front and the Eastern Legion also began to retreat.

Okay, here comes the point.

What did the soldiers who were attacking the city in front see?

What they saw was that their military flag had run away, and their highest commander had run away under the attack of the cavalry!

They didn't know what Bruce was thinking, they didn't know that Bruce was just hiding from the spotlight temporarily. They were suspicious and worried, worried that Bruce would abandon them and run away.

Military morale is floating!

"Now!" Seeing that the Roman legions attacking the city were obviously hesitant, Tiridates guessed that the morale of the Roman legions was a little shaken at the moment, so he decisively gave up chasing Bruce and chose to turn his guns around and attack the Roman legions attacking the city!

At this moment, the Roman legions on the front line were truly in despair.

From morning to night, the Roman Legion had been in a state of high-intensity siege, without much time for rest. In order to ensure that the city could be taken as soon as possible, the Roman Legion even took turns to eat. One legion would come down to rest and eat, and then quickly go up to be replaced by another legion to come down to eat... The Romans who had persisted in this high-intensity attack for a whole day were already exhausted physically and mentally. Then at this time, a cavalry came out from behind them, and it was a spirited cavalry!

Then why not play Zhang Jinghua!

As a result, the Roman legion was defeated, and it was a great defeat. Of the 100,000 troops, less than 20,000 escaped back to the city of Samosata.

After a great battle, Tiridates, who had established his victory, decided to consolidate his results and expand his advantage. So he personally led the cavalry to completely encircle Samosata. At the same time, he sent a large number of troops in two routes, one to attack the Jewish province to the west, and the other to attack the Asia Minor Peninsula in the northwest, attempting to cut off all logistical supply lines of the Roman Empire's Eastern Legion!

For a moment, the whole of Rome was shocked!

Chapter 497 Three Heroic Spirits

"This Bruce..." After reading the battle report from the front line while sitting in the study, Tony almost overturned the table in anger.

At this moment, he was very angry. The reason for his anger was not only that Bruce lost 80,000 troops due to carelessness, nor was it that the cavalry of the Parthian Empire attacked the Anatolian Peninsula and the Jewish province in two directions. What made him most angry at this moment was, of course, that in such a great defeat, the Guards... were completely unscathed? !

To be honest, Tony was not against failure, but...what about the Praetorian Guards? Why weren't they weakened? ! The fundamental reason why he and Nero wanted to lead the Praetorian Guards to attack this time was to take the opportunity to weaken the Praetorian Guards, just like what Diocletian and Constantine I did, weaken the Praetorian Guards and then destroy them.

However, now, after a defeat, the 100,000-strong army, with a total of 19 legions, 18 of which except the Royal Guards were basically completely destroyed. Only the Royal Guards remained intact, with a loss of no more than a hundred people.

Okay, let’s not talk about the Guards for now.

The Roman Empire, together with its vassal states, sent a total of nearly 500,000 troops with the aim of destroying the Parthian Empire. It should be noted that among these 500,000 troops, nearly 400,000 were soldiers from the Roman Empire.

Four hundred thousand men had basically emptied all the reserve forces of the Roman Empire. Apart from the necessary garrisons on the northern border, there were almost no troops defending the Roman Empire. Therefore, the Parthian Empire's army that broke into the Roman Empire... encountered almost no resistance.

Just as Tiridati had judged before, only the combination of Bruce and Tony is enough to make Tiridati wary. One is steady and the other is imaginative. This combination is simple and steady, but what if it is Bruce alone?

Afraid of a hammer!

So now, Bruce has knelt, and the price the Roman Empire will have to pay after he kneels is that the entire Asia Minor Peninsula will be left without troops to defend!