"Are you crazy?" Maximus sneered, interrupted Arullinus, and slammed the wine bowl in his hand on the table: "We are barbarians in their eyes, how can we be Romans?" emperor?"
Arullinus was unmoved, but raised his eyebrows: "Why not? The Severus family is not an authentic Roman, and Alexander is not a descendant of Severus at all. He can be the emperor of Rome. Why can't we."
Maximus was speechless for a moment. This was a secret, but for someone like him, it was not a secret. Whether Alexander or his dead cousin Elagabas, to outsiders, they are all the sons of Caracalla, but in fact they have nothing to do with Caracalla. Momia's mother, Julia Mesa, was the sister of Severus's Queen Julia Domna. After Caracalla's death, the bloodline of the Severus family was actually cut off. It was Julia who sacrificed her daughter Soemia for the sake of the throne. It is said that Elagabalus was the illegitimate son of Caracalla, and he inherited the throne. The situation of Alexander was the same, and Alexander was nominally the adopted son of Esgabalus, but in fact they were just cousins. Relationship.
But this kind of thing is a secret. Except for a limited number of people who know it, everyone thinks that Alexander is really the blood of Caracalla, including people like Quintus. Otherwise, Alexander and his son would have been dismissed long ago.
Of course, this has nothing to do with Maximus's support, but now that Maximus has become Alexander's enemy, he will naturally no longer cover up for Alexander. However, Maximus still hesitated. As a barbarian, could he really be the emperor of Rome?
"Those people in the Senate only have interests in their eyes and don't care about anything else." Arullinus saw Maximus's hesitation and smiled easily: "For his own benefit, Alexander took the Vietnamese The benefits obtained from the country were given to his cronies, and apart from a few people who were closer to him, who else in the Senate got the benefits? The people in the Senate now wanted to oust Alexander. However, If Alexander really defeats the Sasanians and recaptures Armenia, his military exploits will subdue those feeble-minded nobles. By that time, even if we reveal this secret, it will not have much effect."
Maximus nodded silently. Roman emperors did not pay attention to bloodline. Whoever holds the real power can be the emperor. This is how the Severus family came to the throne. Now, the real power lies with him. In the hands of Maximus, why can't he be emperor? Although he is of barbarian origin, now that he has the status of a Roman citizen, who can say that he is not a Roman? Instead of waiting to be deprived of his rights step by step by Alexander, leaving sadly or even dying in vain, it is better to take a chance and maybe win.
Maximus's eyes lit up. He tugged at his beard and scratched his rough face, and said with some worry: "We are currently fighting the Sasanians. If we want to fall out with Alexander, we must first defeat his 10,000 new troops. If the Sasanians come out again, won¡¯t we clear the way for the Sasanians?¡±
"Sassanid?" Arullinus smiled silently, smiling very proudly: "He is not our enemy, but our friend."
Maximus¡¯ eyes flashed, he pondered for a moment, then forced a smile and said, ¡°When did you have any dealings with the Sasanians?¡±
"Just when we were in Axum." Arullinus said triumphantly, and drank the wine in one gulp, but did not pay any attention to the sharp light flashing in Maximus's eyes.
¡¡
Alexander stood in front of the map. Eskanomi was pointing at the map and conducting military analysis. He was very excited, with a bunch of foam hanging from the corner of his mouth. Alexander was a little disgusted by the sight, but Eskanomi was very important to him now. Importantly, he still held back the nausea in his heart and watched Eskanomi explain with a smile.
Eskanomi's idea was very simple. He wanted to seize the opportunity when the Sasanian army had no time to come back and fight with Shapur. As long as he defeated Shapur's 20,000 people, the battle would be a complete victory. He could get a lot of loot and make the soldiers rich. Morale will be greatly boosted, and Alexander's throne will be truly secure. By then, even if Ardashir withdraws from Kushan, there will be nothing they can do in the short term. If time drags on too long and Ardashir gives up Kushan and turns around to fight Rome with all his strength, then the best outcome of this battle is a draw. By then, the morale just accumulated will be lost again, and Shapur might abandon the Kushans and storm Rome, which would be a recipe for irritation for Alexander.
Alexander readily agreed, and immediately agreed with Eskanomi on the candidates. In order to monopolize the victory, Eskanomi proposed that the Guards be responsible for deceiving the enemy, and that the horse be responsible for the defeat.Maximus first fought a bloody battle with the Sasanians, and then pretended to be defeated and retreated, while Eskanomi led a new army to ambush the Sasanians at a strategic location.
Alexander was elated, thinking that after this battle, he would defeat the Sasanians and, in accordance with the agreement between him and his mother Momia, he could become the real Roman emperor. He could not restrain his excitement. Escanomi was also very excited. As long as Alexander took control of the power, he would also prosper and prosper, and his entry into the Senate would be just around the corner.
"It's justwill Maximus agree? The Guards have always been the main force in the past." Escanomi said with some worry while being excited. Alexander dismissed it: "The Guards are my Guards, not Maximus's Guards. Can he still disobey my order?"
"Maximus has been in charge of the Guards for many years, and many of his generals are his cronies. Apart from him, I'm afraid even His Majesty may not be able to command him." Escanomi said sourly: "In my opinion , it¡¯s better to discuss it with him first, lest he oppose His Majesty¡¯s opinion in front of everyone, which would be bad.¡±
Alexander was a little embarrassed, but it was true when he thought about it. Most of the officers in the Guards were promoted by Maximus, and they respected Maximus far more than he, the emperor. He invited Maximus to invite him and explained his plan. Maximus followed suit and agreed, patting his chest and saying that he would obey His Majesty's orders, which made Alexander a little overjoyed.
With Maximus's cooperation, Alexander quickly set a time for the decisive battle. On that day, Maximus led 30,000 Guards to engage Shapur. Alexander and Eskanomi led a group of Wan Xinjun was lurking in a valley five miles behind.
Standing on the not-so-high hill, Alexander was in high spirits. He was a little excited when he thought that after this battle, he would become the real emperor of Rome.
Less than half an hour later, Maximus led the army that pretended to be defeated through the valley. Shapur followed closely. Escanomi led his army to fight out, blocking Shapur's retreat, preparing to fight with Mark. Simus attacked from both sides and completely devoured Shapur's 20,000 troops. Unexpectedly, he and Shapur fought bloody battles for a long time, but he did not see the shadow of Maximus. Although the 10,000 new troops were brave, they were defeated by the Sassanid troops who were twice as many as before. The cavalry still failed to hold out to the end, and almost the entire army was wiped out. Eskanomi died on the spot, and Alexander was also trapped. Seeing that there was no hope of breaking out, Alexander realized that he had been tricked by Maximus. He was ashamed. , drew his sword and killed himself.
Shapur returned with a great victory with less and more. Maximus declared that Alexander underestimated the enemy and rashly advanced, damaging the power of the Roman army. The emperor also sent envoys to put pressure on the Senate, asking them to recognize his status as emperor.
When news of the disappearance reached Rome, there was an uproar in Rome. The Senate was noisy and divided into two groups. Some insisted on reorganizing the new army to attack Maximus and maintain the dignity of the empire. Others believed that Maximus was the only one in trouble at the moment. It was enough to stop the Sassanid attack. If Maximus was pushed into a hurry, he might surrender to the Sassanid people, and the fall of Rome was imminent.
While they were quarreling, Momia, in her grief and anger, decisively summoned those Roman nobles whose relatives had died in the war and asked them to jointly put pressure on the Senate. At the same time, she united with the main war faction in the Senate to He delivered a speech to the Roman citizens in the forum, denounced Maximus as ungrateful and colluding with the Sasanians in an attempt to overthrow Rome. Although she didn't know the truth, this statement was supported by most Romans. After all, the Sasanians did not take advantage of their great victory to attack Rome. This matter seemed very strange. Under Momia's instigation, the Senate They had no choice but to pass a resolution to reorganize the new army, crusade against Maximus, and defend Rome.
Maximus was furious and led his army to Rome, preparing to seize the throne by force. The Romans were panicked. Momia decided to ask for help from Vietnam, and the envoy Quintus rushed to Aksum.
When Sun Shao received the news, he was stunned and speechless. He had warned Alexander to be on guard against Maximus, but at that time it was to prevent something too big to happen. Unexpectedly, Maximus was more ruthless than he imagined and actually joined forces. The Sasanians killed Alexander and became emperor themselves. It seems that it is not necessarily a good thing that the Roman throne does not value blood. If this happened in the Han Dynasty, I am afraid Maximus would not be so bold. Neither Dong Zhuo nor Cao Cao dared to do it in one step. , proclaimed himself emperor. And Maximus, as a barbarian, dared to crown himself emperor. This made Zhao Taizu, who later wore a yellow robe, much more courageous.
"You want me to help?" Sun Shao scratched his head: "I only have a navy, and I don't have any powerful infantry or cavalry. Even if I want to help, I am powerless."
QuintusHe kowtowed repeatedly, but Sun Shao just sighed. The development of the matter was beyond his expectation. The original plan of using Kushan and Rome to contain the Sassanid people came to nothing. Rome had already fallen into the whirlpool of civil war. It would have been over without the Sassanid attack. At this critical moment, the Sasanians can now free up their hands to deal with the Kushans. With the strength of the Kushans, it is estimated that they will not last long before they succumb.
¡°Alas, what a pity for all my hard work. When he thought of this, Sun Shao hated Maximus with a passion. It was this barbarian who smashed his wishful thinking to pieces in one fell swoop.
"It's not that I don't help you, it's that I'm powerless." Sun Shao said helplessly to Quintus: "I only have 10,000 horses here, and they are all infantry. Even if I rush to Rome, what's the use?" ? Can you help you stop the traitor Maximus?"
Quintus just sobbed, unable to kneel down, and finally held out a map: "If the king is willing to lend a helping hand, we are willing to open the Mediterranean to the king. From now on, the Mediterranean will be free for the king's fleet to travel freely."
Sun Shao's brows jumped, and he thought that the Romans were so impatient that they were actually willing to open up the Mediterranean. If they really accepted this condition, then the Mediterranean would be theirs from now on. If nothing else, the islands in the sea would be a huge fortune. ah.
"This" Sun Shao hesitated. Although his heart was moved, he was also very clear about the difficulties at hand. With his current strength, he simply couldn't deal with the Sasanians. He was the boss in the sea, but he was the boss on the shore. , that is the world of the Sasanians. It is not a big problem to help the Romans deal with Maximus, but it seems too early to fight against the Sasanians.
"Your Majesty, this is a letter written by Queen Mother Momia to you." When Quintus saw that Sun Shao was silent, he quickly took out a letter from his arms and handed it over. Before coming, Momia told him that if Sun Shao still refused to agree to the conditions he proposed to open the Mediterranean, then he would take out this letter and decide whether he succeeds or not. Quintus didn't know what Momia said in it, and he very much doubted whether it would be effective, but at this point, the only way to treat a dead horse is to treat it as a living horse.
Sun Shao took the letter with some suspicion, opened it and took a look, his eyebrows jumped involuntarily, then he stood up, took two steps towards Quintus, opened his eyes wide, wanted to ask something, but said nothing. , holding the letter in both hands and reading it again, finally gritted his teeth and made up his mind: "Okay, I will help you. I will immediately order the fleet to enter the Mediterranean. I am not sure whether I can stop the Sasanians, but I will help you repel Maximus." I'm still confident about that traitor. When you go back, tell your queen mother not to panic. Maximus's regicide and self-reliance are unpopular. As long as he survives this period of time, when his spirit weakens, You will have a chance to counterattack. Rome has been a state for 800 years, but it will not be destroyed by a barbarian. Unfortunately, Alexander died early. I am grateful that he thought highly of me and regarded me as a friend. I will help him keep Rome at all costs."
Quintus was ecstatic. He couldn't believe his eyes. Sun Shao had never been so excited about the sea power in the Mediterranean. Why did he relax when he saw Momia's autograph letter? It seems that the Queen Mother is a hero among women, with things that are difficult for ordinary people to achieve. After receiving Sun Shao's promise, he was overjoyed and immediately rushed back to Rome.
Momia was rewarded and her confidence was boosted. She announced to the Senate her alliance with Vietnam, which strengthened the Senate's confidence. Hearing that the powerful and wealthy Yue Kingdom would send a fleet to help them resist Maximus, the restless Senate gradually believed Momia's words. They immediately took action, sped up the formation of a new army, recruited Roman citizens, and pieced together a new army. More than 50,000 people were handed over to the leadership of the veteran nobleman Gordian. Gordian had a distinguished status. His father was a descendant of Gracchus and his mother came from the royal family of Turaci. He himself had served as the governor of Armenia and had rich political and combat experience. At this time, he was nearly eighty years old, but he was still appointed in the face of danger. He was appointed as the top general, and the Romans' military morale gradually stabilized.
In order to inspire people, Momia ordered the news of the alliance with Vietnam to be spread widely to further stabilize people's hearts. After Ardashir heard about it, he gave up his plan to besiege the Kushans, signed a city alliance with the Kushans, and then rushed back to Ctesiphon with his army. After a short rest, he assembled a hundred thousand troops and entered Egypt to attack Axum. .
When the news reached Aksum, Aksum suddenly became a mess. Not only the Aksumites were frightened, but even the Han merchants were a little nervous. Although Aksum had 10,000 Yue elites, there were 100,000 Sasanian cavalry. , there is definitely no hope at all in a field battle, even if we are defending the city, there is a disparity in the number of troops. Now it is clear that the Sassanids' attack on Rome was a lie, but the attack on the Yue Kingdom was real. The Yue Kingdom was the richest but had the weakest military. If they defeated the Yue Kingdom, the Sassanids would be able to fully control the trade routes and completely reverse the situation. No one can resist their attack.
Fortunately, the Yue people have boats, so they can still run away if they can't be beaten. As long as they run to the sea, no matter how powerful the Sasanian cavalry is, they can't defeat them.If you can chase the country into the sea, if you want to attack the Yue Kingdom from the land, it will be separated by Kushan and Tianzhu. No matter how powerful Ardashir is, can he be more powerful than Alexander back then? Once he hits Tianzhu, there will probably be nothing he can do.
For a while, the Han merchants in Axum City evacuated one after another. King Wallag of Aksum became anxious when he heard this. If Sun Shao ran away, what else could he use to claim credit from Shapur? He immediately rushed to the palace, knelt in front of Sun Shao with runny nose and tears, and asked him not to abandon Axum under any circumstances. If he left, the city of Axum would not be able to stop the Sassanid attack. At that time, the brutal Sasanians will definitely massacre the city, and the innocent Axumites will fall into miserable hell.
"The Aksumites are also the king's people, please protect them." Wallag kowtowed with a bang.
Sun Shao¡¯s expression was very complicated, he thought about it, and finally reluctantly agreed. Warag was afraid that Sun Shao would regret it, so he immediately asked Sun Shao to issue an edict to appease the people in the city and declared that he would live or die with them. Sun Shao could not withstand his request and agreed, and Wallag finally left the palace with satisfaction.
In June of the 16th year of the Republic, Ardashir's leading 30,000 light cavalry, led by Prince Alpha, rushed outside the city of Aksum. They first cut off the connection between the city of Axum and the seaside. Half a month later, Ardashir After personally leading the army to Axum, Ardashir finally showed a satisfied smile as he looked at the flag of the Yue King flying above the city.
After more than half a year of planning and traveling thousands of miles, I finally caught the real prey. Ardashir could not suppress her excitement and couldn't help shouting to the sky. This abominable King of Yue did not stay well in his own land, but traveled thousands of miles away to cause trouble. If he hadn't caused trouble, neither Kushan nor Rome would have been able to suppress the rise of Sassanid, but he just happened to cause trouble. A four-nation alliance wanted to unite with Kushan and Rome to attack the Sassanid people. Thanks to Ahura's blessing, Shapur had laid a secret plan a year ago, causing the most powerful Rome to fall apart in one fell swoop. Sun Shao was trapped in the city of Aksum. Thinking of Varrag in the city, Ardashir couldn't help but turn his head and glance at Shapur. The father and son smiled in understanding.
Alpha saw this and curled his lips inadvertently. Shapur killed the Roman Emperor Alexander in the first battle and made a great contribution. His status is even more unshakable. He is already the unspoken deputy commander of the army of 100,000 people, and he is worthy of his name. One person is inferior to ten thousand people.
"Father, I don't have Shapur's strategy, I only have martial prowess. I am willing to be the vanguard of the attack on the city. I will be the first to climb to the top of the city and capture that Yue king and kneel before my father's horse." Alpha was majestic and angry. He said proudly, patting his chest.
Aldashir was in a good mood, and looked at Alpha very eagerly. He could understand Alpha's current mood, but he also knew the bravery of his son. If he could use his bravery to shake the morale of the Yue people before the battle, That's not a bad thing.
"Alfa, I give you the opportunity to show your courage. Let the people of Vietnam see how brave the descendants of Ahura are, and let them know how unwise it is to fight us. Open the city and surrender as soon as possible. Go ahead, don't let me disappointment."
Alpha was overjoyed, bowed his body, saluted, and turned away. After a while, he rode a tall horse and led two close soldiers to a place about a hundred steps away from the city wall, raising the scimitar in his hand high.
The Sasanian army behind them burst out with a tidal wave of shouts, like waves of turbulent waves, rushing towards the city.
"What is this idiot going to do?" Sun Shao held on to the city wall and looked at the Sassanid people demonstrating below the city, dumbfounded. Do the Sasanians still advocate this kind of competitive one-on-one duel, in which individual martial arts determine the outcome? If this is the case, then why send a hundred thousand troops? Just send the one who can fight the most.
"This is Sassanid Prince Alpha, who is said to be the bravest of the sons of Ardashir." Varrag explained with a smile: "He must be trying to use his bravery to boost morale and undermine our confidence. . However, he came in the wrong way this time. There are countless warriors in the king¡¯s tent, so how can he be afraid of him, a Sasanian?¡±
Sun Shao glanced at him, patted his shoulder, and laughed loudly: "You know me, Varag. You are right. I am not afraid of this. Since he is here to die, I might as well make it happen." Ah, so that the people in the city can feel at ease, knowing that we are capable enough to defend Axum City."
"What the king said is true." Varrag smiled flatteringly.
Sun Shao turned around and hooked his fingers at Tu Hu: "You are also a prince, go meet this prince and see which prince is more awesome."
Tu Hu bowed and accepted the order with an expressionless face: "Here."
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