When Xia Hourong was anxious, Ardashir was also restless. We were about to enter the desert, but Xia Hourong was still following us. This was not a good thing. If they were just mercenaries of the Romans, then Aldashir wouldn't worry. Although the barbarian cavalry were brave and good at fighting, they were not familiar with the desert and most of them did not dare to follow them. However, the Bedouin were different. Traveling in the desert, they are more familiar with life in the desert than the Sasanians, not to mention they are experts in plundering. Once you enter the desert, it is not a happy thing to have these ten thousand people stalking you in the dark.
He wanted to ambush Xia Hourong, but after several battles, he found that Xia Hourong was not an ordinary person. With the Bedouin's familiarity with the terrain, he could always discover the Sassanid people's intentions and take advantage of them. People suffered some hardships. Although it was not a big setback each time, it had a huge impact on morale. If it had not been for the high morale of the Romans who had just won a great victory, Ardashir doubted that he would have been angered by Xia Hourong's unrelenting pursuit.
"Shapur, you" Ardashir yelled out of habit. As soon as the words came out, he immediately remembered that Shapur had been beheaded by Sun Shao in Axum City. Poorly, he didn't even have a whole body. No. Ardashir closed his mouth tightly and raised his hands to cover his eyes. Two lines of turbid tears flowed down his thin face and dripped on the hot iron armor.
Ardashir regretted it so much that he now felt that he had made a big mistake. Perhaps because he had never suffered in the war with the Kushans and the Romans, he always thought that his biggest enemy was supporting Rome behind his back. The Yue people, who are the people of the People's Republic of China and the Kushan people, thought that by defeating the Yue people, they would cut off the roots of the Romans and the Kushan people, and they could easily deal with them in the future, so he launched an expedition, hoping to surround Sun Shao, at least To drive him out of Axum, I never expected that the expedition to Axum would have such a result. Not only did it fail to defeat the Yue people and drive them out of Axum, but they also lost two sons, Shapur and Alpha, and now they are The Romans, Kushans and Yue jointly attacked.
How could things become like this? Ardashir was puzzled. How could the Roman civil strife subside so quickly? How could Gordian's tens of thousands of new recruits defeat Maximus? Could it bethat the Yue people were causing trouble again? Ardashir was suddenly startled, and a chill came over him, making him shiver uncontrollably.
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????¡ He shook his head, instinctively wanting to reject this view, but he couldn't help but think in this direction. The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, and his face became very ugly.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty" Hankaos, the high priest accompanying the army, saw that his expression was wrong and he quickly called out softly. Aldashir was startled, glanced sideways at him, recovered his mind, and asked in a covert manner: "What's the matter?"
"We are about to pass through the Great Rift Valley." Hankaus pointed to the mountain shadow in front of him, "I just prayed to Ahura, and the answer Ahura gave" Hankaus's voice was very low. Although he didn't say what he said next, the expression on his face told Aldashir that the outcome would definitely not be good.
"Does Ahura have any revelations?" Ardashir's heart beat violently, and his temples felt tight, making him very uncomfortable. This was the first time that the result of his prayers was unlucky since he launched an army to counterattack the rest.
"No." Hankos looked at the mountain peaks in the distance that were illuminated by the setting sun and shone like gold. He shook his head. The worry on his face was clearly revealed. He held the Holy Fire Art with his fingers, closed his eyes and muttered another paragraph silently. After reading the scriptures, he finally opened his eyes in disappointment.
While he was praying, Ardashir kept holding his breath. Seeing that his face was still so depressed, his heart couldn't help but sink. Neither of them spoke, but they could see each other's thoughts from their eyes.
"Don't tell me, you must be tired. Take a good rest, take a bath, and then pray." Aldashir didn't know whether he was comforting himself or Hankaus, and murmured: "Maybe it's been a long time since you He was angry because he was not serving Allah properly.¡±
Hankos¡¯s scalp exploded. Ardashir¡¯s words were tantamount to a death sentence for him. He did not dare to say more about the ominous premonition in his heart, so he hurriedly mumbled and bowed and retreated.
Aldashir immediately called the people who inquired about the information, focusing on the whereabouts of Lu Xun's troops. He learned that Lu Xun was on the way to Gudes two days ago. With their speed, it was impossible to make it in two days. At this point, although the soldiers who inquired about the valley ahead have not returned yet, the news half a day ago said that it was very peaceful there and there should be no problems.
Ardashir thought nervously for a long time, and finally decidedThe biggest threat was positioned on Xia Hourong who was behind. He immediately ordered the army to move forward and try to pass through the valley. If not, they would have to spend the night in the eastern half of the valley. With the cover of the valley, even if Xia Hourong wanted to attack, he could only launch it from the rear. He could concentrate on defense.
With an order, the army sped up and quickly entered the valley. The setting sun gradually fell below the horizon, and the towering valley quickly became dark. It was like a giant beast opened its mouth and swallowed the Sasanian army. The world was soon plunged into darkness.
Xia Hourong watched the Sasanian army disappear into the valley from a distance, but he could only sigh with regret. He did not dare to enter the valley easily. With Ardashir's caution, he could not leave a backup plan. Maybe he would send someone to wait for him in the valley.
"It seems that we can only chase him into the desert." Xia Hourong let out a long sigh. He tried his best, but in the end he still failed to catch Aldashir and watched him go. This kind of loss is simply a heart-wrenching pain for Xia Hourong, who has always been smooth sailing.
But he has enough sense to know that he cannot rush forward at this time, otherwise only death will be waiting for him.
"It doesn't matter. Anyway, the Sasanians suffered a lot in this battle, and there is still a battle to be fought in the future. At worst, we can catch him again at the gate of Ctesiphon. Xia Hourong said to the leaders behind him who also looked disappointed. Although the leaders really wanted to chase into the valley, they were also worried about an ambush. Besides, Xia Hourong's commanding ability along the way was obvious to all. They escaped from the Sasanian ambush several times, and in turn got involved in the Sasanian ambush. It was cheap at all, all because of Xia Hourong's alertness. They already admired this young Han Chinese very much.
Xia Hourong set up camp twenty miles outside the valley. He placed scouts all the way to the entrance of the valley. For safety reasons, he not only arranged open sentries, but also arranged secret sentries. He even arranged soldiers in the camp with clairvoyance eyes. Look, this is flat land and there is no danger to defend. If the Sasanians rush out, they will be in danger.
Contrary to the hot daytime, the night in the desert is cold, the moonlight shines on the endless beach, and the night wind blows unobstructed, making people feel chilled all over. Xia Hourong was depressed and couldn't sleep, so he lit a ditch fire outside the camp, sat on the ground with a group of barbarian leaders, drank and chatted, and asked about their folk customs.
These barbarian leaders admired Xia Hourong for his literary and military skills. They were all proud to drink with Xia Hourong. Everyone talked about the war in the past few days and praised Xia Hourong's military ability in the most beautiful words. Some praised him as Apollo, some said Odin, and they all compared him to the god of war of their own race. One Greek compared him to Athena. As soon as his words came out, everyone laughed. Xia Hourongju He picked up the wine glass and said to the Greeks: "How dare I compare with the goddess Athena? Actually, I am also an ordinary person. The insignificant achievements I have come out this time are all due to your contribution. I can fight side by side with you. an honor.¡±
The more humble he is, the happier everyone is. It is rare for these people to have the opportunity to be with the nobles. Even if they are together, the nobles will not talk to them so politely. As a general of the Han Empire, Xia Hourong He is the husband of the Princess of Sheba, and is still their commander-in-chief. He is originally learned and a good fighter, but he can sit with them and chat, which is really a great honor to them. Although the barbarians don't know much etiquette, they have their own standards of measurement. They are not disgusted with nobles like Xia Hourong. On the contrary, they feel a sense of intimacy.
"By the way, you have a young centurion who looks very brave and good at fighting, but his hair is black. Could it be that he is not one of your Teutons?" Xia Hourong smiled and asked Sti, the leader of the Teutonic tribe. Rico said.
"He is indeed not our Teutonic. As for where he is from, I don't know exactly. I only know that he is from a country in the east." Stiliko smiled proudly: "However, he is a warrior. Facts. Not long after he came to our tribe, he met the warriors our tribe selected for the expedition, and asked to participate in the selection. At first, everyone saw his appearance and were not very optimistic. I even laughed at him at the time, but I didn¡¯t expect that he almost Defeated all the warriors of our tribe and won not only the right to join the expedition, but also my daughter.¡±
"Hahaha" Everyone laughed. Many people were deeply impressed by the black-haired warrior, especially when he was besieged by the Sasanian heavy cavalry, he miraculously escaped. It was really incredible. Now that I mention it Everyone became excited when they saw him, shouting and calling him to come and have a look and compete with him. Stiliko tugged on his braided beard and said with a smile on his face: "That's no coincidence. He couldn't stop and took his subordinates to the front to inquire about the military situation. He may be outside the valley now. Woolen cloth."
Xia Hourong nodded somewhat disappointedly.
"General, don't worry,I will ask him to come see the general as soon as he comes back. Stiliko said respectfully: "I can tell from his usual words that he respects the general very much." It was he who told me the day before yesterday that the general would definitely lead us to defeat the Sasanians, so I followed him. Otherwise, hahaha"
Stiliko laughed and said nothing further. Although he did not suffer any loss this time with Xia Hourong in chasing the Sassanid people, his gains were limited. He did feel that it was not worth it, but now he was doing it in front of everyone. He was embarrassed to say that he was wrong when talking about his most proud subordinate.
Xia Hourong saw his regret, and he also had such regret in his heart. Not only did he not get an advantage, but Sun Shao's big plan eventually came to nothing. Lu Xun was far away in Gudes, and there was definitely no way to intercept it. The Sassanid people were already here, and if they wanted to achieve further results, they could only pursue them as far as Ctesiphon. If the Sasanian army returns to Ctesiphon like this, the plan to weaken the Sasanians will be considered a failure.
"It's a pity." Xia Hourong shook his head: "I really failed to live up to his high expectations. I can only lead you here."
Everyone was a little sad, but they were not as sad as Xia Hourong, and they soon became happy again. Halfway through the wine, they all stood up and danced around the ditch fire. Xia Hourong was not in a good mood, so he just happened to watch the barbarian dance to relieve his boredom, but it didn't mean anything.
After finishing drinking and singing, everyone went to sleep separately. Xia Hourong returned to his tent, but could not fall asleep for a long time. He never thought that he would be thousands of miles away from home, leading a group of foreigners to fight against the Sasanians whom he had never even heard of. This battle involved all four great empires in the world. The allied forces of the Han Empire even marched thousands of miles away. With the help of Yue's powerful shipping capabilities, they not only took the initiative on the battlefield, but also dominated the war. Both Kushan and Rome mobilized to besiege Sassanid.
Only Sun Shao has such strength and such a strategy. Unfortunately, God is not long-sighted and actually squandered the fighting opportunity that Sun Shao worked so hard to create. And all this is to be blamed on the Romans. They missed the fighting opportunity and wasted it. The Sasanians were let go.
"Alas, the mighty Rome is no longer strong." Xia Hourong thought of Sun Shao's words again and sighed involuntarily. He knew that Sun Shao had studied the Romans very deeply. Funan College had scholars who specialized in studying Rome, and he learned about the history of Rome from the information collected by those scholars. It was precisely because he learned about the history of Rome that he thought deeper and further, from Rome's transformation from a city-state to a powerful empire, to the current stormy scene, to the possible situation of Rome in the future, He thought a lot. Xia Hourong knew that Sun Shao had the idea of ??competing with Rome, but he also knew that Sun Shao studied Rome not only to compete with Rome for territory, but also to draw experience from the rise and fall of Rome and avoid repeating the same mistakes. From one point of view, Sun Shao wanted to use the stone from another mountain to attack the jade from his own mountain.
Xia Hourong's thoughts kept coming and going, and it took a long time before he fell asleep. Not long after he fell asleep, he suddenly heard a cry and immediately jumped up again. He subconsciously put on his armor and shouted: "What happened? "
"The Teutons want to see you." The guard strode into the tent and replied.
Xia Hourong looked at the sky outside and gave a wry smile. He thought to himself, "I want to see the black-haired warrior, but you don't have to be in such a hurry. You came here before dawn, and you didn't let anyone rest." Although he was unwilling in his heart, he still dressed up and welcomed the Teutons in. To his surprise, it was not the black-haired warrior who came in, but Stilico. As soon as Stiliko entered the tent, he gasped and shouted: "General, the opportunity has come."
"Opportunity? What opportunity?" Xia Hourong was confused.
"There's a fighting in the valley The Sasanians seem to have been ambushed by someone, and the fighting is going on. We should we rush over and have a look?" Stiliko hadn't finished speaking yet. Several more mercenary leaders rushed in and looked at Xia Hourong with warm eyes.
When Xia Hourong heard this, his heart was shocked. He strode out of the tent, jumped on a war horse, raised his clairvoyance and looked far into the distance. There was a faint light of fire in the valley in the distance. He listened carefully again. The barbarian leaders saw them. They all held their breath for fear of interfering with Xia Hourong's judgment.
The night wind brought the cry of killing. Although it was very vague, you could still hear it clearly if you listened carefully. Xia Hourong suppressed the impulse in his heart, jumped off the horse, and looked around. His face remained calm, only his eyes were shining.
"Have any of our scouts returned?" Xia Hourong turned around and asked his personal guard. He was a Bedouin man who belonged to the royal family of Sheba and was sent by the King of Sheba to protect Xia Hourong's safety. He shook his head: "Not yet, but with such a big thing happening, they should be back soon."
"Who knew the news first?" Xia Hourong asked the mercenary generals again.
Everyone turned their attention to Stiliko.
Stiliko bowed and said: "It was discovered by my subordinates. He sent someone back to say that they heard the sound of fierce fighting in the valley. The noise was quite loud. It seemed that the Sasanians were ambushed. He was not sure. , have sneaked into the valley with people to investigate, and sent people back to report first, and asked me to inform the general to be prepared. If it is indeed the Sasanian people who were ambushed, then we can rush to rob them. If not, then we must be prepared. .¡±
Xia Hourong nodded, becoming even more interested in the black-haired warrior. He was brave and resourceful to make such a hasty judgment and take the risk himself to go deep into the valley to investigate. He suddenly had the urge to see this black-haired warrior immediately.
"Very good." Xia Hourong praised and explained: "It is night now and the situation is unknown. Everyone should be prepared just in case and wait for more precise news to come. If someone really ambush the Sassanids, then Of course we cannot miss this opportunity, but we must also guard against the Sasanians deliberately setting a trap to lure us in. If that is the case, once we enter the valley, we may not have much chance to come out."
After listening to Xia Hourong's analysis, everyone nodded in agreement. They just couldn't make up their minds, so they came together to listen to Xia Hourong's arrangements. They were both a little nervous and a little hopeful. Anyway, the troops had already been assembled and it was impossible to sleep again. They just waited for the latest news from the Teutons.
Soon, the scouts arranged by Xia Hourong rushed out of the night one after another and returned to the camp, confirming the news that something had happened in the valley. However, they did not know what happened in the valley. Xia Hourong was a little anxious. , although his face remained calm, his hands could not help but tap lightly on the case.
Time seemed to have stagnated, and the camp that was ready to go was filled with silent restlessness. Each knight packed up and stood beside his horse, ready to jump on the horse to escape or start charging at any time. None of them spoke, but their nervous eyes were clearly visible, and they looked up at the valley in the distance from time to time.
Scouts kept coming back to report the news, but Xia Hourong never issued the latest order. More than 10,000 knights were waiting anxiously. The war horse snorted uneasily, pawed at the sand on the ground, and shook its mane from time to time.
In everyone's expectation, the Teutonic scout finally appeared. Everyone watched Stiliko rush into Xia Hourong's tent with the panting scout. Not long after, Xia Hourong's personal guards rushed into the tent. He came out of the big tent, raised his horn, puffed up his cheeks, and blew the horn of attack. Immediately afterwards, Xia Hourong, who was fully armed, rushed out of the tent, jumped on his horse, and rushed out of the camp first with the support of his personal guards.
Behind him, more than 10,000 knights filed out and quickly disappeared into the night.
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