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Volume Two: Set Sail Chapter 159: Full of Selfishness

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    Chapter 159: Selfish

    Bo Tiao chased him fifty miles away and plunged into the Sasanian ambush.  Seeing that the Sassanid people were getting weaker and weaker as they ran, and the distance was getting closer and closer, Bo Diao was just happy when he didn't expect that two teams of ten thousand people suddenly rushed out from both sides, and the Sassanid people rushing in front turned around again.  Opening their fangs towards him, the 10,000 heavy armored cavalry of the Immortal Army rushed towards him with an indestructible murderous intent, immediately surrounding him.

    Bo Diao was so regretful that his intestines were green. He cursed Ardashir for being too cunning and not forgetting to set a trap while escaping.  But Ardashir couldn't hear his curses. He commanded the army to swarm forward, surrounding Bo Diao in the middle and beating them randomly. The heavily armored immortal army continued to charge at Bo Diao's personal guards, trying to kill Bo Diao in front of him.  Kill the 20,000 Guishuang Jingqi before the reinforcements arrive.

    Bo Diao was forced into a dead end with no way to escape. With the instinct of survival, he shouted for a fierce battle, loudly saying that the Han cavalry would definitely come to rescue them, encouraging the soldiers to persevere to the end, while leading the guards with the battalion.  A dense formation was formed to deal with the charge of the Changsheng Army.  The Kushan people heard Bo Tiao's order and encouraged each other to resist desperately. They used horns from far away and shouted loudly from near. The Sasanians were no strangers to the Kushan people's language. Someone understood their words and learned that  The Han cavalry was not far behind, and their morale was also affected. In addition, after all, they had just trekked in the desert for half a month, and their physical strength had reached the limit. It was only with a sense of morale that they suppressed the Kushan people. Over time,  , they could no longer hold on any longer, and now that they heard that the Han cavalry was about to arrive, they felt even more unsure.

    Ardashir quickly received a report from the scouts that the Han cavalry was coming. Although he was not sure how sincere the Han people were in coming to rescue Bo Diao, he was more afraid of being entangled and unable to escape.  Having already beaten the Kushan people into a state of disarray and suffered heavy losses, they decided to give up as soon as possible, ordered the army to withdraw from the battlefield, and slowly retreated northward while covering each other.

    In just half an hour of fighting, Bo Tiao lost more than 3,000 people, and more than 5,000 people were injured and lost their combat effectiveness. The originally high morale plummeted.  Looking at the corpses on the ground and listening to the wailings one after another, Bo Diao felt extremely depressed, filled with regret and couldn't help but burst into tears.

    When Xun Yun arrived with Hu Qiying, the Sasanians had already gone far, walking on a messy battlefield. He was also secretly surprised.  The Sassanid cavalry roamed the world, and Ardashir was good at fighting, and his reputation was well-deserved. It only took half an hour to cause so much damage to the Kushan people.  This was after they were severely wounded by Lu Xun and then walked in the desert for more than half a month. If they faced the Sassanid people who were recharging their strength, he highly doubted whether Bo Diao's head would have been killed by the Sassanid people.  Cut it off.

    The battlefield is dangerous and you should not be careless. Any slight negligence may cause irreparable losses.  The Sasanians severely damaged the advancing Kushans with one backhand blow. Although it was not a bad thing for the Han people, it was a huge blow to morale.  They came all the way from Tianzhu by boat to recharge their batteries. They originally wanted to make a good start, but unexpectedly they suffered a defeat first, which put a lot of pressure on the soldiers' psychology.

    "Your Majesty, victory or defeat is a common thing for military officers. Fortunately, the loss is not very big. Your Majesty, it is better to seize the time to regain control of people's hearts. Things can still be done. When we reach Ctesiphon, it will not be too late for us to avenge this." Xun Yun patiently advised.  He said, seeing the originally high-spirited tone suddenly change like this, he felt a little uncomfortable in his heart.

    Bo Tiao felt very embarrassed and had no choice but to wipe away the tears on his face, ordered people to collect the soldiers, treat the wounded, and cremate the remains of the soldiers on the spot.  Most of the Kushan people believe in Buddhism and practice the afterlife. Moreover, the Kushan people have inherited some of their original customs and do not have many taboos about dying in battle. On the contrary, they regard it as a relief.  There are accompanying monks in the army. After they chant sutras for the fallen soldiers and achieve salvation, they can keep some of the bones and take them back to the country.

    At night, the sound of chanting and blazing fires for miles around made people feel the danger of the battlefield and the uncertainty of life and death. Even Cao Zhang and others who were accustomed to seeing blood felt a little sad.  Cao Zhang came back from visiting the soldiers in the camp. He looked at the lights on the endless grassland and was silent for a long time. Then he suddenly said: "When a person dies, will there really be a paradise?"

    Xun Yun thought for a while and said with a smile: "I still like to return my soul to Mount Tai and be buried in the Xun family's ancestral grave. I don't want to abandon my body in another country."

    Cao Zhang looked back at him, frowned, and then laughed again, laughing at himself: "I have killed countless people. I think those monks who are compassionate will not do it for salvation. I can't go to this paradise."  I just hope to have the opportunity to enter the Great Han¡¯s Hall of Sages. It¡¯s enough to let future generations know that I have done something for the Great Han.¡±

    Xun Yun was a little curious: "Do you really want to build the Xianxian Hall?"

    "It's going to be built." Cao Zhang said with a smile: "Your Majesty told me personally before we came out. He said that Yue is a vassal state of the Han Dynasty, and they all have halls of sages."??Let future generations remember those virtuous ministers and generals who contributed to the Yue Kingdom. How can a great man be inferior to a vassal state? The Xianxian Hall is to be built, and the address has been selected. It is planned to be placed in Piyongli outside Luoyang City.  Let those scholars who enter Taixue know their achievements.  "

    "Really?" Xun Yun responded thoughtfully: "I wonder who can enter the Hall of the Ancients?"

    "Of course he is a person who has established his moral character and made meritorious deeds." Cao Zhang laughed and patted Xun Yun on the shoulder: "Chang Qian (Xun Yun's word), you are a warrior now, you have no time for learning, and you kill a lot of people.  , don¡¯t expect to establish your moral character, just make meritorious service. This alliance of the four countries and the expedition to Sassanid is also a battle that is once in a lifetime. If it can be won, it will be regarded as setting a precedent for thousands of miles of expedition. If you want to stay  It¡¯s not difficult to become famous in history.¡±

    Xun Yun concealed his laughter twice and said: "Yes, I am just a martial artist now, with a rudimentary knowledge. I am really ashamed of my ancestors. If our ancestors knew about it, they would probably jump out of their graves."

    The Xun family is the descendant of Xun Kuang, a great Confucian at the end of the Warring States Period. Although there were no great Confucians after the Qin and Han Dynasties, the generation of Xun Shu, the great ancestor of Xun Yun, suddenly emerged and several great scholars emerged one after another.  Xun Shu herself was erudite but not good at verses. Together with Chen Shi, Zhong Hao and Han Shao, they were called the Four Chiefs of Yingchuan and were known as the Divine Lords.  His eight sons were known as the Eight Dragons. Among them, Xun Shuang was the best in learning. He annotated "Li", "Yi" and "Poetry" and founded Xun's Yi School, which was named Shuo Ru.  In the generation of Xun Yun, Xun Yun's father, Xun Yue's knowledge was the best. He wrote thirty chapters of "Han Ji" and five volumes of "Shen Jian". He was a great master of the generation.  In Xun Yun's generation, his brother Xun Kai was famous for Confucianism, and Xun Can was famous for Taoism, but his eldest brother had no reputation among scholars. This of course has something to do with the fact that he married a woman from the Cao family.  But it was mainly because he had no outstanding academic achievements.  For the children of these aristocratic families, no matter how great an official they are, it is not as good as having a good reputation among the scholars. For example, his great-grandfather Xun Shu was no longer the prime minister of Langling and the chief of Tu, but it did not affect his high status among the scholars.  Such prestige that even celebrities like Li Ying and Li Gu worshiped him and called him their teacher.

    "Learning?" Cao Zhang sneered and dismissed it: "Broad knowledge of the classics is just picking up people's wisdom. Even if there are thousands of books, it is just the foundation of a family. What does it add to the Tao, and what benefit is it to the country?"

    Xun Yun said nothing. The Cao family were uneducated and there was no point in discussing this with them.

    Cao Zhang saw his look in his eyes and became even more unconvinced.  He thought for a while and said: "Your Xun family has Xun's Yi. I guess you also know a little about the Yi school."

    Xun Yun nodded calmly: "I know a little bit, why, are you willing to learn Yi?"

    "I don't want to learn those things." Cao Zhang curled his lips and said: "It's far away, but there have been more than 400 years of Han Dynasty, and there have been no less than a hundred people who have studied the Book of Changes, right?"

    "

    "Those who study Yi all say they are studying the Great Way of Heaven and Earth. They claim to know astronomy from above and geography from below. But in the end, they didn't even understand that the earth is round, and they don't know what they are studying." Cao Zhang stamped his feet.  He said with a sarcastic smile: "They only know how to study every word of the ancients, but they don't know whether these are true avenues. What's the use of ten thousand people? Can ten thousand mistakes equal one truth?"

    Xun Yun was stunned and speechless.

    When Cao Zhang saw this, he was in a better mood. Taking advantage of the victory, he pursued the victory and said, "I have never seen which Yixue studied by the King of Yue, but I still believe what he said. The highest state of Yixue lies in 'one yin and one yang'.  ', and what we should practice most is 'Heaven moves vigorously, and a gentleman strives to constantly strive for self-improvement. The terrain is unsteady, and a gentleman carries things with great virtue'. Everything else is just a fucking cloud."

    "Nonsense!" Xun Yun couldn't help but retorted: "He is just uneducated and has no skills. Aren't those scholars from Funan College and Zhuya College really doing things? He is now invincible, so everyone is  Respect him, if this battle is defeated, see if he can still be as majestic as he is now."

    "He can't win, so you can win by recruiting a few great scholars?" Cao Zhang retorted: "pedantic!"

    "Ignorant!"

    The two stared at each other like two toads for a moment, and then couldn't help laughing.  Xun Yun shook his head in frustration, and took the initiative to change the topic: "You see how we got here, aren't we talking about heaven and hell?"

    "Heaven and earth are just a thought away." Cao Zhang said seriously: "Those monks said, put down the butcher knife and become a Buddha immediately. After fighting this battle, I will put down the knife, become a Buddha, and go to heaven in the future.  I¡¯m looking down at you corrupt people.¡±

    Xun Yun burst out laughing, the two looked at each other, smiled, and walked side by side towards the tent.

    The next day, I got newsCao Zhi and others from ?? arrived, and everyone discussed it. They felt that after the failure of intercepting the Sassanid people, it was a foregone conclusion that the main force of the Sassanid army returned to Ctesiphon safely. No one was sure whether they would continue to march and besiege Ctesiphon or stop here.  , I had to have someone send the news to Sun Shao to see how he would arrange it.  Before receiving Sun Shao's order, they rested where they were, while Chen Hai arranged for ships to transport grain and grass in preparation for a siege or retreat.  A siege is a war of attrition, and the tens of thousands of troops need a lot of food. Even if the country of Yue is very motivated now, it still needs to be prepared in advance to avoid being in a dilemma.

    In Damascus, Sun Shao is still waiting for the results of the Romans' discussion.  The Romans did not know that Sun Shao had also arranged for people to intercept Ardashir in the Sassanid territory. Of course, they did not know that the interception had failed. However, they knew that although the Sassanid losses were considerable, they were far from exhausted.  , they had different opinions on joining forces with Yue and Guishan to besiege Taixi Fengcheng.  Conservatives represented by Gordian believed that the Romans were lucky to be able to fight like this after the blow of Maximus's rebellion. Instead of going deep into Sassanid territory to fight a war with little hope, it would be better to just stop there.  Make peace with the Sasanians and take advantage of the bad situation in Sassanid to ask for more benefits, such as returning the lands occupied by the Sasanians, asking for some compensation, etc.  Even if the compensation is smaller, it is still better than going to war and getting nothing in the end.

    The radicals headed by the Roman Emperor Quintus dismissed this. They believed that the Sasanians had always been a strong enemy of the Romans and were determined to destroy Rome. This time they could join forces with Yue and Kushan to besiege Taishi.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If we don't take advantage of this opportunity to destroy Sassanid and divide their land, do we have to wait for them to breathe again before attacking Rome?  Do you think that Yue and Kushan are our vassal states, and we can come when we want them to come and leave when we want them to?  At that time, only Rome will face the wrath of Ardashir alone. Can you, Gordian, be sure to defeat him?

    Gordian was speechless and couldn't stop his anger. Although Quintus did not make this matter clear, he knew that Quintus must have heard some rumors and knew that he was actually fighting on the shore of Lake Timsach.  A defeated battle.  He himself also knew that the two battles that brought him great fame were actually the result of the Yue people. Without the help of the Yue people, he might have died in Byzantium long ago.  If he wanted to preserve his reputation and prepare for future power struggles, he couldn't push Quintus too hard.  Besides, he couldn't bear this responsibility. If he said he was sure to deal with the Sassanids now, but actually lost the battle on that day, then the Gordian family would have come to an end.

    Gordian avoided the question and instead posed a question to Quintus and his supporters.  The Sasanians still have fifty or sixty thousand elites. Even if they suffer some losses in the desert, at least half of them will return to Ctesiphon. Ctesiphon is a large city with tight defenses and a large population. With Ardashir's appeal, it is very difficult to defeat them.  He will be able to regain his strength soon. With these troops, can they capture Ctesiphon?  With the current strength of the Three Kingdoms, can they guarantee a long-term siege?  If you are not sure at all, why go to Ctesiphon?  Who dares to say that we can definitely win Ctesiphon when we get there?

    This time it was Quintus and others¡¯ turn to remain silent.  They need to go to Ctesiphon to perform meritorious service, but they are not sure of success. Not only do they need full cooperation with the Yue Kingdom and Kushan, but they also need the support of Gordian. If Gordian resists passively, just because they have just recruited  The more than 40,000 people who rose up can only be regarded as subordinates in the Three Kingdoms Alliance. Even if they capture Ctesiphon, the benefits they will get are limited. The risks are too great and the benefits are too small. Who else is willing to go?  Once the war turns out as Gordian expected, they will be in dire straits and will have no choice but to listen to Gordian's instructions from now on.

    Everyone is looking at their own interests and weighing the gains and losses. As for the interests of Rome and the interests of all Romans, they are just an excuse to attack others. No one really takes these seriously.

    Quintus is not stupid. He certainly saw the true intentions of Gordian and the members of the Senate. No matter how righteous they said, they were actually fighting for their own interests.  But seeing it is one thing, and how to do it is another.  Not only did he have to rely on these councilors to fight against Gordian, but he also had to unite with Gordian to bargain with Sun Shao. Therefore, even though he despised these people in his heart, he could only deal with them patiently.

    He was exhausted from the fruitless discussions again and again. In desperation, he had to come to Momia again for advice.

    After listening to his complaints, Momia said calmly: "What they want is nothing more than benefits. Where do the benefits come from? We don't have it, and we won't give it to them for free. No matter who it is, if you want to get benefits, you must  Go and fight for it. It is impossible to get something for nothing. It is not terrible that they quarrel. This shows that they want to fight for interests. What is afraid is that they have no desires and desires. No*The most terrible people are the * people.  The sages of the Han people said that only those who do not fight with others are invincible.  If they have the power, they have a way to control it. All they have to think about now is how to find this way.  "

    Quintus was a little surprised. He was stunned for a moment: "Who did you listen to? I don't think I have said this."

    "You haven't said it before, so I won't listen to what others say?" Momia said calmly: "There are many Han people in Rome, so it's difficult to find someone who understands me. But you, since  After becoming emperor, I no longer have time to study."

    Quintus turned his head in embarrassment and said nothing.  Momia is his queen, but he has a lingering sense of inferiority in front of Momia. Although he has been fascinated by Momia's beauty for a long time, he does not dare to make requests to her.  Once or twice, it ended hastily due to his psychological reasons. Although Momia didn't say anything, he felt great hurt from Momia's silence. In order to avoid this kind of hurt, he tried not to look for it again.  Momia, there is never a shortage of women in the palace anyway.  Compared with his psychological disadvantage in front of Momia, he can enjoy the emperor's supreme dignity with other women.  This obsessed him for a while.  He felt that Momia was just accusing him of lusting after women and neglecting business.

    ¡°Well¡­how can we find this solution now?¡±

    ¡°Go find friends who can help you.¡± Momia lowered her head, picked up the brush, and learned to write Chinese characters stroke by stroke without looking at Quintus.  Quintus hesitated for a moment: "His Royal Highness the King of Yue? Can he help me solve this problem? Will he make more requests from me?"

    "How do you know if you don't talk about it?" Momia said lightly: "Gordian relied on the help of Yue to win the war. Are you willing to watch him keep helping Gordian? Even if the negotiation fails, he must be removed from the war.  Gordian pulls over. In any case, you are the emperor of Rome now. All Gordian can do is make promises, but you can fulfill them immediately. I don¡¯t think the King of Yue can¡¯t see the difference.  ." She paused to give Quintus time to digest, and then said: "As for the conditions, we need to talk about them. He didn't want to come to Damascus to meet with you at the beginning. You were worried that he would want the whole thing.  The city of Damascus was not willing to let go, but didn¡¯t the problem be solved later with a manor?¡±

    Quintus smiled, his worries melting away a lot.  At first, Sun Shao refused to enter Damascus, and Quintus did not dare to give Damascus to Sun Shao like Alexander gave Axum directly to Sun Shao. After all, Axum was just an alien vassal state, while Damascus was the official territory of Rome.  Just when he was in a dilemma, it was Momia who reminded him and came up with a way to give away a manor instead of Damascus City. Only then did he successfully achieve his goal.  But Sun Shao didn't insist, which was what he didn't expect at first. Just like when he took a letter from Momia to ask Sun Shao to send troops to help the Romans solve the crisis, Momia could always play a role at the most critical moment.  irreplaceable role.

    "By the way, the King of Yue did not bring any concubines with him on this trip. Do you think you should choose some women to serve him?" Quintus suddenly remembered Sun Shao's lustful habits, and his eyes suddenly lit up.  Momia's hand shook, and a drop of ink spread on the paper. Quintus was lost in thought, but he didn't pay attention. He just talked about what he knew about Sun Shao's beauty standards: "He likes  Those with plumper figures, especially those with plumper breasts, hehe, his habits are really strange. Why does he like women with such big breasts? Aren¡¯t pigeon-like breasts just right"

    According to the aesthetic habits of the Romans, women with large breasts were not good-looking, and the most beautiful breasts were described as pigeon breasts, so Quintus never quite understood Sun Shao's standards for beauty.  When he thought of this, he was a little puzzled, but he didn't notice that Momia's face had changed several times.

    "The people of the Han Dynasty were really surprised. How could they connect such exquisite thoughts with things between men and women? Since they likened such things to a war between men and women, why did they study something that makes people feel  What about the knowledge of infinite happiness? Is war also a kind of enjoyment for them? But war will kill people, and many people will die, so what happiness is there? Speaking of which, this thing is better. "

    Momia¡¯s thoughts are running wild.

    "QueenQueen" Quintus patted the table, interrupting Momia's trance.  Momia was startled, her face turned red involuntarily, she slapped herself secretly, and asked in a covert manner: "What's the matter?"

    "I said, can you choose a few women to give to the King of Yue as I just said?"

    "No." Momia blurted out. Looking at Quintus' stunned expression, she regretted it. The blush on her face immediately faded away, and her originally fair face became as clear as jade.

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