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Volume Two: Set Sail Chapter 160: Riding a Tiger and Being Difficult to Dismount

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    Chapter 160: Riding a Tiger and Being Difficult to Dismount

    Quintus was stunned, with an expression of surprise clearly revealed on his face: "Whywhat?"

    The expression on Momia's face quickly returned to her confident self-confidence, and she asked: "Do you think King Yue is the kind of person who can change his attitude for a few women? If so, I don't think he is worth it.  You are so trusting."

    Quintus said "Oh", slapped his thigh, and suddenly realized: "Yes, although the King of Yue likes women, he has never changed his mind because of women. There are so many beauties in his palace, and the beauties from all over the world are amazing to watch.  How could he do something he didn't want to do just because of a few women?" He scratched his head in embarrassment: "If you hadn't reminded me, I almost did a stupid thing.  The purpose is to make him feel that I underestimate him. Momia, you are really my good wife."

    The corners of Momia's mouth twitched, and her expression became a little complicated. She nodded silently, and after a long time, she said calmly: "Yes, if you want to send him a few women in exchange for his help,  , that is an insult to him, harmful but not beneficial. For a person like him who has very clear goals and far-reaching strategies, women are probably just playthings. How could he change his mind because of women? What he wants is profit.  It is a very big benefit. If there is no interest that makes his heart move, you can give him all the women in Rome and he will not be tempted."

    Quintus nodded in agreement. He felt that Momia was right. Although Sun Shao was lustful, he didn't seem to have heard that he did anything detrimental to the country because of any woman.  To gain benefits from others through relationships with women.  Yesudhara, the daughter of King Nirmal of Ceylon, was his concubine. As a result, Ceylon became a transit point for the Yue Kingdom, and many Vietnamese naval forces were stationed there. The benefits he received from Ceylon were far greater than that of Nirmal.  many.

    "Then what benefits can we give him?" Quintus said with some embarrassment: "We haven't reached an agreement yet on our own interests. If we give him another part of the benefits, wouldn't it mean that we can't share it?"

    "The benefits he wants may not be the benefits you want. Besides, if you don't cooperate with Vietnam, you can't win Ctesiphon at all. None of you will get any benefits, so what will you share?" Momia said sarcastically:  "Those people think they are smart and refuse to make any concessions, so let them get nothing. Gordian was smart all his life, but unexpectedly he became confused again in his old age. This is really consistent with what the Han people said.  "

    Quintus thought for a moment: "Is the power making you stupid?"

    Momia chuckled lightly and started writing by herself. Quintus sat aside and watched her practice Chinese characters, a little absent-mindedly.  I was originally planning to give in to his favor and send a few women to get closer to Sun Shao so that I could ask him for help. But now Momia denied it, so how could I ask Sun Shao?  Momia said that Sun Shao has the benefits that Sun Shao wants, but what benefits can impress Sun Shao?  Trade route?  The Mediterranean has become the territory of the Yue Navy. Although the sovereignty is still Roman, the actual rights have fallen into the hands of the Yue people. From now on, the maritime trade routes will be under the control of the Yue people. Although there is still some trade volume on the land routes,  But the proportion is no longer large, and it is still decreasing. Does Sun Shao want to eat up even this?  But if all the trade routes were controlled by Sun Shao, how could the nobles in the Senate agree?  Isn't the reason why they are quarreling now because there are not enough benefits left for them to divide?

    Quintus was puzzled and frowned without saying a word.

    Momia seems to be very calm, but her mind is in a mess.  She originally thought that the reason why Sun Shao was willing to help Roma was for the sake of his son Philip. After meeting Sun Shao and seeing Sun Shao's love for Philip and his tenderness towards her, she not only affirmed  With my own thoughts, I further felt that there was also a reason for my love for her.  This idea was originally just a little bit, but these days, it felt like it was fermenting, slowly expanding, filling her heart with sweetness and making her intoxicated with happiness.

    But those words that Quintus said unintentionally just now made her suddenly understand something. She might have thought about things too idealistically.  The reason why Sun Shao was willing to come might really be for her and Philip, but it certainly wasn't as much as she thought. What he thought more about was probably profit.

    When she thought of these two words, Momia's heart felt like it was being gnawed by countless ants. Besides a trace of pain, there was also an unspeakable sadness.  If she had not met Sun Shao again, the impression left on her by Sun Shao would only be that of a wise king and a strong man. She might not have such a feeling and just regard Sun Shao as a strong man, but she had seen  After seeing Sun Shao's tender side, her mind has changed inadvertently. She has regarded Sun Shao as a lover, far more than a lover in the ordinary sense of lover¡ª¡ªShe gave birth to a child for Sun Shao.

    Because of this, when Quintus planned to send several women to Sun Shao, she instinctively expressed opposition. She refused to have other women share this man with her. Although this man already had many women, she wanted to  Protect your territory, even if you know it's futile.

    However, she suddenly realized that maybe Sun Shao didn't think so, maybe he had never considered her.

    She lowered her head. She didn't know what Quintus was thinking, but she could feel that Quintus had been looking at her. She didn't dare to show any abnormal behavior. No matter how much pain she felt, she could only hide it deeply in her heart.  .  She couldn't let Quintus discover that Philip was not Alexander's posthumous son, but her illegitimate son for Sun Shao, otherwise everything would be ruined.

    She tried her best to control her emotions, but the pain became more and more serious. She was struggling between reason and emotion. She didn't know if she was strong enough.  With a shake of his hand, the tip of the pen drew a short line of ink on the rice paper, which slowly smeared into a ball.

    Looking at this black mass, Momia felt that her world was slowly getting darker.

    Quintus thought for a while and seemed to have found some direction, but he was not sure yet. He decided to talk it over with Momia, but found that Momia looked a little dazed. Although the pen was in his hand, it stopped.  There was no movement there for a long time, and the ink ball on the paper was getting bigger and bigger. I felt a little surprised, so I called softly: "Momia?"

    Momia didn't move.

    "Momia?" Quintus hesitated for a moment, stretched out his hand and knocked lightly on the table. Momia was startled, then came back to her senses, and looked at Quintus in a panic: "You still have something?  What's up?"

    "What's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell? Are you too tired to carry Philip?" Quintus said with concern: "I know you love Philip, but you should also pay attention to your own health. I think it's better to  Bring Obianna back, she should have recovered after such a long rest. After all, Philip is her child, and with Philip, she may be able to recover from her grief faster."

    "Oh." Momia was shocked, and quickly returned to normal. She smiled: "I understand, and I will ask someone to check on her condition. If her mental recovery is okay, I will  Bring her back."

    "Yes." Quintus sighed sympathetically: "My father and husband died at the same time. This blow is really too big for a woman. Fortunately, her health has been good and it did not affect Philip. Otherwise,  Oh, it¡¯s really unimaginable.¡±

    Momia responded noncommittally. Seeing that she was not interested in talking about this, Quintus changed the subject for fear that she would think he had other ideas.  "I just thought about it and thought that the King of Yue might want to control the entire trade route. But if this happens, our losses will be great, and it is impossible for the people in the Senate to agree."

    "You have a point in your thinking. Why don't you ask someone to check his tone first?" Momia put down her pen, washed her hands in the basin handed over by the maid, wiped them with a silk handkerchief, and then said:  "Don't take the initiative to discuss it with him, lest you lose the initiative. I always feel that if he went to such great lengths to besiege Ctesiphon, he wouldn't just come back empty-handed. He is probably waiting for us to beg him, and then  Just ask for more benefits. It's just like doing business, the first bidder always loses."

    Quintus nodded repeatedly: "You are absolutely right. I am also worried about this." He thought for a moment and then said: "Well, I will go see him, but I won't talk to him about these situations, just  Look what he¡¯s doing.¡±

    "That's fine." Momia responded casually, stood up and said, "I'm a little tired, you go and do your work first."

    Quintus stood up and left knowingly.  As soon as he went out, Momia's face darkened, she threw her hands angrily and walked into the house, pacing around the room angrily like an enraged lioness.  The emotions that she had suppressed just now were released without any scruples. The complicated feelings made her lose her usual composure. Even in the days after receiving the news of Alexander's death, she had never been so out of control.  The maids next to her looked at her nervously and worriedly, but no one dared to come up to advise her. This made her feel even more isolated and helpless, and she felt even more depressed.

    Quintus walked into the manor with a smile on his face. When he was told that the King of Yue was admiring flowers in the backyard with the prince, he left his entourage behind and went directly to the back garden with only one bodyguard.  As soon as he entered the door, Sun Feng was already at the door to greet him. He bowed and saluted: "His Majesty the Emperor has arrived, and it is really rude not to greet him from a distance. My father ordered me to welcome you here, and please enjoy the flowers with your Majesty."

    Quintus laughed and reached out to pat Sun Feng's shoulder affectionately: "Prince, I haven't seen you for a few years. You have changed so much. You have grown into a man accidentally. I really envy my old friend.  So?¡¯s son is his greatest success.  "

    "Your Majesty the Emperor has thanked you." Sun Feng smiled and led Quintus inside.  They bypassed two rockeries and came to a three-acre pond. They walked on the winding covered bridge and came to the pavilion in the center of the pond.  Sun Shaozheng was sitting on a chair with a splendid look, with a chessboard in front of him. When he saw Quintus walking quickly, he smiled and said: "How come His Majesty the Emperor has time to see me today? Since he is here  Come on, just talk with me for a while."

    Quintus was not polite. He sat opposite Sun Shao and stretched out his hand: "You are a guest, you invite me first."

    "Here, you are the guest." Sun Shao smiled slightly.  Quintus was stunned for a moment, then smiled, and without being polite, he took out two white jade chess pieces from the cherry wood chess box next to him, and one of them fell with a "pop" sound.  Sun Shao immediately responded, and the two of them went back and forth, and soon they were fighting together.  Sun Feng ordered people to serve tea and stood aside to watch.

    Quintus has stayed in the East for a relatively long time, and his level of Go is not bad, but Sun Shao's level of Go is very limited. He was a little good at the beginning, but after entering the middle game, he fell behind and took more and more time to think.  His brows also gradually wrinkled.

    "Father, you seem to have lost." Sun Feng reminded.

    "Who said I lost?" Sun Shao raised his head unconvinced, glared at Sun Feng, and complained to Quintus: "Why is my prince looking at you? Have you done him any favors?"

    Quintus smiled slightly and said meaningfully: "Old friend, what you said is serious. He is your prince, and his wealth in the future will far exceed mine. What else can I do to impress him?"

    "Are you crying again?" Sun Shao glanced at him with a smile on his face: "I asked you why you suddenly came to see me, and were in such a good mood, and were willing to talk to a chess player like me. It turns out you have other intentions.  ah."

    "With the heart of a villain, you can save the heart of a gentleman. Why, I can't come to see you? Even if I don't come to see you, it is a refreshing thing to see this beautiful scenery that combines the best of Rome and the Han Dynasty.  Ah. Why, the king doesn¡¯t welcome you?¡±

    "Hahaha" Sun Shao surrendered, clapped his hands, took a cup of tea from Master Sima, took a sip, and then said: "Are you in a bad mood? Come to my place to relax. I said  Quintus, you are not as kind as before. You gave me a garden, but you trapped me in this city. I can only wander around in such a big place every day. Even a beautiful garden can make people feel trapped.  Feeling."

    "If you get tired of it, just ask someone to carry you out for a walk. As long as you don't fall to the ground, your weird temper is really unbearable. If you are happy to run around Damascus, wouldn't I be in a big loss?  Already?" Quintus winked and smiled narrowly: "I think you might as well go to Ctesiphon for a run, so that we don't have to be neighbors with that old wolf in Ardassil."

    When Sun Shao heard this, the smile on his face suddenly turned into disappointment. He sighed, thought for a moment, and pointed his finger at Master Sima: "Bring that document to His Majesty the Emperor for review."

    Master Sima turned around and left. Not long after, he came over again holding a document. Sun Feng took it and handed it to Quintus, who looked suspicious.  Quintus was puzzled, but looking at Sun Shao's face, he knew that this matter must be very important, and he became unnaturally nervous.  He looked at the military newspaper in his hand. There were two dark red marks on the military newspaper.  Quintus breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that the two marks showed that although the matter was serious, it was not the most serious. The three cinnabar marks were the most urgent military situation.

    He opened the military newspaper, and after just one glance, he couldn't help but raise his head and glance at Sun Shao, with great shock in his eyes.  This military report was actually written by Cao Zhang, the cavalry general of the Han Dynasty. What surprised Quintus even more was that Cao Zhang was actually in Sasanian territory, only five hundred miles away from Ctesiphon. When did he arrive?  Sun Shao never said he would join the war.  Cao Zhang is from the court, and his appearance here means that this matter is not only a matter for the Yue Kingdom, but also a matter for the entire Han Dynasty.  The matter was far more important than what he knew now, and Sun Shao never revealed a word about these situations from beginning to end.

    His intention was indeed great, and Quintus couldn't help but admire Momia.  He always felt that Sun Shao was helping him, but now it seems that Momia was right. Sun Shao had been fighting for himself, not for Rome, at least not just for Rome.

    Sun Shao was already prepared for Quintus's reaction. He was not in a hurry to explain, and just motioned for Quintus to continue reading.

    Quintus then looked back, his shock slowly turning into disappointment, and finally despair.  Ardashir not only escaped the ambush by Cao Zhang and others, but also took advantage of the Kushan people's underestimation to defeat Bo Tiao, turned passivity into initiative, and returned to Ctesiphon safely.  This was very depressing news for Quintus, who was preparing to besiege Ctesiphon next.Xi, even though Sun Shao secretly transferred Cao Zhang and others to join the war, Quintus was unwilling to accept it.

    "This" Quintus put down the military report and hesitated to speak. In fact, he was in a very bad mood now. He had a lot to say, but he didn't know where to start, so he had to pick up the cup and drink slowly.  Allow yourself time to collect your thoughts.

    "Ardashir is a cunning tiger, and he escaped once again." Sun Shao sighed with emotion: "We failed to defeat the tiger, but were injured by the tiger. We are now in a difficult situation riding a tiger."

    Upon hearing this, Quintus' heart tightened. At this time, it was obviously not the most important thing to ask Sun Shao why he concealed the actual situation. He wisely shelved the issue and stared at Sun Shao's helpless eyes.  After a while, he couldn't help but ask: "Then what are you going to do?"

    Sun Shao scratched his brow in embarrassment, thought deeply for a long time, and finally smiled bitterly: "Old friend, I wanted to do you a favor, but I didn't expect that Ardashir was too difficult to deal with. We are now using all our strength, but  We all failed and he escaped." He paused for a moment: "Of course, so far, we have taken some advantage. Although we didn't get what we wanted, we didn't get nothing. After this battle, Sassanid  , at least it will no longer be as rampant as before. Rome can also be safe for a period of time, and the goal of the Four-Nation Alliance has been achieved. Although it has gone through a period of twists and turns and made some sacrifices. But there is no bloodless peace in the world.  We should have thought of this result a long time ago, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    Quintus nodded slightly, but still looked at Sun Shao without saying a word, listening to what else he had to say.  He heard the intention to retreat from Sun Shao's words, which made him very uneasy.  If Sun Shao doesn't have the confidence to continue fighting, what will Rome do?  He wanted to ask several times, but when he thought about Momia's words that Sun Shao's intentions were only stronger than his, he felt a glimmer of hope.  Since Sun Shao could make such a big move, he probably didn't really want to help him as he said. It can only mean that he intended to go far beyond just helping.  In this case, he shouldn't give up so easily, right?  As long as he refuses to return without success, there is still hope and a chance to take some initiative.  Because at this time, not only Rome needed the help of the Yue Kingdom, but the Yue Kingdom also needed the help of Rome.

    "After receiving this news, I was very disappointed." Sun Shao looked at the military report on the table, his thick eyebrows furrowed, and he seemed to be in a very bad mood.  "This was originally the most important part of my many arrangements. For this day, I spent a lot of money and energy, persuaded Wei and Shu to send troops to help, and agreed to many conditions before gathering  I have 30,000 infantry and 30,000 elite cavalry. You should be able to imagine how much it would cost me to do this."

    Quintus nodded, of course he knew that these costs were high, and because of this, he believed that Sun Shao would not give up easily.

    "Gordian and General Lu severely damaged the Sasanians twice in a row. Especially General Lu ambushed them before they entered the desert, killing and capturing more than 20,000 people. More importantly, they intercepted a large amount of supplies, forcing them to  The Sasanians entered the desert with insufficient reserves. After this battle, the Sasanians must have suffered a lot in the desert. When he came out of the desert, it was when he was at his weakest. Give him a fatal blow at this time.  It is possible for us to end this war early, but it is a pity" Sun Shao spread his hands and sighed: "God's will, this can only be said to be God's will, and it cannot be done by manpower."

    Quintus was also very disappointed. Sun Shao's arrangement was very careful, but Ardashir still escaped the fate of destruction. This seemed to be explained by God's will.  Could it be that the Roman gods were angered by the depravity of the Romans and no longer protected Rome?  Quintus had a lot of thoughts and was just as emotional as Sun Shao.  The two sighed for a long time, and Quintus finally asked: "What is the king's plan now?"

    "I have two plans." Sun Shao held up a finger: "First, continue the fight. Although Aldashir escaped, his vitality was seriously injured after all. If we don't take this opportunity to completely eliminate him, then  There will be another battle as soon as possible in the future. After this battle, Ardashir will definitely not be as frivolous as before. He may use some conspiracy methods to first create some misunderstandings and conflicts among our three countries, and then break them down one by one.  It's not like fighting on two fronts like this time, and finally going all the way to besiege Asum. Once he succeeds, our three countries will no longer be able to cooperate like this time, and can only face the revenge of the Sasanians separately. At that time  , our situation will be very dangerous."

    He hesitated for a moment, then raised a finger: "So, although I still have a second plan, that is to suspend the army temporarily, and take advantage of his defeat to force him to sign another armistice treaty, and ask for as much as possible.  There are some benefits. But I am very reluctant to do it. Raising tigers will lead to disaster. You understand this truth and I understand it too."

    "The king is leaning towards the first plan, to continue to march troops, besiege the city of Taixi and completely destroy it."Shan?  "

    "That's what I think, but there is a prerequisite." Sun Shao leaned over to make himself sit more comfortably, and looked at Quintus with bright eyes: "Three Kingdoms Alliance, Bo Tiao is in order to take revenge.  , I am definitely willing to continue the fight. As for me, after making so many preparations, I don¡¯t want to go back empty-handed. However, if Rome cannot resolve its internal disputes and continue to waste time in such a quarrel, the strength of our two countries alone will  , we simply cannot complete such an arduous task. Once the fighter plane is lost, even if we are unwilling, we can only stop here."

    Quintus narrowed his eyes and hesitated.  For the sake of Sun Shao's words, he could see that Sun Shao had nothing to hide from him.  So far, all the forces that Sun Shao can mobilize are here. Even the troops from Wei, Shu and Chaoting have been mobilized. The Kushan people have also gone all out. But without Rome, it would be impossible to think with just these forces.  It was still very difficult to capture Ctesiphon.  A siege is no better than a field battle, and tactics and the like will not play much of a role. In the end, what matters is strength, not only financial resources, but also military strength. The Romans' 80,000-strong army is an indispensable force for them.

    In his opinion, if Rome does not participate in the war, Sun Shao seems to have no choice but to retreat. Although he is unwilling to do so, and although this will leave a lot of troubles, that is all he can do.  Otherwise, even if he tried his best, he still could not conquer Ctesiphon, and the loss might be even greater.  He believed that what Sun Shao said at this moment was true. Although he might have been forced to tell the truth, it was still the truth after all.

    However, from Quintus¡¯s point of view, he doesn¡¯t want this to be the case either.  If we retreat here, then Rome, like Kushan and Yue, will become Sassanid's enemies, and Yue will be the safest one. Although Sun Shao killed Ardashir's two sons, Yue and Sasan are separated.  It was too far away. Even Alexander, who was extremely talented, could only reach Tianzhu, and his troops were still thousands of miles away from the land of Yue. The chance of Ardashir being able to attack Yue in his lifetime was not great. At most, he could control it.  It's just the commercial interests of the people living in Vietnam.  But this was not the case with Rome and Kushan. They were directly under the threat of the Sassanids, and the Sassanid horses could step onto their land at any time.

    "I need your help to gather the power of Rome together." After thinking for a long time, Quintus said what he didn't plan to say this time: "Gordian's power is too strong, and I don't have enough power."  The strength controls him."

    "This is your internal matter in Rome. It's not easy for me to interfere." Sun Shao shook his head and objected: "If I help you suppress Gordian, I'm afraid it will be more detrimental to you. If he says that you teamed up with outsiders to betray Rome,  What should I do with my interests? You must still remember how Alexander died, right? I have already lost a Roman friend, and I don¡¯t want to lose you again. Alexander¡¯s death has already made me very sad, and I never want to have such an experience again.  "

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