"Your Majesty, it doesn't matter. If the country is destroyed, Your Majesty will not live alone." Ardashir said calmly, as if he had instantly guessed Atratome's thoughts. Once the Zagros Mountains are opened, Parthia is really finished. It will not just be looted in Ctesiphon and other places on the two rivers, but all valuable areas in the entire country will be looted. Once this happens, I'm afraid An Xi will never be able to turn around again. That is really equivalent to the annihilation of the Parthian Empire. Only Ctesiphon was defeated, and other places are still there. Although the bones and muscles are broken, Parthian is still far from death, but if the Zagros Mountains are penetrated, then the entire Parthian Empire will be destroyed. There is no need to live anymore. This is why Ardashir will directly explain after understanding the situation. If the Zagros Mountains are split, the essence of western Parthia will be fatally threatened by Armenia, and the lifeline of central Parthia will also be eliminated. . Rome really had no way of occupying Parthia, but if it was easier to destroy than to build, it was obvious that the plan to cut off the Zagros Mountains, how should I put it, was essentially to cut off the last lifeline of Parthia. After this place is opened, if you attack Ctesiphon first, it will be the same as before, but if you cut off the lifeline of the central part first and destroy the production of central Parthia. In this case, if Ctesiphon has not been defended, then Anxiong will be dead this time, and there is no way to save him from death. Unlike the fall of the capital, if such a thing really happened , which is basically equivalent to the destruction of the country. The Zagros Mountains were a barrier to the Parthian Empire, not Ctesiphon. But without the Zagros Mountains, Rome would have been a flat plain across from the Parthian Empire, without any obstacles. Although Rome had short legs, no matter how short it was, It¡¯s not like he can¡¯t even push flatly. Similarly, Ctesiphon was defeated several times, and the reason why Parthia could be rebuilt was that there was land several times the size of the Essence Area to the east of the Zagros Mountains, as well as Ecbatana, the former capital of the Achaemenid dynasty. It was even another capital of the former Parthian Empire, as well as the elite Parthian cities such as Hekadombilu. To put it simply, if Nanjing was defeated when it was the capital, they could still retreat westward to Tianfu, Sichuan. But in the case of Rome, to put it simply, after I cut off your retreat and kill your country, Loot again. Atratome nodded and said nothing more. He was about to go back and handed the royal staff given to him by Vologis V to Aldashir. This thing was just a symbol to calm down the current situation and mobilize troops. , it can only rely on strength, not symbolism. Especially since the troops stationed in the Zagros Mountains are not part of the royal family, this royal staff is even more of a symbol. But sometimes it is important to symbolize this kind of thing, especially for guys like Ardashir, who are preparing to conquer by force, or even directly gain military power in a way that is equivalent to rebellion. Even if it is for this country, in the mode of rebellion, it will inevitably be liquidated in the end. It is very important to have such a symbol of the resting royal family. Even if the royal family of this country itself has become a symbol, it is indeed important. Watching Ardashir and the others leave, Zhuge Liang and others all looked thoughtful. At such a critical juncture, when the internal struggle for power and profit is taking place, there are indeed capable people with lofty ideals who will continue to work hard for this country. "These two young people will definitely become heroes in the Central Plains." Chen Gong said slowly, looking at the backs of the two. "A momentary hero?" Sima Yi sneered, "I think they might not be able to stand out in the Central Plains. Instead, it is the current situation in Anxi that makes them stand out. As for whether they will soar into the sky or fall into the mud next, who will I know." Zhuge Liang looked at the backs of Ardashir and Atratome, and he had a feeling that he would see them again soon, and then they would be completely different from now. "Ardashir is good. I kind of want to keep this young man." Shen Pei looked at Aldashir's back. Their old Yuan family is short of everything now. This young man seems to have some interest in Shen Pei. , so there is some intention to win over. "Is An Xi bound to lose this battle?" Zhuge Liang asked. The strategic intentions of both sides are different. Victory or failure does not depend on the loss of troops between the enemy and ourselves, but on whether the strategic intentions are achieved. Tactical victory and how many enemies are annihilated are very important, but if the strategic situation cannot be reversed, then tactical victory or defeat has no value at all. On the road from Chang'an to the Western Regions, a large number of slaves are working hard to build the road. These slaves are the group of people who were brainwashed by Ji Xiang after returning from the Northern Xinjiang War and felt that they were guilty. Therefore, they work very hard. It is precisely because of this thoughtIn this way, after the road to the Western Regions was divided into a thousand sections, the construction speed far exceeded Cao Cao's imagination. He had to take the initiative to work and rush to work with others with whips. There is a very big gap in speed and quality. Because these slaves worked so hard, Cao Cao did not mean to be harsh, and even gave these slaves extra meals during the Chinese New Year. After all, no one can guarantee that he will use these slaves to death next time. The slaves who come will still be so obedient. Currently, the road leading to the Western Regions, the Longxi section and the Hexi Corridor have been completed, and now a group of Qiang people who are fairly well-dressed are escorting gifts to Chang'an. "Elder, what should we do after we go this time? How should we explain to the Qiang King? Such a big thing has happened." A relatively young Qiang man was driving a horse while asking the older Qiang leader next to him. greeted. "You still have to give me an explanation?" The Qiang elder had a huge head, and he had someone to give him. There are more than 70 Qiang tribesmen. The year before last, everything was settled during the Ma Chao New Year's Day. On the eighth day of the lunar month, more than 70 people came to pay Ma Chao, the Qiang King, a New Year greeting. Everyone brought gifts. Last year, things were better, especially since Cao Cao wanted to support the Qiang people. He began to unify the Qiang people's language, teach the Qiang people Mandarin, change customs, and teach the Qiang people to farm. Although the Qiang people's farming skills were poor at that time, they couldn't stand Xun Yu's control over the weather. The year was good and the Qiang tribe did not suffer from disasters, so they all felt that they had chosen an excellent Qiang king. As expected, the Qiang king had enough to eat. What. Naturally, last year, more Qiang people came to pay Ma Chao New Year greetings and gave him a lot of various gifts. Although Ma Chao did not need these things, there were Qiang people who came to give him gifts, and Ma Chao also felt proud. Although I have the impression that Ma Chao actually did nothing, on the contrary, during the bloody battle in Western Xianbei before the Battle of Northern Xinjiang, thousands of young Qiang people were killed in the battle. Of course, he had the momentum of thousands of people fighting against hundreds of thousands. More than 2,000 Qiang King guards also emerged. However, the situation after the beginning of last year was a bit complicated for the Qiang people. First, Guo Si returned to Liangzhou in March and April and sent people to recruit Liangzhou men to fight in the Western Regions. To be honest, Guo Si said that he did not recruit Qiang people at all. But, how should I put it, although the Xiliang Iron Cavalry beat the Qiang people very badly, the Qiang people admired the Xiliang Iron Cavalry very much. Many barbarian tribes are typical of those who fear power and are not ethical. The combat effectiveness of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, The Qiang people were very envious. Needless to say, the result was that although Guo Bang did not want to recruit troops like the Qiang people who had no fighting ability and had to mix with their rations, he saw that these people brought their own weapons, wrapped in sheepskins, and even came over with dry food to express their gratitude. I want to continue hanging out with them. Guo Si said that he couldn't help but kicked them away. Some of them actually pretended to know him. Well, Guo Si didn't know them anyway. In short, because Guo Si did not bring many people and the distance was long, the number of Liangzhou men he recruited was barely more than 4,000. However, because he heard that the leader of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry was recruiting soldiers here, he prepared his own weapons. There were actually a thousand more Qiang cavalry than Liangzhou men who came to seek shelter. Then Guo Bang endured the headache and took away the group of Qiang people. As a result, the group of Qiang people are still wandering under the Parmea Plateau, and the barbarians led by Yuan Tan are also wandering there. The two sides have barely climbed up until now. Go to the place where Xiliang Iron Cavalry lives. Naturally, Li Jue, Guo Si, and Fan Chou did not bring these miscellaneous soldiers with them when they sent out troops. After all, it was a battle for the empire. It was a bit embarrassing to bring some garbage, so just throw it away. As for those Liangzhou men, the hundreds of unqualified Xiliang cavalry left behind by Li Jue are training on the Pamiya Plateau. Now their physical fitness is up to standard, and their blood has also been seen. They are no different from those in Central Asia. The wild Rangers who came out of there took two hits. However, the distance between dual talents is still quite far away. On the contrary, the hundreds of Xiliang cavalry that were thrown away by Li Jue on the grounds of being unqualified have now climbed to the same height that Li Jue and others climbed, and their will has been sublimated. , to put it simply, these hundreds of people can be converted into military souls or three talents at any time as long as they are given a superior template. As for the settled people who were deceived, there are no more than 20,000 people today, which means that Li Jue still cannot be self-sufficient. But being unable to be self-sufficient is not a big problem. Next to it are the Thirty-six Kingdoms of the Western Regions. Be it Kangju, Dawan, or Wusun, they can survive by fighting the autumn wind, and they are protected by force. As a Qiang people with a population of two million, it is not a big problem to have more than 5,000 young people run away and bring their own weapons and dry food to follow the Xiliang cavalry. However, next is the beginning of the trouble. If it was just Guo Si who brought dozens of people over to recruit Liangzhou men, thenThe Qiang people actually had no interest. The more than 5,000 Qiang cavalry who ran away were just passionate and Guo Bin didn't want to drive them away. ¡° Then the Xiliang Iron Cavalry brought by Wan Peng passed by later, which was a devastating blow to the Xiqiang tribes. Wan Peng brought the Xiliang Iron Cavalry to recruit people!