Augustus Road

"The masses are like the ocean, usually peaceful and calm, but once the wind blows, the waves immediately surge." - Monsen

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Just as Herod was about to ask Akbarus what kind of reward he needed, Surena on the side said loudly, "As long as you can successfully lure Crassus into the desert, then the entire Tigris River and The shipping in the Red Sea will be left to you. In addition, after the victory, I will receive the reward of Syria and Qerash, and then the trade between there and the Levant will be monopolized by you. "

Akbarus's eyes sparkled, and he immediately nodded and bowed, thanking Surena for his kindness, as if the other party was the king of Parthia. Herod, who was behind Surena, was ignored. He wore a gorgeous crown, and his facial muscles twitched a few times. A fierce light flashed at Surena who was unaware of it, and it disappeared in a flash.

When his father, Phraates III, was assassinated, he was guarding the old capital, located in the deep mountains where Parthia rose. But since this empire became an empire, its base was undoubtedly not on the desolate and barren plateau, but on the prosperous cities between the two rivers. Unfortunately, in Ctesiphon and Seleucia, his father was always accompanied by his younger brother Mindaz. He had a close relationship with the Greek tyrants, Jewish royal families and Arab chiefs living there. Now he was able to start a rebellion with the support of these people. Although he was recognized by the Surena family and was crowned as a king by their family, he always lived under the shadow of the seven great families. Now Surena unconsciously began to "divide the land" for him, which was simply unbearable and embarrassing. Who is Asasis here! ?

But Herod still suppressed his emotions, quietly retracted his trembling fingers under his robe, forced a smile and followed up, saying that Surena's reward was completely correct and reasonable, and I had no objection.

On the outskirts of Ctesiphon. On the island of the Tigris River, the Temple of Anahita was emitting wisps of sacrificial fireworks. Surena, holding a banner, stood on the hill for the parade. His private army - 10,000 lightly armed cavalrymen armed with recurve bows, short swords and axes, chanted slogans loudly, and circled the hill in several large circles connected inside and outside, running around continuously. The smoke and dust that were stirred up obscured the sky. At the north gate of Ctesiphon, the public army of King Herod: mostly heavy infantry and cavalry composed of young Parthian nobles. About 5,000 well-armored heavy cavalrymen (Surena had less than 2,000), 20,000 lightly armed cavalrymen, an equal number of lightly armed infantrymen, and thousands of Greek heavy-armored servants, rushed towards the city of Chinodosia. In addition, some troops built many light floating bridges on the Tigris River and crossed over to strengthen the siege of Seleucia (Ctesiphon and Seleucia were basically across the river from each other).

At this time, it was the beginning of spring. Some people around the Roman winter camp began to call on the oxen and sow the seeds of a year in the wheat fields. In the Temple of Bambi, Chief Ackbarus, who came, was bewitching all the generals, including Lepidus who came from Chinodosia to report on his work, sitting on both sides of the temple hall, listening to the chief's nonsense:

"The situation is now determined! Those poor guys in Parthia, even Seleucia, the city with the richest tax revenue, has been occupied by the rebels. Their horses, soldiers, The soldiers were short of food and wages. The governor could easily cross the floating bridge of Jukma and travel for a few days and nights, which was not a difficult task for the strong Roman soldiers. He could reach Babylon and Seleucia, because the two cities were less than a hundred Roman miles apart and had excellent drinking water. If you occupied these two places and cooperated with General Lepidus's Chinodosia, all the people and merchants in Mesopotamia would surrender to you! I even doubt that there would be no large-scale battles along the way. "As a result, Akbarus's long The long speech was finally interrupted by Cassius's ruthless shouting. The young treasurer tried his best to persuade everyone, "The main force of the Parthian army has been dispatched, and its combat power is by no means comparable to that of the previous small tyrants. Some fortresses stationed on the Syrian border have already fought with them. Many people have fled back, and more have been captured and killed. This is because the Parthians undoubtedly use new and powerful bows and arrows, and the Syrian desert allows their horses to gallop. They are trying to lure us forward, and then use cavalry and bows to surround and annihilate our army. Some people with ulterior motives say that the enemy lacks horses and weapons? Governor, we can no longer deceive ourselves. As the treasurer, I must propose such a plan, that is, to withdraw all the garrisons of the fortresses that have advanced forward, as many as can be withdrawn. Then the entire expeditionary force, four legions along the right bank of the Euphrates River, three legions along the left bank, garrison along the river, and recruit a large number of local light-armed archers to join the army, which is enough to make the enemy's light cavalry return in defeat. Then we will launch a pursuit, in short, we must not hand over the braking power to the Parthians. "

Cassio's plan was approved by most of the generals, including the chief lieutenant, Eugutavis. Even Crassus' son said that if the war was commanded by Caesar, he would definitely respect Cassio's opinion and execute it. Crassus, who was present, was a little hesitant and a little annoyed. He had never seen the battlefield in Syria. After all, his previous military career was almost entirely in Italy. As long as he chased the sword-fighting slaves, constantly dragged them down, and forced them to turn back for a decisive battle, he would be invincible. However, this kind of ghost-like endless wasteland where there was no national boundary, and the enemy army whose appearance and combat power were erratic, made Crassus feel at a loss. However, the expedition was already imminent. Fighting through the desert was undoubtedly difficult, but the difficulty was in grasping the timing, which was obviously beyond his ability. So, Crassus turned his eyes, eager for clarification, to his two best friends, Sensorinus and Megabes. The former thought that they should bypass Armenia and attack Parthia from the direction of Chinodosia; while the latter shouted that the original plan remained unchanged, and the seven legions were rolling forward, enough to crush the weak cavalry of the Parthians, because Megabes' experience was mostly obtained by following Crassus.

In the end, Crassus cast his eyes on Lepidus, who was the executor of all the big plans and big goals, and he trusted him!

"I think... as long as we can rely on the fortifications on the right bank of the Euphrates River cautiously all the way, we can still defeat the cavalry's encirclement. When I attacked the Pelusium Fortress, I crossed the desert at lightning speed, seized the opponent's key points, and went deeper into Egypt after obtaining supplies." Lepidus made the final decision and concealed the truth that Antony attacked from the "Typhon's Nostrils". (To be continued...)

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