Augustus Road

"Everyone thinks that although they have suffered setbacks sometimes, the Spartans are still Spartans, just like the Spartans before." - The victorious Spartans in the Battle of Mendinia in "Peloponnesian War" praise from the army

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Just when Crassus was hesitating, Surena had a thousand warriors of the honor clan, a thousand camels carrying goods, and a huge army of more than a hundred vehicles carrying beautiful wives and concubines, and crossed the border in a mighty way. After passing through the pursuit and killing field full of dead Roman corpses, he came to the mountainous area ten furlongs away from the city of Calle. Looking at the chaotic city, then intelligence came in, which made his mood suddenly fall from joy to the bottom. This was The plan implemented by Cassius, he deliberately let the wind out, saying that Governor Crassus and his retinue, under the protection of several relatively intact regiments, had left Calais, escaped with the cavalry, and stayed at Calais. There are only tens of thousands of mourning soldiers in the city.

This news made Surena almost unable to accept it. If Crassus really escaped, then even though he killed and captured tens of thousands of enemies in this battle, he still could not get real honors, let alone from Assassies. He got Galaxia and Syria. No, he had to confirm whether Crassus was still in the city. The young and handsome general raised his arms, and the fat Arab chief Akbarus next to him rode forward respectfully, "You are an old acquaintance with the Roman governor. Go to the city and shout to Crassus that I want to negotiate peace with him. "

Although Akbarus knew that this was an extremely dangerous job, he was a businessman by nature and would only take risks for the sake of profit. As a result, he actually accepted the task and led a group of chiefs and nobles on horses or camels. At the foot of the city, completely ignoring the curses and resentment of the Roman soldiers on the other side of the ditch, they waved their hands and shouted to the city gate tower, "As the tribal chief of the interzone. I was entrusted by General Surena to come to fight with Rome. The Syrian Governor of the Republic discussed the matter of strike and peace talks.”

"You are not a chief. You are a hypocritical snake in the desert. You have the most vicious heart and methods. Despicable guy, get out of here! Otherwise, I will use ten ballistas to smash you into minced meat." Tower Tower Going up to Cassio, I saw the disgusting fat face of Akbarus. Coupled with those small and hypocritical eyes, and the uncontrollable anger in his heart, this guy was the culprit responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people. He even signaled directly to the Cretan archers behind him, preparing to kill these people immediately. The Arabs were all shot to death. As a result, Crassus walked quickly from the stairs below and asked Cassius, "If we can really stop fighting, we can use this time to rest and wait for the opportunity to fight again."

Casio shrugged his shoulders. He really didn't believe that the dignified Crassus would believe such nonsense. Maybe this was a joke? Then Casio asked the governor not to show his face on the battlements. Don't have any face-to-face communication with Akbarus, just hide behind the wall of the tower. He has ordered the soldiers under the city to build fortifications, and they will be able to escort Crassus safely away in a day or two.

But Akbarus had no fear and was still eloquent. He said this: "In fact, when I left the Roman military camp before, I received a secret invitation from General Surena. The general always believed that this war was useless. It's unnecessary. No matter for Rome or the Parthians, he has always been in awe of the governor. If the Romans had not invaded near Seleucia, the Parthians would not have attacked. Now Sule General Na believed that the extent of the attack was enough and was unwilling to be too hostile to the Republic, so he came to tell the governor frankly that he could negotiate on behalf of Assasis. The Parthian Empire only wanted a decent peace-as long as it could be maintained. Both sides of the Mesopotamian border can lay down their arms, and even some small kingdoms and city-states near Judea in the north can be ceded to the governor."

At this time, Crassus was about to come out, but he was pushed back fiercely by Cassius. The two sides struggled silently. The Arab chieftain continued to confuse him below the city, "But the current situation is difficult. It is so important." To sign a diplomatic letter, Surena needs to negotiate on an equal footing with officials who are qualified to sign the contract. As far as I know, you are only an auxiliary financial officer, and even the chief deputy general, His Excellency Ogutavis, is only a member of the army. , cannot represent the diplomatic power of the Republic.”

At this time, Cassius could no longer stop Crassus. The governor finally rushed out, supported the city walls and told Akbarus that if the other side was really sincere about peace talks, it should send a full-power envoy. Enter the city of Kalai to elaborate.

Who knew that Akbarus squinted his eyes, and when he confirmed that the person on the battlement was Crassus himself, he lied and said that he would go back immediately and ask Surena to do the same, and then immediately left with his entourage. After he left, Casillo immediately sounded the alarm and asked all the troops in the city to prepare for battle. "Why do you do this? Your Excellency, Governor, don't believe the other side's lies. In the land of the Orientals, There are secret calculations everywhere, Surena just wants to confirm that you are still in Kalai!"

Cassius was very accurate. About two days later, the Parthian cavalry came over again treacherously and attacked the Roman camp under the city. But this time it was completely different from the desert area. Relying on the trenches and city walls, the officers and soldiers first fired with stick throwers and ballistae. When the enemy cavalry approached, they used bows and arrows and scorpion crossbows. The Parthian light cavalry had nothing to do. After leaving many corpses of men and horses, they fled in a rush. Scattered, escaped into the back of the rolling sand dunes.

This defensive battle gave the Romans a lot of confidence, but after the war, an inventory found that the ammunition consumption was very large, and the supplies of this small town could not last more than a few days.

"Casiyo and I will lead the first legion to resist here. Governor, you and the cavalry will go first, and the rest will advance towards the city of Ikni on foot. If there is another slight mistake, we will really be surrounded by the Parthians. "It will be destroyed automatically," Ogutavis actively informed, and Casillo also suggested that he should find a guide in the city without further delay, because Surena came here with the sole purpose of capturing you, the governor, and would leave tonight. Calle City!

"Let Coponius resist here and leave the fifth legion to him. You take the first legion and follow me!" At this juncture, Crassus's selfishness was still at work, because in the previous battle, the second legion was The legion had lost five brigades and had long since withered away. However, the strength of the first legion was still intact. He wanted to preserve a way for him to counterattack, so sacrificing the five worst legions was of course in line with his nature as a merchant.

Then they found Coponius, who also expressed his willingness to make sacrifices. If he broke out again at night, he should only tell the corresponding team to avoid unnecessary commotion. In addition, he should also hide it from the residents of the city. Choose a reliable guide.

Coponius recommended a guide to Crassus, an Arab named Feisal, and said that this man had served him before and was extremely loyal and kind.