The Three Kingdoms began with island farming

Chapter 686 Reaching Consensus
"Your Majesty is wise!" Arshak agreed.

As the chief of the council of nobles and the de facto second-in-command of Parthia, he and Vologius V, though having different internal positions and being hidden rivals, were, in most cases, close friends who complemented each other perfectly.

There was no way around it; the threat posed by Rome was too great.

When external pressure becomes too strong, internal conflicts are suppressed. Even the Parthian alliance is becoming more and more united.

The three groups that were once at odds—the King, the Council of Nobles, and the Priests—are now slowly beginning to unite.

"So what do you think we should do about these so-called seven kingdoms?" Vologus V's gaze swept over the crowd, finally settling on Arsak and the high priest Baal, who had remained silent until now.

The three of them are the top decision-makers in this country; the rest are subordinates.

On ordinary days, trivial matters are simply left to be discussed and handled by subordinates.

At this point, the key lies in the attitudes of the three of them.

He sensed the deep wariness in Vologus V's tone, as well as a hint of strangeness in his attitude.

Arsak, who was extremely familiar with the king's style, immediately guessed what he was thinking.

The wars with Rome in previous years were too brutal. Severus's eastern expedition caused them great damage, and even the capital Ctesiphon was captured.

With Mesopotamia established as a Roman province, Parthian hegemony in the Mesopotamian region was already crumbling.

Although Rome's military reforms and foreign wars also sowed the seeds of an increased financial burden, forcing them to halt their progress and giving them some breathing room.

But they knew very well that this was only temporary.

Rome, like the Han Chinese, is greedy and powerful, and will surely attack again sooner or later.

Moreover, because of that war, Parthia is now facing enormous internal problems.

Even within the council of nobles under his control, there was a division into two factions: some border nobles were inclined to compromise with Rome, while the inland nobles continued to resist.

Previously, Vologius V had considered allying with the Kushans to fight against the Roman Empire and reverse the decline.

Unfortunately, the Kushan Empire was facing serious internal problems. They couldn't even handle their own affairs, let alone address the crisis facing Parthia.

They were old enemies, and the Kushan Empire probably wished for their demise.

And even if Rome fell to Parthia, what would that have to do with the Kushans?

As fellow empires, they knew all too well how difficult it was to expand an empire's territory once again.

They themselves had already almost reached the limit of their ability to rule the territory.

Even if Rome conquered Parthia, it could only occupy a portion of the territory, leaving the rest to develop freely; otherwise, Rome would have faced division.

The Kushan Empire was not worried about the threat from Rome at all.

Similarly, so is the rest of our lives today.

Emotionally, Vologis V and Arsak were wary of the Seven Kings, but rationally, the Seven Kings did not pose much of a threat to them.

After all, the Kushans, the Northern Xiongnu, and India were all occupied by the Seven Kings, which was already a very large territory.

Even though the seven kings had united against the Kushans, it was only temporary.

Great powers can often only share hardship, not prosperity.

Faced with a powerful enemy, and being of Han Chinese descent, it was not a problem for them to unite against the enemy.

But once their powerful enemy is eliminated, their internal strife will become inevitable.

The Han Chinese's habit of infighting was no less than their possessiveness. Vologius V and Arsakh were well aware of this.

On one side is the distant and difficult Parthia, and on the other side are the other six countries that are close at hand and easy to conquer. Is there even a question about which one to choose?

If there had been any hesitation, the Han people would not have remained trapped in the Central Plains; they would have broken out long ago.

Unless all seven kings want the Kushan territory, it is impossible to reach a consensus.

But is that possible?
However, their first answer was precisely the choice the Seven Kings had no other option but to make.

Tian Ze had already planned this out for them long ago.

Although the Seven Kings now have men, soldiers, and land, they are still forced to be led by the nose by Tian Ze.

the reason is simple.

Not to mention that the lives of himself and his civil and military officials were all in Tian Ze's hands.

The fertile fields were created by Tian Ze, the logistics were guaranteed by Tian Ze, and the land had long been promised by Tian Ze to a powerful family that was nominally under their command but actually called itself a system. The people under their command were all loyal to the Great Qi, and even the soldiers had been brainwashed by the Great Qi.

In this situation, even if the Seven Kings wanted to back out, it would be impossible.

Although their subordinates remain loyal and reliable, this is contingent on them continuing westward according to the Great Qi's plan. If they deviate from this main line, they will inevitably fall into terrible internal strife, and the country they have established will collapse instantly and be taken back by the Great Qi.

What Vologus V and Arsak thought was not wrong; it was a normal and reasonable deduction.

What they didn't expect was that Tian Ze would have so many tricks up his sleeve and set up such a deep scheme.

It's true that the Seven Kings were Tian Ze's pawns, but these pawns were the kind that had to cross the river, couldn't turn back, and could only head west.

"Your Majesty, the threat from Rome remains, and sooner or later they will invade our country again."

Arsak paused for a moment, then continued, "Although the Seven Kings destroyed the Kushans, there must be internal conflicts of interest among them, and they are separated from us by a great distance, as well as being blocked by the nomadic tribes in the east. Therefore, they are not a major threat."

"I believe that we can send envoys to the territories of the seven kings under the guise of trade to investigate their true intentions. If we can divide and win them over, we may be able to maintain peace on the eastern border."

"Furthermore, if the Seven Kings are willing to form an alliance with our country, they may be able to help us against Rome. In return, we will help them unify the Kushan Empire, and even retake the Central Plains!"

Upon hearing this, Vologus V's eyes flashed with a sharp light.

What Al-Shaq said was exactly what he was thinking.

The Seven Kings are not loyal dogs of the Great Qi, but a pack of hungry wolves.

Based on his understanding of the Han people, what they most wanted to do was to monopolize the Kushan Empire and reclaim the Central Plains.

These are all kingdoms with vast territories, large populations, and armies. How could the Seven Kings possibly obediently listen to the Great Qi again?

Arsak's plan has a very high chance of succeeding.

Even if he fails, he will not suffer any loss.

The vast chasm and distance between Parthia and Kushan were not so easily overcome.

If he had just been a little more careful, he wouldn't have been able to let a wolf into his house.

However, although he and Arshak had reached a secret agreement, he still looked towards High Priest Baal.

High Priest Baal nodded slightly, tapping his bronze staff lightly on the ground with a clear sound: "Arshak is absolutely right."

"However, the oracle warned that calamity was coming to the east. We must not let our guard down. We need to build a fortress on the eastern border and train elite cavalry in case of emergency."

(End of this chapter)