The Three Kingdoms began with island farming

Chapter 687 Not giving in
Vologis V slammed his hand on the armrest of his throne, the gilded lion head ornament humming with the impact: "It's settled then! Arsak, you will personally select the most astute caravan as an envoy group to go to the East and find out for yourselves."

In contrast to Parthia's proactive probing, Rome remained completely silent.

The current king of the Roman Empire, Severus, was a military man who was used to acting arbitrarily and whose only concern was the army and war.

Having just achieved victory in the eastern expedition, he was now focused solely on expanding his army, employing every means to win over the troops, paying them high salaries, and rewarding them generously.

The wise men in the Senate did have some understanding of the rise of the Seven Kings.

Unfortunately, Severus was used to acting arbitrarily and didn't take the Senate seriously at all.

Moreover, the former elders had long been removed from their important positions by Severus, and replaced by knights who were uncultured.

Although the Roman Empire was not yet in complete chaos, it had undoubtedly embarked on a path of militarism and aggression.

On the surface, it appears to be thriving, but in terms of foreign strategy, it has gone astray, and its economy can no longer support its massive military expenditures.

Meanwhile, in the Kushan Empire, the seven kings are currently busy dividing up their territories.

Just as Parthia had imagined, in the council chamber of Purusha, the old capital of the Kushan Empire, the arguing of the seven kings made the crystal chandeliers on the dome rattle.

The four kings of the north each operated independently, constantly vying for control of their own territories.

The three kings in the south were relatively harmonious, but they stubbornly clung to their bottom line and refused to back down even a little.

As the mediator authorized by Tian Ze, Zhang Liao could only shake his head helplessly as he watched this scene.

He knew it wouldn't be that simple.

None of the four kings of the north were willing to suffer a loss.

The scene before us had already occurred once before when we were dividing up the Northern Xiongnu.

However, at that time, the seven kings contributed relatively evenly to the war, and the territory of the Northern Xiongnu was relatively small and barren, so the fighting did not get too intense.

At that time, Zhang Liao took charge and allocated a portion of the territory from the Western Regions to Cao Cao, who had contributed the most, and allowed Cao Cao to distribute the territory of the Northern Xiongnu equally, leaving Zhang Liao as the last to choose.

This method is undoubtedly relatively fair.

As the last to choose, Cao Cao naturally knew what kind of people the other three were: each of them was extremely shrewd and had no sense of humility whatsoever.

Therefore, he will inevitably try his best to distribute the land equally so that he can avoid losing out on the "most disadvantaged territory" in the end.

However, the situation in Kushan territory is now more complicated, making this approach less convenient to implement.

On the one hand, the four northern kings felt that the three southern kings had taken too much advantage, as it was unfair that they only occupied the southern part of the Kushan Empire and should give up some more.

On the other hand, the four kings all claimed that their side had contributed the most.

Yuan Shao felt that he had dominated all the battlefields and had always been a mainstay.

Cao Cao felt that he was taking on the greatest risk and that it was of utmost importance, as he was acting alone.

Lu Bu felt that he had withstood the pressure of the crucial battle and annihilated the main force in the north.

Gongsun Zan believed that it was his surprise attack and speed that allowed him to easily take over the northern border and eliminate the supporting troops in the eastern border.

Both sides have their own arguments, making it impossible to resolve the dispute.

Sima Yi watched this scene from the sidelines, his understanding crystal clear.

Ultimately, this matter boils down to the fact that too many interests are involved.

The Northern Xiongnu's territory was small, but more importantly, its future ownership was beyond doubt; it had long been considered by the Great Qi as their own.

It's just a few years' worth of grain harvest; there's not much need to fight for it.

Although Sindhu in the south was wealthy, it was also part of the Great Qi territory, and the pie was so big that it was enough for the three kings to eat their fill. The four kings in the north had no chance to get involved, so there was not much conflict between them.

Guishuang is different.

This territory is not only vast, but it will also belong to the powerful families who support the Seven Kings for a long time to come. Even if it returns to the rule of the Great Qi in the future, it will likely maintain a long-term state of autonomy.

Although the Seven Kings appear to be independent individuals on the surface, the power of their respective aristocratic families is still not to be underestimated, and can even be said to be increasingly important.

For the sake of stability and unity within their ranks, they naturally had to argue their case based on reason.

Moreover, these aristocratic families will be their assets in the future.

Eggs cannot be put in the same basket.

The inherent nature of aristocratic families never changes.

While submitting to the unified management of the Great Qi, the aristocratic families will also choose to support the countries they favor, which will undoubtedly become important allies of the Seven Kings in the future.

The Seven Kings were not willing to work for the Great Qi for nothing; they were more concerned with their own strength and future.

Therefore, they are not willing to budge an inch on the issue of Kushan.

These were the foundations upon which their nation later became powerful.

Seeing the seven kings arguing more and more fiercely, Lu Bu, whose verbal skills were not good enough, drew his halberd with bloodshot eyes.

In such situations, the advantage of a monarch's superior military strength becomes apparent.

When fighting for interests, if you suffer a loss, then fight it out; whoever has the bigger fist is right.

However, the other six kings were no pushovers either, each drawing their weapons and refusing to back down.

Yuan Shao stood at the forefront without backing down, displaying the same spirit he had shown when facing Dong Zhuo, drawing his sword and shouting, "My sword has never been inferior!"

Although all of them, except for Sun Ce, would not last more than a few rounds against Lü Bu if they were tied together, they did not rely on individual bravery.

The situation reached a stalemate.

Zhang Liao sighed inwardly, but he had no choice but to step forward.

"Everyone!"

Zhang Liao shouted loudly, his voice booming like a bell, silencing the council hall.

“Continuing to fight and argue like this is not a solution; a decision needs to be made.”

"How about this, let's solve things one step at a time. Let's first deal with the north-south dividing line among you all."

As soon as Zhang Liao finished speaking, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and Gongsun Zan jumped to Lü Bu's side without hesitation and drew their swords against the three southern kings.

This hilarious yet bizarre scene made Zhang Liao's lips twitch slightly.

Liu Bei, Sun Ce, and Liu Fan looked at Zhang Liao with resentment.

Originally, the four kings in the north were each in their own camps, and only by uniting the three of them could they gain a firm foothold. However, after Zhang Liao said this, they immediately fell into a disadvantageous position.

Zhang Liao felt helpless.

No matter what he does, he'll offend people, but he still has to do what needs to be done.

Out of a desire to train them, Tianze offered no guidance and left everything to them to handle.

Prior to this, he and Sima Yi had already discussed the matter and set the tone.

The balance of power among the four kings was inevitable, and the loss of the three kings was also inevitable.

Because the apparent strength of the seven kings is indeed quite different now.

Given the Seven Kings' rapid development and well-established system, their paper strength will inevitably transform into real power within a few years, and once that balance is lost, things will get messy.

(End of this chapter)