The Three Kingdoms began with island farming

Chapter 713 Both sides suffer losses
As agreed with Parthia, after making some preparations, Liu Fan ordered Wu Yi to lead an army of 50,000 men toward the Khorasan province, with Sima Yi serving as the accompanying military advisor.

Liu Fan originally wanted to take action himself, but Sima Yi persuaded him against it.

After all, if Liu Fan is gone, how can the so-called struggle for the seven kings continue? Wouldn't that expose the truth?

The army of 50,000 was neither too many nor too few, but with Wu Yi in command and Sima Yi assisting, taking over the Khorasan province was a piece of cake.

Although Parthia claimed to be ceding the Khorasan province to the Han Dynasty, Liu Fan actually needed to take it over himself.

The local Persians were not particularly strong, but they were like weeds, everywhere and would quickly spring up again after being wiped out.

But what did Sima Yi think of this?
One hand holds a big stick, the other a sweet date.

Although this trick is old-fashioned, it is timeless and the most effective method.

Moreover, this method depends on who uses it.

Sima Yi was well aware of his advantages, so he did not hesitate to sweep through the entire Khorasan province with the force of an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.

All those who resisted were reduced to slavery and sold to the Great Qi.

The implementation of the Baojia system (a system of mutual responsibility and security among local people) created a terrifyingly oppressive atmosphere that deterred the Persians from taking any rash actions.

At the same time, Sima Yi was also trying to lure him with benefits.

The Han Dynasty had no shortage of money, food and supplies. This time, Sima Yi led a large army and carried a lot of supplies, so the speed of their march was very slow.

Wu Yi was worried that Anxi would take the opportunity to make a move, but Sima Yi was confident.

It was under his strong advocacy that a large amount of supplies were distributed to the Persians.

After adopting a high-pressure military regime and controlling both the top and bottom levels of the Persians, everything got back on track.

Then came the next step: secretly relocating people, cultivating land, and working diligently in the fields.

Under Sima Yi's control.

On the surface, the Khorasan Province became a bloodbath for the Han Dynasty. In order to stabilize the local people, a large amount of supplies were continuously transported there.

However, in reality, more than three million people were already in place.

After the autumn harvest, nearly 500 million shi of grain were stored, even with a shortage of oxen for plowing.

At this point, Sima Yi had no more scruples.

Meanwhile, Anxi was gradually losing patience and kept urging Wu Yi to go west.

They even stationed troops on the border of Khorasan Province, displaying a coercive attitude.

"Strategist, it seems Parthia is truly impatient." Wu Yi said with a faint smile after learning about the Parthian troops stationed nearby.

Sima Yi stood in front of the sand table, looking at the continuous mountain ranges and narrow valley roads surrounding the Khorasan Province, and gently shook his head.

"With this kind of terrain, only 20,000 troops are needed to defend it, and even an army of 300,000 would probably have a hard time breaking through."

Wu Yi looked at the fortresses and checkpoints scattered throughout the area and nodded in deep agreement.

Sima Yi's fighting style can be described as typical of the Qi Dynasty.

That means forming a fortified camp and fighting a protracted war.

The cement technology of the Great Qi Dynasty has now reached a preliminary stage of maturity. In the small province of Khorasan, 50,000 troops served as engineers and built a defensive system consisting of numerous forts and passes in just two months.

Meanwhile, the number of Han troops stationed in Khorasan Province during this period has quietly reached 200,000.

On the surface, only the 80,000-strong army and about 500,000 Han Chinese population were revealed to Parthia.

This is already the limit that Anxi can accept.

Although only six months have passed, Anxi can no longer wait.

The longer the night lasts, the more unforeseen the consequences may be. No matter how oblivious Parthia may be, they could not ignore Wu Yi, this formidable threat. If it weren't for the seven kings' covert cooperation, leading Parthia to believe that the seven kingdoms were engaged in fierce infighting, the Han Dynasty would indeed have had little energy to attend to the Khorasan province and would likely have already become restless.

"Now is not the time to turn against Anxi," Sima Yi said.

"We should also send troops to draw Parthia's attention, so that the seven kings can quickly gather together via the southern coastal springboard and wait for the opportunity to launch a northern expedition against Parthia."

Wu Yi nodded in deep agreement.

During this period, he was completely convinced of Sima Yi's abilities.

Whether it was domestic affairs, military matters, or diplomacy, Sima Yi was adept at all aspects.

In just six months, they not only secretly transformed the Khorasan province into an impregnable fortress, creating an unbreakable defense system, but also successfully formed a secret alliance with Sassanid Persia and various Parthian tribes and kingdoms.

In recent years, due to the defeats in the war against Rome, the Parthians suffered heavy losses and lost territory. Although internal struggles have decreased relatively, the weaknesses of the Parthian empire as a confederation of tribes have begun to emerge.

Once the invincible prestige is lost, the tribes and kingdoms under its rule will naturally have other ideas.

In order to fight against Rome, Parthia also forcibly conscripted soldiers and collected supplies from various tribes and kingdoms.

This led to increased public anger, giving Sima Yi an opportunity to exploit the situation.

"This battle must be fought with brilliance! We must inflict pain on Rome and make Parthia tremble," Sima Yi said solemnly to Wu Yi.

Wu Yi nodded solemnly.

Li Yan, who had arrived three months earlier, spoke up: "How about I accompany the army in this battle?"

Sima Yi nodded slightly.

Li Yan's abilities are beyond doubt. Although he has his own selfish motives and is of the same sex as Sima Yi, Sima Yi will not give up this useful pawn because of this.

As Wu Yi led his 50,000-strong army westward, Parthia, which had been on high alert, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Based on the idea that speed is of the essence in war, Wu Yi and Li Yan led their army on a forced march, intending to catch Rome off guard.

Rome had not expected that the Han army would attack them.

After all, Sassanid Persia was between the two.

When the Han army arrived, the Roman army was caught off guard.

After losing more than ten cities in succession, they barely managed to stabilize their position.

Wu Yi seized the opportunity to occupy a small part of Mesopotamia.

Upon receiving the news, the Roman Emperor Severus was furious.

At this time, he was dealing with Britain in the rear, but upon learning that the Roman army stationed in Mesopotamia had been defeated, he immediately abandoned his plans to deal with these small countries and launched another large-scale eastward expedition.

Severus rose to power through military achievements, and his ability to secure his position as emperor was entirely due to his military campaigns.

The previous Mesopotamian campaign was his proudest achievement and the strongest foundation.

How can one tolerate the provocations and sabotage of others?

However, troop movements ultimately take time.

With Li Yan's assistance, Wu Yi was very cunning and did not choose to confront the Roman army stationed in Mesopotamia head-on.

Instead, they adopted a strategy of avoiding the strong and attacking the weak, targeting the easy targets, and quickly and piecemeal occupied nearly half of Mesopotamia's territory.

Of course, the Han army also paid a heavy price, with nearly 10,000 elite troops killed or wounded.

In this situation where both Rome and the Han Dynasty were "defeated", Parthia could no longer sit still.

(End of this chapter)