The Three Kingdoms began with island farming

Chapter 716 Annihilation and Rest
Vologis V could no longer see any way out.

Continuing to fight Rome would inevitably lead to certain death.

With their home base stolen, the soldiers under his command and the numerous small tribes and kingdoms had little will to fight.

But if they were to retreat now, given the mobility of their cavalry, they could protect themselves, but Mesopotamia would inevitably fall completely.

What's worse, when Wu Yi was attacking Mesopotamia, he intentionally or unintentionally focused his main offensive on the northwest side, penetrating deep into Rome's territory.

The northeastern part of Mesopotamia, bordering Parthia, remained firmly under Roman control.

Vologis V paid no attention to the matter until he learned that the Han Chinese had stolen his homeland.

After all, northeastern Mesopotamia borders a plateau in Parthia, a desolate place.

Rome had no chance of conquering the plateau; on the contrary, they could use the plateau's terrain advantage to constantly threaten the defenders in northeastern Mesopotamia.

Once they wipe out the Roman army in the northwest, the garrison in the northeast will face a desperate situation of having their rear cut off and being attacked from both sides, and will most likely surrender without a fight.

In Vologius V's view, this was even a brilliant move.

However, after the Han Chinese launched a northern expedition into the heart of Parthia, Vologus V discovered that he only had the Sassanid Persia to the southeast as his only escape route.

The Sassanid Persians and Khorasan were located very close to each other, and the main force of the Han army would run straight into them.

Even if they were to win, they would likely be powerless to go back and support the country.

The Han people have almost completely blocked his escape routes.

Nevertheless, he has no other choice now.

"Withdraw troops!"

"Quickly retreat to Sassanid Persia, then detour north to return to the capital!"

Following Vologius V's order, the Parthian army swiftly set off.

Without Vologius V needing to say anything more, his soldiers and the small tribes under his command were already eager to return home.

They were all worried about their families' situation after the country fell.

However, when they retreated to the Sassanid Persian border, they were shocked to find that the Han army had already stationed there!
“Babak! That damned traitor! I’ll kill him!” Vologus V said, his eyes bloodshot.

The Han Chinese appeared before them, yet the Sassanid Persians made no move. The reason for this is self-evident.

Little did they know that Babak, the Sassanid Persian ruler at the time, also had his own unspeakable grievances.

He had indeed previously agreed to join forces with Liu Fan.

At the time, he believed that the Han Dynasty was in the same situation as him, both of them were in the same boat, and it was a good thing that they should stick together for warmth and avoid being defeated one by one by Parthia.

Especially after the Han army suffered a "severe defeat" in Mesopotamia, this feeling of "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold" and "if the rabbit dies, the fox will grieve" became even more genuine.

When Sima Yi visited him and asked him to lend him passage to send troops westward to "help in the war," Babak agreed without hesitation, half sighing and half relieved.

Luckily, there was a big man in front of him, otherwise he would have been the one sitting on the edge.

As a result, when the 50,000-strong army arrived at the western border of Sassanid Persia, Sima Yi stopped pretending.

He directly explained the "truth" to Babak in a letter.

Babak was terrified at the time.

However, by then the die was cast.

Liu Bei and Sun Ce's army had reached the southern border of Sassanid Persia.

It can be said that the Sasanian Persians were surrounded on three sides by a large Han Chinese army of more than 300,000 men.

Babak was originally the ruler of a small country. Controlling Sassanid Persia was already the pinnacle of his life. When had he ever seen such a scene before?

The total number of troops in the country is only about 20,000 to 30,000.

Faced with an elite Han army ten times its size, and after two crushing defeats, Babak surrendered his entire nation without hesitation.

The subsequent armies of the seven kingdoms advanced with unstoppable momentum.

With nearly a million troops attacking from three sides, the king and the main force were trapped in Mesopotamia. Parthia was in chaos and unable to mount any effective resistance. The seven kings swept through the region with unstoppable momentum.

All the Parthians were then escorted back to Kushan by the supply troops, ready to be handed over to Daqi.

At this point, the advantage of having a large number of supply troops became apparent.

The population of Parthia was only around ten million.

The seven kings also need to leave behind about two million women of marriageable age.

With only a population of just over seven million and a supply corps of five million remaining, the relocation was a breeze, without affecting the support of the soldiers or the transport of supplies in the slightest.

Sima Yi ambushed Vologus V in Sassanid Persia, but Vologus V was killed in just three months.

The remaining Parthian soldiers all surrendered to the seven kings.

Unfortunately, Severus was far too brutal in Rome and had no intention of accepting them.

Previously, many tribes had come to seek refuge with them, but without exception, they all ended up as victims of the sword.

Sima Yi was fully aware of this.

Logistics and supplies are the foundation of war.

Severus wasn't a completely brainless brute; he was simply out of options.

This battle has been going on for more than a year, with intense fighting lasting for more than half a year.

Not only was Parthia decimated, but Rome itself was also facing numerous internal difficulties.

The already numerous internal conflicts have become even more acute.

The shortage of money and food was becoming increasingly serious, severely impacting the normal lives of Roman citizens.

However, Severus, who rose to power through military merit, would never do something like disbanding the army or reducing the soldiers' benefits, because that would be cutting off his own foundation.

Therefore, Severus has no choice but to fight! He has no choice but to kill!

He couldn't afford to support those who sought refuge with him, so he had to kill them.

Even knowing that he and Vologius V had been tricked by the Han Chinese, he had no choice but to continue down this path to the bitter end.

He was ready to go to war with the Han Dynasty.

The Roman Empire is now unstoppable, and if he tries to stop it, he will be the first to die.

So he had no choice but to persevere.

They watched helplessly as the seven kings plucked the fruits of Parthia's labor and easily destroyed it.

After "reclaiming" Mesopotamia, Severus prepared to "return in triumph" and go back to find a way to clean up the mess at home.

This king, who was known for his tough stance, secretly sent an envoy to Liu Fan to seek peaceful coexistence.

However, Sima Yi, who had already seen through everything, was unlikely to let this opportunity slip by.

After the situation in Parthia was settled, he did not hesitate to lead an army of 500,000 directly to Mesopotamia, forcing Severus to fight.

Take advantage of his illness to kill him!

Such opportunities are truly rare.

Faced with the overwhelming force of Sima Yi, Severus found himself in the same predicament as Vologius V.

Retreat means certain death.

The chances of winning are slim.

However, Severus, who came from a military background, did not lack the courage to fight to the death and chose to accept the challenge without hesitation.

There is still hope as long as we can defeat the combined forces of the Seven Kings.

In this situation, the young Sima Yi did not lose his temper. Instead, he shrewdly switched from offense to defense, began to build high fortifications, and started a war of attrition with the Roman army.

(End of this chapter)