Mythical Three Kingdoms

"Aduo, I'm so bored I'm growing fat," Li Jue lay on a small country's royal chair and said to Guo Si beside him.

"Old Fan, go see if there's any other country that's not compliant," Guo Si turned his head and said to Fan Chou.

Ever since these three guys, leading their respective troops and following Li Youu's orders, arrived in the Western Regions to become Wuxi Colonels, the various states in the Western Regions have quieted down completely. Especially after Li Jue's violent enforcement eradicated a small country, the other countries thoroughly understood the gap in combat power.

Although these kings had heard that the Han Dynasty wasn't doing well in recent years, a group of people came and overthrew a country in no time, so other countries quickly paid tribute. The hereditary Wuxi Colonel, upon seeing that elites were coming, promptly handed over his authority and returned to the Central Plains.

"Let me see, oh, forty years ago Wusun fought us under the pressure of the Northern Huns, and this country has a population of over four hundred thousand," Fan Chou pretended to read and said while holding up a document.

"Stop pretending, you can't read a single character, that's a Parthian document," Li Jue glanced over and noticed the problem immediately, then mocked. However, the three of them had no enmity now and got along much better than before.

"Alas, there are beauties here, there are precious steeds, there's no lack of money and grain, so why do I feel so unhappy," Guo Si said ruefully, feeling that life here should be much better than in Chang'an, yet it felt no better than the barren cold of Xiliang.

"No battles to fight," Li Jue sat up from the royal chair, looking distressed. The Xiliang Iron Cavalry are warriors by nature; without battles, problems arise within themselves.

"Report, General, a Parthian diplomat has arrived," just as the three were lamenting their situation and wanting to start a war, a messenger ran in to report.

"Parthia?" Li Jue looked at the two beside him, "Have him come in."

The Parthian diplomat dressed in luxurious silk, with his envoy carrying a luminous pearl on a tray, walked in and asked in Han Chinese, "Is the Wuxi Colonel present?"

"I am," Li Jue adjusted his cloak, sat up straight, and looked down at the Parthian diplomat. His imposing manner, reminiscent of one who once commanded as the second in command, left the Parthian envoy momentarily speechless.

The Parthian envoy knelt on one knee and babbled, "Please, General, send troops to save my country. We're willing to offer a hundred precious steeds, over ten thousand fine horses, five thousand armors and weapons, and two hundred thousand gold coins!"

This Parthian envoy was the unlucky fellow who previously got rebuffed by Kushan. After the Kushan King listened to Buddhist scriptures, he uttered a Buddhist verse and directly refused the Parthian envoy's request for troops.

With no other choice, the Parthian envoy returned to Parthia. Just before reaching Parthia, he heard from Wusun merchants that the Han Dynasty had replaced the Wuxi Colonel and were likely to engage with the Northern Huns. The Parthian envoy, heart set firm, turned back to the Wuxi Colonel to seek aid.

In this era, the Great Han Dynasty was the king of the Eurasian Continent. Back then, when the Great Han Dynasty clashed with the Huns, all kingdoms and empires across Eurasia were on edge.

The Huns were eventually defeated, but in Central Asia, the remnants of the Huns still ruled. Because of this, all nations to the Han Dynasty were hopeful, hoping not to be noticed, with Parthia being one of the best examples.

However, the situation had deteriorated to the point where the Parthian Royal City was about to be overrun by Rome. The envoy figured, having failed with Kushan, returning home meant death either way. Better to gamble; let's see whether Rome or the Great Han Dynasty is tougher!

"What did you say, a hundred thousand gold coins?" Li Jue sat up slowly; the amateurish translator only caught the part about a hundred thousand gold coins, missed the rest. Li Jue wasn't too concerned about the details; he just wanted to fight. After months of inaction, his whole body itched for battle.

"As long as Your Excellency is willing to send troops, we can pay the hundred thousand gold coins right now," seeing Li Jue's expression, the Parthian envoy knew he was interested. Whatever the reason, as long as he could save Parthia, it wasn't an issue — four centuries' worth of Parthia's wealth after all!

This money was initially for the envoy to bribe the Kushan Empire into sending troops, yet the Kushan King refused before spending it all using the excuse of worshipping. Who would truly believe such an excuse? Even if Kushan were devout Buddhists, they wouldn't use such a brainless reason.

Rome was a pit, Kushan wasn't dumb, and for Parthia, jumping into it wasn't worth it. As for the private friendship between the two, when compared to national interests, it could definitely be thrown away.

Fan Chou and Guo Si, almost growing mushrooms from idleness, kept hinting to Li Jue to accept the job. The Xiliang Iron Cavalry wasn't trained; it was honed through battle. If not taken out to fight, they would be ruined soon.

"Give us the state documents, and we'll settle this for you," Li Jue had no idea who the opponent was, but he'd accept it regardless. A fight? The Parthian Capital City was established in the plains, where Xiliang Iron Cavalry would never lose. Failing there would mean slitting their own throats!

"Please wait a moment, Your Excellency, we'll present the state documents," the Parthian envoy calmly retreated, thinking to themselves where they'd get a state document. The plan was to fool the Great Han Dynasty first, promising them the fertile land of the Mesopotamia region instead of Rome.

Though the Parthians hadn't read the 'Strategies of the Warring States' and didn't know how Hann State threw the burden of Shangdang to Zhao State, letting Qin and Zhao, two monsters, clash while sitting back to watch the drama, in a dire situation such as this, the Parthian envoy decisively resorted to similar tactics. First, find a superpower to hold the line, and buy time to recover.

Parthia didn't believe Rome could defeat the Han Empire, nor did they think the Han Empire could crush Rome. They had seen Rome's intimidating power firsthand and had been struggling with the Han Empire for over a century, almost being annihilated.

Soon, the Parthian envoy forged a state document and presented it to Li Jue. Li Jue couldn't read those writings anyway, skimmed over it, and upon seeing the envoy's men bring in two boxes of gold coins, almost dazzled by the shine, he decisively chose to deploy forces.

"Oh, the opponent is Great Qin, I see," Li Jue learned the situation later. He vaguely remembered Great Qin had some combat power; roughly a hundred years ago, Ban Chao had sent Gan Ying to visit Great Qin, but it seemed he never made it.

The Parthian envoy thought Li Jue might worry, but Li Jue's next words shattered the envoy's expectations, "I wonder if it's enough to fight them. How many soldiers do they have?"

"More than a hundred thousand," the Parthian envoy hesitated before speaking, daring not to hide the truth from Li Jue.

"A hundred thousand men," Guo Si turned to Fan Chou and asked, "Should we equip the brothers with Heavy Crossbows, since that's quite a number of them?"

"For the sake of those two boxes of gold, we'll take care of those guys for you, but remember to provide proper compensation later," Li Jue found the Parthians quite honest, giving the gold even before the troops were deployed. This matter should be settled, so he calmly dispatched the troops. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)