Chapter 2440 2154: Just Too Afraid to Act Recklessly

The black-robed sorcerer, with a certain calm demeanor, packed his belongings, mounted his horse, and fled with more than a hundred guards. The reasoning was very compelling.

"Who exactly is this guy?" Sheni Pei stroked his beard, staring at the figure's back, unable to find any familiar image in his mind.

"Not sure, just know this guy's one of our own." Chen Gong shook his head and said, "I have seen Jia Wenhe's folding fan before; the item is genuine. Moreover, being of the same Huaxia descent, he wouldn't betray his clan."

"Agreed." Sheni Pei nodded and said.

"In that case, we need to carefully consider our next arrangement. Before they're exposed, it's hard to imagine. But once exposed, though unbelievable, it's indeed the most rational possibility." Zhuge Liang also spoke solemnly, "Should we deliver this message to Parthia?"

"Better not." Lyu Meng sneered as he said this, then turned and left.

"I think the same, best not to deliver. Until we can ensure their actions won't affect us, we'd better not." Sima Yi also sneered, it's a taunt towards humanity.

Once a wide road is cut through the Zagros Mountains, wars between Parthia and Rome wouldn't need strategic planning or schemes anymore, or rather, the Romans managed to rewrite their strategy in one sweep, successfully leading the war into their tempo.

It's the greatest strategy in war, attacking with one's strengths against the enemy's weaknesses, and in this wave, the Romans pushed their tactics to the limits.

As for any subsequent Parthian tactics, they might not even manage consecutive attempts. Once the Zagros Mountains are opened, for Rome, it's a direct highway to Parthian Capital City.

Of course, for the Parthians, this is the beginning of nation-destroying. If this happened a hundred years earlier, without geographical reliance but still national strength guarantee, the Parthians might reform military and political strategies due to the loss of geography, using strength to sustain National Grace.

Currently, Parthia has only one path: death. They lack the ability to resist Roman attacks while reforming domestic military and political systems.

"Now comes my specialty." The black-robed sorcerer slowly lifted his hand to block the winter sunlight, his face solemn, "The Seven Great Nobles of Parthia are likely very interested in the Parthian Emperor's Position. Given a chance, they might scramble for it like dogs after meat and bones."

"Using the Emperor's Position as a bait, playing chess truly brings joy. How many pieces should Parthia be divided into?" A mocking expression graced the sorcerer's face, disdain for power schemes and himself.

On the other side, the Romans who initially planned to divide their troops, sending the main force to Armenia and others to Mesopotamia, suddenly received new orders.

"Are you saying, we should attack Mesopotamia?" Severus frowned at Novelli, asking with confusion.

"No, Your Majesty, my point is we should focus our attack on Mesopotamia instead." Novelli shook his head and said, "Our latest conclusion is that compared to Armenia, traversing the Zagros Mountains better supports our strategy."

"Reason," Severus asked directly, not opposed to altering military orders but demanding an explanation.

"The Sheikh Mountain collapse sparked fresh ideas within our Staff Group, like dismantling the Zagros Mountains, creating a road from west to east, essentially connecting us to Parthia. Once that's done, destroying Parthia becomes only a matter of saying it." Nearby, another civil servant from the Staff Group, Fabio, spoke slowly.

Severus was stunned on hearing this, but soon understood. As a military strategist, he had his perspective on terrain, and Fabio's words were simple, brutal, and extremely tempting.

"Creating a direct road, is it?" Severus frowned and asked, "Do we have the capability?"

"Yes, though individually we lack Celestial God Lyu Bu's power, unifying and dispatching the Large Army by the Council Guard allows us to use Legion Attack to clear the Zagros Mountains without issue." Perennius stepped forward and spoke.

"Without Legion Cloud Qi suppression, our attack could achieve maximum power, and the Zagros Mountains, lacking Cloud Qi protection, are easy for us to destroy," Fabio said confidently.

Severus turned to look at the other staff officers, all nodded silently, affirming this was real.

"If that's the case, full army advance towards the Two Rivers." Severus had no desire to conceal his intentions; he wanted to crush, to push. This time, he wanted the Parthians to despair; centuries have passed, it's time to shatter their backbone and return them to dust.

"Your Majesty, our Staff Group unanimously believes, we should simultaneously advance on Armenia and Mesopotamia." Pipunannus, having participated in the previous coordination analysis, decisively stood up to suggest.

"Why?" Severus, his eyes calm yet showing faint authority.

"Winning two wars rather than one better clarifies the strength disparity to Parthia, especially when both are crushing victories." Fabio said slowly.

Strong as Severus was, talking losses or war attrition held no meaning, especially after Pipunannus, the Roman Treasurer, shared partial reality with Fabio and core members of the Staff Group, enabling a different understanding of war losses.

Though Elite Legions are important, Large Armies matter, but the Roman Citizen and the Roman Empire are even more crucial. Larger war attrition could have significance, letting Barbarian Army die in organized, large numbers, a way of mitigating losses.

Thus, Fabio omitted strategy details, proving Roman Empire's strength simply and directly; as for war attrition, just bury it, the deceased aren't Roman Citizens, simply roll in grass mats, bury in soil, unworthy of concern.

Conversely, more barbarian deaths could mean less expenditure compared to currently high military upkeep, potentially reducing consolation money. Roman Empire's massive Barbarian Army indeed should be cut down, removing those less than One Talent, well, cut those under Dual Talent then.

"Winning two crushing wars concurrently clarifies the strength disparity more than conducting one?" Severus quietly repeated, then altered war orders, directing Perennius to lead the Imperial Guard Officer Legion, along with three Dual Talent Eagle Banner Legions, three Elite Eagle Banner Legions, and a large Barbarian Army towards Armenia.

"Phew, this should solve the issue." Pipunannus exhaled deeply, saving a bit on military expenses where possible. Opening now wasn't viable, finding ways to divert instead.

The news of defeated forces like Sassanid Fars retreating to the Two Rivers swiftly reached Taysi, but Vologases V hadn't completely subdued domestic nobles.

Although leveraging previous victories against Roman forces in the Two Rivers to sweep away prior shadows of defeat, gaining considerable reputation, Vologases V was still far from his goal of thoroughly subduing domestic nobility and integrating the Parthian Empire, unfortunately, time was insufficient.

"Inform the Esfandiar Family I've agreed to their terms but want the Achaemenid Dynasty's Imperial Guard Infantry held by them to confront the Roman Legion!" Vologases V said solemnly to his escort, ultimately deciding.

Unlike Rome and the Han Dynasty, while both have most large armies as national assets save for a few held by special families, theoretically national-owned, even if Generals temporarily attract entire legions by charm, none can truly inherit as familial legacy.

However, in Parthia and Kushan, the major distinction is that national power might not eclipse certain families, each family is uniquely structured, possessing troops and Generals.

For example, the Sulun Family forcibly subdued by Vologases V, retaining troops and land from this country, even like their kingdom within the empire.

After all, Parthia, being among the birthplace cities of ancient civilization, had empires predating modern Parthia, with some families dating beyond national existence.

While the Han Dynasty too faced this issue, none had families controlling full-scale legions. Though some odd families indeed owned elite units, numbers are limited. As for organized, scaling, the Han side barely exists.

Rome, however, has the Julius Family, yet neither country compares to Kushan or Parthia's madness.

Some families in Parthia and Kushan, existing since before the previous dynasty, possess organized elite legions, whereas the Han Dynasty, aristocracies surviving despite Qin, transformed into aristocratic families. Alas, even a miserable Eastern Han holds relative power.

At least not allowing families genuine organization of scaled legions, those daring interveners faced suppression under mutual constraints.

Nonetheless, Soldier Drilling Techniques, tracing battle methods such as Wu Qi, Pang Juan, Sunx Bin, and Le Yi from the Warring States, never truly vanished, restricted by stringent national control, fearing disorder.