Chapter 43 Reinforcement

Hearing the drums at the head of the city, the archers under the city subconsciously shrank their necks and tried to hide under the huge shield. They were the most shabby arms in the Sassanian army. Not only did they have no iron armor, but also the minimum leather armor was not complete. If they were shot by the other party's arrow, the injured name might be very large.

However, these archers obviously underestimated the lethality of the Han crossbow array. The rain of arrows from the city not only exceeded their estimates, but also far exceeded their imagination, which caused a major blow to those archers who thought they were safer.

The sound of "squeak" was endless, and the roar of arrows echoed by the screams of the Sassan archers. Almost none of the archers within 120 steps were spared, and nearly half of the archers within 120 steps were also attacked by sharp attacks, and the losses were very heavy. The Sassank archers without effective armor had dense arrows in about ten breaths. More than half of them fell under the attack, and only some people at the end survived. They stared at the dense arrows and corpses like lush thatch in front of them. They were shrouded in great fear and even forgot to escape. They were silent for a long time. I don't know who reacted the most and let out a sharp sound. Scream, throw away the bow and arrow in your hand, turn your head and run away.

The morale of the Sassanids is far away.

With a gloomy face and a wave of his hand, the SS rushed forward, swunked up the sharp sword in his hand, and killed the running archers. The frightened archers did not consider that it would be like this at all. Before they could react, they were killed in front of the SS.

In the face of greater death, Sassanid soldiers are as silent as a stone. Although they are not as immersive as archers, most of them have fought for many years. From the intensity of the arrow rain, we can also see how fierce the counterattack at the head of the city is. More experienced people can even estimate from the number of archers who escaped. Out of the coverage of the opponent's arrow array, and all this made them frightened.

The Sassanids were not good at attacking the city, but the enemies in the past, whether they were Parthians, the Frosts, or the Romans, did not have an obvious advantage in ordnance. Now, they feel the strength of their opponents. Compared with these arrows, the warriors who killed Alpha and other three people that day have no more deterrent.

Aldahir was expressionless and ordered to attack again. Another group of archers lined up in a neat line, but this time, they were obviously a little more tragic and nervous.

The two sides attacked each other with arrows again. This time, the Sassanid were prepared and did not dare to get too close to the city wall. They kept the distance a hundred steps away. The casualties were much smaller, but the problem also appeared. If they did not enter a hundred steps, they did not pose a threat to the city. After entering a hundred steps, their casualties rose sharply. Even if the huge shield cover was added, the archers could only hide behind the huge shield in confusion, and the attack power was greatly affected.

Aldahir had a headache. At this time, the other three defenders also encountered the same problem and sent people to ask. However, in half a day, the Sassanid archers have lost more than 30%, and so far they have not found an effective solution. If they continue to do it recklessly, the Sassanid It is possible to lose all the archers, and then they will have no way to restrain the city from counterattacking.

Aldahir pondered for a moment and decisively gave the order to close the troops. The battle that had been prepared for more than ten days was over, and a large number of siege equipment did not have time to come in handy at all. It is quite sloppy to let the soldiers directly attack the city without the cover of archers. Ardahir may not have heard the famous saying that he will not fight, but he is very clear about this truth.

Looking at the Sassanians slowly retreating and listening to the excited shouts of the Aksum people in the city, although Sun Shao was full of smiles, there was no smile in his eyes. Although Ardahir lost a lot of archers, he did not hurt his muscles and bones. He took the initiative to retreat now. He was not defeated, but to seek better means of siege. Such people are not easy to deal with.

"King Shengming, the Sassanids were beaten away." Wallaga smiled excitedly.

"Hey hey, he runs fast, otherwise he will have to kill his teeth." Sun Shao put on a frivolous smile and laughed.

"The king is so right." Varage rubbed his hands and looked very happy: "Your Majesty, this is a great victory. Should we reward it to boost morale?"

"Well, give them a little wine and meat, but not too much. We haven't caught Ardahir and Shapur yet. We have to keep some."

Warag nodded repeatedly and went out happily to arrange it. Yu An frowned, walked to Sun Shao and said, "Your Majesty, Varaga seems to be overly enthusiastic. You have to be on guard." Sun Shao looked at him and nodded with a smile: "Shiping, are you still used to military life?"

Yu An was a little surprised, and then said excitedly, "Although the army is a little bitter, it can train people. Now I know why the generals who came out of the destruction camp are always so arrogant."

"Hahaha..." Sun Shao couldn't help laughing, "If you endure hardships, you will be a superior person. You are knowledgeable and can go through the devil's training of the destroyer camp. You must be a talent in the future. I think Zhongxiang Guild is proud of you.

"Thank you for your praise." Yu An was a little excited and said in a trembling voice.

"Since you are worried about Varage, pay more attention to it." Sun Shao paused and said, "In fact, this is the same as learning. It always starts with doubt, but doubt does not mean a conclusion. Before there is conclusive evidence, we can't make a conclusion based on feelings."

Yu An was stunned and tasted the general, with a happy light in his eyes: "What the king said is very true. Thank you for your call."

"However, quietly enter the village and don't shoot. Let Varage find that someone is investigating him, which is not good for people's stability. Now is a very time. Don't make unnecessary misunderstandings." Sun Shao waved his hand with a smile and turned around and left. Yu An didn't understand for a moment that there was no gun in the Han Dynasty, let alone a gun. However, he still understood Sun Shao's meaning and turned around and left.

When he learned the news of the failure of the siege, Shapur rushed back to the camp with his guard. As soon as he entered the big tent, Ardahir was standing in front of the large map and meditating. Hearing the sound of footsteps, he just turned his head and waved his hand to signal him to sit down. Shapur put the whip into his belt, poured himself a glass of water, drank it, wiped his mouth, and then said, "Does your father intend to withdraw?"

Aldahir was stunned for a moment, turned around and looked at him, thinking for a moment: "What do you think?"

Shapur was not modest and said bluntly, "The Romans were busy with the civil war. Although the Senate gathered a large army again, although the Romans were strong, they were no longer brave warriors who could work hard. Their strong bodies were just the capital to show off each other in the bathroom. He Their spirits have long been washed away by the water in the bathroom, and the people in the Senate are still dirtier than the water in the bathroom. They value their rights more. Alexander is dead, and the Severus family has broken its bloodline. How much can Momia, a woman, last if she has the ability? They are no opponents of Maximus at all. If I guess correctly, Maximus must have been singing. Now they should have reached Asia Minor, and may have crossed Byzantium. Whether he can finally enter the city of Rome or not, Rome will not cause us any trouble in three years, and without the response of the Romans, the nobles do not dare to act rashly. This is a good opportunity for us to annihilate the Vietnamese people in one fell swoop. How can we leave now?

"Defeating Yue people is more important than attacking Rome and Guishuang?" Aldahir asked calmly, "I thought that if only 100,000 troops besieged the city, it would be sooner or later to break through the city of Aksum, but the two setbacks made me feel that we might think too simple."

"Why?" Shapur asked puzzledly.

"The first question, why can Sun Shao leave?" Ardahir raised a finger and frowned, as if he couldn't figure it out: "Although our iron ride is fast, after all, it is so far away that he still has enough time to leave Aksum. As long as he leaves Aksum and reaches the sea, even if we have millions of iron riders, we can only look at the sea and sigh. But why didn't he leave?

Shapur stopped talking. So far, he hasn't told Aldahir about the secret of Varage, just as Aldahir didn't know that Maximus's sudden counterattack was because of the agreement between them. Armenia's victory established his succession status, and Axum's victory would further strengthen this status. What's more, he doesn't know whether Varage can still keep his promise now. If he tells Ardahir, and Varage has willingly turned to Sun Shao, he will be passive.

"The second question, where are the reinforcements of Yue people? Are they really afraid to go ashore because they are afraid of us and watch the city of Aksumu be besieged by us?

Aldahir gently twisted his fingers without looking at Shapur, as if he was lost in thought.

"Maybe they know that we won't be able to conquer the city for a while?" Shapur said tentatively.

"Impossible." Ardahir shook his head without thinking: "The king of Yue is besieged in the city. No minister dares not to come to rescue for this reason. If I am trapped in Taixifeng, may you not come to support because of the strength of Taixifeng?"

Shapur shook his head quickly. He didn't dare to have such a plan. He didn't dare to think about it. Only the monarch used his ministers as bait, and which minister dared to beat the monarch as bait. But on this thought, the current situation is really a little strange.

What tricks are Yue people playing? Shapur was also a little puzzled. Suddenly, he was not so confident in his analysis.

"The refund will not be returned so soon, but I think these things are very difficult." Aldahir sighed and rubbed his sore eyebrows: "Alpha died in the first battle, and nearly half of the archers were lost in the second battle. I have fought for many years and have never encountered such a big loss. I didn't expect that the small city of Aksum has become a hard bone that I can't nibble. Alas, I've heard for a long time that the Han people are good at guarding the city, but I didn't expect that they had such an ability in guarding the city. I still underestimated them.

"Father, there is no attack and no defense, after all, it is not the way to win." Shapur patiently advised: "The Greeks besieged Troy for ten years, and finally it was successful. Is Axum stronger than Troy? Thinking that they had been prepared for a long time, we were not prepared enough, and it was inevitable to hurt some soldiers. However, as my father said, Sun Shao, the king of Yue, was trapped in the city. Although we could not attack for the time being, he did not dare to come out. Didn't the people of Yue come to ask for help? As long as we defeat these reinforcements, Sun Shao will not be available sooner or later.

"Hey hey, have you ever thought that we are thousands of miles away from the country, this food and fodder is a big problem? Among other things, most of the deserts here are deserts, the climate is also very different from that of Taixifeng, and the water and grass are not as lush as ours, which is a big problem for war horses. What I'm worried about is that if Vietnam wants to transfer troops from China, I'm afraid that their reinforcements have not arrived, but we can't support them anymore.

Shapur smiled faintly: "This is simple. We don't need to transport grain thousands of miles from Taixifeng. Just plunder it nearby. Axum and Egypt can do it. Even if we dig three feet, we have to collect the food needed by the army. If my father doesn't trust others, I am willing to take on this task to ensure that my father has no worries.

Aldahir sighed: "This is the only way to do it. However, you don't have to do such a thing yourself. Just find someone. You'd better guard the seaside carefully and don't let those people take advantage of it.

Shapur nodded. Seeing that Ardahir's sad face did not diminish, he advised, "Father, don't worry, although the Vietnamese are tough, they dare not go out of the city. As long as we make more huge shields and move forward steadily, we still have a chance to break the city."

Aldahir nodded. He quickly found several generals and asked them to take people to the nearby area to collect food and fodder. Of course, it was inevitable near Aksum, and even the Egyptian provinces in the north suffered greatly. With food and fodder, Ardahir calmed down and made a large number of huge shields, ready to attack the city again.

At this moment, Shapur received a secret envoy sent by Varag and told them Sun Shao's worries.

As soon as Shapur heard this, he was a little confused: "Aren't you afraid that we will attack the city, but you are afraid that we won't attack the city?"

The secret envoy nodded repeatedly: "This is what King Axum heard by Sun Shao, the king of Yue. He said that the Yue people are experts in guarding the city, and the Sassanids are a nation on horseback. They are not their opponents at all in defending the city at all. Even the Sassanian siege weapon stone throwing machine can't work, and the archers are far apart. You The siege just gives them a chance to kill a large number of your soldiers and defeat your sharpness.

Shapur's face became ugly: "Can't the stone thrower hurt them?"

The secret envoy nodded affirmatively: "This is what I saw with my own eyes. They hung a lot of things called wooden mantle in important places. Whether it is your grass balls or mud blocks, they have no strength to hit them. Instead, they collected them to fight back. I heard them say, "What's the name of this?"

"What kind of softness and what kind of toughness?" Shapur thought for a while: "With softness to overcome strength?"

"Yes, yes, yes, that's the word." The envoy said admiringly, "The prince is still knowledgeable, and he even knows that Chinese is so difficult to learn."

Shapur's reserved smile made the secret envoy talk about the appearance of the wooden mantle. He also felt a little incredible that such a thing could restrain the powerful stone throwing machine? What is it really to be strong? Shapur felt that it was too difficult to understand. He had always convinced that he was beating fast and slow, and bullying the weak with strong. It was difficult to accept the theory of Yirou Kegang.

"What can you do?" Shapur quietly returned to the point.

"My king is waiting for the opportunity, but Yue people don't trust him. It's not the time yet. I hope the prince will give him some more time." The secret envoy put away his smile and said cautiously, "My king said that once there is a chance, he will lead the prince into the city and capture Sun Shao, the king of Yue, but... I hope the prince can keep his promise."

"Don't worry, I said that if I gave him Egypt, I would definitely give it to him." Shapurmo rubbed the beast's head on the handle of the knife and said lightly, "However, there is a premise. If he can't lead us into the city in time, he won't want Egypt. He is safe in the city, but we consume a lot of food every day, which can't last long.

The secret envoy did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly promised to contact Shapur as soon as possible. Finally, he discussed some details before leaving in a hurry. Shapur sat still in the tent and looked at the sketch of the wooden mantle just drawn and meditated. After thinking for a while, he suddenly picked up a porcelain cup on the desk and threw it into the tent. The porcelain cup hit the tent, bounced back and fell to the ground. It cracked in half with a crack. Shapur walked over and picked up the porcelain cup and looked at it carefully, with his eyes flashing and thinking.

Shapur quickly told Ardahir about the contact of people from the city, and by the way, he told Aldahir about the discovery of the wooden mantle. Ardahir was also a little surprised when he saw Shapur's demonstration and was very interested in the truth of Yirou Kegang. However, compared with the wooden mantle, he is still more interested in the existence of Varaga.

"Can he be trusted?"

"It should be credible." Shapur said confidently, "The Romans gave Aksum as a gift to Yue. Aksum now has to surround Sun Shao like a dog every day. How can he be willing? What's more, he is also greedy for the land of Egypt. He took a look at Aldahir. Aldahir's face was calm and seemed not to object to giving Egypt to Wallag, so he calmed down.

"So, we do have some opportunities." Ardahir nodded slowly: "Contact him again and let him open the gate as soon as possible to lead us into the city. Before that, I will attack the city twice to make Sun Shao happy. When people are complacent, it is easier to forget and relax their vigilance.

"Father is wise." Shapur bowed and said, "I'll send someone to contact him immediately."

"Hmm." Aldahir waved his hand: "Have you heard from Maximus? Where is he now?"

"Half a month ago, it was reported that he had attacked Byzantium last month, and Goldian's army was about to arrive in Byzantium. They may have a war there. According to the time, they should have handed it over now.

"Goldian, although he is older, he is also a person who can fight, and I don't know whether Maximus, a barbarian, is his opponent."

Shapur smiled disapprovingly: "Even if Goldian wins, what can he do? He still relies on the Germans, Gauls and Goths. After winning the barbarians of Maximus, he has to face more barbarians. I really don't know what the Romans thought. They actually used mercenaries as the main force and handed over their doors to robbers with a rich man, but they were greedy for comfort and fat as pigs. How could they be safe for a long time in the end? Sooner or later, they would be slaughtered.

Ardahir smiled with the same feeling.

...Byzantine, a silver-haired Goldian stood on the wall and looked at the east anxiously. His son, Goldian, little, stood behind him with a look of indignation. They just received news from Rome that the new emperor Quintus gave the latest order to fight against Maximus in Byzantium, and be sure to block the army led by Maximus east of the Bosphorus. He thinks this order is very unreliable. How can he be Maximus's opponent with his current strength? He has 40,000 troops in his hand, but among these 40,000 troops, more than 20,000 barbarian mercenaries can really fight. If they deal with others, although these mercenaries are scattered, they can still be more or less useful. Maximus himself is a barbarian to deal with now. In case these barbarians defect on the battlefield, Then the 20,000 Romans who have been hastily put together are in danger.

"Father, this is probably that woman's idea again, isn't it?" Little Goldian couldn't help saying.

"What so?" Goldian shook his head helplessly: "It was she who said that she moved the Vietnamese to help. The people in the Senate believed her. What can we do?"

"The people in the Senate are really confused. Alexander is useless enough. He even wants to make Alexander's posthumous son as the emperor. For this child who doesn't know whether he can be fed, the fool of Quintus is actually the emperor. Isn't it that Momia controls the power? Vietnamese to help? Do the Vietnamese people help us in Rome, or do they help her Momia alone?

"Stop talking." Goldian waved his hand and interrupted his son's prison. He was also dissatisfied with this matter, but there was nothing he could do. The rescue of the Vietnamese was asked by Momia, and most of the people in the Senate are now Momia's supporters. Even if he has a problem, there is nothing he can do. What's more, what he is most worried about now is how to deal with Maximus' army. If it's a head-on battle, I'm afraid he has no chance of winning, and Rome's last hope may be buried here.

"General, there is a messenger from Vietnam to see you." A hurried voice interrupted Goldian's thoughts.

"The messenger of Yue? Are their reinforcements coming? Goldian was surprised and happy. He quickly raised his eyes and only saw a middle-aged man in a Vietnamese robe standing in the distance, looking at him with a smile.

"Father, he is the messenger of the State of Yue named Jiang Gan."

Goldian did not dare to neglect. He hurried forward to salute Jiang Gan. When Jiang Gan saw the worry in Goldian's eyes, he smiled and comforted, "Your Excellency, don't worry, my king sent the most capable general and 20,000 elites in Vietnam. This time he will definitely defeat Maximus, a traitor."

(to be continued)