Chapter 31 Conspiracy

Wallague lowered his head and let go of Shapur's aggressive eyes. He found a chair and sat down, rubbing the smooth handrail with one hand and stroking the other porcelain cup in the other hand. The chair is made of high-quality wood bought from Yue. The porcelain cup is the famous prince porcelain of Yue. One is heavy, the other is light, and the feel is excellent. It is his favorite thing. The bottle that had just been broken by Shapur was bought by him from a merchant in the Han Dynasty with a lot of money. It was broken by Shapur. He was really distressed, but he didn't dare to say anything.

Because he knows that although Aksum still has some strength, it is not worth mentioning in front of the Sassanians. The four empires in the world are now gathered here, and there is no part for him to speak. Shapur didn't even pay attention to Yue, so how could he pay attention to a little Axum?

Between such four major powers, Wallague was very embarrassed. He was not willing to be given to Yue as a gift by Rome, but he was not rash enough to be the enemy of Yue with Shapur's words. Of course, he would not simply say no. Since Shapur could tell him this, he was obviously not prepared at all. Neither.

"There are 10,000 elites in Vietnam, and there are 30,000 guards in Rome. No matter how good the prince is at fighting, there are only a thousand iron horses. With your strength, it seems that it is not easy to eat them, right?" Wallague thought for a moment, raised his head, faced Shapur's playful eyes, and showed a shallow smile. He looked very sincere. It seemed that he had agreed to Shapur's proposal and was considering a feasible surname.

Shapur has been looking at Wallag's expression. Wallag is not a mediocre master. In the past few years, he has been fighting from south to north, and his power has expanded rapidly. However, in front of such a big country as Rome and Yue, the gap in his strength is too big. In the face of Rome's bullying, he has nothing he can do, so he has to bow down. Otherwise, the city of Aksum will bleed into a river. The city was offered, and the minister also called it, but Shapur knew that Wallag was unwilling, so he was sure to come to Wallag. When he first arrived at Axum, he made friends with Varaga and thought about Varaga's thoughts. Now when he put it up, Varaga was really moved.

Varaga has concerns, which is normal. If there are no worries, it is abnormal.

"You don't have to worry. Although there are 10,000 elites in Yue, they don't have cavalry. Of course, it's no problem to defend the city, but if you want to fight in the field, they are not my opponents of the Persians. As for the Romans, hey hey hey..." Shapur sneered, slowed down his tone, and calmly analyzed, "They have long been emptied by insects. They look very scary, but in fact, they will fall down as soon as they are pushed. You don't have to worry about these Romans. I have fought with them several times. They are not Romans three or four hundred years ago. And I have figured out a way to deal with them, but I can't say it yet. I'm sure you can understand this.

Wallag nodded with understanding and said nothing. He wanted to analyze that Shapur's words were somewhat credible. Shapur said that the Romans were strong outside, and he believed in some, but not completely. The Romans have fallen. They are no longer Romans three or four hundred years ago. He believes that after all, he is also a dependent country of Rome. Shapur said that the Romans are not as strong as their Sassanids. He also believes that if Alexander hadn't been so embarrassed by Aldahir, he would not have asked the Vietnamese for help, but Shap He said that the Romans would fall as soon as they pushed it, but he didn't believe it. If so, what else would Shapur talk about? Just command their cavalry directly to rush to the city of Rome.

"It's right to be cautious about such a big thing." Wallag said something in his words.

"The king is wise." Shapur stood up, put the porcelain cup in his hand on the table next to him, and then walked back and forth in the narrow secret room with his hands behind his back, and heavy footsteps echoed in the secret room. Varaga didn't say a word, and his eyes moved back and forth with Shapur's footsteps. He knew that Shapur understood his words and wanted to consider what information to disclose to him to enhance his confidence.

Shapur walked back and forth more than a dozen times, and his footsteps had been very steady. Finally, he stood three steps in front of Varage, facing the torch on the wall. His eyes were hidden in his deep eyes, and he could not see his eyes clearly, but Wallag still held his breath unnaturally.

"Your Majesty, if my Sassan army besieged the city, can you make a little trouble for the king of Yue, make him tired of coping with it, and even open the gate to welcome our army into the city?" Shapur smiled again without waiting for Varag's answer, but his laughter was a little dry, and it sounded like an ominous night owl: "If the king wants, then Aksum will always be the king, and the fertile Nile in the north is also the king's. If the king has doubts, it doesn't matter. We didn't say anything about it today. From now on, we will never see each other again.

Wallag's eyes tightened, and he could hear the strong threat behind this sentence. Of course, he was also moved by the rich conditions proposed by Shapur. He held his thick beard and thought for a long time before he looked up at Shapur: "What if your army doesn't besiege the city?"

Shapur Waner smiled and said, "Of course, nothing will happen."

"Good." Varage nodded heavily, stood up, pulled out a short dagger from his waist, gently stroked his finger, and a drop of blood came out. He raised his head again and looked at Shapur calmly: "Let's take Ahura? I swear in the name of Azda.

Shapur's eyes contracted involuntarily, and then he laughed again. The Sassanids believe in Zoroastrianism. His ancestor Sassanis are the priests of Zoroastrianism. The reason why their family can rise so quickly is, although it is greatly related to the talent of his father Aldahir, it is also inseparable from the support of Zoroastrianism. Ahura? Azda is the only creator of the Zoroastite faith. It is the strictest oath in his name. No one can violate it, otherwise it will definitely be attacked by Ahura? Azda's punishment will also be ostracized by the priests of Zoroast. Does Wallag want to take Ahura? Azda's oath in his name can be said to be the best way to protect himself.

Shapur can refuse Wallag, after all, Ahura? Azda is the supreme creator and can't swear casually, but it is very important. If he refuses, Wallag will definitely doubt it.

"Of course, such an important thing must be sworn in the name of the creator." Shapur pulled out a short knife from his waist, cut his finger, knelt down on one leg in the direction of Sassan with Varage, and solemnly saluted the swaying torch on the wall. Then he made a vow, stirred his cut fingers in the glass, took a sip, and then looked at each other's arm. And laugh.

Sun Shao sat on the ground floor of the palace, the tallest building in Aksum City, overlooking the ancient city with different styles under his feet. He looked relaxed and natural. He didn't expect that he could occupy a city in Africa so easily. Although Axum is only two or three hundred miles in radius and surrounded by deserts, he couldn't help but feel excited when he thought that Egypt, the ancient civilization, to the north, is tens of thousands of miles away from the Han Dynasty.

"How's the conversation going? Have the Sassans let go?

"It went well." Xia Hourong smiled and said, "The king is really capable of people. There are not only the order of Cheng Jun who is good at doing business, but also the embroidered clothes like Lu Shan, which can be said to be a wasteland. I hardly need to do anything, just watch the Romans and the Sasmen compete." He paused and said worriedly, "However, I'm still a little worried. It's acceptable that the Romans are eager to cooperate with us, but the Sassanids are also so enthusiastic, which is a little too much."

"What are you worried about? Are you worried that they are playing tricks and show us? Sun Shao turned his head and took a look at Xia Hourong. He saw the worry in Xia Hourong's eyes. Xia Hourong didn't say anything, but nodded. He was so worried that the Romans were eager to cooperate with the Vietnamese to resist the Sassanids. If they suffered losses in cooperation, it would be difficult for them to get effective help. The Sassanids were not in a hurry to subsidize the Vietnamese, but they acted like they were bound to force the Romans to lower their conditions. For the Sassanids, this was just a means, and for the Romans, every concession was a loss of profit. If they really want to be unprofitable, this cooperation will not be broken. It's also broken. At that time, good things may become bad things.

"You don't have to worry about this. We just have to grasp the scale ourselves. Of course, we can't do things that suffer losses, but don't make the Romans unprofitable. Let them bargain with each other first, and finally let's be good people. Why not? Sun Shao smiled faintly: "In terms of the shrewdness of doing business, how can Shapur be compared with Cheng Jun and Lu Shan? Let him think he can do it."

"But the Romans are in a hurry." Xia Hourong reminded, "Haven't the king noticed that Alexander has come less in the past two days, and the Romans look at us is a little wrong, especially the Maximus, who sees us as if he sees our enemies."

"He, his eyes are a little wrong." Sun Shao smiled and said, "But we are not afraid of him. His 30,000 people are outside the city, and 10,000 of us are in the city. If he wants to be against us, he doesn't have that strength. Let him stare for a few days. At that time, we will make some more profit, and his eyes will be good.

Xia Hourong thought for a moment. He thought for a moment and was about to speak when there was a sound of footsteps outside. A dark bodyguard came to salute, saying that it was King Valag of Aksum. Sun Shao and Xia Hourong looked at each other and waved their hands, "Please come in."

Wallag quickly came in. As soon as he saw Sun Shao, he knelt down and saluted, and then saluted Xia Hourong and said a few compliments. Xia Hourong smiled and said, "The king's Chinese has grown, and he is becoming more and more fluent."

"Recently, there are many Han people in the city. You can hear Chinese everywhere, and there are many opportunities to learn." Varage said a few words of gossip, but he didn't get to the point. Xia Hourong saw it and said goodbye. Sun Shao kept looking at Wallag quietly, especially paying attention to the beads of sweat in Wallag's temples. Aksum is indeed hot, but the palace is built high, and the ventilation conditions are very good. There are so many green plants covering it, and today's sunshine is not very strong. The palace is not very hot, and there is no sweat on Varage's face, but there are beads of sweat hidden in the horns, indicating that he has something in his heart.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report to the King." Wallag lowered his voice.

"What's so important?" Sun Shao smiled gently: "Is someone making trouble in the city and causing you trouble?"

Warage shook his head quickly: "The king's soldiers are disciplined. Compared with those Romans and Sassanids, they are simply in the sky and underground. General Ding and General Zhou are very demanding, and no soldier makes trouble. The whole city of Aksum said that the king was a god sent by heaven, and only the soldiers of the gods could be so good.

The corners of Sun Shao's mouth pulled. He knew that for the people of Aksum, he was now an aggressor, an aggressor far farther than the Romans. Although the survival of Aksum's country had no impact on those ordinary people and slaves, human psychology was a very delicate matter. If indulgence It is easy to provoke psychological confrontation, so since he was ready to receive Aksum City, he asked Ding Feng, Zhou Yin and others to strengthen the discipline of the soldiers of the destroyer camp to avoid accidents. Now it seems that it is generally good.

"If anything happens, just tell me directly. Now that the kingdom of Aksum has become my vassal state, the Aksum people are also my people. The soldiers of my Yue country protect my people, not harm my people. If such a thing happens, I will definitely punish them severely. Sun Shao said, "Since it's not about this matter, what's the matter if you are in such a hurry to see me?"

Waragar suddenly knelt on the ground with a plop and kowtowed repeatedly: "I am guilty. I come to plead guilty to the king. Please punish me."

"Is it?" Sun Shao glanced at him and continued quietly, "What kind of sin is it? Tell me about it."

"I... I hid something from the king." Varage raised his head and said sadly, "It's a big deal. I didn't dare to tell the king because I was worried."

"A big deal?" Sun Shao laughed. Of course, he knew that he had not said anything about Shapur's arrival at Varage's house for so many days. He just wanted to see when Wallage wanted to hide it and whether he wanted to hide it all the time. Now Wallag has come to take the initiative to confess, which is a little beyond his expectation. He originally thought that Wallag would be unwilling to lose the throne of Axum. If the Sassanids provide opportunities, he should be moved. What's the big deal?"

"Your Majesty, three days ago, Shapur went to the minister's house, and the minister cooperated with him to fight against the king and the Romans."

"Confrontation?" Sun Shao raised his eyebrows and his interest suddenly increased: "How to fight?"

"He secretly spread rumors that the Romans sold Axum to Yue for their own interests, and then created a little trouble, so that the Romans could not stand here and could not compete with the Sassanians, so that the Sasanes could get a little more share."

"Is it?" Sun Shao raised his hand, rubbed his eyebrows, and casually asked, "What do you think?"

"I... I deserve to die. He said he wanted to give me some benefits, and I was a little moved at that time. Later, although I saw through the sinister intentions of the Sassanians, I was afraid that the king would not believe me, so I didn't dare to report to the king. Wallag said with a regretful face, "I have failed to trust the king."

"Then why are you here again now?" Sun Shao looked at him with a smile. To be honest, if that's what Wallague said, he would be a little disappointed.

"I thought about it carefully and felt that the Sassanids were not credible. Compared with the king's kindness, they were just deceiving me. Moreover, with Sassan's strength, it was impossible for them to protect me. Everything was to take advantage of me and my confusion. King, I am guilty, I am guilty..."

Looking at the crying Varage, Sun Shao was silent for a moment, sighed, bent down and helped the Varage up: "My King Axum, get up quickly. People are not gods. How can there be no selfishness? It's a good thing that you can get lost. I won't blame you."

"Thank you, King." Varaga nodded gratefully and vowed, "Please rest assured that I will never interact with the cunning Sassanians again."

"No, you have to keep in contact with him." Sun Shao shook his hand and interrupted Varaga's words. Wallaga looked at him in surprise, and Sun Shao smiled and said, "If you don't associate with him, how can you know what bad he is doing?" You have to deal with him and socialize with him like a good friend. If you need anything, you can tell me and I'll help you.

Walage suddenly realized and nodded repeatedly: "The king is wise, the king is wise. I understand what the king means. Shapur, a sinister snake, will not give up even if he can't deceive me. He will definitely seduce others. Only by interacting with him can I let the king control his movements at any time.

"You are so smart." Sun Shao laughed and patted Varag on the shoulder affectionately: "Do it well and don't make Shapur suspicious."

"Yes!" Varage saluted respectfully, walked backwards to the door, and then walked away with his head held high. Sun Shao looked at his back and smiled and said no words. After a while, a bodyguard came in and said, "Your Majesty, the Roman emperor sent someone to invite the king to the banquet."

Sun Shao was a little surprised. Alexander has been busy with negotiations these two days and has not appeared much. Why do he have time to invite him today? He thought for a little and felt that it was necessary to explore Alexander's current psychology, so he nodded. After a long time, Tu Hu took 300 tiger guards to escort Sun Shao's luxurious walk to Alexander's residence.

Varaga stood on a tall building in the distance and watched Sun Shao's team go out of the palace, with a sarcastic smile on his face. Shapur stood beside him, looked at Sun Shao, who was being worshipped by the people on the street, and smiled, "It seems that your subjects are very satisfied with this new king."

Warage snorted: "What do these stupid slaves know? They think that this Yue king is a god sent from heaven. In fact, this Yue king is a fool. I just made up a lie according to your instructions, and he believed it."

"Don't make it so simple." Shapur fell on the railing and smiled: "He can do this at a young age. How can he be a fool? Maybe he is testing you?"

Varaga frowned, scratched his beard and said nothing. He thought for a moment and laughed again: "Whether he is real or not, at least there will be no problem for the two of us to meet now. As for what to tell him, isn't it up to us?

"This is indeed a good thing." Shapur nodded: "Let me tell you one thing. The negotiations are coming to an end. I have sent the news back to Tai Xifeng. My father will come here to meet them soon."

"How many people are you bringing?" Wallag asked with concern, "There are a lot of people here. If there are fewer people, they can't surround the city."

"I won't besiege the city this time." Shapur shook his head: "I also want you to do me a favor. Go and tell the king of Yue, saying that we Sassanids may bring a large army to Aksum, which may be unfavorable to him, so I asked him to limit a number of people in advance to ensure safety."

"You don't besiege the city?" Varaga was so surprised that he couldn't help sinking his face.

"It's not that we don't besiege the city, but that we don't besiege the city now." Shapur didn't have to look back. He brought out suspicion from Wallag's tone and continued to explain, "If we bring a large army to the siege now, we will shoulder the responsibility of breaking the covenant, and they will certainly be on guard. We have little chance of success. Only when they relax their vigilance and think that we will not come to the siege, and then we will besiege the city, then we can be on guard against them. He stood up, clapped his hands, and pointed to the seaside in the east and said, "Besides more, now there are 100,000 troops in Aksum City to eat food for a year. There are only 40,000 troops in the city. They can support two, but can we come from afar and besiege the city for two years? I will wait for the Romans to transport the grain away, and there is not much grain here before besieging the city. At that time, hey hey, they either wait for death in the city or are forced to leave the city. As long as they are out of the city, it's time for me, Sassan, to ride my power.

After listening to Shapur's explanation, Varag understood his intention, but then he thought of another question: "If they were trapped in the city, wouldn't it be my subjects who starved to death first?"

"Don't worry, they won't stick to it." Shapur turned his first year and looked at Varag. "There are three possibilities to defend the city. Either they believe that the other party must retreat if they can't be besieged for too long. They can persist, or there will be reinforcements soon, or there is no way to escape and they have to defend. But if the Vietnamese people don't have enough food, why should they stick to it? Yue is more than ten thousand miles away from here. Where did they get reinforcements? Axum City is not their land. Why do they keep it?

Varaga thought for a moment and felt that Shapur was right. If the news of the sudden arrival of the Sassanid army came, the greatest possibility of the Vietnamese would be to retreat to the sea before the Sassanids arrived. It was the safest place, and it was definitely not a wise choice to stay in Axum City.

"So, how long will it take?"

"If it's slow, it's a year, and if it's fast, it's half a year." Shapur said confidently, "We will start a war in Amenisi and attract the Romans first. They are worried about last year's great defeat. Now with the support of the Vietnamese people, they will be eager to fight with us. When the Romans arrive in Armenia, I will lead my army as the vanguard and come here to help you restore the country.

He smiled and said, "The military book of the Han people says that this is called attacking east and west."

(to be continued)