Back to the Warring States Period as Zhao Kuo

Sending troops from the border between the two countries, the Ptolemaic dynasty could reach Antioch in less than 10 days, which was definitely a fatal threat to the Seleucid Empire.

But the problem is that the current Antiochus III's declining army is far away in Central Asia. Even if they return to the army in time, what should they do with the soldiers and horses of the Han Dynasty behind?

There is no doubt that the Ptolemys took advantage of the fire and robbed Antiochus III with a huge problem.

Antiochus III quickly summoned many generals to discuss this issue.

Facing this question, everyone present looked at each other in blank dismay, and couldn't think of any good answer for a while.

But soon a proposal was made.

"Your Majesty, our biggest trouble now should be the Great Han Kingdom, so maybe we should find a way to stabilize the Ptolemaic Dynasty first, and give them some land, so that we can concentrate on dealing with the Great Han Kingdom."

But this plan was quickly met with opposition from others.

"We have been fighting with the Ptolemaic Dynasty for so many years, and we have long been sworn enemies with each other. This time, the Ptolemaic Dynasty took advantage of the situation and obviously wanted to directly destroy our Seleucid Empire. This At that time, we must not make any concessions to the Ptolemaic Dynasty, but should resolutely attack the Ptolemaic Dynasty."

A quarrel soon broke out.

"You are the real nonsense, how did the Ptolemaic Dynasty attack?

Is it time for our army to turn back and fight against the Ptolemaic dynasty?

If that's the case, how do you deal with the soldiers and horses of the Han Dynasty from the East? "

"The Han people want nothing more than land. We can completely cede the Eastern Governor's District and the Parthian Governor's District to them. After we deal with the damned Ptolemaic Dynasty, the soldiers and horses of the Han Kingdom should also withdraw to the The Central Plains is thousands of miles away from them, and at that time we will send troops to recover the land ceded to them.”

After these words were finished, Antiochus III's heart suddenly moved.

Frankly, it does sound like a pretty good idea.

The Great Han Kingdom itself actually has a shortcoming, that is, the Central Plains, the core area of ​​the Great Han Kingdom's rule, is still very far away from the territory of the Seleucid Empire.

This means that every dispatch of troops by the Han Dynasty is an out-and-out expedition, and it also means that it should be difficult for the Han Dynasty to respond to these wars breaking out in the West in a timely manner.

If it is really possible to use the method of ceding land to seek peace to first lure the Han Kingdom to withdraw its troops, it will be too late to wait until the soldiers and horses of the Han Kingdom withdraw to the Central Plains and hear the news that the Seleucids have recovered the two eastern governorships.

After thinking for a while, Antiochus III immediately made up his mind.

"What you said is very reasonable, let's do this, first send an envoy to meet the emperor of the Han Dynasty, and tell him that we are willing to cede the two governorships in the east as a witness of peace between the two countries , if he agrees, then this war can be over."

For the people of the Seleucid Empire, this was actually an out-and-out conspiracy.

But in the current situation, the Seleucids feel that only conspiracy can solve the current dilemma Seleucus is facing.

So soon, an envoy from the Seleucid Empire came to the camp of the Han army.

At this time, Zhao Kuo had led the soldiers and horses of the Han Dynasty to occupy a city named Sucia, which was also the core city of the Parthian Governor's District.

Considering that the army will be somewhat exhausted from the long journey and battle, Zhao Kuo also ordered a temporary rest here for five days before proceeding to fight.

"messenger?

It is really interesting that the Seleucid Empire sent envoys at this time. "

Zhao Kuo soon received the envoy.

The envoy's attitude was very humble, and he knelt on the ground immediately after seeing Zhao Kuo: "Your Majesty the Great Emperor of the Han Dynasty, the insignificant envoy of the Seleucid Empire would like to extend our highest regards to you."

After being the emperor for so many years, Zhao Kuo has actually already gotten used to being flattered by others, so he was naturally immune to the Seleucid envoy's tricks, and said calmly: "You came to me to tell me something What about the news?

Could it be that Antiochus III has already figured it out and is planning to surrender to me? "

After hearing the words of the interpreter Zhao Kuo, the Seleucid Empire envoy's cheeks visibly twitched, and then he said: "Your Majesty the Emperor misunderstood, the reason why I came here is because our Seleucid Empire hopes to be able to fight with the big man." continued peacekeeping in the country.

As long as the Han Kingdom is willing, we can cede the Eastern Governor-General and Parthia Governor-General to your country as the price of peace. "

After listening to the words of the Seleucid envoy, Zhao Kuo also had a surprised expression on his face: "Are you sure?"

The envoy hurriedly said: "Definitely, this is the will of our Emperor.

For the sake of peace between our two countries, Seleucus is willing to make some sacrifices and sacrifices. "

Zhao Kuo pondered for a while, looked around at the ministers present, and said lightly, "What do you think?"

As the most senior official present, Li Mu was naturally the first to speak: "Your Majesty, these Seleucids are obviously scared, but we are not here this time to cut their flesh, but to eat them all Yes! Therefore, I believe that we must not agree to such a condition."

After Li Mu, Sima Shang, Xiang Yan, Wang Jian and others spoke one after another. Everyone felt that they should continue to attack the Seleucid Empire instead of agreeing to this so-called peace negotiation condition.

After listening to everyone's opinions, Zhao Kuo turned his head and looked at the envoy of the Seleucid Empire: "You heard it too, my generals think that now is the best chance to destroy the Seleucid Empire, and of course I also Will not miss this opportunity.

Go back and tell your young emperor that I will continue to march west in three days. If he is willing, then let us have a real decisive battle on the Persian plateau! "

The envoy of the Seleucid Empire did not get the desired result in the end, so he could only leave very depressed.

Looking at the back of the envoy of the Seleucid Empire leaving, Zhao Kuo said indifferently: "Obviously, there is a big problem inside the Seleucid Empire, or other aspects outside, otherwise they would not be able to cede so much land as the price. Peaceful."

Li Mu said very excitedly: "Your Majesty's words are very true. The important minister said that we should approach the core area of ​​the Seleucids at a faster speed and force them to fight us. Only in this way can we complete the battle as soon as possible and make the entire Seleucid The Liugu Empire has completely surrendered to us!"

Zhao Kuo smiled slightly and said, "No rush, take your time."

You know, the current Seleucid Empire has a vast land of more than 300 million square kilometers. Such an area is second only to the Han Dynasty in this world, and it is the second largest country in the world.

If you want to annex such a country, it is the worst thing to do in a hurry, and the best policy is to take it slowly.

On the other side, when Antiochus III received the messenger's return, his mood became even worse.

"The emperor of the Han Kingdom rejected our terms for peace?"

Antiochus III's brows became more and more wrinkled, and it seemed that they were about to knit into a ball.

To the east are the powerful 20 soldiers of the Han Dynasty, and to the west are [-] Ptolemy soldiers approaching Antioch, the capital of Seleucid. For Antioch III, he is really in a dilemma now.

Not only Antioch III, but also his generals were also caught in a huge quarrel.

One faction believes that they should go back to rescue the old nest of Antioch City first, and the other faction believes that Antioch City also has some defenders enough to defend, and they should have a real decisive battle with the Han Kingdom first, and return to Antioch City if they win .

Finally, after some quarrels, Antiochus III made a decision.

"Okay, don't talk about it, I've decided, all the troops will march eastward tomorrow, and this time we will have a real decisive battle with the Han Kingdom!"

Antiochus III also figured it out. Since the Great Han Kingdom came with the goal of destroying Seleucus, the war between the two countries would break out sooner or later.

Since it will explode sooner or later, it is better to take advantage of the fact that the strength of the Seleucid Empire is now at its strongest and come to the Han Dynasty. This is really hopeful.

Now that Antioch III has made a decision, no matter what the other generals of the Seleucid Empire think, he knows to follow suit.

Therefore, after gathering 30 soldiers and horses, Antiochus III directly chose to continue eastward.

Seven days later, the two sides met on the outskirts of a city called High Katonbile.

The war is about to start.

Chapter 1226 The Two Emperors Meeting Again

The collision between 50 troops is destined to be a battle that will be recorded in history.

But before the start of the real decisive battle, even the Han Kingdom, which is full of self-confidence, dare not say that it must be the final winner.

Both sides are arranging troops very cautiously, testing each other.

This kind of temptation is naturally beneficial to both parties. The simplest and most direct benefit is that both parties can use this method to know the approximate combat power of the other party.

"The Seleucids were not weak."

This is what Li Mu said to Zhao Kuo.

As the current military No.1 in the Han Dynasty, Li Mu is the first general of the Han Dynasty in the true sense without counting the emperor Zhao Kuo. His judgment is undoubtedly of considerable reference value.

Zhao Kuo also attached great importance to Li Mu's judgment, and said, "Why do you think so?"

Li Mudao: "To put it simply, if we are both cold weapons, I think the winning ratio between us and the Seleucid Empire is about [-]-[-], and we are [-]."

June and [-]th open, this is actually a judgment that the Han Dynasty has a slight advantage.

Zhao Kuo nodded slightly, and said: "So, their attainments in cold weapons are actually very strong."

Li Mu also nodded and said: "Their Macedonian phalanx, to be honest, Your Majesty, is indeed a very powerful tactic.

No wonder their emperor named Alexander was able to use this phalanx to sweep across such a vast territory decades ago.

It's just a pity that in the past few decades, the tactics of these Seleucids don't seem to have changed much, and they are still stuck in the era of the Macedonian phalanx.

If we don’t have musketeers, then our 20 soldiers and their 30 soldiers will be on June 30th. If we also have 40 soldiers, then it will be seventy-three or even eighty-two. If we have [-] Soldiers and horses, then they basically have no hope of victory. "

Zhao Kuo nodded slightly while listening.

To put it bluntly, the Great Han Kingdom is now the largest country in the world with a territory of more than 100 million square kilometers, and its territory is three times that of the Seleucid Empire. The national strength between the two sides is actually not on the same level.

30 soldiers and horses are already doing their best for the Seleucid Empire, but it is actually a trivial matter for the Han Dynasty.

The Han Kingdom can now mobilize an army of one million!However, due to the existence of Musketeers, there is actually no need for this million-strong army.

20 musketeers, this is already an extremely terrifying number, it is not a problem to say that it can sweep the entire world.

Just to maintain the ammunition of these 20 musketeers, the treasury of the Han Kingdom has already suffered a wave of blood this time.

If it weren't for the fact that the territory of the Seleucid Empire was too huge, Xu Li and Pang Nuan, the two old prime ministers who liked to save, would definitely find a way to reduce the number of troops this time.

Zhao Kuo said with a smile: "So, if you count the Musketeers, what do you think the odds are between the Seleucid Empire and us?"

Li Mu also laughed: "If you count the Musketeers, then the result is only [-]/[-]."

When Li Mu spoke, the expression on his face was full of incomparable confidence.

Zhao Kuo did not attack Li Mu, because Zhao Kuo actually thought so in his heart.

Hot weapons and cold weapons, the two sides are actually not the arms of the same era, there is a whole generation of weapon gap.

In the entire history of human civilization, only the volunteer army can defeat the enemy with a whole generation of weapons gap. Can the Seleucid Empire do it?

impossible.

Zhao Kuo thought for a while, and said, "Although the result of this time is already doomed, if the Seleucids can be a little more sensible, maybe they can still save some people from dying.

Well, send an envoy to the Seleucid camp, and say that I wish to meet their emperor. "

From Zhao Kuo's point of view, the Seleucid Empire is actually the fish on Zhao Kuo's chopping board now. What Zhao Kuo has to do is to see if he can save as much fish as possible, so that these can better serve the Han Kingdom. Tonic.

30 Seleucid soldiers, that is 30 young and middle-aged labor force, wouldn't it be good to let them contribute to the development and construction of the Han Kingdom? Why should they die here in vain?

From another perspective, Zhao Kuo really wanted to meet the former second prince, Antiochus III, who is now the emperor of the Seleucid Empire.

After all, it's a friend.

On the side of the Han Kingdom, in fact, many people are somewhat puzzled by Zhao Kuo's idea, and they don't think the Seleucids will accept Zhao Kuo's idea, but the fact is that when the Han Kingdom sent envoys, Seleucid The Ryugus readily agreed.

The next day, the two parties agreed on a place and set off at the same time.

Haikatonbile is a city located by the sea. Some people may ask, where does the sea come from in Central Asia?

There are, one is the Aral Sea, and the other is the Caspian Sea where Katonbile is located.

This time the decisive battle between the two sides is located on the Caspian Sea.

Although it is already summer, perhaps because of the proximity to the large natural lake of the Caspian Sea, there is still a little bit of coolness on the edge of the Caspian Sea.

In an oasis by the sea, the two sides met.

Zhao Kuo stared at Antioch III in front of him and smiled, "Long time no see."

Antiochus III also looked at Zhao Kuo with a rather complicated expression, and he sighed after a long time.

"Actually, I have suspected it for a long time, but now I have finally witnessed it with my own eyes. You are indeed His Majesty the Emperor of the Han Kingdom, Brother Zhao."

Zhao Kuo smiled and said, "If you want, you can still call me Brother Zhao."

The atmosphere on both sides seems to be quite good, but in fact, the guards of both sides are very nervous, for fear that the other side will start fighting directly if they disagree.

Zhao Kuo chuckled and said, "Actually, I came today to treat you to a drink or two. I wonder what you would like?"

Antiochus III was taken aback for a moment, and then he also laughed: "That would be the best, I haven't had a good wine from the imperial capital for a long time."

After the emperors of both sides gave an order, a small table was set up, followed by a jug of fine wine and two luminous cups that had been wiped clean.

Zhao Kuo personally poured a glass of wine for Antioch III and himself, then picked up his own glass and said with a smile, "Let me do it first as a respect."

After finishing speaking, Zhao Kuo drank the wine in the cup in one breath.

Antiochus III's eyes flickered for a moment, he also picked up the wine glass, drank it down, and then praised: "Good wine! It really tastes like the one in the imperial capital, it's unforgettable.

After returning to the Seleucid Empire, it is difficult to drink such a memorable wine. "

Zhao Kuo smiled, and suddenly said, "How is Miss Luliu doing now?"

Miss Luliu, that is, the girl who was once favored by the second prince in the imperial capital, and finally left the Han Kingdom with the second prince and returned to Seleucid.