Assyria is the second largest city in Sassanid, adjacent to the royal capital Ctesiphon and the northern gateway to Ctesiphon. The city is guarded by Kheros, the younger brother of Sasanian king Shapur.
Half a month ago, the city of Media was captured by the Han army, which made Heros a little nervous.
A few months ago, they all knew that the Han army was heading west, but suddenly the Han army disappeared again.
They also thought that the Han army was not used to the Sasanian soil and culture, or they retreated because they knew that Sassanid was not a country they could defeat, so they retreated.
But what none of them expected was that a few months later, the Han army suddenly came out from their north, and it only took more than ten days.
They captured the city of Media.
Then go all the way south to the royal city of Ctesiphon.
Assyria is now the last line of defense blocking the Han army.
Heros stands at the top of the city,
He stared nervously at the Han army outside the city. He had never fought against the Orientals. He didn't know how effective these Orientals were in fighting.
"Hold the city!" Heros said coldly.
The city of Assyria is of vital importance, because the city of Assyria is related to the security of the royal capital.
"Yes!"
The guards responded.
Outside the city, Liu Chan looked at the Assyrian city coldly. This was very different from the Sasanian city he had known along the way. Even the Mede city was just a low city, although the city walls were
There are huge piles of stones, but they are not as strong as the Central Plains cities.
However, this Assyrian city is different.
The snow-white city wall and the castle inside the city are vaguely visible. This is indeed very different from the Central Plains, but facing this snow-white and tall city wall.
How to fight this battle?
"Xu Aiqing!" Liu Chan looked at the Assyrian city and asked Xu Shu: "What do Aiqing have in mind?"
Along the way,
Xu Shu has been studying the Sasanian Dynasty,
He also had a thorough understanding of the previous Parthian Empire, such as how the Parthian Empire was established and how it fell, etc.
"Return to Your Majesty!" Xu Shu said calmly: "Surround but not attack!"
"Oh???" Liu Chan was stunned for a moment, and said to himself that we are traveling a long distance, and this is not the Central Plains. We can slowly defeat our opponents. Now we have penetrated into the hinterland of Sassanid. If we don't capture the city quickly, these fifteen
With an army of ten thousand people eating horse chews every day, the consumption would kill the Han army.
Because when fighting in the Central Plains, at least there were logistical troops to continuously transport food and materials to the army. But now, Liu Chan has led an army of 200,000 people through the Gobi for half a year.
If we hadn’t prepared a large number of compressed biscuits in Dawan,
He really couldn't guarantee that he could cross the Gobi Desert.
After entering the city of Media a month ago, the military rations were greatly replenished.
But now 200,000 people have become 150,000.
Of the 50,000 people lost, half were consumed while crossing the next door, and the remaining half, 10,000 people, died in the attack on Media City. In order to ensure a way out, Liu Chan left Guo Huai in Media City and gave him
He left behind ten thousand cavalry.
Now there are only 150,000 people left.
If we only count the number of troops, Liu Chan is now confident enough to capture Assyria, and it won't even take him long to capture the Sasanian capital.
Why?
Because after entering the city of Media, Liu Chan learned from the captives that although Sasanian territory was vast, the population within it was not large. The entire Sasanian dynasty had a total population of only more than 40 million people.<
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More than 40 million seems to be a lot, at least much more than the Han Dynasty.
But Sassanid was a feudal dynasty of slavery. This dynasty had many, many slave owners, the so-called upper class, and the people at the bottom were not actually common people. They were more of just slaves.
Slave owners are actually similar to the aristocratic families in the Central Plains. They control the resources and governance of this land. For dynastic kings, they are more cooperative. The king needs their support, and they also need the king's protection.
In such a huge and vast kingdom, 40 million people are divided into various cities, but the population is actually not that large.
For example, the total population of Media City is actually only 80,000, and the garrison strength is only more than 10,000. Perhaps they never thought that enemies would come from the Gobi.
Liu Chan had learned about the Assyrian city in front of him before. It had a population of 130,000 and a garrison force of 30,000.
The royal city of Ctesiphon in the south is the largest city in Sassanid, with a population of 300,000 and a force of 50,000 troops guarding the royal city.
With 150,000, attacking a city with 30,000 people seems to have a very obvious advantage.
Just——
What Xu Shu proposed was to besiege rather than attack.
What does this mean?
Xu Shu saw Liu Chan's doubts, and explained: "The Sassanid people advocate bravery. According to Wei Chen's understanding, when they launch wars, both sides fight in battle formations. There are not many battles to attack and defend the city."
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Xu Shu made this conclusion based on some Sasanian historical materials.
"Ai Qing, do you mean to wait for them to attack us?" Liu Chan asked.
"Yes!" Xu Shu nodded and said: "Our army has traveled a long distance and does not have large-scale siege equipment. Attacking the city is not the first choice. Moreover, this Assyrian city is the gateway to the Sasanian royal city. Our army is encircling Assyria. Shapur must be sitting there.
Can’t live without it.”
"You mean...Shapur will come to rescue Assyria?" Liu Chan asked.
"Your Majesty is wise!" Xu Shu said affirmatively.
After all, if the Assyrian city is lost, the Han army will surely arrive at Ctesiphon. Once more than 100,000 Han troops arrive at Ctesiphon, the Sasanian king will not be nervous.
As Xu Shu expected, on the second day after the Han army surrounded the Assyrian city, the news reached Ctesiphon, the capital of the Sasanian king.
Shapur was very angry. He roared: "Oriental Han bastards, bastards."
"Your Majesty!"
A middle-aged general came out and said: "Give me the order. Our Sasanian soldiers can't wait any longer. Let us kill all these Easterners."
"Okay!" Shapur slammed the scepter in his hand on the ground hard, making a crisp sound. Shapur stood up from the throne and shouted loudly: "Go to war!"
Shapur is twenty-eight years old this year. When he was sixteen, he went to war with his father Ardashir. Now he is the king of the Sassanid Dynasty. Faced with the invasion of powerful enemies, he has no idea of retreating. He wants to lead
His soldiers went to drive away these enemies.
War is exciting.
Outside Assyria.
The Han army, which had been besieging the city for several days, had nothing to do all day long, but they were full of curiosity about everything they saw in front of them.
"Your Majesty!"
Join the army Guo Wei and quickly come to the big tent.
"Shapur is here."
"Oh!!!" Liu Chan was stunned for a moment, seemed a little excited, and asked: "Where are you now?"
"According to this, it's eighty miles!" Guo Wei said.
"How many people are here?" Liu Chan asked.
As the saying goes, if you know yourself and your enemy, you will be victorious in every battle. Liu Chan was curious about this famous king in history, but he was also looking forward to it.
At the same time, I was a little nervous.
They had already fought a battle with the Sassanids in the Mede City before. The Sassanids fought differently from the Han people. The Han people preferred light armor, mainly long swords and scimitars, but the Sasanians preferred heavy armor and long soldiers.
For example, the Sasanian soldiers in the Media City all wore thick metal armor, which was similar to some European and American blockbusters of later generations. Anyway, the armor almost covered the whole person.
At the same time, each of them carries three weapons.
Spear, dagger, shield.
"A total of 40,000 people!" Guo Wei said with certainty: "Led by Shapur himself, they will arrive in Assyria early tomorrow morning."
"Okay!" Liu Chan responded, then turned to look at the surrounding terrain map, but the more he looked at it, the tighter his frown became, and finally he shook his head helplessly.
......
......
This chapter has been completed!