The capital of the country, Luoyang.
The majestic Luoyang Forbidden City, after several years of continuous construction, has finally fully restored its former majesty.
Every time Napanto comes to Luoyang, he can feel the unparalleled magnanimity of the first city in the world.
Whether it was the strong and wide city walls or this magnificent palace, they all brought him a deep sense of oppression from the inside.
But this time in Luoyang, this sense of pressure that made people afraid to look directly gave Nashi Pantuo a firm sense of security.
As the first person from the Western Regions to be loyal to Emperor Dahan, Nashi Pantuo is now one of the prime ministers of King Ranliang of Pingxi, Dahan. He is considered to be a complete serf song.
In the past, the boss of Hong Shang had to bend down and salute when he saw Shi Pantuo today.
As a member of the Dahan Emperor's young guard, Ran Liang became the first foreign vassal of the Dahan Dynasty to explore the Western Regions. Not only did he receive Olympic assistance from the Han army to protect the Western Regions and Anxi, but Emperor Dahan also personally awarded him the title of "King of Pingxi".
For this reason, the entire Ran Liang Group members were very happy.
King of Heaven, you are not saying that as long as it is the western border, it belongs to the King of Heaven.
Today, the East-West trade route is becoming a road of wealth flowing with gold and silver.
The longer a trade route is occupied, the more benefits are gained.
Therefore, the soldiers under Ran Liang's King of Heaven are trying their best to expand their territory everywhere.
At present, Ranshi Pingxi County has covered the vast areas of southeast Kangju, Baoshiyu, west Dayuan, and Guishanya. If it weren't for the snowy mountain plateau in the south, Ran Liang would have sent troops south to recapture Murong Xianbei.
However, the steep mountain pass was controlled by Murong Xianbei, and Ran Liang's Pingxi Army could only expand its territory elsewhere.
The expansionism of this emerging power soon brought trouble upon itself.
It was precisely because of this time that Napan Tuo came to Luoyang this time.
In the palace.
Liu Yu, who had just finished the competition, finally let Nashi Pantuo, who had been waiting for a long time, come in.
After saluting, Liu Yu asked first.
"Then Sipanta, did you pay tribute in advance when you came to Luoyang this time?"
The weather has been extremely cold this fall. Liu Yu thought it was Pingxi who came to Luoyang in advance because he was afraid of the snow in the tribute team.
"Your Majesty, although I have brought horses and other treasures as tribute this time, I am not here just for tribute." Nacipanto spoke fluently in rho.
"Is there anything else?" Liu Yu asked in advance.
Liu Yu was very satisfied with the effect of placing a Ran Liang on the west side of Xiduhulou.
In the early stage, Liu Yu used the garrison army as the main force to control the western area of Anxi, and he could well control the garrison army with fixed cities and farmland.
As for areas further outside the Western Regions, Liu Yu asked Ran Liang to recruit a large number of nomadic tribes on the grasslands to conquer the Hu people in the Western Regions.
These powerful nomadic tribes can be said to be the nemesis of the city-state system against the Western Barbarians.
Ran Liang quickly established a new sphere of influence, which not only provided protection for Han business travelers along the way, but also put an end to extortion, embezzlement and even robbery and killing in the Western Region states, allowing Han business travelers to travel further.
What's more, Ran Liang would give Liu a large amount of horses, camels, cattle, sheep and other products from the Western Regions every year, so that the official horse farm could get enough fine breeds.
Therefore, every time Ran Liang sent a tribute team, Liu Yu was in a very happy mood.
Lying down like this feels like a windfall. Don't be too calm.
"Your Majesty should know that there is a Persian kingdom to the west of the Kingdom of Heaven." Shi Pantuo said cautiously.
"Persia? Of course, Persia should be the first local power at this time, right?"
Liu Yu naturally knew the Persian Empire in history.
However, the Persian Empire at this time was not the background of Xiao Qiang in ancient Greece, but a real world power.
"Yes, Your Majesty, today's Persia is called the Sasanian Dynasty, with thousands of miles of land and millions of troops. Its ever-expanding power has extended to Quezonia in the east." Shi Pantuo said with some concern said.
When Liu Yu heard this, he guessed a lot.
"Nashi Pantuo, don't beat around the bush and speak quickly."
When Nasbandha heard this, he didn't dare to beat around the bush anymore, so he told the whole story.
It turned out that Ran Liang's Pingxi Kingdom expanded crazily, and the cavalry, mainly composed of grassland nomadic tribes, quickly conquered a large number of nobles in the southwest Guizhounia.
These nobles and nobles are all the remnants left after the split of the Kushan Empire in the past.
They are all misers, guarding one-third of an acre of land. They are no match for Ran Liang's nomadic cavalry. They will soon surrender and salute.
Therefore, the Sasanian Persian Empire to which they were originally loyal would naturally not let them go.
Sasanian Persia sent an envoy to hand over a ferocious letter of credence to Ran Liang, and backed by the powerful power of Sasanian Persia, sent a request to Ran Liang, asking him to withdraw from Guixianren and hand over the prince who betrayed Guixianren.
"What's wrong with such a request?" Liu Yu frowned and couldn't help but feel a little baffled.
Ran Liang is certainly not the first time such expansionist forces have encountered opposition. Do I need to be sent to Shipantuo to leave?
Just talk about the outcome of the war.
"As long as the Sasanians are defeated, wouldn't it be fine?" Liu Yu said.
"Your Majesty may not know much about the reputation of Sasanian Persia in the Western Regions, but everyone should be afraid, especially in the Outer Western Regions." Shipantuo said.
"Is it more terrifying than the reputation of our big men?" Liu Yu asked in advance.
Shi Pantuo shook his head and said.
"Your Majesty, the two are not the same. The reputation of Dahan was indeed brilliant in the past, but it has not been revealed in the Western Regions for nearly a hundred years. At the same time, it is also time for these Sasanian Persians to expand their reputation, especially in Baoding. The regions of Shiyu, Gisegania and Hualamo, where the princes and princes were more afraid of the Sasanians.”
"What does Ran Liang want to do?" Liu Yu asked in advance.
"Your Majesty, the power in the hands of King Pingxi is seriously insufficient. Especially when the leaders of many cities heard that the Sasanian Persians were sending troops to fight, there were already signs of instability among the people. Your Majesty urgently needs to send more reinforcements. Otherwise, not only the Turtle Back Cliff area will be complained about, but even the Kangju Dawan area will be full of rebellion," Shi Pantuo said.
When Liu Yu heard this, he naturally couldn't let Ran Liang's feudal country collapse. The most important supplier of fine horses in the Western Regions can be found in the Kangju Dayuan area.
"How many troops do you need?" Liu Yu asked in advance.
"Your Majesty, according to defensive warfare, we need at least 100,000 troops!" Shi Pantuo said.
When Liu Yu heard this number, he immediately became angry.
"Nasipanta, you know, it is absolutely impossible to have an army of 100,000, let alone an army of 100,000. The Western Region does not even have 50,000 field soldiers."
Liu Yu didn't want to waste time on this issue, so he thought for a moment and then said.
"Moreover, the troops stationed in the Western Regions cannot go too far. The only reinforcements I can send are the cavalry from the Longxi and Xibei tribes, about 20,000 to 30,000 people."
When Shi Banduo heard what Liu Yu said about the number of reinforcements, he immediately knew what was going on.
If there are another 20,000 to 30,000 grassland cavalry, it can basically guarantee that the whole country can defend this land, and people will not be afraid of being easily tempted by Sasanian Persia to rebel.
"His Majesty's greatness will be spread all over the world together with these soldiers!" He commented on Napanto's inconspicuousness.
Seeing Shi Pantuo's confident look, Liu Yu's heart suddenly moved.
He asked Nahipantu with some doubts.
"Nasipanto, do you think the Sasanians will really go to war with you this time? Will it just be verbal blackmail?"
Hearing these words, Nacipanto suddenly became excited.
"Your Majesty, the ambitions of the Sasanians are almost universal. Since the founding of the Central Plains, they have dispersed frequently, especially today's Shapur II, who is an ambitious young king. They dare not go to Western Qin, and they will definitely fight with us Pingxi Kingdom goes to war. It is only a matter of time." Shi Pantuo said.
"Oh, let me ask you, do you have more information about this Sasan?" Liu Yu suddenly became interested.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Upon hearing this, Napan Tuo immediately introduced this Shasha Persian to Liu Yu in more detail.
It turns out that this Sasanian Persia has been established for more than 100 years. Since replacing the Parthian-Persian Empire, it inherited not only its own territory but also its own ambitions.
Sasanian Persia went to war with the Roman Empire almost every year. With the advantage of this cavalry, he once had the upper hand on the battlefield.
However, as Sasanian ambitions increased, the Sasanian army fell deeper and deeper into trouble and was repeatedly defeated by the Roman Empire.
Especially a few decades ago, King Sasambos lost his wife and children and was captured by the Romans, and all his previous territories were spit out in subsequent negotiations.
"The Qin Kingdom is in full swing today. Although there are four emperors co-governing, it can always deal with the enemy." Liu Yu nodded slightly, indicating that he agreed with the description of the Sasanian Persians.
The "Great Qin" mentioned by Liu Yu and Liu Yu was what the Chinese called the Roman Empire in the Western Regions at this time.
Although there was almost no direct connection between the Roman Empire and the Han Empire, this did not prevent them from admiring each other.
"Your Majesty is right. Now Sasambos cannot move westward, but is desperately trying to find success elsewhere. Eastward expansion is indeed inevitable," Shipantuo said.
"What did the Sasanian Persian king specifically say in Ran Liang's credentials?" Liu Yuyu continued.
When Napantu heard this question, he was suddenly embarrassed.
However, after thinking for a while, he mustered up the courage to speak out.
"Then King Shapu II of Sashan has a tough attitude. He thinks that the King of Heaven is the monarch of the Eastern Central Plains and says that he is the King of Western Chu. If King Pingxi does not want to fight, he must offer 100,000 pieces of white porcelain and 1,000 pieces of various colored silks every year, and then Only then can we continue to do business with the Sashan people.”
When Liu Yu heard this, he was a little amused.
It turned out that in the eyes of the Sasanian Persians, Ran Liang was simply regarded as a soldier of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
"Humph, these Sashan people clearly think that Ran Liang is a soldier from our headquarters, but instead of being afraid, they have made so many demands to prevent them from being greedy. It's really time to teach them a lesson."
Liu Yu was already feeling a little uneasy.
Starting a few years ago, several major porcelain kilns in the Central Plains broke through new technologies, and various porcelain-making technologies advanced by leaps and bounds. A large number of porcelains soon became popular products exported thousands of miles away.
Today, porcelain is almost as profitable as, say, silk, or more.
Therefore, during the blackmail of the Han Dynasty, the Sashan people made a special emphasis on paying tribute to the porcelain of the Central Plains.
"They think Qin is not easy to deal with, but we Han are easy to deal with. This is simply ridiculous."
Liu Yu knew very well that Central Asia, as the core region of the world's island countries, was affected by various forces one after another, and only the most powerful forces could influence it more thoroughly.
In order to stabilize the Han Dynasty's influence in Central Asia, Liu Yu naturally wanted to treat Sasanian Persia as a bully.
If Ran Liang can defeat the invasion of the Sasanian Persians, it will not only be a victory for a Western country, but also a victory for the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Due to the various ethnic tribes in Central and West Asia, it is difficult to distinguish between the Han Dynasty and the vassal states.
In their opinion, they are all Orientals with black hair and black eyes.
"In this case, Ran Liang not only needs more cavalry, but also more elite soldiers."
Liu Yu foresaw that one of the most famous features of Sasanian Persia in history was its efficient armored cavalry.
Sashan cavalry, wearing heavy armor, riding armored horses in the Central Plains is basically a temporary thing.
The various nomadic hussars in Ran Liang's hands basically swept through Central Asia, but it was really hard to say when they encountered the heavy armored cavalry of the Sasanian Persians.
"Since the Sasanian Persians are so arrogant, they should be completely harmed."
After Liu Yu finished speaking, he stood up and paced back and forth, thought for a moment, and then continued:
"I thought about it, and then lent all 2,000 armored knights in Liangzhou to Ran Liang to let the people of Sashan know the majesty of my big man."
When Bandu heard this, he was even more excited and didn't know what to do.
Liangzhou's two thousand armed cavalry are almost all Liangzhou elites.
These elite cavalry in Liangzhou were known as the "Liangzhou Horses" at that time. Their governor and guardian Bei Gongchun even fought against the Huns.
Even the barbarians from the Western Regions like Naxipantuo were called "Liangzhou Horses" back then.
Now Pingxi's Wang Ranliang can get the 2000 'Liangzhou Horse', which has basically made up for the last shortcoming.
A few days later, when Nasipanta embarked on the journey back to the Western Region, he was almost confident of future victory.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the coming war, King Shapur II of Sasambos was equally confident about the future.
In the splendid Sasanbos Palace, the young King Shapur II, wearing gorgeous robes, was listening to his mother's teachings.
Shapur II, only seventeen years old this year, is the posthumous son of the former king. His father and several brothers died while he was still in his mother's womb. A group of ministers and generals placed the crown on his mother's belly, thus announcing a new heir.
From then on, the queen mother and the older ministers became the rulers of the Sasanian Empire. It was not until this year, when Shapur II executed the last of his "assistant ministers", that the young king's personal rule could be declared.
Subsequently, the rule of Shapur II began on the original land.
For the Han Dynasty, which had just made a big march in the Western Regions, they would soon encounter them.
Now that the Sa Sahuan people had no good means to stop the Han army, Liu Yu would naturally not be polite to them.
