"Even the gods can't remove the whip marks..."
Avti knelt down in front of the statue and prayed devoutly.
She recently returned to the Macedonian capital.
Every plant and plant here was moved from the old capital, and everything maintains its original appearance.
The old capital of Macedonia before it was forced to move by the Romans was a once glorious city. The place where Alexander lived, the glorious capital of Macedonia.
Unfortunately, it was plundered by the Romans decades ago and almost destroyed.
After the Macedonians migrated, they rebuilt the capital, and everything imitated the appearance of the old capital.
Avti had the ability to listen to the secret words of the gods when she was young, and she was able to repeat the secret words of the gods as an adult.
Therefore, there was no priest who could communicate with the gods and obtain the favor of the gods a hundred years ago. The miracle was reproduced in her, and she became famous and became a genius priest known to everyone.
However, after she came back, she prayed continuously for more than four hours in front of the statue of the God of Wisdom among the twelve main gods.
The 'god' did respond, and his divine favor for her deepened, but it did not remove the mark of the beating on her body.
The setting sun shines in the evening, and the fiery red light shines into the temple.
Avti was dressed in pure white divine robes and looked as usual as she walked out of the temple with graceful steps.
What no one knew was that she was struggling to endure the pain of the whipping and desperately wanted to scream.
"Priest Avti, the king invites you to the palace."
Another palace priest was waiting outside the temple, bowed and said.
The priest was a young man. Under Afti's cold gaze, he lowered his head humbly, not daring to look directly.
Avti entered the main hall of the palace two quarters of an hour later.
She changed into a divine robe and added a crown of flowers on top of her head.
This was her crown as a Second Court Priest.
In the main hall of the Macedonian palace, King Perseus IV sat.
In ancient Greek mythology, Perseus was the son of the God-King, which had the same meaning as the Emperor of Han Dynasty.
Perseus IV was over fifty.
But he was an energetic emperor, with broad shoulders and a broad back, a high nose and eagle eyes, with some gray-green curly hair, and he was imposing.
The main hall of the palace is large in area. There are stone pillars with vertical patterns at the entrance, which is magnificent.
Perseus sat solemnly on the throne opposite the entrance, nearly twenty feet deep.
In the hall, there were many Macedonian civil and military generals.
To the left below the monarch's throne stands another high priest.
That was also the current chief priest of the palace of Macedonia, Pixote, a somewhat pudgy old man.
The vacant space opposite it is where Afti stands.
At the foot of the steps in front of the throne, stood an old man who was nearly sixty years old and dressed in gorgeous clothes.
He was the nearby prince Rumli who came from the Parthian border and was the uncle of Mithridates.
"...Dear Lord of Macedonia, take a closer look at the leather scroll I presented to you. It records the trajectory of the Han army's conquests in recent years."
Prince Rumli of Parthia looked around, his voice had a metallic friction and sounded a bit harsh:
“In the past nearly four years, the Han Dynasty has successively conquered hundreds of large and small tribes such as Baiyue, Qiang and Di around its borders.
There are also the nomadic tribes in the northeast, as well as the Huns who are not weaker than me, Parthia.
Then there were nearly fifty countries in the Western Regions, all of which were conquered by Alexander the Great. "
"The Dayue clan, who are good at conquering and fighting, have been exterminated by the Han people, and the entire clan has become slaves of the Han people."
Rumli's voice was impassioned and raised a little higher:
“Now, even the slave Han people no longer need them, and they have begun to kill captives just to conquer more land.
The Han in the east is a very terrifying country. We must unite and deal with the Han army together. "
Avti, who came to her position and stood still, was shocked when she heard Rumli's words.
Some of the news Rumli told her had just been heard by her, and she thought to herself: Parthia may have deliberately exaggerated the news to persuade His Majesty to join the war, but even if a small part of it was true, it was enough. amazing.
The Macedonians knew that Parthia was adjacent to the Great Yuezhi, and the Great Yuezhi was adjacent to the body poison.
These two big countries were actually conquered by the Han... Rumli's news boomed like thunder in the main hall of the palace.
Even Perseus IV, who had always been calm and remained calm even when the Romans were approaching the border, also frowned.
"Dear King of Macedonia, you are wise and wise. It is not difficult to see that we, Parthia, are like a gateway, blocking the Western Expedition of the Han people.
If Parthia is captured, no one will be able to resist the Eastern Legion and force Macedonia. "
Rumley is a good lobbyist and explains the pros and cons:
"Our Majesty Mithridates also said that the Han general who is attacking us is called the Champion in the East. He is a talented general who has never failed. He is not yet twenty years old.
His military ability, even if it dates back hundreds of years, can only be matched by Alexander the Great. I hope Macedonia will pay enough attention to it. "
As soon as these words came out, the Macedonian civil and military personnel in the palace immediately became agitated.
You must know that Alexander is the pride of all Macedonians.
In the countries around the Mediterranean, for hundreds of years, the most famous generals and commanders had a miraculous ranking.
Those who were on the list were enshrined in temples, similar to the Bingfu Temple in the Han Dynasty.
Among them are Alexander, Pyrrhus, Hannibal Barca and other generals who have endured for thousands of years and are known to the world, shining throughout history.
Among them, Alexander is the most dazzling name. Countless people regard him as the God of War and the greatest commander in history.
"No matter how powerful that Eastern general is, he cannot be compared with my King of Macedonia, Alexander the Great. According to you, an Eastern general can not only enter our ranks of commanders, but also be the strongest one?"
Among the ministers in the palace, a young man of about thirty years old walked out.
He is a famous contemporary Macedonian general and the second son of Perseus, Lore. He idolized Alexander when he was a boy.
He once led the Macedonian legion to resist the invasion of the Romans and achieved great success.
At this time, Lohr said:
"Your Majesty, I am willing to petition for war and lead my troops to join the coalition. In two months at most, I will defeat the Han army, capture alive the Han general from the east, and hang him outside the capital of Macedonia, so that the Han people will know that I, a Macedonian, will never No country from the east can compare."
"It is even more impossible for an Easterner to compare with Alexander the Great!"
Rumli was secretly happy.
He knew that Alexander was the source of pride for the Macedonians, saying that no general from the east could compare to Alexander, but no Macedonian could endure.
"We should indeed unite to resist the Han army and protect this glorious place where Alexander the Great was born."
Rumli's beard moved up and down as he spoke, and he spoke again:
"His Majesty Mithridates said that if we can defeat the Han army, we can give up the entire Badali Plain to Macedonia."
"I, Parthia, will become the closest partner with Macedonia and help Macedonia resist the Romans together."
Under the threat of the Han army, cooperation will benefit others and ourselves.
The Macedonian leader had known this for a long time, so he had been willing to send troops to join the coalition.
On the throne, Perseus IV nodded slightly:
"Although I don't think the Han people you mentioned have the wisdom and strength to compare with Alexander, the coalition is what we should do to avoid increasing losses."
It was getting late when Avti left the palace.
Soon after, Macedonia will send another 20,000 troops, led by the second son of the king, Lor, to gather in the southwestern plain of Parthia.
Twice, more than 40,000 troops were dispatched, which was the maximum number of troops Macedonia could mobilize except for the soldiers left behind.
It was dark.
Avti returned to her bedroom next to the palace.
She took off her divine robe and looked back. The two whip marks were still clearly marked on the place where she was whipped, exuding power from time to time.
Even the gods can't get rid of them, what should I do...
At this time, footsteps were heard outside the palace, and someone entered her bedroom without knocking.
Afti was a little helpless.
There was only one person who could enter and leave her chamber at will, and that was her friend and one of the two shining pearls of Macedonia, Memnon Rudy.
Memnon is one of the national surnames of Macedonia, and Memnon Lodi is a member of the Macedonian royal family.
"I knew you were coming back, so I wanted to come over in the morning, but you went to pray, and you were summoned to the palace by your uncle (the king) just now."
The person who walked in was a girl wearing a navy blue dress who seemed to be more beautiful and delicate than Afti.
To be precise, she is more approachable than Avti, making people's eyes fall on her and they can't bear to look away.
The girl has the same sea-blue eyes and long blond hair as Afti.
But unlike Afti's indifference and non-pretentiousness, her nose bridge is straight, her skin is broken, and her eyes are lively and full of love for life itself.
The girl's breasts are extremely heavy, and the skirt of the palace dress needs to be closed tightly without being stretched open.
She is tall and has a standard gourd-shaped waist-to-hip ratio.
"Why did you come back so soon? Didn't you say that we wanted to unite to resist the invaders from the east?"
"How about it? Our great, future, and most beautiful priest has personally taken action to get rid of the invaders from the east." Memnon Roddy said cheerfully.
I almost got rid of him and got whipped...Afti looked sad.
The only thing she didn't need to hide was Luo Di. She took a breath and directly told the story of her encounter with Huo Qubing.
After hearing this, Ruodi opened his eyes in surprise: "You said that you were whipped by that eastern invader, and that he defeated thousands of our powerful Macedonian army with a military formation?"
Avti nodded.
Ruodi was puzzled: "My God, is he the resurrection of Alexander the Great? Is he so powerful?"
Afti said dissatisfied: "He is my opponent, I will definitely kill him to wash away my shame!"
Luo Di said in surprise: "But he feels so strong. You were beaten back without even making a move. How could you kill him?"
Didn’t you say that not even the gods can remove his mark? "
Afti said: "Don't forget, I hold the forbidden chapter blessed by the gods, and I also have a wisdom artifact that I can use. No one can resist the power of the combination of the wisdom artifact and the forbidden chapter."
"I'll go find him soon."
In addition to sending envoys to Macedonia, Parthia was also actively contacting other parties.
Including the nomadic peoples around the Caspian Sea north of Parthia.
Armenia sent an envoy to Antioch to seek alliance.
At the same time, in the city of Nordyari.
In the Han army camp, Zhang Qian walked into the mansion in the center of the city.
As soon as I entered the mansion, I smelled the smell of meat.
As they moved forward, the sounds of people talking came to their ears.
Enter the atrium of the back house.
Gongsun Hong, Huo Guang, as well as several Han generals who were not on the expedition, Gongsun He, and Su Jian were all there, sitting in the open air.
There was a roaring bonfire burning in the yard.
There were two whole lambs on the shelf, which were eaten very horizontally, not vegetarian, but full of meat.
The lamb is grilled with grease, plump on the inside and slightly charred on the outside.
There is a large pot next to it. Fresh and tender mutton is put into the pot, sprinkled with salt, and stewed with the simplest seasonings.
The freshness and sweetness of the meat itself will be fully stimulated.
Bai Nanyu used a seven-inch carving knife to cut off the best ribs from the sheep, placed them in front of Huo Qubing, and then handed the remaining two ribs to Xiong San beside him.
Xiong Sansui's bones are quite talented. His tongue is like a meat hook, fighting with the sheep skull.
The delicious flavor of mutton fills the courtyard. After eating the meat, it is paired with a bowl of mutton soup sprinkled with chopped green leaves, tsk.
Behind Huo Qubing were squatting a big cat and a fat tiger, drooling anxiously, waiting to be fed.
Zhang Qian has been traveling in the Western Regions during this period, traveling around Shendu, Dayuezhi and other places.
He has the practice of the Yin Yang family, and has traveled across thousands of rivers and mountains to absorb the energy of heaven and earth from different regions and landforms, which is of great benefit to his practice.
"The Marquis wants me to go as envoy to the Seleucid Kingdom and go to Antioch, its capital, to convince them not to join the alliance?"
"That's right."
Huo Qubing: “The so-called distant friendship and close attack were made when the Seleucid Empire fell apart and most of the land was occupied by Parthia.
They were very hostile to Parthia and would not easily join the alliance. Although we are not afraid of them even if they join, it is always more beneficial to weaken their power from within and reduce our consumption, and we can defeat Parthia faster. "
Zhang Qian nodded: "No problem, this is my duty, and I originally wanted to do something for my great man, your majesty, and the marquis.
Without further ado, I’ll set off to the west tonight. "
Huo Qubing nodded: "I will send troops to send you there. There are our people fighting with Parthia along the way. Please pay attention to safety on the way."
The dinner lasted until the rising of the next moon. After the meal, Zhang Qian was escorted by the Han army directly into the Parthian territory and headed west to Andi as an envoy.
Huo Qubing returned to the back house of his temporary residence.
I read Han Xin's military book in the study room and then walked to the bedroom.
The sky is full of stars and moon.
The moment he walked into the house, a short knife was stabbed out of the darkness behind the door without any warning, and it went straight to his throat with lightning speed.
