Gaugamela is located on the border between Parthia, Armenia and the Seleucid kingdom.
Historically, during the reign of Alexander, Macedonia and Persia fought a battle that shocked the world north of Babylon, in the Gaugamela region.
Both sides invested huge forces.
Macedonia used more than 40,000 elite troops at that time, while the Persian Empire deployed more than 200,000 troops across the country.
Although Persia was well-prepared before the war, due to the lack of morale of the army, it was even more difficult for the Macedonian army to fight well and Alexander's excellent command.
The Persian Empire was ultimately defeated with tens of thousands of heavy casualties.
The monarch Darius III was also killed after the war.
The Macedonian Empire occupied all of Persia's territory, and Persia was declared destroyed.
That battle was Alexander's and one of the most famous battles in Macedonian history.
At this moment, Parthian Prince Rumli led the troops and launched an offensive against Seleucid from the south of Gaugamela a few days ago.
They and the Romans besieged Seleucus from the east and west.
In just five days, the Roman army on the west side had reached the last line of defense, which was only a hundred miles away from Antioch, the capital of the Seleucid Kingdom.
The progress in Parthia on the east side was slightly slower, but it was still less than 400 miles away from Antioch.
In three or four days at most, the two sides will be able to meet in Antioch.
The sun sets late.
In the eastern part of Seleucid territory, outside the ancient city of Siati, 20,000 Parthian elites were stationed here.
"His Majesty has sent us a new decree, asking us to step up our offensive and capture Siati City as soon as possible.
The straight-line distance between us and the Roman army is less than 500 miles. We must complete the rendezvous as soon as possible and jointly deal with the Han army. "
"Your Majesty has received new news from the Romans. They have mobilized the fourth and fifth preparation legions to strengthen their offensives against Seleucid and Macedonia respectively."
"The Romans said that they are sure to capture Antioch, the capital of the Seleucid Kingdom, within three days. Let us step up the use of troops and cooperate."
The messenger reported several pieces of news one after another.
Rumli, wearing battle armor, was looking at the setting sun in the west in the dusk of the evening.
He knew very well that the next three days might decide the fate of Parthia.
The battle to break into Seliu had been going smoothly, but the worry in his heart had not diminished at all.
The Han army had been silent for days, which made him restless.
The Romans had never fought against the Han army. If they wanted to penetrate Seleucid in three days, it would not be that easy unless the Han army did not intervene... Rumli thought to himself.
The Han army must have made some moves, but no one could see where the terrifying commander of the Han army was going to make his move.
This was where Rumley's uneasiness came from.
However, the situation at hand did not allow him to hesitate too much. Only by joining the Roman army as soon as possible could he compete with the Han army.
Rumli sighed: "Reply to Your Majesty, we are ready to capture the ancient city of Xiati tonight."
The messenger left quickly.
Evening sunset.
At night, Siati, located less than four hundred miles east of the Seleucid capital, is a common circular city in the Mediterranean region.
It is more like a military fortress, with only two gates in the east and west, and a wall of more than four feet built with huge stones, which is strong and towering.
Around the city, there are bare plains that have been cut down to prevent people from approaching invisibly.
This was the most important line of defense east of Antioch.
So the current battle is also crucial.
At night, the Parthian army came up like a tide and started a siege!
As far away as Ctesiphon, even Mithridates, the Lord of Parthia, was paying attention to this battle and personally took action to promote the national destiny and help the battle.
The power of a country's luck will weaken when it leaves its own country, but with the help of the Silver Temple's combined artifact, the weather is still astonishing.
Lightning bolts fell like thunder pillars to assist the siege.
And Seleucid was facing the Romans who were approaching the city, and he had no spare power to promote the national destiny to resist Parthia in the same way.
At the front of the battle formation, Lumli's general, Long Bei, was dressed in iron armor and holding a war weapon, a giant city-breaking hammer.
Long Bei raised his war hammer high, catching the lightning falling from the sky, and then bombarded the city gate.
Bang bang bang!
At the city gate, the ground shook.
At the top of the city and below the city, the shouts of killing shook the sky.
Soldiers and horses from both sides risked their lives.
The siege ladders were erected on the towers time and time again, but were destroyed and fell down by the defenders, and corpses accumulated under the city walls.
Long Bei held a giant hammer and smashed the city gate again and again.
He gathered the troops under his command, led the thunder and lightning of the national destiny in the sky, and the giant hammer in his hand fell continuously.
The city gate has long been covered with cracks, and the defensive formations have broken down one after another.
Click!
Suddenly, the city gate suddenly cracked after another hammer blow.
Behind the gate, hundreds of defenders choked and fell over.
Behind the battle formation, Rumli was overjoyed.
Once the city is defeated, joining forces with the Romans will be just around the corner.
Under his order, Lombe took the lead and led the troops to attack the city.
As soon as the city gate opened, the Parthian troops and horses immediately poured in, leaving no chance for the defenders to make up their defense.
A quarter of an hour later, even Rumli personally led the troops to attack the city.
There was a steady stream of troops under his command. More than 15,000 troops entered the city, and another 5,000 troops were outside the city.
In this case, Rumley still appeared cautious.
Not only did he leave 5,000 troops outside the city, but he also had a force of troops and horses as backup. They were dozens of miles away and could come over at any time to support each other in order to prevent the Han army from entering.
Inside the city, the Seleucid garrison was suppressed by the Parthian army that invaded the city and was retreating to the west.
Rumli, the city gate on the west side, was not blocked, deliberately inducing the defenders to evacuate so as to facilitate the capture of the city.
"Your Highness the Prince."
General Long Bei came to Rumli covered in blood and said happily: "The defenders were not determined to fight. Once the east gate was broken, they all retreated to the west of the city.
We and Rome were attacking from both sides, and Sailiu's people had already dispersed. "
Rumli's hawk-like eyes narrowed slightly: "The defenders' defense is weaker than expected?"
"Well, there was some fighting at first, but they became afraid after we broke the city, and many soldiers escaped from the west gate."
Rumley felt vaguely that something was not right.
"Thoroughly investigate the entire city, increase the number of scouts outside the city, and be on tight alert."
Rumli glanced around. There seemed to be a strong murderous intention hidden in the dark night.
He thought about the process of siege, and there was no problem. It was just a normal siege.
Outside the city, Parthia increased the number of scouts to explore from far and near.
In the city, they quickly captured strategic key points and took over the city step by step.
In an area seven or eight miles north of the city, Fu Luzhi was looking at the distant city of Siati in the night:
"The Parthian generals are cautious and know how to send more scouts and leave five thousand troops outside. They are obviously on guard against our Han army."
"However, this level of scout exploration will have limited effect on us. It will only cause some interference at best."
Next to him were Zhao Anji and Zhang Qian with a beard.
Why are they here?
Huo Qubing led troops to conquer Armenia before, and Zhao Anji and the 2,500 elites of Fulu Zhi stayed in Armenia.
Armenia is located to the northeast of Seleucus. The two countries are adjacent to each other and do not need to pass through Parthia, where the war is overlapping.
After Zhao Anji and Fu Luzhi came over, they joined Zhang Qian who had come out of Antioch, the capital of Seleucid Kingdom.
Tonight will be the first battle for the Han army to intervene in Seliu.
"Let's go, Da Sima said he would come over tonight, I'm afraid he will be here soon."
Zhao Anji said: "You go to stop the five thousand Parthians outside the city, and I will seal the city!"
"We don't have much kerosene prepared, so use it sparingly."
Fu Luzhi warned and rode out.
Their team, combined with the thousand guards and horses of Zhang Qian's envoy team, totaled 3,500 forbidden troops.
In the dark of night, they mobilized their marching strategy and headed towards Xiati to kill.
Inside the city, Rumli soon heard shouts of killing at the city gate and was horrified.
"Outside the east gate, Han troops suddenly attacked and blocked the city gate."
"Han troops also appeared at the west gate. The Seleucid soldiers who had escaped before also turned back and blocked the gate."
Rumli had also been on the battlefield for a long time, and when he heard the report, his heart suddenly sank.
There was no movement when they attacked the city. When they entered the city, the Han army came out and blocked the city gate...
Rumley's thoughts changed rapidly.
Did the Han army want to use the city to trap them inside?
This also explains the reason why Seliu's soldiers and horses immediately withdrew as soon as the city gate was broken, and their fighting spirit was not strong.
The defenders who fought hard to defend the city before were more like dead soldiers that Seliu used as bait when he had no choice but to let them enter the city without suspicion.
The breach of the city this time was a trap for the enemy, and they were using the lives of the Seliu defenders to lure them into the trap!
What a cruel method!
"Your Highness, we checked the city and found that there was not even a grain of food. After the defenders and a small number of people escaped, it was an empty city."
Sure enough, the Han army and Seleucid had already been in contact. An empty city was left to lock them in. As long as the external food routes were cut off, they would become trapped dead soldiers, unable to advance or retreat.
"Have any sources of fire, kerosene or other flammable materials been found in the city?"
"No."
Rumley breathed a sigh of relief.
Maybe the time is too tight and there is no time to arrange it. Otherwise, if the other party abandons the city cruelly and chooses to set fire to it, they will soon fall into a dead end.
There is still a glimmer of hope at the moment.
"All the troops, follow me and fight out!"
Rumley ordered.
He was very fortunate that he had left a large number of troops outside the city, and with the support of the rear army, there was still hope of surviving the desperate situation.
At that moment, the 15,000 Parthian troops who had entered the city rushed out of the city.
But at this moment, the Han troops outside the city were divided into two groups, and Zhao Anji was responsible for leading his troops to block the city gate.
Fu Luzhi led his troops to fight with the Parthian army remaining outside the city.
You must know that not only the Han army participated in the operation, but also an Armenian team was intercepting Rumli's backup troops left on the outside.
So as long as Rumli couldn't break out on his own, there would be no reinforcements to help them.
The narrow city gate has become a passage between life and death.
The Han army was outside the city gate, deployed with crossbows and arrows, and lined up in a fan shape.
The city gate itself limited the number of Parthians who could rush out. Only those who could dodge the arrows had a chance to fight the Han army.
The number of Han troops blocking the city gate was small, but with the help of excellent ordnance and sufficient preparations, coupled with the combat effectiveness of the Han troops, they succeeded.
Although there are few people, the traffic is very stable.
Crossbows rained down, and the bodies of the Parthian soldiers fell under the gate of the city.
The Han army then threw kerosene prepared in advance and used the corpses as fuel. The fire was raging and blocked the Parthians' chance to rush out of the city gate.
"Your Highness, please go and leave us alone."
In the city, General Long Bei's eyes widened.
The change of victory and defeat was too fast.
Two-quarters of an hour ago, he was happy to break the city, but in the blink of an eye he became a trapped beast falling into the city.
The Han army besieged the city, and ordinary soldiers could not rush out.
But it is not difficult for people with high spiritual practice to break out of the city. However, there are Han troops outside the city. Without the support of soldiers and horses, it is not easy for individuals to break through.
Rumli was shocked and angry, knowing that the Han army would take action, but unfortunately he could not prevent it.
The Han army actually followed their attack on the city and let them try their best to break into the city. Unexpectedly, the city is a trap. If you break in, you will be walking into a trap.
As long as their early attack is blocked and the Han army increases its deployment outside the city, the difficulty of attacking outside will increase exponentially every quarter of an hour.
By consuming a small number of troops and horses, the Han army was able to trap them in the city, lacking food and water.
Rumli climbed the tower and looked outside the city, his heart tightening.
In the night, a ghostly team appeared outside the city and joined the Han army blocking the city gate.
When the Han army saw the appearance of that figure, they burst into cheers like mountains and tsunamis.
There is only one person in the world who has such prestige among the Han Imperial Guards.
Traveling northeast from Macedonia, it was not far to Seliu. With Huo Qubing's speed, it would take most of half a day to get there.
"How's the progress?" Huo Qubing got off his horse.
"Great Sima's clever plan. The Parthians spent a lot of effort to rush into the city. When they realized something was wrong, they tried to fight out again, but it was a pity that it was too late."
Zhao Anji laughed and said: "There are Armenian soldiers and horses in the rear, responsible for attacking the Parthian tribes that follow.
There was no food in the city, and the wells were poisoned in advance to see how many days they could stay. "
Huo Qubing nodded slightly and glanced to the west: "Help Seliu stabilize their rear defense so that they can concentrate on resisting the Romans.
But even if we help Seleu, they probably won't be able to stop them for long.
We must speed up our attack on Parthia. "
He added: "One of you will stay here to assist Seleu, and I will leave half of the troops and horses I brought with you to trap the Parthian soldiers in the city.
The remaining one will follow me and go to Ctesiphon overnight to see how long the Parthians can hold us off. "
Zhao Anji and Fu Luzhi agreed in unison.
That night, the Macedonian king learned from the concentric lotus leaf Huo Qubing gave him when he left that the danger of Seleucid's rear defense had been resolved.
Thirty thousand Armenian soldiers and horses rushed into Seleucus to help defend against the Romans.
Perseus IV took a long breath, and this line of defense was temporarily stabilized.
Huo Qubing marched all night to attack Taixifeng.
Zhang Cigong and other Han troops fighting in various parts of Parthia received orders one after another, and gathered at Ctesiphon like hundreds of rivers flowing into the sea.
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(End of chapter)
