Chapter 409
Chapter 409 – Parthian? Is It Eatable?
"The Parthian Empire …"
A name of a powerhouse civilization that prevented all Chinese from contacting the Roman Empire .
Ever since Wudi Emperor had established the Silk Road, the Han Chinese attempted to extend their trade route to the famous Roman Empire .
However, the Parthian Empire did not want the prosperous country to trade with their rivals, so they stopped all trade routes, telling the merchants that there was nothing to see beyond their empire .
The blockade not only stopped Han"s merchants from trading with Parthian"s nemesis, but they also capitalized the Silk Road trading as the middle-man, reaping the most profits from the trade .
Still, merchants were an occupation that required wits and intellect . None of them was stupid enough to believe in the words of the locals who hated their rival country . Moreover, they had proof that the Roman Empire existed as they had obtained their currency coins and other goods, such as gla.s.sware, knowledge, and cotton products .
They wanted to go further and seek more opportunities . Unfortunately, it took months to reach the other side of the world .
Though it was tempting to reach the other side of the world, merchants prioritized their trade efficiency and profits . Since they could make more trips by stopping their trade route at the Parthian Empire, all merchants avoided the unknown and focused on making money .
As for their military relations.h.i.+p, the Han and the Parthians were neutral . Emperor Wudi"s arch enemy was the Xiongnu and Xianbei, which was enough for the Han Dynasty to handle . From the former emperor"s point of view, making another powerhouse an enemy when he had yet to defeat their fierce foes was a silly move . As such, there was no reason to offend this empire .
Meanwhile, the Parthians had their hands full with the threatening Roman Empire . Since they managed to establish a good relations.h.i.+p with the east and they profited from the Silk Road, they did not need to create another battlefront to damage their economy .
For their best interest, both sides maintained their status quo for over 200 years .
But now, these Parthian men interfered with the Han Dynasty"s civil war, which violated their peace treaties .
"Do you know something about these people, Ju Shou?"
The strategist shook his head, "My expertise is stratagem and domestic development . I"m not good at diplomacy field, general . For this matter, we need to consult with others . "
Lu Bu sighed . If it was possible, he wanted to avoid using the clan chat since he did not like the other strategists and Tong"s fanboys .
.
Tong: "Ah, Parthians . They finally appear . "
Jia Xu: "I know a bit of these people . Most Parthians in our country are merchants . I saw a few mercenary bands in Liang Province, but that was long ago . "
Xun Yu: "I learned a bit from my clan"s records . They said that these guys are similar to the Xiongnu, but they had a sophisticate army system, better than the simpleton Xiongnu . "
Ju Shou: "Xiongnu may be simpletons, but they are experts on their field . "
Jia Xu: "True . Their horse archers are deadly . Well, if they don"t face our knight units . "
Tong: "Back to the point . So, what"s the situation?"
Ju Shou: "We"ve captured their general . He also has black wings like you, your majesty . "
Tong: "… How many wings?"
Ju Shou: "Four . "
All generals who had wings were shocked . They knew how difficult it was to obtain a wing, let alone four .
Tong was speechless as well . It took him years to get four wings, but someone caught up with his progress .
Diaochan: "Kill him before he grows more wing, Ju Shou!"
Ju Shou: "Uh?"
Ju Shou had never taken orders from Medusa, so he was reluctant .
Tong: "He"s a threat, Ju Shou . It took me years to get four black wings . "
Ju Shou: "He"s a talent general, though? From our interrogation, he wants to join us, too . "
Tong: "We"re dealing with the unknown . Don"t leave a tale to tell, so we won"t have trouble with the Parthians . "
Xun Yu: "I disagree . Killing this general might ire the westerners . We should release him, so he can spread good words . "
Tong: "Your tactic may work on our countrymen, but I don"t think it will work against outsiders this time, Xun Yu . "
Jia Xu: "I agree with his majesty . He"s siding with the Xiongnu, so there is no excuse . Kill him and get rid of this unknown threat . "
Li Feihong, Te Langpu, Sima Fang, Lu Zhi, and Xun You also voiced their thought . All of them was not fond of having a foreigner messing with them while they were dealing with their internal affair .
In the end, only the pacifist Xun Yu was against the execution of Vida .
Lu Bu: "I"ll kill him, then . "
Tong: "Please do . "
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Pingyuan Commandery, Government House
Diaochan turned off her system interface . Behind her refined figure, four black tentacle wings wiggled as they were alive .
Right now, Diaochan"s body reached 15 years of age . To the locals, she was considered an adult .
As the description of the legends and the 14th-century novel, Diaochan was a rare beauty who could easily destroy a nation with just her pretty face alone . Combined with Medusa"s care of her body, Diaochan"s appearance, const.i.tution, bust size, skin, and face had become a living art, enchanted every man who had seen her face .
Thus, Diaochan always hid her face under a dark veil and covered her head with a black hijab . Even her dress was a black custom-made long sleeve dress . At the moment, she looked as if she was a Muslim woman .
She did this not only to protect her purity, but she also prevented all potential harm to her city because of her beauty .
In front of Diaochan, a 14-year-old valiant young girl sat beside her . She was shorter than Diaochan, who was 165cm in height .
The 150cm tall Dong Bai was still reading the clan chat, tilting her head to the side . Compared to her mother, she was not a smart girl, who had yet to understand the threat of the Parthian Empire .
Behind her back, two black wings were there . Like Diaochan, she, too, was in the middle of recultivating their immortal power .
On the contrary of Diaochan, Dong Bai did not bother hiding her pretty face . Without relying on her Xiao Wu"s form, she was a natural cute loli, who awoke every man"s urge to protect her .
Zhang Ji, Zhang Xiu, and Zou s.h.i.+ were also at the government house, standing by for orders .
Zhang Ji was serving as the garrison commander while Zhang Xiu followed Dong Bai as her aide . As for Zou s.h.i.+, she was the head maid, who oversaw the servants of this government hall .
Currently, Diaochan was the governor of Pingyuan, while Dong Bai was the grand commander of the Demon Legion . Though, the role could switch if it was necessary .
A hundred minor officers were also there, writing and pa.s.sing their doc.u.ments to their subordinates .
The restoration of Pingyuan and the land reclamation was underway to expand farmlands, creating jobs for civilians .
"Meddy, why is everyone scared of Parthian?"
"They aren"t afraid . They"re just too busy to deal with another enemy . "
"I don"t understand . "
"Well, let"s put it this way . Imagine that the Parthian Country is a stranger girl, who doesn"t know Tong . Meanwhile, Tong was still dating you . Should he introduce himself to a stranger girl when he is dating with you?"
"Ef, no!"
"Well, that"s a metaphor . Do you understand the logic behind it now?"
"I get it now! Thanks, Meddy!"
"Ufufu, you"re welcome . "
Listening to these reincarnated demonesses, Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu had a dark face, sweating .
Something was terribly wrong with these two!
"By the way, Meddy . When will Tong call us to the palace? We"ve come of age now, right?"
"He"s a busy emperor, Friday . Besides, he probably still has that 21st-century"s common sense . He won"t summon us before we reach 18 . "
"That"s too long! By now, those two consorts would have laid a hundred eggs already! I should be the one who gives Tong the most eggs!"
Everyone: "…"
Zhang Xiu and Zhang Ji"s sweat intensified . Zou s.h.i.+ had a pokerface .
Even Diaochan had to facepalm, "Human doesn"t lay eggs, my daughter . "
"Eh? Don"t they have wings? Birds and chickens lay eggs? All winged creatures should be able to lay eggs!"
Diaochan flinched . By her daughter"s logic, they could lay eggs as well . For the sake of stopping this embarra.s.sment, she changed the subject, "Cai Wenji and Du s.h.i.+ aren"t even a member of our clan chat . They haven"t been bestowed with a cultivation technique . You don"t have to worry about Tong getting s.n.a.t.c.hed by those girls . "
"Oh! That"s good! None of them should get one!"
"We"ll have to give them one eventually . "
"WHAT!? No! We shouldn"t give them anything!"
"Don"t be selfish . They are our servants, so at least they should be worthy of being called our maids . "
"Ohhhh! That"s right . Meddy, you"re genius!"
"…"
Zhang Xiu and Zhang Ji were drenched in sweat, talking to each other via eye gesture .
"Something wrong with their brain?"
"They"re not humans in the first place . Ignore it . "
"…"
At this moment, Zou s.h.i.+ raised her hand, "Excuse me, will I stay young forever if I cultivate your wing power, too?"
Diaochan nodded, "Of course . As long as you have more than 1,000 lifespans remaining, you will stay young forever . "
"Can I get that cultivation manual, too?"
Diaochan nodded again, "Sure . Once a new year arrives, I"ll get you into our clan and buy you a cultivation technique . "
"Thank you! Say, about these lifespans, how many lifespans do you need to buy the cultivation manual? It seems that you can trade lifespans, so I"ll pay you back when I"m strong enough . "
"200,000 years for one human . "
"…"
"Don"t worry . If there"s a war and I can kill at least 10,000 men, I can get that amount in no time . I can get those from dead bodies . If we have to, we can kill a few thugs to farm our lifespans . Once you"ve killed and drained one human, you"ll get addicted to this . "
"…"
All officials who overheard their conversation had a similar dark face like Zhang Xiu and Zhang Ji . Although Dong Bai and Diaochan"s beauty was legendary tier, none of them dared to pursue them .
No one wanted to die!
Dong Bai was Xiao Wu . That was a piece of common knowledge among Tong"s ranks .
However, Pingyuan natives called this beautiful governor as [The Grim Reaper] or [The Grave Keeper] for a reason . Usually, Diaochan always visited morgues, cemeteries, or a site with dead bodies whenever she heard about a newly dead civilian .
She would drain their corpses dry, using her black wings .
All the townspeople were afraid of her . Only a brain-damaged-h.o.r.n.y-teen would have tried to court this woman .
Zhang Ji glanced at his wife in fright .
"Please don"t be influenced by them, my wife . You"re scary enough at home . "
.
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The next day, Vida was executed by Lu Bu . Although Vida pledged Lu Bu that he would serve them, the latter still killed this mercenary without mercy .
Afterward, Lu Bu decided to withdraw his army from this position to Wuwei, so they could occupy a proper city, getting a shelter for his men .
All rescued slaves rejoiced . Since Wuwei County was their hometown, they were more than happy to support Lu Bu to claim this county .
May 20th, 191 AD .
50,000 Elites of Redhare Legion and 50,000 rescued civilians marched into Wuwei City wall without a resistance . When the local guards saw the returning civilians, they surrendered to Lu Bu Army and welcomed them .
Ju Shou reported their achievement to the clan chat again .
The next order from Tong, Lu Bu had to cultivate and fortify Wuwei County . As for their food supply, Tong would send supporting units to transport them provision and weaponry .
He also gave Ju Shou and Lu Bu another task .
"Once you have stabilized Wuwei, capture the Liang Province . I"ll send my idle legions there to support you . "