Chương 723: Taking Anxi

Once they had advanced to within a mile, he slowly gave the order, his tone remarkably calm: "Change the cannons to high-explosive shells, aim at the center of the cavalry formation, and fire a volley!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Another earth-shaking explosion rang out, audible for miles around.

The exploding shells shattered in the cavalry ranks, making a series of loud "bangs" and sending shrapnel flying everywhere.

The armor looked sturdy, but it was as fragile as paper in front of cannonballs. One shot blew men and horses into pieces, and the entire cavalry formation was riddled with holes, looking like it had been bitten by a dog, with pieces missing.

The cavalrymen who weren't killed by the bomb gritted their teeth and charged forward, with only one thought in their minds: charge forward, and if they get to them, they'll win!

After finally breaking through to within a hundred paces, they were met with a barrage of flintlock musket fire, one volley after another. Lead bullets pierced through the iron armor as easily as tofu, and the heavy cavalrymen fell down in rows, like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

When they reached within thirty paces of the enemy lines, less than half of the 20, 000 heavy cavalry remained, their formation was in disarray, scattered and lacking any real impact.

Before they could even collide, the Han infantry fixed bayonets, brandished their spears, and charged forward. With a shout of "Kill!", the bayonets pierced the cavalrymen's bodies like they were stabbing scarecrows.

The Han cavalry then began to outflank them, flying in from both flanks to completely surround them.

When Commander Suren saw that the situation was hopeless, his face turned pale, and he turned around to run away, thinking that as long as he survived, he could always make a comeback.

As a result, a cannonball hit the horse right in front of it. With a loud "boom," the horse and rider were blown away and died instantly, without even a complete corpse.

With their commander dead, the Parthian army collapsed instantly. The soldiers abandoned their armor and fled westward for their lives, wishing they had more legs.

Xu Da was not in a hurry to pursue. He ordered the battlefield to be cleaned up and the spoils of war to be counted, waiting for the central army to catch up.

They can't go far anyway; it's only a matter of time.

In this battle, the entire 50, 000-strong Parthian army was wiped out, their elite heavy cavalry was almost entirely lost, and even their commander was killed.

When the news reached Ctesiphon, the Parthian court was utterly terrified, as if the sky had fallen.

Vologsis VI sat on the throne for a long time, speechless, his eyes glazed over, as if he had lost his mind.

The nobles below stopped being defiant and hung their heads like wilted eggplants, all their previous arrogance gone.

"What do we do? What do you suggest we do?!" Vologsis VI's voice trembled, on the verge of tears.

"Surrens are all dead, all the heavy cavalry are gone, what are we going to use to stop the Han army?"

A minister whispered, "Your Majesty, why don't we sue for peace? Give them money, silk, and gold, and tell them to stop fighting. We'll become their vassals and pay tribute every year."

Another said, "What's the use of seeking peace? The Kushan king has been captured; they don't need that little bit of money. I think we should run! Run to Rome! The Romans are strong; they can stop them! Borrow troops from Rome and then fight our way back!"

Just as they were arguing, another urgent report arrived, like a death knell: the Han army had already reached the walls of Taixi Feng City, completely surrounding the city, blocking it from all directions, not even a fly could get out.

Vologsis VI's legs went weak on the spot, and he almost fell off the throne, but fortunately he was caught.

He finally understood: there was no way to escape, he could only wait to die.

That evening, in the Han army camp outside the city, Zhang Fei asked Xu Da for permission to fight, his loud voice shaking the tents:

"Tiande! Let me lead the charge tomorrow! This crumbling city wall is thinner than Fulousha's; I can kick it down with one kick! No need to wait for the cannons; I'll just lead the troops straight in!"

Xu Da laughed and said, "Yide, what's the rush? Pengju is adjusting the siege cannons. We'll fire them first thing tomorrow morning to avoid any casualties among our brothers."

Get a good night's sleep tonight and be well-rested. Tomorrow, when the city gates open, be the first one to rush in—that'll be your credit. Nobody will compete with you.

Zhang Fei immediately burst into laughter, grinning like a child: "Alright! I'm going back to sleep now! I'll be the first to charge tomorrow!"

After saying that, he scurried away, afraid that Xu Da would change his mind.

Xu Da watched his retreating figure, shook his head with a smile... Master Zhang, what an impatient fellow.

..................

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, before the roosters had even crowed.

Thousands of siege cannons were lined up in a row, aimed at the Taixi city wall, a dark mass like a forest.

At Yue Fei's command, a thousand cannons fired simultaneously. The noise was like the sky collapsing. Houses in the city shook, windows shattered, and people hid in their homes crying, thinking that the gods were angry. They trembled with fear, clutching their children.

In just fifteen minutes, several sections of the Taixi city wall collapsed, leaving a huge gap large enough for five horses to run side by side.

Zhang Fei had been waiting impatiently for a long time. As soon as he saw the city wall collapse, he grabbed his eighteen-foot spear and charged forward, shouting, "Charge!"

They led their soldiers and squeezed into the gap, like tigers descending from the mountain.

The Parthian soldiers in the city were terrified. As soon as the Han army rushed in, they threw down their weapons and surrendered without even bothering to resist.

Vologsis VI had originally planned to escape through the north gate. He packed up his gold and silver treasures and, with his wife and children, had just left the palace when he bumped into Zhang Fei, who rushed in.

Zhang Fei, seeing the man's gaudy attire and golden crown, immediately recognized him as a high-ranking official and shouted, "Halt, you bird-man! Dressed like a peacock, are you the king?"

Vologis VI was so frightened that his soul almost left his body. He turned around and tried to run away, but how could he outrun Zhang Fei?

Zhang Fei spurred his horse forward, struck him down with the shaft of his spear, and lifted him up like a chick: "Trying to run? Where do you think you're going!"

Later, his brother Ardaban led the remaining troops to try to escape through the west gate, but they were intercepted by Zhao Yun's cavalry and wiped out in one fell swoop, with not a single one escaping.

The Parthian Empire had existed for over four hundred years and had fought Rome for over a century, with both sides winning and losing, neither able to kill the other. In the end, it was swiftly crushed by the Han Dynasty and wiped out in less than a month.

No one would believe it if I told them, but that's the truth.

Times have changed; clinging to old tactics will only lead to being eliminated.

Liu Ce moved into the palace of the King of Taixi, looked at the scenery of the Tigris River, felt the river breeze, and said to his generals:

"Mesopotamia is a great place for producing grain; the land is so fertile it's practically dripping with oil. It will become our granary. We'll leave troops to garrison it, appoint officials to govern it, and send immigrants to cultivate the land. After ten days of rest and replenishing our supplies, we'll continue westward and meet the Romans."

I've heard the Roman Empire was incredibly powerful; even Parthia couldn't defeat them. Let's go see just how strong the Roman legions really are.

The generals all laughed and rubbed their hands together, eager to get started.

After defeating the Kushans and destroying Parthia, only Rome remained.

After conquering Rome, we can reach the Mediterranean Sea.

I'm so excited just thinking about it.

..................

At this time, the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus was in York, Britain, with his two sons, leading his army to fight the Caledonian Wildlings of Scotland.

They've had a good run of success lately, driving the savages into hiding in the mountains and daring not to come out, and they've stolen quite a few livestock and furs.

Severus was in a good mood, drinking with his son Caracalla, with roast meat and wine on the table, thoroughly enjoying himself.

As a result, urgent reports from the East kept arriving, like death warrants.

First letter: Parthia was destroyed by the Eastern army, the king was captured, and the whole territory fell.