Mythical Three Kingdoms

As the morning bell of a new year rang out, the Grand Assembly in Chang’an officially began. All ministers, feudal lords, foreign friends, and vassals from the Hu People entered slowly. Then Liu Xie, dressed in his imperial robe, sat imposingly at the main seat, his gaze sweeping the hall with an undeniable air of dominance over the world.

Observing the neatly bowing crowd, Liu Xie raised his hand and slowly said, ”Gentlemen, please rise.”

”Thank you, Your Majesty,” a throng of ministers replied respectfully, subsequently returning to their respective positions. However, this retreat left the positions of the Nine Ministers, the Minister of Finance, and the Fourth Rank Generals vacant.

Though Liu Bei was supposed to be the Grand Commandant, the seat of the Three Dukes’ Grand Commandant was occupied by Yang Biao. Moreover, Yang Biao managed to extract some military power within Chang’an by leveraging his official position as the Grand Commandant.

”Zhongda, why don’t you speak?” Sima Lang transmitted his voice to the attendant Sima Yi behind him.

”The authority of the Son of Heaven of Han has yet to wane,” Sima Yi replied calmly. He had never witnessed such a Son of Heaven before, but upon seeing this once timid, now dignified youth, a wild jealousy grew within him.

”Indeed, even the lingering power of the Han Dynasty’s four hundred years is enough to intimidate the Four Barbarians,” Sima Lang remarked, not noticing Sima Yi’s internal state.

”I wonder if the one seated high can maintain such dignity in the future,” Sima Yi coldly transmitted.

Sima Lang remained silent. Although Cao Cao currently had no intention of restraining the emperor, Sima Lang knew that if Liu Xie continued to be swayed by Dong Cheng, that point wasn’t far off.

[I didn’t expect the Son of Heaven to still have such bearing.] Guan Yu was slightly surprised. Compared to the private banquet earlier, the Son of Heaven he saw at this assembly seemed like a completely different person.

[The residual power of the Han Dynasty still exists. It seems I must bide my time for now.] Zhang Hong thought silently, then, in the name of a minister, presented a large amount of treasure.

[If His Majesty could always be like this, why wouldn’t I fully support him?] Cao Cao felt a slight bitterness, then looked across at Dong Cheng, obvious discontent in his eyes.

[Son of Heaven, Son of Heaven, I’ve suddenly taken an interest in you.] Sima Yi thought silently to himself.

As the Grand Assembly in Chang’an began, several thousand miles northwest of Chang’an, in a cold, snowy expanse, the last group of Huns worthy of being called prairie warriors received messages from their war eagles.

”Chanyu, the Parthians have brought a message asking us to help deal with Great Qin (Rome),” a sturdy man with gray-yellow skin and wearing lambskin clothing asked.

”Tell the Parthian King that we need ten thousand sets of battle armor, fifty thousand leather armors, a hundred thousand arrows, and ten thousand stones of grain,” Huyan Chu said, his eyes gleaming coldly.

”I shall go and report this now,” the sturdy man turned away to inform the Parthian diplomat.

To speak of the Northern Huns squatting here, Parthia also knew, but Parthia could no longer afford to care now. Rome was almost making them cry, and they now desperately needed strong aid.

Though the Great Han Dynasty was the best support, the Han Dynasty was too far to dispatch troops to Parthia and significantly distant from the main battlefield of Mesopotamia. Besides, the Han mostly consisted of infantry, making it true that distant waters couldn’t save a nearby fire, so Parthia decisively sought aid from the Northern Huns.

Not to mention anything else, even though the Huns were weakened by the Han, the combat power of the Northern Huns still needed acknowledgment. Currently, on the Eurasian continent, besides the Han people known as strong fighters, only the Northern Huns could contend similarly.

As the Northern Huns, who often fought the Han people to a standstill, eventually got dragged into near oblivion by the Han population, their combat power was acknowledged by all countries in Central Asia.

For the Northern Huns could fight fiercely, even with merely tens of thousands of men and women, young and old, they still managed to become kings and overlords in Central Asia, making Parthia dare not provoke them...

Still, as the Northern Hun people themselves knew, although their combat power was arguably in the top five globally, their population was too small, and they lacked a suitable prairie. The best grassland for them in the past had already been crossed out by the Han.

What’s more unfortunate is that the Han seems to be getting stronger. Forget anything else; their population is increasing. The Great Hun Empire once had a population of seven million, compared to the Han’s twenty million. Now the Great Hun has seven hundred thousand, while Han has fifty million. If you can’t achieve a battle loss ratio of one to a hundred, you’re doomed!

Thus, Huyan Chu, as the chanyu, understood well that life was tough. They lacked appropriate armor, battle sabers, and pastures. If these issues couldn’t be resolved within a hundred years, not even the descendants of what was once the strongest empire in the world would remain.

This is why, upon learning that Langjuxu Mountain was turned into a lake, although Huyan Chu was almost exploding with rage, he showed no different expression in front of others.

He wanted revenge, but with Han as the opponent, he preferred giving up ancestral tombs, valuing children and youth more than the remains of the deceased. Yet, thinking of these still made him furious, wanting to howl to the sky, but fearing the inquiries of his people, he had to be responsible for them!

[Great Qin, if Parthia provides weapons, armor, and food, then let’s deploy to help trim down Great Qin.] Huyan Chu tried hard to divert his thoughts, fearing he’d lose control of his rage and start a fight with the Han. Once engaged with the Han, the Northern Huns’ fate would hang by a thread.

Truthfully, for North Huns, diminishing Rome posed no issue. They helped the Parthians several times before, and the so-called Tortoise Shell Formation seemed easy to handle for them.

Yet there were just too many Romans. The North Huns could only help open up the battle, but never took on a life-or-death fight, partly because there were too many Romans. That’s why the North Huns stopped advancing west and settled near Parthia, needing to build up their population, or else they’d lose their footing on this continent.

In reality, neither Han nor Huns knew that Parthia was almost crushed by Rome. The current Roman-Parthian front was no longer Mesopotamia but nearing the Parthian Royal City, causing Parthia to anxiously seek assistance everywhere.

”Is your country asking us to deploy troops?” The Kushan King looked at the Parthian ambassador. Their two countries were on good terms, but the Kushans were now stuck in the grip of Buddhist culture, unable to free themselves.

”We earnestly request your country’s aid, and we are willing to offer Sinan lands to your country.” At this moment, Parthia was on the verge of collapse; Rome was nearly at their royal city, and being breached would be a disgrace.

”Such matters need the Buddha’s definite word,” replied the Kushan King with the fanaticism of a Buddhist zealot.

”Please inquire swiftly,” the Parthian diplomat was nearly frantic.

”In three days, the Living Buddha will conduct a sermon; the answer will be known then.” The Kushan King replied unhurriedly.

The Parthian diplomat had no choice but to remain calm despite his anxiety, awaiting the verdict in three days. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) and vote for it. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)