The next morning, just as dawn broke, Marcus Aurelius once again rallied his army and headed straight for Xilin Pass.

Marcus Aurelius, who was following in the middle of the army, stared at the distant fortress wall with a cold glint in his eyes. The deaths of many of his officers last night had deeply affected him.

Therefore, he made up his mind that he must break through the barrier today no matter what, and then kill all the Parthians inside to vent his hatred.

When the army arrived at Xilin Pass with great momentum, everyone was stunned.

On this vast pass, apart from a few crooked banners, there was not a single person guarding it.

"What's going on? What are these Parthians up to now?"

Marcus Aurelius frowned as he looked at the empty space.

Li Boming stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, the Parthians must have realized they could not hold this pass, so they fled overnight!"

Marcus Aurelius's eyes narrowed, and he then ordered the messenger beside him, "Pass on my order: have the Ninth Legion launch an attack, and have all subsequent legions advance together, in case of any unforeseen circumstances!"

Soon, Marcus Aurelius's order reached the entire army.

The Ninth Army Corps, responsible for the main attack, led the way, followed by the other corps, with more than 100,000 troops slowly advancing towards Xilin Pass.

The soldiers of the Ninth Army Corps also advanced smoothly to the foot of Xilin Pass and climbed up the long ladder to the pass.

Marcus Aurelius only believed that the Parthians had truly abandoned the city and fled when the gates of Xilin Pass slowly opened.

"Enter the customs!!"

Subsequently, Marcus Aurelius led his army directly into the pass.

Thus, the Silin Pass, the foremost pass of Parthia, fell completely into Roman hands, and a large part of western Parthia was exposed to the Roman army.

Marcus Aurelius had just arrived at the Guannei Prefecture when he saw an officer rushing over.

"Your Majesty, we have discovered a group of wounded Parthian soldiers within the pass, numbering approximately 15,000!"

"Parthian wounded soldiers?"

A cold glint flashed in Marcus Aurelius's eyes: "Behead them all and display their heads!"

The officer agreed and was about to turn around to carry out the order when Zhang Bao called out to him, "Your Majesty, wait!"

"Um?"

Seeing Zhang Bao speak up to stop him, Marcus Aurelius asked in confusion, "Master Zhang, what are you doing...?"

Zhang Bao said respectfully, "I beg Your Majesty to be merciful and spare their lives so that I may treat them!"

Upon hearing this, Marcus Aurelius frowned immediately: "Master Zhang, those are our enemies. Their hands are stained with the blood of our warriors!"

Zhang Bao calmly replied, “Your Majesty, I know all that you are saying, but what can we gain from killing them, other than making the Parthians hate you even more?”

And your warriors probably won't be greatly encouraged just because they killed a group of wounded soldiers who couldn't fight back, will they?

If you spare them, not only will you demonstrate your benevolence and establish the glorious and mighty image of the Roman army, but you will also reduce the Parthians' resistance and make your subsequent operations much smoother!

Li Boming, who was standing nearby, also stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I think Zhang Tianshi is right. Keeping these wounded soldiers is indeed more beneficial than harmful!"

"Well..."

Hearing Zhang Bao and Li Boming's advice, Marcus Aurelius also began to weigh the options.

After a moment's thought, Marcus Aurelius said in a deep voice, "Master Zhang is merciful, so it's not impossible for him to treat them, but we must ensure that they don't cause trouble. It would be best to make them work for me!"

Zhang Bao nodded slightly: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will do my best to satisfy you!"

"Also, we must not let them delay the treatment of our wounded soldiers!"

Remembering the many wounded soldiers under his command, Marcus Aurelius added at the end.

"I understand!"

Zhang Bao agreed and then left.

As soon as Zhang Bao stepped out of the government office, the noble commanders of the legions under the Senate also came looking for him.

"What is this all about...?"

Seeing the anxious expressions on everyone's faces, Zhang Bao couldn't help but ask in confusion.

A nobleman asked anxiously, "Master Zhang, what's going on? Our wounded soldiers are almost fully recovered, so why have you transferred all the physicians away?"

Zhang Bao said calmly, "During yesterday's siege, many new wounded soldiers suddenly appeared in the camp. My men are insufficient, so I have to put your side aside for now!"

The commander who had spoken earlier said in a deep voice, "We all know that Master Zhang treats everyone equally, but why has he even stopped administering medicine? As far as I know, the army is not short of medicine, is it?"

"Well..."

Zhang Bao hesitated for a moment, then sighed and said with a troubled expression, "Please forgive me for not being able to speak frankly. Besides, the wounded soldiers under your command are no longer in serious condition. They just need to rest for a while longer, and nothing will happen!"

"I understand. Please rest assured, Celestial Master, we will forever remember your kindness!"

Seeing Zhang Bao's appearance, the commander and the noble leaders immediately understood the reason.

They knew that it must have been Marcus Aurelius who pressured the Church of the Peace to stop the doctors from treating the wounded soldiers under his command, in order to limit their power.

As a foreign religion, the Taiping Religion naturally dared not disobey the demands of the Roman emperor.

Therefore, these noble leaders did not blame Zhang Bao, but they felt even more hatred towards Marcus Aurelius.

"Gentlemen, I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now!"

"Oh, Master, please go ahead and attend to your business. We won't bother you any longer!"

Seeing that Zhang Bao was about to leave, everyone quickly and politely made way for him.

"Farewell!"

After bowing to the crowd, Zhang Bao turned and left.

After Zhang Bao left, the commander glanced at the imperial guards standing in front of the government office, then said in a deep voice:

"Now that he has cleverly stolen the credit for capturing the pass, and our troops are exhausted by wounded soldiers, it will be difficult for us to stand out in the next battle!"

Marcus Aurelius's ambitions are now crystal clear. We must inform our families and prepare ourselves!

Otherwise, once he returns victorious, there will truly be no one who can defeat him!

Upon hearing this, the noble leaders nodded in agreement.

"Hmph, that bastard Marcus Aurelius, wanting to dominate Rome, is simply delusional!"

"That's right, we must prepare early and not let this guy succeed!"

As they spoke, everyone quickly dispersed and began writing letters to their families, detailing all the circumstances of the battle.

Meanwhile, Zhang Bao, back at camp, gathered all his physicians and the guardians who knew the language of Anxi, and headed towards the wounded soldiers' camp inside Xilin Pass.