After several days of travel, the Roman army finally arrived at the first city in Parthia.

Marcus Aurelius, standing at the front of the column, frowned as he looked at the deserted city walls and the wide-open city gates.

Li Boming stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, it seems that the soldiers and civilians here received the news and have all fled!"

Marcus Aurelius grunted in agreement, then gestured to the guard beside him: "Take some men and go into the city to take a look!"

"yes!"

The guard agreed, then called a group of guards and rushed into the city, quickly disappearing from sight.

Before long, the guards led their men back to the front lines.

"Your Majesty, our investigation reveals that the city is deserted. Apart from some furniture, all the grain and valuables in the households have been taken away..."

Upon hearing the guard's report, Marcus Aurelius couldn't help but show a hint of regret on his face.

If only I had known, I should have sent troops over at the very beginning of the breakthrough.

Now, all that's left of the Parthians is an empty city with nothing left.

Of course, the most important thing is that if the people in this city run away, the people in the cities behind will surely get the news as well.

If his army cannot be replenished, how will he continue fighting?

With an army of 400,000 men marching over a thousand miles, such a long supply line would likely have drained Rome in no time if it relied entirely on domestic supplies.

Looking at the quiet city ahead, the provincial military officer representative Kurik and the noble representative Hanis exchanged a glance, and then led their respective companions to the front of the battle.

Kulik hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, I suspect that this is a scorched-earth policy implemented by the Parthians. If it's like this all the way to the capital, then we've suffered a great loss!"

“Yes, Your Majesty, we must speed up and catch up with them before they escape!” Hanis echoed.

Marcus Aurelius glanced at the two men: "Easy for you to say. What if the army rashly accelerates and breaks away from the supply trains at the rear, and the enemy takes the opportunity to cut off our supply lines?"

Kurik said, “Your Majesty, I propose that we divide our forces and advance separately. You may lead the central army eastward toward the capital, while Commander Hanis and I may lead our armies northeast and southeast respectively.”

Even if the Parthians adopted a scorched-earth policy, it would be impossible for them to evacuate all the inhabitants of the western cities in such a short time.

“Your Majesty, General Kurik is right!” Hanis echoed.

Upon hearing their suggestions, Marcus Aurelius frowned.

He knew exactly what those two guys were up to.

In Marcus Aurelius's view, these two men clearly wanted to lead their armies to plunder other routes, leaving this worthless route for themselves.

In the end, they will plunder the riches, while we will waste our own resources and gain nothing.

Although he knew what the two men were thinking, after some deliberation, Marcus Aurelius finally agreed to their proposal.

Now, Parthia no longer has a decent army, and there is no danger in splitting its forces.

Furthermore, it was his own fault for making the wrong decision first. By waiting for his wounded soldiers to recover, he missed the best opportunity to advance, which gave the Parthians time to escape.

Furthermore, the main purpose of the troops sent by the provinces and the Senate is to plunder wealth and slaves. If I refuse their proposal to divide the troops, I will inevitably push them to the opposite side.

The war is not over yet, and it is really not advisable to start internal strife at this time.

Finally, after some discussion, the Roman army split into three: Curicius led the legions of the provinces and marched northeast; Hanis led the legions under the Senate and marched southeast; the three parties agreed to meet in Parthia.

Watching the two groups of men depart, Marcus Aurelius summoned his personal guards and ordered, "Pass on my order to divide into ten legions, each with a force of a thousand men, and have them disperse to search all the villages and towns within a range of four hundred miles north and south of their route."

If we encounter the Parthian army, we will fight if we can, and retreat if we cannot. Our main focus will be on replenishing our money and food supplies and capturing slaves!

He also dispatched scouts to investigate the situation in the city ahead and report back regularly!

"yes!"

The guard agreed, then rode away to relay Marcus Aurelius's orders.

In his view, just as Kulik said, no matter how hard the Parthians fortified their defenses, they could not possibly evacuate everyone in just over ten days.

Since there's no one left in the city, we'll have to target the villages and towns.

Although villages and towns may not receive much, it is better than having nothing at all.

Soon, Marcus Aurelius's orders spread throughout the army, and the ten legions were divided into hundreds of squads, which then dispersed in a fan shape.

Marcus Aurelius, meanwhile, led the remaining five legions and Zhang Bao's Guardians Legion to continue eastward along the main road.

Just as Marcus Aurelius had guessed, the cities along the way quickly fled after receiving news of Rome's breach of the pass.

However, few farmers and common people who lived far from the city were able to receive the news.

Those scattered squads of a thousand men were only three to five miles apart, and once they found a larger village or town, they would unite to plunder it.

Although the amount of money and grain in a single village or town is not much, when many villages and towns are combined, it becomes quite considerable, enough to alleviate the pressure on the rear supply lines and to be used for the rewards of the soldiers.

On the other side, Curic and Hanis did exactly the same thing as Marcus Aurelius: they split one group of men into smaller ones to plunder villages and towns, while the other group was concentrated to attack large cities.

The three armies, like three impenetrable nets, enveloped all the villages and towns in western Parthia, covering an area of ​​over a thousand miles from north to south.

Fortunately, many officers and soldiers in the Roman legions have now become believers in the Taiping Church.

Moreover, the most important doctrine within the Taiping Sect is that, except for heretics, everyone is a citizen of Taiyi and must not arbitrarily harm human life.

Therefore, during the looting, the believers only took some money and food, and even left some food for the Parthian people to survive.

As for the non-believers, the officers were worried that their misdeeds would displease the Taiping Christians, so they tried their best to restrain their soldiers and did not dare to kill or set fires at will.

After all, in the midst of battle, no one can guarantee that they will not get injured. If you offend the Taiping Sect and they refuse to treat you, wouldn't you just have to wait to die?

Neither Marcus Aurelius, nor Curic, Hanis, and the others said much about the actions of their soldiers.

This also shows that the influence of the Taiping Religion has gradually infiltrated the entire Roman army without anyone realizing it.