Province of Egypt.

Inside a manor, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei sat around a table, watching the fireworks in the night sky, their faces filled with longing.

At this time, eighteen years had passed since they left the Han Dynasty and arrived in Rome.

Back when the three of them first arrived here, they were just young men in their early twenties; now they are middle-aged.

After so many years of working hard in foreign lands, although it didn't diminish their passion, as they grew older, especially when they thought of their wives back in the Han Dynasty and their sons whom they had never met, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei found it hard to suppress their homesickness.

After the fireworks went out, Zhang Fei turned to Liu Bei and asked expectantly, "Brother, we've been working on this for so many years, shouldn't we start now?"

Liu Bei nodded: "His Majesty once told me about his dream. Judging from His Majesty's personality, he should give instructions this year!"

"Brother, since that's the case, we need to make preparations in advance. We'll start our uprising as soon as His Majesty issues his decree!"

It was Guan Yu who spoke. Although he usually appeared calm and composed, deep down he was already quite impatient.

Although they are still at their peak, looking at the Han Dynasty today, there are many talented young people, and there are not many opportunities left for them.

Therefore, both Zhang Fei and Guan Yu wanted to resolve the matter with Rome as soon as possible and then return to the Han Dynasty with great success.

“What Yun Chang said is true. After tomorrow, I will send someone to contact Sun Wentai to arrange the uprising. You two should also hurry up and prepare the army!”

"Yes, brother!"

Upon hearing Liu Bei's instructions, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei excitedly agreed.

The next morning, Liu Bei personally wrote a letter and sent his trusted confidants to the Arab province.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei also arrived at the military camp and began preparations for the army's expedition.

Through years of continuous development, coupled with the strong support of Royal Trading Company.

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei now command five elite legions.

Apart from gladiators and slaves, most of the soldiers in the legion came from ordinary families.

These people worked in the factories, workshops, and shops that Liu Bei had established.

Therefore, the soldiers of these five legions were absolutely loyal. In their eyes, Liu Bei, who brought a peaceful life to their families, was the object of their loyalty. As for the Roman emperor, they did not care about him at all.

Aside from their equipment, these soldiers were no different from Han soldiers in terms of food, drink, and training. Their physical fitness and combat effectiveness far surpassed that of ordinary Roman soldiers.

Inside the camp, after receiving orders from Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, 50,000 soldiers quickly assembled and headed towards the border between Egypt and the Arab province.

After the army set off, Liu Bei also summoned the royal merchants and the local nobles who had submitted to them.

Inside Liu Bei's residence.

Liu Bei slowly glanced at everyone and said in a deep voice, "Gentlemen, since Commodus's defeat, in addition to Gaul, Germania, Britain and Slavia, several other provinces such as Taragoza and Lycia have also declared independence and established their own countries."

Now, Rome is no longer what it used to be, and our Egyptian province no longer needs to be subservient to others.

I have decided that, from this day forward, the province of Egypt shall secede from Rome, formally establish itself as a nation, and send envoys to the Han Dynasty to pledge allegiance and request investiture from the Emperor of Han!

Upon hearing Liu Bei's words, the local nobles hesitated only slightly before nodding in agreement.

Now, Liu Bei has all the military, political, and financial power in the Egyptian province. These people have no other way out but to rely on Liu Bei.

After informing everyone, Liu Bei, in the name of the Governor-General of Egypt, issued a public announcement on January 2nd of the 29th year of the Kaiyuan era, declaring Egypt's independence and the establishment of a new nation.

Two days later, Sun Jian, having received a message from Liu Bei, also announced his independence in the name of the Arab governor. He then led his five legions to join Zhang Fei and Guan Yu to prevent Commodus's invasion.

With the independence of Egypt and the Arab world, other surrounding provinces are also starting to stir.

It turns out that just two years ago, Commodus officially proclaimed himself emperor and, like the Han dynasty, established a court in Rome and appointed officials.

After declaring himself emperor, Commodus assembled an army of 300,000 men who had been trained for many years in order to demonstrate his imperial authority. He also recruited four legions under the control of Liu Bei and Sun Jian to launch an attack on Gaul, Germania, and the Kingdom of Britain.

Meanwhile, the three kingdoms of Gaul, Germania, and Britain, with the covert support of the Royal Merchant Guild and Liu Bei, Sun Jian, and others, used an army of 200,000 to block Commodus's attack.

Just as Rome was embroiled in internal war, the Slavs and the Xianbei and Huns, who had been supported by Rome for many years, also gathered 60,000 cavalry and launched a war of unification against the northern steppes.

In just six months, the Xianbei and Xiongnu tribes successively conquered the Germanic and Celtic barbarians who occupied the western grasslands and carried out genocide against them, killing all the male barbarians they could find.

After taking control of the European steppes, 60,000 cavalrymen from the Xianbei and Xiongnu tribes, led by Li Ru, marched south and circled around to the rear of Kang Maode's army.

Faced with the surprise attack of 60,000 cavalry, Commodus's 300,000-strong army was also routed, with only a little over 100,000 surviving and fleeing back to Rome.

What was originally intended as a war to establish authority turned into a crushing defeat, and Commodus and the city of Rome's status and authority plummeted. Had it not been for the support of the Taiping Rebellion and figures like Liu Bei and Sun Jian, the governors of various regions would have long since followed the example of Gaul and Germania and declared independence.

Now that Liu Bei and Sun Jian have suddenly announced their departure from Rome, the other provinces are naturally not going to sit idly by.

The Royal Palace in Rome.

"Those two bastards! I trusted them completely, and they dared to betray me!"

Commodus was furious upon learning that Egypt and the Arab provinces had also declared independence.

In order to gain the support of the Han Dynasty, Kang Maode appointed Liu Bei and Sun Jian as governors of two provinces respectively.

During their tenure, Liu Bei and Sun Jian were both well-behaved, not only paying their annual tributes on time, but also responding enthusiastically when Kang Maode summoned them to war.

Therefore, Liu Bei and Sun Jian were once regarded by Commodus as his best and most loyal allies.

As a result, just when he was in a state of utter distress, Liu Bei and Sun Jian both chose to leave, which made Kang Maode extremely resentful.

With the independence of Egypt and the Arab world, Rome has now lost most of its controlled territory, and division is inevitable.