Seeing that the Han navy had wiped out the northern forces in less than a month, the South Indian coalition led by the Kingdom of Mopi felt a sense of lingering fear amidst their excitement.

The formidable fighting and operational capabilities of the Han navy truly worried them.

However, what you fear most is what will happen to you.

Just as the South Indian coalition was in a state of panic, Yuan Shu immediately tore up the treaty he had previously signed with the Kingdom of Maha and then led his army to launch an attack on South India.

It's just a treaty. In the eyes of an adventurer like Yuan Shu, a treaty is useful when it's useful to me, but when I don't need it, it's nothing more than a piece of waste paper.

At that time, the strength of South India was not much stronger than that of North India.

Faced with a navy of 200,000 men, the South Indian coalition forces were equally vulnerable.

After defeating the South Indian coalition, Yuan Shu followed the same method and purged the southern kingdoms in the same way.

Through Yuan Shu's military tactics, hundreds of countries across the Indian subcontinent were destroyed, and local religious forces were also physically reformed and eradicated.

After Yuan Shu left, Ling Cao and Zhang Liang, who had been stationed in Hannan City, led the people who had converted to the Taiping Religion to begin taking over the country and cities that Yuan Shu had swept away...

Just as Lü Bu, Cao Cao, Yuan Shu, and others led the Han expeditionary force to Rome, Liu Bei and Sun Jian, who were in Rome, also joined forces and openly raised the banner of rebellion against Roman rule.

The six legions under their command also assembled and confronted the pacification army sent by Commodus in the northern part of the Arab province.

With the independence of the Egyptian and Arab provinces represented by the two men, nobles and warlords in the other provinces also responded, declaring their secession from Roman rule.

Rome, which once dominated the Mediterranean and was a powerful nation, also fell apart in an instant.

This situation also caused Commodus, the Roman emperor, a great deal of trouble.

Only then did he realize that Rome was not as powerful as he had imagined.

Despite his years of promoting Confucianism, he eventually realized that he was the only one influenced by the Confucian doctrine of respecting the emperor.

Although the nobles and warlords of various provinces also studied Confucianism, they hoped that the king to be respected was them, not themselves, the Roman emperor.

Moreover, the nobles and warlords of the various provinces lacked the awareness to maintain the unity of the country. It would be more appropriate to call Rome an alliance rather than an empire.

The nobles and warlords who responded did not care about Rome's glory; all they cared about was their own power.

The ordinary people of Rome didn't care who the masters of Rome were; they only cared about their own lives.

Therefore, as Liu Bei and Sun Jian raised their banners together, the alliance eventually fell apart.

If Commodus wanted to realize his dream of becoming emperor, he could only emulate Qin Shi Huang in the East and use force to conquer those provinces.

Unfortunately, Rome, where Commodus was located, was surrounded by various provinces and did not have the advantageous geographical location that the Qin state possessed.

In this situation, if Commodus wants to turn the tide, he can only rely on external help.

Therefore, while withdrawing his troops to defend Rome, Commodus also set his sights on the new masters of the northern grasslands, the Xianbei and the Xiongnu.

In the past, three major barbarian tribes lived on the grasslands north of Rome: the Slavs, the Germans, and the Celts.

These three barbarian tribes had always regarded Rome as their breadbasket and frequently raided southwards.

It wasn't until the reign of the Five Good Emperors that Rome's national strength recovered somewhat, which was enough to stop the invasions of those barbarian tribes.

However, this group of barbarians, who had plagued Rome for hundreds of years, was wiped out by the Xianbei and the Xiongnu in just over a decade.

Therefore, in Commodus’s view, the only way to deal with the split provinces now is to rely on these two forces.

Although the Xianbei and Xiongnu had attacked them a few years ago in alliance with the Germanic tribes and the Gallic peoples, that was only because the other side offered huge benefits.

Therefore, in Kang Maode's view, as long as he offered a sufficient price, the Xianbei and Xiongnu could also become his allies.

As for whether this move would invite trouble, Commodus did not give it much thought.

After all, these nomadic peoples only plunder and don't produce anything, so they naturally won't occupy places where grazing is not possible. In the end, all I need to do is give them more money and food, and I can get rid of them.

Furthermore, Rome is now in dire straits, and the warlords of the various provinces could unite at any moment to destroy it.

Faced with this situation, Commodus, as the Roman emperor, naturally couldn't care less about anything else.

Soon, Commodus dispatched several trusted men to gallop towards the northern grasslands.

...

In the latter half of December of the twenty-ninth year of the Kaiyuan era,

While the Han Dynasty was preparing for the 30th anniversary of the emperor's ascension to the throne, Liu Bei and Sun Jian were also holding an alliance meeting in the Arab province.

As the initiator of the alliance and also the most powerful warlord, Liu Bei became the undisputed leader of the alliance.

At the alliance meeting, Liu Bei made it clear that the purpose of this alliance was only to overthrow Roman rule and restore the right of each region to independence, and that he would not interfere in the selection of kings in each region.

However, there is one condition: in any region, the religion practiced by the people can only be Taiping Religion; other religions are not allowed to exist.

Upon hearing Liu Bei's statement, the nobles and warlords readily accepted it.

After all, being a warlord, although you can control the military and political power of a region, is far less enjoyable than being a king yourself.

After the alliance meeting concluded, nobles and warlords in various regions immediately began to mobilize their respective armies.

At the same time, a messenger sent by Commodus, carrying Commodus's letter of state, ventured deep into the heart of the northern steppes.

Inside a large felt tent, the Xianbei leader Helian and the Xiongnu leader Xiezhiyu sat side by side.

Beside them, Li Ru, dressed in a blue robe, was intently reading the letter of state sent by Kang Maode.

At this time, Li Ru was already forty-six years old, but years of hard work and toil had left his face covered with wrinkles and his hair mostly white, making him look like he was over sixty.

A moment later, Li Ru raised his head, put Kang Maode's letter aside, and then looked at the messenger.

"My troops are willing to send troops, but the conditions need to be discussed further!"

"What are the conditions?" Commodus's messenger asked cautiously.

"Rome must submit to our vassal state and pay tribute for fifty years, and the strategic regions of Gaul, Germania, and Slavia must be permanently ceded to our vassal state..."