Rest in peace, in the City Lord's Mansion of Linhai City.
Sitting behind his desk, Chu Qian was intently reviewing the city's personnel registers and the inventory of grain and valuables in the treasury.
Just then, a combat staff officer walked quietly to the desk and bowed to Chu Qian behind the desk.
"Sir, all the garrison troops inside the city escaped through the north gate before our army entered. I have already dispatched a detachment of soldiers to pursue and kill them!"
Upon hearing this, Chu Qian immediately put down the ledger in his hand and looked at the operations staff officer, "Withdraw the soldiers!"
The operations staff officer was slightly taken aback: "Commander, what is this...?"
Chu Qian smiled and said, "It's good to let those Parthian garrison soldiers go back and report the news."
When Parthia sends troops to attack, we'll show them the true power of our army!
Upon hearing this, the operations staff officer suddenly realized: "Does the envoy mean we should wait here and wait for them to come to us?"
"Indeed, since we have decided to include the Parthian Sea as the overseas territory of the Great Han, we will inevitably have a direct confrontation with Parthia. Only by defeating them to the point that they dare not face our army can this place be stable."
However, our troops cannot linger here for too long. Actively penetrating deep into Parthia territory to search for the enemy's main force is unrealistic; therefore, we can only wait for the enemy to come to us.
As he spoke, Chu Qian picked up the account book in his hand and said with a smile, "I just did a rough count. There are more than 115,000 people in Linhai City alone. These people, plus the taxes paid by merchants and shops in the city, amount to as much as 300,000 gold coins a year. That is equivalent to 3 million taels of silver in the Han Dynasty, which is higher than the income of a prefecture around Luoyang."
Although this money was obtained through extreme exploitation, it is not difficult to see the enormous value hidden in this coastal city.
If we add the other four cities and the five ports, this sea area can provide at least 20 million taels of silver in revenue per year.
With the establishment of maritime trade between our Great Han Dynasty and Rome, our income will only increase. The Parthian king and his ministers will certainly not give up such a lucrative opportunity!
The operations staff officer nodded in realization: "What the envoy says is true. I will go and gather the men to discuss the defense of the city!"
"Okay, go ahead!"
Chu Qian nodded, then picked up the ledger on the table again and continued to look through it.
Seeing this, the operations staff officer also bowed and retreated.
After leaving the city lord's mansion, the operations officer immediately summoned all the staff officers and instructors in the army to discuss and formulate the next steps for defending the city.
After a discussion among the advisors, the operations advisor, carrying a detailed and thorough plan for defending the city, once again approached Chu Qian.
"My lord, after discussion among the advisors, the first thing to do if we want to defend the city is to dig a moat three zhang wide and two zhang deep around the city to prevent enemy attacks and long-range siege weapons such as catapults."
Then, the existing city walls were raised to three zhang (approximately 10 meters) and a barbican was built. An arrow tower was built every ten steps, and a cannon platform for crossbows was built every thirty steps.
In this way, even three thousand untrained laborers could withstand the attack of an army of thirty thousand…
"What about manpower? Such a large project, it's probably not easy to complete in a short time, is it?"
Listening to the operations staff's report on the plan, Chu Qian frowned and asked.
"In reply to the messenger, after repeated calculations, we determined that this place is 800 li away from the Parthian capital. Even if the fleeing soldiers travel day and night, it would still take them at least ten days to escape."
Based on the combat effectiveness and troop strength demonstrated by our army, the Parthian king and his ministers would have to assemble at least 200,000 troops before daring to launch an expedition.
The mobilization of the army, the preparation of supplies, and the march itself will take at least fifty days.
In this way, our army will have sixty days to prepare.
Currently, there are approximately 70,000 able-bodied people in the city who can work. Adding to this the men of Commodus, Darruk, our soldiers, and the sailors who provide escort, the total number of workers reaches 90,000. We can complete these projects within two months!
The operations staff officer confidently explained the city defense construction plan to Chu Qian in detail.
After listening to the advisor's plan, Chu Qian nodded in satisfaction and then added, "However, there is one thing to remember: for those people who go to work, money and food must be distributed in accordance with the labor standards within the Great Han territory."
As for the soldiers under Commodus and Darrucker, and their sailor guards, they should also be given the same pay and rewards as the engineers in the army!
"I understand!"
Just as the staff officer turned to leave, Chu Qian called him back: "Also, tell those staff officers and instructors to work hard and do more ideological work with the people during their work, and it would be best if they could learn to speak Chinese, eat Chinese food, and wear fine clothes!"
The operations staff officer replied with a smile, "Please rest assured, Commander, these matters pose no problem whatsoever for me and the instructors!"
Chu Qian smiled and said, "That's good then. You can go ahead and get busy!"
"I shall take my leave!"
The staff officer bowed respectfully, then withdrew and began to post recruitment notices throughout the city's streets and alleys, according to the plan.
"This... 100 copper coins a day, plus two full meals a day, is that for real?"
"It should be true. These soldiers did not plunder us after breaking through the city, which shows that they are a benevolent army."
Furthermore, they could have easily forcibly arrested us to work; there was no need for them to deceive us…
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