"Damn it, we've fallen for their trap again!"
North of Kenan City, looking at the raging fire in the city and hearing the faint cries of agony, Sakki's face twisted in agony.
First came Ansu, now comes Kenan; the relentless resistance of these two cities has enraged him.
The situation is dire. The army has already marched halfway, and its supplies are insufficient to support a retreat. As for waiting for reinforcements, that's out of the question. They fear that before reinforcements arrive, they will starve to death.
But if the cities in the rear are all like Ansu and Kenan, then his army might really not be able to reach the southern sea.
For a moment, Sarkozy felt caught in a dilemma, unable to retreat or advance!
Just as Sakqi was pondering this, an officer led over a thousand soldiers who had miraculously survived out of the city.
The soldiers behind them, seeing that only a small number of people out of ten thousand had escaped, all showed a hint of lingering fear.
First came Ansu, now comes Kenan. These are just two cities, yet they have already lost nearly 20,000 men. If this continues, they might lose more than half of their men before even encountering the Han army.
For a moment, a sense of retreat arose in the hearts of all the soldiers.
Sensing the change in morale within the army, Sakqi summoned all the officers together.
After glancing at the officers, Sa Keqi said in a deep voice, "In the current situation, if we retreat without achieving anything, then the things we did earlier will become the handle for the Left Prime Minister's faction to attack us. At that time, not only will I be punished, but you will also be unable to escape death!"
Now, the only way forward is to quell the rebellion, reclaim the southern seas, and let our military achievements speak for themselves. At that time, we can not only preserve our lives and positions, but also gain inexhaustible wealth. You all understand the choice, don't you?"
Upon hearing this, all the officers nodded in unison.
Ultimately, war is nothing more than a political struggle.
If they are defeated or return empty-handed, ordinary soldiers might not suffer much, but these men will certainly not escape being purged.
A young officer spoke up: "The Right Chancellor is right. If we want to survive, we have no choice but to keep going!"
“Continuing to advance is certain, but we also need to find a way to prevent the cities in the rear from continuing to resist, otherwise the morale of the army will collapse!” Another middle-aged officer frowned.
The young officer said, "But how can we get them to stop resisting? If the army wants to continue advancing, it must obtain supplies from those lowly people, but those lowly people will not let the army take what it wants!"
Upon hearing this, the generals frowned. Although they had never regarded those lowly people as human beings, they had now become their biggest problem.
"They're just a bunch of lowly people, nothing to be afraid of. Even if you put a knife to their necks, they won't fight back."
The reason those lowly people were able to cause so much trouble for our army is simply because of that Kemolai's interference.
When the name of Ansu City Lord Kemolai was mentioned, Sakqi's face was filled with gloom and hatred.
Others may not know Kemolai's background, but he knows it very well.
In Sakki's view, the reason why this Kemolai was blocking him at all costs and protecting those lowly people was just an excuse. The real reason was that Kemolai had Persian blood flowing through his veins.
More than four hundred years ago, the once mighty Persian Empire was destroyed by Arsasi, the founder of the Parthian Empire, and the Persians were thus reduced from rulers to the ruled.
Despite the passage of so many years, many Persians remain dissatisfied with the status quo and attempt to restore the former glory of the Persian Empire, and rebellions occur from time to time.
However, given the large size of the Persian population, it was unrealistic to exterminate them. Therefore, for the sake of the empire's stability, successive Parthian kings adopted measures of appeasement and co-optation towards the Persians.
The current Left Prime Minister, Ardas, is the nominal leader of the Persians.
And this Kemolai is undoubtedly one of Ardas's men.
Therefore, in Sakki's view, the reason why Kemolai went to great lengths to organize those lowly people to obstruct him was that he wanted to defeat him and then weaken his power in the court.
Once he falls, the Left Chancellor Ardas will be able to seize power and restore Persian rule.
(In 226 AD, Parthia was replaced by Sassanid Persia, and the Han Dynasty had been destroyed for five years, officially entering the Three Kingdoms period.)
The Han Dynasty and the Parthian Empire collapsed around the same time!
"I wonder what good plan Your Excellency the Right Chancellor has?" an officer asked upon hearing Sakoqi's words.
Sakqi said in a deep voice, "That Kmolai will surely continue to organize the common people and lay traps to hinder our army."
"Only by eliminating that guy Kemolai can we prevent any resistance from the commoners in the rear..."
Sakqi paused for a moment, then continued, "Judging from the situation, Nakmolai's trap here has delayed us by at least two days, and he should not have reached Linshan City yet."
Therefore, I have decided to dispatch 30,000 soldiers to pursue him. Even if we cannot catch up, we must block him when he reaches Linshan City, and then completely annihilate him once the main army arrives!
Upon hearing Sakqi's plan, the officers present nodded in agreement. Kemolai's men were mostly able-bodied civilians, and 30,000 soldiers would be more than enough to pursue them.
Subsequently, under Sakhozzi's arrangement, a young officer named Morel was put in charge of leading the pursuit.
Soon, the 30,000 soldiers, carrying half of the army's rations, took a small path, bypassed Kenan City, and rushed towards Linshan City.
Meanwhile, Sakqi led the remaining fifteen troops to replenish supplies in the villages and towns surrounding Kenan City.
Unfortunately, because Kemolai had already spread the word about the actions of the Sakhqi army, most of the people fled the city with their families before the Sakhqi army arrived.
Those who remained in the villages and towns were either stubborn people who didn't believe their own soldiers would slaughter them, or elderly people with mobility issues.
Those who remained steadfast proved the brutality of the Sakhqi army by sacrificing the lives of their entire families.
After half a day of searching, the army had only managed to gather enough rations to last for three days.
Left with no other choice, Sakkim had to lead his army onward.
Meanwhile, Kemolai led 20,000 able-bodied people, after a period of fleeing, to Linshan City.
Just as the group entered the city, a messenger sent by Kemolai arrived with several Han army staff officers.
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