Linshan City North.
A long procession was rapidly approaching Linshan City from north to south.
This army was the 30,000-strong vanguard force dispatched by Sakqi, tasked with intercepting and killing Kemolai and his men.
Unfortunately, due to the time difference, they were still a day late.
"Faster, faster!"
Looking at the city of Linshan not far away, the officer at the front of the group, Morel, urged them on anxiously.
Although the soldiers at the rear were exhausted, they gritted their teeth and quickened their pace as they looked at the outline of the city in the distance.
Soon, the group arrived at a location a thousand paces north of Linshan City.
"Phew, thank goodness these guys haven't run away yet!"
Looking at the fresh mounds of earth beside the three moats outside the city, and the able-bodied young people on the city walls, Morrel, the commander, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Although these trenches would cause great trouble for the army attacking the city, as long as Kemolai is blocked here, even greater trouble can be avoided later.
Just as Morrel was preparing to divide his troops to besiege the other city gates, a personal guard suddenly said, "General, the enemy has opened the city gates!"
Morrel's brow twitched, and he stared intently, a look of surprise on his face.
A neatly arranged column of soldiers passed through the city gate and was slowly running towards them.
Bathed in the early morning sunlight, the blue armor of the naval soldiers reflected a dazzling light, like a surging wave.
At the front of the procession, a bright red flag was fluttering in the wind.
"Is this... the Han army?"
Upon seeing the large letter on the flag, Morrel's expression changed.
Although he didn't recognize the word, the unfamiliar flag that could appear on the Parthian lands could only belong to the Han Kingdom.
He couldn't understand when the Han army, which was far away in Linhai, had arrived here.
And what was their purpose in leaving the city? Did they want to have a decisive battle with me? But the enemy only had about 10,000 men, where did they get the courage to face my 30,000 men?
As the line of people surged in like ordinary ocean waves, Morrel was stunned, various questions flashing through his mind.
"General, the enemy has begun to form ranks!"
Just as Morrel was lost in thought, his bodyguard beside him reminded him anxiously.
"Huh?" Morrel, regaining his senses, saw the Han army already formed a square formation and hurriedly shouted, "All troops, form ranks and prepare to meet the enemy!"
In his view, although the Han army in front of him was well-equipped and well-trained, it was only 10,000 men, and his 30,000 men had no reason to be afraid of them.
Of course, his truest thought was to defeat this Han army and gain merit for himself.
After all, their purpose in coming here was to attack the Han army. If they could defeat the Han army here, promotion and a raise would be a given.
Upon hearing Morrel's order, the 30,000 Parthian soldiers behind him were also filled with reluctance.
They had been on a long march and were exhausted. Now that they had finally arrived, they hadn't even had a moment's rest before they had to prepare for battle again. The fact that they didn't mutiny was already a great favor.
Seeing the reluctance of the soldiers behind him, Morrel immediately shouted, "Brothers, the Han army in front of us only has 10,000 men, while we outnumber them three to one. We will surely win!"
After we win, not only will we be able to enter the city and enjoy ourselves, but we'll also receive rewards from the Right Chancellor, and promotions and titles will be a given!
Hearing Morrel's words, the Parthian soldiers calmed down considerably and began to form ranks.
Just as the Parthian soldiers began to form ranks, Cheng Pu's 10,000 naval soldiers also completed their formation.
“General Cheng, the enemy has not yet completed its formation. If our army launches an attack now, we will surely achieve some success!” A staff officer came up to Cheng Pu and said with a look of excitement.
"No need!" Cheng Pu shook his head, stroking his chin. "I intend to wait until they are fully arrayed before defeating them head-on!"
“But if we launch an attack now, our army will surely achieve the greatest gains with the least cost!” the staff officer advised somewhat reluctantly.
"You must understand that sometimes in warfare, it's not just about the gains and losses on the battlefield; the gains and losses outside the battlefield are equally important!"
"Gains and losses outside the battlefield?"
The staff officer paused for a moment, then said with a look of sudden realization, "Could it be that the general intends to use this to intimidate the Parthians in the city?"
Cheng Pu smiled and said, "Otherwise, why do you think I would go out of the city to fight the enemy? Don't I know that it would be safer to defend the city?"
"That Kemolai and those Parthian people only chose to join our army because they were forced into it. If we don't let them see the might of our army, who knows if they might harbor resentment in the future!"
"The general is right!"
After hearing Cheng Pu's explanation, the staff officer immediately understood.
Cheng Pu did this not out of reckless courage, nor out of underestimation of the enemy, but out of deep foresight.
At the same time, Kemolai and the two city lords of Kenan and Linshan also climbed the city wall to watch the battle between the Han army and the Parthian army.
"What's going on with the Han army? Why didn't they launch an attack while the enemy was still unsettled?"
Seeing the Han army lined up neatly outside the city but not making any move, Kemolai couldn't help but frown.
"No matter what's going on, as long as the Han army wins, let's just stay calm and watch the battle!"
"That's true. If they weren't confident, the Han army wouldn't have chosen to leave the city!"
Lord Kenan and Lord Linshan, standing to the side, didn't think too much about it, their expressions showing a hint of anticipation.
Hearing their conversation, Kemolai said no more and turned his gaze to the outside of the city.
Not long after, the Parthian army finally completed its formation, with 30,000 men forming three 10,000-man square formations, arranged side by side on the left, center, and right.
Looking at the peaceful army formation, Cheng Pu couldn't help but show a hint of disdain on his face.
The Parthian army opposite them, to put it nicely, was a military formation; to put it bluntly, it was clearly just a bunch of people gathered together, with each soldier standing in a chaotic manner, without any connection between them.
The Parthian army's formation was clearly the most primitive and backward type. The two opposing sides were simply competing in terms of the physical fitness and numbers of their soldiers.
If even one point in this formation becomes chaotic, it will be a disaster. At that point, forget about coordinating to kill the enemy; you'd be lucky to even survive being killed by your own people.
On the other hand, the Han army had two thousand crossbowmen lined up in front, followed by four thousand shield soldiers, and the last two rows of four thousand spearmen. A passage was also left in the middle for the crossbowmen to retreat.
The entire formation is tightly coordinated and seamless, truly achieving the ability to both attack and defend.
It must be said that in terms of cunning and strategy, as well as troop deployment, the Han Dynasty was far ahead of the others, including Rome, Parthia, and Kushan, which were also three of the four great empires. They were simply far inferior.
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