Early November.
Li Boming and his party finally returned to the Roman camp with the agreement and fifty crossbows.
Marcus Aurelius did not show much joy when he saw the arms purchase agreement brought back by Li Boming.
At this time, nearly a month had passed since Rome besieged Parthia, and supplies from the rear were becoming increasingly difficult.
Although the Romans had looted all the villages and towns within a radius of more than two hundred miles from the Parthian capital, the former Parthian king and his ministers had indeed been excessively greedy, and many Parthian people were barely surviving. As a result, the Roman army did not collect much food.
If this continues, the Roman army will soon run out of food and will not be able to wait for the Han army to send weapons.
"Your Majesty, at this point, we can only use the Han army's crossbows to launch a few more attacks. It would be best if we could break through the city, but if we cannot, we must force Parthia to sign a few agreements that are favorable to Rome before we retreat!"
"Sigh... that's all we can do!"
Upon hearing Li Boming's suggestion, Marcus Aurelius sighed helplessly and nodded in agreement.
After two days of preparation, the Roman army once again besieged the Parthian capital.
The fifty crossbows that Li Boming brought back were all pushed outside the east gate.
"emission!!"
As the testing was completed, fifty stone projectiles roared away from the city wall.
Boom boom boom!
More than forty stones landed accurately on the city wall, making a series of booming sounds. Some unlucky Parthian soldiers were smashed into mincemeat.
The remaining Parthian defenders who escaped the attack also fled in panic to the side.
"How did the Han army manage to do that? Not only are their weapons and equipment so superior, but even their crossbows are so much more powerful than ours!"
Looking at the chaotic city walls, Marcus Aurelius was filled with mixed emotions.
Previously, the Roman army had failed to capture the city because their ballistae were not powerful enough to hit the city walls.
Now, seeing how easily the Han army's crossbows threatened the Parthian garrison, Marcus Aurelius couldn't help but feel a strange sense of sorrow.
It was only then that he realized the enormous gap between Rome and the Han Dynasty.
Fortunately, the two countries are far apart, so there is little chance of conflict of interest. Otherwise, having such a formidable enemy would truly make people uneasy.
"Continue firing!!"
Just as Marcus Aurelius was lost in thought, fifty ballistae fired again.
This attack was more precise and caused greater damage than the last one.
After two rounds of volleys, there were no more Parthian defenders left on the city walls within the range of the ballistae.
"Charge!"
The attacking soldiers, who had been waiting for a long time, also ran quickly down to the city walls.
Soon, long ladders were placed against the city wall, and Roman soldiers scrambled to climb them.
The Parthian garrison, which was hiding elsewhere, also rushed forward to prevent the enemy from scaling the city walls.
"emission!!"
At the same time, the officer in charge of the ballistae issued the order to fire again.
The defenders, who had just picked up their bows and arrows and raised their stones, were smashed to pieces by the falling stones before they could even make a move.
Although one or two stones missed their mark and killed some Roman soldiers, no one cared.
If they hadn't fired, even more Roman soldiers would have died.
"Are these Romans crazy? Aren't they afraid of hitting their own people?"
Upon seeing the Roman army's attack, even Saccoci, who was hiding in the distance, couldn't help but change his expression.
Unfortunately, no one had time to answer him. Under the threat of the stones, the Parthian garrison once again hurriedly hid to the side.
The Han army's weaponry allowed them to fight fearlessly, but it couldn't stop these massive stone projectiles.
If you don't dodge, you're dead; if you dodge, you can survive and have a chance to drive the enemy back.
Anyone who isn't mentally impaired knows what to do.
Soon, under the cover of ballistae, Roman soldiers finally scaled the city walls and engaged in fierce close combat with the Parthian defenders.
Although these Parthian defenders were equipped with Han army gear, they were still a new army with no combat experience.
Therefore, under the fierce charge of the Roman soldiers, Parthian soldiers kept falling to the ground and unable to get up.
After an hour of fighting, and having lost more than 5,000 men, the Roman army finally withdrew.
On the Parthian side, at least two thousand men were lost.
Subsequently, Marcus Aurelius launched two more attacks, each more ferocious than the last, resulting in greater losses for the Parthian army with each successive attack.
By dusk, the Parthian garrison had lost nearly eight thousand men.
Most importantly, nearly half of the weapons and equipment used by those soldiers were completely destroyed and could no longer be used.
This terrified Sacchio; if the Roman army attacked a few more times like this, the new army would be completely wiped out.
Immediately, Sakkim rushed to the palace and informed the Parthian king of the situation on the city wall.
"What? So, the capital city won't last more than a few days?"
Upon hearing Sakqi's report, the Parthian king turned pale with fright.
The original 400,000 border troops were gone; the prosperous southern region was gone; the west was also devastated by the Romans; now the capital was besieged, and the newly built army, which had been emptied of resources, was about to be completely wiped out.
Parthia is about to perish!
Thinking of all this, King Parthia felt his body go limp and collapsed to the ground.
All I did was send a few small ships to annoy the Han and Rome, how did that lead to the danger of national subjugation?
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