After years of exploitation by the Parthian nobles and continuous wars, Parthia is now practically deserted.
The Parthians, who originally constituted the majority of Parthia, now number only a few million, most of whom are the elderly, women, and children.
Therefore, large tracts of land within Parthia became ownerless. Thirty percent of it was used to reward the soldiers, while the remainder was nationalized, either rented to farmers or left for immigrants to develop.
Meanwhile, officials, students, farmers, businessmen, and immigrants who had been staying in Illinois also flocked to the land of rest.
As for the territory of Parthia, the elderly, women and children who remained were gathered together to help the Han soldiers demarcate land, while the younger ones were assigned to workshops. The remaining women were assigned to soldiers in the army and to bachelors who had immigrated there.
Fortunately, Liu Cheng and his group had stored up enough food and supplies in Yizhou over the years and recruited a large number of immigrants.
Although Parthia is now in ruins, it is enough to achieve basic self-sufficiency within ten years, and the Han Chinese immigrants will become the main ethnic group in this land.
In early December, while Liu Cheng and others were busy with the reconstruction after the Parthian War, Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, Xi Zhicai and others led their infantry to Parthia.
After joining forces with Lü Bu, the expeditionary army once again embarked on its journey, heading towards Rome.
Meanwhile, Yuan Shu, who was in charge of the navy, also led 200,000 troops out of the port in southern India and began sailing towards the Mediterranean.
Behind the naval fleet lay the Indian subcontinent, riddled with holes from battle.
Let's rewind to three months ago...
In mid-August, Yuan Shu led a navy of 200,000 men, passing through seaports such as Rinan and Bangkok, and arrived at the port on the southern coast of Mobi Kingdom.
At this time, the kingdoms of Mapi and Canaan were still at war.
These two countries are among the largest in India, both in terms of military strength and land area.
In addition, countries like Maha are located in the south, and their people are mostly Brahmanical, while countries like Canaan are located in the north, and their people are mostly Buddhist.
Therefore, the war between the two sides has evolved from an initial conflict over interests between the North and the South to a conflict over faith between the North and the South, and hundreds of small countries across the Indian subcontinent have inevitably become involved.
In conclusion, this North-South conflict on the Indian subcontinent is absolutely unlikely to end until one side is completely eliminated.
The war between the two sides also allowed Ling Cao, Zhang Liang, and others in the central region to make a fortune from the war.
A set of outdated equipment worth no more than ten gold coins can be resold for two hundred or even five hundred.
Therefore, in order to ensure their continued profits, Ling Cao and Zhang Liang often intervened secretly, influencing the course of the war.
During the war, whenever either side showed signs of weakness, Ling Cao and Zhang Liang would seize the opportunity to secretly provide large quantities of military equipment and provisions, allowing the weaker side to continue resisting while simultaneously escalating the wear and tear on both sides.
Ling Cao and Zhang Liang used the money they obtained from purchasing equipment to build large-scale farms, workshops, and various infrastructure facilities to recruit refugees affected by the war.
Over the course of five years, Hannan City, located in the mid-western part of the Indian subcontinent, was transformed into a large city with a population of one million. The land within hundreds of kilometers of Hannan City became the concession of the Han Dynasty.
The concession was home to more than four million people, all of whom were baptized and had joined the Taiping Church as devout believers.
Years of war, and the constant exploitation by figures like Ling Cao, have left many countries on the Indian subcontinent not only weaker than before, but also with a sharp decline in population. The people are filled with resentment, and various uprisings break out from time to time.
Most of these uprisings were led by missionaries sent out by Zhang Liang.
Although most of these uprisings failed, they gradually awakened the rebellious spirit among the lower classes.
Therefore, both the southern kingdoms, led by the Kingdom of Mabi, and the northern kingdoms, led by the Kingdom of Canaan, were eager to end the war as soon as possible.
Therefore, during the period when the Han navy was stationed, the King of Mopi also sent a special envoy to invite Yuan Shu to send troops, offering the entire output of the northern lands and a hundred-year lease as conditions. He hoped that Yuan Shu could lead the Han navy to assist the Kingdom of Mopi in eliminating the northern kingdoms and ending this endless war.
After all, if the fighting continues, not only will the northern lands be lost, but their own country might also be overthrown at any time.
They simply couldn't hold out any longer...
Upon receiving the invitation from the King of Maha, Yuan Shu readily accepted and immediately led 200,000 naval soldiers to the Indian subcontinent.
In early September, Yuan Shu led a navy of 200,000 men to the front lines of the battle between the northern and southern kingdoms.
The Han Navy has always been regarded by Liu Hong as the most important force for realizing the Han Dynasty's hegemony. The financial resources invested in it are no less than those of the elite cavalry, and its equipment is comparable to that of the Imperial Guard.
Such a well-equipped and powerful force would be a devastating blow to the Indian subcontinent.
In just one battle, Yuan Shu's 200,000 naval soldiers completely defeated the 150,000-strong North Indian coalition led by Canaan, achieving a record of 30,000 beheaded and 100,000 captured.
After burying alive 100,000 prisoners, Yuan Shu then divided his 200,000-strong army into ten legions. While pursuing and annihilating the remaining troops in North India, he also launched an attack on the various kingdoms of North India.
For Yuan Shu, the leader of the adventurers, the first thing to do in order to completely occupy a piece of land was to kill everyone on that land.
Only by killing everyone can this land become ownerless and be completely taken over.
This is the policy that those adventurers all insisted on: leaving the land but not the people.
Therefore, at the beginning of the campaign against the northern Indian states, Yuan Shu also conveyed this idea to every soldier.
Of course, Yuan Shu's so-called "killing all" only meant killing all the men. As for the women, they were naturally to be left behind to have children and continue the lineage for the immigrants who came later.
At this time, due to years of war and countless people fleeing, the number of men remaining in the northern Indian kingdoms was less than 20% of what it used to be.
In addition, most of those who insisted on staying were staunch religious believers.
The naval soldiers fought without any psychological burden.
Two hundred thousand naval soldiers, divided into ten routes, swept through the entire country of North India in less than a month, like a giant plow.
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