Chapter 2585
Local Advantage
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Regardless of whether it was providing timely assistance or rewarding the other party, Vologases V understood that his actions would also induce other great nobles to side with him.
With such implicit welfare and indulgence, these great nobles should also understand what is moderate and in moderation.
There were also conflicts among the nobles. Although they did not want to see Vologases V become completely powerful, they also did not want to see other great nobles become powerful.
Otherwise, how can they maintain their political status and special rights?
As for the Roman nobles and common people who sacrificed in this process, they were not even considered by Vologases V.
The hundreds of years of hatred between the two countries and the hatred that spread between them have not only spread to the upper class, but also penetrated into the lower class people.
What's more, the Parthian Empire still had some nomadic habits, which had not been completely eliminated after hundreds of years and were retained.
For nomadic people, robbery and plundering, using force to ensure the continuation and survival of the tribe, has never been a problem.
If even your own tribe can't survive, why should you take care of other tribes?
Therefore, Vologases V did not impose any restrictions on Kirkuk's departure. Even though the other party withdrew nearly an entire legion of troops, he acquiesced and agreed to it.
The city of Antioch had high and thick walls, and there were quite a few soldiers stationed there. Even though their combat effectiveness was relatively low, with sufficient food reserves and the support of the people inside the city, the advantages of local warfare were fully reflected and demonstrated.
When defending a city, the defensive strength can reach an extremely outrageous level, that is, the number of garrison personnel can reach an astonishing 1:1.
That is to say, there are 100,000 people in the city, and the number of people who can participate in the battle and cooperate in the battle can reach as many as 50,000.
In addition to the auxiliary troops drawn from various places and the regular army with strong combat effectiveness, together with the elite Fourteen Eagle Flags and Fifteen Eagle Flags, the number of troops was not inferior to the Parthian Empire army at that time.
Of course, this kind of army can guard the city with the help of various props and city defense equipment, so it is not a big problem to defend the city.
But if they leave the blessing and protection of the city, the combat effectiveness that many people can exert will definitely not be much stronger than that of miscellaneous soldiers.
So this is also one of the troubles of attacking a city. When the enemy has no shortage of food, and there are a large number of people in the city who support the defenders, the defense force is ridiculously high.
"How are we supposed to take down such a strong city?" Vologases V looked at the city for a long time but still couldn't find any flaws. His tone became heavy and serious.
Only by taking Antioch, the capital of Syria in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, could the eastern provinces be completely taken over, and one's power be projected into the heartland of the Roman Empire, making the other side feel what one had experienced.
The conflict between the two empires became completely different from the moment their respective identities were established.
Vologases V had an idea about the Roman Empire's reinforcements. He knew that the Roman Empire would never abandon its eastern provinces and would certainly send a large and elite army to rescue.
However, it would take time and process for these troops to come to the rescue. In other words, as long as Antioch could be captured before the enemy reinforcements arrived, the Roman Empire would completely lose its eastern barrier, not only opening up the entire eastern part and other connecting parts, but also exposing its weak points.
This means handing over the Mediterranean ports to others, giving them the ability to threaten the entire Mediterranean coast.
After all, the Mediterranean Sea is so calm that you can throw a bathtub in and slide around with peace of mind.
"A simple fierce attack is not advisable. Although our army has a large number of troops, there are also many new recruits. If we use this as a basis for a forced siege, it is likely to backfire..." Fars Sassan was indeed mature and steady in this regard. He slowly explained to others the reasons for not doing so, trying to make everyone understand.
Of course, what Fars Sassan hoped most was that his monarch could understand all of this and take a relatively safe route, rather than gathering these strange things together and studying things that no one knew what they were.
"That's true. It is indeed stressful for new recruits to participate in siege warfare. But if veterans are sent, the enemy will certainly intercept them in advance. So, Commander Fars Sassanid, what do you think?" Vologases V nodded, acknowledging the probability of this situation occurring, which was probably even very high.
"Break out of the current war plan and choose a more reliable plan to ensure that we have enough time to defeat the enemy. It would be best to rush to the port quickly and force the enemy to change its line of business, or launch a sneak attack. Then, take advantage of this opportunity to completely defeat the enemy. As long as we get rid of the enemy's reinforcements first, the enemy will naturally have no reinforcements..." Fars Sassan directly proposed another solution.
Instead of relying on traditional siege methods, they used the last city in the eastern provinces of Rome to attack any Roman troops coming to support the eastern provinces.
As long as they hold out for a while, the city of Antioch, realizing that the situation is hopeless, will naturally give up.
However, the hidden danger of doing so is that there is no accurate estimate and understanding of the possible reinforcements from the Roman Empire.
If the number of opponents coming is small enough, then there is nothing wrong with doing this, but if the number of opponents coming is large enough, they are likely to be swallowed up.
After all, this is the land of the Roman Empire belonging to the Romans. On this land, the Romans have a deep popular support and foundation, and possess real local combat advantages.
It can be said that simply killing the living force can only delay the time for others to support the city of Antioch, and cannot fundamentally solve the problem.
However, Vologases V was already very satisfied with this. As for whether he could completely take over the eastern provinces of Rome, it was actually no longer important.
As long as he can prove that he is qualified and capable of taking over these areas, the people of the Roman Empire will inevitably pay a higher price before they can come to him.
Faced with more and more plans, and scanning the feasibility of many of them, Vologases V couldn't help but shook his head.
There are indeed many plans that look good, but there are not many plans that are truly feasible and have practical requirements.
"In that case, let's execute it according to this policy!" Turning his head to look behind him, Vologases V nodded with satisfaction at the proposal submitted above...
(End of this chapter)