Chapter 1152: Taking the Blame for the Empire

“Zhiran, you even brought that thing with you?” Guo Si gave Li Jue a thumbs up in secret. There was nothing more impressive than this.

“Always be prepared. Always be prepared. Didn’t the strategist tell us to bring everything?” Li Jue said proudly.

“This is the imperial scepter, a reward from our empire for generals with great military merit. It grants authority in the field during wartime,” Li Jue explained as he held the three purple seals in his right hand and respectfully presented the scepter. Given the respect the other side was showing, even if they were just putting on an act, he had to keep up appearances.

“Your Majesty, the general says this is a reward from the Han Empire’s emperor, given to generals who achieve great victories.” The translator, unable to comprehend the latter part of the sentence, translated what he could with a resigned attitude, thinking, I'm already done for anyway.

Vologases V furrowed his brows. He caught a hint of something different in the translation, and as a young and ambitious king of Parthia, he detected a deeper implication from the translator’s words.

“Is this a reward given to any general with great merit, regardless of their background?” Vologases V asked.

“General, His Majesty is asking if this reward can be casually given to others,” the translator, now fearless, relayed the question.

“There has to be significant merit!” Li Jue awkwardly responded, but he explained nonetheless.

“The general says it’s for those who can really fight,” the translator conveyed indifferently.

Vologases V suddenly had a flash of insight. A reward for great merit? This could be a way to bypass the troublesome seven noble families! And if those nobles were capable enough to earn this reward, why not give it to them?

“Hahaha! The Han Empire truly is a civilized nation!” Vologases V laughed, already considering how he could implement this system in his own kingdom.

“His Majesty is praising you,” the translator informed Li Jue.

“Let’s go to the royal capital to sign the alliance,” Vologases V said, looking at Li Jue and his companions with great admiration. These were people who had earned the recognition of the Han emperor himself. When would he have such figures of his own?

Li Jue had no idea what Vologases V was thinking. If he did, he would have likely laughed. After all, these three men had once held Emperor Xian of Han captive in their own stronghold.

Once inside the city, Vologases V ordered his men to reinforce the defenses. Although he knew that the Roman army’s supply lines were stretched thin and that one major defeat would likely force them to retreat, he remained cautious and prepared accordingly. This earned a nod of approval from Li Jue, who thought, This emperor is far more competent than Liu Xie.

Li Jue and his companions were treated with the highest honors in Ctesiphon and ended up creating the first-ever alliance between individuals and an empire.

As for how such an event came about, the incompetent translator could only feel despair. He, a Wusun man, understood neither Parthian script nor Han script. Neither Vologases V nor Li Jue had any intention of deceiving each other in the documents.

So, in a drunken haze, Parthia and Li Jue signed the alliance agreement. Vologases V didn’t see any reason for deception, as it was merely a non-aggression pact—an agreement that Parthia would pay for assistance, and the Han would help if they were willing.

After the signing, Li Jue didn’t bother asking the translator for an explanation. In his view, this kind of document signed between three individuals and a foreign empire had no binding force. If they ever needed to tear it up, they could just do so. For now, it served as a perfect tool for posturing—an individual-to-empire treaty.

Meanwhile, Parthia found an excellent noble to translate the document. However, no matter how skilled the Parthian translator was, they couldn’t possibly know how Han Empire treaties were structured.

Seeing the seals of three marquises, along with their signatures and the imperial scepter representing the Han Emperor, the translator found nothing wrong with the document.

Thus, one of history’s most absurd alliances was created. When it eventually came time to tear up the treaty, both sides would realize that the Han Empire had never officially signed an alliance with Parthia. Li Jue, prompted by Li You, would claim that he had been acting in the best interests of the empire at the time.

Yes, that’s how it was. Li Jue, Guo Si, and Fan Chou had acted in the interests of the Han Empire and the nation. At a critical juncture in history, they had decisively pushed Parthia into the abyss of history.

As for whether Li Jue felt any pressure for doing this, he would have said there was none at all. Personal agreements with an empire are meant to be torn up anyway.

Besides, did they not realize how much prestige this treaty brought back? How many lives it saved? When the Han Empire eventually entered Parthia, the latter didn’t even react much…

Of course, at this moment, Li Jue had no idea that his future actions would be so grandiose. Right now, his attention was entirely focused on the piles of gold coins, the five thousand suits of armor, five thousand composite bows, a hundred fine horses, heaps of jewels, and a dozen pale-skinned beauties before him.

Li Jue, Guo Si, and Fan Chou couldn’t help but feel that the Parthian king was an absolute tycoon. He wasn’t stingy in the slightest. They had barely signed the alliance and already received so much wealth, including thirty thousand gold coins—what a fortune!

In reality, Vologases V had only added an extra twenty thousand gold coins to what Fronto had promised during negotiations. But the two-bit translator couldn’t convey that properly, leading Li Jue to think that Vologases V was an exceptionally generous emperor.

Having received such riches, Li Jue and his men felt obligated. They equipped their soldiers with new armor, distributed twenty gold coins to each man, and after a few days of revelry in Ctesiphon, Li Jue went to express his gratitude to Vologases, promising that as allies, they would come to Parthia’s aid if needed!

After all, Vologases had given them so much money, armor, and weapons. Later, Li Jue would discover that Vologases had even gifted them ten thousand warhorses. The emperor was so generous that Li Jue felt it would be a disgrace not to drive the Romans out of the Tigris and Euphrates regions.

Li Jue also realized that the Romans had made some tactical missteps. Roman infantry was formidable, their archers were deadly against light cavalry, and their catapults were powerful. However, since they were attacking a city, the Roman cavalry was limited, and archers and infantry made up the bulk of their forces.

But archers posed no threat to Li Jue. He figured the Romans, having suffered one defeat, would likely place archers behind infantry phalanxes next time, with their rear guarded by a wagon fort. It would be a tough nut to crack.

Yet no matter how difficult, it was still possible to break through. The Xiliang cavalry, armed with strong crossbows, could force openings. Given the amount of money the Parthian emperor had spent, Li Jue’s imagination ran wild. Taking payment means resolving the payer’s problems—this was honor!

With this mindset, Parthia’s counterattack against Rome began. The current ruler of the Mediterranean, Rome, had finally encountered a force it couldn't easily dismiss.

However, Li Jue’s imagined scenarios didn’t materialize. Just as Vologases had predicted, after realizing they couldn’t quickly subdue Parthia, the Romans began to consider retreat. The supply lines were simply too long, and the logistics pressure was immense.

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