Mythical Three Kingdoms-Chapter 1725 - 1636: Beneath Despicability, the Thirst for Victory_2
Therefore, speaking generally, for one great empire to destroy another, it often requires the effort of several generations. However, with the emperor system, a system full of both pitfalls and extraordinary feats, predicting what will happen over several generations is really unreliable.
After all, you can’t ensure that your empire will have wise rulers every generation, nor can you guarantee that the other empire will have foolish rulers every generation. Honestly, imagining that one generation could cripple another empire is largely fantasy.
In truth, Emperor Wu of Han severely weakened the Huns, allowing Emperor Zhao to focus on internal developments and continue to divide and conquer the Huns primarily because Emperor Wu lived for a long time. Fifty-five years on the throne, in ancient times, is equivalent to three generations.
Even so, with Emperor Wu’s iron-fisted approach, it can’t be said that he destroyed the Hun Empire; rather, he severely damaged it. If it weren’t for the highly capable Emperor Zhao and Emperor Xuan who followed, and the subsequent mad decisions made by the Huns, eradicating them wouldn’t have been so easy.
The same principle applies when you look at Rome and Parthia. Parthia wasn’t as strong as the Huns, but Rome could definitely compete with the Great Han Dynasty. Yet, Rome and Parthia were at war for, at the very least, two hundred years. If you include the rise of the Sasanian Persian Empire replacing Parthia to continue fighting Rome, the war between the two empires lasted six hundred years...
The reason why these two great empires ended up in this state is entirely because neither empire’s emperors had long reigns. Roman emperors emerging from the Republic were both strong and weak, and Parthian and subsequent Sasanian emperors were likewise sometimes strong and sometimes weak.
Just look at the Kushan Empire; it had a similar base, but under the rule of Vasu Deva I, it seemed like it was on the verge of decline. Yet, after going through chaos, the entire empire was reborn from fire, even the Essence, Qi, and Spirit were different.
This is precisely the biggest problem with the emperor system. If the emperor is truly powerful, then the country’s explosive power will be terrifying. But if the emperor is too weak, the entire nation will be hopelessly weak. Essentially, rulers who lose their countries are generally due to inadequate abilities.
So, when two vast empires with large populations go to war, generally speaking, unless one of them is incredibly unlucky, consecutively producing several incompetent rulers, it’s usually impossible to declare one the absolute victor. It’s more of a draw.
Just like present-day Parthia—honestly, if the opponent of Vologases V were still the Five Wise Emperors, the war would still continue for a few more centuries.
It can be said that in imperial wars, unless some powerful emperors continuously outlive three or more generations of opponents, or one country consistently produces several wise rulers—such rare events—determining an outright winner is difficult.
The foundation of the Hun Empire’s strength lies in three generations of Chanyu: Modu, Lao Shang, and Junchen were all deserving of being called wise rulers. Including the earlier Touman, it laid the foundation for an empire across three consecutive generations of wise rulers.
However, the opponents of the Hun Empire, the Han Empire, produced seven consecutive above-average monarchs, meeting a powerful Emperor Wu during the early years of Yizhixie’s era. Emperor Wu directly outlived five or was it six generations of Chanyu.
Given that Emperor Wu outlived five or six generations of Chanyu, and with the Han Dynasty subsequently producing extraordinarily high-standard emperors like Emperor Zhao and Emperor Xuan, while the Hun Empire turned out four generations of incompetents—if it still hadn’t died out, how thick would its foundation have had to be?
In conclusion, if you’re looking for why an empire falls, the reasons often lie more in internal issues than in enemy conquest. However, for the historians compiling the chronicles of the Kushan and Han Dynasties, perhaps documenting reasons for war might be more frequent—though honestly, the likelihood of falling due to war is really quite small.
"Alright, as long as everyone is aware, there’s no need to feel too psychologically burdened when confronting the Han Empire. After all, we are not the same as we were a hundred years ago. Engaging in battle allows us to understand ourselves better," Brack reassured everyone, indeed, conquering an empire is such an achievement...
"However, I still don’t recommend playing tricks with time and place," Sulapri hesitated to say, knowing well the might of the Han Empire. "From my perspective, a prosperous empire should at least have some confidence. We have it when facing other nations, but against the Han Empire, our mindset presents an obvious issue."
"There’s indeed an issue, but I think the general’s suggestion is good. We should have confidence, though knowing victory will not come easily, we still maintain that confidence, rather than caution—that might not be good," Leiblalei explained.
"But with such methods, even if we win, what would it bring?" Sulapri was still somewhat reluctant to let go.
"Gain confidence," Brack said after a moment of silence.
"How could that possibly instill confidence? It would only make the soldiers feel humiliation!" Sulapri complained.
"What do they understand?" Hirilah mocked. "Soldiers need victory, and we need confidence. Even if it’s through such means, should we defeat the Han Empire, don’t you think there would be a shift in mindset for people like us?"
"I reserve my opinion." Sulapri nodded after a moment of silence, seemingly acknowledging Hirilah’s response but stubbornly holding his opinion.
"Any other thoughts? Let me know, so I can understand your mindset." Brack, seeing Hirilah persuaded Sulapri, turned and asked the other civil officials and military generals.
"Nothing else," Yano Lipu shook his head, and the other generals followed suit. Compared to the civil officials, these generals generally weren’t as detailed in thought, especially after hearing about the Han Empire’s military achievements. As those charging into battle, they remained even more clear-headed.
After all, not only do the soldiers need victory, but the generals also need victory, and failure be damned. When it comes to playing tricks with time and place, generals don’t care; winning is all that matters, and everything else is secondary.
"Since that’s the case, go select soldiers and prepare for battle. We’re not going to wage a large-scale war with the Han Dynasty; it’s utterly unnecessary. However, having too few forces won’t do either. Each of you prepares a unit," Brack contemplated for a moment before speaking.
Brack indeed didn’t want to deplete too much manpower, yet he wanted to gauge the current military strength of the Han Empire. Therefore, after thinking it over, he decided to make this battle a microcosm of a larger war, controlling the scale but ensuring all troops were elite.
"Hirilah, Sulapri, Leiblalei, you three stay behind. Let’s discuss the time and place and how to conduct this battle. Although we’re prepared for defeat, should we win, we also need a plan," Brack said to the three civil officials after getting rid of the generals.
They compared maps, calculating the marching speed of Han troops, ultimately selecting a location highly disadvantageous to the Han. As for the time agreed upon in the war declaration, it was set for a month later, but after sending it, there were only twenty-some days left. At troop marching speed, traversing that distance in those few days would be impossible without one or two forced marches.
Though only one or two forced marches in twenty days might seem insignificant, when it reaches that point, even the smallest gap might tilt the scales.
"I can’t shake the feeling that if we lose after all this, it’ll be truly humiliating," Sulapri sighed.
"So, we must win. Opting for deceitful tactics signifies that, from the start, we aim for victory, not to lose honorably to others," Hirilah shrugged. "We have no retreat, nor do our generals."
"Even if the opponent is the Han Empire, we must win. If we were to lose under such shameful conditions, even the generals would feel indignant. Therefore, they will do everything possible to achieve victory, and we need this will to win," Leiblalei said with a smile.
