The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 706 Ma Chao: Mine, mine, all mine!

Ma Chao's eyes lit up. He had no concept of the Parthian affairs like the Tambéri and Sassanids, but he had an extraordinary obsession with the words "food and supplies."

Ma Chao continued Pan Jun's topic, saying, "By seizing this batch of supplies, we can quickly strengthen our forces while weakening the Sassanid family. In addition, the supplies in Tambe City were prepared by the Sassanid family for attacking Ctesiphon, the capital of Parthia, and must have been prepared for a long time, perhaps even accumulated over several years. If we lose them, the Sassanid family will not have the strength to attack in the short term."

Pan Jun nodded and said, "That's right. The Parthian Empire has been beaten so badly by the Sassanid family that it's on the verge of collapse. If the Parthian Empire is truly destroyed by the Sassanid family, then the Sassanid family will become the unified Sassanid Dynasty. At that time, if the Sassanid family uses the strength of the entire Parthian Empire to deal with you, General, even if you are a great fighter, you probably won't be able to withstand it. After all, they are the local power, and you are just a snake crossing the river."

Ma Chao nodded and said, "You're right. So the Parthian Empire cannot be destroyed yet. We must find a way to preserve it so that we can form a three-way balance of power with the Parthian Empire and the Sassanid family, and gain enough breathing room to develop."

Ma Chao, after all, had served as a feudal lord, so he possessed basic strategic vision.

Seeing Pan Jun nod in agreement, Ma Chao said, "Then let's do him a job?"

Pan Jun echoed, "We must do it, and the chances of success are very high now. First, we haven't attracted the attention of the Parthian Empire and the Sassanid family yet. We are in the dark while the enemy is in the open, which is perfect for action. Second, Mulu City is a thousand miles away from Tanbei City. The Sassanid family would never dream that the general would attack there. If the general leads light cavalry to suddenly attack Tanbei City, he can definitely catch the Sassanid family off guard."

"However, carrying provisions is a big problem for light cavalry. If we capture Tambe and successfully seize the city's supplies, transporting them will be a huge undertaking."

Ma Chao shook his head and said, "There's no need to worry about supplies for the expedition. There are definitely many small towns and villages between Mulu and Tanbei. We can sustain ourselves through war and eat wherever we go. As for transporting supplies from the city, we don't necessarily have to carry them back to Mulu, do we?"

"Men, search this castle thoroughly. Find everything with writing on it, and see if there's a map or anything like that."

Upon receiving Ma Chao's order, the soldiers began ransacking the castle, digging deep into the ground to find many secret rooms. From these rooms, they discovered a great deal of gold and silver jewelry, books written in various languages, and even a map of the entire Parthian Empire.

The owners of this castle, the Marciana family, are the most powerful noble family in the entire province, and the patriarch is also the governor of the province. How could they not have a map in their home?

The map was written in Parthian script, which no one present could understand, but the roads and cities were still legible.

Ma Chao, Pan Jun, and Tu Lin stared at the map for a long time before finally pointing to a spot they were unsure of and saying, "Pan Zhizhong, if what you say is true, this should be the so-called city of Tambe. To the west of Tambe is Ctesiphon, the capital of Parthia, and this large lake to the northwest should be that sea, what was it again?"

Tulin replied, “The Kaspi Sea, which the locals also call the Caspian Sea.”

Tu Lin had lived here for decades, and although he didn't recognize Parthian script, he knew some basic place names.

Ma Chao pointed at the map and said, "Then let's rob Tanbe and head north to this place. What the hell is written here? It's so troublesome that people can't read. Tu Lin Chanyu, don't you have anyone in your tribe who can read the Parthian script?"

Tu Lin slapped his forehead and said, "How could I forget about this? My sister, who is also your wife, knows her. She likes to tinker with these things when she has nothing to do."

As a princess of the Northern Xiongnu, Tu Lin's younger sister, Ya Lun, did not need to herd livestock, and there were few entertainment activities on the grasslands, so reading became her only hobby.

Ma Chao said speechlessly, "Why didn't you say so earlier? Quickly invite the lady here."

The Xiongnu were a nation of soldiers, and even women could ride horses and draw bows to go to the battlefield. Ma Chao and Ya Lun were newly married, so he naturally brought her along.

Yaren quickly arrived at the hall, and after inquiring about the situation, he looked at the map and stared at the location Ma Chao pointed to, saying, "This is Leg City, backed by the Kaspi Sea, about eight hundred li away from Tambe City."

"Northwest of Legg lies the Armenian province of the Roman Empire, which is also the border between Parthia and the Roman Empire. Further west in Armenia is a large lake, which the locals call the Black Sea. This Armenia is located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea."

Pan Jun stared at the map for a moment and then slapped his thigh, saying, "What a great place! First of all, this place is sandwiched between two large lakes, which means it has abundant water resources and is suitable for farming or grazing. Secondly, the two large lakes are natural boundaries, making it easy to defend once occupied."

"General, look, this place is separated by two large lakes on the east and west sides, so we don't have to worry about enemy attacks. As long as we hold the north and south sides, we can avoid the risk of becoming a battleground. It's practically a natural defensive fortress."

"More importantly, this place is far enough away from the Sassanid family. If the Sassanid family were to attack here to retaliate against the general, they would have to stretch a battle line of thousands of miles. Not to mention whether the Sassanid family could afford to supply such a long supply line, even if they could, they might not dare to act rashly. Don't forget that the Parthian Empire is not yet dead. If the Sassanid family dares to go north to attack us, the Parthian Empire will dare to cut off their supply line."

"In view of this, I think we should take action. The supplies in Tambe City are too tempting. It would be a disservice to ourselves not to take them back. It would be a sin not to seize such a gift from heaven."

Ma Chao nodded in agreement, his right hand instinctively stroking his beard as he began to consider the battle plan for the surprise attack on Tanbei City.

Tu Lin hesitated and said, "It's good, but the distance is too far. From Mulu City to Tanbe City, and then from Tanbe City to Leg City, the distance is more than two thousand miles. If it were just cavalry, it would be fine, but don't forget that there are old, weak, women and children in my tribe. More importantly, the mountains are blocked by heavy snow in winter, which is not suitable for migration."

The Xiongnu were a nomadic people who could pack their bags and leave at will. They wouldn't normally care about such a short distance, but it became a bit difficult in winter.

Pan Jun said, "What Tulin Chanyu said makes sense. Winter is indeed more difficult. It would be more appropriate to take action in the spring. The problem is that time waits for no one. I estimate that the Sassanid family will start a war with the Parthian Empire in the spring."

"Besides, it's only the winter month now, and there are still at least three or four months before the spring snow melts. Tambe City has plenty of supplies, but it also has a large garrison. How much food will they consume in three or four months?"

"So we must act now, otherwise if we go too late, the food in Tambe will be eaten up by the Sassanid army, and we won't be able to go."

The Sassanid army in Tambe also needs food. Today, the city has a million bushels of grain stored up, but tomorrow there might only be 950,000 bushels left, and the day after that...

If they wait until they are fully prepared before attacking, the city's food supply will be exhausted by the garrison. What would be the point of them going there then? For sightseeing?

Upon hearing this, Ma Chao immediately became anxious and said through gritted teeth, "Why should the Sassanid garrison in Tambey eat my grain? That's my grain! No way, I must get my grain back as soon as possible!"

Tu Lin: "..."

When did it become your grain? Are all Han generals this shameless?

Pan Jun, however, was excited and agreed, "Then let's make a plan!"