readytorunbook Chapter 712 The Decisive Battle Between Ma Chao and the Sassanid Family
Chapter 712 The Decisive Battle Between Ma Chao and the Sassanid Family
Many inventions actually exist in nature and therefore are not considered inventions but rather discoveries.
Pan Jun's accidental discovery of petroleum coke was like discovering a new continent. He quickly recruited people to refine the petroleum coke and then used it to smelt steel and forge weapons.
During the production process, as workers become more proficient in the production procedures, they gradually change the production techniques. The flow of technology is a slow, incremental process, like a snail crawling along.
With the help of petroleum coke, Penjun's steelmaking speed increased rapidly. He finished remelting the weapons captured from the Tambe garrison in just one and a half months, and then had to stop production due to a lack of raw materials.
Although he learned the location of the iron ore from Hostu, mining was impossible in the frozen ground during winter, and mining could only begin after spring, so work had to be suspended for the time being.
After the work was stopped, Pan Jun immediately sent someone to inform Ma Chao that there was no need to waste time with Ardashir and that he should come back.
Half a month later, Ma Chao returned and met up with Pan Jun. He was then taken to the armory where weapons were stored. Looking at the brand-new weapons, he couldn't help but drool.
He then took a ring-pommel sword and chopped it down on the wall, leaving a half-centimeter-deep crack in the earthen wall, but the blade did not deform at all.
Ma Chao then ordered Tu Lin to bring out the swords he had captured from the Sassanid army and have them clash. After the two swords collided and sparks flew, they were examined closely. The ring-pommel sword was unharmed, but Tu Lin's Sassanid sword had many spiderweb-like cracks, as if it could shatter into pieces at any moment.
Ma Chao and Tu Lin exchanged a glance, and in perfect unison, they gripped their swords and slashed at each other again. The moment their swords clashed, the Sassanid sword shattered into several pieces, one of which flew towards Tu Lin, startling him so much that he quickly turned his head to dodge.
Ma Chao stroked the blade excitedly and said, "It only took two strikes to cut through the Sassanid army's swords. This thing is just too useful! With this in hand, I wouldn't be afraid of three million Sassanid soldiers, let alone three hundred thousand. By the way, how many swords like this do you have?"
Pan Jun touched his nose awkwardly and said, "The iron ore hasn't been mined yet. These are all reforged from weapons captured from Tanbei. Only 30,000 ring-pommel swords have been forged, along with 200,000 arrows, 50 crossbows, and I also felled trees to build 100 catapults. That's all for now."
He did not forge the horse-slaying sword designed by Guan Xing or any other swords, but instead chose the ring-pommel sword of the Han Dynasty. The reason was simple: the ring-pommel sword was for cavalry use only.
Pan Jun said with a pained expression, "We found 20,000 sets of equipment in the Tanbei warehouse and took another 50,000 sets from the garrison, but in the end, we only managed to forge 30,000 ring-pommel swords. The consumption was too great."
The Sassanid army's equipment had too many impurities, and the forging process resulted in excessive losses, severely reducing the number of weapons produced.
This demonstrates the vast gap between the forging techniques of the Parthian Empire and those of the Han Dynasty.
Ma Chao comforted him, saying, "That's enough. Distribute these ring-pommel swords to the Han-Qiang-Xiongnu allied forces. Thirty thousand elite cavalrymen wielding ring-pommel swords will be enough for me to dominate the entire Parthian Empire. Furthermore, after defeating Ardashir and seizing the weapons and equipment of the three hundred thousand Sassanid army, we can equip tens of thousands more cavalrymen. At that time, I will have one hundred thousand elite cavalrymen. Where can I not go except the Han Dynasty?"
He defeated Ardashir with only 10,000 cavalrymen; the thought of expanding to 100,000 and equipping them with new weapons is exciting.
But now is not the time to celebrate, because Ardashir is only a hundred miles away.
Ma Chao, disregarding any need for rest, began active preparations. He divided the ring-pommel swords into two portions: one portion of 20,000 swords was distributed to the Han-Qiang-Xiongnu allied forces under his command, while the other portion of 10,000 swords, along with 200,000 arrows, was given to Ma Dai to distribute to the Western Regions allied forces. In this great battle, the Western Regions allied forces would be the main force, while the Han-Qiang-Xiongnu allied forces would only be responsible for the final harvest.
After three days of preparation, Ardashir, who was nearly driven to a mental breakdown by Ma Chao's antics, finally led his army to within thirty miles of Tambe City.
Ma Chao didn't hold back either, and immediately led 200,000 Western Region allied troops and 30,000 Han, Qiang and Xiongnu allied troops out of the city to meet the enemy. The two sides set up their formations outside Tanbei City, ready to fight to the death.
The combined forces of both sides in this battle numbered over 500,000, a scale that would definitely rank among the top ten in the history of the Parthian Empire.
It is no exaggeration to say that this was a battle that determined the fate of the entire Central Asian region. If Ma Chao had won, he would have instantly become the hegemon of the Parthian Empire. In the future, neither Parthia nor Sassanid would have dared to provoke him easily, and Ma Chao could have established his own state and developed it in peace.
If Ma Chao is defeated, he will have no choice but to flee for his life, hiding from the Sassanid family's pursuit.
This battle was crucial for Ma Chao, and equally crucial for Ardashir.
If Ardashir wins, he will not only acquire Ma Chao's iron-forging technology, but also use the momentum of his victory to attack Ctesiphon, completely destroy the Parthian Empire, and establish a new dynasty.
But if they lose, they will completely lose hope of unifying Parthia and be forced to retreat to the Iranian plateau to eke out a living.
Therefore, neither he nor Ma Chao could afford to lose this battle, and they both stood in front of their armies, watching the other's formation.
Ma Chao, Pan Jun, Tu Lin, and Ma Dai stood on horseback under the banner, observing the Sassanid army for a long time. Ma Chao finally said confidently, "This Ardashir is not very good. His formation is full of loopholes. If I lead the cavalry to charge, I can easily tear his defenses apart."
Pan Jun quickly stopped him, saying, "General, don't be impulsive. You are now the commander of an army of two or three hundred thousand, not the commander of a cavalry of two or three thousand. You can't fight like before."
Ma Chao is now leading a large army of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, not a small force of less than 100,000. Such a large army of more than 200,000 is a great test of the commander's ability, composure and willpower, making Ma Chao feel unprecedented pressure.
Although Ma Chao was under immense pressure, he knew that as the commander-in-chief, he couldn't show it to his subordinates. So he calmly smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. I believe Ardashir isn't cut out to command large armies either. We're all equally incompetent, so there's nothing for us to be afraid of."
Large-scale troop operations are not something ordinary generals can handle. Looking across the entire Han Dynasty, he only knew Cao Cao and Liu Bei, who could command large-scale troops. Moreover, he had learned a few tricks from Liu Bei during the Battle of Hanzhong, so he was not afraid. He decisively ordered: "Ma Dai, lead the spearmen to press forward, with swordsmen and shieldmen following behind for cover, and archers behind them. Once the two sides make contact, fire a volley first."
"Kuai Qi, take the catapults and ballistae and give them targeted support. Throw them wherever there are a lot of people."
At Ma Chao's command, tens of thousands of spearmen, wielding sharpened spears, charged steadily toward the Sassanid army.
The spearmen are like pawns crossing the river; they don't need to do anything else but advance, advance, and advance again, using the advantage of their long spears to tear apart the enemy's formation.
However, because they were at the forefront and unprotected, the spearmen had a very high chance of being killed.
But in the face of a life-or-death battle, who cares about such things? Under Ma Chao's command, the spearmen charged fearlessly toward the Sassanid army.
Upon seeing this, Ardashir ordered his archers to step forward, grasp their bows, and prepare to fire a volley of arrows.
Seeing the Sassanid archers in position, the Han army's shield bearers, who were following behind the spearmen, quickly rushed in front of the spearmen to form a shield formation to assist them in their defense. After withstanding three waves of arrows and paying a certain price, the Han army's spearmen finally reached the front of the Sassanid army. They then abandoned their sword and shield bearers and charged into the Sassanid formation with roars.
Ardashir hurriedly deployed troops to block them, but the Han army's spearmen were backed by archers. The archers finally seized the opportunity, raised their bows, and launched arrows into the sky in a volley.
As the arrows shot out, a whistling sound filled the air, and countless arrows formed a rain of arrows, creating a piercing whistling sound in mid-air as they mercilessly struck the Sassanid army.