sweeping the world

Chapter 960 Rome Must Endure

When it comes to technology products, no matter how high the price is, it is a good thing that the seller is willing to sell the technology that others have but not oneself.

Now there is no saying that "first-rate powers sell standards, second-rate powers sell brands, and third-rate countries sell products". In fact, if the Han Empire did not appear in their field of vision, the Han army could threaten their safety anytime and anywhere. It was not until the eighteenth century that the international arms market became prosperous.

"They don't sell warship blueprints in batches." In order to prepare Julian enough, Flavis first explained the basis of the sale.Sure enough, he saw Julian showing a surprised but distressed expression, and said with a wry smile: "It can't be all the sets, but only those styles that the Han Empire is willing to sell. The prices are not exaggerated. They are worth that." price."

Julian took a deep breath and asked repeatedly, "How much?"

"It's not a simple monetary offer." Flavis felt that the subsidiary conditions were the most important: "It involves political conditions."

The reply given by the Ministry of Rites to Flavius ​​was a series of requirements, including the comprehensive conversion of Roman maritime vessels to Han Empire standards.

In addition to the standard setting of marine vessels, even the Romans' own shipyards were required to have Han officials to supervise the shipbuilding process. The reason given was that although the Han Empire sold blueprints, they absolutely did not want to see a appearance of the product.

It was a good thing for the Romans to have technically savvy officials of the Han Empire come to "check in" the conditions. Although they thought the conditions were strange, they were happy to accept them.

For a family like Valentinianus, whose industry has more than [-]% of its industry in shipbuilding, the Han Empire also proposed the condition of opening a shipyard in Rome is the most important one.

Once there is a shipyard of the Han Empire in Rome, the market share is estimated to not be much left before the Roman family who bought the blueprint has fully grasped the technology.

"Indeed." Julian said with his own understanding: "We bought ships from the Han Empire, and one of the reasons they raised the price was the long distance of delivery."

Flavis believes that Julian failed to grasp the key point. It is their local shipbuilding families who are facing the update of shipbuilding technology. When the production is stopped, the Han people enter the market. Usually, they can use various methods to stop it. With shipyards in Rome there was no viable means of stopping it.

"If the shipyards opened by the Han Empire are willing to recruit Roman workers, it is not an unacceptable thing." Julian is thinking from the overall situation: "We desperately need their help to keep up with the pace of the times. Compared with If we can catch up together, the economy can be temporarily sacrificed.”

From the perspective of the overall situation, Flavis knew that Julian's statement was extremely correct, but Julian was a royal family, and they were just nobles.

The nobles in Rome did not need to fully cooperate with the royal family, and nobles who did not mess with the royal family could not even be called qualified nobles in Rome.

The royal family that ruled Rome could be changed again and again, but the interests of the nobility could not be damaged.This philosophy has existed in Rome for thousands of years, and it will always remain so.

At present, there is already a concept of market share. In the thousands of years of pioneering history, the Romans were fighting purely for the land at the beginning, and gradually realized that even if they do not occupy the land, as long as they occupy the market, it is a kind of victory.

"Our technology is completely behind the Han Empire, and we are not competitive in itself." Flavis had to make it clearer: "Assuming it can afford the funds, Constantinople is also willing to accept the subsidiary conditions of the Han Empire." .It will take us at least three to five years to fully understand those technologies, and the three to five years will form a gap.”

Julian understood a little bit, but he still didn't understand why Flavis' reaction was so big.

"During the free time, including our Valentinianus family, we will purchase ships from the Han Empire. But to buy ships from thousands of miles away, and to buy them at your own home, Your Highness should understand the difference." Flavis Feeling that I had made it very clear, I stopped to let Julian digest it for a while, and then continued: "When we buy products, there will be a kind of stickiness. It means buying products from a certain merchant, as long as the product is not too inferior. Under the premise that I feel good, next time I want to buy similar products, I will still go to that one.”

When Julian heard such a straightforward description, the first thing he thought of was that he bought a certain product and thought it was good, and it really formed a kind of inertia. The next time he wanted to buy similar products, he would think of that one.At the same time, he also understood that not everyone has the ability to travel thousands of miles to the Han Empire to purchase, but going to the door of the house is a very convenient thing.

"Due to some reasons, we have accepted the proposal of the Han Empire to lease the port." Flavis was actually one of the people who opposed the port lease but kept his mouth shut. He knew that Julian was too.He sighed: "Thousands of years, Rome has never been like it is now...", without saying the word shame, and modified it a little: "So rational. It is reality that forces us to be rational. Once we become irrational Anything that could happen on any coastline."

Julian knew one thing very well. Compared with other countries, the port period leased by Rome to the Han Empire did not seem to be long. The rent could even be said to be considerable, but it was just a fig leaf.

The navy of the Han Empire entered the Mediterranean to show off its power, and the huge fleet arrived at Constantinople. It was an indescribable shock to the Romans.

In the past, the barbarians burned Rome or the rioting slave army threatened Rome. Compared with the fleet of the Han Empire sailing directly to the capital of the country, it was nothing.

"If it was only a threat from the fleet, we would not be able to make that kind of concession." Flavius ​​is not the ruling core of Rome, but he has a brain: "What really made Augustus grit his teeth and nod was the gunpowder weapon. "

There were more than [-] Romans who saw with their own eyes the power of the Han army using gunpowder weapons on the Asan battlefield.

The tragedy that happened in the Gupta Empire was written back by the Romans who personally watched the battle. Anyone who saw it at first thought that the writer must have lost his mind. Volcanic weapons.

If one or two people's descriptions can be regarded as spreading rumors, then tens of thousands of people have written the same far away knowledge must be a fact, and people cannot be disbelieved.

The Han Empire had the most powerful navy in the known world today. Julian and others also reported to Constantius II that the Han Empire’s navy also included weapons called artillery, and even described artillery battles. Scenes of coastal bombardment by ships towards coastal cities.

At this point, not only did Constantius II nod to the port lease of the Han Empire, but even if he did not nod, he would be forced to agree by many Roman nobles. The empire's gunboats sailed to the edge of their own city.

Judging from the example that the Han Chinese dared to riot in Constantinople with only a few thousand people, the probability of the Han Chinese being upset and launching gunboats to bombard coastal cities was almost [-]%.

"So there is no room for us to refuse." Julian is very aware of the embarrassing situation Augustus is in, and wants to share the pressure for him and obtain the understanding of the nobles in the country: "You came to the Han Empire in person to understand the real situation. Maybe write to friends and tell them what happened."

Flavis nodded and agreed. As for whether he would do it with his heart, even he himself was not sure.

"We followed the Han people all the way north, and we have entered the grassland..." Julian looked around and said not so sure: "After entering the grassland, we continued to walk north for more than two hundred miles. The traces of falling, but they did not see the great war. Do you think they don't want us to see it?"

From entering the grassland to continuing to move forward for more than two hundred miles, it is not really a deep step for the vast grassland, it can only be said to be a little bit of a nod.

Their current location should be the border between the original Han Empire and the Rouran tribal alliance. The places where the battle traces were left should be small-scale contact wars. Judging by the traces left behind, they were separated soon. Winning or losing, there was no running or chasing.

"From the fact that we have been marching, we can see that the Han army has not found an opportunity to engage the firearms troops in combat." Flavis was full of thought: "The firearms troops of the Han Empire used carriages and horses when marching. , does not seem to represent their ability to conduct short-distance mobile operations?"

The Romans were an empire-level country, but they were actually not that familiar with vast land operations.

This is related to the fact that the Romans mainly relied on the Mediterranean sea for thousands of years to transport and project troops. Most of the time, their troops did not have to go on long marches on land. Instead, they sailed in the Mediterranean Sea by boat to transport troops close to the battlefield. coast, and land again.

In contrast to the Han Empire or Sasanian, the Roman army had very little animal power, let alone a large cavalry force.

Once the Roman Legion needs to march long distances on land, the troops basically rely on the two legs born by their parents to travel. Their marching speed is also world-renowned. It was because of this shortcoming that they were caught by the Parthian Empire at the beginning. Opportunity also contributed to the prestige of the Parthian Empire's cavalry archers and cavalry.

Up to the current stage...or it should be said that it is the stage of fighting the Sassanian, the speed of the Roman legion's land march still has not improved, but they have adopted a cautious attitude of step by step, and at the same time formed their own cavalry, every time they go to war, they will inevitably Large-scale recruitment of cavalry from vassal races to aid in the battle.

Something special happened that day. When the sun was still in the middle of the sky, the team stopped.

Julian invited Xyas to find Director Liu together, and got the answer after asking.

"Our troops surrounded a part of the enemy's army on a river bank about [-] miles ahead." That's all Director Liu knew: "General Zhengbei believes that the battlefield can be handed over to the firearms troops."

The two crooked nuts who got the reply returned to their team.

"You may have guessed it. The firearms troops of the Han Empire can only fight positional warfare." Julian thought this was good news: "It seems that this new type of troops has some serious flaws?"

Flavis shook his head and said, "It's not a defect that you can only fight positional warfare."

Julian was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly after realizing it: "Indeed."

Isn’t the final outcome of any war determined by multiple positional battles?
For example, nomads like to fight raids and guerrilla warfare. No matter how many times they win, they can only achieve the effect of destruction. If they fail to defeat the enemy's main force on the frontal battlefield, tickling is just tickling, which is only uncomfortable but not fatal.

It has never been heard that raids and guerrilla warfare can determine the success or failure of a national war.

The best way is to have troops that can withstand the frontal battlefield, coupled with friendly troops harassing behind the enemy, the combination of the two becomes the effect of one plus one greater than two.

To put it bluntly, if the frontal battlefield cannot withstand it, defeat is only a matter of time.

"The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly." Director Liu saw that there were too many people going to the battlefield: "Each country can only go to a maximum of five people."

Originally, only the Romans and Persians followed the north. Later, the Ministry of Rites felt that one country should go to see it, and there is no difference between multiple countries. If you want to show it, you should simply let people from more countries see it, and organized envoys from various countries in Chang’an to go north. They completed the rendezvous east of Yinshan Mountain and north of Shengle.

The firearms troops set off, and observers from many countries moved forward mixed with the troops.

The closer to the battlefield, the more and more obvious the traces of the battle can be seen, and you can even see the scene where the Han army is cleaning the battlefield.

It wasn't until the road was blocked by a river that the firearms troops got out of the boxcar and abandoned their horses.

The river blocking the road is not deep. The deepest you can wade through is only up to your waist, and the river does not appear to be fast.

"Ahead is the besieged grassland army?" Julian landed again, pointing forward: "The size will not be less than [-]?"

When the firearms troops came to the north of the river, hurried military orders began to be shouted out, and the queues began to be sorted according to the organizational system.

If you look down from a high altitude, the battlefield is a land surrounded by two rivers, with a space of about thirty miles.

"The enemy army was forced to huddle at the half-bend of the river." Director Liu could reveal more information: "They completely panicked and rushed into an area with fast-flowing water."

The firearms marched in formation, with musketeers in front and horse-drawn cannons in the rear.

The left and right wings on the battlefield were other Han troops who had already been engaged in combat. They formed a pincer-shaped encirclement posture, giving up the space to the south.

The surrounded grassland coalition forces seemed to have lost their effective chain of command, and a group of people rushed out as soon as they saw a gap in the south. Li Tan's attitude towards this was to choose to let it go.

It was not easy for Li Tan to encircle the enemy army to this place. He thought that if the firearms army could defeat even the charge of a small enemy army, then there was no need for the big man to engage in any firearms army, or that firearms army. All officers should die!

(End of this chapter)