>>3613623

"...so Marquis Sun has sent out word that any and all acts done against the Yuan Clan and the Sun Clan will be forgiven as long as they muster their troops to destroy Dong Zhuo," the legionary reads. As a Sinaean himself, it seems to be affecting him greatly, his hands shaking as he summarises the missive's content. "On a more personal note, he says that he will forgive your taking of the two commanderies, and accept you as his equal. He further promises a truce of fifty years, with a possibility of marriage alliances."

"Either the Marquis is desperate, or a terrible liar," Galen snorts. "A city burns and suddenly everyone wants to to play nice with each other just to beat that guy? I don't buy it."

>"Neither do I. This is a trap." [It'satrap.jpg]

>"Even if it wasn't a trap, this Luoyang is a long way north. There are many ways we might die on the way, starvation being one of them." [Decline war dec]

>"Liu Biao wasn't in on the Guangdong Alliance, and I don't think he will waste resources just because some city burned. I am not leaving my lands weakened when that old bugger is around." [Justifiable paranoia]

>"Might not be a bad idea to take a few legions out for a spin. And hey, it lets us mingle with the other warlords on semi-friendly terms. Maybe we'll even find some allies this time." [Join war declaration]

>"This is tantamount to a carte blanche inviting anyone with an army to roll over to the north, the root of Sinaean civilisation. The looting will be... considerable. Only question is, how will we manage to bring it all back? I need to start ordering for the building of carriages." [Mercenary]

>"This would be an excellent opportunity to scout out the region and take in some valuable human resources. Who knows how many competent men lie hidden in those overpopulated cities by the Yellow River?" [Human Resources Department]

>"Even if we didn't accept this invitation, any military action we take against our neighbours might be understood as taking advantage of their absence for this wild goose chase. They will not be happy once they return. We should probably lay low for a while, focus on the domestic stuff." [Isolationist]

>"Just send some grains as we did before and focus on our own stuff. What do I care about the north? The north never cared about me." [Diplomatic]

>>3613634
>"Even if it wasn't a trap, this Luoyang is a long way north. There are many ways we might die on the way, starvation being one of them." [Decline war dec]
Watch who sends the largest army north, and prepare to strike while their lands are undefended. The Sun territories would be an excellent candidate, I think.

File: Southeastern Sinae.png (3.83 MB, 2393x2090)

3.83 MB PNG

[Welcome to another thread of my slow-running one-post-a-day-minimum quest. You can read the previous threads here:

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=Commentarii

Attached to this post is a rough map of your current territory. I'm a pretty green DM, so it's gonna be a little rough around the edges as I fumble about with ad-hoc formulae for dealing with population growth and grain taxation and heaven knows what else. I hope you enjoy what you find here.]

>>3613634
>"This would be an excellent opportunity to scout out the region and take in some valuable human resources. Who knows how many competent men lie hidden in those overpopulated cities by the Yellow River?" [Human Resources Department]

We just happened to have a field army.
And we can do a bit of looting on the side.

What I'm really hoping is that Shi Xie decides to join this war. It's doubtful, but would certainly be the best outcome.

>>3613665
I think Shi xie has no physical way to get there, he would need to either go through our land, or Liu Biao’s, and he is at war With him I think?

Btw Fortuna, I remember we used to get buff from conquest, how far are we from the next one?

>>3613634
>"This is tantamount to a carte blanche inviting anyone with an army to roll over to the north, the root of Sinaean civilisation. The looting will be... considerable. Only question is, how will we manage to bring it all back? I need to start ordering for the building of carriages." [Mercenary]
>"This would be an excellent opportunity to scout out the region and take in some valuable human resources. Who knows how many competent men lie hidden in those overpopulated cities by the Yellow River?" [Human Resources Department]

I say we send a legion or two north as "allies" (see: Mercenaries) and have a jolly old Xenophon-esque time.

>>3613673
That's right, we should be getting a bonus to our divinity. I'd totally forgotten about that.

>>3613634
>human resources.

>>3613634
>>"Liu Biao wasn't in on the Guangdong Alliance, and I don't think he will waste resources just because some city burned. I am not leaving my lands weakened when that old bugger is around." [Justifiable paranoia]
We don't have the forces to comfortably hold this region and project sufficient force.

>>3613763
We do actually, with our latest expansion we have 3 field legions outside of Garrisons.

>>3613805
green garrisons that would be going into the belly of the beast? My point is that our land is still destroyed, so gaining new land doesnt sound smart

>>3613814
??? We are not getting new land though.

>>3613822
Then why would we join the war?

>>3613824
Because it’s the most important event in China, and it has a special place in the heart Chinese? Because everyone that matter in China will be here? Because we can get recognition and have the Sun( and thus the Yuan) leave us alone? Because we can look for talented people? Because we can loot? Because we can observe large scale fighting tactic used by top Chinese general? Because we can get our legionnaries some experience? Etc etc.
We aren’t lacking in reason to go.

>>3613824
Find nee people get good relationships

>>3613824
In such a war we risk little, but can acquire much in terms of men, materiel, and prestige.

>>3613824
Also, essentially it's free war experience. A valuable thing for our non-veteran legions

>>3613634
>>3613679
Support
I say we send a single veteran legion and 2 of the newly raised one's, leaving the rest behind under Galen's command just in case.

>>3613993
As for troop compositions, I'm thinking

>LEGIO V SINICA - GREEN Legatus legionis: Wen Bo
Because this dude is awesome and needs reps stat

>LEGIO IX CAPITOLINA - GREEN Legatus legionis: Stavros
Because Urban Combat

>LEGIO X EQVISTRIS - GREEN
Because I want Alexandros to go up there himself and whip his legion into shape.

Yes, I know bringing 3 Green legions seems bad, but we will hopefully be there personally to deal with matters, and it will leave all of our veterans home to managing any issues that arrive in our absence.

>>3614032
We should bring some cavalry as well. The usual cataphracts, but also one of the others. Maybe the Germans? It's likely we'll finally see some proper enemy cavalry for them to use their anti-cav skills on

>>3614059
Good idea. Leave Ambiorix to get used to his ducal position, while keeping Hermann on his toes so he can't get too bothered that we promised him territory that we don't even have yet. Hermann please don't try to murder the neo-caesar, I like you and yours

>>3613832
>>3613833
>>3613836
Alright since we aren't annexing anything, I can see the wisdom. However, I feel the need to stress the idea that we are sending a large amount of troops into the belly of the beast, surrounded by enemies and "allies". We all know the legions march on their stomachs

>>3614614
Im not against isolationist chilling getting our mines going and hust donating food to the cause

>>3614628
Neither am I, but I think it's gonna be outvoted, so we might be as reserved with it as possible.

>>3613673
That was one of the first things I had to scrap during the "please no big magic" discussion many, many threads ago. Do you guys want more divine/magic stuff again?

>>3614945
Absolutely! I've been saying this since you decided to scrap it in the first place, but the magic was a great part of this quest.

>>3614649
>>3614628
Oh come on you two, where's your sense of adventure? We finally have a half-decent state established, so we can now go romping off to kill chinamen and loot without end!

>>3614945
I'd be ok with it, might b fun to fuck with the Chinese Pantheon. But I will note that it doesn't make or break the quest for me.

>>3614972
>Establish state
>Immediately fuck off
How Alexandros of you. Visit his tomb recently?

Updated legion list, with all traits added

Magister Militum: Galen of Suerna

LEGIO I CLASSICA - VETERAN
Legatus legionis: Gion
Like the majority of the Five Hundred, Gion was on the fence about Cabaleiro's action when he reneged on the contract that bound the Five Hundred and Alexandros' father. He assisted Alexandros during the Cleansing of the Ship. That he is trusted to handle the First Legion is a sign of the level of trust Galen has on this individual. The First Legion is considered the elite legion, due to the highest concentration of former Five Hundred.
Cream of the Crop: This unit holds the greatest prestige among legionary wannabes. It takes in the best of the best. This unit is the paragon of all legions elsewhere.

LEGIO II SVERNICA - VETERAN
Legatus legionis: Zaharin
Loyal to the contract drafted between Alexandros' father and Cabaleiro, the former lochagos and her men resisted the followers of Cabaleiro nearly to their deaths. Second highest concentration of Five Hundred after the First Legion.
Constant Vigilance: Having been betrayed before, the commander of the First Legion is always on the lookout for treachery and subversive groups.

LEGIO III GERMANICA - VETERAN
Legatus legionis: Vaeli
Nephew to Hermann, Vaeli swore never to befriend another horse when his mount was killed during the destruction of Suerna. Now he fights alongside his uncle's weird boss. The Jewish volunteers join this legion.
Iudaean Warfare: The Jews that make up the plurality of this legion are known for their skill in stealth reconnaisance. This unit can go underground as partisans.

LEGIO IV HIBERNIAE - EXPERIENCED
Legatus legionis: "Ginger"
Like most members of the Five Hundred, Ginger does not use his real name. As far as they are concerned, the name they sign up with is the real name.
Brotherly Love: Ginger had a happy childhood growing up, unlike most mercenaries joining a warband to get paid for killing people. He makes sure to befriend each and every legionary that joins his legion, and is something like a big brother to his men. This unit has improved morale.

LEGIO V SINICA - GREEN
Legatus legionis: Wen Bo
A farmer-turned-soldier, Wen Bo became the first Sinaean legatus by the virtue of his unexpectedly quick mastery of Greek. He's particularly proficient in grain calculation, and would have made a good logistician.
Farmer's Instinct: Wen Bo was a common peasant that one could find anywhere throughout Sinaean for the good part of his thirty-year life, and that means he's dealt with tax collectors who forged the amount of his grain all the time. This unit does not count as an active legion for grain consumption, unless two other legions are already activated.

>>3615030

LEGIO VI FVLMINATA- GREEN
Legatus legionis: Fa Xiuying
A minor military official under Sun Clan-controlled Jian'an, he readily joined the Legion under new management and strove to learn the new rulers' speech.
Shock and Awe: Fa Xiuying was a cavalry commander before he was an infantry officer, and understands the value of shock tactics. He is more willing to split up his legion than most other legati, with a focus on multi-directional offensives intended to harass the enemy. This unit specialises in open-field battles with enough room for maneuvers.

LEGIO VII GEMINA - GREEN
Legatus legionis: Gaius Pompeius
A Roman officer from the Five Hundred. Brother to Aulus Pompeius. He is a staunch Republican, and thinks that Brutus was a hero. Of a more conservative bent, tactically speaking.
Defence is the best Offence: Gaius fancies himself something of a Fabius. This unit focuses on training defensive tactics, making use of the natural impatience of invaders, its commander being patient enough to deal with the inglorious and tedious side of war.

LEGIO VIII GEMINA - GREEN
Legatus legionis: Aulus Pompeius
A Roman officer from the Five Hundred. Brother to Gaius Pompeius. He believes that Caesar was a hero of the plebs, and would have done so much more for the populares faction if it weren't for the meddling senators. Likes aggressive maneuvers.
Offence is the best Defence: Aulus fancies himself something of a Scipio, with all the recklessness of a young general. This unit focuses on training aggressive tactics with a focus on combined arms approach, its commander being willing to do the necessary micromanagement for it.

LEGIO IX CAPITOLINA - GREEN
Legatus legionis: Stavros
Anatolian Greek, and like most foreigners who are in your military, from the Five Hundred. He has a particular love for urban combat, and likes to drill his soldiers under simulated conditions. For a totally unrelated reason, he keeps his cohorts overstrength.
Urban Specialist: Stavros was originally trained as an urban architect, but got tired of squabbling with project leaders and money-pinchers so he joined the Five Hundred. This unit trains almost religiously against urban situations, which means narrow streets, unexpected alleyways, and maze-like house formations.

LEGIO X EQVISTRIS - GREEN
Your personal legion. Because of course it is. Let's hope they earn the name. They are being set apart from the other legions with training grounds of their own.

I'm not 100% content with the content of the traits, but that's what I'll be going with for now. Looks like the votes are for joining the war declaration, for a variety of reasons. Writing

On second thought, I want just our personal legion and Wen Bo's

I'll be putting up a vote on how exactly you were fucking around with your own legion later.

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"It's not safe," Galen repeats obstinately. You smile tiredly at the man. His concern for your safety was comforting, even adorable at times. But war is never safe.

"War is never safe," you say out loud. "I won't be gone for long. With Lynius and you at the helm, things are going to be fine. This is like the beginning of the Guangdong Alliance - everyone's eyes focused north again. You've seen what our legions are capable of, the veteran ones at least."

"At least take me with you. You shouldn't have to take so few when marching into gods know what."

"You know as well as I that it gets harder for larger forces to forage in neutral or unfriendly territories," you say admonishingly. "I can't have the magister militum traipse around like some vagrant without his legions, can I?"

"But you're going."

"I'm not the magister militum."

"...You outrank me."

"True. I guess that means I could have ordered you to stop complaining and look after the house while I'm gone, but I haven't been doing that either, have I?" Your cheeky smile makes Galen sigh, but he realises that there is no overturning your decision.

>"I'll be taking the absolute minimum of what I can get away with. I don't want massive baggage trains and dealing with foraging every day. A small, compact, and mobile force - that is I will take up north with me." [2-3 Legions]

>"Those Sinaean warlords will be more deferential if I bring a significant army. I am taking at least twenty thousand with me when I go. The more the better, eh?" [4-6 Legions]

>>3615068
>"I'll be taking the absolute minimum of what I can get away with. I don't want massive baggage trains and dealing with foraging every day. A small, compact, and mobile force - that is I will take up north with me." [2-3 Legions]

>>3615068
>"I'll be taking the absolute minimum of what I can get away with. I don't want massive baggage trains and dealing with foraging every day. A small, compact, and mobile force - that is I will take up north with me."
3 legions.

>>3614945
I've always supported magic. That Augustus/Julius interaction was fucking magical
Still hoping to get the "Augustus, My son" prompt
>>3615068
>"I'll be taking the absolute minimum of what I can get away with. I don't want massive baggage trains and dealing with foraging every day. A small, compact, and mobile force - that is I will take up north with me." [2-3 Legions]

>>3615103
And here I thought it was the least liked, since that thread got no votes at all on the archives

>>3615107
>Archive votes
Terrible metric for judging threads in this day and age. Come on Fortuna, you can do better!

>>3615107
I can only speak for myself, but I don't pay attention to the archives at all, so we don't all vote.

>>3615107
Can't speak for everyone, but I thought it was great writing. It is unfortunate that we lost interactions like that, but it's the sacrifice for transitioning into emperor business.

Oh First Citizen, how I miss you so...

Gotta get feedback on each thread somehow! It looks like we're decided on 2-3 legions. Which legions do you want to bring with?

>>3615121
LEGIO I CLASSICA
LEGIO V SINICA
LEGIO IX CAPITOLINA
Easier on supplies, and will work in the undoubtedly urban areas

>>3615121
>LEGIO I CLASSICA
>LEGIO V SINICA
>LEGIO X EQVISTRIS
1 veteran, 1 to save on grain, and our royal guard.

>>3615125
Do note that the grain-saving feature doesn't apply if three legions are activated in total.

Also I need to know if you want magic to return in setting or not before I can reveal choices for LEGIO X modification, since you were personally in charge of their training with enough secrecy that even the magister militum doesn't know what is going on there.

>>3615121
>LEGIO IV HIBERNIAE - EXPERIENCED
Legatus legionis: "Ginger"
Brings veterancy to our forces, and that morale buff will actually be quite a boon for an excursion into "foreign" territory


>LEGIO V SINICA - GREEN
Legatus legionis: Wen Bo
That ability needs training

>LEGIO X EQVISTRIS - GREEN
Obvious things are obvious

>>3615130
If this is the hub for that vote, I'll reiterate. Please bring magic back into the setting!

>>3615130
Oh in that case
LEGIO I CLASSICA
LEGIO X EQVISTRIS
LEGIO IX CAPITOLINA

I vote for a return of magic. It fits the setting, and I trust you to use restraint when necessary.

>>3615068
>"I'll be taking the absolute minimum of what I can get away with. I don't want massive baggage trains and dealing with foraging every day. A small, compact, and mobile force - that is I will take up north with me." [2-3 Legions]

>>3614945
I mean, there is a lot of ground between magically nuking a city and getting buff to yourself because of divinity, the reason big magic was off puting was because it overshadowed everything else, it made having army feel frankly surperfluous.

>>3614945
Also, it’s not like it ever completely disappeared, that guy earlier did get puppeted by a god.

>>3615267
>>3615250
The Comet is not a feat that is likely to be repeated. It wasn't even something you conjured out of nothing, but in fact the very comet that appears in Julius Caesar's funerary games that Augustus arranged. That's why the comet is so closely associated with the Caesarean Cult, seen stamped in celebratory coins and whatnot.

>>3615304
Yes to magic
And bring:
>LEGIO IV
>LEGIO V
>LEGIO X

Rolled 2 (1d2)

Legiones X, V, and either I or IV. I'll roll a dice to see which. 1 is I, 2 is IV.

"So let me get this straight. You stole my bedsheet-"

"Not stole, borrowed," Wen Bao replies in a clipped tone. "And I returned it. See?"

Ginger stares at the legatus holding half a bedsheet. "That's half a bedsheet," he points out.

"Well, yes, certain sacrifices had to be made to return it from the clutches of the man who had it," Wen Bao says as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It's give and take, Ginger. You gotta know what give and take means, right?"

"But I wasn't given anything," Ginger protests.

"Of course not, because you were the initial investor. And now you have your bedsheet."

"Half a bedsheet."

"That's half more bedsheet than you had last night," Wen Bao points out. He massages his eyebrows with the face of a long suffering saint. "Alright, let's try this again. You didn't have any bedsheet last night, yes? That was because I had procured it in order to engage in good old-fashioned bartering with the farmer with the long nose. He wanted a bedsheet, and I wanted his chickens' eggs. So we made a deal, and I ended up with half a bedsheet and all of his chickens. I know," he looks sorrowfully at the cages of clucking chickens outside the tent, "I got the worse of the deal, but trust me, the investment is bound to make long term profit sooner than later. What with us being ordered out to march."

"But I never got anything for my bedsheet- what?" Ginger gapes. "We're moving out?"

Wen Bao nods. "Of course. Why do you think I was in your tent?"

The red-haired legatus scratches his head. "To return my bedsheet- half a bedsheet?"

"No, Ginger," Wen Bao says, looking affronted. "I do not give, I deal. I happen to have no use for half a bedsheet, and I already have two lovely full unspoilt ones in each of my three tents. So I thought, maybe, you would like to do something to get your bedsheet back."

"Half a bedsheet," Ginger grouses. "What would I want to do with half a bedsheet?"

"You can do a lot of things with half a bedsheet," Wen Bao answers. "You could by fifty cages worth of chickens, for example."

It is too early in the morning for the poor legatus to hear one more time about Wen Bao's chickens and eggs and half a bedsheets, especially when he had a rough night without a bedsheet to protect him from the cold earth beneath him. His tired brain does what it considers to be the sensible thing, which is to turn around, plug his ears, and try to sleep on his bedsheetless camp bed from which he was so rudely roused by Wen Bao.

Five minutes later, he is soundly asleep. He does not notice Wen Bao take his camp bed, careful as he is to extricate the sleeping legatus from the plunder.

>>3615342
---

You frown at the sleepy redhead. "You're late. I sent the legate of the 5th to tell you of the meeting."

"...You do not want to know," the disheveled legatus replies, throwing a confused/murderous look toward legate Wen Bao. "Do you know where I can requisition a spare bedsheet? And a camp bed?"

"You lost your bedsheet and a camp bed?"

"Cheated out of it, more like," he mutters under his breath.

"I made Wen Bao quartermaster, so you can requisition from him if you need anything."

Ginger gasps. "You what?"

"That is you what, sir," Wen Bao adds. "We can talk over your bedsheet after the meeting."

Not the kind of start you had in mind for the planning committee. You cough, which seems to bring Ginger out of the hazy fugue state (imbalancing the confused/murderous balance of his stare toward Wen Bao to a decidedly violent shade of frenzied/murderous). You dismiss the knowing look Yue Quan throws at the quartermaster-cum-legatus, focusing instead on the matter at hand. "The reason I've summoned you here is to prepare our plans for the northern expedition. As you know, we are..."

>"...joining forces with the Sun Clan as their troops head north to reinforce their Marquis. I want to make sure all of you have your own troops locked down tight. We will have none of those inter-army rivalry causing tension while we are on the march together." [March with the Sun Clan reinforcement to the north]

>"...going to be moving by our own, which means going over the Suns' and the Yuans' lands. I want to know if all your troops are prepared for rapid march over their lands. No sense being there longer than we need to be, since accusations of looting and causing civic disturbances are bound to be thrown at us." [March alone]

>"...joining up with Shi Xie, who is sending twenty thousand men up north on this anti-Dong Zhuo campaign and will be meeting us in Changsha before the combined march. I need not remind you not to get involved in the rivalry between Liu Biao and Shi Xie. They were literally battling over their borders when the summons arrived, and I trust their truce as far as I can throw a pilum at it." [March with Shi Xie and Liu Biao]

>Suggestion?

>>3615357

>"...joining forces with the Sun Clan as their troops head north to reinforce their Marquis. I want to make sure all of you have your own troops locked down tight. We will have none of those inter-army rivalry causing tension while we are on the march together." [March with the Sun Clan reinforcement to the north]

seems safest

>>3615357
>"...joining forces with the Sun Clan as their troops head north to reinforce their Marquis. I want to make sure all of you have your own troops locked down tight. We will have none of those inter-army rivalry causing tension while we are on the march together." [March with the Sun Clan reinforcement to the north]

>>3615357
>>"...joining forces with the Sun Clan as their troops head north to reinforce their Marquis. I want to make sure all of you have your own troops locked down tight. We will have none of those inter-army rivalry causing tension while we are on the march together." [March with the Sun Clan reinforcement to the north]

>>3615357
>>"...joining forces with the Sun Clan as their troops head north to reinforce their Marquis. I want to make sure all of you have your own troops locked down tight. We will have none of those inter-army rivalry causing tension while we are on the march together." [March with the Sun Clan reinforcement to the north]

>>3615357
>"...joining forces with the Sun Clan as their troops head north to reinforce their Marquis. I want to make sure all of you have your own troops locked down tight. We will have none of those inter-army rivalry causing tension while we are on the march together." [March with the Sun Clan reinforcement to the north]

>>3615537
>>3615507
>>3615484
>>3615366
>>3615365

"...joining forces with the Sun Clan as their troops head north to reinforce their Marquis. I want to make sure all of you have your own troops locked down tight. We will have none of those inter-army rivalry causing tension while we are on the march together."

"Because we kicked their arse?" Wen Bao elbows Ginger. "Sir?"

"Yes, legate," you say with a smile playing on your lips, "because we kicked their arse, and they are not too keen on being reminded that we took over two commanderies with a few thousand men. We earned some good graces with grain and letting the Marquis' family return unharmed, and I don't want that squandered so soon for no reason. Officially, we are under a cease-fire for half a century. It means one less border to worry about, giving us time to focus on Shi Xie."

"It's not us you have to worry about," Wen Bao says. "As long as their men behave, there will be no trouble."

"With only two legions, trouble is what we'll be having," Ginger says doubtfully.

"Three."

Wen Bao looks surprised. "Three, sir? I didn't know there was a legion to be spared."

"That's because I trained the tenth and final legion myself," you reply. "The Tenth Legion is in alpha testing." And what a testing. You had to do use every trick in the Book while accelerating the training, shortening what should have taken a year at least to the space of four months so that they would be ready by Spring. They're going to be green as hell. Your voice betrays none of those concerns as you continue with a confidence you do not feel.

>"They will be my fist, crushing the enemy where they believe themselves at their strongest. No shieldwalls nor fortresses will survive their hammering blows." [Stormtroopers]
Understrength "legion" of three thousand heavy infantrymen with even more armour than the regular legionaries. These indoctrinated and constantly drilled men are trained to survive pitched battles that even the legionaries aren't, and the all-metal gear that they utilise only hammers home that expectation. The ultimate expression of the State's material investment in a man.

>"They shall be the hidden blade, working to destroy my foes from within. With cunning and guile and trickery will they trickle in to the enemy's homes before they even realise their defences have been breached." [Recon]
Extremely understrength "legion" of one thousand light infantrymen with a focus on survivalist skills. These highly independent men operate within a relatively decentralised command hierarchy, with the rank of centurion being the highest right below you - no legates or tribunes here. Not as well geared up by necessity, as heavy armour will draw attention.

>Suggestion

>>3615556
I thought you said that magic was going to play into our training options for the Tenth.

>>3615556
Oh this is tough we need both eventuality. I feel that cesar would appreciate
>stormtroopers

>>3615565
That they are. I want to know which type of unit you want to mold with your Tenth. You're not going to tell your legates about freaky magic stuff, obviously.

By the way, if you have any ideas for "freaky magic stuff" do mention them

>>3615574
To elaborate a bit -

>ou had to do use every trick in the Book while accelerating the training, shortening what should have taken a year at least to the space of four months so that they would be ready by Spring.

This was not done in a wholly natural method. Now what precisely the method was is something to be voted on, as soon as I can figure out what freaky magic stuff can augment soldiers.

>>3615565
I don't think he ever said that, only that he wanted a decision on that before he "revealed" the options, implying he already had this written or planned out before the topic of magic came up

>>3615574
Any chance the multi-role household cavalry option discussed last thread is available for the Tenth? They are EQVISTRIS, after all.

>>3615556
>>"They shall be the hidden blade, working to destroy my foes from within. With cunning and guile and trickery will they trickle in to the enemy's homes before they even realise their defences have been breached." [Recon]
We can train the stormtroopers when we get more resources to equip them with

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77 KB JPG

>>3615580
>he already had this written or planned out

>>3615574
A few ideas as we are a demi god and been doing a lot of war and had a alot of worship from natives hopfully empowering us.

> slow regeneration, perhaps we spiked their food or water with some of our golden blood giving them some of our regeneration.
> divinely inspired tactics. Their leaders and captains have a spark of our Divine insight in tatics and warfare.
> strength/endurance p obv but useful with the heavy armor.
> divine skill the cut faster and more accurately due to our favor.

>>3615582
I thought about it, but you don't have enough Nisaeans to go household cavalry and the German/Gallian/Sinaean horses are not up to snuff for those. You -could- make horse archers from northern horse people herds, but they would be inadequate for lance action. Right now your Nisaeans are chilling in the field and engaging in extramarital affairs like there's no tomorrow.

>>3615583
I should mention that Recon doesn't use nearly as much Iron for obvious reasons, but it has a hidden Population limit due to the kind of people necessary for the role.

>>3615556
>>"They shall be the hidden blade, working to destroy my foes from within. With cunning and guile and trickery will they trickle in to the enemy's homes before they even realise their defences have been breached." [Recon]
The Romans were never good at recon. This will change that.

>>3615589
This Recon unit sounds somewhat like antesignani, in the "elite, light infantry" description. I can't remember if Caesar himself would have been familiar with them though

>>3615556
>"They will be my fist, crushing the enemy where they believe themselves at their strongest. No shieldwalls nor fortresses will survive their hammering blows." [Stormtroopers]
We *did* have a spare shipment of iron...

>>3615556
>"They will be my fist, crushing the enemy where they believe themselves at their strongest. No shieldwalls nor fortresses will survive their hammering blows." [Stormtroopers]
With honor guard cavalry out of the question, I'll go for this. We already have the Bureau of Frumentarii for espionage, after all.

>>3615556
>"They will be my fist, crushing the enemy where they believe themselves at their strongest. No shieldwalls nor fortresses will survive their hammering blows." [Stormtroopers]

We already have very few men going with us, not sure I want to reduce it even further.

>>3615598
That or, I just remembered, that godawful arcani unit from Rome Total War 1. I like their name though

>>3615627
They're basically witchers (but not as overpowered)

>>3615572
>>3615599
>>3615600
>>3615601
Stormtroopers, writin

>>3615631>>3615635
We can still train the recon legion at a later time, right?

>>3615672
We'll see

Yes, our Sardaukar...

>"They will be my fist, crushing the enemy where they believe themselves at their strongest. No shieldwalls nor fortresses will survive their hammering blows." [Stormtroopers]

Unwavering will and relentless strength. These were the traits you sought to breed in these troops, singular in every way. Yours is the blood of Mars the Avenger, and Venus, who in the eastern fringes of the Republic is worshipped as a martial goddess: Ashtaroth-Astarte, Eternaly Quarrelsome, Victrix over Death and His Seven Judges.

With iron you forged their skin, and with iron their claws. No substitute wood and ivory for these men, who will stride forward to the heart of conflict in every battle. But four months was not enough to create such soldiers. It is hardly enough for fully trained legions, after all.

The dilution of your gold-sparkling ichor into an elixir was the solution. Fatal in normal doses, it could with proper treatment imbue those who survived its ingestion with a sliver of the unnatural powers of its original host. You chose the aspect of...

>...Strength, which better allowed them to wield those superheavy arms and armour without complaint.

>...Endurance, further augmenting their survival rate that was already at its theoretical limit for a combatant wading into the depth of destruction as they would.

>...Will, helping them withstand failures of the heart and mind that would turn ordinary men into trembling husks.

>Suggestion

>>3615697
>>...Will, helping them withstand failures of the heart and mind that would turn ordinary men into trembling husks.
These men will be able to withstand odds and thoughts that would destroy even the best of legionaries

>>3615697
>...Strength, which better allowed them to wield those superheavy arms and armour without complaint.
They were titans of the battlefield, those men, who could cut through the host of enemies as a fast ship cuts the waves.

>>3615697
>...Endurance, further augmenting their survival rate that was already at its theoretical limit for a combatant wading into the depth of destruction as they would.
I was going to opt for Will, but recall what has benefited Alexandros the most in his own combats

>>3615697
>>...Endurance, further augmenting their survival rate that was already at its theoretical limit for a combatant wading into the depth of destruction as they would.
They will fight on where other men will falter and fall. The process of attrition that normally takes its toll on an army will find its effects lessened on these Legionaries, touched by the divine.

>>3615697
Endurance and will are both useful but at the end of the day, war is a game of morale

>...Will, helping them withstand failures of the heart and mind that would turn ordinary men into trembling husks.

>>3615697
>endurance
We can treat them with the rest later this will keep them live

>...Endurance, further augmenting their survival rate that was already at its theoretical limit for a combatant wading into the depth of destruction as they would.

It is a testament to your humanity that you felt the faintest twinge of regret while watching the gruesome outcome of failed experiments. The censores were very understanding of the necessities of State, and provided discreet locations as well as the material and personnel required. One silver lining was that the stormtroopers, clad in conventional armour, would not require the more strenuous mutagens.

Of the seven thousand hale and hearty men drafted for the purpose, three thousand came out alive and strong. An unqualified success for a trial run, and one so rushed for time.

Not that you would ever tell the legates that. Even the magister militum didn't know of this arcane procedure happening under the streets of Jian'an in long-abandoned tunnels and empty cisterns. You wonder if you could ever get the formula perfected so that every legionary could be similarly enhanced. It does not require people with anything more remarkable than baseline legionary recruitment spec, unlike the recons, and if the failure rate wasn't so unacceptable, you would have looked into bleeding yourself dry just to churn them out.

Unfortunately, it seemed the ones who survived their treatment did not survive a second round to imbue second attributes. It took an exceptional kind of person to be able to withstand two of the procedures and live, it seems.

Something to look into after the northern campaign.

"Well, you're the boss," Ginger says lightly, yanking you back to the present. "Three legions sounds good enough for me. When are we going?"

---

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>>3616081

Early Spring

Rows of men march in sync on the footpaths that weave around the rice fields, their crimson banner fluttering high above their heads. The farmers - women, all of them, doing the work of their conscripted husbands - lift their heads to look at the exotic procession. Iron men, all of them. It must have cost a fortune to equip them so. That must be the foreign soldiers who have been making such waves down south, the peasants gossip.

You examine your surroundings carefully. You and your soldiers have been following the plotted course laid out by the Sun Clan's emmissary (who was surprised at your acceptance of the call to arms) to prevent any misunderstanding before the campaign has even begun. All the lands have been peaceful looking, even if the lack of male villagers gave away their ever insufficient manpower. Still, this must be the parts of Xindu Commandery that he is proud of showing off to his neighbours.

If this was what the parts of the Sun Clan's territory they were confident about showing off, I can imagine how bad it is in the rest of his territories.

"Horsemen," Ginger mutters a split second before you can feel the vibration of their hooves. Twenty horsemen are riding toward you from the nearest village, one of them bearing the banner of the Sun Clan. The red-haired legatus glances at you. "Trouble?"

"Not unless each of their horsemen can take a hundred soldier by themselves," Wen Bao says.

"They're escorts," you reply.

The young boy at the front is outpacing his companions quite handily. Unsurprising given his mount - it is some kind of a steppe breed, one of those nomadic breeds that focus on sturdiness more than speed and strength. He comes to a halt some ten paces away from you long before his exasperated servants - and bodyguards, you assume - do. The moment he looks at your Nisaean horse, he gasps.

"So you're real," the boy says with unabashed curiosity. "I'd heard about the men all done up in iron, though the gigantic horses are new."

"Oh, we're real, alright," Ginger mutters darkly. "And I know just where we can shove our very real-"

"Peace," you cut him off before a diplomatic incident occurs. "We are from Jian'an, come to aid Marquis Sun in his attack against Dong Zhuo." Ginger was one of the few Five Hundred officers who was decent at Sinaean, and while that allowed him to fraternise with the natives here, it also meant that his tongue could wag rather freely. "Are you the escort sent to guide us to the camps?"

The boy's face reddens as he realises that he was so caught up with your mount to introduce himself. "I am. My name is Sun Ce, son to the Marquis. You returned my mother, Lady Wu, without harming her or my little sister. I must thank you for that."

>>3616158
>"I do not blame your wandering attention, many find my horse to be irresistible. Especially those who know anything about horseflesh." [Kindly]

>"I'm sure I can find a way for you to repay those thanks." [Cheeky]

>"Ah yes, the Jian'an incident. That was just business." [Businesslike]

>Custom

>>3616164
>"I do not blame your wandering attention, many find my horse to be irresistible. Especially those who know anything about horseflesh." [Kindly]

>>3616164
>"I do not blame your wandering attention, many find my horse to be irresistible. Especially those who know anything about horseflesh." [Kindly]

>>3616158
>"I do not blame your wandering attention, many find my horse to be irresistible. Especially those who know anything about horseflesh." [Kindly]

Ah, Sun Ce, full of talent, only to go young.

Did any of those astrologers make the connection between us and the red star yet?

>>3616164
>>"I do not blame your wandering attention, many find my horse to be irresistible. Especially those who know anything about horseflesh." [Kindly]

>>3616164
>"I do not blame your wandering attention, many find my horse to be irresistible. Especially those who know anything about horseflesh." [Kindly]

>>3616205
That's the story of most Sun heirs. Wonder which wizard the Suns pissed off to be so cursed...

>>3616243
Some have made connections with Sun Jian as it's a south-rising-star, and Sun Jian has been growing in force with his power base in the south. This will not come back to bite Sun Jian in the arse in any way whatsoever.

>>3616185
>>3616191
>>3616205
>>3616260
>>3616306
>"I do not blame your wandering attention, many find my horse to be irresistible. Especially those who know anything about horseflesh." [Kindly]

"I have never seen the like," the boy confesses. "If there ever is a celestial dragon, then surely this is it, for it puts even the celestial horses from Ferghana to shame. My father purchased this steed for me at a great cost, and that day I believed myself to own the finest steed in the world. Now I see that my sight was narrow."

Gregarious and sociable, his is the kind of charm that does not come with a courtly upbringing, but rather is innate. A friendly demeanour, with smile to offer to those he meets for the first time.

This one will be dangerous.

You keep an eye on the boy as you listen to him chatter on about his past mounts and their names, noting the subtle but ever present watchfulness of his guardians. They are devoted to him, you realise. More than friends, more than servants. They are sworn to him in life and death.

To put in the Sinaeans' overly poetic terms, this young boy is a hidden tiger, not yet noticed by the greats of this realm, but biding his time.

But he's nothing like Octavian, you think ruefully. Too impulsive by far, with little of the refined cunning that your adopted son had. Octavian was not particularly excellent in military affairs, certainly, but as a political animal, he was like no other, even surpassing yourself. That was why you paired him with Agrippa in the first place.

It would have been nice to have a second in command once again, one he could rely on politically and militarily. Lynius was getting on in years, and Micah, while capable of limited administrative functions, was at heart a bookkeeper and not made for the kind of interpersonal interactions required for a minister.

>You resolve to have this dangerous boy killed when the chance comes.

>You wonder if you might be able to have him as a protege, as you took in so many others in your past life.

>You decide to befriend him so that his spears will be turned elsewhere when the promising boy becomes a powerful man.

>Custom

>>3617603
>You resolve to have this dangerous boy killed when the chance comes.
The empire has only one throne, and only one can stand at the pinnacle. An immortal needs no peer.

>>3617603
>You resolve to have this dangerous boy killed when the chance comes.

>>3617603
>You wonder if you might be able to have him as a protege, as you took in so many others in your past life

He is gonna die anyways.

How old is this kid, fortuna?

>>3617646
Eleven

>You wonder if you might be able to have him as a protege, as you took in so many others in your past life.

The kid is eleven, the childish traits can be worked out. Military tradition can be trained, but his natural charisma and endearing personality can't be.

>>3615030
>LEGIO I CLASSICA - VETERAN
>The First Legion is considered the elite legion, due to the highest concentration of former Five Hundred.
Fortuna, you previously mentioned Liu Yao have elite infantry too. Is there a reason why you stopped at veteran experience with our first legion? Is it the maximum rank?

>>3617696
Veteran is experience. How long they have been fighting, roughly speaking. You can have elite and green troops, if trained as such but not given enough live combat experience. The First Legion is the elite legion.

Also it was Shi Xie that had elite light infantry, not Liu Yao, unless I am misremembering things.

>>3617712
>Also it was Shi Xie that had elite light infantry, not Liu Yao, unless I am misremembering things.
You're right of course.
Got the experience part now.

>>3617603
>You wonder if you might be able to have him as a protege, as you took in so many others in your past life.

>>3615103
>>3615107
>>3615116
For me that touching interaction was one of the most memorable in the quest.

>You wonder if you might be able to have him as a protege, as you took in so many others in your past life.

Innocent of your internal schemes, the boy and his horse leads your men to the encampment. A healthy bustle of activity greets your sight, the kind that is required for preparing food to thousands of hungry soldiers.

"And here is the camp," the boy says brightly as he extends an arm to indicate the neatly made rows of tents. "Make yourselves at home! Oh, and I was supposed to tell you that you are wanted in the command tent, Lord Yalishanda."

"Thank you." You dismount with the rest of your officers doing likewise. If the appearance of newcomers excited interest among the Sun Clan's troops, it was eclipsed by their desire for food. "Is there anything else?" you ask, noticing that the boy is looking eagerly at your horse.

He blushes again, but with a determined huff, he prepares himself to ask a question that has clearly been on his mind for a while.

"Can I touch the horse?"

You stare at the boy, then start laughing to his great chagrin. He was just a boy.

---

"Lord Yalishanda," an important - and tired - looking man in fancy but functional armour nods to you. "You look well for a man who had to march all the way from Jian'an." No mention of the little tiff between you and the Suns regarding the taking of that very commandery. You can appreciate the nonverbal olive branch being extended at you. "You didn't have troubles with the border guards, I trust, or from the," here his eyes flick toward the flaps that lead out of the tent, "escort."

"He was nothing but pleasant," you assure him, and as if to prove the point Sun Ce's delighted cries sound outside, accompanied by the huffing of your indignant but ever-patient Nisaean steed. "I'm afraid that as a newcomer to these lands, I am on the disadvantage when it comes to faces and names. How did you know that I am, well, me?"

>>3617749

"Everyone has heard of those golden eyes of yours," he chuckles with the world-weariness of a man twenty years his senior. War has prematurely aged the youth, you realise. He can't be much older than Sun Ce playing with your horse outside, but he looks to be in his mid-twenties. "It's not something General Cheng is likely to forget," he continues, "as he has made sure to announce every time your name came up. I am Sun Boyang, Sun Wentai being my uncle. I have been given leave to take charge in scraping up what men we could to reinforce the north."

[From now on I'm going to ditch using bloody courtesy names, lest people get confused about the characters. I know I get confused. Sun Boyang is Sun Be, and Sun Wentai is Sun Jian.]

"Charmed, I'm sure," you reply. "I am Alexandros, as you already know, but you people seem to have difficulty with the pronounciation. Yalishanda will do. I bring with me fifteen thousand soldiers."

"So few," mutters one of the officials behind Sun Ben. "And he comes in all swaggering as if he's bringing a hundred thousand." Fair-skinned and chubby, he's not someone would take up the sword for himself. I've seen him somewhere.

"Lord Yalishanda seems to go for quality rather than quantity, Cousin Kai," Sun Ben smiles mirthlessly at the man, who seems to shrink into himself.

The memory clicks in place. "You're Sun Kai," you say. The former governor of Jian'an and Houguan who you captured while he was feasting in the Oak-Heart Fortress, you had half expected him to be executed for gross negligence.

"Family is family," Sun Ben says, catching your look. "And we were never worried about the southern commanderies. Liu Yao had his hands full with trying to take Poyang, after all. You will find the heartlands of our territories to be more... secure." The veiled warning: Don't think you will have it so easy the next time you invade our lands. "We will be heading north to Yangzhou, where Lord Yuan awaits us."

From the debriefing that ensues, you learn that Sun Ben was leading an army of sixty thousand (all green and untested), while Yuan Shu was waiting with fifty. He seems rather edgy about taking out so much of the soldiery away from home, but even Liu Biao has apparently declared a temporary truce to destroy Dong Zhuo once and for all. Not the kind of assurance that would make you take all your troops from your lands, but it seemed to have eased the Sun patriarch's worry.

>>3617751

By the time the officers' meeting ends, it is early evening. Spring really has come at last. The cool wind threading through the hills has none of the bite of Winter.

A small hand pulls at your sleeve. "Cousin Ben wants you to join him for dinner," little Sun Ce says solemnly, eyes only briefly flitting toward your horse with whom he was having so much fun earlier. "Sir," he adds.

>Accept the invitation and bring two stormtroopers

>Accept the invitation and bring Hermann, Wen Bao, and Ginger

>Accept the invitation and head alone

>>3617760

>Don't accept

>>3617760
>Accept the invitation and bring two stormtroopers

>>3617760
How come we have Hermann with us? Shouldn't he be governing his commandery? Oh you guys.

>Accept the invitation and bring two stormtroopers
Btw, Fortuna, do our enhanced legionnaires look different from stock humans?

>>3617784
Nanhai is not under your control, and some anons asked to bring Hermann with.

>Stormtroopers
Let's just say you like to keep them completely armoured, for more reason than their safety. The procedure was crude, rushed, and costly. Costly for their humanity, in some ways. Future generations of stormtroopers will hopefully be able to mingle more freely with baseline humans.

>Accept the invitation, take two stormtroopers

Stormtroopers were to be indefatigable soldiers who would hold the line where others won't. Bred with absolute loyalty, they were hulking giants towering above the already short Sinaeans while they marched, their completely covered bodies and heads giving the impression of suits of armour on the march.

Useful in battle, where intimidation is a tool as much as a well made sword. Not so much in a formal dinner with the General-in-Chief of the reinforcements.

Sun Ben eyes the two silent stormtroopers flanking your sides warily. They were relieved of their weapons before entering the tent, but that doesn't seem to comfort the generalissimo, not one bit. "One of your foreign warriors?" he asks.

"No, Sinaean." As if you would waste any of the People of the Ship on a half-crazy arcane ritual involving your own blood. Come to think of it, the entire thing had the stink of witchcraft, from one of those ancient myths about malevolent wizards and insane warlords. You pat yourself on the back for not being like one of those people.

"Oh."

Wonderful end to a conversation so well begun.

"Try the fish," Sun Ben says lamely after a while. "They're supposed to be very good."

You tentatively try the grilled fish doused with some kind of brown water, and find it to be surprisingly good. You take another bite.

"Is seafood not to your companions' liking?" Sun Ben inquires politely.

You shrug. "They ate."

Realising that you are not going to volunteer more details, he changes the subject. "You may be wondering why I invited you here."

>"It's for my delightful companionship, obviously."

>"I like the fish. Pleasantly salty."

>"Do you want me to beat up Sun Kai for you again?"

>"No."

>"If it's about Wen Bao, I have nothing to do with it, and I refuse to be associated with his mercantile schemes."

>>3617816
>"It's for my delightful companionship, obviously."

>>3617816
>"If it's about Wen Bao, I have nothing to do with it, and I refuse to be associated with his mercantile schemes."

This is funny

>>3617816
>Bred with absolute loyalty, they were hulking giants towering above the already short Sinaeans while they marched, their completely covered bodies and heads giving the impression of suits of armour on the march.
Holy shit, this is totally not going to bite Caesar in the ass somehow.

And what kind of weapons are they normally armed with? I am thinking gladius is too small. Perhaps a longer sword based on the design of our celtic auxiliaries?

>"It's for my delightful companionship, obviously."

>>3617876
Proportionally sized gladii with similarly upscaled scuta

>>3617883
>Proportionally sized
Thanks, now I am picturing several diminutive sinaeans
shishkebabed on a single oversized pilum stuck in the ground.

>>3617894
They're not inhumanly large, just a head or two taller than average

>>3617816
>>"Do you want me to beat up Sun Kai for you again?"

>"It's for my delightful companionship, obviously."

"As preferable as your companionship is to Cousin Kai, it isn't that," Sun Ben replies with a wry smile. "Look, I'll be straight with you. You are obviously a talented general."

"Bit of an understatement, but I'll take it."

"And you can march in speed compared to the rest of us," he says. "It should have taken you three weeks from Jian'an to this camp, but you arrived in two."

"Fastest infantrymen in the world," you say proudly.

"Not to mention, they are more experienced in combat as well."

Uh oh. You have a feeling you are not going to like what is coming next. "I have a feeling I am not going to like what is coming next," you tell him. You nab the last grilled fish on the plate and begin to munch with determination.

He grunts. "Relax, I won't order you to take vanguard or anything. Bandits usually don't attack military wagons. Not ones belonging to Sun Jian. Have you heard the stories of my uncle?"

"Tiger of the South or something like that, right?" you ask. "He is supposed to be a powerful general. He carved out the southern territories by pacifying the region of Red Eyebrows and Yellow Turbans with borrowed troops from Yuan Shu."

"You've been doing your homework," he nods approvingly, pouring himself some of the millet-wine. "Yes, the Sun Clan is on the rise again thanks to my uncle. But we are all too reliant on the Yuans. Those soldiers out there, the land we are standing on? Yuan men, Yuan generals, Yuan lands. We Suns are acting as mere stewards. These particular men follow my uncle because he is a charismatic leader, but they all swear allegiance to Yuan Shu. Very little you see here is in truth owned by us."

You chew thoughtfully on the bony fish. "And you want a backup in case the Yuans disown you." That explains the relative calm with which you were treated after you took two commanderies from them. It was in effect taking away from Yuan, after all. "What?" you say, raising an eyebrow at the surprised Sun general, "you think you know politics? Trust me kid, I've done my time."

"Well, I'm not saying we Suns are not ungrateful to the Yuans, but..."

"Let's cut the bullshit. You want an alliance with the new guy in the playground, somewhere to fall back on to when the Yuans decide to take back their toys. Yes or no?"

Sun Ben folds his hands. "We were thinking of a marriage alliance."

Common enough way to tie two families together. "You better hope she's a cutie, kid. I don't go for uglies." Sinaean politics isn't too different, after all, you think, taking a sip of the disgusting plant wine.

"With Sun Ren."

You do a spit take.

>>3617975

>"You play doctor with the prince of Bithynia ONE time-"

>"I know you people don't have the nicest image of foreigners, but I'm not a crib robber."

>"The literal toddler you are offering as a marriage candidate aside, what makes you think I am going to want to stick around with your family?"

>[Cough violently]

>"You sick, sick bastard. Do you have no love for your cousin? No, wait! Don't answer that. Knowing your degenerate match-making skills, I bet you have the hots for her."

>"I see. Well, good day to you." [Leave]

>>3617978
> I know you people dont have the icest image of foreigners, but im not a crib robber.

>>3617978
...Who is the prince of Bithynia?

Have you guys considered who would be the right match for our demigod Caesar?
And concubines a shit. All the illegitimate kids running about causing chaos in 20 years? Nah, thanks.

Can Caesar even conceive with mortal women? lol Given the effect his blood has. I am getting Prince Of Nothing vibes here.

Somebody from the middle end of Sun lineage is not it anyhow.

>"The literal toddler you are offering as a marriage candidate aside, what makes you think I am going to want to stick around with your family?"

>>3617978
> I know you people dont have the nicest image of foreigners, but im not a crib robber.

>>3617999
Caesar emphatically denies any relations with any individual whose blood and status may be construed as being similarly ranked to the now defunct title of Prince in Bithynia.

>>3618002
Zeus never had trouble getting it on. Ichor has that kind of deletrious effect according to some storytellers, though it really depends on the person. But divine sperm? Perfectly fine. Supposedly.

>>3617978
>>"The literal toddler you are offering as a marriage candidate aside, what makes you think I am going to want to stick around with your family?"
How does Caesar know who Sun Ren is? I think this is the first time they've been mentioned

>>3618024
She was with Lady Wu back when Caesar took over Jian'an. Was safely sent back to Poyang alongside General Cheng and other attendants.

I really hope he meant an engagement and not a marriage...
Otherwise, I don’t mind tying ourselves to the Sun

>>3618030
While the sudden proposal was kinda funny, I see this not so much as a true marriage as much as them essentially offering us a political hostage, a piece of.collateral as a sign of good faith

>>3617978
>[Cough violently]

>>3617978
>>"I know you people don't have the nicest image of foreigners, but I'm not a crib robber."
>"The literal toddler you are offering as a marriage candidate aside, what makes you think I am going to want to stick around with your family?"

Look, even if we don't actually marry this literal baby, we can train her to be a perfect match for our spy agency

>"I know you people don't have the nicest image of foreigners, but I'm not a crib robber."
>"The literal toddler you are offering as a marriage candidate aside, what makes you think I am going to want to stick around with your family?"

You stare at him with a deadpan expression. "I know you people don't have the nicest image of foreigners, but I'm not a crib robber."

"Oh thank the ancestors," Sun Ben breathes out a sigh of relief. "I was hoping..."

"Seriously. You have some twisted ideas of what foreigners can do," you say with some irritation. "The literal toddler you are offering as a marriage candidate aside, what makes you think I am going to want to stick around with your family?"

"She's not a toddler," he says tartly. "It would begin with a betrothal, of course," he begins, as if to reassure himself more than you, "and there are benefits to being friendly with your neighbours, Lord Yalishanda. No more border worries, reopening of trade, and maybe the chance of making common cause if either of us are invaded by Liu Biao."

You grunt, making your feelings known about how likely Liu Biao would attack your lands before theirs.

"Not having to keep an eye out on multiple fronts, then."

"That's all you want?" You raise an eyebrow. "Seems awfully convenient for me, more than it is for you."

"There is one more thing. A promise." Sun Ben is conflicted, mentally chastising his uncle for doing something so insane like relying on a barbarian. "When the time comes that the Yuans cast us out, promise us to give us refuge."

>"Non-aggression pact and trade only. I don't want any mutual defence pact nonsense." [Just non-aggro agreement + trade reopening + promise]

>"Add in preferred treatment on iron price negotiation and we'll be good to go." [Accept the four conditions, demand iron price reduction. PLEASE NOTE THAT 3 GRAIN = 6 IRON WAS UNDER EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES (FAMINE/GRAIN ROT)]

>"...Do I really have to keep the kid? I don't run a nursery back in Jian'an." [Forfeit hostage/betrothed]

>Custom

So do we give up land, or do we just give their family refuge in our lands?

>>3618398
Safe refuge, so a mansion at most with guarantee of not being harmed. Of course, you don't -have- to keep the promise if the relations between the Yuans and the Suns sour... but what are the chances of that happening?

>>3618382
>"Add in preferred treatment on iron price negotiation and we'll be good to go." [Accept the four conditions, demand iron price reduction. PLEASE NOTE THAT 3 GRAIN = 6 IRON WAS UNDER EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES (FAMINE/GRAIN ROT)]

>>3618398
More like if the Yuan abandon them they default to being *our* vassals

>>3618382
>"Add in preferred treatment on iron price negotiation and we'll be good to go." [Accept the four conditions, demand iron price reduction. PLEASE NOTE THAT 3 GRAIN = 6 IRON WAS UNDER EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES (FAMINE/GRAIN ROT)]

Give me Iron!

>>3618382
>add in perferred treatment on iron price negotiations amd we will be good to go.

>>3618382
>"Add in preferred treatment on iron price negotiation and we'll be good to go." [Accept the four conditions, demand iron price reduction. PLEASE NOTE THAT 3 GRAIN = 6 IRON WAS UNDER EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES (FAMINE/GRAIN ROT)]

>>3618382
>"Add in preferred treatment on iron price negotiation and we'll be good to go." [Accept the four conditions, demand iron price reduction. PLEASE NOTE THAT 3 GRAIN = 6 IRON WAS UNDER EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES (FAMINE/GRAIN ROT)]

The Suns are hiding something. A man with the kind of resources and respect that Sun Jian wields does not just bundle off his eldest daughter to the first barbarian that walks in front of his doorstep. Sun Ben was clearly under the impression that he was the brains in the family, but you doubt it. Even if it wasn't the kind of cool, detached thinking from the likes of Yue Quan or Sun Ben, Sun Jian had an instinctive understanding of which way the wind blew.

Something happened in Luoyang. Something that made the patriarch of the Sun Clan very sure that the relationship between his family and the Yuan overlords will enter a rocky patch.

The Suns are a rising power, yet most of their founding base is on loan from the Yuans. It must be excruciating, to play-act as being a warlord when most of his forces will revert to the control of another at their whim. What did you know of Yuan Shu? That he was vain, of good familial breeding (in Sinaean terms), and held lands in the heavily populated North. That he was given to being suspicious, sometimes even mistreating his own vassals due to fear that they might usurp his place.

Sun Jian was a popular general among the soldiers under him. Was he going to be targeted by the Yuans?

You lean back on the chair. "You'll have to give me better prices on your iron, or you will take my bachelorhood from my cold, dead hands."

The Sun general writes something with fancy brush strokes. "Done."

"Just like that?" You sit up in surprise. Damn. Maybe you should have asked for more.

"Iron price renegotiation was within acceptable margins," Sun Ben replies, looking up from the letter he's begun to draft immediately. You can see from his eyes that he is distressed at the generosity of the deal. "I really don't know what Uncle Jian is thinking..." he mutters.

So he wasn't told. You're not surprised. Whatever happened in Luoyang, it was sensitive enough not to be sent back by a messenger, who could be intercepted by Yuan Shu's men.

"We can continue the specifics on the iron trade tomorrow," he offers. You groan inwardly, knowing that you were never good at the whole... money thing. If it wasn't for Crassus who more or less acted as a bottomless pit of cash, your political career would have come to an abrupt halt back in your firsts life. Borrowing money, now there was a skill you excelled in. Or pillaging the Gauls. But making money through honest means? The very idea!

Then a bright idea hits you.

"Tell me, General Sun," you say innocently, "have I introduced you to Legate Wen yet?"

---

>>3618477
---
Scene Choice

>The Boy and the Metal Giant
"You're a big guy," Sun Ce said. The Stormtrooper stood silently at his post.

>Wen Bo and the Methods of Objectivism
"You do not need to pay your miners a set wage," Wen Bo explained patiently to a groaning Sun Ben. "That is a tax on your farmers, who see little direct benefit from the output of the miners, which makes it a tax on your agricultural sector. The market will naturally dictate their minimum wage-"

>Alexandros and His Betrothed
"I know what you are thinking, but this isn't what it looks like," Alexandros said hastily.

>>3618482
>alexandros and his betrothed

>>3618465
To add to this, let the girl remain with her family for the time being. It doesn't seem right to take a child from their mother so young.

>>3618494
Oh, then remove >Alexandros and His Betrothed

>>3618482
>Alexandros and His Betrothed

Memes, Economics, or Questionable Content. Ez choice.

>>3618494
>Implying it wouldn't be hilarious for people to ask Alexandros about his "daughter"

>>3618482
>Alexandros and His Betrothed

>>3618494
No no, we should definitely bring her up in Jian'an. Much more story potential there.

Wikipedia mentions that her age is unknown, so I'm going with 4 years old. Sun Ce is 11, by comparison. These are not strictly historical ages, but we've veered off strictly historical some time ago by pulling us into Three Kingdoms era instead of the beginning of Later Han.

>>3618494
Agree, she is 4, leave her with her family for now.

>The Boy and the Metal Giant

>>3618499
>>3618504
Alrighty then
>Alexandros and His Betrothed

"Statue!" Sun Ren burbles happily, pointing out the two stormtroopers flanking you.

The four of you walking back to your tents make an unlikely sight: two tall suits of armour escorting a young father and his daughter. You walk quickly, not enjoying having to bother with a toddler. At least you don't have to ask around to find where your soldiers were billeted. The legionaries took to erecting the castrum before pitching their tents, so all you have to do is follow the smell of freshly-sawn off wood.

"Castle!" she points.

"Yes, statue and castle," you say glumly. "Truly, your vocabulary lengthens by the hour." You never were good with these mini-humans. "Shouldn't it be bedtime for you, little one?"

"Up!" She shouts, suddenly stopping and raising her two arms at you. She repeats herself, stomping impatiently when her immediate wishes are not obeyed. "Up!"

"Up?" You ask. "Do you mean, you want a lift?"

"Up!" She says insistently. Sighing, you hoist her up your shoulder, her feet dangling freely against your body. If stormtroopers didn't lose their voicebox during the mutation, you would have sworn that those two were sniggering behind you.

When you reach the officers' tent (because at heart you are a good, conscientious military man and would never go to bed without debriefing the rest of your commanders), your face is red from having to indulge with the girl's wild and random movements on your shoulders. Were girls always this wild?

"And then he gave me a quarter of a bedsheet," Ginger is saying when you enter, then heads turn see the new entrants. A collective gasp fills the admittedly unfilled tent. Hermann looks surprised for the first time that you've known him, his mouth actually agape. Ginger, who was regaling the others with some story over a bedsheet, wipes his eyes disbelievingly. The Stormtrooper Headman ("I should probably give him a name...") just stares silently, an intensely judging look radiating from behind his faceplate. And Wen Bo looks like he's having a stroke.

"I know what you are thinking, but this isn't what it looks like," you say hastily.

"I knew it!" Ginger says triumphantly. "I told you bossman here banged that Sun whatshisface's wife while she was his captive! You naught, naughty man," he laughs.

Hermann's face is that of disappointment. "You were the one who impressed upon me the sanctity of marriage..." he murmurs, unable to finish his sentence.

The Stormtrooper Headman just stares. You think. It's really hard to tell from the mask.

"Nevermind all that," Wen Bo shouts. "I have to recalibrate the legionary dietary requirements now with a kid following us around! Do you have any idea how difficult it is to procure wet nurses around these parts?"

>>3618568

"What?" you say indignantly. You aren't about to take blame for sleeping with another man's wife, damnit! Not when you didn't get to enjoy the act. "No, I didn't! I mean, sure, I have a thing for married women, and she was very attractive, but I wouldn't stoop to doing it with captives! My favourite tags are consensual and missionary position!"

"Who's the girl, then?" Ginger says, pointing playfully at Sun Ren who has taken to examining your helmet very carefully.

>"This is my fiancee!"

>"...She's a war orphan."

>"I just started a daycare service for all the children from the camp followers hanging around. Seemed like the least I could do help improve my public image, you know?"

>"This," you say with a flourish, "is Sun Jian in disguise."

>>3618575

>Custom

>>3618575
>"This," you say with a flourish, "is Sun Jian in disguise."

>>3618575
>>"This is my fiancee!"
Really wish they were all drinking so they could collectively spit take

>>3618580
>>3618575
Switching to
>"This is my fiancee."
Deadpan please

>>3618575
>"This is my fiancee!"
Oh, absolutely.

>>3618575
>>"This is my fiancee!"

>>3618575
>missionary position!
Tsk tsk tsk

Wishing for the baseless accusations to end, you pick up the girl from your shoulder and lift her up. "This," you announce, "is my fiancee."

Silence.

The stormtrooper stares blankly. "I, uh, I didn't know you went for..." Ginger attempts a joke, but falters. Wen Bao is looking at you in calculatingly. You're not sure you want to know.

Hermann, however, turns out to be oddly accepting. "There isn't a huge age difference," the German chieftain tells the others. "When I started the voyage to come here, Alexandros was a toddler himself. This big man you see here before you is, in fact, a six-year-old."

"What."

"I am not marrying her," you say, and Sun Ren wriggles angrily. "Right now, I mean," you add hastily. "I am not marrying her right this moment. I'm obviously going to wait until she's grown up, for Mars' sake."

"After he marries her off first," Ginger cackles, calm restored. "He only likes married women, remember?"

You heave a sigh. The stress of marriage is beginning to take its toll, and you've only gotten betrothed.

File: andreas-rocha-nightfestiv(...).jpg (333 KB, 1920x872)

333 KB JPG

>>3618844
---

The combined armies began the slow crawl north, squeezing out of valley roads that was so common in this part of Sinae. At first, it was heavily forested hills and mountains with the occasional rivers that greeted their sight. Very few settlements existed here, not since organised banditry began rearing its ugly head again with the loss of control from the Capital. Even warlords like Sun Jian were often far too busy persecuting foreign wars to spend time and manpower in weeding out the well-hidden thief enclaves.

The scenes gradually changed. Norther and norther they went, and more and more hamlets they saw. Halmets turned to villages, villages to towns, and by the time they saw the Yellow River, there were cities.

How could one describe a Sinaean river city? He would not be able to, as they were in truth milipedes of cities, not quite cut off from each other as they hugged the famous muddy river. This was the heartland of the Xia people. This was where the ancestors of the Sinaeans had emerged from.

There was a great multitude of lights. Every street was lit, every shop filled with curious lanterns that glowed ineffably behind paper-thin outer skin. The roads were wide and long, accomodating both pedestrians and haulage in the form of oxen wagons. Occasionally, there were horsemen to be seen striding slowly across the road. They were almost always rich men, and the horses were almost always poor, timid creatures, lacking any of the energy or vitality of their western ancestors. Strange smells, new and old, pierced the traveler's nostrils. There was the old inevitable stench that came from so many people living together in one place, and also the new exciting food and flowers and perfumes.

And the people! The sea of humanity that bobbed up and down throughout the thoroughfares would have daunted any general. They could give everyone here a single spear and tell them to charge an enemy, and they could win by sheer numbers alone.

That is what they are doing, you grin. No wonder these Sinaeans took little care of human lives.

"General Sun will need some time to arrange the necessary vessels for transit. Until then, he has given us leave to enjoy the sights."

"Yue Quan," you acknowledge the... advisor? Not-quite-general? He was helpful acting as an interpreter for others while you did not need him, as long as no one he knew from the days he served Sun Kai noticed him. "Do you regret switching sides?" you ask, noticing the nostalgic look he has while looking over the cities.

"I will never miss serving Sun Kai. That man is a moron and a fool. But my family was from here," he answers simply. "Well, hereabouts. I miss them."

"Good time to meet them again, then."

"I can't," he shakes his head, dropping his gaze. "My father will have disowned me for abandoning the Suns."

>>3618847

>"Tell you what. Sun Ren- I mean, Lady Sun needs someone to watch after her while looking at the sights. Maybe you could act as her guard while she's at it, and near the end, you can bring her when seeing your parents. Show them that you're still kind of working for them." [Take the brat out of your hands and enjoy the sights without being seen as a single dad]

>"You're welcome to join me and the others while we peruse the goods. Sun Ren has been insisting on sweets, and I stole some brass coins from Wen Bo earlier. Don't tell him about that." [The gang's all here]

>"Ah, cities are stupid smelly things anyway. You're not missing out any. Wanna get drunk?" [Watch the city lights while getting smashed]

>Custom

>>3618844
Where does the married women thing come from? Cleopatra wasn't married prior to her relationship with Caesar, to my knowledge. Was his Roman wife a divorcée?

>>3618850
>"You're welcome to join me and the others while we peruse the goods. Sun Ren has been insisting on sweets, and I stole some brass coins from Wen Bo earlier. Don't tell him about that." [The gang's all here]

>>3618853
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euno%C3%AB_(wife_of_Bogudes)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra
Was indeed married to her co-Pharaoh (younger brother)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servilia_(mother_of_Brutus)

>>3618850
>"You're welcome to join me and the others while we peruse the goods. Sun Ren has been insisting on sweets, and I stole some brass coins from Wen Bo earlier. Don't tell him about that." [The gang's all here]

>"What."

Who said that? :P

>>3618850
>"You're welcome to join me and the others while we peruse the goods. Sun Ren has been insisting on sweets, and I stole some brass coins from Wen Bo earlier. Don't tell him about that." [The gang's all here]

>>3618850
>>"Tell you what. Sun Ren- I mean, Lady Sun needs someone to watch after her while looking at the sights. Maybe you could act as her guard while she's at it, and near the end, you can bring her when seeing your parents. Show them that you're still kind of working for them." [Take the brat out of your hands and enjoy the sights without being seen as a single dad]

>>3618850
>>"Tell you what. Sun Ren- I mean, Lady Sun needs someone to watch after her while looking at the sights. Maybe you could act as her guard while she's at it, and near the end, you can bring her when seeing your parents. Show them that you're still kind of working for them." [Take the brat out of your hands and enjoy the sights without being seen as a single dad]

>>"Tell you what. Sun Ren- I mean, Lady Sun needs someone to watch after her while looking at the sights. Maybe you could act as her guard while she's at it, and near the end, you can bring her when seeing your parents. Show them that you're still kind of working for them." [Take the brat out of your hands and enjoy the sights without being seen as a single dad]
I've lost track of how long it's been. How old is Caesar right now?

>>3618850
>"You're welcome to join me and the others while we peruse the goods. Sun Ren has been insisting on sweets, and I stole some brass coins from Wen Bo earlier. Don't tell him about that." [The gang's all here]

>>3618850
>>"Tell you what. Sun Ren- I mean, Lady Sun needs someone to watch after her while looking at the sights. Maybe you could act as her guard while she's at it, and near the end, you can bring her when seeing your parents. Show them that you're still kind of working for them." [Take the brat out of your hands and enjoy the sights without being seen as a single dad]

Endless Tie Quest.
I am no longer suffering from heatstroke, so I am able to go back to the real world like a productive member of the society again. I'll be updating in the afternoons at the earliest like before, assuming votes are resolved.

>>3618877
Wen Bo/Ginger

>>3619031
Technically six or seven, though accelerated maturation thanks to divinity helps not waddle through the world awkwardly with toddlerfeet.

>>3618850
>>"Tell you what. Sun Ren- I mean, Lady Sun needs someone to watch after her while looking at the sights. Maybe you could act as her guard while she's at it, and near the end, you can bring her when seeing your parents. Show them that you're still kind of working for them." [Take the brat out of your hands and enjoy the sights without being seen as a single dad]
Tie? Not on my watch

>>3618497
>>3618501
>>3618517
All these kiddy fiddlers itt. Give them a hint of an underage waifu and voting way gets obvious.

>>3618850
>You walk quickly, not enjoying having to bother with a toddler
I frankly don't understand continued focus on Sun Ren. It is totally out of character for Caesar.

>Custom
Its a big town. Idk, inspect a local theater or something. Immerse yourself in what the foreign culture has to offer. Ask around for a competent smith for our fat stack of urukku iron. Get some cool champions to recruit. Everything is better than that.

>>3620707
Or take Yue Quan and help him reconcile with his father. (Sorry for triple-posting.)

>>3618299
>we can train her to be a perfect match for our spy agency
Or get a real, trained, competent spy.

>>3618847
So this is a really interesting dynamic you've set up, Fortuna. Given the age difference and that he's taken on the duty of raising her Sun Ren will probably start seeing Alexandros as a father figure soon. As she gets older, though, he will remain the same age, and they'll be married when she comes of age; at which point their apparent ages will be quite similar, despite his having been present for her entire childhood. Following the effect that has on her outlook should be super interesting.
I can only hope this quest runs long enough that we get to see plenty of that kind of character interaction, people dealing with Alexandros' immortality as they go through their lives.

>>3620761
It's gonna be hard to see our mentors and best allies slowly die off

>>3620687
tfw Wen Bo didn't get to go full Milo

Vote is on enjoying the sights of early 1st century Chinese city. Anything in particular you want to see? Please note that I may not add suggestions depending on feasibility of putting them in the scene I already have in mind.

>>3620761
I flirted with that effect with Ambiorix - he's greying now, and is a bona fide grandfather. I'm pretty sure Caesar is not a pedophile and he's not interested in Sun Ren, but the politician in him knows the value of hostages, and political marriages are just that. Hostage taking.

Ariamnes will probably be the first to go...

>>3620707
>focus on Sun Ren
I do allow player choices within reason, but that doesn't Caesar has to enjoy doing it (while understanding said reason and ultimately doing it because it is reasonable). In other words liking to do something is just one of the factors that influence doing.

I am going to put QM breaks on pedo stuff. Child betrothal is par for the course around these times and cultures. Consummating said thing? Here comes the crucifix.

>>3621225
Well, once she grow up and become an adult, I hope Caesar can get over it when he marry her and threat her as a proper woman, otherwise, as an immortal, he is going to have trouble finding companionship at some point.

Let’s go to a temple, see if we can chat up a god.
Look for winemaker?

>>3621225
>Anything in particular you want to see?
>smithy
>kung fu school
>theater
>Yue family house

>>3621235
But I like the idea of temple too. We had only one instance of sinaean pantheon exposition so far. Lets get acquainted with some shall we?

>>3621225
>Ariamnes will probably be the first to go...
Not before he encounters his watermill!

>>3621244
You wouldn't let him fight against just any old watermill, would you anon? Ariamnes deserves the Imperial watermill in the Imperial Gardens of Luoyang- oh wait...

>>3621244
My thought exactly, the watermill is too important to the story!

>>3621247
No problem, we just have to invade the Jade emperor palace and let him fight the mother of all watermill, who happened to be crossed with a dragon :P

>>3621225
>knows the value of hostages, and political marriages are just that
I have trouble wrapping my head over the whole Sun family genealogy thing. The emperor belonged to it, right? Then how distant is Ren?

>"Tell you what. Sun Ren- I mean, Lady Sun needs someone to watch after her while looking at the sights. Maybe you could act as her guard while she's at it, and near the end, you can bring her when seeing your parents. Show them that you're still kind of working for them." [Take the brat out of your hands and enjoy the sights without being seen as a single dad]

"I don't know..." Yuen Quan says, looking conflicted. "Bringing the girl would show that I am trusted again by the Suns, but then I would be lying to my parents."

"You don't need to mention working for the Suns. You work for me, who is in league with the clan."

"On a temporary basis."

"Don't add extraneous information that you weren't asked for."

"But you're her proper guardian, not me. Do you really trust me not to lose her in the crowd, or-"

"Take a few stormtroopers. It should keep you out of harm's way in the city."

"Well, you've convinced me," Yue Quan decides. "I can't tell you how thankful I am for allowing me this chance of renewing ties with my parents, Lord Yalishanda."

"Please, call me Alexandros," you smile.

"Yali... Alekshan..." Yue Quan stutters around the foreign vowels.

You look at him expressionlessly. "I don't know why I tried."

---
A festival night. Red lamps bob up and down like will-o'-the-wisps over the heads of pedestrians. The smell of cooking somethings fill the air with a heavenly aura.

Companions
>Hermann
>Ariamnes
>Wen Bo
>Ginger
>Stormtrooper Headman
>Suggestion

>>3621264
This is pre-Three Kingdoms. The Suns are still minor warlords, vassals to the Yuan Clan. Dong Zhuo is still alive, and has the Emperor.

The passing down of authority for the Suns go like:

Sun Jian

Sun Ce (eldest son of Sun Jian)

Sun Quan (second son of Sun Jian)

The Emperor of Wu you are thinking of is Sun Quan. Sun Ren is Sun Quan and Sun Ce's sister.

>>3621267
>>Hermann
>>Ariamnes (I somehow missed him coming with us)
>>Wen Bo
>>Ginger
The only choice.

>>3621271
(so did I, but then I remembered the Parthians are basically bodyguards)

>>3621274
Would be interesting to hear our old world companions' impressions on China. If they are comparable to mine then they are not terribly impressed with local military prowess and tradition based on experience so far?..

>>3621267
>Hermann
>Ariamnes
>Stormtrooper Headman

>>3621267
>All of the above

>>3621221
>full Milo
God dammit OP, I knew I recognised that character but I wasn't sure if it was intentional or not. How long until he starts supplying our breakfast's eggs? He already has the chickens...

>>3621280
This, I mean China is a land of mystery and enigma for people where most of ours came from, assuming they know of the region. I'd enjoy hearing them bitching about how they were promised a good fight but got shit militia instead.

>>3621378
The more people you bring, the more diluted the response. If you want a heart-to-heart, you can't have the entire group rumbling around with you.

>>3621371
>>3621382
Then change to Hermann and Ariamnes

>>3621225
>I'm pretty sure Caesar is not a pedophile and he's not interested in Sun Ren
It's not as if she won't grow up, and he is immortal. Caesar's lack of pedophilia doesn't mean they can't be married once she comes of age.

>>3621445
I have my doubts as to whether or not it would be worth properly marrying into the Suns in 10+ years. I've no problem taking them in for those delicious early-phase resources, but I see no need to tie Alexandros to a band of beggars.

>>3621445
>>3621479
That's a bridge to be crossed in the future, for sure.

I forgot how annoying multiple option votes were, they always deadlock me. Should I go with Hermann & Ariamnes (the most consistent votes) or wait until a "group" gains plurality consensus?

>>3621479
They do form the kingdom of wu later. One of the three kingdoms. Chances are they will be good allies and we got real lucky.

>>3621482
I will add another vote tot he hermann and ariamnes group

>>3621479
Honestly I just think the dynamic between them as a married couple once she grows up has too much story potential to ignore. In stories about immortal characters the "your friends get old and die" mechanic is explored constantly, but I can't think of many I've seen that work with the mechanic of a character dealing with the person who raised them being the same age that person was when they were a child.

>>3621267
>>Hermann
>Ariamnes
Might as well spend some time with them before they sail down the river

>>3621482
Just go for it Methinks.

>>3621486
Perhaps. Depends how she turns out I suppose. She'll be no Cleo I'm sure, but hopefully she turns into something of good use to the Pater Patriae.

Three men solemnly walk down the festive streets of some-city-or-other. The municipal districts merge and overlap between each other in the river banks of the Yellow; no one city or village is truly separate in the long line of commercial and civilian abodes that hug the water lines, and that applies to the types of shops being offered. Lively music spill out from a pleasure house's doorway, right next to diners and vendors of sweets, perhaps cunningly focusing on the close relationship between food and sex.

"I am a happily married man," Hermann reminds you the third time your eyes stray to a giggling harlot's bare shoulder. "And Aisling told me to keep an eye out on you. You can't be seen in the company of such... women."

"Killjoy."

"You are betrothed, Alexandros," he replies, a little exasperated. "Betrothed. Do you understand what it means? The Suns are the immediate overlords of these lands. Not to mention you are a six year old. Help me out here, Ariamnes."

"It is better to dig one fruitful well, than it is to sink the spade in a multitude of dry spots," the Parthian says sagely.

Hermann evidently decides to take that as support.

You stifle a laugh even as you put on a pouting expression. You knew what you were getting into when you asked Hermann and Ambiorix to meet you by the city gates. Being with Ginger would have resulted in a drinking competition, you're pretty sure, and the stormtrooper Headman (you decided to go with that as the designation) was nonverbal. Wen Bo was spending his time discussing the iron price with Sun Ben, for which you feel a tiny bit of guilt. The ex-farmer, who, it turned out, was a serial tax evader, had a way of driving people up the wall. Maybe I should get him a souvenir. They seem to have a lot of those in this marketplace.

"What did you want to see, anyway?" Hermann asks. "We already saw the horse merchants. None of them were anything we would want."

>You adopt an innocent expression. "I heard there was a martial arts school around here. I just wanted to see what they had in their training programme."

>"Did you know that Sinaeans have a hundred thousand million trillion gods? Well, we're visiting one of them," you say as you rummage through some religious merchandise. "Hey, do you think the gods would prefer apple-scented incense, or a roasting pig one?"

>"Weeks on the march has left me itching for entertainment. We're going to do something so high class that will blow your mind, Hermann. Behold, the Opera!"

>Suggestion

>>3621524
>"Weeks on the march has left me itching for entertainment. We're going to do something so high class that will blow your mind, Hermann. Behold, the Opera!"
I want this to be a Family Friendly™ outing, with no bloodshed or divine conflicts. Besides, we should appreciate the "culture" of Sinae.

>>3621524
>You adopt an innocent expression. "I heard there was a martial arts school around here. I just wanted to see what they had in their training programme."

>>3621524
>behold the opera!

>>3621524
>>"Did you know that Sinaeans have a hundred thousand million trillion gods? Well, we're visiting one of them," you say as you rummage through some religious merchandise. "Hey, do you think the gods would prefer apple-scented incense, or a roasting pig one?"

>>3621524
>>You adopt an innocent expression. "I heard there was a martial arts school around here. I just wanted to see what they had in their training programme."
Maybe there's someone here who can help train us in one of the martial stances for combat. Probably not exactly the styles we were taught, but similar enough that we can apply and incorporate what we learn here. Perhaps even learn special new stances?

>>3621524
Damn, now the hard choice.

>"Did you know that Sinaeans have a hundred thousand million trillion gods? Well, we're visiting one of them," you say as you rummage through some religious merchandise. "Hey, do you think the gods would prefer apple-scented incense, or a roasting pig one?"

>>3621524
>>You adopt an innocent expression. "I heard there was a martial arts school around here. I just wanted to see what they had in their training programme."

Test

>>3623401
I am alternately getting a "you are banned" message and an ability to post comments. Just wanted to notify you players about internet/4chan troubles.

>>3623402
Welcome to the club.
Are you on your phone?

>>3623426
Nah, had issue with modem. And now waiting for consensus. Did you know, I once waited two days for a tie to break?

>>3623443
Tie are the scourge of /qst :P

Here, let me have mercy on you.

>"Did you know that Sinaeans have a hundred thousand million trillion gods? Well, we're visiting one of them," you say as you rummage through some religious merchandise. "Hey, do you think the gods would prefer apple-scented incense, or a roasting pig one?"

>>3623443
>Did you know, I once waited two days for a tie to break?
Gasp

Well I stand by my choice as it is high time Caesar learned more on what's what and who are the divine bigwigs here.

Looks like the temple has it, writing

Testing if I can use colours and stuff with a changed IP

"Did you know that Sinaeans have a hundred thousand million trillion gods? Well, we're visiting one of them," you say as you rummage through some religious merchandise. "Hey, do you think the gods would prefer apple-scented incense, or a roasting pig one?"

Both Ariamnes and Hermann tense up. "Relax," you assure them. "I'm not going in to pick a fight, just to say hello. It's only polite to do that while passing through their lands."

"I should have brought the entire army," Hermann groans. The way he is talking, you're pretty sure he would, too.

"I can only offer words of caution," Ariamnes says softly. "There is a reason the gods live apart from men."

---

The Sinaeans have a strange way of putting gods everywhere, and temples are no different. Even though this temple was dedicated to some war-god or other (his proper name was very long, and you didn't want to decipher the decidedly archaic letters) there are a number of door-gods, fountain-gods, and even floor-gods. Or at least, placards dedicated to the statueless, minor god-spirits. You sniff. The incense smell makes you sneeze.

"Doesn't smell like any god I know," you grumble quietly, enduring the stares darted at you from fervent worshippers. "

"That's a good thing," Hermann says, also quietly. "I don't know what it is with you and supernatural occurences, but I'm not eager to see them happen again."

"Jinxed," you whisper back. Hermann had done it. You could feel the unmistakable thrumm of power, carefully modulated so as to not overwhelm the worshippers present in the very public temple courtyard. "Meet me back in the gate. I gotta see what's inside the inner rooms."

"I am going if you are," Ariamnes says.

"You're both insane," the German groans. "How will you get past the warrior monks?" There were a few elaborately dressed bald men with polearms patrolling around the courtyard, making sure no ordinary worshippers got access to the inner sanctum. "Look at them," Hermann points out, "that family is getting in only because they're wealthy patrons for the temple. Probably."

Your eyes follow Hermann's fingers, and a wicked smile forms on your lips. It's Sun Ben and his... family? You didn't know he was old enough to have children.

>"I think I just found us a ticket into the innermost layers of the temple." [Greet Sun Ben]

>"That's too straightforward. I want a bit of challenge." [Come up with another route]

>>3623504
>"I think I just found us a ticket into the innermost layers of the temple." [Greet Sun Ben]

>>3623504
>greet sun ben

>>3623504
>>"I think I just found us a ticket into the innermost layers of the temple." [Greet Sun Ben]
Sure. The man seemed amiable enough.

Sun Ben's first reaction is to gasp in horror. His second is to run.

By then, it is already too late. "That's no way to greet your newest ally," you chide, grabbing his arm with a steely clasp. He does a sort of fish impression, mouth opening and closing without making a sound (rather like he's being dragged underwater, you note with detached interest), and looks around in panic.

"Wen Bo!" he says fiercely after regaining some composure, lowering his voice on account of the puzzled monks around you. "Did you bring that infernal demon with you? I came here to purify myself from that... that... monster, not hear more about your cutthroat fiscal policies!"

Ah. It seems the man you sent to Sun Ben for the specifics of the iron trade made quite an impression on him. "I solemnly swear that Wen Bo is one of a kind," you raise your other hand, keeping the grip on Sun Ben, "and I have no idea what fiscal policies you are talking about but I refuse to be roped into it. I just wanted to get to know more about your people's religion."

He looks at you with doubting eyes.

"Are these men people you do not want to associate with, Lord Sun?" a high-ranking monk asks. Three initiates with heavy poleblades skulk forward. They're tall for Sinaeans, indicating a steady and fulfilling diet. You wonder just how much this temple gets from donations to be able to feed hungry warrior-monks like these and put on all these opulent displays on the temple proper. There must be two hundred monks here, at least.

"Not quite," Sun Ben says hesitatingly. "They're..."

>"Friends. We're friends, old mates from back during the War. Aren't we, Ben buddy?"

>"Family. I am his cousin's would-be-husband, Lord Yalishanda. Pleased to meet you."

>Custom

>>3623531
>"Family. I am his cousin's would-be-husband, Lord Yalishanda. Pleased to meet you."

>>3623531
>"Family. I am his cousin's would-be-husband, Lord Yalishanda. Pleased to meet you."
What's all the fuss? Who knows, we might make a donation too.

>>3623531
>"Family. I am his cousin's would-be-husband, Lord Yalishanda. Pleased to meet you."

>>3623535
>>3623603
>>3623622
>"Family. I am his cousin's would-be-husband, Lord Yalishanda. Pleased to meet you."

"Lord Yalishanda," the elder monk bows. "We have heard much of you." When his head comes back up, his eyes are lit up with curiosity. "Inspector Liu's demise has already entered popular imagination. I believe the Opera is due to show a dramatised account of your victory, in fact."

"I'm sure they honour me with greater power and wisdom than I hold in reality."

"Oh, I wouldn't put it past them to get most of the story correctly," the high monk says. There is a whiff of that again, the indelible aroma of divinity. You taste metal in your suddenly dry mouth. "They are such clever people, those playwrights. Sometimes, I think they are inspired by the gods themselves."

"The gods seem mighty active in Sinae."

"No more than anywhere else, I am sure," he replies. "You would be welcome in the inner sanctum of the Temple of Zhuanxu."

>You accept the invitation. You taste metal.

>"Actually, I think that Opera sounds really interesting..."

>>3623644
>You accept the invitation. You taste metal.
>so apple-scented incense, or a roasting pig one?

>>3623644
>>3623652

Hahaha yes support this

>>3623644
>metal
>yang
>(some kind of martial god?)

>You accept the invitation. You taste metal.

>>3623644
>>You accept the invitation. You taste metal

>>3623652
>>3623653
>>3623665
>>3623671
"I am Eldest. You may call me Gao Yang."

Unlike the outer courtyard, the inner sanctum is spartan in its furnishings. Everything here are made of straight lines and sharp angles, and very few of the worshippers who populated the outer sections are visible here. This is where most of the monks eat, live, and die, you realise. This is the heart of the cult of this particular god.

There is no obvious statue, no colourful placards indicating where so-and-so god is sleeping. If it wasn't for the chronic baldness of the inhabitants, you would have easily mistaken this place for a military training facility. The monks, many of whom are bereft of their upper garments, are in fierce combat with one another. The wooden thwack of staff upon flesh ring in the sanctum, the sand-filled floor in the middle being reserved for duels while everywhere else there are squad-level combat training.

You watch the fighters. Simple, repetitive movements, good for training the body. But no replacement for actual combat.

"You disapprove," the Eldest smiles. He had taken you - the VIPs and the unexpected Ps - to a raised dais where one could overlook the sweaty monks. "Perhaps you find these to be lacking, compared to your ironclads. Yet there is a purpose to this, Lord Yalishanda. A sacred purpose." He nods at Sun Ben. "General Sun has tasked me with creating a form of martial arts that could be easily propagated to his soldiers."

>"I have yet to meet a martial artist who can trump a legionary in multicombat."

>"If martial arts worked so well, they would have dominated Sinae by now."

>"Do you think your god would prefer apple-scented incense, or roasted pork type? I bought both, just in case."

>>3623701
>Do you think your god would prefer apple-scented incense, or roasted pork type? I brought both, just in case.

>>3623711
>"Martial arts make Great Warriors and Great Heroes, but I must admit to some doubt about how valuable it is to soldiery."
>"Do you think your god would prefer apple-scented incense, or roasted pork type? I bought both, just in case"

Hum, martial arts isn’t completely useless to the legion, at least, we can us it refine their conditionning routine? Maybe?

>>3623719
Support

>>3623719
Ehhh that's a big fat maybe, legionary training regimen already makes them really powerful and ultimately, battles are about stamina, for the most part. That's one of the reasons triplex acies (switching front lines with behind to let them breath) is so effective, compared to straight up locked phalanx who can't make that kind of shift without breaking formation.

Martial arts, to me, seem like a performance art. Also a way to show "this guy is not one of the mob", since it's fancy. Think of it as a main character not wearing helmet. Looking at you, Aragorn.

>>3623701
>>"I have yet to meet a martial artist who can trump a legionary in multicombat."

>>3623701
>"Martial arts make Great Warriors and Great Heroes, but I must admit to some doubt about how valuable it is to soldiery."
>"Do you think your god would prefer apple-scented incense, or roasted pork type? I bought both, just in case"

"Apple-scented or roast pig-scented?" you ask out of the blue.

The Elder is off-balanced. "What?"

"It's just that I bought some of those incense down town a while ago, and I was wondering which one would please your deity more."

The Elder's composure is regained. "There is nothing that pleases him more than the aroma of blood, forcibly extricated from battle."

"Thus the martial arts," you say.

He nods. "Thus the martial arts."

"To answer your previous question, I find that martial arts make Great Warriors and Great Heroes. But I must admit to some doubt about how valuable it is to soldiery." You had experienced the humbuggery of martial art practitioners before. Many of them were one trick ponies, trained to impress more than kill. Then again, it would be problematic to kill your disciples.

Sun Ben looks affronted, but the Elder smiles brightly. "I appreciate your viewpoint," he says. "We endeavoured to copy - yes, I am not ashamed to admit it - from basic excercise regimens from a certain warlord based in Jian'an." His eyes twinkle with merriment as you realise what he is saying. This cheeky fellow stole your training procedures. The training grounds were not exactly private, sure, but Alexandria Eskhata was out of the way enough.

More importantly, you had been confident that no one would bother copying from "barbarians" like yourself.

"My acolytes are yet incomplete vessels," the Elder says as he pours another round of his herbal infusion. "I believe a more... hands-on approach would do them well, by serving an example of what to aspire for. You are a consummate warrior yourself, Lord Yalishanda. The death of Major Ohglu was a great blow to those of the Red Tiger sect." From the completely un-sorry expression, this Red Tiger sect does not seem to be a friend of his sect, whatever its name is.

>"I would be interested in testing out how far your copying scheme has gone." [Accept the implicit challenge]

>"Good luck completing those vessels." [Keep seeping tea.]

>"Such valuable experience can be costly." [Negotiation: BEGIN]

>>3624087
>"I would be interested in testing out how far your copying scheme has gone." [Accept the implicit challenge]

>>3624087
>"Such valuable experience can be costly." [Negotiation: BEGIN]

>>3624087
Already copying us? Damn :/
>"I would be interested in testing out how far your copying scheme has gone." [Accept the implicit challenge]

>>3624087
>>"Such valuable experience can be costly." [Negotiation: BEGIN]

>>3624087
>"Such valuable experience can be costly." [Negotiation: BEGIN] (not my vote)
Does this imply we are negotiating to sell the secret of the legion?

>>3624133
No, just for your hands-on demonstration on where they failed in their half-stolen doctrines. They don't have all of the stuff, just the mundane things like jogging, swimming, swinging at the dummy a lot.

To be honest, a lot of it is less technique, more repetition. Marching a shit ton to get soldiers used to doing that in wartime. Stabbing a shit ton to get soldiers used to doing that in wartime. There is no secret "HIDDEN BOOK OF MARTIAL LORE" in your mind or anything.

>>3624139
>>HIDDEN BOOK OF MARTIAL LORE
>Caesar Says- Stab, No Cut. Stab always kill, cut only wound
>Caesar Says- The Shield is the thinking man's dodge
>Caesar Says- Pila waves to eliminate enemy shields are a must
>Caesar Says-....