"Unification and Conquest over these states will not be completed over night, and whilst the Warring States period took centuries and then a final few decades of war to complete, we are not talking about a conquest of that size. We are not even a year old as a state, but this will still take a lot of time." Xun You stated, agreeing with Shang Yang's comments. "We gained some key map information from this which will help us with our plans. We now know that the base of the Type 3's is most likely between ourselves and the small Empire of Sumadragupta. There is also most likely some enclaves between there main holding and the southern point of Yuan Shao's forces due to the recent run in we had with them when the two Papaver Captains fled. Therefore, we should be able to create some good ties with Sumadragupta by both using Huvishka and Bagoas."
"What do you plan by that?" Dom asked him, as he looked at the map and could see the large gap between Sumadragupta and Noctus where Tomyris was headquartered. There was a blank space, mainly showing as forest on the outskirts, with river forks and potential lakes. The space between them was at least four times the width of the Lazarus Kingdom, if not more. There were even some small crosses on the edges on the Sumadragupta side that looked to be other Cities or abandones ones.
"If the problem that caused this is the Type 3's, then we are the best placed people to support him. We work together to crush them between us and we can fight over the land in the future when they are finished." Subutai commented, with nods from around the room.
"Bagoas has weakened both forces and they already seem to have tension from the officers that have been interrogated." Xun Yu agreed. "We will see if Yuan Shao can introduce us and we may be able to set up a future coalition meeting with us included."
"That is if firstly Yuan Shao is a potential ally, and secondly that the five Kingdoms don't reinforce and attack us a second time with larger numbers." Ptolemy replied, with some nods of head around the room. "However, if it was me, after taking such a beating to my forces and the morale, a temporary cessation of hostilities would do a lot to alleviate any political pressure."
"I would agree." Shang Yang stated as he looked at the map again, pointing towards the space between Dom's kingdom and that of Sumadragupta."This keeps our North West front engaged for the future, but also means we know what we are fighting there. The Type 3's will have us and this other force on the other side of them, if we can create a friendship then we can get rid of this major headache now."
"We can, the worrying part is just how large this land is. For the coalition to send so many Warriors, they must expect the Type 3's to have a large force themselves. Especially if Sumadragupta is already engaged with them." Huang Zhong commented in agreement.
"Then let's hope for positive negotiations." Pausanias added. Dom regretted that Crassus was not with them currently, as he would have been the ideal person to send with Xun Yu, but he had full trust in Xun Yu's capabilities.
"We can't keep naming these places based on their rulers." Tomoe said, as she stretched her neck, clearly hiding some discomfort from all of the fighting she had done yesterday. "Do they have names?"
"They do." Xun Yu smiled in response as he continued, "The Kingdom of Lusitiana is ruled by Viriathus, The Kingdom of New Carthago is ruled by Hanno. Sumadragupta is the Emperor of Gupta Empire, whilst Huvishka is the Emperor of the Mathura Kushan Empire. Yuan Shao is currently the Governor of Ji and the General in Chief of the Han Empire."
"Loyal to the Han, even when the Han isn't here." Huang Zhong nodded in approvement.
"He may be loyal to the Han, but he is still greedy for power and can't be fully trusted." Zhao Yun sneered in response, whilst Subutai took over the conversation.
"The North of the Lazarus Kingdom is the two Cities on Tongpai Lake that we are using as a natural barrier, and we need to build a wall and entry gate to the Northern Passes beside Megara. With these we now know the situation in the North part of our Kingdom. The Cities to the North of the Pass are currently trade partners with Crassus, but that can always change in the future." Subutai explained, as the others nodded along, he then pointed to the map again. "Our west is five Kingdoms that may or may not stay as allies, they will fight us and each other in the coming years and this is our expansion route. The south and the south west are now our key discussion points."
"To the South we have the Papaver, these are our biggest current threat. Their existence will cause us trade issues in the future when we expand our trade networks south. They also fundamentally are very different from us and they will return with new forces at the next opportunity." Xun You continued, "They have all the lands to the south of them to raid as far as we know, and if they can bring in more warriors then they are a risk. Also, if they ever make contact with this coalition whilst it is united, they could collectively come back at us again."
"Our fleet has grown since the arrival of the Great Harbour of Serenity and the ships that came with Xanthippus and Mardontes. One of these new Great Fleets will join Xanthippus to police the North and Megara. The second will join Mardontes who will have to take control of Gan Ning's Southern Fleet, this fleet is our face against future Papaver skirmishes and will need to map and explore to the south of us. The third of the new fleets will join Artemisia and protect our Harbours and Islands of anything that passes the other fleets." Zhou Yu explained to the group. "Trade is going to be key for us to bring onboard new allies, the Lazarus Kingdom is rich in both finances and resources and we should use these. Artemisia will protect the port entrance, whilst Ling Tong will protect from here at Eruthros will the River Fleet which will need reinforcing as well."
"Are we going to send Su Fei his flagship back to Tongpai Lake?" Xanthippus asked, with the towering Louchuan being a huge deterrent to any future naval attacks on the Calm River.
"We will retain it here, a second will be deployed at Renatus soon from the damaged ships we reclaimed in the Battle of Jiangxia. Our priorities has been the Naval Fleets but the River Fleet is just as important it seems." Zhou Yu replied seriously, with others grateful for the reduction in risk.
"Trade on the Calm River is also going to be key, we are the only access point we are aware of to the Sea for any of these five Kingdoms. They will want to travel down our River, as other Kingdoms will to trade with them in the future when they are aware. Serenity and Jia are both going to become major Trade Towns, as will Riverside. We need to use this as an opportunity to tax and police the Calm River." Xun Yu explained, as Dom looked to see the eyes of Shang Yang and Lucius open, as if they were counting the potential benefits to the Kingdom with this. "If we make our defences on the River look impenetrable with a strong fleet, trust will grow and we will become a powerhouse in this region in the future."
"This will also make us both a target for our enemies, but they would only attack if they were confident or we could blockade their access to these potential resources." Shang Yang replied as he nodded, a smile on his face as there was more than just victory gained from this Defence Battle.
The meeting continued on for several hours and the sun was about to make it's decent by the time Dom began his return to Riverside on one of the smaller Mengchong ships. The Trireme were being kept in Eruthros for now with the main part of the River Fleet, and the Bireme and Transport Ships were still transporting supplies to Eruthros or partially injured back towards Riverside.
Dom had visited Gan Ning before departing, but the General was still unconscious, a powerful concoction of drugs being given to him so that he could recover whilst he slept. His temperature had maintained, which Hua Xia had explained was a positive sign.
The Mengchong travelled faster than he had expected, with the rowers mainly redirecting the ships whilst the sail itself did most of the work. The clouds from the day before had dispersed, but there was still some a breeze that pushed easterly and helped them with their approach.
Imperator and the Sabre Tooth Tigers of his guard were lay on the front of the ship, whilst his Guards sat nearby at Dom looked out in to the Calm River below them, watching the water part as the ship powered on towards Riverside.
[Congratulations on completing the Quest - Defend Your Borders]
[Quest Score - A
You pushed the enemy back and have turned victory in to an opportunity. You defeated a larger enemy than yourself and your forces took minimal losses, with improved medical skills reducing further losses.
The enemy however did breach your wall temporarily and this has limited to your score being above an A.]
Dom was happy to see the quest was complete, he was also happy to see he had scored an A which normally meant he would get good rewards. However, he felt the mark down was a bit unfair as they were being attacked by Elephants and was using the enemy passing through the wall as another part of their defence tactics.
[Congratulations on completing the Quest - Discover Who Your Attackers Are]
[Quest Score - S
You discovered who all of the attacking forces were, as well as the reason behind. You also captured key information such as map locations, other potential forces and the opportunities that could arise from this Defence Battle.]
[Rewards will be placed in your Personal Chest at the Palace in Riverside]
Just as Dom was about to think about the score from the second Quest and how it had all been doable due to Gan Ning's attack, he was interrupted by new notifications that appeared before him.
[Kingdom Quest Three Launched - Protect Your Borders
Now that your borders have been declared and opportunist enemies have been defeated, you now need to build lasting protection. Built Walls and Gates around your Kingdom to keep future opportunists at bay.]
[Kingdom Quest Four Launched - Meet your Neighbours
Whilst you may now know your current surroundings, there is still a lot to learn. Scout and map out the surrounding fifty miles of all your Kingdom in every direction. Other Kingdom's Maps can be incorporated in to this task.]
[Kingdom Quest Five Launched - Modernisation
You are a Player, Playing a Game set in a world of History and Fantasy. Bring Modern Ideas, Technologies and Skills to improve your Kingdom, both in Civilian and Military Branches.]
[Kingdom Quest Six Launched - New Units
So far your Warriors Halls have brought specialised forces from across Ancient History, use your own and Generals experience, to create new Unit Types. Incorporate Technologies, Strategies and Materials to improve and evolve your forces.]