Ancient China, EBII Style
So this time I feel like doing something different. This is just my little write up on what a Chinese faction in EBII would look like. This is all purely for fun, I have no expectations for the addition of East Asia into the mod. Not all of what I'm going to write down here will be of a high standard of historical accuracy, hopefully over time I can improve it on a historical and fun basis.
The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. In the year 272 BCE, the very first of the cycles nears it's end. While the Makedones have begun to settle and draw their borders, the Romani are still preparing to make their mark in the greater Mediterranean world, and India would soon see the rule of Maharaja Ahsoka; another land is consumed by the flames of war. Ancient China nears the end of the Warring States period, the culmination of a long process of decay of the hallowed house of Zhou and the rise of new authorities based on centralized bureaucracy. And this particular point in time is an interesting one indeed, for it is in this epoch that the notorious generals Bai Qi, Lian Po, Wang Jian, and Li Mu fought massive battles that determined the fate of millions. While Wang Jian and Li Mu had yet to rise to notoriety, Bai Qi had already massacred myriads of men at the Battle of Yique; more recently he had seized the capital of the State of Chu, and in this year he is about to massacre another army at Huayang. His most notorious act, the mass murder of an entire generation of the State of Zhao, also has yet to come. That's not to say the rest of China has been peaceful. A few decades earlier, the last vestige of the ancient Shang, the State of Song, was extinguished by the State of Qi. Flushed with victory, Qi planned to divide China between itself and Qin as Di of the East and West. In turn they were nearly extinguished by the State of Yan and Yue Yi, being reduced to only two cities. They barely avoided extinction thanks to the ingenuity of Tian Dan. The State of Lu, which wrote much of the history of the preceding Spring and Autumn period (as a matter of fact, the name Spring and Autumn comes from Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals,) was also destroyed by the State of Chu.
Faction Fundamentals
China is split into seven Warring States, with several lesser states managing to cling on, including the increasingly defunct Zhou Dynasty. By this time nearly all pretense of adhering to the order of the house of Zhou is gone. The former Dukes who ruled the regional states have all declared themselves Kings, and constantly seek to expand their dominion at the expense of other States. To this end they have all developed centralized bureaucracies, meritocratic ranking systems, the infamous Long Walls (of which the Great Wall of China is the most famous,) and advanced military science. The first two will be a large part of what distinguishes a Chinese playthrough on the Campaign Map. At this time Chinese citizens were sorted according to a system of ranks in ascending order.1 Climbing this system of ranks required feats in battle such as the slaying of enemies (proven by presenting decapitated heads,) and victory in the battlefield; or achievements in the civil field such as averting serious losses through diplomacy. Higher ranks conferred a number of benefits such as social prestige and a larger income stream, and the ability to trade in your rank to avoid punishment, as such Chinese character holding high ranks are likelier to be Wealthy. There was also a split between civil and military principles, with notable figures serving as military generals or scholars and ministers. While there was some degree of overlap, it seems like most Chinese characters choose to excel in one aspect or the other.
Thus a Chinese faction would likely possess a system similar to the Druit/Kingetos system used by the Keltoi, encouraging Chinese characters to invest in a martial career, or an administrative one. This will be represented in a ChineseMilitary trait spelling out their military position and responsibilities, and a ChineseCivil trait that does the same for their civil career. Though they can increase their rank by progressing along both paths, increase in rank only corresponds to their highest position in one field. So a Chinese character who spent his entire career fighting battles now wishes to increase his rank through the civil path will now have to start from scratch and build up to an equivalent rank.
Chinese Faction Leaders stand above this system, they have no need to personally administrate or command armies. Though they may have practical experience before their ascension, especially if the main branch is extinguished and the State is forced to look into the branch families for a ruler. Any rank or Civil/Military traits should be removed once crowned. Due to their ritual and administrative responsibilities, Chinese Faction Leaders rarely lead armies in the field, and doing so will likely attract discontent for the risk to the ruler's person.
The Chinese also employ a system of colonization. We know that Qin historically migrated volunteers and convicts to both non-Chinese lands, and the lands of the rival states for the purpose of easing supply chains and providing military recruitment. They went so far as to remodel the settlement pattern and agricultural landscape of their core region of Guanzhong2. The Han Dynasty would also plant settlers into their various peripheral regions and the Tarim Basin. One peculiarity of Chinese colonization is that it also had a tendency to move peripheral populations into it's interior on a large scale. Certainly other nations practiced using foreign peoples as garrisons and political guards and hostages; but Qin and Han moved thousands of households, if not more, into the metropolitan region of Guanzhong.
Reforms
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Military
As a result of hundreds of years of ever-escalating warfare, China has developed numerous military innovations and militarization has seeped deeply into the fabric of Warring States society. Shang Yang famously reorganized the State of Qin along militarized lines, believing that States who failed to tend to Agriculture and War "will certainly be dismembered." The military forces themselves were organized from squads of five to army units of 10,000. In previous centuries the States had only recruited from their capital regions and from the well off. By 272 BCE, the Chinese bureaucracies had utilized the entirety of their resources and population, and now soldiers from the entire state can be called to fight. While conscripts made up the bulk of Warring States armies by far, they also made use of penal soldiers and volunteer soldiers. The State of Wei in particular made use of enlisted soldiers that could march forty kilometers in full armor, a crossbow with fifty bolts, and three days worth of rations.
The Chinese employed a wide variety of weapons. Aside from the expected shields, spears, swords, and bows; they had a unique fondness for the crossbow and halberd. As a matter of fact, you could say they were the quintessential Chinese weapons of the era. In the Six Secret Teachings of Taigong, one formula for an army of 10,000 had 6000 men wield crossbows, and supposedly the Han Dynasty's Donghai arsenal held 500,000+ crossbows. The influence of the crossbow went beyond bulk and numbers, Sun Wu (famously known as Sun Tzu) compared strategic power to a drawn crossbow and the use of crossbows were often used to distinguish Chinese arms from barbarian forces. A variety of tactics were developed with the crossbow, from laying ambushes with crossbow units to developing a method of fire and advance. That's not to say bows are irrelevant, they held practical military and ritual significance in China. Bows have a mythological origin in being invented by the Yellow Emperor, and were used as ritual gifts and symbols of office by the Zhou kings. Chinese cavalry around this time were also horse archers using bows, as it isn't possible to reload a military-grade crossbow on horseback (though there are depictions and literary evidence of crossbowmen firing while mounted on horses, they just can't reload them on horseback.) With the prevalence of bows and crossbows, Chinese factions should be one of the most firepower-centric factions in the game, with only the Nomadic factions and Sabai being able to compete.
On the other hand, the Chinese seemed to be rather single minded when it came to their armor. By far the most popular type of armor is lamellar, though one-piece arm guards and helmets have been found. Despite the fact that bronze and iron armor dating to this period has been found, and numerous bronze artifacts demonstrate significant skill with metalworking, the few references to the production of armor near this period refer to cutting leather. The lamellar suits worn by the Terracotta Army also seem to be modeled after leather. It is safe to assume that leather was the primary material for armor in this period. These suits have different levels of coverage, with suits of armor that do not cover the back, the most iconic terracotta suit that covers the shoulders and entire torso, and suits for charioteers that have the most extensive coverage including cheires and hand guards.
By the beginning of EBII's time frame, chariots were one of the primary Chinese weapon systems. The strength of a state in this period was traditionally judged by the number of chariots it possessed, and according to Chao Cuo the Han Dynasty needed to swap out their chariots for cavalry when faced with fighting the Xiongnu. However, cavalry was known around our time frame. King Wuling of Zhao famously adopted Hu clothing to better suit cavalry operations4; Zhang Yi refers to both a chariot arm, and a cavalry arm when describing the Qin army5; Li Mu also mobilized both chariots and cavalry to fight the Xiongnu6. Our knowledge of the use of chariots is vague, with Chinese military texts claiming that a few chariots can defeat many infantrymen, but advises them to avoid treacherous terrain. Given that a chariot crew of three has both a bowman and halberdier mounted alongside the driver, it might be that chariots are multi-purpose. As recorded in the Donghai Military Inventory and the Six Secret Teachings of Taigong, there are also different types of chariots. They also have unique functions historically, such as dragging up a dust cloud at the Battle of Chengpu, or forming improvised defenses as advised by Sun Bin.
Taking all this together, the Chinese way of war would form a distinct experience in Europa Barbarorum II. With their emphasis on bows and crossbows, as well as the usage of chariots which are slower and clumsier than cavalry, the Chinese would likely be defensively oriented on the tactical map. A player would need to concern themselves with making sure their ranged units have proper defenses against sudden assaults, and would need to allow more time for their chariots to properly form up and orient themselves. But don't think they're lacking in good offensive options. The chariots are tough units, and given their high durability on an individual unit basis in the mod, will likely be vital in taking the offensive against hostile Chinese forces and soaking up countless arrows and bolts. The multiple melee arms deployed by a Chinese force also allows them a variety of answers against enemy soldiers, and some of your ranged units are fully capable of fighting in melee. You also have horse archers, which are some of the most swift and flexible units in the game, though it's unlikely many of them will do well in melee.
China at this time was highly militarized, and possessed complex military science. Military texts often discuss discipline (including military drills) and the qualities of officers. Contrary to the common view of human waves (which in itself is taken too literally) and tossing peasants into meat grinders (the agrarian population was the core of most armies in history, including the famous Legiones,) the Chinese were fully capable of fielding highly trained and well equipped soldiers. That having been said, with the sheer amount of conscription employed by the Warring States, there'll be plenty of sub par units to be found.
No matter which State they choose, the player would have much to do before they can achieve victory. Though Qin has already empowered themselves through the reforms of Shang Yang, and possess a skilled roster of generals commanding disciplined and motivated troops, topped off by the military legend Bai Qi; they are far from their ultimate victory. Whether you wish to see history through or turn it's tide, you must make use of the many powerful tools granted to you. Shake Heaven and Earth with your awesomeness, and create an empire of ten thousand years!
References:
- 1. http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History...hidengjue.html
- 2. Frank Leeming, 1980. Official Landscapes in Traditional China, p.153-204 & Mark Lewis, 1990. Sanctioned Violence in Early China, p.63
- 3. Chang'an 26 BCE: An Augustan Age in China.
- 4. Zhan Guo Ce, 19.
- 5. Shiji, 70.2293.
- 6. Shiji, 81.2249-5.
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