Dom continued after announcing that Subutai would stay at the Lead General, with Xun You as the lead Strategist and Xiao Qiao as their assistant. Her role key in allowing them to concentrate on the big picture thinking, whilst she managed the day to day tasks.
"Due to our expanding territory and growth in the number of Military Heroes, I have also decided to re-arrange our forces." Dom explained, which caused most of those in the room to look at him seriously, as this would dictate where they would be based in the future. "Subutai and Xun You will be primarily based in Riverside or the Military Camp north of Tranquillity, depending on their needs at the time. This will keep them fluid and central to all of our forces. If we end up in a situation where force is needed, they can redeploy units from the different units or themselves more swiftly. Based on this, I also want to keep a small Merchant Ship at Tranquillity that can be used as transport back to Riverside quicker than by road if needed."
"That makes sense, we are keeping at least one Bireme at Serenity for similar reasons." Subutai agreed, already aware of what was coming as he had discussed some of it with Dom on their return from Serenity. Xun You was also aware as he had strategized it with Subutai earlier.
"I'll make sure that a ship is always on standby." Elder Qiao announced from his seat, which received acknowledgment from Subutai and Xun You. Dom waited for some small conversations that were taking place about logistics to finish before he continued.
"We will also be splitting Riverside's forces in to three different armies. Within these three armies will be two Generals, with two deputies." Dom continued, surprise on the faces of his long time Commanders as they weren't sure of what was coming next. "We have split it in to three, as there are three key areas that we need to concentrate on. The first is the defence of Riverside and our new Cities, the second is the clearing of the Silver Forest and the exploration in that area, the third is the defence and exploration of the south."
"The first army, which will be mainly under my control will be led by our newest General, Sun Ce." Subutai announced from beside Dom, which caused their to be some shocked looks in the room as this new arrival had been given such an important role. Some of Dom's older Generals such as Tomyris, Tomoe and Liao Hua looked shocked that a newcomer had taken something that they could potentially have done. "Sun Ce be the lead General, with Xun Yan as the secondary General."
These caused even more confusion as Xun Yan was primarily the commander that defended Riverside, but he was less visible over some of the others as he hadn't participated in any frontline battles. There were lots of loud whispering taking place, and Dom had to ask for silence.
"Patience please." Dom said sternly, which received more silence. "This is very little change to what is already taking place. Xun Yan's role will be to manage the defence of Riverside, Serenity and Tranquillity. To make sure that their is no internal strife and that these cities are safe. Uriah will be his deputy and between the two of them, I hope the new cities will have the same peaceful feeling as Riverside. This force will be based in Riverside and the Military Camp north of Tranquillity."
"Sun Ce however will be primarily looking North." Subutai explained before anyone had chance to speak. "He will be supported by my student Hua Rong. They will secure the Northern Mountains, the Coast of the Shimmering Sea and the location of Tongpai Town. This is a mixed role of exploration and defence. When we decide to travel North, this army will be the teeth for that expedition. They will have their headquarters in Riverside, but eventually we will move this to Serenity."
Dom had decided on this, as he wanted Sun Ce to be nearer to his home as he recovered, whilst also giving chance for Da Qiao to see her husband that she had been reunited with. Nothing had changed for Xun Yan other than his scope extending to the new locations. Sun Ce's role was essential for now, and both Dom and Subutai had planned to change him to a more aggressive role in the future.
Uriah and Abubakar were the most junior and lowest grade Heroes in Riverside, so using Uriah as a deputy for Xun Yan was a respected choice, as he had performed his task well when ever he had deputised for a commander. Hua Rong was also grateful for his role, as he felt it would allow him to still learn from Subutai, whilst giving him chance to shine in a Military role, his Heroics in Tongpai Town still being spoken off. Hua Rong also had a more sensible demeanour, and both Dom and Subutai hoped he could have a positive influence on Sun Ce who was known to do first and think second.
"The second Army, will be led by both General Tomyris and General Gan Ning." Dom continued, as everyone realised that Sun Ce and Xun Yan's roles made sense after being explained to them. "As previously agreed, Gan Ning will control our Navy and be docked at Mountview Military Camp, where his forces will cover the northern part of our claimed land to clear the forest of any more Type 3 Humans and search for the remains of the unknown City that should be based in there. His deputy will be Lu Fang."
Gan Ning happily accepted his role, where as Lu Fang was grateful for the important role he had been given. He had performed well in the Tongpai Town campaign, and the former bandit felt that he had a lot to give. His mind thinking that joining Riverside was the best decision he had made in a long time. Gan Ning was also happy to have Lu Fang as his deputy, feeling that they were both mischievous characters and would have a lot of fun together.
"General Tomyris will be based north of Riverside near our mining district and will be doing the same task as General Gan Ning. However, whilst Gan Ning's scope is the northern coast towards Tongpai Town, General Tomyris will be aiming north towards the Mountview Military Camp." Subutai explained, "Once she has reached there, they can both spread out until the whole forest has been cleansed. Her deputy will be Guo Sheng. We will discuss this separately after, but we will split the forest equally between the two parts of this army."
Guo Sheng was happy to be put with Tomyris again, as she had saved his life at Tongpai Town. Whilst Tomyris was happy to have Guo Sheng with her as he was an excellent Warrior who wasn't scared about putting his own body on the line for his comrades. Between Gan Ning and Tomyris, Dom felt that this was the strongest force, which it needed to be as their task was currently the hardest.
"Finally, the third Army will be led by both General Tomoe and General Liao Hua." Dom continued, a visible relaxation on Liao Hua's face as he hadn't had chance to contribute much to Riverside yet since his arrival, primarily as he had been based at the south of Riverside and had missed the fun at Tongpai Town, as well as the special missions that they had been on. "General Liao Hua will be tasked with exploring the South West of Riverside, originally the Hoplite Erastus and Leon found the Red Hare's in that direction and we haven't done any further exploration since. We need to know if there are any potential threats, as well as potential resources that we can secure. Huang Xin will be your deputy."
Huang Xin was happy to have been given the task, feeling that it was less strenuous than some of the others whilst he recovered from injury. He had also made quite a friendship with Liao Hua, as had all of the injured Heroes, and was excited to work with him exploring unexplored land. Liao Hua on the other hand was grateful that he could continue in his role and have the opportunity to prove himself.
"General Tomoe will explore the south between Serenity and the Underground Ancient City." Subutai explained, "She will be assisted by Qin Ming. This is an extremely large area to cover and a lot of freedom will be given to both of you to do this. There are a lot of unknowns, however Mayor Lucius has seen Goats when we passed by, so please do try to catch them for him."
There was some laughter at the light hearted comment, whilst Huang Xin gave Subutai a worried look. Both Tomoe and Qin Ming had fiery personalities and he worried that the two of them together would clash. He turned his head to Qin Ming, who had a large smile on his face instead, calming his worries slightly.
Dom then directed everyone's attention to Xun You who stood up to begin talking about the more finer details of these appointments. Everyone turned to him, especially Xun Yu and Xun Yan that looked at him with pride at his accomplishments.
"Previously, each unit had their own flag colour to differentiate them from each other on the battlefield, this will continue." Xun You began. "Xun Yan will work under the flag of Riverside as you are in a defence only position. Gan Ning will continue with his Red Flag, Tomyris with her Blue, Tomoe with her Purple, Liao Hua with his Yellow and Sun Ce will be given Green. In the future as the armies grow, they will be given names specific to their tasks. Subutai will continue with his Black Flag and is the central command."
Whilst everyone was silent for a second, listening to Xun You discuss flag colours which they didn't think was overly important, Xun You continued.
"This current plan is to last for twenty eight days beginning tomorrow. We expect both the Silver Forest Campaign and the Southern Exploration Campaign to be completed to a satisfactory level and for all Commanders to have returned to Riverside. Whilst this happens, the Northern Defensive Line that General Sun Ce will be running, will also train new Warriors that arrive." Xun You explained. "In the next twenty eight days, we expect a minimum of one thousand five hundred new Warriors to have joined us in Riverside from daily spawns. These Warriors will be allocated to the relevant forces after initial training with General Sun Ce."
There was some gasps at the number of new Warriors that were joining, most of the Military Heroes had worked with armies of a much larger force in their own histories, however with the small population of Riverside, this was an extremely large number of Warriors to have to feed and train.
"The new Batavi Warriors will join Generals Gan Ning and Tomyris, as well as a large portion of the Legionaries, Spartans and Balearic Slingers." Xun You continued, "The Celtic Mercenaries that have now joined, as well as the majority of the Armoured Hoplite will primarily be based with General Sun Ce. The Forbidden Guard will be split across General Xun Yan and General Sun Ce. The remaining Legionaries and the majority of the Archer and Lancer Cavalry will be split between Generals Tomoe and General Liao Hua."
"What about the Legionaries that are in training, such as the former Bandits and Shang Warriors?" Gan Ning asked, fully invested in the conversation and not realising he had spoken before Xun You had finished.
"They will continue training, and will also be utilised by General Xun Yan to complete a road between the three Cities, under the management of Commander Abubakar." Xun You replied with a smile, "Commander Abubakar showed great courage in the Battle for Tongpai Town, and after the road has been completed, will be trained by General Subutai to create a strike force."
"Before anyone asks, we will not be deploying the Red Titanaconda Unit at this stage. They will be kept and trained whilst Ou Yezi works on their armour and saddles." Subutai announced, "If we feel there is a need to use them, then we will deploy them. The Sabre Tooth Forbidden Guards will be placed in a similar situation, where they will be trained and prepared for any potential need. We will deploy currently trained units to General Gan Ning and General Tomyris, but any further units will be kept behind for unit training as a proper Cavalry, rather than as individual units."
"Does anyone have any questions?" Dom asked, which unsurprisingly was answered with a lot of questions from not only his Military Heroes, but also his Domestic Heroes as they questioned how supplies would be transported and other projects that the Military were involved in, such as the additional support with the construction of housing.