"The Generals are all progressing well in their respective missions." Subutai began, "It may be best to go through our unit strengths first though before we explain the different situations."
"That's fine with me Subutai, I'm quite excited to hear about our growth whilst I have been gone." Dom replied keenly.
"Our Military now encompasses over three and a half thousand members, with around a fifth being Cavalry and the rest being either Infantry or Slingers." Subutai replied, "We have incorporated our loose units of Celtic Mercenaries, Shang Swordsmen and Bandits in to the Ninth Legion Training Camp. These have all now graduated as having understood the basics of the formations, fighting styles and tactics of the Legionaries."
"So how many Legionaries do we now have?" Dom asked excitedly. "If we include those graduates."
"With a partial loss of some who have joined the Navy from the Shang Swordsmen Prisoners we now have One Thousand Two Hundred Legionaries, plus a full detachment of Praetorian Guards." Subutai explained with a grin, "We have also been working with Ou Yezi, who has created a strong Blacksmith District, to improve both the weapons and shields of the Legionaries, I will let Xun Yu explain."
"The shields have been reinforced with a light metal, giving the rims added protection from heavy slashing weapons such as axes and heavy swords. Actumerus the Batavi, has been using his strength to test them. They still bend after heavy blows, but they do not break or splinter as easily as before, giving a much higher level of defence to the Legionaries." Xun Yu explained, "He has also improved the Legionaries weapons, creating a slightly longer and more durable blade. My cousin and I have been discussing some tactics and have discovered some weaknesses due to the reach. The Centurions have been very happy with the upgrades and initial testing has been a success."
"Some of the Legionary units are a bit different to use their previous strengths, so two of the Centuries that are mainly from the Celtic Mercenaries are using longer swords and larger shields." Subutai added, "These have become our heaviest unit. The ones that have struggled the most are the ex Bandits that worked with the Halberd Twins."
"That sounds great, I look forward to seeing them!" Dom replied with an impressed look on his face. Before his mind realised a situation, "Do we now need to forge new weapons and build new shields for every new Warrior, or are these upgrades coming direct from the Warriors Hall?"
"Unfortunately, these all need to be made manually, but we have massively extended our Blacksmithing, not only do we have the Weaponsmith and Coinsmith, we have been able to develop similar structures around." Xun Yu explained, "Crassus and Ou Yezi have also been successful in hiring a large number of apprentices and journeymen Blacksmiths. We haven't yet hired any senior or master smiths, but we have hopes for the future."
"That is just the start." Subutai continued eagerly, "We also now have around seven hundred and fifty Hoplite, including the Thebians and around one hundred and twenty Spartans. So nearly nine hundred spearmen in total, if we don't include the Spearmen within the Forbidden Guard. Their armour had already been upgraded when the Warriors Hall was upgraded, but we have been working with Ou Yezi on improvements in that field as well."
"Originally, they were lightly armoured so they can be flexible, but myself and Hua Tou have looked at the minor injuries that were gathered, and it seems that we can improve their protection." Xun Yu explained, "We have increased the amount of their body covered with light armour. It won't defend against a strong penetrative attack, but should protect them from slashes and grazes which we have seen to be the most common. We have also reinforced their shields as we have with the Legionaries, whilst keeping the weight down and also made it so their spears can be split in to three parts. The first part screws in to the second, which in turn screws in to the third. This allows their unwieldly spears to be used at a much closer range, or changed depending on the battle. We have also developed a handy case that can carry the three part spear on their backs beside their shields."
"Does that not weaken the durability of their spears?" Dom asked with a raised eyebrow, worried that they had gotten carried away with innovation in his absence. He was both intrigued and impressed so far how different minds, with different strategies, had been able to work together to try and improve historically strong units.
"I understand your thoughts, one strong solid piece of cured wood for the shaft is flexible and strong. However, Ou Yezi has come up with a great concept of linking them and maintaining the flexibility. We have an abundance of materials across both our mines and the forests that surround us." Xun Yu explained, "I think you will be excited when you see the new Blacksmith District, a lot of new things are being tested and created."
"How does this change of weaponry benefit us fully?" Dom asked, "As I guess these will also need creating like the Legionaries new equipment?"
"That is correct. The reason behind it is that the Roman Legions, out fought and eventually replaced the Greek Hoplite. A Hoplite Phalanx unit is made to shock and awe their enemy, a never ending row of spears, with an enemy that you can't reach. However, the Roman's created more adaptable units that could move around the Hoplite Phalanx. The Hoplite are ideal in an open field of battle with their flanks well protected or if they can extend their line longer than their enemies. We do not have enough to extend a longer line, and in our most recent campaigns they haven't been able to show their full capability on an open field." Crassus responded, "But they bring to us additional tactics and strengths, so we have looked at how we can improve and incorporate that in to a specialised Spear unit."
"By having the three lengths, they can adapt to the terrain and scenario." Subutai explained. "We now have a light spear unit that can now be our front line in a field battle, or an adaptable unit in different terrains. We also have reinforced heavier troops with the Legionary upgrades. It would be great if we could get a spear expert Hero. The Halberd Twins and Tomoe are all excellent, and conversations are already taking place on if we can convert some of our Hoplite in to Pike users instead."
"That is a lot of change." Dom agreed as he listened to them explain what they had upgraded and why. "Is there anything else?"
"We now have around seven hundred horse Cavalry, this is mainly Horse Archers, but we now also have over one hundred Lancers and nearly two hundred Batavi Horsemen." Subutai replied with a grin. "It's not a high number if you look at it against a normal kingdoms forces, but all of these are high quality and specialised units. The Horse Archers had already been upgraded with bows that increase their range. The Batavi Horsemen have been busy since arriving, so we haven't had much chance to look at them for upgrading, but they have been instrumental in our current campaigns."
"The key one is the Lancers." Xun Yu added, "Whilst Ou Yezi was working on the Titanaboa armour project, he also worked on a Lancer armour. The Lancers can now be on heavily armoured Red Hare Horses, their old horses not strong enough for the weight. The Lancers will also heavily armoured and their Lances have improved penetration."
"How are the lancers doing? They were quite agile, has Banas had any feedback?" Dom asked seriously, impressed by the idea but worried for the impacts.
"Banas is happy with the changes, her Lancers are having to do a lot of weight training with the Legionaries, but they are doing well." Subutai explained. "I do hope we get a specialised unit in the future, but they are now a heavy hitter that can destroy most formations in a field battle, with a much higher survival rate. Survival is key when our numbers are so low."
"They are currently equipped in their original gear, as the southern exploration campaigns they are on are long and arduous at times. The Lancer upgrade has been tested on a small group that we kept behind, the Blacksmiths also do not currently have the full capacity to develop all of the needed armours." Xun Yu added.
"We do not have enough resources coming from the mines, or enough man power to do all of these projects at once." Crassus explained, before turning to Hatshepsut.
"The Blacksmith district is also not large enough, it is something I am working on." Hatshepsut stated, taking her cue.
"So it's a plan that has been agreed, but we are not ready to implement it yet." Dom asked, happier now he had heard his lead Cavalry Centurion had agreed with it.
"That is correct, our priorities have been the Legionaries and then the Hoplite. They are not all fully equipped with the new gear yet, but we are working at a fast rate to keep up with the needs." Crassus replied, "We prioritised the new Legionaries, as their equipment doesn't come from the Warriors Hall."
"That is a lot of work on Ou Yezi." Dom sighed, "How is he coping?"
"He is in heaven." Shang Yang interceded. "He is like a man reborn, he may be a swordsmith, but he seems to be enjoying the variety. I have a meal planned with him later, he keeps putting it off due to new projects."
"I am working on getting some more senior support for him." Crassus added with a smile.
"Anything else I need to know?" Dom asked, hoping they could move on to the conversation on how the Generals had got on.
"Just that we have Sixteen Titanoboa's that all have an assigned rider, we have been able to develop a saddle with a quick release mechanism. Their Tridents have also been made by Ou Yezi's apprentice, but we haven't made progress on the armour yet." Xun Yu explained, "We also now have one hundred and fifty Sabre Tooth Cavalry, who are also well saddled and thankfully the Forbidden Guard who ride them are well armoured and trained already."
"It does bring up one of my problems." Lucius added, "They eat a lot. We are doing great in our farming district, but the more these units grow the more meat we need to procure. The Titanoboa are happy eating fish from the River for now, but the Sabre Tooth Cavalry will need a dedicated food supply soon."
"Any ideas on how we solve that?" Dom asked seriously, understanding the problem. They did have Animal Husbandries, but the food production from them was supposed to be for the Civilians and Warriors. Dom felt that the Beast Halls were a bit of a double edged sword as a building. They could add incredible strength, but they took a lot of resources.
"Conquest." Crassus replied flatly. "We can breed, nurture and purchase as many cattle as we can, but we need more Animal Husbandries. For now, we can manage our Daily Spawns, but we may get to a stage when we have to pause it."
"It isn't the worst case situation yet." Subutai laughed, "Plus, one hundred and fifty Sabre Tooth Tigers is intimidating enough. If they hit one flank and the Red Hare Lancers hit the other, the fear alone will win us some battles."
"The final update really other than we have around three hundred Slingers, is that we now have thirty Batavi Emperors Guard, who we are planning to split. We are intending to replace your current Guard with eight of these on external trios, with each Senior General, Strategist and Senior Leader having some as well." Xun Yu explained, "Xun You, Gan Ning and Tomyris currently have four each, as does Subutai and Sun Ce. We haven't given any to Tomoe or Liao Hua as of yet. The Ten that have not been counted for are currently with Meritamen, Artemisia and Elder Qiao."
"I am happy with my Hoplite." Dom relied seriously, "But I think it is a great idea as they are one of our strongest units."
"They are the Strongest unit." Subutai stated, "In strength and loyalty, they are the best. I agree that you shouldn't lose your four Hoplite, but you should take eight of these when they are available. They are a shadow that will protect you."
"Even Lady Meritamen has some." Shang Yang added, "That took a lot of persuading, but she did knowing that you would have some as well."
"Let's see what happens." Dom replied fairly, he didn't like being guarded at all times, especially now with Rosie and Stephen's possible inclusion. It felt like his game time was becoming less enjoyable if he couldn't have the freedom.