The Han city of Zheng is located in the fertile farming lands south of the Yellow River. It's people were and are farmers, well organised and peaceful by nature.

But land in the fertile plain was in short supply and coverted by many other tribes, and so the early years of the tribe were inevitably violent.

Fortunately a powerful leader emerged who would unite them in victory after victory and soon the city of Zheng became a kingdom of four cities.
Xu Shi was destined to lead the Han for many years and under his divine guidance the kingdom expanded and became wealthy occupying a large area of fertile land and growing to include seventeen settlements.

Life was peaceful and the Han lived in fraternal harmony with it's neighbours content to work their fields and trade ceramic's and silk from their central trading city of YiYang.

But such perfect harmony could not last. On Turn 111 Xu Shi died suddenly at Shouchun and the empire was thrown into turmoil.

This is the story of the struggles that followed. I hope you find it interesting.

The death of Xu Shi triggered instant turmoil across the empire.

His authority and leadership had been such that the empire had been confident and stable.

But as a result of his death the burden of state now fell upon his son Hao Zhao, whose lack of experience and authority earned him far less respect amongst the Han nobility. Confidence and certainty evaporated and those in lesser positions of authority like the nobles and government officials began to seek their own future and abandon their loyalty to the Han empire.

Under XU Shi the Faction Authority had been 17, which was more than enough for the 15 settlements it owned. Now under Hao Zhao that authority had dropped instantly to 8, resulting in a -70 happiness penalty for the nobles in every city.

News of the death of his father reached Hao Zhao as he was on a journey beyond the borders of the empire visiting local tribal leaders in the southern wilderness and gathering information on possible trade opportunities. However, as soon as he heard the news he abandoned his trip and rushed back towards the fortress city of Ruo.

Ruo was the empires main military training centre and had two fully trained armies camped outside its walls as well as a full military garrison. Hau Zhao therefore reasoned sensibly that reaching Ruo and ensuring the continued loyalty of it's officials and officers was vital. It also by pure chance happened to be the nearest city to him at the time he received the terrible news.

For the moment Hao Zhao was assured that Ruo remained loyal. Though the nobles and officials were nervous any personal ambitions they might have were being held in check by the presence of so many troops in and around the city.

The news from elsewhere was not so reassuring.

ShangDang one of the largest cities in the eastern empire had already rebelled and its large garrison of peasant militia had switched their allegiance to its self-appointed new warlord.

So, far this was the only city to rebel completely, but messages from Grand Commandant Ding Guo at the central trading city of Yiyang, and General YeMing at Shouchun warned that these two cities were on the brink of an uprising despite the presence of such senior government authority and significant garrisons.

They were certainly not alone, of the seventeen cities of the empire all but four were withholding their seasonal taxes and trade revenues uncertain to whom they should pledge their loyalty.


To make matters even worse the Kingdom of Wu on the empires eastern border and its vassal state Min Yue had both sent declarations of war. No doubt sensing an opportunity to expand their own lands by seizing those Han cities closest to their borders.

Fortunately, some rapid and clever diplomacy dissuaded them from taking advantage of the situation and secured an immediate truce and a pledge of peace for the next twenty turns.

This sudden backing down came as a surprise even to the Han diplomats and their only explanation was that the Wu must be planning to concentrate their ambitions on the rebel city of Shangdang and probably expect that as more Han cities rebel it will be possible to snap them up without taking on the Han Empire directly.

The reluctance of so many cities to pay their income over to the Han Treasury created a financial crisis with a predicted budget deficit of -2,647.

Hao Zhao immediately disbanded all of the current Noble chariot units which were being employed to scout the wilderness beyond the known world. But even after that saving he was still facing a deficient of just over -2,400 due to all the stolen taxation.

The advice was that the treasury deficit had to be saved by disbanding units or demolishing buildings. But that sort of saving would require the disbanding of my entire army, and/or, demolishing an entire trade system.

As soon as Hao Zhao crossed the border into Ruo province he was met on the road by his Imperial Councillor with an update on events.

‘Your majesty this humble subject is pleased to report that your son has left the capital in accordance within your majesty’s instructions and is on his way here.

The councillor bowed low as Hao Zhao acknowledge the news that his son was safe on on his way to join him.

The councillor then continued Meanwhile my lord, the Grand Commandant reports that he is currently at YiYang but that the nobles of that city are refusing to recognize his authority and will not pay their taxes. General Ye Ming is at Shouchun and reports the same. Only the cities of Ruo; Wu; Xincheng and Fushu, have remained loyal my lord. The others have refused to pay their taxes.’

Hao Zhao scowled at the Councillor.

‘Send instructions to our officials in every city. Any city that is not prepared to recognize my rule and pay their taxes will not benefit from my protection or support.

Have them disband the garrisons in those cities and destroy all Imperial buildings and granaries.

Have them pull down the city walls and gates if they must, and tell Ding Guo and Ye Ming that if they cannot regain control of YiYang and ShouChun then they are to abandon them to their fate.

Ding Guo is to march to the loyal city of XinCheng with the garrison of YiYang and YeMing is to do likewise to Wu.

They are to hold those both those cities as long as possible.’

It was a desperate move but it would reduce the Imperial Expenditure and buy him another season.

After that?

Originally posted by author:

You will note that I've annotated the screenshot above as it confused me somewhat.

According to the financial statement my cost saving measures had failed to save enough to avoid bankruptcy. In fact, it was predicting a deficit of -2008, which was hardly a saving at all. But that calculation seems to be working on the assumption that my treasury is already overdrawn by 851.

However, the figures on the top right suggest a different outcome. According to them my treasury currently holds 851 and will incur expenditure of 774 this turn. Which should leave me with 77 in the bank. This was why I stated that the cost savings had bought me another turn.

I don't know why these calculations differ, but the point is that I went with the figures shown in the top right and ignored the Financial Summary. If the summary had been right I would have gone bankrupt, and I didn't. So worth considering if you find yourself in a similar situation.

All across the empire Imperial buildings burned and garrisons were paid off by local officials and sent home leaving the cities and their noble residents defenceless.
'Good News! My lord. This humble servant is pleased to report that the nobles in the Imperial Capital have relented and begun to pay their Imperial Taxes. It appears that your inspired decision to burn down the Imperial Palace and leave them defenceless has worked. The city of Ying has done likewise.'

Hao Zhao nodded his approval of the news 'But what of the rebels?' he asked.

’Your majesty our latest reports confirm that no further cities have joined the rebel cause or declared their independence. However, the rebel army is said to be on the march and heading north towards Hangcheng.’

Hao Zhao nodded again and studied the map he had laid out before him. 'As soon as my son arrives he will take over here and I shall take my army north to the capital.'

'Yes my lord.' bowed the councillor as he retired from the room.

The Imperial Treasury had increased as a result of these changes and was now at 1,100.

The gamble had bought him more time, but with the rebel army on the march the rebellion could still spread.

News quickly spreads that the nobles of the Imperial Capital have acknolwedged Hao Zhao as King of the Han Kingdom and sensing a shift in power they abandoned any plans of joining the rebels and quickly aligned themselves with rising new power.

'Excellent news your majesty.' the Imperial Councillor whined bowing low 'Our administrators report that all but three of the Imperial Cities have now paying their taxes again. Only YiYang, Changping and Changao remain uncooperative.'

Hao Zhao nodded his understanding,
'My son has joined the second army near Ying.' he notes pointing to the town of Ying on the map before him. 'I intend to meet with him as soon as possible and then take an army eastwards to deal with the rebels. My son will remain here with the second army to keep the local nobles loyal.' he added with a wry smile.


Hopefully he thought the crisis is averted and once the dust had settled he could begin to rebuild. The Imperial Treasury was showing a healthy income again, which would be boosted by the rebuilding of the abandoned trade networks.

'Tell those cities that have begun tp pay their taxes that they may recruit a small garrison to defend their walls.' he added.

The Imperial Councillor practically fell into the tent in his hurry to report that subjects all over the Han Kingdom were reporting sightings of the nine tailed fox. 'A sure sign to all of your majesties subjects of your right to rule and the bountiful times ahead for our kingdom.' he beamed.

Hao Zhao acknowledged the news wondering which enterprising subject had begun those stories, but nevertheless recognising their significance. Confidence of his future rule would undoubtedly be improved by such stories.


As if to confirm his thoughts a few days later a nervous ambassador arrived from the rebellious nobles asking for peace and promising to become vassals in return for a handsome tribute and control of the city of Xincheng.

But by now the nobles of all the other cities had abandoned their protest at his rule and the rebel leader Jai Boa and his son Su Wen were alone and friendless, it was time for vengeance not appeasement.

The messenger was removed and publicly executed, there was no need to reply to Jai Boa's offer. Hao Zhao would deliver that himself with the edge of his sword.

Hao Zhao met with his son and the second army In the fields east of Ying.

There was a brief exchange of affection but both agreed that time was of the essence and there was none spare for celebrations. The empire had been severely weakened by the greed and betrayal of its nobles and must now appear vulnerable to its neighbors.

Whilst the cities could quickly replace their militia garrisons the reconstruction of the Imperial trade networks would take more time and until then funds would be in short supply.

Hao Zhao instructed his son to take the second army on to Ruo and to protect the city and its military training facilities to the best of his ability. The Ba had amassed two armies at Cai and were demanding Fushu in return for a pledge of fraternal harmony.

That demand had been rejected and it was possible that war may follow if there was any sign of weakness.

Hao Zhao pledged that he would return to assist his son as soon as he could but that first he and his army must travel to Shangdang and inflict just retribution on Jai Bao and the rebels. All across the empire and in every city local officials were hunting down the disloyal nobles and purging the empire of their corruption. But Hao Zhao was determined to deal with Jai Bao personally.

General Ye ming was at Wu keeping a careful watch on two armies from Wu. The Wu were still bound by the truce harmony following some skillful negotiations at the start of the noble unrest, but Hao Zhao was determined not to tempt their honor more than was necessary.

The Grand Commandant was at Xincheng keeping a careful watch on the Empires northern border. Both the Shang and Dong Yi were bound by fraternal harmony pacts but the Dong Yi in particular had been encroaching on the kingdoms northern lands and had recently founded two new settlements (Donghai and Xue) in provocative locations.

Hao Zhao felt it was prudent to keep at least a token military presence in both these area’s to reinforce the honorable forbearance of his neighbors and to constrain any military ambitions of Jai Bao and the rebel nobles.

In another unexpected and terrible blow for the Han Empire the newly ascended Hao Zhao died suddenly on the march to Shangdang leaving his young son Zheng Hu to take over the reins of state with no experience or authority at all. The shock rippled around the empire. However, it appears that the recent purges have eliminated the most of the more ambitious amongst the nobles and surprisingly there has been little unrest. Time will tell if this situation will continue for long once the realisation of the situation sets in.

The news of his fathers death is rapidly followed by an urgent message from General Ye Ming that a large Wu army has crossed the border and appears to be marching on the city despite the pledge of fraternal harmony they gave to his father.

This news put an end to any contemplation of grief that Zheng Hu might have indulged in, he instantly replied to General Ye Ming that the first army which his father had been leading eastwards would now be placed at his disposal and that he should use it as he saw fit to defend Wu and deal with the rebel Jai Bao.

He cast aside any doubts he had about the loyalty of Ye Ming, to whom he was now entrusting half of his trained soldiers. He could not understand why the death of his father had not resulted in unrest similar to the death of his grandfather just a short time before, but now was not the time to question providence.

If the die were rolling in his favour he had to make the most of his luck while it still held. However, he decided that it might be prudent to employ a food taster, two family deaths in such quick succession may be more than a coincidence.

The Ba continue to covert the province of Fushu and refuse to pledge fraternal harmony so long as it remains part of the Han Kingdom.

Zheng Hu ponders their assertiveness. It creates a crisis in that it forces him to maintain a strong military presence at Ruo to counter their possible aggression locking him and his army in place.

But it also offers an opportunity to prove himself, perhaps instead of appeasing their aggressiveness he should use it as an excuse to attack them. If he was victorious it would give him valuable military experience and increase his reputation as a leader.

Officials report that both YiYang and Changping are withholding their taxes for this season, an indication that the nobles are testing his resolve. He needs to prove himself.

Strangely his decision to issue an edict that all nobles should learn to ride horses seems to have had a positive effect immediately improving their happiness even though there was no indication it would. Perhaps they were too busy falling off horses to care about rebellion. Whatever the reason the cities of Yiyang and Changping immediately paid over taxes after the edict was issued.

Zheng Hu was tempted to repeat the process by ordering all the nobles of the Empire to relocate to Zheng where he could keep watch over their disloyal scheming, or perhaps establish a central bureacracy which would limit their local power. But he decided not to tempt providence further as either of these actions was likely to inflame the nobility in the short term and would probably trigger an major uprising.

No! he concluded, the edicts would have to wait. But a successful war might be worth considering especially if the fates really were on his side.

Zheng Hu receives word that his son Feng has come of age and is ready to join him in the defence of the kingdom. He immediately instructs Feng Zheng to march south and take command of the first army at Ruo.

Using this as an opportunity to leave the defence of the fortress to his son Zheng Hu immediately heads north with his bodyguard to join his second army for the campaign against the rebels.

Zheng Hu was on his way to war, and to finally wreak vengeance on his fathers enemies.

A muster point for the campaign against the rebels was set on the road from Shouchun to the rebel city of ShangDang.

Three Han Armies were now marching to that rendevous.

• From the North the Grand Commandant marched south with his army,
  
• From the South General Ye Ming and his army marched north having left a strong garrison in Wu.
  
• From the West the second army marched through Shouchun with Zheng Hu hurrying to join them.

Reports from the Rebel city suggested that it was lightly defended and runours were rife that the rebel leaders had been abandoned by most of their followers now that retribution was on hand.

But Zheng Hu was taking no chances and had even ordered a bowyer to be built in Shouchun to provide extra archers to aid in a seige.

The study of Military Theory and the promotion of the Tea Culture were encouraged by the new King, adding +2 to the Han culture rating.

Originally posted by author:

Both Military Theory and Tea Culture add +1 to Culture, and every point added to Culture increases noble happiness by +2 and peasant happiness by +1. So well worth the investment in my opinion.

In preparation the forthcoming campaign Shouchun was turned into a local military base by the addition of a bowyer, and six units of peasant archers were trained to add to the militia armies in expectation the need to lay seige to Shangdang.

Whilst, at YiYang two units of noble cavalry were mustered to act as scouts for the Grand Commandants army. These would be joined next season by two units of noble cavalry from Shouchun who would join Ye Mings Army in a similar capacity.

Three armies are now converging on the assigned muster point along the road to Shangdang.

• Zheng Hu and his bodyguard are passing Yangdi and hurrying to take command of the second army.
  
• The Grand Commandant Ding Gou and his army are arriving from the north and have almost reached the muster point.
  
• General Ye Ming and his army are marching from the south.

The newly raised peasant archers will be divided equally between the armies of Ding Guo and Ye Ming.

Informants from the rebel city of Shangdang say that the rebel garrison only consists of the bodyguard of the rebel leader and two units of militia halberdiers. Nobody claims to have seen or heard of the rebel army that marched north.

The army of Ding Guo arrived at its muster point first and settled down to wait for the arrival of its three peasant light archer bands which had recently been formed at Shouchung.

As they waiting on the Shangdang road Ding Quo noticed the dust of two light chariot units approaching rapidly from the direction of the rebel city. He was puzzled especially when he noticed that the leading chariot displayed the war banner of Jai Bao the rebel leader, and that another carried the banner of his son Su Wen.

Were they coming to ask for parley?

Was this a final attempt to avoid the retribution of the King?

He waited expectatantly as they approached him rapidly, expecting them to slow and request permission to talk. But instead as they drew closer they increased their speed and to Ding Guo's surprise a volley of arrows flew from them into his bodyguard.

Too late he realised that this was not an attempt to parley, but a surgical strike aimed at killing him. He attempted too late to withdraw his chariots behind his peasant spearmen. But Jao Bao's men were in amongst his bodyguard and they charged into the spearmen in a confused mass. Ding Guo was their primary target and a viscious blow from a dagger axe cut him down and killed him instantly.

However, the rebels were now trapped in a circle of peasant spearment and despite a desperate attempt to fight their way out they were all cut down and killed.



A wave of shock swept through the Han army at the ruthless killing of their Grand Commandant. The mere fact that a general could be killed so easily in front of his entire army came as a surprise, as did the apparent ruthlessness of their enemy.

Zheng Hu riding with his household guard to join the campaign was deeply saddened by the loss of such a long standing and loyal retainer. Ding Guo had been the Grand Commandant since the time of his grandfather and the old man had deserved better than to be cut down like a dog in front of his own troops.

However, he called for calm pointing out that the rebel blow though shocking had achieved little. The Rebels had sacrificed their two most able generals to kill a Grand Commandant, who could be easily replaced whereas they could not.

The funeral ritual for Ding Gou was completed at YiYang even as the armies of the King and Ye Ming continued to move to their designated muster points


The new rebel leader Yang Xuan sent one more brave emmissary to plead for peace.

But once again their demand for the city of XinCheng angered the King and he refused their proposal demanding instead that they simply open the gates of Shangdang and accept his mercy.





Liao Qian has been appointed Grand Commandant and has been ordered to make his way as quickly as possible to take command of the former army of Ding Quo.

The speed of the appointment confirming the King's opinion that the loss of Ding Quo whilst tragic would have little lasting impact upon the kingdom.


The three armies now advance to within striking distance of the rebel city.

• The Kings Army containing all the trained soldiers is in the centre straddling the road to Shangdang.
  
• Bulleted Ye Ming's peasant army is on its forward right flank.
  
• Bulleted The Grand Commandants peasant army occupies the woods covering its left flank.

The board is set for the start of the campaign.

On the eve of the invasion, as the three armies lay encamped along the rebel boarder an emissary appeared from the Kingdom of Zhou, a kingdom that lay to the south-west, claiming to have urgent information for the king.

They claimed that King was being misled by his own agents and that they had vital information on the true strength and intension of the rebels. They wish to trade this knowledge as a gesture of friendship together with a pledge of fraternal harmony.

They also wish to offer a contribution of 140 gold to the cost of the campaign to destroy the rebels, for which they would ask but a simple tribute of 30 gold per season for the next ten seasons.

The King listened politely to the Zhou emissary, but answered that he saw no reason to doubt the loyalty or competence of his own agents. He would listen to the information offered by the Zhou and would gladly accept the contribution towards his war chest. He was also prepared to pledge the Zhou fraternal harmony, but he would not pay more than 16 gold per season in tribute.
The Zhou emissary bristled replying that in that case the Zhou would only offer 70 gold towards the Han's campaign budget. They were clearly determined to make a handsome profit out of their generosity.

Zheng Hu smiled 'Clearly we both seek each others friendship and I AM interested in your information. Let us not allow a few gold coins to sour our relationship. In truth we do not need your charity any more than i suspect you need ours. Let us forget the gold and simply pledge our friendship without putting a price on it.'

The Zhou emissary nodded his agreement and informed the king that according to their informants in the rebel camp the King was being misled into believing that the rebels were weak, fearful and cowering behind the walls of Shangdang.

But that this was a ploy to lure the Han armies into a reckless attack against the city walls. In fact, the Zhou had been informed that the rebels had two armies hidden outside the city walls poised to attack the Han as soon as they were committed to the seige. The plan was to pin the Kings armies against the city walls and destroy them in detail.

Zheng Hu listened intently to the information offered by the Zhou. He might have been inclined to dismiss it, after all his own agents had not reported any rebel forces outside the city, and claimed that it was only lightly held. But the memory of the ambush that killed Ding Guo made him cautious. He thanked the Zhou emissary and modified his plan of attack.

The three armies would not rush forward straight to the assault as he had originally intended. Instead they would move cautiously, alert to possible ambush and search for any rebels outside the city walls.

The decision to be cautious was almost immediately justified by the information that a rebel army consisting of two archer units was camped in the fields south of the city.

Discovering that the Zhuo were correct and that the rebels did indeed have more troops camped outside the city walls, the King immediately ordered Ye Ming's army to attack and drive off the two rebel archer units to the south of the city.

The Kings expectation was that Ye Ming's army would descend like a thunderbolt on the two rebel archer units and cut them to ribbons scattering the survivors and driving them away from the city. Whilst his army and that of the Grand Commandant would move to protect Ye Ming's flank.

However, the King expectation was not realised as Ye Ming's army advanced so slowly and with such caution that the enemy archers were able to simply retreat into the city unharmed. This despite his cavalry being ordered to attack.

The king was not impressed but had now spotted an even larger rebel army to the north of the city. This one being a full strength army completely lacking archers and far too numerous to squeeze behind the city walls for protection.

Frustrated by Ye Ming's failure to catch the rebel archers, the King now issues his instructions for the destruction of the main rebel army north of the city.

This time there was no risk that they might escape within the city walls, but they might manage to evade destruction by moving behind the city and using it as a distraction and shield. To prevent this risk Ye Ming's army is ordered to continue it's movement eastwards and to circumvent the city to the east. Thus if the rebel army tries to evade in that direction they will find their movement blocked by Ye Ming's troops.

The King's Army of trained soldiers with confront the enemy directly in an attempt to pin them in place , or better yet, entice them into a reckless attack.

Meanwhile the Grand Commandants Army will march north behind the flank of the Kings Army and then swing eastwards to position itself on the rebel right flank. If the rebels attack the Kings Army this should give the Grand Ocmmandants army a perfect chance to envelop their right and destroy it. If not then it will place them in a perfect position to interdict any attempt to withdraw.

Finally the Kings Household Guard were ordered to swing even farther north to place themselves on the right flank of the Grand commandants Army with the intention of cutting off the rebel line of retreat, or falling upon their rear.


As the Kings Army marched forward to close the distance with the rebels they began to move forward and launched a series of attacks on the Kings forces. The Grand Commandants forces were also drawn into the fight attacking the rebel forces in the flank and seeking to envelop them.

The rebels falters and began to fall back whereupon even Ye Ming's noble cavalry managed to intercept some of the more tardy and inflict damage.

To the King it seemed like a major victory with his forces inflicting over twice the casulaties on the rebels as they suffered in return. But his men were exhausted and fell back leaving the battlefield in rebel hands.

Frustrated the King orders a second assault on the rebels north of the City.

This time the three Han armies are perfectly positioned to strike the enemy from both flanks and the rear simultaneously. All that is needed is the correct timing and the determination to drive the assault home.

The attack is decisive, with all three Han Armies becoming heavily engaged.

The trained Han cavalry charge to support their archers as the rebels throw themselves recklessly at the Kings Army. However, attacked from all sides the rebels finally break and disperse giving the King his first victory.

Rebel losses were heavy and their army is driven away from the city.


An emissary from the Ba has arrived in the Kings camp offering a mutual pledge of Fraternal Harmony. It seems that they have abandoned their claims on the city of Fushu.

Now that the rebel army had been driven north away from the city walls the town of Shangdang was isolated and the time had come to begin the siege.

However, the King was both physically and mentally exhausted and after pleading from Ye Ming and Liao Qian he agreed not to take any active part in the assault on the city itself.

But he refused to withdraw from the field completely, as he was concerned for his reputation, and instead agreed to take command of the massed cavalry and his household troops and use them to pursue and destroy the remnants of the rebel army.

Ye Ming with the infantry and archers from his own army bolsters by those from the Kings not required for the pursuit will attack the city from the east. His noble cavalry will be withdrawn to join the king in the pursuit of the rebel army.

The King with the trained cavalry and those seconded from the other armies and his two units of household warriors would take on the pursuit and destruction of the rebel army. Though the King had promised to avoid becoming directly involved in the fighting.

Liao Qian with the remaining infantry and archers was to assault the city from the west. Thus hopefully splitting the enemy defenders and creating multiple breaches in the city walls.

In addition, now that the Ba had given a pledge of fraternal harmony the King's son Feng Zheng was order to march with his trained army to join the army at Shangdang.


The first assault began with a tragedy when a suicidal unit of rebel noble chariots managed to attack and kill General Ye Ming. The rebels were quickly trapped and killed by the King's cavalry, but to late to save Ye Ming.

The assault went ahead regardless and several breaches were made in the city walls.

The fighting in the breaches was bloody and losses, particularly amongst the lightly armoured Han peasants were high. Eventually the assaults were abandoned and the Han army fell back to regroup.


The King had a much easier time pursuing the remnants of the rebel army and was able to claim yet another victory to his name with little loss amongst his forces. Zheng Hu has now won half the battles he has fought.

A new Shi has been appointed to replace Ye Ming. Shen Ye has been appointed in the capital and ordered to make his way immediately to Shangdang to take over the former army of Ye Ming.


The King's army continues to hunt down remnants of the rebel army north of Shangdang, achieving a crushing victory for the king with very little loss.




A rebel noble attempted to sally forth from the city and disrupt the attack of the Grand Commandants army but was intercepted and cut down.

Unfortunately the second assault on the city met with less success being driven off with heavy loss once again.

The rebel leader Yang Xaun is still a major threat with his high 'Yi' and 'Ren' despite the hopelessness of his situation.


Concerned at the heavy losses sufferred by his troops in the first two assaults on the city the King orders that fresh troops are raised to replace his depleted units.

A new army of trained warriors is formed in Ruo.

Fresh peasant spearmen raised in Yiyang.

Fresh archers are raised in Shouchun.

After all their posturing the Wu have finally decided that they want to be friends.


Their proposal was of course ridiculously imbalanced and as with the proposal of the Ba there was no question of the Kingdom sacrificing one of its cities or paying such a exhorbitant level of interest on such a small loan.

After going through the ritual of offering a reasonable repayment rate for the loan and removing the city from the deal the Wu finally agreed to offer fraternal harmony without any conditions at all. which seems to be the usual response.


Ignoring the rebels, who would dearly like peace but are destined for death, the Han are currently at peace with the entire known world.

The King can now appoint a renowned military strategist to advise him on the art of war. Research has commenced on the design of basic stone throwers to speed the creation of breaches in city walls.

The persistent drought in northern china which is now in its second season is causing unrest amongst the starving peasantry.

The King has suspended almost all indentured labour to try to minimise the strain on the peasantry and allow them to concentrate on survival and farming, but unhappiness continues to rise especially in Yanling.

The Han Army prepared for its third season besieging the rebel city of Shangdang.

Once again the King and his army would pursue the fugitives from the rebel army to the north.

Whilst the Grand Commandant would continue to command the assault on the city with the remants of the three assault armies bolstered by as many of the reinforcements who were close enough to participate.

Originally posted by author:

I'm keeping the Faction Leader away from the siege battle partly because he is exhausted. But also in the hope that by bolstering his battle stats with a few easy victories he may gain some authority. Unfortunately, siege assaults that fail to capture a city register as a failed battle. So, allowing my Faction Leader to participate would ruin his battle record.

in a surprise move the rebel leader Yang Xuan ordered a sally from the cities east gate consisting of two units of halberds and a unit of light archers.

It's not clear what the purpose of the sally was except to try and disrupt the plans for the next assault. But the sally force was quickly counter-attacked and overwhelmed.

The survivors being chased off to the east by some newly arrived noble cavalry.

Whatever, Yang Xuan had hoped for from this sally, it appears to have failed and was recorded as a crushing victory for the Han.


Even before the last of the rebel sally force had been driven off the assault on the city began with the breaches being re-opened and attacked for a third time.

Once again the attackers failed to gain access to the city and were driven off with heavy losses. However, this time the defenders suffered equally heavy losses and it looks as though their defences may be too thin to last much longer. According to this report they only have 289 troops left inside the city.

To the east the King caught up with the last survivors of the northern rebel army and destroyed them. Bolstering his victory score to three out of five.

The rebel leader Yang Xuan once more send emissaries seeking peace.

However, he is still too arrogant to throw himself at the mercy of the King and demands the city of Yangdi as payment. The proposal was instantly rejected.

The discovery of various plants that can render a wounded soldier unconscious will save many lives. Study has now begun on the subject of mathematic's which will speed the development of future learning.

The King orders the raising of still more peasant levies to join the siege of Shangdang.

Four units of archers from Shouchun and four units of spearmen from Yiyang. These are joined by units of noble cavalry, one newly raised in Shouchun and the other being a veteran unit resting at Yiyang.

The plan for the four season of the campaign against the rebels of Shangdang varied little from the previous three.

The King though still exhausted still refused to retire from the campaign and rest. But having destroyed the last remnants of the rebels northern army now turned wearily southwards to deal with the remnants of the rebel sally forces hiding in the forests to the south.

The Grand Commandant would continue to command the siege armies and oversee the assault of the city itself, bolstered by as many new units as could arrive in time to participate.

It was hoped that the rebellion could now be crushed quickly so that more attention could be given to the affects of the drought and the consequent unrest amongst the peasantry.

The four assault on Shangdang began once more with a sally by the rebels from the cities southern gate.

This time only two units of halberdiers sallied out of the gate to challenge the assault forces.

They were quickly intercepted and then destroyed by the noble cavalry.

Who then began to search the forests for the remainder of their comrades.

Nor did the sacrifice of the desperate sally delay the rest of the assault on the city, with three seperate breaches being assaulted on the west, north and east.

Unable to defend all three breaches adequately the rebels abandoned the walls and the assault troops surged into the city putting everyone they met to the sword.

After two years of continuous slaughter the siege of Shangdang was finally over the city back under the Kings control.

The Shangdang rebellion was effectively over, only a few rebels remained in the forest to the south and they had no means of support or subsistence.
.

Now that the Shangdang rebellion has been crushed the King and his ministers can focuss their attention on the growing unrest amongst the peasantry.
Bandits have been reported to the west of the capital, and already Feng Zheng the Kings son and his army has been redirected from its march on Shangdang to deal with the threat and ensure order.

Whether the King can prevent a peasant rebellion remains to be seen, but that is another story.