To Establish Peace - A Romance of the Three Kingdoms Quest
- Thread starter Gaz
- Start date
- Alt. History Historic
@Gaz the unit list isn't as easy to read as it could be.
So I put the unit list in a table, with the Special Rules explained on mouse-over.
Better or worse?
Assuming Plan Stay the Course wins, we should have:
So I put the unit list in a table, with the Special Rules explained on mouse-over.
Better or worse?
Assuming Plan Stay the Course wins, we should have:
| Infantry | Troops | Training | Equipment | Special Rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liang 1st + 2nd Levy | 196 | Skilled | Spears, Swords, Shields, Armour | |
| Taiyuan Youxia | 49 | Veterans | Spears, Swords, Shields, Armour | |
| Liang Guards | 150 | Trained | Spears, Shields | |
| 1st Infantry Unit | 35 | Regulars | Spears, Swords, Shields, Armour | |
| Ce Clan Regulars + Irregulars | 114 | Regulars | Halberds, Armour | |
| Yu Family Levy | 170 | Trained | Spears, Shields | |
| Ji Household Recruits | 120 | Trained | Swords, Shields | |
| 1st Axe Infantry | 150 | Trained | Axes, Shields | |
| 6th Infantry Unit | 200 | Trained | Spears, Axes, Shields | |
| 7th Infantry Unit | 200 | Trained | Swords, Shields | |
| Henei Woodsmen | 80 | Adept | Spears, Axes, Shields | |
| Qiancheng Volunteers | 150 | Trained | Spears, Shields | |
| Ce An's Students | 12 | Skilled | Halberd (T2), Armour | |
| Ranged | Troops | Training | Equipment | Special Rules |
| 1st Mounted Scouting Unit | 30 | Adept | Bows, Swords, Steeds | Shangdang Local Knowledge |
| Shangdang Sharpshooters | 142 | Veterans | Bows, Swords, Armour | Shangdang Local Knowledge |
| 1st + 2nd Archer Unit | 138 | Regulars | Bows, Axes | |
| 3rd Archer Unit | 100 | Adept | Bows, Bludgeons | |
| 4th Archer Unit | 80 | Trained | Bows, Swords | |
| 5th Archer Unit | 100 | Trained | Bows, Bludgeons | |
| 1st Crossbow Unit | 200 | Regulars | Crossbows, Spears, Swords | |
| 2nd Crossbow Unit | 150 | Trained | Crossbows, Bludgeons | |
| Qiancheng Hunters | 50 | Trained | Bows, Axes | |
| Cavalry | Troops | Training | Equipment | Special Rules |
| The Boars' Chargers | 60 | Skilled | Halberds, Axes, Shields, Armour, Steeds | |
| 1st Liang Clan Mounted Veterans | 107 | Elite | Spears, Swords (T2), Shields, Armour, Steeds | |
| 3rd Liang Mounted Veterans | 101 | Veterans | Spears, Swords (T2), Shields, Armour, Steeds | |
| Ce Mounted Veterans | 48 | Veterans | Halberds (T2), Shields, Armour, Steeds | |
| 1st Mounted Volunteers | 110 | Veterans | Spears, Swords, Shields, Armour, Steeds | |
| 2nd Mounted Volunteers | 60 | Regulars | Spears, Swords, Shields, Armour, Steeds | |
| 3rd Mounted Volunteers | 50 | Veterans | Halberds, Axes, Shields, Armour, Steeds | |
| Liang Clan Companions | 100 | Adept | Bows, Swords, Armour, Steeds | |
| Ce Clan Battlemaidens | 125 | Adept | Halberds, Armour, Steeds | |
| Lady Ce Xiang's Bodyguards | 20 | Veterans | Spears, Swords, Shields, Armour, Steeds | Battlemaidens' Escort |
| Lu Family Guard | 9 | Veterans | Halberds, Swords, Armour, Steeds | Can only be commanded by Lu Lingqi |
County Level Ranks - In Brief
- Location
- UK
By the time of the last days of the Han Dynasty, the hundred-or-so Commandaries of the Empire were subdivided into around 1200 Counties. This was the smallest administrative level lead by an official appointed directly by the Han court. A typical County would consist of a large town or city which would act as the local capital and centre of governance, and the surrounding region and countryside. Counties would then be subdivided even further into smaller cities, towns and areas of concentrated population within the region, known as Districts. These would then further be split down by the Han bureaucracy into smaller villages, groups of families, rural communities, estates and the like, until you get as far down as individual households.
Getting too in depth about anything lower down the bureaucratic pyramid than the county level would be untenable, especially for the scope of this quest. Still, given Liang Shu's adventures thus far have focused mostly on the county level, it might be worth digging a little deeper.
The Prefect
Prefects were noted for being the lowest ranking officials in a local administration that were assigned directly by the central government in Luoyang. As head of the county government, they had a rather considerable number of responsibilities, as well as a surprisingly large amount of executive authority and autonomy, provided they were only dealing with matters within their jurisdiction. Functionally, they can be seen as a city mayor, chief of police, head judge and priest all in one. Among other duties, they were expected to store grain and manage harvests, supervising public work projects, ensuring peace and order, enforcing the laws of the Han, acting as judge in criminal cases, promoting men of talent to positions within the county, surveying and interviewing the civilians, performing religious ceremonies and sacrifices, mobilising local corvee labour, registering property and more. They themselves would take order and direction from the Grand Administrators, who would play the role of both overseer and director for happenings for each county in their commandery. Salary rank for a Prefect would vary depending on the population of their county. The more registered households of Han Chinese families, the higher the Prefect's salary. In more populated Counties, a Prefect's salary rank could be equal to (or easily exceed) that of a Provincial Inspector, which easily shows just how many responsibilities were thrust upon them. After a harvest and before New Year, the Prefects were expected to give full reports to their commandary's Grand Administrator, detailing a population census, status of cultivated farmland, degree of collected taxes, local law, order and stability, and a full account of the county expenditures. Many Prefects would find themselves woefully unprepared for their job (especially if they bought their position, a practise common around the end of the Han) and would often have to learn fast. As a Prefect could appoint his own staff, cronyism among his ranks could certainly happen, especially when oversight got more and more lax around the last years of the Later Han. Under him, the Prefect would have a myriad of aides, clerks, secretaries, guard captains, libationers, judges and a Master of Records, of various ranks.
The County Assistant
The right hand man of the Prefect, the County Assistant would help him in his otherwise daunting task. He would serve as the Prefect's adviser, as well as being a liason with local gentry, nobility and elites. They would act as bookkeepers, record makers, and would be in charge of official documents and legal nuances. As part of his aid, he would oversee the granaries and food storage and offer expertise in legal matters. Should the Prefect fall ill, be incapacitated or otherwise be unable to carry out his role, the County Assistant would be expected to fill in. His own salary would scale based on the Prefect's - so a County Assistant in a county with a larger population would earn more. Counties with very large populations would have an additional County Assistant, whilst the the Prefect of Luoyang, the capital of the Empire, would have three. Assistants would have his own small staff and offices to aid in his endeavours.
The County Commandant
The County Commandant would earn an equal rank to the County Assistant, again scaling based on the population, and would serve as the left hand of the Prefect. The Commandant would be charge of local policing and law enforcement. He would head the guard captains and ensure the security of the county. Troubled counties or those on the frontier would have at least two Commandants, whilst counties home to very large cities such as Chang'an could have up to four. They would have the responsibility of gathering up militia and snuffing out banditry and keeping the roads safe, as well as keeping an eye on clans or tribes within the county who may be hostile to the Han government. Under his command, the Commandant would have several Patrol Leaders, entrusted with militia and local volunteers to man watchtowers, guardposts and gatehouses. Whilst in charge of military affairs in times of peril, the Commandant would will defer to the Prefect as superior. In addition, in times of real peril or upheaval, the County Commandant would often find himself subordinate to officers of the Grand Administrator, or even military officers sent by the state government if things were truly out of hand. Counties along the far northern frontier would also have a County Commandant of Fortifications, whose role was to aid in the defences of the border posts and walls of the Han Empire, and assist in raising levies against nomadic incursions.
The County Bureaus
To administrate a county, the Prefect would be aided by various Bureaus based in the county capital city. Each of these offices would be a mini bureaucracy in its own right, lead by a Division Head and each with a network of staff of various ranks and importance underneath. These would almost all be made up of men from the local county, and it would be among the Prefect's responsibilities to ensure each Bureau would be staffed by the able and trustworthy. Each county would have a Bureau of All Purposes, a "catch all" office. Its duties would include inspecting the various settlements and villages in the outlying county, encouraging and directing agriculture and farming, liaising with gentry and their estates, and encouraging local festivities and religious rituals. Other common Bureaus would include Banditry, Arms, Households, Laws, Granaries, Markets, Consultations, and Gatherings.
The amount of Bureaus would depend on both a county's size and needs. There were many who would depend on the resources and specific requirements a region might have. For example, a county with bountiful iron ore deposits would likely have a Bureau of Metal, whilst a county undergoing significant construction would have a Bureau of Architecture.
As mentioned earlier, each county was then divided even further into districts, which would be subdivided into an even smaller level - with each also having an increasingly large number of officials and clerks and other government staff. However, getting into the nitty gritty of how, for example, a single city block or outlying village was administered and ran is a bit beyond the scope of this broad overview.
Getting too in depth about anything lower down the bureaucratic pyramid than the county level would be untenable, especially for the scope of this quest. Still, given Liang Shu's adventures thus far have focused mostly on the county level, it might be worth digging a little deeper.
The Prefect
Prefects were noted for being the lowest ranking officials in a local administration that were assigned directly by the central government in Luoyang. As head of the county government, they had a rather considerable number of responsibilities, as well as a surprisingly large amount of executive authority and autonomy, provided they were only dealing with matters within their jurisdiction. Functionally, they can be seen as a city mayor, chief of police, head judge and priest all in one. Among other duties, they were expected to store grain and manage harvests, supervising public work projects, ensuring peace and order, enforcing the laws of the Han, acting as judge in criminal cases, promoting men of talent to positions within the county, surveying and interviewing the civilians, performing religious ceremonies and sacrifices, mobilising local corvee labour, registering property and more. They themselves would take order and direction from the Grand Administrators, who would play the role of both overseer and director for happenings for each county in their commandery. Salary rank for a Prefect would vary depending on the population of their county. The more registered households of Han Chinese families, the higher the Prefect's salary. In more populated Counties, a Prefect's salary rank could be equal to (or easily exceed) that of a Provincial Inspector, which easily shows just how many responsibilities were thrust upon them. After a harvest and before New Year, the Prefects were expected to give full reports to their commandary's Grand Administrator, detailing a population census, status of cultivated farmland, degree of collected taxes, local law, order and stability, and a full account of the county expenditures. Many Prefects would find themselves woefully unprepared for their job (especially if they bought their position, a practise common around the end of the Han) and would often have to learn fast. As a Prefect could appoint his own staff, cronyism among his ranks could certainly happen, especially when oversight got more and more lax around the last years of the Later Han. Under him, the Prefect would have a myriad of aides, clerks, secretaries, guard captains, libationers, judges and a Master of Records, of various ranks.
The County Assistant
The right hand man of the Prefect, the County Assistant would help him in his otherwise daunting task. He would serve as the Prefect's adviser, as well as being a liason with local gentry, nobility and elites. They would act as bookkeepers, record makers, and would be in charge of official documents and legal nuances. As part of his aid, he would oversee the granaries and food storage and offer expertise in legal matters. Should the Prefect fall ill, be incapacitated or otherwise be unable to carry out his role, the County Assistant would be expected to fill in. His own salary would scale based on the Prefect's - so a County Assistant in a county with a larger population would earn more. Counties with very large populations would have an additional County Assistant, whilst the the Prefect of Luoyang, the capital of the Empire, would have three. Assistants would have his own small staff and offices to aid in his endeavours.
The County Commandant
The County Commandant would earn an equal rank to the County Assistant, again scaling based on the population, and would serve as the left hand of the Prefect. The Commandant would be charge of local policing and law enforcement. He would head the guard captains and ensure the security of the county. Troubled counties or those on the frontier would have at least two Commandants, whilst counties home to very large cities such as Chang'an could have up to four. They would have the responsibility of gathering up militia and snuffing out banditry and keeping the roads safe, as well as keeping an eye on clans or tribes within the county who may be hostile to the Han government. Under his command, the Commandant would have several Patrol Leaders, entrusted with militia and local volunteers to man watchtowers, guardposts and gatehouses. Whilst in charge of military affairs in times of peril, the Commandant would will defer to the Prefect as superior. In addition, in times of real peril or upheaval, the County Commandant would often find himself subordinate to officers of the Grand Administrator, or even military officers sent by the state government if things were truly out of hand. Counties along the far northern frontier would also have a County Commandant of Fortifications, whose role was to aid in the defences of the border posts and walls of the Han Empire, and assist in raising levies against nomadic incursions.
The County Bureaus
To administrate a county, the Prefect would be aided by various Bureaus based in the county capital city. Each of these offices would be a mini bureaucracy in its own right, lead by a Division Head and each with a network of staff of various ranks and importance underneath. These would almost all be made up of men from the local county, and it would be among the Prefect's responsibilities to ensure each Bureau would be staffed by the able and trustworthy. Each county would have a Bureau of All Purposes, a "catch all" office. Its duties would include inspecting the various settlements and villages in the outlying county, encouraging and directing agriculture and farming, liaising with gentry and their estates, and encouraging local festivities and religious rituals. Other common Bureaus would include Banditry, Arms, Households, Laws, Granaries, Markets, Consultations, and Gatherings.
The amount of Bureaus would depend on both a county's size and needs. There were many who would depend on the resources and specific requirements a region might have. For example, a county with bountiful iron ore deposits would likely have a Bureau of Metal, whilst a county undergoing significant construction would have a Bureau of Architecture.
As mentioned earlier, each county was then divided even further into districts, which would be subdivided into an even smaller level - with each also having an increasingly large number of officials and clerks and other government staff. However, getting into the nitty gritty of how, for example, a single city block or outlying village was administered and ran is a bit beyond the scope of this broad overview.
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^Well, all of the above goes a good way to explain what most minor gentry did to occupy their time.
Less need to practice martial arts when there are so very many white collar jobs/positions that need to be filled in the local government.
Still, I imagine a goodly number of those men would respond to a call to arms to defend the county and if the battle was lost, as is the case against bandits in Bing province right now, you have a goodly portion of your experienced low level officials slain, wounded or missing. Which further weakens the integrity of the local government and hinders further efforts to combat threats to the county and Commandery.
Less need to practice martial arts when there are so very many white collar jobs/positions that need to be filled in the local government.
Still, I imagine a goodly number of those men would respond to a call to arms to defend the county and if the battle was lost, as is the case against bandits in Bing province right now, you have a goodly portion of your experienced low level officials slain, wounded or missing. Which further weakens the integrity of the local government and hinders further efforts to combat threats to the county and Commandery.
- Location
- UK
Of course, given the last decades of the Later Han were a quicksand of corruption, local elites and gentry tended to stuff county offices with their own relatives, clients and agents. This was not helped by the fact the position of Prefect had, under the rule of Emperor Ling, become a post anyone with enough money could buy for themselves. Often you would have rich but highly unqualified men placed into roles of authority they were wholly unqualified for and increasingly reliant on the local gentry and nobles to run things for them, further increasing the power and influence of the landholding class. On paper, the Han Empire was a bureaucracy propped up by strict Confucian values, but by this time, said paper was in tatters and being discarded.
- Location
- Germany
Well, we kind of did the same last turn XD
Putting people into the government offices, while having sworn loyalty to the Liang family. Following the trend of our time, I say.
Putting people into the government offices, while having sworn loyalty to the Liang family. Following the trend of our time, I say.
- Location
- UK
No no no, when we do it, we are benevolent. When the Ge do it, they are corrupt and overly ambitious
- Location
- Virginia
To be fair, at least we made sure that the people we put in positions of influence were actually competent enough to do their jobs adequately, which seems to be more than can be said for most folks these days.
So yay, we're still somewhat morally better than the majority!
To be fair, the People WE put in Charge are also fairly competent on top of being loyal to us.No no no, when we do it, we are benevolent. When the Ge do it, they are corrupt and overly ambitious
Not sure how true this is for the Ge-Family...
EDIT: Ninja'd.
- Location
- barking
not very when you look at the last guy
- Location
- barking
Also how the hell did no one notice they might be a problem with the guy in charge of bandit awareness
- Location
- UK
Basically because Liang Shu only accidentally blundered into unearthing a conspiracy, rather than any explicit action taken to investigate.
- Location
- UK
Is it a version of the song Girlfriend as sung and adopted by Lu Lingqi?
Hey hey you you I don't like Ge Maiyu
Hey hey you you I think she stinks of poo
...
okay I need more time and/or hard liquor for this
- Pronouns
- He/Him
So it would be obvious if anyone was looking. But since no one was...
- Location
- barking
I think it was already answered that they would be an auxiliary force for us if (thats a big if since the yellow turbans in the north) do become captains in Ding Yuan army
- Location
- UK
Well, it will actually come down to rolls (LEA/CHA combined based) how many Azure Lances continue to follow you after Xinshen is secured and safe. The DC is quite low but you have to expect at least some will want to return to their farms and families
- Location
- Vicksburg, MS
Don't think that we'll be having a bandit shortage any time soon with all this Yellow Turban turmoil cropping up around us, but I imagine we could get somewhat creative in our definitions of just who is a bandit and find some excuse to keep our command intact... not the first time it has happened and I don't think anyone above us in the chain will be willing to reject having some extra manpower available anytime soon.
- Location
- UK
Yeah this is a great point. At this time in history, there's always bandits or rebels. It might be tricky to continuously convince your troops, but you can essentially go anywhere with easy spin.
Found the relevant chapter:
- become an Officer under Lu Bu
- become a County Commandant
- lie; the Heishan Bandits are still active in Xinshen county
I suppose there's a 4th option, rebellion.
But that's not IC for Liang Shu.
It seems like there's 3 options (so far), to prevent the Azure Lances from having to disband, once the Heishan Bandits are defeated:
- become an Officer under Lu Bu
- become a County Commandant
- lie; the Heishan Bandits are still active in Xinshen county
I suppose there's a 4th option, rebellion.
But that's not IC for Liang Shu.
I think the fourth option is repurposing the Azure Lances to deal with the YTR after the Heishan Bandits hare gone.