World Conquest Online

"The fleet at Serenity will be primarily used as a trade protection fleet from the North, making sure that our maritime trade routes will be safe. We will dispatch four Trireme and two Bireme to this fleet for now, which will be allocated to Mayor Artemisia of Serenity." Zhou Yu continued, whilst Artemisia nodded her head, her first involvement in the meeting so far, whilst Crassus beside her nodded happily as this was one of his key worries. "This fleet will be reinforced in the future as more ships are created, and can easily be supported by the rest of our fleets if we do come under attack by any northern invaders. However, with what I have been told about the Northern Trade Town, we would have the information within time."

"Now that the two key defensive locations are confirmed, let’s discuss the offensive ones." Dom stated, having stayed silent mostly throughout this part, agreeing with most of the decisions made but having left them to Subutai and Xun You as his experts to make them. Dom could have chosen people based on his relationship with them, but that wouldn’t have been the best solution. Dom also felt that Subutai and Xun You had primarily ignored the Heroes grading, as Zhao Yun was higher than Tomoe, Tomyris and Cheng Pu.

"Of course Lord Lazarus!" Zhou Yu replied with a gentle bow, still getting used to serving a new Lord. "The two fleets are the Calm River Fleet and the Serene Sea Fleet. The Calm River Fleet will have two Trireme, ten Mengchong and ten Doujian. We intend to expand this with more Trireme as soon as possible. This fleet will be based between Riverside and the Fort that is being constructed on our side of the River Fork. The Serene Sea Fleet will be based in Jia and will have our sole Quinquereme and the remaining five Trireme. This is our initial task force that will explore south and be used to defend and expand our sea territory. This will also include the more experienced ships such as the Galatea, Calypso and the Enyo."

"The remaining two Bireme and Doujian will be used to police the Calm River. Our intention is to repurpose our faster transport ships for travel in the future." Xun You added as the Military Heroes all listened on. There were nods from across the room, whilst the Heroes themselves were nervous to see who led which Navy.

"Ling Tong will lead our Calm River Fleet, this was originally Gan Ning’s plan for expansion, however we believe for now his expertise is best in leading our Serene Sea Fleet in it’s creation." Zhou Yu explained, he knew that Gan Ning would want to be involved in the Calm River Fleet’s actions in the future, but for now needed his skills elsewhere. "I will primarily be working with Ling Tong and Su Fei to look inwards, whilst I will entrust Gan Ning to work with the Southern Tiger Army to expand south."

Gan Ning nodded in acceptance, whilst Ling Tong seemed excited at the responsibility, the young General having been granted an important task as his first role. There was slight tension in the room now however, as the Heroes all prepared themselves to find out which force they had been assigned to. Zhou Yu sat down after finishing his part, whilst Subutai took a list from Xun You.

"The Armies will be split in to ranks, with a Senior General in charge of each force, with Generals in support. Beneath the Generals are Commanders who are more junior in rank. There are different pay scales across the ranks, with rewards for merits gained." Xun You explained as Subutai prepared himself, whilst Crassus sat already aware of the money that had been set aside for this.

"The Northern Horse Army, under the command of General Cheng Pu, will be supported by General Sun Ce and Commanders Tengziin and Caeso Quinctius. General Cheng Pu will look northwards, whilst General Sun Ce will support and work closely with the Tongpai Lake Fleet. Commanders Tengziin and Caeso have a lot to learn and can gain that experience from working with these two exceptional Generals." Subutai began. Sun Ce was grateful for his role, seemingly being given a command within a command, whilst the two young Generals seemed grateful that they were in a more defensive army.

"The Western Wolf Army, under the command of General Tomyris, will be supported by Generals Lu Fang and Guo Sheng, with Commanders Cheng Zi and Spargapises in support. Generals Lu Fang and Guo Sheng have been our key forefront in this excavation and search, and I hope the support of the strong Cheng Zi and Tomyris’s son Spargapises will aid them in the future campaigns." Xun You continued, whilst everyone listened on intently.

"For now, this force is primarily an attack and retreat force, however if it grows in to a full campaign, we will look at reinforcing. This army will also be supported by Ling Tong and the Calm River Fleet." Subutai explained, before looking to Huang Zhong. "The Home Army, under the command of General Huang Zhong, will be supported by General Xun Yan and Commander Uriah."

"Xun Yan has done a great job at protecting and policing our Capital Riverside and hope that this will be continued, whilst Commander Uriah has been a great deputy since his arrival." Xun You stated, "With Xun Yan and Uriah’s support, it leaves General Huang Zhong time to train the main part of our Home Army."

"Finally, is the Southern Tiger Army, under the command of General Tomoe. This Army is by far our largest, with the biggest scope to complete. General Tomoe will be supported by Generals Zhao Yun and Liao Hua as her fellow Senior commanders. Generals Qin Ming, Huang Xin and Hua Rong will work as the second line of command, as they have done so far across our campaigns. Finally Commanders Abubakar and Wengzi will work in support." Subutai stated, a slight smile as he mentioned his Sons name. One Son was based with Cheng Pu, a strong General who could give Tengziin some much needed discipline, whilst Wengzi was being sent to the Cavalry to learn his forefathers skills.

"We expect the three Senior Generals of the Southern Tiger Army to work collaboratively for our southern goals. Qin Ming will continue to work as Tomoe’s second, as will Huang Xin with Liao Hua. Hua Rong will be the second for Zhao Yun, which we believe to be a powerful combination." Xun You continued, "Our first goals of this expedition are the Cove, the exploration of the Red Woods and the San."

Xun You and Subutai then both turned to Dom, so that he could take over the meeting from this point, all of the Generals now given a command and a destination. Dom felt they had been meticulous in their work and could clearly see how the expansion would continue. Sun Ce had been kept close to home, whilst he may be frustrated by it, it was obvious that it had been done intentionally so he could spend time with his young family. Liao Hua and Zhao Yun had been given almost the same rank as the other Senior Generals so any frustration was now squashed. Whilst Tomyris has been reunited with her son and he had been placed under her watchful eyes.

"Tomoe will take her forces to deal with the Cove, they will be reinforced with Infantry and Gan Ning’s Serene Sea Fleet." Dom ordered as he began to pass out his directions, "Zhao Yun shall complete the excavations of the Red Woods ruins, we will dispatch some Elite Villagers to support from the Library. Zhao Yun’s forces will also look for any cave or underground systems. Liao Hua will continue to work with the San and keep continuity there."

The three Generals all nodded in acceptance of their orders, whilst the rest of them waited for what ever was to come next. As if on signal, Ban Jieyu opened the door and serving staff brought out food and some drinks. There was a final meeting to take place in the evening, where he and his senior Heroes of B Grade and above would agree the name of their Kingdom, before the armies all dispatched the following day. For now however, he wanted his Military Heroes who had all met as one group for the first time, could enjoy themselves.

"Whilst we eat, we shall continue to discuss some of the dispatches and upcoming plans." Xun You stated, before hearing a slight grumble coming from Gan Ning who was about to took in to some food, knowing that it was a working lunch and not the fully enjoyable one he had hoped for. "I want all senior Generals to come to me by the end of tomorrow with their requests for units, myself and Subutai have already made a plan but we are happy to hear from the Generals themselves." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Does anyone have any questions?" Dom asked as he smiled at Gan Ning and began to eat, whilst Meritamen and Sun Shangxiang ate beside him. Meritamen, like Crassus, was here to listen in, whilst Sun Shangxiang was slightly disappointed she hadn’t been dispatched with any of the forces. She had a real frustration after hearing from Gu Kaizhi on how she had been married to a much older man and had been mainly kept under control.

"Huang Zhong has been based here." Meritamen said to her, seeing the disappointment. "You can learn from him whilst he is stationed here, meaning you can potentially command in the future. Trust in Subutai and Xun You that they have planned this on purpose."

"They definitely would have." Dom whispered to them both, hearing the conversation. Sun Shangxiang smiled in response, before Gan Ning asked Dom a question.

"Can we confirm the plan for the upcoming Battle Map?" Gan Ning asked, knowing what the plan was after agreeing it with Dom at the Shipyard, however he wanted everyone else to hear it.

"As Gan Ning has pointed out, the Battle Map is quickly approaching us. We have agreed that this will be the Battle of Mycale, the Naval Battle gives us plenty more opportunity to expand our Naval Forces. The Battle of Plataea, whilst interesting, we will have little to impact on it." Dom explained, "I intend to take our new Quinquereme the Bellona with us, whilst the Heroes and Warriors joining us needs to be confirmed. There is also a chance we can take a second ship with us, but I can’t confirm that yet."

"How?" Zhou Yu asked, himself trying to work out a plan as the new Grand Admiral. Zhou Yu had been informed of the way Riverside worked and the strange happenings. Whilst he didn’t understand them, he was young enough to be adaptable to it.

"I have a friend joining us shortly, with his own small fleet. We believe that if he creates a guild with his forces, that he can also join the battle as a second force." Dom replied with a smile, "I believe he currently has a small fleet of Bireme, therefore I would want to let them borrow one of our Trireme for this battle."

"If that is the case, send the Sibylla." Artemisia stated from the side, "She may be recognised and it could cause confusion in the enemy ranks."

"That is a good point, any form of confusion will aid us." Xun You agreed, before turning to Zhou Yu, "We will need to find out if this is the case first, but we can make a two plans, with the second including the Sibylla."

"The Bellona is having it’s ram reinforced and the ship rebalanced, with space for two Titanaconda’s being created within the deck." Gan Ning explained, "We could potentially do the same to the Sibylla, if Artemisia will allow it."

"You can have one of those Giant snakes sit on it’s deck, but you are not making any changes to her." Artemisia countered seriously, whilst she had gifted her ship to the Navy, it was to be part of her defence force at Serenity and continue as her own flagship in the future.

"We will keep half of Centurion Cato’s crew, but will swap the rest with experience Hoplite’s to row, and reinforce the contingent of one hundred and twenty Marines with our own elite’s." Gan Ning continued, "If we take the Bellona, we can take specialists for the following land battle."

"Whilst the attack on Mycale is key, the conquest of enemy ships and crews is what we need the most." Xun You stated, "There will be so many competitors that we need to prioritise our gains and minimise our losses."

"I don’t disagree, we just need to agree what Heroes will be going." Dom added, in total agreement with Xun You’s comment.