The First Army
The continous raids done by the Bei Bu may have gone from potentially dangerous to a minor nuisance, but the balance of power could swing at any moment. A more permanent solution was necessary, but our last "war" was against lions in ages past, before even greenlife had been founded. Furthermore the drift between the cities was noticeable, and we weren't entirely sure if the three cities could fight cohesively together. The solution decided upon was simple, gather our best and bravest hunters under the guidance of our wisest elders to select a War Leader from amongst them. The one chosen was not only brave but cunning and charismatic. After being brought to each city to be confirmed, he discussed with the picked men how to organize for the March on Bei Bu.
Logistics was easier than expected, we have sent out many expeditions by this point, and have gotten pretty good at it so far, simply scaling up from that wasn't too difficult. More troublesome was developing tactics. We already understood to protect our bowmen with spearmen since the Lion War, but the War Leader organized and trained them into ranks rather than a loose formation, 2 ranks of spearmen to 3 ranks of bowmen. Moreover, while he didn't invent the hide shield, he did popularise its use amongst spearmen. Thus, the formation as a whole came to be known as Shieldbearers. Bow Elephants meanwhile where used as independent, walking strongpoints, able to shore up weaknesses in our own line and create them in the enemies. Now training was mentioned earlier, and the training field where the whole baobabi army gathers for bi-yearly training (as opposed to local fields that get used more regularly.) At the east end of this field is a tall pole with the lion's skull atop it, with copper facsimiles of the skull on slightly shorter poles in the four cardinal directions, and even shorter poles with four more clay facsimiles diagonal. At the west end of the field poles with masks of human faces in the same pattern. This of course hardens back to the stories of the first "war" in our people's history, but more solemnly, it is a reminder of what we can do when pushed to the brink.
As an aside, the process of selecting and confirming him, which served as a model for future officials, didn't just ensure the baobabi would be willing to listen to his commands; it also gave him a tremendous amount of social power over the baobabi, and while this doesn't translate directly into non-military authority, it does allow them to have a few strings pulled during there stay in a city. After all, the War Leader is one of, if not outright, the most respected baobabi, being seen as respected by them can only improve your own reputation.
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Topic: The Founders - A RiskyArmsCivGodPoliticking Game (Experimentation VI) (Read 19759 times)