| “ | Blows as the wind, thrives as our empire. I shall settle down and let the world's roughest soldiers guard my beloved land.
— Liu Bang
|
” |
The Han Dynasty (Chinese: 漢朝; pinyin: Hàncháo) was formed after it's predecessor, The Qin Dynasty ended due to revolt. The Han Warriors used great weapons and tatics to defeat their enemies. They were also experts fighting from chariots.
However, The Han Dynasty ended in 220 when Cao Cao's heir Cao Pi pressured Emperor Xian into abdicating the throne in his favor, establishing Cao Wei eventually, in response, Liu Bei established Shu Han, while Sun Quan established Eastern Wu, and the three regimes coexisted for decades until each was destroyed by the Jin Dynasty under the Sima clan.
Battle vs. Persian Immortal (by KevlarNinja)[]
Out on a chinese field, a Han Dynasty charioteer and two Han warriors are eating a small meal, when they hear trumpeting. The walk over to see two Persian Immortals, with their own chariot and charioteer, who's blowing the war trumpet. The lead Immortal commands the other to jump on the chariot, which he does. The Han leader does the same. In their own languages, the leaders shout "Charge!" The second Han warrior aims his Repeating Crossbow, hitting the Persian charioteer in the eye.
With the charioteer now dead, the Persian chariot starts to swerve to the right. The Immortal picks up his bow, quiver, and spear and jumps off just in time. The chariot crashes and splinters into a thousand pieces. The Immortal fires just as his leader catches up. The Immortal fires an arrow up into the air. Meanwhile, the Han charioteer stops and looks up into the sky. The arrow flies down and goes right through the charioteer's neck.
The Han warrior jumps off, and charges the Immortal with his Qiang, well his leader watches over. The Han Warrrior tries to stab, but the Immortal dodges and knocks the Han over with his spear's counterweight, knocking the warrior to the ground. He turns the spear around and stabs the Han warrior in the chest.
The Han leader charges and picks up the Qiang spear and uses it to impale the Immortal.
The Han Warrior pulls out his Dao and the Immortal, his Akinake (sword). They charge at each other. They duel for a little while, but the Han chops through the Akinake with his Dao. He tosses his sword aside and pulls out some Deer Horn Knives, well the Immortal unsheathes his Guard's Dagger. The Immortal swings his blade, but misses. The Han kicks him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. The Han warrior proceeds to stab the Immortal multiple times in the chest.
The Han holds a bloodly knife in the air and yells in victory.
Winner: Han Warrior
Expert's Opinion[]
The Han Warriors won because of their steel weapons and the superior rate of fire of the repeating crossbow over the Persian bow on an unsteady platform like a chariot.
To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.
Battle vs. Germanic Warrior (by Samurai234)[]
In a large forest, a Han Warrior is walking back to his camp. He was supposed to go a battle, but his chariot was attacked by a Turkish warrior also in a chariot. Up ahead, a Germanic Warrior is walking across the forest, looking for another opponent after he defeated a Arab soldier. The Germanic Warrior notices the Han Warrior and hurls a Fransisca Axe, but it misses and hits a nearby tree. The Han, alerted by this, grabs his Repeating Crossbow, and fires 4 arrows at the German. The Germanic Warrior tries to duck behind his shield, but one of the arrows managed to hit him in the shoulder. Luckily, his armor prevented the arrow from piercing his skin. The Germanic Warrior hurls another axe, which hits the Han Warrior’s shield, rendering it useless. The Han Warrior grabs his Qiang, and charges at the German, who has his boar spear and shield. The Han Warrior tricks the German into opening himself, and stabs him in the leg. The Germanic Warrior roars in pain and uses his spear’s side prongs to disarm the Han. The German smiles, and runs in to finish his opponent off, but the Han manages to grabs the spear and throws the Han Warrior to the floor, causing him to lose grip on his shield. The German pulls out his Seax knife while the Han pulls out his butterfly swords. The German tries desperately to block the Han Warrior’s strikes, but the Han manages to get a strike on the German’s stomach. The German retaliates by slashes the Han in the arm. The Han unsheathes his Dao, while the German unsheathes his Grosse Messer. The two both clash, weapon-on-weapons, until the Han finds an open spot on the German. He thrusts forward and stabs the German in the neck. Blood splurges out as the German breathes his last. The Han raises his sword in the air and yells in victory.
Winner: Han Warrior
Expert's Opinion[]
The voters believed that a combination of superior armor and superior weaponry especially at longer ranges sealed the Han Soldier's victory over their Germanic counterparts.
To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.
Battle vs. Vandalic Warrior (by Pygmy Hippo 2)[]
Maui Village, Hawaii
The Chinese Dynasty was being attacked by barbarians from the west who had just brought down the Empire in that part of the world. The Vandalic Warriors were trying to make this new land go the way of Rome but wound up facing fierce resistance from the Han Soldiers on land and at sea. The latter of which led to a battle where both side's ships were swept off-course and they wound up shipwrecked onto a strange new island in the middle of the Pacific.
Surprisingly both sides had wound up at different ends of the island but would soon meet each other again for a rematch one fateful day when a man from both sides wound up having too much to drink. A ceremony was interrupted by two armored men getting into a fistfight while yelling insults in their native languages before a Koa Warrior attempted to separate them and got two swords stabbed into him for his troubles. The Vandal and Han decided that rather than retrieve their primary melee weapons, it would be better to use their secondary weapons, the one-handed axe and Gou Xiang that they pulled out as the crowd ran away screaming.
The Warrior drunkenly hacked at the Soldier who sluggishly raised his gauntlet to defend against the blow which worked, if only because his foe was as inebriated as him, and made him confident enough to go for a stab to the leg which was blocked by a vambrace. The invading barbarian retaliated with a furious yell and a mighty swing to the Dynasty defender's chest which stuck the axe in between the iron lamellar plates. The Han just shrugged off the blow with a grunt before swinging the Xiang at his foe's neck which left the hook inside his throat before both just awkwardly stared at each other.
The two soon fell over dead from blood loss after that and the other two Koa arrived on the scene only to get a bolt in the heart and arrow in the neck respectively as the competitor's fellows arrived in the village to settle the score. It didn't take long for the Vandals and Han to notice each other and focus on firing at each other with the self bow arrows simply overwhelming a Dynasty defender by turning him into a pincushion before he could raise his iron shield and the Han crossbow bolts punching through a boss shield to injure the man's arm before he took another to the eye. The remaining Warriors and Soldiers put away their ranged weapons as the former's shots weren't getting past the opponent’s armor and the latter's final shot had missed along with reloading not being possible so they prepared for close combat.
The Han got the advantage at first with their longer Ji Polearms but the Vandals soon got past the wide swings with the loss of one punctured and torn away boss shield which was avenged by two Framea Spears jabbing forwards at the adversary who did that, puncturing his gut and chest with the points. One of the invading barbarians took a dagger-axe point to the face in return for that however and his fellow hacked off the Dynasty defender's points with a snarl and one-handed axe he brandished alongside a Migration Period sword. Nearby a Warrior threw his Spear at a Soldier who's Gou Xiang blocked it before he challenged his foe with a battle cry and raising his Huán Shôu Dao, the two leaders responded to their opponents by pulling out their blades and shields.
The Han iron shield held up surprisingly well against the axe which only made a dent and enabled the leader to swing at the hilt and chop it in half which made the Vandal charge him and attempt to knock him over. The Dynasty defender pushed the invading barbarian back but not before he yanked his shield away and the two traded swings where their steel blades collided to no effect. Both decided to whack with the bottom of their blades and the Soldier wound up with a broken arm while the Warrior got the wind knocked out of him by a smash to the gut before the Dao stabbed through his neck.
The Vandal found his sword almost immediately grabbed by the Xiang and fought for it back while the Han looked for an opening before he rammed his boss shield into the gauntlet and freed his blade along with toppling his foe. The invading barbarian hacked into the Dynasty defender's leg while he was on the ground which forced him to drop his secondary weapon before dodging a desperate swing of his enemy's sword. The Migration Period Sword came down onto the poor Soldier's shoulder next and he yelled in pain before the Warrior finally ended the brutal assault by chopping his foe's head off.
The Vandal noticed the last Han struggling with retrieving his Dao from his fellow's dead body and rushed in for the killing blow before stopping mid-blow and spitting up blood as his target turned around and rammed the blade in his gut. The Dynasty defender kicked the invading barbarian over and left him to struggle on the ground while he reloaded his crossbow and then aimed it at his throat before firing. Two Warriors choked on their own blood in under a minute as the Soldier retrieved his sword and left his adversary to bleed to death from his wounds, he didn't know how he'd get back home but at least he took down many of those barbarians.
Winner:Han Soldier
Expert's Opinion[]
The Vandalic Warriors had the better polearm and secondary melee weapon while the Han Soldiers only had a better sword and equally lethal long range weapon but that advantage wasn't enough to win. The two were fairly equal in armor but the Han were clearly the more experienced and better trained warriors who had gone up against similar foes to the Vandals and developed tactics to beat them.
To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.
Battle vs. Iberian Soldier (by Pygmy Hippo 2)[]
Southern Africa
The Zulu Impi that remained were being forced into service as Carthaginian mercenaries and their people were made to work for their war machine as the war elephants trumpeted in victory over the broken corpses of their enemies. Hannibal Barca gave his orders to a small group of Iberian Caetrati and they immediately began scouting the territory for anyone who escaped their conquest or any other warriors that could prove to be a threat to the Empire's rule. The Iberians saw smoke in the distance and investigated to find a village that looked more like their employer's style with warriors who looked to be dressed similarly and warriors with foreign weapons that they hadn't seen before, at the moment, they just decided to watch the conflict but if either side advanced on the new Carthaginian lands...
The Vandals' newest invasion had not gone well for them, in fact, their hones were now being invaded by the very military of the Dynasty that they had tried to end in the east and suffered an embarrassing loss in an island batttle to. The Han Soldiers had an equally strong navy backing them up but it had been a difficult journey although their victories against these barbaric warriors in their homelands was going as well as the campaign to force them out of Chinese lands had gone. The newest village was completely crushed under the Han army's might and a scout rode over to a small group of Soldiers to tell them that there were men watching their actions from high ground farther away, they decided to investigate tomorrow and rest for the night.
The Iberians had been asleep after that and were going back to their previous positions but realized that the Han that they saw earlier were approaching their position and they yelled at them before grabbing their javelins. The Dynasty defenders reacted quickly to the Carthaginian mercenaries rushing them and quickly utilized their crossbows to start firing at them but they managed to avoid or block most of the shots although one got hit in the eye and another in the shoulder. The Caetrati watched as the aconitum poison caused their fellow to fall over dead with their other member in a couple moments but their own barrage had devastating effects against the more lightly armored soldiers, five of their bodies getting Soliferrums and Falaricas through them.
Despite those gruesome losses, the rest of the Han survived either through their iron lamellar armor protecting them or being quick enough to raise a shield with one last shot by their leader hitting an Iberian in the throat. The Dynasty defender yanked the Falarica out of his armor and ordered his men to follow him as they pursued the fleeing Carthaginian mercenaries who kept throwing projectiles behind them. A heavily armored Soldier finally fell as a Soliferrum went into his head but the rest continued charging with their Ji and Huan Shou Dao drawn before their cavalry units came from behind the Caetrati and swung their polearms at their necks with four getting stabbed in the charge.
The Iberians had cavalry as well who quickly moved in to protect their infantry units by hurling even more javelins at the opposing Han cavalry, knocking at least two of the heavily armored men off their horses who ran off, as they picked up most of the survivors. The Dynasty defenders could only angrily watch as the Carthaginian mercenaries got away and take cover from the hail of projectiles until it was safe to go ahead and see if their horsemen needed medical attention, one man had hurt his back and the other stood guard over him while the rest continued their hunt. The Caetrati were running out of Soliferrums and Falaricas and the leader decided to give the cavalry their last ones before they dropped them off into a suitable ambush position where they waited with drawn swords for the Han to get close enough to attack.
The Han were charged by the cavalry once again but their own units were quick enough to yank two of the attackers off their horses with Ji blades through their sides but they didn't notice the Iberians sneaking closer to them. A Dynasty defender's Ji handle was hacked through by a Gladius Hispaniensis before his forearm was cut off and as he screamed in pain, it came for his throat next, and three more wound up getting similar fates or just a Falcata in the gut if they were lightly armored. The Soldier leader blocked a short sword blade with his Gou Xiang hooks before decapitating the Caetrati with his Dao and four more men wound up being bested by getting disarmed by the gauntlets or just outranged with one poor man spitting up blood as he toppled over with a slashed gut.
The remaining Iberians quickly realized they were at a disadvantage and their leader ordered them to retreat as another cavalry troop wound up getting pulled off his mount through a Ji in his mouth but one of the Han cavalry had been turned into a pincushion and another's horse was struck before he landed on his neck. After the sickening snap made the Dynasty defenders look away from the Carthaginian mercenaries for a moment, they took the opportunity to reload their Crossbows without knowing that their enemies had went to the beginning area of the battle once more. The Soldier bravely defended his friend but he couldn't avoid the Soliferrum hitting his neck and a Falarica in his heart which made his bolt hit the Caetrati cavalry in the gut instead who collapsed on his fleeing horse.
The wounded Han begged for mercy but the Iberians approached him with their blades and hacked away at him as his screams filled the air before one of them coughed up blood as he fell forwards, a Crossbow shot having hit his back. The Dynasty defenders charged with fury against the Carthaginian mercenaries and wound up getting a man's throat slashed from behind by the enemy cavalry's Gladius before their own horseman pursued him. The Soldiers quickly gained an advantage through their sword and gauntlet style of melee combat once more and one Caetrati got tag-teamed which resulted in his Ceatra and Falcata being knocked out of his hands before he was slashed repeatedly.
The Iberian cavalry looked behind him to see the Han horseman following and quickly pulled his last Soliferrum out before swiftly turning around and aiming his throw so that it would hit his foe. The Carthaginian mercenary grinned before looking in shock as he was knocked off his horse as well through a Ji to the torso while his Dynasty defendef opponent was battered from the javelin and landing, he would live unlike his arrogant foe. The last Caetrati fought furiously with one cutting the last lightly armored Soldier's torso completely open with his Falcata before his arms were cut off by the opposing leader's Dao before his head went.
The Han had the Iberian leader on the defensive but he noticed a chance to go for of his attacker's legs and hacked through it which made him topple with a yell before he was silenced by his throat getting cut. The other Dynasty defender pushed him back but was caught off guard by a punch from the Caetra and could only watch in shock as the Gladius Hispaniensis came for him next as blood splattered him once more but from the Carthaginian mercenary. The Caetrati's eyes rolled back as the Soldier leader kicked his body aside after stabbing his Huan Shou Dao through his ribcage and nodded at his remaining men before the two went looking for other survivors.
Winner:Han Soldiers
Expert's Opinion[]
The Iberian Caetrati had an equally lethal mid range weapon in the Soliferrum to go up against the Ji, considerable experience from their mercenary careers, and unconventional guerrilla tactics. The Han Soldiers eventually adapted to such tactics however and their own service as a military for an entire dynasty gave them as much if not more experience with heavy armor actually being worn by them. The final nail in the Iberian's coffin was how the Han had better weapons in almost every category with the Huan Shou Dao and Crossbow outranging the Gladius Hispaniensis and Falaricas along with the Gou Xiang countering the Falcata.
To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.
Battle vs. Roman Army (by Killermoves)[]
TBW
Expert's Opinion[]
TBW