The most classic battle of Qian State was the renowned war led by the first-generation Earl of North Border.
However, besides this, Qian State was frequently dominated by Jin State and Chu State, suffering more losses than victories.
Erha placed the teacup on the table with his paw and said, "I really appreciate the saying of the Eastern sages: ’One thrives in hardship and perishes in comfort.’ It’s a shame. The East is indeed a land full of gold, but it’s just too far away from us."
"It’s not just the distance. Do you still remember the Barbarian Catastrophe?"
The Barbarian Catastrophe refers to events a hundred years ago. After many years of brutal fighting against Yan State under the leadership of their Royal Court, the Khan of the Barbarian Royal Court had to admit that Yan State and its iron cavalry were a tough nut to crack. Indeed, the Yan people had beaten them badly on multiple occasions. With the southward path virtually blocked by Yan State’s presence, that generation’s Khan of the Royal Court had no choice but to lead the Barbarian tribal cavalry westward to plunder.
They first swept through the states of the Western Region, forcing them into submission. Then, the Barbarian cavalry pushed even further, directly invading Western territories. The Barbarians, who had been thoroughly hammered by the Yan people on Yan State’s borders, instantly regained their confidence when faced with the Western nations. They defeated several Western countries in succession, sending shockwaves throughout the Western world.
Perhaps because the Khan, who had been suppressed by the Yan people to the point of near suffocation since his ascension, had been aggrieved for too long. So, after invading the West and seeing the favorable situation, he began to act recklessly. He personally led the Royal Court’s elite and the armies of the Left and Right Virtuous Princes, intending to strike directly at the capital of the largest empire in the West at that time. His aim was to crush the spirit and morale of the Western world and turn its lands into new pastures for the Barbarians.
As a result, the Church intervened. The entire order of the Knights Templar was dispatched, and all the elite forces of the Western countries assembled. There were countless great mages and great fighters; even forces from the Western dark alliance seemed to have joined the fray.
In that battle, the overextended Barbarian Khan and his most loyal and elite Royal Court troops were all annihilated.
Although the Barbarians still possessed formidable military strength, their lack of leadership meant the Western states were able to drive them back.
Since then, the Barbarian Royal Court, due to its devastating losses, gradually became a mere figurehead, much like the Japanese emperors of later eras, and could no longer command the loyalty of the Desert Barbarian tribes.
A hundred years ago, upon receiving this news, the monarch and ministers of Yan State were utterly surprised. The Barbarians, who had been locked in conflict with them for so many years, had their Royal Court crushed by Westerners. How terrifying must these Western states be?
Meanwhile, in the eyes of the Western world: Heavens, these terrifying Barbarians, who had only turned towards us after being defeated by that Eastern Yan State, were already so formidable that they nearly annihilated all of Western civilization under their iron hooves! Dear God, how terrifying must that empire called ’Yan’ be?
Thus, with the Desert Barbarians pacified, the Belt and Road was established over the past century. The East and West, each finding the other formidable and not to be trifled with, maintained an exceptionally amicable honeymoon period in their interactions for a hundred years.
Yan State placed great importance on trade. Compared to the other three Eastern states, Yan State’s territory was indeed relatively barren. Furthermore, the Yan imperial family also had to contend with powerful local clans siphoning resources from their empire, making the need to protect their commercial interests even more pressing.
"A hundred years have passed, but the North Border Army here is still powerful," Wenter sighed.
In the past few decades, the Roman Empire has risen again, undoubtedly becoming the foremost power in the Western world. He had originally thought that after such a long period of peace, Yan State’s fearsome war machine should have rusted. But reality told him that this army, known as the North Border Army, remained terrifyingly powerful. If the Empire wished to extend its reach to the East, the Barbarian tribes would be manageable. However, the journey was far too long. A taxing, long-distance expedition was already immensely challenging. When the Empire’s grand army, utterly exhausted from crossing the desert, finally arrived in the East, could they withstand a single charge from the three-hundred-thousand-strong iron cavalry of the North Border Army, stationed across the six towns of Beifeng Prefecture?
"Rome wasn’t built in a day. We just need to focus on the task at hand. Besides, haven’t the House of the Earl of North Border and its North Border Army already become estranged from the Yan State court? If we could secure a commitment from the House of the Earl of North Border and cooperate with them, extending the Empire’s power to the East would no longer be a mere dream."
"Will those old fogeys in the Senate agree?"
"Let’s get things done first, then worry about the Senate. If we can achieve cooperation with the House of the Earl of North Border, the Senate will have to agree, whether they want to or not... Heh, unless they aren’t afraid of their generals staging another bloodbath in the Senate?"
"We can’t rush this. The Commandery Princess has consistently refused to see me; she’s likely realized who I am. I’ll try again in a few days."
"These Easterners are all like that. They don’t care how intense their internal strife and infighting get, but they’re extremely wary of outsiders like us. In their eyes, there’s really no difference between us and the Barbarians."
"Let’s not talk about this anymore."
Wenter cut Erha off. He reached into his pocket, took out a small porcelain vial, removed the stopper, and inhaled deeply of the fragrance within. An expression of utter bliss spread across his face as he slowly said,