Trinterian-Lièhuǒan War: Difference between revisions

[[Category:Mirhaime]] [[Category:TaiyōLièhuǒ]] [[Category:Wars]]

| conflict = Trinterian-TaiyōanLièhuǒan War

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| date = 27 January 1385 to 2 January 1387 (1 year, 11 months, 6 days)

| place = Modern day TaiyōLièhuǒ

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| result = Both sides claim victory

* Signing of the Treaty of Zung WaZoagong.

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| combatant1 = Trinterian Banner Army

Yuèliàng rebels

| combatant2 =Taiyōan Lièhuǒan Imperial Army

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| commander1 = Battlemaster Ilia Wyk nar Osten'ka

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The Trinterian-TaiyoanLièhuǒan War was a military conflict between the Great Imperial Confederation of TaiyōLièhuǒ and the Trinterian Commonwealth between 1385 and 1387. The war was sparked by the shifting allegiances of tribal peoples such as the Yuèliàng on the frontier borderlands, and increasing control of the TaiyoansLièhuǒans over their administration following their successful war of unification. Answering a plea from the Yuèliàng patriarchs, in the Winter of 1384, Empress Freida Aein Feldrot nar Jisak'sa Ke'sed of the Trinterian Commonwealth ordered more than 140,000 soldiers of the Banner Army, led by Battlemaster Ilia Wyk nar Osten'ka to march through the Northern Marches and launched an invasion of the Realm through Yuèliàng the following Summer. Trinterian forces managed to capture vast swaths of territory with the help of collaborative Yuèliàng elements before being defeated by a TaiyoanLièhuǒan-led loyalist coalition of more than 300,000 at the Battle of the Misty Marsh. Coalition forces inflicted heavy casualties on Trinterian forces, forcing Warmaster Ilia Wyk to order a general retreat back to Zung WaZoagong, where the final battle of the conflict took place when coalition forces attempted to besiege the city, but were thwarted by a daring but costly attack by Trinterian and revolting Yuèliàng forces. Following a protracted stalemate and heavy casualties on both sides, Ilia Wyk, representing the Commonwealth, apologized to the TaiyoansLièhuǒans for the invasion and was granted safe passage back to Trinteria with her remaining forces. In the years that followed, further negotiations were held to solidify the border between the two empires. Though Yuèliàng independence and Trinterian dominance over the Realm were never achieved, greater autonomy for the tribe was accepted as a term for peace by the TaiyoansLièhuǒans, resulting in both sides declaring victory in the War.

In the wake of the ''Unification of the Realm'' referred to by Trinterian scholars at the time as ''Likuan'', dissent began to emerge almost immediately as people from the defeated tribes rose up in revolt against the victorious TaiyōLièhuǒ. Despite being plagued by internal rebellions, the nascent Great Imperial Confederation of TaiyōLièhuǒ sought to expand its territorial prowess outwards, incorporating a number of small tribes via wars of conquests. At that same time, the Trinterian Commonwealth, having completed its conquest of the Northern Marches by annexing the predominantly Ursinic ''Kingdom of Nordlys'' began to take notice at the chain of events that were unfolding though did nothing to intervene in the matter for more than 15 years, and thus, general peace was maintained between the two Empires. However the regional power balance had been lost. TaiyōanLièhuǒan military settlers moved in and new leaders took over the conquered communities. Several influential tribal leaders sought out the Trinterians for assistance, however, they were promptly rejected.

One thing that should be noted is that the Trinterians and TaiyōLièhuǒ treated their frontier borderland peoples in different ways. Traditionally the Trinterian Tinkar system sought to introduce "uncultured" barbarians to the benefits of the "civilized" center. TaiyōanLièhuǒan leadership on the other hand created "patron-client" relationships using marriage alliances and military expeditions to maintain "satellite" partners. Successive TaiyōanLièhuǒan courts saw the extraction of resources from frontier vassals as a measurement of their efficacy. However by 1380, both the TaiyōanLièhuǒan and Trinterian courts saw the frontier as a source of available troops famed for their ferocity.

=== TaiyōanLièhuǒan Expansion ===

The TaiyōanLièhuǒan court was also in the process of consolidating its frontier during this time. In 1377, efforts were made to take direct control of the frontier and its manpower. The northern frontier in the Zuyo region was divided into new administrative units: Nulong, Vantiep, Hishima..... Each of these units was assigned an official. Militia units were established among local communities conscripts had the character "Sons of the Celestials" tattooed on their foreheads. This reflected a distinctly TaiyōanLièhuǒan way of controlling regional manpower.

Unrest in the Frontier began following the incorporation of several tribes into the Dominion of the Great Imperial Confederation of TaiyoLièhuǒ and the appointment of titles to several tribal leaders in 1379. In the view of the Trinterian court, these titles were not merely honorary appointments. Local militia in the southwestern frontier zone was reorganized in 1382 under the newly appointed prefect of Kurihara. The 45 newly incorporated hamlets were assigned hamlet militia leaders. A commissioner surveyed the region for able-bodied men to be organized under a guard commander selected from the area's prominent households, who received a specific signal banner to indicate their group's distinction. Groups of 30 men were organized into local governance units known as "tithings", which were organized in groups of five under a troop commandant, groups of ten led by an aboriginal commander, and in groups of 50 led by a commander-in-chief. It was perhaps this intensification of border defense that the Trinterian court felt threatened by, as it saw its own systems of local control being slowly eroded away.

By 1380, tensions begun to arose in the frontier regions as Trinterian-backed chiefdoms began to organize raids into the territories of TaiyoLièhuǒ for cattle, the most notable of which is the raid launched by Chieftain Litak Hunting Bird of the Wika tribe who, with his son Huka Wildcat, managed to capture a 3 local TaiyōanLièhuǒan military inspectors. In the summer of 1381, an incursion into the territory of the Wika tribe was launched by TaiyoanLièhuǒan-backed forces but failed to recover the military inspectors who were being held as hostages by the tribal people. In the midst of the fighting, another 8 TaiyōanLièhuǒan inspectors were killed. The military commissioner Uehara Takara sought aid from a coalition of tribes for a joint attack on Wika and Trinterian-held territories in retaliation. The Trinterian court caught wind of this and began directly courting local leaders.

Despite the increased military tensions, the Trinterian court attempted to defuse the situation by dispatching a delegation to Qun XingQuanzing led by Wikta Kin nar Osten'ga. The Taiyan authorities asked for the return of their military commissioner, but they were denied. Both sides' leaders were wary of further escalation and directed their respective local military commissions to refrain from assembling troops. Empress Freida Ke'sed of Trinteria was very vocal about not starting a war with TaiyoLièhuǒ during the early stages of the conflict; historians agree that this opinion stemmed from the fact that Trinteria had little to gain if was to emerge victorious.

In early 1384, a group of diplomats led by Bao Ying were dispatched to Trinteria by Yuèliàng patriarchs who sought to thwart TaiyōanLièhuǒan dominion over their territories, and were willing to pay tributes to Trinteria in exchange for the restoration of their independence. An opportunity arose for Trinteria to cripple a rival in the region whilst acquiring new vassals to incorporate, Empress Freida allowed the Banner Army to assemble a force to heed the patriarchs' plea. Hence, an Army of roughly 100,000 backed by 40,000 auxiliaries were assembled from the ranks of the 22nd to the 33rd Imperial Legions. This Army was reinforced by an additional 40,000 raised from local tribes who also provided an additional 15,000 auxiliaries.

As planned, the Trinterian Banner Army commenced their invasion in April of 1385. Throughout the summer of that year, the TaiyoanLièhuǒan garrison in the borders were easily overwhelmed.

By Fall, a TaiyoanLièhuǒan force of more than 56,000 assembled under the leadership of Magistrate Ishiwari Yoshitomo, and hastily launched a counteroffensive with the goal of repulsing the Trinterians from the frontier regions and thwart the invasion as a whole. However, faulty intelligence and general confusion led to the TaiyoanLièhuǒan leadership underestimating the strength of their Trinterian adversaries, their armies being outnumbered and outmaneuvered by the Trinterian Banner Army.

Anticipating an attack from the north, Warmaster Ilia Wyk had her armies reinforce and form defensive positions in their new garrison at Wu ZainMudanchun whilst ordering a strong contingent of uplanders led by Nevarth Iarxalim to harass the TaiyoanLièhuǒan forces and weaken them before the decisive Battle of Wu ZainMudanchun which begun in October of that year.

Though weakened by Trinterian ambushes, the armies of Yoshitomo was far from defeated and launched an overwhelming attack at Wu ZainMudanchun that intiially saw success as they overwhelmed several perimeter outposts, forcing Warmaster Ilia to order a retreat to the second defensive line. Though initially expected to be subjected to a brutal siege, the employment of gunpowder artillery in fortified positions by Trinterian forces inflicted severe casualties upon the TaiyōanLièhuǒan army. The battle came to an end when Magistrate Yoshitomo was killed in battle, a cannonball having struck the grounds where he stood, gravely wounding, and later killing him.

The Trinterian Banner Army spent the next two weeks pushing their way towards Zung WaZoagong, annihilating any retreating TaiyoanLièhuǒan warriors they encountered. The City of Zung WaMudanchun, then the Empire's second-largest, fell into Trinterian hands without a fight in MayJune of the same year, when the Yuèliàng patriarchs surrendered the city despite instructions from the imperial capital of Qun XingQuanzing.

Warmaster Ilia Wyk, confident in her army's progress, refused to have her army set up camp and prepare for Winter as Fall approached, instead ordering all soldiers and assets to continue advancing North, where she had planned to capture OtasuHangtou and launch a naval invasion of TaiyoLièhuǒ proper before Winter arrived. This, however, proved to be a disastrous error. The defenders of Great AnethaeumXinshui, a religiously significant city, were especially tenacious as the siege, which was supposed to last only a fortnight, carried on for a full month of harsh drawn-out battle. The city was ultimately captured in early October, and the 40,000-strong garrison was disarmed and taken prisoner. The city was finally taken in early October, the 40,000-strong garrison disarmed, and became prisoners of war. The city commander Yoha Sujian killed his own family and refused to leave a burning building, committing suicide. The governor Yoha Sujian and 36 members of his family in the city died, with Yoha Sujian declaring, "I won't die at the hands of those pathetic knaves.".

Again refusing to set up camp, and brace for Winter, Warmaster Ilia Wyk marched her army North where she plans on crippling remaining TaiyoanLièhuǒan resistance on the important Fortress of the Misty MarshPanmen where the tide of the war was changed.