New Germanic Peoples

New Germanic Peoples

Early the next morning, Zhang Heng saw those Germanic peoples sitting in prison carts.

At this time, the Germanic peoples were not yet as successful as their descendants would become, spread across Europe. In the eyes of the Romans, they were still Barbarians, a collective term for the barbarian tribes on the eastern bank of the Rhine River. However, their wars with the Romans had a long history, with their first clash dating back to 113 BC.

Two Germanic tribes had crossed the Danube River to raid Roman towns, intending to make a quick profit and leave. Instead, they were beaten senseless by the Roman Legions stationed there. In terms of individual combat ability, the tall and powerfully built Germanic peoples undoubtedly held the advantage, but the Romans were more disciplined, better equipped, and highly skilled in classical linear tactics. Many of their tactical concepts were even adopted by modern linear warfare.

Thus, the Germanic peoples, who prized individual valor, suffered greatly. Yet they never abandoned their desire to move south, and border conflicts and skirmishes continued for a long time afterward. Especially later, when Wei Qing and Huo Qubing drove the Xiongnu westward in the first century, Europe ended up suffering for it.

The Germanic peoples were caught in the middle like filling in a sandwich and could only accelerate their advance south. While Aurelius was still alive, he had constantly dealt with Germanic invasions. The two sides fought many back-and-forth campaigns, and after several centuries of fighting and learning, those Barbarians had improved greatly. They had also accumulated considerable experience in dealing with the Roman Legions, while their production techniques had advanced as well, making them increasingly difficult to handle.

However, Zhang Heng knew that the war between the two sides would soon end. He