Rong Di

Biodata

Society and Warfare

• The Rong Di are a collection of tribes rather than a unified state; major groups include the Xianyou, Gudi, Shanrong, Wu Bu, Suwu, Xiqiang, Qishan, Shelie, and Yanle tribes. 128 130 138 139 149
• Their primary military strength is cavalry and mounted archery. They are far less effective in sieges, where fortified walls force their cavalry to fight as infantry. 51
• Tribal nobles treat ordinary warriors as expendable during assaults, using them as cannon fodder when attacking cities. 51
• The tribes are politically divided, with royal families competing to annex one another and unify the grasslands. Their inability to select a unified commander undermines their response to Great Wei's invasion. 128 139
• Before submitting to Yin Yue Palace, the tribes possessed more than a dozen Great Grandmaster-level elders; these experts were the principal obstacle to Yin Yue Palace directly controlling them. 144 148

History

The Rong Di first besiege Hexi County under Xianyou Tribe Little Prince Yu Danjun. Although their numerical superiority pressures the defenders, the city's walls neutralize their cavalry advantage. Sheng Huai'an's reinforcements arrive and disrupt the assault. 51

During the following battles, the Rong Di lose commanders including Xian Yufei, Xianyou, Xian Bolan, and Xianyou chieftain Yu Hu. The Xianyou Tribe's first major campaign against Hexi County ends with more than 36,000 soldiers killed, including a Grandmaster and two Xiantian Grand Perfection experts. 52 53 99 100 115

After winter, Yu Danjun gathers 50,000 Xianyou warriors to avenge the earlier defeat. The campaign fails decisively: Yu Hu is killed, the cavalry routs, and Yu Danjun later reports the deaths of his father and uncle to his grandfather, Yu Xiong. 95 115 116

Great Wei subsequently carries the war into the grasslands. The Xianyou Tribe is defeated and driven north; its leader Yu Lin chooses migration over a final stand after the Hexi Army reaches the tribal royal court. 129

The Gudi and Shanrong tribes then form a temporary alliance to seize the Hexi Grasslands. Their leaders, Gu Yuan and Gao Qi, are killed at the outset of battle, causing their 200,000 cavalry to collapse. 130 131

The surviving tribes eventually unite nine major tribal forces, fielding 300,000 elite soldiers and seven Great Grandmasters against Sheng Huai'an. The force is annihilated: roughly 250,000 are killed and 50,000 surrender. 139 140 141

With their elite armies and Grandmaster ancestors destroyed, the Rong Di seek Yin Yue Palace's intervention. They accept vassal status in exchange for protection from Great Wei, surrender the Moran Grasslands south of the Sudan Desert, and pay extensive reparations. 144 145 148 149

Major Campaigns and Defeats

Relationships

• Great Wei / Hexi Army — Primary enemy force. The Rong Di repeatedly invade Hexi County before Sheng Huai'an's army devastates their tribes and pushes to Shele River. 51 95 139 142
• Sheng Huai'an — The central figure behind the Rong Di's defeat. His campaigns kill their high-level experts, destroy their elite forces, and force their political submission. 131 140 145
• Yin Yue Palace — Formerly regarded with suspicion by the Rong Di, the palace becomes their protector and overlord after they accept vassal status. 144 145
• Yu Danjun — Little Prince of the Xianyou Tribe who directs the siege of Hexi County and later gathers a 50,000-man revenge army. 51 95
• Yu Lin — Xianyou leader after Yu Danjun loses his power; he organizes the tribe's defense but ultimately retreats north with its surviving warriors. 128 129
• Gudi and Shanrong tribes — Rong Di tribes that ally to contest the Hexi Grasslands, but lose their leaders and armies to Sheng Huai'an. 130 131

Trivia

• The Rong Di's collapse is severe enough that their leaders estimate they will need a century to recover. 149
• Their livestock reparations are especially ruinous because cattle, sheep, and warhorses are the foundation of grassland nomadic life. 149
• Following the destruction of the 300,000-man army, many Rong Di captives are coerced into a Great Wei-controlled slave army under Zhou Yuan. 141 142