The concept of "Gothic" in history has changed several times. In the beginning, he was called "neighbors" by the natives who occupied the entire human world, the barbarian tribes of the Black Forest and swamps in the northern part of what is now the Ostrogothic Empire.www.biquge.info

This name was also used by the warm city-states of the south in classical antiquity.

Because of the favorable climate and the fish and salt resources of the Côte d'Azur. There were also large tracts of land suitable for cultivation and seafaring trade. So they entered the age of civilization earlier than the Goths.

In the "pre-A.D." era, when the Slavians had not yet risen and the enemy of humanity had not yet appeared, the classical city-states of Achaians and Phoenicians continued to expand their colonies.

However, most of those colonies were independent and fragile. Whether it's the nomadic centaurs and steppe dwellers, or the Celts and Goths in the wilderness, they can easily destroy a small colony in the shortest possible time by concentrating a few tribesmen.

Of course, civilized people and barbarians do not just use the means of war to communicate. Necessary trade, communications, alliances and even marriages are also essential. The Achaians, who were in the original Lombard region, gained an advantage. He gained a large number of alliances of Gothic tribes. The barbarian chieftains all became allies of the city-state called "Rome". Through hundreds of years of effort, the ancient empire emerged.

A large army of Achaean warriors, as well as a large number of barbarian allies, sustained the empire. A vast empire stretched from the Briton Peninsula in the north, Mauritania and Egypt in the south, Asturias in the east, and Anatolia in the west, and almost enveloped the azure seas.

It overpowered the Berbers, Levantines, Slavians, and Britons of the classical era. And, of course, the Goths. Swallow thousands of miles, indispensable. Only on the distant Iranian plateau could the powerful cavalry of Cyrus compete with them.

Of course, in the vast majority of wars, the classical empire had the upper hand.

Then, hundreds of years passed quietly, and the classical empire began to fall and decay, and the strong rise of the centaurs, and the emergence of the first Tartarian Khan, dealt a heavy blow to the classical empire. A terrifying son of the apocalypse, who united all the barbarians, led an army of 400,000 barbarians into the hinterland of the empire in one fell swoop.

Another blow that made the empire completely unable to get up was the appearance of the dark elves.

These dark-skinned elves who have left the green continent in the south seem to have some kind of kinship with the elven natives of Briton Island. But of course, that's not the point. The point is that the Dark Elves controlled the eastern part of the empire, Syria, Israel, the Desert Peninsula, Egypt and Mauritania, in the shortest possible time.

At one point, the Dark Elves invaded Asturias and Lombardy. Although it was eventually wiped out by the last remaining elite fleet of the classical empire. Eventually, however, they attacked by land and occupied Armenia and Anatolia. Then, there is Constantinople, the new capital of the classical empire in the Balkans and the eternal city of wonders.

In this way, the eastern part of the classical empire was occupied by the dark elves. The West, the classical empire, was ravaged by centaurs. The most glorious era belonging to the Achaeans is over. The disadvantage of the number of people made them eventually barbarianized. Or take refuge in the dark elves, or die a glorious death.

The Goths took advantage of the situation. At that time, the Goths represented "the hope of mankind" and "all free human beings who do not belong to the non-human species". Including the Asturians and Britons. The Goths were seen as the union of all free human beings.

A powerful empire, including the Ostrogothic Empire, the Visigothic Kingdom, Britton and Asturias, controls all the territories and armies of the human world. To the south, crush the dark elves and their Berber vassals across the oceans, and to the north, expel the Slavites, occupy their lands, and assemble elite cavalry to fight the barbarian armies of the centaurs.

The ancient Gothic empire laid the foundations of what is now the human world.

But that was a long time ago. Now the empire is divided. The inhabitants of Briton and Asturias, who originally called themselves Goths, abandoned the Gothic title for their own benefit and established their "new race". Of course, from the very beginning, they did not have many gothic genes in their blood. So it's barely acceptable.

But the Ostrogothic opposition to the Visigoths, and the Visigoths' declaration of independence, was quite different. As two countries with exactly the same race, culture and language, and customs. Visigoths even still use the title Gothic.

A stupid Gothic emperor divided his beloved young son into the rich kingdom of the west, which led to the beginning of all suffering.

The Gothic Empire ceased to exist. The concept of Gothic has also changed again. Today's Goth is a man who lost two cousins and separated from his own brothers. At the same time, his family is also in a state of fragmentation. This is not something that can be solved by changing the emperor casually.

And as the culprit of everything, the Ostrogoths' hatred of the Visigoths cannot be expressed in words. Ostrogoths generally believe that it was the betrayal of the Visigoths that led to the fall of the glorious empire. The Visigoths, on the other hand, saw Ostrogothic as a decadent and degenerate existence, like the classical empire of Achaea in the last days.

They called themselves neo-Goths and saw themselves on a mission to start a new Gothic dynasty.

However, in any case, the contradictions between Ostrogoths and Visigoths, like Ostrogoths and Slavites, Visigoths and Bretons, and Bretons and Ostrogoths, are very, very, very deep.

No matter what the purpose, no matter where you are, no matter what faction you are. As long as they could declare to the Ostrogothic soldiers, "Our enemy is a traitor to the Empire!" the Ostrogothic soldiers would have cheered.

In the same way, if the Visigoths were to declare, "Today, we are going to fight against the depraved scum!" the Visigothic soldiers would be equally happy.

It's like this.

"Despite many marriages with local natives, as well as with the Slavians. Even independently created a United Provincial Republic. But, in the end, the blood of the Goths still flows in these people. ”

William couldn't help but sigh when he looked at the white legionnaires who were in high spirits, as if they had turned on some kind of switch, or injected some kind of stimulant drug.

"The imperial plot, nostalgia for the glory of the past is something that everyone has. ”

Beside William, Charlumi said, "In the beginning, the city of Riga was founded by a group of Gothic immigrants. They existed for a long time as free cities of the Empire. Even after the establishment of the state, in many cases, the Polotsk parliament was willing to swear allegiance to the Ostrogothic Empire in order to provide protection against the Slavians and centaurs. ”

"yes. William nodded: "Maybe their bloodline is not pure compared to the Visigoths." But if there is loyalty to the Empire, it is heaven and earth. ”

"Are we here to talk about ancient history today?" said Elise, grumbling with some annoyance, "It's all clichés. I thought we had more important things to do. ”

"Of course. William nodded: "I have received news of the shipment from the Caribbean colonies. The Visigoths set their first goal on us. ”

"That's exactly what we're talking about. Elise said, "I already know this, and then what?"

"They had an army of twenty thousand, a large fleet of seventy battleships—the fleet of our expeditionary force could not match them. Even if we are equipped with new artillery and shells. But of course, those guys are opponents of the Briton navy. ”

"Yes, our allies have the world's largest naval army. That's great news. Elise rolled her eyes. Although she said "good news", she didn't seem to be happy at all.

"And then their armament, including at least two hundred infantry guns of considerable effectiveness - every Visigothic king was an artilleryman. William said:

"But their infantry units are lackluster. The Visigoths had a cavalry tradition. However, their cavalry has long been outdated. Neither in terms of training nor combat effectiveness, they were no match for our hussars. And the equipment of their infantry units is quite outdated.

They are even using crossbows as long-range attack weapons. The main infantry, on the other hand, is no different from most nations and mercenaries, all armed with extra-long spears. ”

"That is, although they are twice as numerous as we are. But their weaponry is at least two generations behind ours. With that being said, the odds seem to be very good. Charlumi said.

"Yes, it's big. Still a little unhappy, Elise said:

"But they are a kingdom, and they have an army of two hundred thousand. If they can, they can mobilize another 200,000. And once they understood that the crossbow was an obsolete weapon, they would also equip musketeers on a large scale. As you know, it only takes a few months of hard training to make a musketeer. At that point, we'll be—"

"- No, it won't. William interrupted her:

"If I were a Visigothic king, I wouldn't do that. What is he doing with an army of 200,000 that he has to work for someone else? If I were him, I would rather use this army to attack the mainland territory of Briton. Or fight a Gothic civil war in the Old World......"