Army of the Steel Tortoise

The Army of the Steel Tortoise (Ganggui Jundui in Tianguese) is a Tianguese military unit currently billeted in the eastern town of Futou.
== History ==
Several Tianguese armies have been named 'Steel Tortoise', dating all the way back to the first wars of expansion fought by the state over four hundred years ago. The current Army of the Steel Tortoise has been in continuous commission since at least the conquest of Shanzhou in 455.
The Steel Tortoises have been historically linked to the eastern regions of Tianguo, taking part in most of the wars of conquest fought there, as well as peacekeeping, along with the Army of the Stubborn Aurochs. By the late 7th Century it was a unit numbering around forty thousand strong, under the command of General Hanhao Cheng. Cheng was instrumental in organising the Soldiers' Revolt of 682, and the Steel Tortoises acquitted themselves admirably during the conflict - especially during the Battle of Fanrishan, where the Steel Tortoises managed to encircle and destroy around a third of the loyalist Army of the Vigilant Hawk.
Following the Revolt, royal decree prevented the Cheng line from maintaining control of both their lands and the army. They chose the landowners' life, and the Steel Tortoises passed into the hands of government-appointed generals - poor tacticians, but loyal minds.
Since the Revolt, the Tianguese army has fallen into decline. The Steel Tortoises, led by bureaucrat Jinru Fo, were humiliated at the Battle of the Forest Edge in 694. Since then they have been garrison troops in Futou, even remaining stationary during the coup d'etat of 743.
Category:Organisations
Category:Tianguo