Luo

**Leader** | Luo Bai He

> What point is there in victory without principles? What point is there in unity without peace? What point is there in leadership without first obtaining the hearts of the people?
>
> One of Master Wheel's teachings, which Luo Bai He took to heart.

Joining the Survivalist Coalition as its fourth faction, the Luo are a largely nomadic faction fully focused on the continued survival of its people, instead of the more idealistic goals of the other Warlord-led factions.

Formerly regarded as the weakest faction in the Survivalist Coalition, the Luo miraculously survived to become one of the two out of five factions still active by the start of 2020. They have since then became an independent faction after the Huang disbanded the Coalition due to disagreements about the nuclear attack on the Beng.

As of January 2020, the Luo as a faction has ceased operations, having been defeated and absorbed by the Iron Army.

## History and Status

The people of Tibet were quickly abandoned by the PLA during the early stages of the Vannai War, mostly due to the sparsely populated and logistically complicated nature of the region. To protect themselves, the people largely packed up and became nomads, choosing to avoid the VP entirely. However, as Superforts started to appear, this became harder and harder, often ending in tragedy as caravans were easily caught up by the Superforts.

This need for direct combat saw the rise of suit pilots, originally in hiding to avoid being conscripted into the PLA, which left their own province undefended. These suit pilots became arguably the best of China, having to fight Superforts without the aid of any other military entity. One of these suit pilots was Luo Bai He, a man of such great charisma and virtue that the people naturally joined him and his caravan.

As the PLA collapsed, Luo perfected the strategy of delay and escape, drawing even more to join him for safety. Urged on by his generals and advisors, Luo took up the position of Warlord, leading the faction named after him, the Luo. They were soon invited to join the Coalition by their long time allies, the Huang.

After the nuclear attack on the Beng, the Luo became the primary suspects after the release of sound recording of what happened in the bunker to the rest of China. This turned them into the prime enemy of the Lotus of Rebellion, as well as causing internal chaos within the faction. The Huang, believing that the Iron Army was at fault, was denied the chance to investigate the bunker by Warlord Luo, which strained the relationship between the factions enough to convince Warlord Huang to break off the Coalition and all other ties.

Currently, the Luo are still using their delay and escape strategies, but instead of running from Superforts, they are contending with the Bandits instead, which are much more organized. Losing more and more territory, the Luo will eventually be forced to stand their ground agains the oncoming horde. Without the heavy infantry support by the Huang, the Luo are struggling to even win minor skirmishes, providing them with their greatest crisis since their founding.

The Iron Army, seizing this chance with the jusitifcation that the now weak Luo should not fall to Bandit or Huang hands, attacked the Luo, destroying over half of their already depleted forces and quickly subjugating them. Warlord Luo died before the attack from his wounds sustained in battle with the Bandits, and left behind a message to his people to accept the rule of the ACC.

Respecting the final words of their beloved lord, the people of Xinjiang were absorbed into the ACC without much resistance, ending the Luo as a faction.

## Population, Industry, and Military

Numbering 9 million at their peak, the Luo were regarded as the weakest of the factions. However, this low population count allowed the Luo to focus on survival, allowing them to sustain their population with traditional nomadic ways of life. They produce enough food for themselves, but are unable to create a surplus to trade with.

This nomadic focus means that the Luo had minimal manufacturing capabilities. As such, the Huang would often supply equipment and resources needed to keep the Luo capable of combat against the Superforts. The Luo still tried their best at alleviating the burden they caused to the Huang, often manufacturing ammunition themselves.

In terms of military, the Luo focused on using the leased heavy infantry form the Huang and the rest of the Coalition in addition to their defensive strategems. Utilizing the organizational method of assigning large units of infantry to suit pilot commanders, the Luo are unusually flexible in their formations, allowing for quick shifts in their defense lines. This flexibility was often fascinating to the other Warlords.

Due to the low levels of resources, the Luo's common infantry are usually poor armored and poorly armed. Even though many are equipped with rifles and grenade launchers, they are nonetheless encouraged to use melee weapons due to the low levels of reserve ammunition. Without the brilliant strategems that they use defensively and the support of suits, they would've likely been wiped out by now.

## Significant Members

### Luo Bai He (洛佰贺)

 File:Luo Bai He.png  The youngest of the Warlords, Luo Bai He was originally the heir to a rich family. However, as order collapsed during the Vannai War, Luo chose to spend his fortunes on aiding the people, eventually bankrupting himself. This was when he started to wander the province, providing as much aid as he could.

One day, the village he was residing in was attacked, and despite the danger, he took a simple sword to engage the VP drones while asking the villagers to evacuate. His selfless actions inspired the villagers to join him, eventually pushing back the VP long enough to evacuate the entire village with minimal casualties.

This event drew the attention of Master Wheel, who decided to take the young man under his wing, and giving him an unused suit pod. Luo eventually rose to become the Warlord of his faction, a promotion celebrated by his people and hailed as a sign of fortune for the days to come.

Notably kind and empathetic, his dedication to the moral principles taught to him by Master Wheel inspired the Huang to unconditionally give him aid, becoming the closest factions within the Coalition until the nuclear attack on the Beng. His leadership also resulted in very low levels of dissatisfaction, meaning that the Lotus of Rebellion never really gathered steam within his territory.
Sustaining lethal wounds during a battle against the Bandits, Luo managed to hold on to life for a week or so before perishing, leaving behind a humble and sincere message to his people to submit to the ACC. It is a testament to how much he was beloved by his people when the Iron Army was able to easily absorb Xinjiang without much resistance.

### Lun Meng Di (轮孟帝)

 File:Lun Meng Di.png  Also known as Master Wheel, Lun was a wandering scholar at the start of the Vannai War. He was teaching refugees nomadic agricultural techniques in the heart of Tibet when he heard of the exploits of Luo Bai He, and the rest was history.

A rather shrewd man, he was nonetheless fiercely loyal to his principles of kindness and duty. When the Luo formed, he was named Grand Strategist of the faction. In this role, he invented multiple effective strategems which made full use of suits, drawing the attention of the other Warlords, whose invitiations he rejected politely.

His private life is notoriously mysterious, although his attendants have always noted that he loved poetry, and the preservation of old books and scriptures. Of course, due to the escalating conflicts in China, he has less and less time for these pursuits.

He was captured during a skirmish against Bandit forces, and is now presumed to be dead.