They are also much more survivable for that reason. 10 year service in the Roman army? How many actually survive past two years? Given the death rates expected, the Roman army should have as much noobs in their army composition as the Hans did.
Roman training was almsot 2 years long. The high average leangth of service and amount of land hande dout prove the Romans did not suffer the types of losse syou would like them to. You keep fixating on a few memorable defeats over the course an empire thats lasted for centuries.
Which is why a joint force works best. The Han or just simply, the Chinese Empire, works like this. As a matter of fact, read the Art of War carefully, the ancient Chinese were masters of using local terrain. The kingdoms in the east and the south often use their terrain at best to negate the cavalry advantages of the kingdoms from the north and the west.
Rome was also a combined arms force, why can't don't see that. Sure they traded some mounted mobility, but gained shock power, lower logistics, and the funds freed up went into armor and equipment.
No the Han did not give up. The Han did send emissaries and expeditions to look for the Romans, or whoever was buying their silk bolts. The Parthians, always the wiser, did everything to keep their trade secrets, that they literally sent those Han emissaries into a wild goose chase in wrong directions (if they were not conveniently murdered). I bet they probably did the same with the Romans searching for Serenica (wild goose chase or get murdered). The Parthians did everything to maintain their middleman status in the silk trade and won't hesistate to kill for that too. But there seemed to be records in both Roman and Chinese courts about the arrival of such travellers, showing maybe that some survived. The Romans called these people Seres.
After Chang Ch'ien's trip to the west, the regular traffic began along the Silk Road, on which goods - above all China's silk - were carried across Asia, finally reaching the Roman Empire. Passing through land controlled by the Chinese, the Kushans, the Parthians, and the Romans, the goods were transferred from the caravans of one people to those of another, so that no single individual normally made the entire journey.
As a result, neither the Roman nor the Chinese knew much about the other, and although the Romans loved silk, they asserted that the material grew on tree. By the second half of the 1st century, the Han's general Pan Chao stabilized the Tarim basin region and chased out the Xiongnu who fought to control the trade route in the area. In 97 he decided to directly contact Da Chi'en (Roman Empire) by sending an ambassdor, Kan Ying, to Rome. Therefore Kan Ying set off to the west along the Silk Road with elaborate gifts. He got as far as Mesopotamia. He intended to take ship for Rome but when he was told that the journey would take up to two years, he gave up and returned home. The unfortunate Kan Ying was misinformed about the time by the Parthians, who feared any contact between China and Rome might interfere with their profitable role as middlemen.
The first direct contact between Rome and China didn't happen until the second century after Rome Empire defeated Parthia and controlled the Persian Gulf. In 166 the first Roman envoy was sent by Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, from the Persian Gulf and successfully arrived China.
Sorry but neither does the Medes or the Persians live off horses and bows like the Huns did, which they grew up with since childhood. The Han cavalry are made up of Huns and nomadic steepe people who have joined the Han side, hence not only have these people grown up living on horses, they are both mercenary and professional in nature.
The Romans also recruited steepe horsemen and the Hunnisha d mongol proto tribe sin service to the Han lost mos tof thier mobility when they lost thier remuda's and were never allowed to concentrate in large numbers for fear or revolt. Also will you please show how nomads forcefully tied to a section o fthe earth can maintian their horse skills?
I kind of doubt that slingers outrange bows, certainly won't have the same level of accuracy.
You can doubt it all you want but the ancient accounts leave little room for your doubts. Unlike Han arrows which had a long shaft, flecthing, and a big broadhead all inducing drag the sling bullet was lead and ballistically shaped or flat skipping type river stone.
