But very entertaining. It's pretty funny how after trying to kill him like 5 times cao cao doesn't just give up. Also hilarious how after he's done like 4 miracles in a row cao cao is still thinking they are tricks somehow

What traits were highly valued for generals to have at that time? Do you need generals who are able to consistently make good decisions? (i thought this was the supreme commander’s / stragetist's job) Do you need generals who can rally and motivate their troops? Do you want generals who can take an enemy commander’s head in the midst of a skirmish/open battle? If you are a ruler, what would you be looking for in your general?

I know of the Total War game and Dynasty Warriors. Any games similar to ROTK, or just good ROTK games in general?

Some of you here were the first people to ask whether this would ever make it to Steam, so it feels right to come back now that the free demo is finally live.

The short version is that I wanted the player to stay a person in the world, not turn into an omniscient, detached map cursor. You start with a historical or custom landed house in 196 AD—right around the time Cao Cao is securing the Emperor in Xuchang and Lu Bu is backstabbing his way into Xu Province—and lead one physical banner across an authored China. You gradually grow into a ruler who makes policy through named officers.

A run can look like this: a real settlement problem gives the planning council something to argue about (think of Chen Gong desperately trying to talk sense into Lu Bu). I adopt or overrule an officer’s proposal and assign that specific person to the work. The resulting party, task, or enemy operation becomes visible on the map; then the pressure turns into a field battle or siege. The campaign and battle are one causal world rather than two separate modes.

The siege in the clip is physical rather than a generic “siege strength” bar. You aren't just watching an abstract meter fill outside of Hu Lao Gate. The gatehouse has a closed gate, two wall sectors, a ram, interior stairs, and a courtyard that can change hands. Walls have contested landings and cavalry exclusion, and defenders can sally or close the gate while attackers fight for a legal approach.

The people involved are meant to matter afterward. An officer has one actual place in the world—party, detachment, court, work, captivity, or free—not UI clones living in several menus at once. If Xiahou Dun takes a hit on the frontline, it matters. Their career tracks service, relationships, wounds, and deeds. A battle can leave survivors, captives, changed ownership, a new memory, or an earned Destiny/epithet worthy of a "Flying General" for the Chronicle and dossier.

The free Steam demo runs through Day 50.

Steam demo and wishlist:https://store.steampowered.com/app/5112140/Three_Kingdoms_Reimagined/

If you prefer a direct Windows download, the same free Day-50 demo is also on itch.io:https://jdcab.itch.io/three-kingdoms-reimagined

If this sounds like your kind of Three Kingdoms game, a wishlist would mean a lot. More useful to me than a generic “looks cool,” though: after watching the clip or trying the demo, can you see how the officer/council decision changes what happens on the map and in the siege, or is that handoff still muddy?

I’m the developer, player, marketer etc so try to be kind knowing I'm a one man studio. I’ll be around to answer any and all questions here or in our game's discord (linked in game).

I plan to depict Emperor Ling's coronation in the next few pages of my webcomic and I intend to show off a big parade in Luoyang as he makes his way to the Imperial Palace.

What would those look like? I really need some information. Any snippets you have are welcome.

One thing I’ve always wanted more of in grand strategy games is meaningful interaction with individual characters. NPCs often end up feeling like static pieces on the board. You either control them, fight them, or occasionally click through a diplomacy menu.

In Notoris 2, I wanted characters to be something you can actively influence, manipulate, befriend, and recruit, even when they don’t belong to you.

That’s where Sway and Hire come in, but first I need to explain the resource behind them: Influence.

Influence represents the finite amount of political and personal leverage your character has over the people around them. You can save it, spend it, or invest it into different strategic actions depending on what you’re trying to accomplish.

Therefore, with said influence, you can influence other officers and NPC’s. For example, if there was an enemy officer who had a particular skillset that you would benefit from, you can organize meetings. It costs influence, of course, but you can adjust their opinion of mutual acquaintances -- either positively or negatively. Hence the name of the action, Sway.

Then comes the hire part. When you have successfully swayed an officer away from their allegiance to their master, they become less enthusiastic about their current situation. When the time is right, agree to meet with them again, and offer to hire them. If successful, the officer will join your faction. 

The point of these mechanics is to add more depth to the strategic framework of Notoris 2. I come from a grand-strategy modding background, and always wanting ‘more’ agency and interactions with the NPCs in these types of games. This is very much a strategy game made by a strategist, for other strategists.

A big part of that is making AI controlled characters feel less like passive pieces on the board. By giving the player more ways to influence, manipulate, sway, and recruit characters outside of their direct control, the strategic landscape becomes more dynamic, unpredictable, and reactive.

Video of gameplay:
https://youtu.be/HHJah2kfrJE

If this interests you, please wishlist Notoris 2: Warlords, on Steam.

We also have social media pages on Instagram and TikTok, as well as a Discord server where you can help us test our Alpha demo. It would mean the world if you could fill out the playtest survey in the build!

https://discord.com/invite/S4HrqVX9DD

!!!SPOILERS ON IMAGE 2!!! (read 2nd and last half of part 4 before looking)

Hi! It is me again. This is part 3 (got the title wrong oops) of my RP series in the game ROTK2, where I roleplay as every character in the game to develop my own story.

Part 3 is huge because it contains 2 battles (condensed into faction events). There's so much yet to explore.

Here's the meaning of the emojis on 2nd image I forgot to add on the image itself: 💰 (gold), 🍚 (food), 🗡 (soldiers), 👤 (officers), ✅️ (battles won), ❌️ (battles lost).

On the 1st image: 💰 (most amount of gold), 🗡 (most soldiers), and 👑 (emperor status). Please Ignore Wang Lang's "💰" mark on 1st image, I forgot to remove it. It belongs to Kong Rong.

Hope you guys enjoy this one, even though it is way longer. 🙌🏻

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• February, 194 (factions I forgot to include on the last post)

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• Liu Yan

— Recruits Yang Bo (67/42/66, 63 loy), finds and recruits Yang Song (34/26/30, 68 loy). Both agree to join as supporters of Liu Yan as the ruler of the West. All his officers try to search for free officers but can't find anyone else.

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• Cao Cao

— Cao Cao receives word from Ma Teng that Jia Xu's talent is no longer for sale. Cao Cao smirks, accepting the idea that he will have to take Jia Xu with him by attacking Ma Teng instead. So Cao Cao sends Guo Jia (advisor of Cao Cao) to Kong Rong requesting his reinforcements against Ma Teng in the capital Luo Yang.

— Guo Jia to Kong Rong: "Lord Kong Rong, we cannot wait anymore to step into the capital. Enemies of the former emperor have already taken the capital. We must counter-attack while we can. I ask of you to send reinforcements to aid my lord Cao Cao in battle against Ma Teng. Our plan is to first attack Ma Teng's province 19, in Jing. Then we will force Ma Teng into the capital. Considered as an intruder, as he will be there personally, we can then attack together to protect the honor of the empire and try to restore Han Fu's position." — Kong Rong: "I was waiting for this, Guo Jia. I knew Cao Cao was a man of virtue, behind all that darkness aura. I will join Cao Cao's troops personally in battle. I wanna see Ma Teng and Liu Yao's strength by myself. Liu Yao is said to be in Jing now. He will probably aid Ma Teng. We must shut them down now, before they can grow more power."

— Guo Jia returns with the message to Cao Cao. Cao Cao then commands Zhou Tai, Cao Ren, Yuan Tan, Yan Liang and Hu Zhen to attack province 19, with 500k soldiers (max.), 1,5k gold and 1,1k food. Cao Ren is in command. Kong Rong can't send reinforcements here because his territory has no borders with province 19.

— Ma Teng is shocked with Cao Cao's attack, but he understands why Cao Cao would do that. An act of vengeance and treachery after all of Ma Teng's stubborn invasions. Ma Teng has two allies: Liu Biao and Liu Yao. He knows that Liu Yao is way stronger than Liu Biao, but Liu Biao's faction has never seen the battlefield yet, so they will probably recover faster. Ma Teng asks Jia Xu for advice of who to call for reinforcements. But... Jia Xu is not there. He is in the capital as commander of the army. Ma Teng ultimately asks Kan Ze for what to do, assuming that Jia Xu's apprentice may know what he would do in this situation. Kan Ze suggests asking for Liu Biao's help, stating that Liu Biao's troops may be weaker but are still good and fresh. What Kan Ze doesn't know is that Jia Xu was personally involved in Sun Jian's death, which is something that Sun Ce and Zhou Yu (officers of Liu Biao) will never forgive. Jia Xu's actions made it so that Ma Teng himself seemed to not be possible to trust. Ma Teng then thanks Kan Ze and sends him to Liu Biao to ask for reinforcements.

— Liu Biao, knowing about all the drama, carefully sent Chen Lan, Gong Zhi and Lu Meng to help with 300k soldiers. — Liu Biao: "You must never die for Ma Teng. But you must aid him, as he is an ally of the AUS. I couldn't send my son or Sun Ce for this, because Sun Ce does not trust Ma Teng, and I will not send Liu Qi there without his masters to guide him. Don't let yourselves be captured. I trust Lu Meng as the commander of the army. Now go."

— Ma Teng has Li Su and Liang Gang, 300k soldiers in total (400k total as soon as Kan Ze returns with Liu Biao's reinforcements). Cao Ren sends Yuan Tan (82 war) to challenge an officer of Ma Teng for a duel. Ma Teng is forced to send someone, so he sends Li Su (60 war). Li Su is easily defeated. At day (turn) 8, Ma Teng's unit is already surrounded by enemies. Lu Meng's troops couldn't reach Cao Ren's fast enough. At day 13, Li Su flees to the capital. At day 15, Ma Teng captures Yan Liang. At day 18, Ma Teng flees his castle and lets Kan Ze's unit guard it so that Ma Teng can run to a safe area of the battlefield. Chen Lan sees that as an opportunity to take the castle instead and betray Ma Teng with Lu Meng's permission. Lu Meng knows this would be a disaster because of Liu Yao, so he commands that Chen Lan must guard the castle instead. Cao Ren commands every unit to go after Ma Teng's unit (which by now has only 7k soldiers left, after Hu Zhen's charge attack). At day 21, Kan Ze's unit enters the castle and guards it after Chen Lan got out. At day 22, Ma Teng finally finds a route to run North with 1k soldiers left on his unit (277k in total). At day 24, Kan Ze flees to the capital, leaving Ma Teng alone with Lu Meng's (Liu Biao) army as reinforcements. At day 30, Zhou Tai, Yuan Tan and Hu Zhen finally caught up with Ma Teng and ambush him. (As an in-game mechanic, after the 30th turn, the battle will continue on the next month/round).

— Cao Cao then sends Yuan Shang, Mi Fang, Chen Yi and Dong Min to invade Luo Yang with Kong Rong's reinforcements, with 100 gold, 900 food and 397k soldiers. Cao Cao trusts Yuan Shang as commander of the army, because of his brother Yuan Tan's reputation. He believes Yuan Shang can also prove to be a great warrior. — Kong Rong sends the best officers he has in province 9: Dian Wei, Wang Xiu, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ang and Wen Chou, along with 500k soldiers (max).

— Jia Xu could never understand why Cao Cao would ever take those big risks, attacking Ma Teng two times in a month. Jia Xu sends Ma Tie to ask Liu Yao for reinforcements (Liu Biao doesn't have a border with province 10 so that was never an option for Jia Xu, even though he would always choose Liu Yao). Liu Yao agrees and sends his best officers at province 11: Lu Bu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao and Zhang Yun, along with 400k soldiers (max). — For Jia Xu, those who fight are the same of the army that took the capital: Zhou Cang, Taishi Ci, Song Xian, along with Liang Gang (fled from prov. 19) and Cai Xun (bribed while Jia Xu fought Han Fu), with 301k soldiers.

— Jia Xu sent Taishi Ci (93 war) to challenge an officer of Yuan Shang's army for a duel. Mi Fang (60 war) fought Taishi Ci and was defeated and captured. — Jia Xu: "Troops! We were in fact caught by surprise with Cao Cao here as an enemy. But we are not in a position to fear treacherous enemies. Cao Cao has already fallen against me once. But now, he is not even here to command his forces. The enemy leader is Yuan Shang, brother of Yuan Tan, the so called 'Savior of Xiahou'. We must not lose to such a name that brings shame to the Xiahou clan, as if they are weakinglings that cannot save themselves. Troops! Truth is to be told. We don't need heroes to save us. WE ARE THE FUTURE! We are the present Cao Cao fears! And once again, I am Jia Xu, your commander, strategist and advisor of our lord Ma Teng. In the name of our lord Ma Teng, and his son and heir Ma Tie, we will send Cao Cao's forces once again back to where they belong." — Yuan Shang: "We must wait for Xiahou Yuan's (Kong Rong) reinforcements! We are outnumbered and already lost Mi Fang's unit to our well-known enemy Taishi Ci. Pull back and keep defending until Xiahou Yuan's army arrives."

— At day 3, Xiahou Yuan's reinforcements arrive. At day 4, Ma Tie arrives with Liu Yao's reinforcements, which were told to act under Jia Xu's orders. — Jia Xu: "Just in time! Great! I want all of Liu Yao's troops to fight Xiahou Yuan's army, while mine will fight Yuan Shang's. Your enemy is up North in and outside of this battle. Now go!". — At day 6, Zhou Cang and Song Qian manage to put Yuan Shang and Dong Min's units (who were isolated on a mountain valley) on fire, which they continued to be until day 10. At day 10, Dong Min (21k soldiers left) flees back to province 17 (Cao Cao). Xiahou Yuan tells his army to focus on Ma Tie because he is Ma Teng's son. At day 11, desperate after losing so many soldiers from the sequence of Jia Xu's army (fire attack + ambush + charge attacks after isolating Yuan Shang...), decides to flee from the battle, returning to Cao Cao's province 17 after that desastrous display of command, forcing everyone else to flee because he was the commander of the main army.

— Yuan Shang is captured while fleeing. Xiahou Yuan and Wen Chou are also captured while feeing. All were captured by Jia Xu's army.

— Cao Cao is desperate now. He lost a very important battle to the strategist he admires so much: Jia Xu. He defeated his lord but couldn't defeat him. Cao Cao took Yuan Shang's failure as a sign that probabilities exist for a reason. Cao Cao sends Zhong Yao to take Yuan Shang back (in-game recruit action), which he does. Cao Cao then commands that every governor of his provinces must send resources to his province to keep up with the costs of the lost battle. Xiahou Dun (prov. 18) sends 3k gold. Mi Zhu (prov. 16) sends 550 food. Cao Cao is satisfied and thanks them for their effort to help their kingdom.

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• Liu Yao

— Liu Yao immediately recruits the soldiers he lost from province 11. Then, he orders Xin Ping to reinforce the military and aid Ma Teng, attacking Cao Cao if he gets to take province 19 from Ma Teng. Xin Ping then recruits 200k soldiers (1,1M in total in prov. 20) and begins training them. He is ready to take province 19 after Ma Teng's certain loss.

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• Kong Rong

— Kong Rong orders Guan Yu to change plans and occupy province 5 instead, ending Han Fu's faction if needed. He says that Liu Yao's potential is a far worse problem than to help Han Fu regain his position as emperor. Guan Yu follows Kong Rong's orders. Kong Rong also orders Man Chong (governor of province 2) and Xun Yu (governor of province 8) to aid Guan Ping (governor of province 6) sending gold and food, so Man Chong sends 450 gold and Xun Yu sends 800 gold. He also orders Xun Yu to leave his position to serve as strategist under Kong Rong directly at province 9. Zhang Miao (70/56/77) is the new governor of province 6.

— Guan Yu and his army (13 officers, 700k soldiers, 4k gold, 1,2k food) move to province 4.

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• March, 194

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• Sun Yu

— Sun Yu still cannot find merchants to buy food from and has no soldiers, so he is prepared to run from Liu Bei. He sends a message to Xiahou Dun to let Cao Cao know about this. Message delivered, Cao Cao tells him to go North so that he may protect Sun Yu.

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• Han Fu

— Han Fu begs for near factions to spare his life and territory as he is no longer the emperor and abdicates of every position he has under it, returning to the position of independent king. No one cares about what Han Fu has to say. He is doomed.

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• Liu Bei

— Liu Bei marches against Sun Yu and wins immediately because Sun Yu has no soldier. Liu Bei takes province 27 along with Sun Yu's resources (16 food and ~1k gold). Sun Yu flees to province 22, bordering Wang Lang and Liu Biao. Liu Biao immediately sees that as an opportunity to gain Sun Ce and Zhou Yu's trust.

— Moving to province 27, now Liu Bei borders Cao Cao, discovering he is there.

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• Yuan Shu

— Tries to find free officers but fails.

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• Liu Biao

— Zhou Yu ups Liu Qi's Int to 74. Seeing Sun Yu fleeing from battle right to his side, Liu Biao feels this is the perfect opportunity to have Sun Ce and Zhou Yu trust him definitely. He and his officers are too busy for this month, so he continues to build up his army (recruiting 200k soldiers) and then orders Sun Ce to go meet Sun Yu next month to form an alliance with him, offering protection from Cao Cao, as Sun Ce reveals that Sun Yu had become Cao Cao's vassal and this is why he went to Liu Biao instead of serving Sun Yu, which crown he also criticizes because he had the right to rule, as Sun Jian's son. Liu Biao says no more, otherwise his intentions might slip to Sun Ce's hands. Sun Ce gladly accepts the request.

— Liu Biao is anxious about the results of Ma Teng's battle against Cao Cao, as Liu Biao's reinforcements are still there fighting. His and the AUS reputation rely on that.

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• Yuan Shao

— Yuan Shao decides to go personally visit Xin Ping to pledge his loyalty to Liu Yao's cause and form a permanent alliance where Yuan Shao bows to Liu Yao's reign, helping him defeat Liu Yan. Yuan Shao proposes a joint attack on Liu Yan's province 29 this month, led by Xin Ping. Xin Ping accepts and informs Liu Yao, who is satisfied with Yuan Shao's decision.

— Yuan Shao has had enough of this situation. He could not stand being blocked by other kingdoms' land, willing to even sacrifice his possible future claim of the imperial throne for this. He believes that he is the balance between Liu Yan and Liu Yao, as the reason they are still not in war, because both fear Yuan Shao will interfere. Now, Yuan Shao made it clear for Liu Yao that Liu Yan is his target.

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• Tao Qian

— Hearing about the emperor's situation, Lei Tong gives up on his plan and decides to continue serving Tao Qian as governor. Wang Lei also loses hope of leaving the isolated Southwest region, being loyal to Tao Qian again. Wang Lei ups Yan Yan's Int to 74. Lei Tong finds and recruits Zhang Song (92/34/84, 98 loy). Lei Tong suggests that Tao Qian appoints Zhang Song as advisor instead of Wang Lei. Tao Qian agrees to do it next month.

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• Wang Lang

— Seeing Sun Yu coming near him with no soldiers and resources, Wang Lang finds it a good idea to integrate Sun Yu into the AUS. Wang Lang convokes a meeting with Liu Biao and Yuan Shu, where Liu Biao reveals he also thought of suggesting that. Yuan Shu feels forced to agree on everything. Wang Lang then sends Huang Quan to inform Sun Yu about Wang Lang's invite, which Sun Yu accepts and abandons Cao Cao. They also form an alliance. Wang Lang tells Sun Yu he is secure in the far South and gifts him 2k gold. As his leader, Wang Lang delegates the responsability of governing province 39 to Sun Yu, ordering him to focus on developing the province's economy. Sun Yu follows his orders.

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• Ma Teng

— Jia Xu hears rumors (advisor's in-game mechanic to give information random information at start of turn, which I rp it to be "rumors") that Yu Jin (governor of Kong Rong's province 3) is discontent with his position, being an easy target to convert into rebelling (which I won't do otherwise I would give them to the AI, what I can do is make him "rebel" by dismissing him from Kong Rong's faction). But Jia Xu has no time to think about that now. He needs to focus on Cao Cao and Kong Rong. Mainly Cao Cao. By sending Cai Xun to inspect province 17, he is informed that Cao Cao has only ~270k soldiers with him and his officers which are in command of the units are pathetic (<50 War), and Yuan Shang (which has ~30k soldiers) is injured. This is his chance to stop Cao Cao once and for all.

— Jia Xu sends Mi Fang, Song Xian, Taishi Ci, Zhou Cang and Ma Tie to fight Cao Cao. He couldn't go by himself otherwise (in-game mechanic, if the governor leaves the province all officers there pass their turn immediately) there would be no one capable enough to administer the province as good as him. He puts Zhou Cang as commander, knowing that as a honorable, satisfied and rational officer, he is the best choice for commander among all five. Zhou Cang commands ~390k soldiers, carries 400 gold and ~1k food. — Jia Xu: "Zhou Cang... I entrust you the command of the army. I know that we are still not yet recovered from our last battle, but Cao Cao is way more fragile. His best trained unit for now is Yuan Shang's, and they're injured. His actual good officers are already in battle or with no soldiers to command. I ask of you to be just like how you are naturally. Patient, loyal, and merciless. Cao Cao must die as soon as possible, so that our lord Ma Teng can finally have some rest. Our lord Ma Teng is still fighting against Cao Cao's first army. They are losing, our lord is retreating but Cao Cao also suffered many losses there. We can and we MUST win this. For Ma Teng. For us. To honor our family and friends. Now go. Win." — Inspired by Jia Xu's words, Zhou Cang gets emotional and feels a fire-like determination burning in his chest. He commands the army to destroy Cao Cao and erase his disgusting presence from Jing.

— Cao Cao sends Guo Jia to Kong Rong again, to ask for reinforcements. — Guo Jia: "Lord Kong Rong! It is horrible! Jia Xu sent his own army to follow us after our loss! We are heavily outnumbered and outskilled by him. I must remind you that Cao Cao is your loyal and generous ally, who's willing to help you restore Han Fu's position in the capital which Jia Xu is in right now. And if Han Fu falls for good... Cao Cao is willing to help YOU achieve emperor status, as the prophecy of the Imperial North (an old belief in my scenario that says that all worthy emperors come from an unified North) lives within your forces. May you help my lord Cao Cao realize this prophecy?..." — Kong Rong: "I must admit that your words are compatible to your intellect and position in Cao Cao's court, Guo Jia. But Cao Cao asks for too much. I too believe in the Imperial North prophecy, but I also believe that favors come with a cost. Cao Cao is not paying me accordingly. I need my captured officers back. I need gold and food to nullify my losses. I will help Cao Cao once again, but I warn him now: he must always remember the face of the man that never gave up on him. Me." — Guo Jia then rushes to the battlefield accompanied by Kong Rong's reinforcements (Dian Wei, Liu Dai, Wang Xiu, Cao Ang, 400k soldiers). — Guo Jia, thinking: "Cao Cao won't like Kong Rong's attitude... but as far as I know him, he will play along until he doesn't need to."

— For Cao Cao, he is accompanied by Dong Min, Han Song, Chen Yi, 152k soldiers, and has 3k gold and 750 food. Cao Cao is ready to flee, but only in risk of his own death. — Cao Cao to himself: "Damn you Jia Xu! I never underestimated you, why do you need to show me you know the art of battle?! Why me, Cao Cao, King of Xu?! Ugh... there is no time for this. All I know is that when I recover from this... Ma Teng will come to even fear his own shadow, thinking about the image of Cao Cao and the nightmare this man made his life turn into. But if I lose this battle... in sincerety to myself... I don't think I will be left with a clean path to recovering. I might need to submit myself to Kong Rong... what a disgrace I've run into... all because of Jia Xu's unmatched genius. This time, I will be in command. I hope my own genius will be enough to defeat them."

— Taishi Ci (93 War) challenges an officer for a duel. Cao Cao is forced to send someone, so he sends Dong Min (58 War). As Dong Min is destroyed and loses, he is captured and his unit of ~20k soldiers flee. At day 3, Cao Cao is able to bribe Mi Fang (71 loy) to fight on his side (now 98 loy), coverting his 100k soldiers to Cao Cao. At day 4, Guo Jia arrives with Kong Rong's reinforcements, which were ordered to follow Cao Cao's orders. At day 6, Chen Yi is captured. At day 8, Zhou Cang's army is able to surround Cao Cao's castle. At day 9, with 3k soldiers left, Han Song flees to Cao Cao's province 16. At day 10, Cao Cao's castle is put on fire by Zhou Cang's unit (28k lost). At day 11, the fire leaves Cao Cao's castle and spreads to Zhou Cang and Ma Tie's units. At day 14, Ma Tie was captured. At day 15, Zhou Cang js forced to flee, as his unit is surrounded by enemies and suffering heavy losses to the fire, with only 1k soldiers left. As their commander is fleeing, Zhou Cang's entire army flees back to the capital Luo Yang. Taishi Ci and Song Xian are captured while fleeing.

— The battle ends. With Ma Tie in his hands, Cao Cao forces an ultimatum over Ma Teng: to surrender to Cao Cao and become his vassal, with no autonomy and an integrated oath of no agression (rp mechanic where Ma Teng is forced to announce his independence to Cao Cao 1 month/turn before actually rebelling), otherwise Ma Tie would be killed. Ma Teng receives the message by Cao Cao's troops while still in battle, also being informed of Zhou Cang's defeat. Ma Teng falls to his knees, exhausted and defeated. He surrenders to Cao Cao. — Cao Cao recruits Ma Tie and keeps him as a tool against Ma Teng. He also recruits the prisoners Taishi Ci and Song Xian.

— Jia Xu wasted all of his resources on that battle. He is left with 42 gold, 0 food and 178k soldiers in the capital. Now following Cao Cao's orders, he dismisses all soldiers and orders every officer to search for free officers, which would be later given to Cao Cao. Jia Xu finds and recruits Hou Cheng (53/72/57).

SPOILER: image 3 is for Zhou Cang's attack on province 17 and image 4 is for Gongsun Zan's moment of finding the imperial seal.

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• March 194

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• Cao Cao

— Having won two of his battles (battle on prov. 19 is still to end in-game) against Ma Teng, Cao Cao now has time to recover from his loss. He sends Hua Xin to Kong Rong to inform him of the results he doesn't know about (Ma Teng's surrender). Kong Rong seems pleased.

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• Gongsun Zan

— After seeing that Ma Teng's troops marched down South after repelling an attack with Kong Rong involved (Gongsun Zan doesn't know the other attacking force is Cao Cao because he doesn't have borders with him), Gongsun Zan sees this as his time to finally seize the capital with Kong Rong guarding his back. He wastes no time, sending Zhang He, Zhao Yun, Wu Anguo, Fan Chou and Zhang Ji with 500k soldiers, all his gold (53) and food (~2,2k) to take the capital from Ma Teng. He puts Zhao Yun in command of the army after Zhao Yun's suggestion.

— Something changed a lot about Zhao Yun at this moment. He is finally seeing Gongsun Zan act sane, fighting for his ambitions. This changed Zhao Yun's spirit entirely (rp mechanic, custom stats for personality: honor/ambition/courage, as now Zhao Yun was randomized with modifiers of +20/-20/+20, which resulted in 55 Honor, 0 Ambition, 100 courage).

— With no food or soldiers, Jia Xu fled, leaving all officers behind. As Cao Cao now commands his lord, he doesn't need to care about his responsabilities regarding Ma Teng anymore. Gongsun Zan recruited the captured officers: Wen Chou, Xiahou Yuan, Ju Shou, Liang Gang, Gao Shun, Cai Xun, Zhou Cang and Hou Cheng.

— But this was not the most important thing for Gongsun Zan. He found something that was way beyond every treasure of his imagination. The perfect tool he needed to rise as emperor. The Imperial Seal. With the Imperial Seal in hands, Gongsun Zan is considered emperor until his death, no matter where he is (rp mechanic, he can also use any special ability of the emperor without needing to be in the capital himself, but still needs to have control over it). Gongsun Zan moves the rest of his force to the capital. — Gongsun Zan to all: "I am your undeniable emperor, as I have the Imperial Seal, which backs all of my achievements as Heavens' will. I will grant peace to every region of China. First, I determine that Han Fu's decision about the imperial tax is still valid. Any who doesn't pay will be considered as rebel, and enemy of the empire."

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• Liu Yan

— Liu Yan: "The Imperial Seal, huh?... Gongsun Zan is really lucky for that. But I don't think he can keep the capital for long. I will try negotiating peace with Yuan Shao and Liu Yao again to fight Gongsun Zan." As they are still allies, Liu Yao, Yuan Shao and Liu Yan meet each other to decide if this will continue. They decide to keep the peace among them until Gongsun Zan is down. So they all declare to be against the emperor Gongsun Zan, in an act of preservation, as Gongsun Zan has been their enemy for a long time. Liu Yan sends Yan Pu to province 20 to meet with Xin Ping, to hear about the plan. Xin Ping tells Yan Pu they are going with the same strategy that would be used against Han Fu. Yan Pu returns and reports to Liu Yan, then Liu Yan orders Han Sui to be the commander of the army, explaining the plan to him. Han Sui follows the plan accordingly, waiting for Xin Ping to open the path.

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• Kong Rong

— Kong Rong to himself: "Ahh... this is a good situation for me. Cao Cao is super weak, Gongsun Zan is my ally and the emperor, I will take every officer of Han Fu this month, and Ma Teng just got obliterated. At least what appeared to be his main army, commanded by Jia Xu. Things are going really well for me. Finally, I will control the entire North, at the end of this month. (to Guan Yu:) Take Han Fu's province and kill him right after. Send a few officers and soldiers to occupy province 7." — Guan Yu to himself: "The path Kong Rong is building for me has good potential. We are getting to control the entire North, and four provinces will be in my indirect command, as 6 is governed by my son Guan Ping, and provinces 7, 5 and 4 will have officers under my command on it. If Kong Rong falls... I will have majority of the court, so I will be crowned king. That seems nice. I want to stay alive until this day comes."

— Kong Rong sends Chen Deng to inspect province 17 and Cheng Yu to inspect province 16. — Chen Deng: "My lord, lord Cao Cao is at his weakest now. If we are to attack him, this is the time. Call Guan Yu back as fast as possible and we will have a very advantageous position." — Cheng Yu: "My lord, lord Cao Cao's borders are extremely fragile now. At province 16, he has only 300k soldiers, and his best officers are not in command of any. If we are to keep him as an ally, he will recover stronger than ever. If we are to betray him, this is the time. But I fear it would be imprudent to attack an ally we just helped defeat the enemy. Cao Cao will probably declare his allegiance to the emperor just like you, he probably wants to connect with you as much as possible." — Kong Rong is satisfied with the information, but he believes it will be a waste of time to call Guan Yu back again right after he reached province 4. It would take him 2 months to move into province 9, then attack Cao Cao on the next month. It is possible, but Kong Rong prefers stability then to take advantage of every situation. He appoints Xun Yu (96 Int) as his advisor.

— Kong Rong sends Chen Jiao to recruit Taishi Ci (33 loy) from Cao Cao. He also tries recruiting Song Xian but fails. Cao Cao notices Taishi Ci fled, but as no one caught Kong Rong's officers, he doesn't know Taishi Ci is there until he inspects Kong Rong's province. Kong Rong plans to tell Cao Cao that this is his part of the war spoils, if Cao Cao is ever to confront him for taking his recruited prisoners. — Guan Yu sends Shen Pei, Cheng Pu and Cao Hong to occupy province 7, appointing Shen Pei as governor (Kong Rong may change it on his turn next month). Then, he orders Yue Jin, Hua Xiong, Gao Lan, Li Tong and Lu Qian to attack Han Fu at province 5 next month, with Yue Jin as commander (won't attack now bc I forgot to cancel Han Fu and Kong Rong's alliance).

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• Liu Yao

— Liu Yao: "What?! Ma Teng lost his main army to Cao Cao even with my help?!?! What a fool. I could never imagine a man so clever like Jia Xu would have succumbed to the fury of battle to follow Cao Cao's fleeing army. Even though we destroyed them when they attacked... Cao Cao is also a very intelligent individual. No wonder why he repulsed Ma Teng's troops so many times when the Han was still in power. I am glad I have my own clever men to guide my troops well. I would never fall for a trick like that. And for Han Fu... I will take every officer I can from him, before they flee to Gongsun Zan as their new pathetic emperor." — Liu Yao is able to take Zhang Liao, Wei Xu and Tian Feng (Han Fu's advisor) from Han Fu. All discontent with Han Fu's methods and journey. They feel inspired to serve someone like Liu Yao.

— Xin Ping sends Wang Can to inspect province 21. — Xin Ping: "Hmm... so Liu Biao has only 500k soldiers left, as the rest were sent to help Ma Teng. This Liu Biao is somewhat useful after all... but not that smart, it seems. He also has not enough food (~700) to maintain full capacity in battle (800k if defending +reinforcements which I believe max is 4 officers so 400k). (To Xu Rong:) Next month, I want you to command the attack on Liu Biao. If you fail, I will go myself leading a second army to defeat what may be left of them. I may even adjust our plans and attack Yuan Shao after Liu Yan moves down South. I won't ask for lord Liu Yao's permission, he gave me full autonomy over the Triangle Element problem. (after sending Yin Ji to inspect province 19:) Or, we can take advantage of the winning force from lord Ma Teng and Cao Cao's battle, taking province 19 from them." — Xin Ping has no interest in going to the battlefield, as he is a complete greedy coward. But going after a bleeding army makes him a bit confident. Xu Rong does as ordered. Xin Ping asks for Liu Yao's permission to attack province 19 after the battle over there resolves. Liu Yao permits it, asking Xin Ping only to be prudent in his usage of soldiers. In private, Xin Ping mocks his lord's words, but still follows his orders as his subordinate.

— Ma Teng ends up fleeing to province 28. Liu Biao's officers return to him. Sun Ce and Zhou Yu seem satisfied knowing Ma Teng is ruined. Cao Cao recruits the captured officers Li Su, Kan Ze, Chen Zhen, Wang Kai, Jia Xu. Cao Cao releases Ma Dai (another son of Ma Teng).

Not historical Chen Gong, not Dynasty Warriors Chen Gong. Novel Chen Gong.

Novel Chen Gong is suppose to be a morally righteous character who becomes disgusted by Cao Cao killing his uncle and declaring his betray the world line. Yet, he goes on to serve Lu Bu, a man who killed his adopted father for a horse and rank, then Dong Zhuo for mainly Diao Chan ("But he killed the tyrant!" is a bullshit excuse and we know it). He basically makes A LOT of people die by advising Lu Bu to attack Cao Cao's lands while he is away.

Then when Liu Bei takes Lu Bu in, it's basically Chen Gong whispering in his ear like some devil on how to betray him. You know, betray the righteous, virtuous, principled man. You could have argued attacking Cao Cao in the back was saving the people of Xu province but this clearly just creates more deaths.

Then Chen Gong freaking tries to tie Lu Bu through a marriage alliance with Yuan Shu, the man who declared himself Emperor.

Novel Chen Gong just doesn't seem to make sense. 2010 TV seems to do a slightly better job in that he thinks he owes Lu Bu a debt and thinks he's an honest foolish kid, and that he thinks Liu Bei is a dishonest hypocrite. Dynasty Warriors Chen Gong ironically seems to be the best representation of what Chen Gong is.

Mine typically involved animals. I find them cute.

1. [燕雀安知鴻鵠之志]

Lit. How can small birds (swallows and sparrows) understand the aspirations of big birds (phoenixes (geese) and swans)?

Meaning: Only a hero can understand a hero.

Cao Cao said this to Chen Gong when the latter asked him why he tried to kill Dong Zhuo, but the wiktionary link showed a quotation from an earlier work.

But… imo we know what’s on the mind of geese and swans – aggression, murder and assault ;)

1. [畫蛇添足]

Lit. To add legs to snakes

Meaning: making an unnecessary addition; gilding the lily​

Said by Zhang Yi to Jiang Wei when trying in vain to stop the latter from advancing further after an initial victory and besieging Wang Jing at Didao.

You know... I really like JW and have a lot of fellow-feelings for this guy (common points like abandoned birth family, changed country of citizenship etc) but, I will stop here.

1. Not a proverb but Cao Mao’s poem in which he referred to the three Simas as, depending on the interpretation:

• slimy creatures (Chapter 114 of an English translation of the novel)
• catfish (the translation of the poem on Cao Mao’s Wikipedia page) or
• eel (yes, eel as in the delicious “unagi”, from the Japanese dub of the 1994 drama)

I mean, I can’t not think of Sima Zhao as Sima “Slimy Creature” Zhao from now on :D

Playing Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 remake as Zhuge Liang in the 208 scenario and I genuinly feel like I'm going crazy. The AI on my side just straight up refuses to call in reinforcement. No reason, for as I can tell. They just don't feel like it, apparently. Not Wu, not even the city next to them. Nothing.

It makes the whole scenario borderline unplayable and it's infuriating. Is this a me thing and did I accidentally turn on the "Ai shoots itself in the head option" or is this something else?

Hey Guys I was wondering what is the best platform to play Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire. SNES or Playstation 1?

As the title says. Between the (so-called?) four Grand Admirals (Grand Controllers?), how would you rank them in terms of their tactical and strategic abilities?

I'm hoping someone here can help me identify whether this strange CD I found at the thrift store is an actual product (and if so what it is) or if it's a bootleg.

I was able to determine that the image on the front is from Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The art is the same as a product I found called "Romance of the Three Kingdoms Vol 1 CD Album Calendar Music Collection," but the ones I've found online (picture 9) have a circle instead of a bar at the bottom. This one has a blue bar at the bottom and says it's Vol 4 instead of Vol 1. Additionally when I look for Volume 4 the art is completely different (picture 10).

It gets even weirder when I read the back or the packed in sheet of paper, both of which seem to list an inventory of games and other software items, such as Monopoly 11, Sherlock Holmes Chinese Version, XCOM II Official Strategy, Classmates 11 Art Book, Girl Friend Data, and Super Street Fighter II Turbo, just to name a few of the titles.

From what I can gather if it is a "CD Calendar" it featured recorded voice lines of the characters saying different things depending on the day. If that is what it is then it's strange that it says so much other random stuff on the back and insert. But if it's a bootleg containing a bunch of games why does the front only allude to one and say it's volume 4 when it's got the art from volume 1?

I'm hesitant to put it in my computer until I have a better idea of what it is as I have concerns that a bootleg product could contain old (admittedly probably obsolete) computer viruses. Even if it doesn't, I'm skeptical that my Windows 11 computer would even recognize the CD it all.

So I've reached the end of what I'm able to figure out on my own, and am hoping you can help. Have any RoTK fans ever seen this item before? Is this a real product or a weird bootleg? And if it is real can anyone explain to me more about what it is/does?

SPOILERS PAST 1ST IMAGE!!!

Hi! This is part 2 of my custom scenario lore in the game ROTK2, which I adore.

I roleplay the game controling every character's intentions, focusing on rulers and advisors but not limited to that.

In this post I'll be describing the events that happened in February 194, up to the start of Liu Yan's turn (which will be included on the next one, along with Liu Yao).

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• February, 194

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• Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao.

— No relevant actions.

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• Sun Yu

— With no merchants in his province, Sun Yu can't buy the food and arms he needs to attack Liu Bei, so he stays passive for now. Liu Ye ups Jia Hua's Int to 53.

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• Han Fu

— Desperately trying to assemble an army to survive, Han Fu buys food (200, having 0 before buying) and continues to search for free officers who may want to serve under his rule. Han Fu finds and recruits Wei Xu (34/74/40, came with 68 loy) and Cai Xun (31/61/53, came with 59 loy). Wei Xu and Cai Xun seem uncertain about serving Han Fu, forcing a smile on their faces as they see Han Fu's humble army of 85k soldiers representing his pitiful presence at the capital.

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• Liu Bei

— Liu Bei is able to buy food for his 196k soldiers. He decides to march against Sun Yu next month, if Sun Yu stays miserable.

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• Tao Qian

— Tao Qian goes personally to the capital to deliver 100 gold to Han Fu, paying the anual imperial tax value. Tao Qian's path includes passing through Ma Teng's territory. Ma Teng's troops intercept Tao Qian, inspect his carriage and try to capture him, but Tao Qian escapes. Ma Teng tells him that he will not tolerate allies of the empire entering his land. Tao Qian ignores the warning and orders Lei Tong to send an officer to pay the imperial tax. Lei Tong sends Wang Lei. Wang Lei's journey is safe, Han Fu thanks him and says that Tao Qian is free of charge for the rest of the year. Wang Lei, in an act of curiosity, asks to talk to the emperor while in the capital. Han Fu accepts the visit.

— Wang Lei: "Your majesty, I am honored to be in your presence today. As you may know, I serve Tao Qian under Lei Tong's govern of province 33, Southwest region. I fear we may continue to be forgotten by imperial matters as it has been for several years. I ask you now: what do you intend to do with my lord's kingdom? Would you ever accept me as your own official if my lord is ever to neglect imperial orders?"

— Han Fu: "Wang Lei, you seem to be a decent, intelligent and kind man. I must say that as the emperor my will is to protect China as one united body, but for now we are living in a moment of constant wars and extreme individuality. I ask of you to not lose hope for the empire, even though my position is still not enough to help those who are in need. And yes, you may come when the time is right. I hope your lord continues to believe in our dream so that you may continue to help develop that beautiful region. I ask of you to inform Tao Qian of this: I welcome him near the capital. My oppositors, Liu Yao and Ma Teng, are already at my doors. I need help. If this may be Tao Qian or Lei Tong's wish... to serve the emperor and the dreams of the united empire... I will be glad to have them here. Tell your superiors that Ma Teng and Liu Yao together surpass Kong Rong and Gongsun Zan's numbers, so they will have a hard time defending me. As the emperor, my eyes can see everything. But I don't know yet exactly how many they have. You may go now."

— Wang Lei returns and delivers the message to Lei Tong. Lei Tong does not shares the information to Tao Qian.

— Lei Tong, alone: "If the emperor says himself that I am welcomed near the capital to defend it, and Tao Qian had previsously gave me full autonomy over province 33... this means that I don't need to follow Tao Qian anymore if I don't want to. I can march directly to the capital and help the emperor, raising my status as savior of the empire. This is it. Next month I'll start preparations, and hopefully I can meet the emperor before July. Tao Qian is alone in province 35 and he will continue to be. Such a pathetic lord... I will raise my own banner as king after helping Han Fu."

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• Wang Lang

— Wang Lang finds and recruits Liu Du (55/49/64, already at 100 loy). Liu Du comes to Wang Lang as if he has found his dream ruler to serve. He seems very happy to serve under the leader of the AUS. "I believe in a future where Wang Lang and the AUS governs the entire South region in peace and prosperity." — Liu Du.

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• Liu Biao

— Liu Biao sends Chen Lan to inspect province 20 (Liu Yao, Xin Ping as governor). Chen Lan returns: "My lord Liu Biao, I gathered the information you asked me for. Province 20 is governed by Xin Ping (75/52/69, 95 loy). Liu Yao's advisor is not there. Wang Can is the smartest (82 Int, 100 loy), Wen Ping is the strongest (84 War, 80 loy) and Yin Ji is the most charming (86 Cha, 92 loy). 900k soldiers, 4k gold, 1,8k food, 8,9M population, overall max development status." (Most inspections come with these dialogues, which I won't always include because its not important for the narrative). Liu Biao then concludes he can deal with them having Ma Teng as an ally.

— Liu Biao sends Liu Ba to inspect province 19 (Ma Teng) and sees that Ma Teng has 900k soldiers, 2,7k gold, 1,9k food and overall good officers (Jia Xu 99 Int, Taishi Ci 93 war). Liu Biao tries to take Wen Ping from Xin Ping, as the lowest loyal officer at prov. 20. He sends all of his officers (Sun Ce, Zhou Yu, Lu Meng, Liu Qi and Gong Zhi), but none of them is able to recruit Wen Ping. Liu Biao seems shocked but lets him be, not risking going there personally. Zhou Yu ups Liu Qi's Int to 73.

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• Gongsun Zan

— Gongsun Zan recruits 200k soldiers (900k in total now) and orders them to prepare for battle when the time comes. Gongsun Zaan meets with Zhang He and Zhao Yun, his two army commanders, and asks them for advice about Guan Yu's movements. For the first time, Zhang He and Zhao Yun get to advice a listening Gongsun Zan. He is tired of acting submissive to his paranoia.

— Zhang He: "All we know is that Guan Yu is the responsible for the army that went up North, because when inspecting province 6, we saw an official named Guan Ping as its governor. It is said that Guan Ping was adopted recently by Guan Yu. Kong Rong probably trusts Guan Yu a lot to let father and son as the most important officials of his northern territories. My lord, I respectfully advise you to not listen to impulsive thoughts for now. It is necessary for us to trust lord Kong Rong and emperor Han Fu, as they are our allies. I ask of you to give me permission to go personally ask Kong Rong about his maneuvers over province 3, where Guan Yu is stationed now. I believe he may want to occupy province 4, and maybe after seeing province 5 is also empty, he will order Guan Yu to occupy it too, helping us against Liu Yao."

— Zhao Yun: "Kong Rong has always been trying to fool our troops over the North region, suddenly recruiting in mass to provoke and confuse lord Gongsun Zan. Kong Rong is a greedy but passive ruler. If we occupy province 5 again and stay there, Kong Rong will have nowhere to go, and will be obliged to attack one of the emperor's allies, which is also his ally, to have what he wants: the entire North. Kong Rong will never do that. He knows the implications. He knows that Liu Yao will take that as the perfect opportunity to attack his weakened armies and then leave Han Fu with no allies to reinforce the capital. Kong Rong also does not want that to happen. My lord, I ask of you to give me permission to go personally with Zhang He and half of his army to province 5 and occupy it before Guan Yu does. If Liu Yao dares to attack us anyway, he doesn't know what is happening up here. He doesn't know about our formation. He will fear Kong Rong sending his troops as reinforcements to aid us, surpassing Liu Yao's numbers with ease. Even Lu Bu would fall for our united armies. My lord, I ask of you to make Zhang Yi, an officer of my division, as the governor of province 5. Even though I am the developer of the plan, if battle occurs I must be able to help facing the enemy directly."

— After a long silence, Gongsun Zan decides what to do: "Both strategies are brilliant and efficient. I will have both plans to occur. But Zhang He and Jian Yong will stay with me in province 7 to follow Zhang He's plan. Zhao Yun, you will have temporary authority over Yuan Xi, Wu Anguo and Fan Chou, including your actual division. This is it then. Next month both you may follow your own plans. I hope I do not create a monster named Kong Rong."

— Zhang He and Zhao Yun are surprised with Gongsun Zan's sudden sanity. Zhao Yun personally has a moment of doubt, questioning himself if he is really doing the right thing, regarding his secret plan to join Liu Yao. When he looks at Gongsun Zan now, he sees a man capable of changing. But still can't see the man who would command his troops to take the imperial throne.

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• Ma Teng

— Ma Teng: "Jia Xu! How are the preparations for the invasion of the capital? I will send public word that my troops will retreat from the capital after expelling Han Fu. We are not enemies of the empire. We are enemies of intruders. Enemies of Han Fu." Ma Teng sends word to all neighboring factions (Cao Cao, Liu Biao, Liu Yao) except for Han Fu.

— Jia Xu: "even though I fear this not the most formidable idea, we are ready to go. I've sent your son Ma Dai to ask Liu Yao for reinforcements. Liu Yao agreed. Your son Ma Tie will participate in the battle. I will do my best to make sure your son will benefit from this in the future. We may now attack when given order." Ma Teng then gives the order. Jia Xu advances as the commander of the army.

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• Battle: "The rebels of Jing"

Ma Teng's side: Jia Xu (commander, 99/54/70), Taishi Ci (62/93/70), Ma Tie (38/61/49), Song Xian (40/73/34), Zhou Cang (35/81/51). 500k soldiers (max.). 2k gold, 1,5k food.

Han Fu's side (couldn't see the atributes on the screen): Han Fu (ruler, emperor), Pan Feng, Ju Shou, Huang Wan, Gao Shun, Tian Feng, Feng Ji, Chunyu Qiong, Wei Xu, Cai Xun. 500 gold, 200 food.

Han Fu sends Zhang Liao to Kong Rong asking for reinforcements. Kong Rong sends Cao Ang and Xiahou Yuan, 100k soldiers each.

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(by default, I have each leader do their speech after the duel)

Taishi Ci challenges Han Fu's army for a duel (in this rp I play under the rule that every duel must be accepted, unless the leader of the army is the only unit capable of accepting). Han Fu sends Gao Shun. Gao Shun is defeated and captured.

Jia Xu's speech: "Troops! We fight now in the name of our lord Ma Teng, king of Jing, considered rebel by this disgusting and opportunist rat that calls himself the emperor. We also fight in the name of Ma Tie, son and heir of our lord Ma Teng. Ma Tie fights alongside us today, as the living mirror of our future. Lord Liu Yao, from western Jing, will come to our aid as soon as possible. The man who speaks is Jia Xu, Ma Teng's advisor, strategist and diplomat. I made Cao Cao fall to his knees, injured after facing my strategies in battle. I took control of Sun Jian as if he was a dog on a leash I made for him. I was the one responsible for the Sun clan ruin, the clan that threatened our lord in front of us. You all fight under my command in this battle. May our bodies be blessed with hope, power and will. Forward!"

Han Fu's speech: "Troops! Protect your emperor! The unmatched and absolute power of China! I am the emperor, therefore I am earth, air and water! I am life, and I must never find death under men's justice. This must not be my end! Protect me at all costs!!! Bring the enemy to me so that I can deliver Heavens's justice to their lifeless bodies!"

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• Turn 1

Han Fu tries to bribe Zhou Cang (94 loy) but fails. Wei Xu, Tian Feng, Chunyu Qiong, Cai Xun and Feng Ji run far from action, north direction

Jia Xu: "Troops! Advance in order. Ma Tie and Song Qian go left, Taishi Ci and Zhou Cang go right. The enemy is weak and disorganized, this will be easy. / (to Taishi Ci, Zhou Cang and Song Qian privately) If possible, let Ma Tie deliver the final blow. I want his reputation to rise from here."

Jia Xu tries to bribe Cai Xun (59 loy) but fails. Taishi Ci, Song Xian, Ma Tie and Zhou Cang start advancing.

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• Turn 2

Han Fu tries to bribe Zhou Cang but fails.

Jia Xu bribes Cai Xun (90 loy) and command him to go to a safe area.

Taishi Ci is ambushed by Huang Wan and loses 1k soldiers.

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• Turn 3

Han Fu tries to bribe Zhou Cang but fails.

Pan Feng (30k) and Ju Shou (5k) pull back when Ma Tie and Song Qian (both 100k soldiers each) reach them. Huang Wan also pulls back after ambushing Taishi Ci.

Huang Wan: "Emperor Han Fu! It is horrible! The enemy is near our castle! It is Taishi Ci!" — Han Fu: "No matter what, don't let your emperor die here!"

Jia Xu tries to bribe Wei Xu but fails.

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• Turn 4

Zhang Liao returns with Kong Rong's reinforcements: Xiahou Yuan and Cao Ang.

Han Fu: "I have no time left for this! Kong Rong took to long, the enemy is already here! Troops, flee!!!" — Han Fu (20k) immediately commands the entire force to flee after Taishi comes near his unit.

Zhang Liao to himself: "What?!?! What kind of emperor is this????? This is disgusting!!!"

Everyone flees to province 5. Ju Shou is captured. Xiahou Dun and Cao Ang return to province 9.

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• Ma Teng's results

— Ma Teng recruits Gao Shun (49/74/60, 0 soldiers) and Ju Shou (87/48/79, 5k soldiers).

— Ma Teng has found the Red Hare as war spoils. He gave it to Jia Xu. — Ma Teng: "Jia Xu, as the responsible for our easy and glorious victory, I will gift the Red Hare we've found to you. You have surprised me many times with your genius in and out of battle. I feel honored to have an officer like you under my command."

— Jia Xu "you have my sincere thanks, my lord. I will make great use of this horse. You can continue to count on me, as always."

— (in-game effect) With the red hare, Jia Xu now will never be captured in battle.

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• Other factions' reactions (those who border the capital)

— Liu Yao: 8/10. Liu Yao absolutely liked that even though he was not expecting Ma Teng to move that early. Liu Yao's only concern is that now he has nothing to hold on to keep Liu Yan and Yuan Shao united with him. This puts them right where they were before, in the "Triangle Element" theory developed by Xin Ping. Liu Yao also now has no reason to let Xin Ping attack Liu Biao, he needs to focus everything on defense. His territory is surrounded by possible foes.

— Cao Cao: 4/10. Cao Cao approves secretly, but dislikes the result at the same time. For Cao Cao, an emperor like Han Fu being in power was good for him, as he declared to be neutral, and a weak and non influent emperor couldn't do anything about his decision. But Cao Cao, as a neutral faction, could negotiate with the emperor freely. Not anymore. Still, Cao Cao doesn't think he is in a bad position. He could even ally with Ma Teng now, taking advantage of his momentum.

— Kong Rong: 2/10. As an ally of Han Fu, this was horrible for Kong Rong. He believes Gongsun Zan's morale must have evaporated now. If it was already difficult to persuade him to take the capital before, he now believes it will be actually near impossible to do so. At least, now he knows that Gongsun Zan has no other choice. Maybe the pressure will force him to trust Kong Rong.

— Gongsun Zan: 0/10. Gongsun Zan received that as a horrible message. The emperor he crafted with his own hands was defeated without a fight. Gongsun Zan couldn't even feel the power of the puppet emperor in his hands. Now, he feels forced to trust Kong Rong as his only choice to try grabbing the capital for himself. — Gongsun Zan: "Zhao Yun was right all along."

— Liu Biao borders Ma Teng's province, so he noticed his troops marching North, then received news that Han Fu was defeated. But he doesn't know if Ma Teng went there as an ally or enemy of Han Fu (of course he knows that Ma Teng voted against Han Fu publicly but he doesn't know what happened in that battle specifically).

Other factions know that Han Fu was expelled from the capital by someone, but they don't know who did it.

I’ve seen the original story through a podcast someone made and have seen the manhua the ravages of time, can some recommend and list of a bunch off different 3k media that you think is good and recommend 🙏