The Jade Mandate
It is the year 211 AD. The successful warlord Sun Jian has finally consolidated the south lands and central plains into one unified state under his authority. His rivals, the prestigious Yuan Shao and the honorable Liu Bei have both declared themselves emperors of all china. War has been brought to the doorstep of Wu once more, forcing the ever battle weary Sun clan to ally themselves with the defeated Cao clan and Yuan clan in order to stem the inevitable tide of the pretender states.
Notable events during the play through:
1 - During the first and final war between the Cao clan and the Sun clan, Cao Cao captured and executed Diochan, the wife of Sun Ce before defeating the army of Sun Jian in a field battle. Soon after however, he and his army were ruthlessly pursued by a vengeful Sun Ce who after decimating the Cao army, executed the lady Bian. Soon after her death the remaining Cao clan armies under the leadership of Cao Ang were defeated by Sun Quan and the Cao clan quickly submitted themselves as vassals of Sun Jian.
2 - A resentful governor of Yuan Shu rebelled against him and quickly brought an entire province into the Sun clan while Yuan shu was deep within the territory of Sun Jian. Such an action was entirely unexpected as the rebel governor was not a spy for the Sun clan. Unfortunately the gains were quickly lost when Yuan Shu quickly returned from attacking the south lands in order to retake his province.
3 - the young Emperor Xian escaped from the hands of his jailer, Dong Min and fled into the welcoming arms of Liu Bei. Unfortunately for the Imperial Uncle, Emperor Xian would again flee, but this time he would be granted sanctuary in the mountain fortress under control of Zhang Yang. After many years of weathering assaults from Yuan Shao, he returns to Liu Bei, who days later becomes an emperor himself after the abdication of Emperor Xian.
4 - After the death of Dong Min, Dong Bai unified with Liu Bei in order to create the Kingdom of Shu- Han. This unification has allowed Liu Bei to employ the famous cavalry general Lu Bu.
The state of the Kingdom of Wu:
Economically poor, despite the great size of the domain, the income brought in by its subject territories are lackluster compared to the Kingdom of Song and Shu-Han. It is the great amount of levies that allows the armies of Wu to provide the state with resources in the form of loot from the conquest of foreign territories.
Politically, the Kingdom of Wu is dominated by the Sun Dynasty, with the bureaucrats behind the nobles in influence. However the increased size of the new government has allowed for open positions to be filled by members who would rather support the noble or bureaucrat faction rather than support the dynasty.
Militarily, the armies of Wu are the most disciplined fighting force in all of china. Focusing more on aggressive charges, the armies of Wu encompass two handed retinues and spear wielding cavalry to great effect. Very few can resist the charge of the men of the South lands, fewer can resist the charge of its mighty warrior-generals, Sun Jian and Sun Ce, who have cut a bloody path throughout china in order to secure their families place in the south.