Romance of Three Kingdoms Vol1 Issue1

Newsletter Date
Volume 1, Issue 1
Romancing Cathay
Introduction
his effort to help. I want to
thank Creator Workship,
Koei Co. Japan, and Wizards
of the Coast for gracious
allow me to use their
artworks. I want to thank
Derek Graeff and Alan D.
Kohler for their contribution.
Lastly, I want to thank
Napoleon, the International
Journal of the Age of
Napolean, for being the
model I want to emulate.
Without further ado,
please enjoy our preliminary
issue. Thank You.
Revisiting the Three
Kingdoms, International
Journal for Romance of the
Three Kingdoms, is
dedicated to historical period
of the Late Han Dynasty (180
AD – 220 AD) when various
warlords rose to make a
name for themselves. There
were many books, games and
videos have already been
made on this topic.
Unfortunately, most of them
are in Asian languages. The
goal of this journal is to
bring the English speaking
readers into such exciting
topic.
Eventually, Revisiting the
Three Kingdoms would
feature provocative battle
and campaign studies,
original artwork and maps,
extraordinary dioramas and
illustrations, meticulous
research, book and game
reviews, product surveys,
plus travel, calendar of
events, and much more!
I want to thank Paul Mason
and his ezine, Imazine, for
which I was inspired to
create one dedicated to the
Three Kingdoms. I want to
thank Pierre-Alexandre
Serge Henry Sicart, the
French who thought
everyone want to be French
but secretly harbored the
desire to be Zhuge Liang, for
Inside this issue:
Cào Cao, the Story of
(Part 1 of 9)
1
Army Structure During
the Three Kingdom
Periods
12
Lü Bú: East and West
Views
18
Review: Dragon
Dynasty Starter Set I:
the Three Kingdoms I
24
Review: Ambition of the
Three Kingdoms: Battle
of Red Cliff
26
Review: Portal: Three
Kingdoms CCG
30
Review: Ambition of the
Three Kingdoms: Role
Game
32
Review: Jade & Steel
d20 Adventure
36
Review: Oriental
Adventure 3E
38
Romancing Cathay:
Membership Benefit
48
Romancing Cathay:
Membership Listing
49
Romancing Cathay:
Wu Member
Perk/Ranking
50
Romancing Cathay:
Wen Member
Perk/Ranking
51
Romancing Cathay:
Dragon Dynasty FAQ
52
Romacing Cathay:
Three Kingdoms FAQ
54
Kingdoms
International Journal for Romance of the Three Kingdoms
We will kick off the issue
by gave a biography of the
man himself, Cáo Cao. This
will be first of nine part
series of his life.
Cáo Cao
(155 AD – 220 AD)
Cáo Cao (childhood
name – Ah-mán; given
name – Mèng-dé) was born
on the East Han Dynasty
Heng Emperor’s third Year
of Perpetual Prosperity
(155 AD) in Yù State, Pèi-
guo county (modern day
An-hui Province, Qiáo
County). He died on the
East Han Dynasty Xian Em-
peror’s twenty-fifth year of
Rebuilding Peace (220 AD)
at the army base near Lùo-
yáng. He lived sixty-five
years and in the most inter-
esting time of Chinese His-
tory. His original family
Articles
Cao Cao, Life of
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This is the image most
popularly associated
with Cáo Cao.
Courtesy of Creator Workshop’s
Romance of Three Kingdoms
Card Game

together, they were up to
mischief. Despite having
adventurous activities, Cáo
Cao was also an avid
reader, especially on vari-
ous Arts of War. Of all
texts, he favored the thir-
teen chapter of Sun Tzu
Bing Fă (Art of War); he
made numerous commen-
taries to further clarify it,
that eventually made it into
a book called Mèng-dé Bing
Fă.
Despite his family’s
wealth and connections,
and his personal talents,
Cáo Cao was still insecure
and unsure about himself.
During that period of time,
(Continued on page 3)
(Continued from page 1)
name was Xià-hóu; how-
ever, his father was
adopted by the Palace
Eunuch, Cáo Téng, and be-
came known as Cáo Song.
His family was very
wealthy. In fact, his father
was able to purchase the
position of Tài-wèi, or min-
ister of war, for one hun-
dred million coins.
Childhood Life
Many stories regarding Cáo
Cao’s youth prefigure his
future behavior. At age
five, with several friends,
he went to swim in a
nearby lake. A river snake
appeared and frightened all
but Cáo Cao, who fought
and drove it away. At age
twelve, he enjoyed hunting
but was forbidden to by his
father. As he was sneaking
out to hunt, one day, his
uncle spotted him. Acting
quickly, he fell down as if
having a seizure. His uncle
ran to inform Cáo Song. By
the time his father arrived,
Cáo Cao was acting nor-
mally, joking with his
friends. When questioned
by his father, Cáo Cao re-
plied that his uncle never
liked him and must have
lied about him for that rea-
son. From then on, Cáo
Song never believed a word
from his brother, and Cáo
Cao was pretty much free
to do as he pleased. Cáo
Cao and Yuán Shào were
close friends in their youth;
Lineage between Cáo and Xià-hóu. Siblings are arranged from right (eldest) to left (youngest). Single line
means direct descendant. Dashed line means relatives. Double line means adoption. Arrow indicates
where adoption takes place. Empty block means that person’s identity can not be found.
Modern Day China,
showing which
Province of where Cáo
Cao lived.
Articles
Cao Cao, Life of
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Page 2 Revisiting the Three Kingdoms

Shùo, a favorite eunuch of
Emperor Líng. He at-
tempted to leave the city in
middle of the night and
was caught by Cáo Cao. He
was beaten to death on the
spot with five–colored
poles. The act shocked Lùo-
yáng and order was re-
stored in the northern dis-
trict. Cáo Cao legalistic na-
ture stayed much the same
throughout his lifetime.
Though the eunuch Jian
Shùo and Emperor Líng
were angry, they still had
to congratulate and reward
Cáo Cao in public. They
also decided to remove him
from the capital, so the
privileged would not be
harmed. Cáo Cao was as-
signed to the Ní-zhou
northern province, to be
Dùn-qiu County’s Zhâng
(Chief). He was later called
back to the capital to be
Advisory Gentleman with
no actual power. A year
later, due to a shift of po-
litical fortune, Cáo Cao was
forced to retire. After two
years, Chóa-tíng (the impe-
rial court) needed someone
well-versed in the classics
and who knew the system.
After much deliberation,
they chose Cáo Cao to re-
sume his position as Advi-
sory Gentleman. By then,
he was twenty-five-year
old. During this period, he
wrote many poems, among
it was popular to have a
noted person to appraise
and comment on a younger
person in order for the
later to gain recognition
and connection. Being a
wild and carefree youth,
not many had good opinion
of Cáo Cao. However, at
age fifteen, he received ap-
praisal of two noted gentle-
men. Hé Yo of Nán-yáng, a
very respectable minister,
saw Cáo Cao and sighed to
his friends,
“The Royal Han
Household will be soon
extinct; to pacify the
world will be someone
like him.”
Qiáo Xuán of Liáng-guo
was a minister who had
helped in pacifying barbari-
ans and was known for his
righteousness, humility,
and incorruptibility. To
such a young man and un-
known, Qiáo Xuán said to
Cáo Cao,
“Heaven Below will
soon fall into chaos;
many will attempt to
cause confusion in or-
der to enrich their
own fiefdom; only you
can help the people
and provide a safe
haven.”
With two recommenda-
tions from such famous
individuals, Cáo Cao was
still unsure of himself. In
order to gain more recogni-
tion for entry into the
Clear-Flowing Political
Group, he sought the ap-
praisal of Xû Shào from Rú-
nán, a very prestigious ap-
praiser of character. Many
came from thousands of
miles just to have him
evaluated their characters.
His comment on Cáo Cao,
“An able minister in
time of peace; a crafty
hero in time of chaos.”
Upon hearing that, Cáo
Cao laughed and left.
Early Political Life
Cáo Cao entered politic by
the age of twenty. He had
been selected into Xiào-
lián, or the Filially Pious
and Incorrupt, candidates
for commissioned civil ser-
vices. This was no doubt
due to his grandfather Cáo
Téng’s connections. His
first post was Lùo-yáng Bêi-
du-wèi or Security Chief of
North Lùo-yáng District.
Upon arriving to his post,
he instructed men to repair
the four gates of the north-
ern district. Numerous five-
colored poles were set by
each gate. Anyone caught
trespassing without a
proper pass would be
beaten to death with five-
colored poles, no excep-
tion. A few months later,
the first offender proved to
be the granduncle of Jian
“An able minister in
time of peace but a
crafty hero in time of
chaos…”
Xû Shào’s comment on
Cáo Cao
Courtesy of Creator
Workshop’s Romance of
Three Kingdoms Card Game
Articles
Cao Cao, Life of
1 of 9
Inside Anhui Province,
showing where Cáo Cao
was born.
Page 2Volume 1, Issue 1

Cáo Cao’s first post as
the Security Chief at
the Northern Sector of
Capital, Lou Yang.
Yellow Turbans
During the East Han Sev-
enth Year of Luminous
Peace or First Year of Cen-
tral Pacification (184 AD),
the worst civil unrest, Yel-
low Turbans, had occurred.
Officials recorded it as a
peasants’ rebellion. In fact,
this was the culmination of
the government’s errone-
ous policies and corrup-
tion. Chóa-tíng (the impe-
rial court) was more inter-
ested in the struggling be-
tween eunuchs and minis-
ters or in the enjoyment of
debauched lifestyle. Not
much thought and concern
was given to people. Led by
Taoist priests, like Zhang
Jiâo and his brothers, peo-
ple attempted to overthrow
the government. Though it
was put down within a
year, the civil unrest was
not resolved until after the
Battle of Guan-dù, when
Cáo Cao spent time and
effort to stabilize the Cen-
tral Plain.
Cáo Cao was thirty when
the Yellow Turbans Rebel-
lion started. This is the
event that his name began
to appear in official histori-
cal records. He served un-
der Huáng Fu-song as Qí-
du-wèi, or Calvary Com-
mander. He was credited
for valiant charges against
Zhang Jiăo’s troops that
demoralized them at the
which two especially shed
some light on his ambi-
tions and dreams:
Ode to Wine
Ode to wine, in time of
peace, officials knock at
no door.
The king is virtuous and
enlightened; ministers
are loyal and conscien-
tious.
Respectful, polite and
yielding, people have no
need to complain.
Three years farming,
nine years harvests; stor-
age is full, elderly needed
not worry.
Rain is plenty, hundreds
of crops have grown.
Horses are released from
military duty and re-
turned to work on farms.
Noble baron, viscount,
count, marquise and
duke, they love the peo-
ple like their children
and guide them toward
Enlightenment.
The son is raised with his
father and brother.
Lawbreakers are pun-
ished according to their
crimes.
People do not pick up
dropped purses.
Jails are empty and win-
ter season continued.
Everyone lives to the full
extend of their life.
Even grass and insects
benefit from such a
reign.
Pass Mount Guan
Between Heaven and
Earth, Men are most pre-
cious.
The lord shepherds his
people, leads them to
Enlightenment.
Chariot tracks horses
prints, Four Corners they
appeared.
Moved out of darkness,
the people prospers and
rests.
Let sagacity and virtue
govern within and with-
out.
Charged five ranked no-
bilities, established land
law punishment.
Peruse through red book,
erase those served crime
Nobles preach and guide,
not one is derelict.
Woe to the later genera-
tion, which changes laws
on whim,
Mobilized people for the
lords, sacrificed money
and service!
Shùn elaborated eating
utensils, ten nations re-
belled against
Not like Táng-yáo, had
unmarked palace pillars
World longed Bó-yí, his
principles are exempli-
fied
Excess is the worst sin,
economy is a virtue.
Xû-yóu’s humble mod-
esty is mentioned in
songs.
Broad love uphold all,
strangers treated as rela-
tives.
“Three years farming,
nine years harvests…”
Poetry: Ode to Wine
courtesy of Creator Work-
shop’s Dragon Dynasty Card
Game
Articles
Cao Cao, Life of
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Faction had found out
about the Imperial Relative
Faction having brought an
the outside force, namely
Dông Zhúo, they decided to
strike first. They set up an
ambush for Hé Jìn and
asked Dowager Empress Hé
to summon Great General.
When Hé Jìn received the
summon, others begged
him not to go; he did not
listen. He was certain that
his military power would
be sufficient to awe the Pal-
ace Eunuch Faction. He was
assassinated.
Yuen brothers (Shào and
Su) led the Imperial Rela-
tive Faction and assaulted
the palace. Cáo Cao stayed
Battle of Cháng-shè.
For his valor, Cáo Cao
was promoted to Jî-nán
Xiang (Chancellor of South-
ern Rescue). Within a year,
he had ended governmen-
tal abuse and corruption
and removed inefficient
ministers. People loved
him; those with political
connections hated him. He
was to be promoted again
to Bêi-jùn Tài-shôu, or
Northern County Grand
Administrator but, suspect-
ing a trap from a palace
eunuch, Cáo Cao declined
and decided to retire from
the political arena. At age
thirty-two, he reasoned
that he still could offer his
service to Chóa-tíng (the
imperial court) by age fifty.
This would give him plenty
of time to read. Even in his
retirement, he could not
escape political machina-
tion, though: Xû Shào from
Rú-nán solicited him to
join the rebellion. Cáo Cao
refused; he did not believe
that regional armed mili-
tary revolution was the an-
swer. He still believed that
the reforms ought to work
internally, starting from
the capital.
The Year of Luminous
Joys (184 AD)
In prior years, Chóa-tíng
(the imperial court) sum-
moned Cáo Cao back to the
capital to be Diân-jun Du-
wèi or Commander of Cere-
monial Troops. At first, he
had hoped that it was a
chance for him to help to
put down rebellions or re-
pel barbarian troops. In-
stead, he found himself
sucked into a struggling
between the Imperial Rela-
tives Faction and the Palace
Eunuch Faction within the
capital. Despite his back-
ground, he sided with the
Imperial Relatives Faction
in an attempt to curtail
power of eunuchs. He
hoped that by aligned with
the Imperial Relatives Fac-
tion, he could help to re-
duce damages and to pre-
vent unnecessary death of
many palace eunuchs.
By then, the Palace
Eunuch Faction had waned
from what it used to be ten
years ago. The Imperial
Relative Faction had the
supports of majority of
ministers and commanded
greater troops. Still, its
leader, Hé Jìn, was both
indecisive and artless. He
wanted to bring more
troops from outside and
did not listen to advice
given by Cáo Cao and other
ministers. Cáo Cao sighted
and stated privately,
“The originator of
chaos is none other
than the Great Gen-
eral, Hé Jìn.”
Once the Palace Eunuch
Huáng Fu-song—
Cáo Cao’s
commander at the
Battle of Cháng-shè
Courtesy of Creator
Three Kingdoms Card
Game
Battle of Cháng-shè where Cáo Cao was
credited for valiant charges against Zhang Jiăo’s
troops that demoralized them
Articles
Cao Cao, Life of
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“The origin of chaos is
none other than the
Great General himself.”
Cáo Cao’s comment on
Hé Jìn’s decision to
summon Dông Zhúo to
the Capital
Courtesy of Creator
county chief agreed and
released Cáo Cao. Further-
more, he had given him
some money and fresh
horses to better escape the
Si-lì Rregion at night. This
incident later became the
famed Capture and Release
of Cáo, in which Chen Gong
played the role of the
Zhong-móu Province
county chief. According to
historical records, Chen
Gong was not Zhong-móu
Province county chief.
The next famed incident
that involved Cáo Cao was
the Massacre of the Lü fam-
ily. In San Gúo Zhì, there is
no record of such incident,
but three other sources did
mention it. The first was
the official historical re-
cord, Book of Wei. Accord-
ingly, Cáo Cao visited Lü
Family in middle of the
night but Master Lü was
not home. His son and oth-
ers threatened Cáo Cao be-
cause he was alone. During
the struggle, Cáo Cao slew
some of them in order to
escape.
The second is Shì Shuo
Xin Yû written by Liu Yì-
qìng of the Sung Dynasty.
In it, Cáo Cao visited the Lü
Family and Master Lü led
his entire household to
welcome him. Cáo Cao be-
came suspicious due to
hosts’ over-enthusiasm and
thought they were to take
and limited fighting to be
within the palace, and to
prevent any escape of the
Palace Eunuch Faction. In
the midst of chaos, both
young emperor and prince
were spirited out of the
capital and, unfortunately,
into Dông Zhúo’s grasp. By
early morning, Dông Zhúo
entered the capital as the
Emperor’s Protector. The
reign of terror began.
Contrary to what de-
scribed in Romance of the
Three Kingdoms, Cáo Cao
did not attempt to assassi-
nate Dông Zhúo. Instead,
he waited and see what
kind of government would
issue from the Emperor’s
Protector. Once he realized
that it was a tyranny, he
began to move his clan
from the capital to his
hometown or anywhere but
Lùo-yáng. Dông Zhúo had
knew about Cáo Cao and
hoped to deploy him. It
would give his rule more
legitimacy. When sum-
moned, Cáo Cao claimed
severe headaches and re-
quested a few more days of
rests before meeting the Si-
kong, Dông Zhúo’s new
rank. Apparently, Cáo
Cao’s headaches were well-
known prior then. Dông
Zhúo granted him this re-
quest. It bought more time
for his father to pack eve-
rything and leave. On the
night before, he told his
servants that he would to
rest early so he could be
ready to meet with the Si-
kong on the following day.
When he return to his
room, Cáo Cao changed
quickly and sneaked out
from the back. He pur-
chased a horse at the out-
skirts of the city and made
his way toward Chen-líu
Province. There, Cáo Hóng
had sold the family wealth
and awaited for him.
Next day, when Dông
Zhúo realized Cáo Cao’s
trickery, he immediately
issued a warrant for his
arrest and hired killers to
hunt him down. By noon,
Cáo Cao ditched his horse
and traveled on foot. A day
and a night later, he
reached the border of the
Si-lì region in Zhong-móu
Province. Urged by hunger,
he sneaked out at night
and was caught by the pa-
trols. He did not resist;
however, he insisted on
seeing the county chief.
The county chief had re-
ceived Dông Zhúo’s war-
rant for Cáo Cao and recog-
nized the person standing
before him. His night secre-
tary believed that Dông
Zhúo had usurped his posi-
tion and that the world was
on the brink of chaos. His
advice was that a hero like
Cáo Cao ought not to be
killed on a whim. The
Dông Zhúo initially
want to use Cáo Cao to
help give legitimacy to
his government.
Courtesy of Creator
Workshop’s Romance of Three
Kingdoms Card Game
Articles
Cao Cao, Life of
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Chen Gong was not
Zhong-móu Provincial
Magistrate. He did not
release and escaped
with Cào Cao.
Courtesy of Creator
Commandery. There, using
money from selling their
household, they raised
troops for the inevitable
war against Dông Zhúo.
Aroused by his passion,
other wealthy families con-
tributed to his cause.
Throughout that time, Cáo
Cao practically lived among
his troops, to train them
and to prepare weapons.
Many heroes, like Yuè Jìn
(courtesy name: Wen-qian)
from Yáng-ping-wèi-gúo, Lî
Diân (courtesy name: Màn-
chéng) from Shan-yáng-jù-
lù, Xià-hóu Dun (courtesy
name: Yuán-ràng), and his
him in for rewards. He
wanted to leave and con-
flict ensured. Cáo Cao
killed entire Lü Family be-
fore making his escape.
The third is urban myth
akin to that of Romance of
the Three Kingdoms.
Whence, Cáo Cao and Chen
Gong sought refuge with Lü
family. While Master Lü
went away to purchase
wise, Cáo Cao overheard
the conversation between
servants about sharpen
knives to kill the pig. He
thought they were meant to
kill him. His life was in
danger and had to act first.
Only after killing everyone
did he realized that they
were to prepare a feast for
him. He then escaped from
Lü Household with Chen
Gong. On their way, they
met Master Lü, who was on
his way back from the vil-
lage with fresh wine. Fear-
ing that he would find out
about the massacre and
report them, Cáo Cao killed
Master Lü. Chen Gong criti-
cized Cáo Cao’s behavior
and who, replied by utters
the villainous phase:
“T’is better for me to
wrong the world than
to have the world
wrong me.”
Cáo Cao’s blackguard
reputation most likely to
stem from this comment.
Of these three sources,
the urban myth can be dis-
carded outright. Lü Family
located within the Si-lì re-
gion, where the security
was at its heaviest. Master
Lü could not made such a
big show of treating Cáo
Cao, a wanted criminal, to a
feast, nor would he have
dared to leave for another
village for wine. In addi-
tion, the very inclusion of
Chen Gong in this incident
invalidates the line of
thought.
For Cáo Cao to seek ref-
uge with Lü family, he had
to deem Master Lü trust-
worthy. It would be
unlikely, as is the case in
the Shì Shuo Xin Yû, for
Cáo Cao to suspect Master
Lü’s betrayal. Nor would it
be likely for Lü Family to
make such an elaborate
display of welcoming a
criminal wanted by the im-
perial court.
The most likely event is
thus the version given by
the Book of Wei. Though
Master Lü may have known
Cáo Cao well, the rest of
family did not have close
ties with him. In the ab-
sence of Master Lü, some
tension may have occurred
and Cáo Cao may have had
to resort to violence to
make good his escape.
Cáo Cao met up with
Cáo Hóng at the Chen-líu
Cáo Cao Escaped from Lùo-yáng to Chen-líu
Province
1) He was captured and released at Zhong-móu
Province
2) Incident of the Lü family
3) Final Destination
Articles
Cao Cao, Life of
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buried treasures. The capi-
tal had been razed to the
ground. Upon hearing such
news, Cáo Cao was angered
and felt impotent about the
situation. He wrote a
eulogy to echo this tragedy.
Ju-lù (eulogy)
Twenty generations
the Han has reigned,
last entrusted to ill
nature;
Like a monkey in
man’s clothing, he
knew little but
dreamed big,
Indecisive and afraid
to commit, a lord
hunted by his ser-
vants.
As white rainbows
became endless suns,
the entrusted was
first to suffer.
A bandit minister
held the root of the
nation, murdered the
lords and razed the
capital.
The dynastic founda-
tions were swept
away, the palaces
burned down, the
temples on ancestral
grounds desecrated.
Uprooted and forced
to march West, peo-
ple howled and cried
along the way.
Observing Lùo-yáng’s
brother Xià-hóu Yuan
(courtesy name: Miào-cái)
from Pèi-guo Qiáo County
flocked to his banner. A
few days later, Cáo Rén
joined them after having
seen Cáo Song safely to Xú-
zhou. And just when the
funds had been used up,
Cáo Cao met his first bene-
factor, Wèi Guan, a Filially
Pious and Incorrupt of the
Chen-líu Commandery. Wèi
Guan came from a rich and
powerful family who val-
ued righteousness over
wealth. Upon being intro-
duced to Cáo Cao, Wèi
Guan told his friends that,
“This is the man who
will pacified Below
Heaven.”
So he helped by contrib-
uted his family’s wealth
and by raised more
funds to support Cáo
Cao’s force. On the
twelfth month of the
East Han Emperor Ling’s
Sixth Year of Central
Pacification, or Emperor
Xiàn’s First Year of Per-
petual Han (189 AD),
Cáo Cao had raise an
army of righteousness.
Alliance
Eastern Commandery
Grand Administrator
Qiáo Mào was disgusted
at Dông Zhúo’s behavior.
He forged a decree from
the Three Grands accusing
Dông Zhúo of tyranny and
usurping the Emperor’s
power. He asked other
leaders to raise arms to
rescue Emperor. A total of
seventeen leaders and war-
lords answered his called.
North, South, and East of
Lùo-yáng were under block-
ade by the Alliance troops.
Among them, Yuán Shào
was elected leader. The
only dissenting voice was
that of Bào Xìn of Jì-beî. He
predicted that the Alliance
would fall apart and that
Cáo Cao would be a better
leader than Yuán Shào.
To prevent the capture of
Lùo-yáng, Dông Zhúo relo-
cated almost everyone to
Cháng-an. Tombs and mau-
soleums of the rich and
powerful were raided for
Members of the Alliance
Articles
Cao Cao, Life of
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units, rushed to Cáo Cao’s
side and dismount to let
his commander escape.
Wielding the twin short
halberd Cáo Cao spoke
thus: “I’m prepared to die,
my brother, please return
to the main camp and
strengthen its defense.”
Cáo Hóng, with the reins
in one hand and swinging a
broad blade with the other,
yelled: “Grand Cáo, please
mount up. Hóng will follow
on foot!”
“Bandit troops will arrive
soon in great amount, what
will you do?” asked Cáo
lifeless husk caused
heartache and flow-
ing tears.
What’s most dishearten-
ing is the Alliance’s passiv-
ity. Dông Zhúo had been on
the run toward the West,
his troops were ill disci-
plined and the morale was
low. But, as Bào Xìn of Jì-
beî had predicted, mem-
bers of the Alliances were
reluctant to commit. Their
elected leader, Yuán Shào,
did not react to the news of
Lùo-yáng’s destruction. He
chose caution. Unable to
stand it anymore, Cáo Cao
rode to the main camp:
“Wasn’t our Alliance
formed to fight a tyrant?
Now, our forces have
gathered, what are we
waiting for? It used to be
hard to break through
because of Dông Zhúo
garrisoned the imperial
capital Lùo-yáng, had the
beckoning of Imperial
Troops, and had strong
fortifications on the east-
ern font. Now, he volun-
tary withdraws westward,
forcing the emperor and
the court to migrate to
Cháng-an; everyone is
shocked by his barbaric
behavior, the morale of
his troops is at the ebb,
Heaven stresses his fail-
ure. All we need is one
battle to break his force;
why not take the initia-
tive?”
Still Yuán Shào decided
not to move, he argued of
the unwillingness of each
warlord, of problems with
supply lines, and of fear of
ambush along the way to
Lùo-yáng. Disappointed,
Cáo Cao decided to lead his
own personal force of five
thousand troops to march
westward. His first bene-
factor, Wèi Guan, joined
with three thousand
troops.
They met Xú Róng, a pro-
Dông Zhúo Grand Adminis-
trator, at Xíng-yáng (in
modern day Hé-nán Prov-
ince). Cáo Cao launched
several attacks. How-
ever, due to lack of
troop strength and
insufficient training,
he lost a lot of men.
Wèi Guan died in that
battle. Xú Róng saw
the weakening of his
opponent’s troop
strength and launched
an attack. Cáo Cao
counterattacked. Both
troops clashed and
Cáo Cao’s steed was
shot under him. He
was forced to fight on
foot and wounded
dozens of enemies.
Despite his effort, his
smaller troop strength
could not break
through the enemy
line. Cáo Hóng, com-
mander of vanguard
Cáo Cao’s proposed plan of attack are in dash lines.
1) Yuán Shào led his force along the north of Yellow River
2) Remaining Alliance attacked from the center.
3) Yuan Shu led his force to cut off Dông Zhúo’s retreat
toward Cháng-an.
Articles
Cao Cao, Life of
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“Heaven Below can do
without Cào Hong, but
not without Grand Cào
(Cao)!”
Cào Hong
Courtesy of Koei’s Battle of
Red Cliff CCG
Cao.
Cáo Hóng fervently re-
plied, “Heaven Below can
do without Cáo Hóng, but
not without Grand Cáo!”
With that, he took off his
mail shirt and forced Cáo
Cao to mount up. He fol-
lowed on foot back to the
defensive lines.
It was near dusk, Cáo’s
force, under cover of night,
fought and retreated with
order. The Xià-hóu brothers
held the defensive perime-
ter steadily. Cáo Rén, Yuè
Jìn and Lî Diân also re-
turned with their troops.
Together, they were able to
ward off the attack.
For several days and
menacing and prove to all
Below Heaven that we are
on the righteous path.
Dông Zhúo’s tyranny
would lose much strength.
Those who go with the
flow will flourish, and
those who go against the
flow will perish. This plan
will be successful.
Presently, we are gath-
ered under the banner of
rescuing our Emperor and
we call ourselves right-
eous. Yet, we hesitate and
dare not advance. Every-
one Below Heaven is dis-
appointed. Even in my
heart, I feel ashamed by
everyone’s behavior.”
His call fell in deaf ears.
Even his close friend,
Zhang Mào, disagreed with
him. Seeing the reactions of
the Alliance, Cáo Cao real-
ized that times had
changed, and days of the
East Han Dynasty were
numbered. The Time of
Chaos had arrived, when
every lord would rise and
fight to control Below
Heaven. Therefore, he with-
drew from the Alliance and
took both Xià-hóu Dun and
Cáo Hóng southward to
Yáng Zhou to raise troops.
Cáo Hóng knew Chén Wen,
governor of Yáng Zhou,
through family connec-
tions. The governor in-
structed the Grand Admin-
istrator of Dan-yáng to pre-
many battles later,
Xú Róng saw that
Cáo’s force was
small but still had
high morale. He
feared that the Alli-
ance would arrive
soon with reinforce-
ment. He withdrew
his troops to the
next defensive posi-
tion. Cáo Cao also
pulled out.
Back to the main
base, Cáo Cao found
that the Alliance was
more concerned
with preparing
meals and organiz-
ing entertainment.
They had apparently for-
gotten all about the tragedy
suffered by the East Han
Imperial Family, all about
the purpose of the Alliance.
Bitterly, Cáo Cao ex-
claimed, “Everyone, please
consider my strategy: Yuán
Shào’s troops are coming
from the north; our position
is secured and soldiers are
well rested; and Yuán Shù’s
force is traveling along the
river from the south. We
have more than enough to
overwhelm the government
in Cháng-an.
Even if we are to build up
fortifications, to set up
numerous phantom
troops, and to engage no
enemy directly, we can
make ourselves more
Battle of Xing-Yang
Articles
Cao Cao, Life of
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his time, waiting to see
how the situation would
evolve.
pointed and recognized
that profit troops were not
dependable. To fight for
Below Heaven, one must
build his own personal
troops. He returned to Gui
(in modern An-hui Prov-
ince) and Jiàn-ping (on the
modern border of Hé-nán
and An-hui Provinces).
There, he raised over a
thousand troops. He then
traveled northward beyond
the Yellow River to Hé-nèi.
Cáo Cao began to raise
troops from surrounding
areas, to make connections
with the local powers, and
to gain monetary and man-
power support. He bided
pare four thousand troops
for Cáo Cao. However,
these mercenaries thought
themselves betrayed by
Chén Wen, who wanted
them to fight in a war with
little personal gain.
One night, after several
days of travel, the merce-
naries rebelled and at-
tempted to rush into Cáo
Cao’s main camp to rob.
Cáo Cao personally slew
dozens of them with a pair
of short-halberd. Less than
five hundred soldiers re-
mained.
Cáo Cao was disap-
“Seeing the reactions of
the Alliance… Cào Cao
realized that times have
changed, and days of
East Han Dynasty were
numbered.. Therefore,
he withdraw from the
Alliance.”
Courtesy of Creator
Workshop’s Dragon Dynasty
CCG
Articles
Cao Cao, Life of
1 of 9

divert funds to build their
own private troops. Besides
government, nobility or
those of wealthy family
also began to create their
own personal guards to
protect their households
and caravans that often
numbered into hundreds if
not greater.
Army Composition
Army is break down into
six levels. At the basis is
the wû or squad (5). It is
made of five soldiers.
Squad sergeant is called
wû-zhâng. Five wû formed
into liâng or platoon (25).
Platoon captain is called
liâng-si-mă. Four liâng
composed a zú or company
(100). Company
commander is called zú-
zhâng. Five zú created a lû
or battalion (500). Battalion
commander is called lû-
shuài but more likely to be
led by jiang-jun or general
of first to third rank. Five
lû arranged into a shi or
regiment (2,500). Regiment
commander is called shi-
shuài but, again, more
likely to be led by jiang-jun
or general of fourth to
sixth rank. And five shi is
called jun or army. Jiang-
jun or general of seventh
or eighth rank led it. A
typical army would have
twelve thousands five
hundred men (12,500).
Imperial capital can
command up to eight
Despite numerous writs of
Arts of War, Chinese
armies in ancient times
were not favorable looked
upon. Even fewer are any
records of army
composition involved in
any battles. However, of
many attractions to
Romance of Three
Kingdoms are tales of
battles. It would be a
disservice if these were not
mention in future issues of
Kingdoms. Here is my
attempt to introduce to
English readers of army
structure during late Hans
to Three Kingdom Periods.
Army Creation
Traditionally, there are
three ways to create an
army. First, the
conscription allowed
nobility or ministers to
assemble any number of
peasants to form an army.
This is most spontaneous
and most variables. It is
often used when war or
battle is impending. And
there is no set number,
men from entire family or
village could be drafted
into an army. Once the
crisis is over, army is
quickly disbanded to allow
peasants returned to work
on farms. Second, the
mandatory active duty
requirement designated a
person from each house to
serve in armed forces upon
reaching certain age. Tour
of duty required 2 years
where first year is within
localities and second year
is at the border. In time of
peace, one month out of
each year is spent on to
build road, fortified cities,
and to farm at government
or noble lands. Third, the
recruitment is when
government actively paid
moneys or goods to attract
a group of people to
become permanent
soldiers. Once enlisted,
these people became
soldiers in life, their names
were entered into book of
census under armed force
category. And if the father
became ineligible as
soldier, his son took over,
and if an elder brother
became ineligible, younger
brother took over, so forth
and so on. They were
commonly referred to as
shì-bing (Generation
Troops).
By the times of Late Han
Dynasty, criminals were
often pressed into armed
services for the ever-
expanding military
necessities and further
retrenchment of the
imperial city. Localities
were often left with no
defense against bandits or
other rabble rousing. In
response, governors
petitioned and granted the
right to form provincial
armies. They began to
Bing
Chinese character for
Soldier
Page 12
Liâng
Platoon of 25 troops.
Wû
Squad of 5 troops.
Revisiting the Three Kingdoms
Articles
the Three Kingdoms Period

Foot trained troops how to
march or retreat in
accordance with signals,
and how to form or change
formations.
Each year, there were
four field exercises. Each
occurred in a separate
season. During spring,
troops learned to interpret
audio signals. Drums
denoted advancing. Fast
beating meant charge; slow
beating meant advance
cautiously. Cymbals
denoted retreating. Fast
notes meant rapid retreat;
slow notes meant fighting
withdraw. At summer,
troops practiced living
outdoors. They have to be
familiar with nighttime
activity as setting up and
breaking down campsites
and posting sentry. They
memorized other divisions’
markings and signs. At fall,
troops familiarized
themselves with visual
signals such as flags and
banners. The raising
banners signaled troops to
stand up, lowering banner
gestured troops to sit or
lying down. The color of
banners means which
formation troops were to
organize into. There were
five colors (yellow, white,
black, bluish-green, red)
that corresponded to five
elements (earth, metal,
water, wood, fire). And
during winter, a mock
armies at a time. Si-mâ, or
minister of war, Grand
General, and later on Prime
Minister, commanded up to
five armies. A state
governor could only call up
three armies at a time. An
army would either being a
central army or local army
with the former received
better training and
equipment than the other.
For troops stationed at
the imperial palace, there
are two types: wèi-shì and
láng. Wèi-shì, or imperial
guards, are typical guards
whose are controlled under
ministry of Wèi-wèi (palace
security). Typical duties
included guarding gates
and palace entrances and
to patrol outer parameters
of palace area.
Láng are part of ministry
of láng-zhong-lìng (central
command of gentleman).
They acted as bodyguards,
messengers, or even
servants to the emperor,
and to patrol inner
parameters of palace area.
Officially, their rankings
are quite low, yet, their
proximity to the throne
gave them certain status or
power. In certain incidents,
one can move from being a
láng to a powerful position
like general or to dà hóng-
lü (Grand Herald).
Traditionally, only
ministers who have salary
of two thousands or more
stones of grains and have
been in position for more
than three years could
sponsor their sons or
relatives. In Late Han
Period, requirement had
been extended to local
ministers who could
sponsor xiào-lián (Filially
Pious and Incorrupt), and
to people who have
donated significant amount
of goods to Imperial
Treasury to nominate their
sons or relatives.
In fact, becoming a láng
might be the fastest and
surest way to advance to
high level of military rank.
From Han Dynasty forward,
Chóa-tíng (Imperial Court)
tended to favor civil
ministers over military
personnel. For the later,
career advancement had
nearly halted for those who
started at the bottom.
Army Training
The purpose of training
was to improve troops
combat effectiveness as
one unit. Five lessons are
to be taught. Lesson of
Eyes and Ears taught
troops how to follow visual
and audio signals to the
letter. Lesson of Heart
drilled rules and regulation
and consequences for
disobedience. Lesson of
Hand instructed troops
how to fight with weapons
at hand. And Lesson of
Zú
Company of 100
troops.
Lû
battalion of 500
troops.
Shi
Chinese character
for regiment
of 2,500 troops.
Articles

Jun
Chinese character
for army
of 12,500 troops.
Cavalry: Focal power
for an orthodox tactics
and flexibility for
unorthodox tactics.
the secondary weapon.
For protection, armors
were designed to match
specific function of troops.
For cavalry, armor is
basically two piece leather
lamellar constructions that
protected front and back
body of rider. Arms were
freed up to allow wielding
of various weapons.
Infantry has to move fast
and unencumbered. They
wore leather tunics. For
additional protection, they
carried shields. Depended
on funding, shields can be
made of wood and covered
with lacquered leather to
iron or steel shield. An
interesting alternative to
shield is the vertical bar
used by hand-to-hand
infantry. These are less
battle was conducted.
Troops performed in front
of high-ranking ministers,
nobility, or generals of
what they have learned
throughout the year.
Arms & Armors
During the time of Late
Han to Three Kingdoms
period, it is also a time of
break in terms of weapons
and armors of antiquity
were replaced by arms and
armors of middle ages.
Even new troops classes
succeeded to replace old
troop types.
Cavalry had taken over
roles that used to reserve
for Chariot. They now
acted as shocked troops,
scouting, harassing, and
rapidly deployed force.
Accordingly, cavalry was
viewed to provide focal
power for an orthodox
tactics and flexibility for
unorthodox tactics. Horses
were imported at great
expanses from the distant
nomads. They were trained
to fight on horse with
following weapons: bow,
crossbow, halberd, spear,
saber, and sword.
Infantry still maintained
the dominant force on the
battlefield since the time of
Qin Dynasty. Infantry are
divided into specific
functions. Some were
trained crossbowmen, long-
spear men, swordsmen,
siege specialists, heavily
artilleries, and personal
guards. Infantry were
trained extensively in the
primary weapon and then
Chariot: Once numbered in hundred and thousands
during Spring & Autumn had reduced to teens by Late
Han Dynasty.
Articles

they wore elaborated
designs of iron helmets
inlaid with leather and soft
cloth to soften the blow.
Army Battle
Formation
The smallest unit is wû. It
is made of five men in a
row. To form into a liâng
(25 troops), wû are placed
at four corner, and the
center. Then this formation
is repeated when four liâng
combined into a zú (100
troops) by having a liâng
placed at each corner, the
central was reserved for
commanding officer and
bulky than shield, and
thereby, more
maneuverable. Basically, it
is an iron bar with a handle
for troops to hold on. It is
just as effective blocking
melee weapons but useless
against missile attacks. For
officers and commanders,
the base material for
armors had been iron plate
imitating leather. This
ensured flexibility and even
distribution of weight.
Helmets followed similar
patterned. For the majority
of troops, they wore
leather-lacquered caps. For
officers and commanders,
Crossbowman: They were
trained to be at the front
line and shoot down
charging enemy
Spearman: Their often deployed
right behind crossbowman and
were readied to set against
charging enemies while
crossbowmen filed pass them.
Swordsman: Any enemy
break through spearman
formation were to be hacked
down by these infantry.
his support staffs. From
then on, five smaller units
each stationed at a corner
and the center to form into
a larger group.
On the march, row
became column. Wû was a
single column of five men.
A liâng (25 troops) was
three columns of wû. Then
this formation is repeated
onward.
In battle, formation is
created at zú (100 troops)
level. Generals often used
banner to indicate what
formation each zú is to
form. For example, yellow
Articles

Officers: They were
at the front of their
troops fighting and
rally their men.
Squad Formation
Platoon Formation
Company Formation Battalion Formation
Articles
punishment. There is no
exception! The next
important criterion is xìn
(trust). Once spoken of
rules and regulations, they
are to be followed.
Promised of rewards and
punishments must deliver
when conditions were met.
If leniency set in, then
army as a whole would fail
to function. Lastly is yán
(strictness). The army had
to know rules and
regulations at the start.
And to demonstrate the
seriousness of these rules
and regulations, three out
of ten soldiers were
executed. Once these
soldiers witness the
seriousness of rules and
regulations, they would
behave with strict
disciplined.
banner meant the block
formation. White banner
denoted a circular
formation. Black banner
called for wave formation.
Bluish-green banner
changed to line formation.
And red banner set up a
spearhead formation. The
formation at zú level can
be combined into
distinguish shaped in lû
(500 troops) level or even
at level shi (2,500 troops)
level. Some of commonly
mentioned shi level
formations are crane wing,
fish scale, and long
serpent.
Punishments &
Rewards
In ancient time,
punishment was viewed as
to prevent people for doing
certain things; reward was
viewed as to encourage
people to do certain things.
However, punishment was
given a primary action and
reward as secondary
action. They believed that
if rewards were given too
often, people began to
compete for rewards, and
competition led to chaos.
But, if punishments were
given too often, people
would not remember not to
behave improperly nor
were they likely to compete
for punishment. Therefore,
punishments led to orderly
organization.
One could only deal out
punishments and rewards
when he had following
criteria. He must have gong
(fairness). If one’s enemy
had achieved above and
beyond call of duty, he
must be rewarded. If one’s
relative had broken the
law, he must be

Volume 1, Issue 1
Block Formation
Regiment Formation
Army Formation
Circular Formation
Wave Formation
Spearhead Formation
Line
Formation
Articles

Yuán brought his forces to
Luò-yáng. He plotted with
Hé Jìn to get rid of
eunuchs. Ding Yuán
promoted to Commander
of Capital. After the death
of Hé Jìn, Dông Zhuo
entered the capital and
attempted to control the
situation. He had to get rid
of Ding Yuán and annexed
his forces. Dông Zhuo
knew that Lü Bù was
trusted by Ding Yuán,
therefore, he bribed Lü Bù
to kill Ding Yuán. Lü Bù
committed such act and
delivered Ding Yuán’s head
to Dông Zhuo. For such act,
Lü Bù promoted to cavalry
commander and became
foster-son to Dông Zhuo
who believed in him.
Under Dông Zhuo
Lü Bù was skilled in
archery, horsemanship and
martial art, plus his
strength was greater than
most, his nickname was
General Swift. He gradually
advanced to the position of
Zhong-láng-jiàng or central
gentleman’s general and
ennobled to Hóu-jué
(marquise). Dông Zhuo
knew many people
objected to his policy and
afraid for assassination, so
he had Lü Bù as his
bodyguard. However Dông
Zhuo was arrogant and
impatient. When he became
angry, he often acted
without thinking about
During the early stage of
the Decline and Fall of East
Han Dynasty (190 A.D. –
200 A.D.), none shined
more prominently and
ended abruptly than Lü Bù,
the greatest fighter of his
time. For eons in Asia, he
was viewed as the worst of
the worst a person can be.
But to most Westerners, he
was considered a tragic
hero, and deserved much
admiration. Like most
Asian readers, my view was
also shaped by tradition
Chinese culture that Lü Bù
was a buffoon. Only
through the Three
Kingdoms mailing list and
exchanged ideas with
Western readers did my
view began to change. I
believed it may be worth
while to write an article
about the greatest warrior
of the Three Kingdoms
period. Below is my
translation of Lü Bù
character from San-gú-zhì,
Ambitions of the Three
Kingdoms (ATK), the
official historical records.
And see how he differed
from the more popular
novel, Romance of the
Three Kingdoms (RTK).
Official Historical
Record of Lü Bù
Early Days
Lü Bù, his former name is
Fèng Xian, came
from Wû-yuán jun
(five plains county)
Jîu-yuán xiàn (nine
plains township; in
modern day
NeiMongol Province
Wû-yuán City). Due
to his exceptional
strength and
bravery, he enlisted
into military at Jing
Zhou. When state
governor Ding Yuán
became cavalry
commander, he had
Lü Bù to be his
Second in
Command. He
treated Lü Bù like
his own son. After
the death of Han
Emperor Líng, Ding
Lü Fèng Xian aks Lü Bù
Courtesy of Creators Work-
shop’s Three Kingdoms Card
Game
Page 18
Lü Bù came from Wû-yuán jun (five plains county) Jîu-yuán
xiàn (nine plains township) which is located in modern day
Nei-Mongo Province’s Wû-yuán City.
Revisiting the Three Kingdoms
Articles
Lü Bù
Views from the East and the West

troops, and several
thousand cavalries. Lü Bù
had a horse named Red
Hare (possibly a gift from
Dông Zhuo). He often
joined with his fellow
generals, Chéng Lián and
Wèi Yuè, to spearhead the
attacks. He defeated Zhang
Yen and requested for
additional reinforcement.
But because his troops
discipline were bad and
they often-committed
robbery, Yuán Shào began
to think of him as a
nuisance. When Lü Bù
realized how Yuán Shào
felt about him, he asked to
be released. Yuán Shào
feared that Lü Bù might
come back and wrestle his
position away. He hired
assassins to eliminate Lü
Bù at night. They didn’t
succeed. Lü Bù fled
southward with Yuán
Shào’s troops hot on his
tail. But those troops never
really get close enough to
fight Lü Bù. His reputation
was well known.
Lü Bù met up with Zhang
Miâo, a close friend of Cáo
Cao. They admired each
other that they had formed
a blood brother. By then,
Zhang Miâo was already
resent Cáo Cao’s
achievement and also
feared that Yuán Shào may
pressure Cáo Cao to kill
him. Together with Chén
Gong, they plotted to
wrestle Yen Zhou away
consequences. There was
an incident over small
matter, he picked up a
hand-halberd and stabbed
Lü Bù. Fortunately, Lü Bù
was quick and dodge it; he
apologized to Dông Zhuo.
Though Dông Zhuo forgave
him, Lü Bù became
resentful. Often times,
Dông Zhuo asked Lü Bù to
stand guard at his house.
Lü Bù had an affair with a
Dông Zhuo’s servant girl
(which became the
legendary affair of Diao
Chán and Lü Bù), but he
was afraid that Dông Zhuo
would found out. This
caused additional anxiety.
Initially, Lü Bù was a
friend of Wáng Yûn, Si-tú
or Minister of Domestic
Affair, because they came
from the same region.
Later, when Lü Bù went to
see Wáng Yûn to vent some
steams of being nearly
killed by Dông Zhuo, Wáng
Yûn was in midst of
discussing with Sun Ruì, an
archer warrior servant,
about Dông Zhuo
assassination. They wanted
Lü Bù to be their inside
man. Lü Bù explained, “I
have father-son
relationship with Dông
Zhuo!”
Wáng Yûn argued, “Your
surname is Lü and thus
have no blood relation with
Dông Zhuo. You are in
constant fear of him, how
can that be a father-son
relationship?”
Lü Bù agreed and
personally slew Dông Zhuo.
Wáng Yûn promoted Lü Bù
to become Instill Bravery
General, additional perks
to make his status as high
as the Three Grands, and
award another township to
be Lü Bù’s fief. Together,
they took control of the
Imperial Court. Dông
Zhuo’s death had caused
much anger among people
from Liáng Zhou. When Lî
Jué and other decided to
retake Cháng-An, Lü Bù
could not defend it.
Around sixty days after the
death of Dông Zhuo, Lü Bù
fled with several hundreds
cavalry. He sought
audience with Yuán Shù.
Serving Other
Lords
Initially, Lü Bù thought that
by slaying Dông Zhuo, he
had done avenge for Yuán’s
family. Therefore Yuán Shù
would grant him audience.
Instead, Yuán Shù dislike
the fickleness of Lü Bù’s
nature and did not grant
the audience. Lü Bù
traveled north to seek
audience with Yuán Shào.
Together, they attacked
Zhang Yen, an ally of Gong-
sun Zàn during with Yuán
Shào’s bid for northern
supremacy. Zhang Yen had
ten thousand strong elite
Dông Zhuo — reputed
the second step father of
Lü Bù; also killed by his
foster son.
Courtesy of Koei’s Battle of Red
Cliff CCG
Ding Yuán — reputed the
first step-father of Lü Bù.
Died under Lü Bù’s greed.
Courtesy of Creators Workshop’s
Dragon Dynasty Card Game
Articles
Lü Bù

decent from the Heaven!”
Next day, everyone
gather for another feast.
Then all withdrew to return
home.
Lü Bù & Yuán Shù
Despite past incidents,
Yuán Shù decided to form
an alliance with Lü Bù. He
asked for the hand of Lü
Bù’s daughter to be his
son’s bride. Lü Bù agreed.
When Yuán Shù planned to
proclaim emperor, he sent
Han Yin to tell Lü Bù of his
plan and at the same time,
escorted Lü Bù’s daughter
back. When the local prime
minister, Chén Gui, heard
about such news, he was
afraid that once the
alliance is formed, it would
bring disaster for the
nation. So he sought
audience with Lü Bù and
said,
“Cáo Cao upheld the
emperor, rebuilt the nation,
his might shook four seas.
General should seek
coalition with him, then
Heaven Below would be as
stable as the Great Mount
Tai. Now, if you are to
associate with Yuán Shù
through marriage, then
people throughout Heaven
Below would call you
unjust and that is as
dangerous as stacking eggs
on top of one another.”
Lü Bù was harbored
anger at Yuán Shù who had
from Cáo Cao. They asked
Lü Bù to be the governor of
Yen Zhou. He accepted. Lü
Bù fought Cáo Cao to a
standstill for nearly a
hundred days. Then a
plague of locusts forced
both armies to withdraw.
Next year, Cáo Cao
renewed his attacks (these
will be detailed in
upcoming chapter 2 of Life
of Cáo Cao). After a series
of defeat, Lü Bù fled
eastward to seek audience
with Liú Bèi. When Liú Bèi
was away to attack Yuán
Shù, at the urge of Chén
Gong, Lü Bù usurped Liú
Bèi’s position as the
governor of Xú Zhou. When
Liú Bèi returned, Lü Bù
granted him the same
position and the same post
that was formerly his.
Governor of Xú
Zhou
Saw what had befall on Liú
Bèi, Yuán Shù decided to
counterattack by
commanded Jì Líng to lead
an army of thirty
thousands. Liú Bèi sent
messenger to Lü Bù to ask
for reinforcement. Lü Bù
asked opinions of his
followers.
They all advised,
“General often want to kill
Liú Bèi, now let Yuán Shù
do the job for you.”
Lü Bù replied, “No so, if
Yuán Shù defeated Liú Bèi,
he would link up new
alliance which would then
have us surrounded.
Therefore, it is in our best
interest to rescue Liú Bèi.”
With that, he led a
thousand infantries and
two hundred cavalries to
rescue Liú Bèi. Upon
hearing his arrival, Jì Líng
called off his attacks. Lü Bù
invited Jì Líng for a feast.
In midst of banquet, Lü Bù
spoke to Jì Líng.
“Xuán-dé (Liú Bèi’s
personal name) is my
younger brother. He is
besieged by all sides so I
come to help him. I dislike
watching men fight with
each other and much
prefer to resolve the issue
peacefully.”
Lü Bù told his troop to
set up a halberd at the gate
(there were no distance
given in the official text)
and said,
“Everyone, see how I
would hit the small tip of
that halberd. If I did it with
one shot, my lords, this
battle is over. If not, then
you may fight between
yourself.”
Lü Bù picked up his bow
and arrow and hit the small
tip of that halberd in one
shot. Everyone was
shocked and exclaimed,
“General is indeed
Diao Chán — the
beauty that divided
between a father and
his son. Was she real or
a folk-legend?
Courtesy of Creators
Card Game
Wáng Yûn — chief
architect of Dông
Zhuo’s downfall, yet,
too inflexible to save
the Dynasty.
Card Game
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Lü Bù

When Yuán Shù heard
what Lü Bù had done, he
became angry. He allied
with Wei Xian and Yang
Fèng, and ordered his great
general, Zhang Xun, to
attack Lü Bù. Lü Bù
complained to Chén Deng,
“Now Yuán Shù is
attacking because of you.
What are you going to do?”
Chén Deng replied, “Wei
Xian, Yang Fèng and Yuán
Shù allied too suddenly
and is not plan ahead. It
will not be in their
individual’s interest to help
out one another. Child
Deng (common express for
an unmarried man to refer
himself) figure that they
are like caged up roosters
and would not stay
together long. It is not hard
to break them apart.”
Lü Bù adopted Chén
Deng’s scheme and sent
men to negotiate with Wei
Xian and Yang Fèng. Both
did agreed to Lü Bù’s
proposal and surrender to
him. Together, they
attacked Yuán Shù with the
understood that all loots
are to be divided between
Wei and Yang forces. Zhang
Xun was soundly defeated.
Fall of Lü Bù
On the Third Year of
Rebuilding Peace (198 A.
D.), Lü Bù rebelled again.
This time, he sided with
declined to help him when
he first seek audience.
Despite the fact that his
daughter was on route, he
sent men to bring her back.
He broke off the wedding
with Yuán Shù and sent
Han Yin to Xû-chang (then
the third capital of Late
Han Dynasty) to be
executed. Chén Gui wanted
his son, Chén Deng to go
see Cáo Cao, but Lü Bù
refused. Then, Chóa-tíng
(the imperial court) send
ministers to promote Lü Bù
to General of the Left
Army. Lü Bù was pleased
and agreed to let Chén
Deng go to Xû-chang to
thanks Emperor in his
stead. Chén Deng met Cáo
Cao and reported that Lü
Bù is brave but lack of
scheme, lack of human
feelings, and tend to desert
his men in a heartbeat. It is
best to have him remove as
quickly as possible.
Cáo Cao said, “Lü Bù’s
ambition is like a wolf, and
ought not to keep alive for
extended period. If it is not
from you, I would hardly
know the details.”
Cáo Cao immediately
promoted Chén Deng to
the position of two
thousand stones of grain
salary and have him
became the Administrator
of Guâng-líng Prefecture (in
modern day Jiangsu
Province Jiangdu city).
When Chén Deng was
about to leave, Cáo Cao
bade him farewell, grabbed
his hand and said,
“The situation in the
East is in your hand.”
He commanded Chén
Deng to be ready to answer
the call from within.
Originally, Lü Bù wanted
Chén Deng to go to Xû-
chang to lobby for the
governorship of Xú Zhou.
When he returned, Lü Bù
was upset, he took out a
short halberd, chopped
table in half and accused,
“Your father advised me
to assist Grand Cáo and
broke off marriage with
Yuán Shù. Now, I got
nothing to show for. You
and your father are
instead, promoted. If this is
not treason, what is?
Explained yourself!”
Chén Deng calmly and
slowly replied,
“When I met Grand Cáo,
I told him that General is to
be treated like a tiger; you
have to feed it else it would
kill. Grand Cáo replied that
it was not true; General is
to be treated like an eagle,
you have to keep it hungry.
If it sated, it will fly away
from you.”
Lü Bù was pleased with
the statement.
A quick reminder
from Liú Bèi had
shorten Lü Bù’s
career.
Workshop’s Dragon
Dynasty Card Game
Chén Deng — his
advises destroyed Lü Bù
Card Game
Articles
Lü Bù

Chén Shòu (the author of
San-gú-zhì, Ambitions of
the Three Kingdoms, the
official historical records)
critiqued of Lü Bù as
follow:
“Lü Bù’s bravery is like a
ferocious tiger, not known
for heroic tactic nor
devious stratagem,
frivolous and tricky,
repeatedly inconsistent,
and set his heart on
profitability. From
antiquity to present, a man
like his, never did not face
annihilation.”
East View
The consentient view of
most Asians followed along
Chén Shòu critique. Of the
Five Relations exhorted by
Confucius, Lü Bù had
broken three: Minister to
his Lord, Son to his Father,
Friend to Friend. Most
readers would forgive him
if the cause for the break
were for greater good. But
that is not the case. Lü Bù
did them for personal
gains.
Another major failing of
Lü Bù was his repeated
inconsistency, the result of
his selfishness. Though he
knew what he wanted in
life, he can not follow one
path leading to it. Had he
followed Ding Yuán to the
very end, Dông Zhuo would
not be able to control the
imperial court. And Lü Bù’s
Yuán Shù and send Gao
Shùn to attack Liú Bèi. Cáo
Cao sent Xiàhóu Dun to
assist. Gao Shùn defeated
both Liú Bèi and Xiàhóu
Dun. Cáo Cao forced to
personally led the
campaign against Lü Bù.
His forces arrived at Xià Pi.
He explained the cost of
continual resistance to Lü
Bù. Lü Bù was hesitated
and thought about
surrender. But Chén Gong
and others feared that they
have already beyond Cáo
Cao’s mercy and talked Lü
Bù out of surrendering. Lü
Bù send man to ask for
reinforcement from Yuán
Shù. He personally led a
thousand plus cavalries to
battle. They were defeated
and retreated back to the
city. Yuán Shù never sent
reinforcement. Lü Bù was
fierce but artless, yet he
distrusted other. He can
not control his troops nor
could he trust his officers.
And his officers all have
opinions of their own and
bickered among
themselves. Hence, every
battle they fought was the
losing one. Cáo Cao dug
moat around the city, he
was in no hurry. The city
was siege for three months.
There was no unity among
Lü Bù’s officials. Hòu
Chéng, Sòng Xiàn and Wei
Yuè captured Chén Gong
and led their troops to
surrender. Lü Bù led his
personal troops to the
White Door Tower and
overlooked the forces
surround his city. He
finally decided to
surrender.
When Lü Bù brought
before Cáo Cao, he
complained, “The rope is
too tight, couldn’t you
loosen it up a bit?”
Cáo Cao replied, “When
one captured a tiger, it’s
best to held it tight.”
Lü Bù begged Cáo Cao,
“Enlightened Grand’s worst
worry was none other than
me, Lü Bù. Now, I have
submitted to you, there will
be no more difficulty in
Heaven Below. If the
Enlightened Grand leads
the infantry, and I cavalry,
then soon Heaven Below
would be at peace.”
Seeing that Cáo Cao was
tempted by the ideas, Liú
Bèi quickly reminded Cáo
Cao.
“Does Enlightened Grand
not remember what Lü Bù
did to Ding Jiàn Yáng (Ding
Yuán’s official title) and
Dông Tài-shuài (Dông
Zhuo’s final title)?”
Cáo Cao nodded his
head. Lü Bù pointed to Liú
Bèi and exclaimed, ‘That
bastard is not to be
trusted!”
Lü Bù was executed by
strangulation.
Many have exploited Lü
Bù’s weakness.
Game
Battle of Heroic Trio
or Unfair Fight?
shop’s Dragon Dynasty
Card Game
Articles
Lü Bù

his troops during his fight
with Zhang Yan. He had
defeated Cáo Cao many
times in battles, but still
lost the ownership of Yen
Zhou. And eventually, he
lost Xú Zhou! No wonder,
Chén Gong bitterly accused
Lü Bù, “If only this
simpleton was to follow my
advise, our position would
be reverse!” as his
explanation why they lost
to Cáo Cao.
West View
Nearly most Western
readers, not precondition
by ATK, RTK, or even Rújia
(Confucianism), have
nothing but admiration for
Lü Bù. After all, heroes like
Lü Bù could be found in
western myths and
literatures. Achilles,
Simpson and Lancelot, to
name a few, all shared
similar traits as Lü Bù.
They were considered to be
tragic heroes. What
constituted noble about Lü
Bù is his perfection as the
warrior. Though it did not
mention in ATK and RTK, it
is obvious that Lü Bù had
no high political ambition.
He was readily to serve
under the Han Dynasty, or
Dông Zhuo or even Cáo
Cao without qualm. His joy
was to be in the thick of a
battle. And his downfall,
personal gratification,
seemed insignificant in
light to Westerners whose
fame would be just as great
because he protected Ding
Yuán. Had he followed
Dông Zhuo to the very end,
Lü Bù would be rich and
wealthy. And he would be
the man that the Alliance
would fear the most in
battle. Had he followed
consistently of Chén
Gong’s advise, Lü Bù would
be the warlord, Cáo Cao
hate to meet in battle and
the death of Liú Bèi. Any of
these routes would lead Lü
Bù to greatness had he but
followed it through.
Lü Bù the warrior was
par none, however, Lü Bù
the commander had left a
lot to desire for. There was
no doubt that he was a very
charismatic man and his
troops loved him. But in
battle, he could not lead
his force to victory except
by brute force. There were
not many records of his
days under Ding Yuán. But
most likely, Lü Bù was used
as the commander of
shocked troops or the
spearhead. There is not
much tactics required, just
bravery and ferociousness.
Under Dông Zhuo, Lü Bù
received more troops and
more commanding
position. Though ATK is
muted on Lü Bù’s
involvement in battle, RTK
described how Lü Bù
literally stopped the
advance of Alliance at the
Tiger Trap Pass. Lü Bù took
on the Three Brothers after
he slew one general,
defeated two other
generals. That last fight
came to a standstill, Lü Bù
was getting tired. So he
broke free from the fight
and retreated. Somehow, in
RTK, this became a rout!
Advisors told Dông Zhuo
to withdraw because troops
were distraught at Lü Bù’s
defeat. (This has to be one
heavy dose of artistic
license. If anything,
defending troops ought to
be in high morale because
their champion, Lü Bù, had
defeated two generals in
previous day; today, he
defeated three generals and
then took on three other
generals at once. He fought
them to a standstill. When
he withdraw, others did not
have the chivalry of letting
him go. Instead, they
chased him relentlessly.)
Still, even the RTK author
could not deny the fact
that the Alliance had move
no further toward Lùo-yáng
since then. But this just
reinforced the image of Lü
Bù the warrior.
During the brief
interlude after the death of
Dông Zhuo and the
governorship of Xú Zhou,
Lü Bù the inept general was
clearly demonstrated. He
lost capital city to two
mediocre generals: Lî Jué
and Guo Si. He could not
maintain the discipline of
Lü Bù, the greatest
warrior of the Three
Kingdoms.
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Not many have
demonstrated such
physical prowess as
Lü Bù
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Lü Bù

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Lü Bù
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Game Review
Creator Workshop’s
Dragon Dynasty Starter Set:
Three Kingdoms I
across the field of battle,
but you watch with a wry
grin crossing your face,
picturing the image of
victory. Then a great cry
rises up from your flank
and you turn to see what
you believe is enemy
reinforcements. Instead,
you find betrayal and
You watch greedily as your
armies march across
mystical China, handing
you an endless stream of
victories. Every river they
crossed ran red, every farm
they crossed was barren.
Victory was only a fingers
width away from you as
you come to look upon the
great fortress of the Wu
Emperor. Behind the thick
walls lay the Wu Emperor,
and with him your chance
for victory. With great joy,
you order your forces to
launch their attack on the
fort. The clang of swords
and the screams of the
dead echo an eerie chorus
prized possessions or
beautiful women in order
to keep Lü Bù loyal. And Lü
Bù was more than a match
against Guan Yû and Zhang
Fei in battle.
Having fought against
Cáo Cao on numerous
times and with perfect
understanding that Cáo
Cao had different political
agenda than him, Liú Bèi
knew that eventually, he
would have to face Cáo Cao
in battle. He had to do
what he can to cripple Cáo
Cao’s wing of ambition.
Therefore, his caution may
sound as if his concern for
Cáo Cao, but had weaken
the Enlightened Grand in
the end. Forget about any
promise made to his
brother-in-arm.
star athletes have achieved
incredible fame and
fabulous wealth. To these
readers, Lü Bù was
meteoric star cut short by
Liú Bèi, his brother in arm.
When I first read RTK, I
did not give much thought
of Lü Bù’s plea to Cáo Cao.
“Enlightened Grand’s
worst worry was none
other than me, Lü Bù. Now,
I have submitted to you,
there will be no more
difficulty in Heaven Below.
If the Enlightened Grand
leads the infantry, and I
cavalry, then soon Heaven
Below would be at peace.”
And why Liú Bèi
reminded Cáo Cao.
“Does Enlightened Grand
not remember what Lü Bù
did to Ding Jiàn Yáng (Ding
Yuán’s official title) and
Dông Tài-shuài (Dông
Zhuo’s final title)?”
Especially after he
promised to help Lü Bù get
clemency.
Thanks to discussion
with Gradius King via the
Three Kingdoms
newsgroup, I realized why
Liú Bèi did what he had to
do. From both books, it
was plain that Cáo Cao was
weighing the benefits of
having Lü Bù served him or
have him dead. If not
prompt by Liú Bèi, most
likely Cáo Cao would
release Lü Bù. Why,
because Cáo Cao was a
better manager than Ding
Yuán and Dông Zhuo. He
knew exactly what were Lü
Bù’s strengths and
weaknesses. And Cáo Cao,
being practical man, would
have no problem gave away

Game Review
Creator Workshop’s
Dragon Dynasty Starter Set:
Three Kingdoms I
Sample Artifact Card
Game
Page 25
“Dragon Dynasty:
Three Kingdoms is, in
the end, a great game
that is easy to learn
and may take forever
to truly master, the
true essence behind
what a Collectible Card
Game should be.“
Volume 1, Issue 1
of the cards. As an
American who has almost
zero background in China,
the names can be a bit odd.
Furthermore, there are a lot
of cards that require you to
name a character in the
deck so that you can search
for it, but when many
characters share the same
family name this often
results in vague
descriptions of characters,
which does not work for
characters that on occasion
look like one another.
Dragon Dynasty: Three
Kingdoms is, in the end, a
great game that is easy to
learn and may take forever
to truly master, the true
essence behind what a
Collectible Card Game
should be. If you’re a fan
of Chinese history, check it
out. If you love the
Romance Of The Three
Kingdoms, then you should
check it out. If your a
gamer whose been feeling
that most of the new
games, and indeed most of
the old games, have lost
sight in the essence behind
what a CCG should be,
check it out. Heck, check
this game out anyway,
you're sure to like.
— Derek Graeff
treachery. Some of your
General's, promised riches
and titles far exceeding
those you could offer, had
turned on you and were
now fighting your own
forces. Unable to change
the tide of battle, you bid a
hasty retreat away from the
fortress, and away from
victory.
Dragon Dynasty: Three
Kingdoms is an English
translation of a Chinese
based card game. The
actual set, Three Kingdoms,
is based upon the people,
places and events depicted
in the ancient Chinese
story, as well as from
history. In the game,
players scramble to be the
first to score a total of 10
victory points, while trying
to prevent the opponent
from achieving the same
destiny. However, the
multitude of other victory
and loosing conditions
printed on various cards
themselves makes this a
difficult task in and of
itself. Mechanically, the
game borrows from various
other card games out on
the market while at the
same time putting its own
twist on it. For instance,
the combat mechanic is
similar to that seen in Star
Wars. Compare the total
combat stat plus a random
factor, a dice value on the
top card of your deck, with
the opponents. The higher
number wins, the loser
being discarded. However,
since the random factor is
the equivalent of a six-
sided dice, you'll never see
something higher than a
six. Another mechanic,
which serves to further
immerse the player into the
role of somebody pulling
the strings from behind the
scene, is the bribery action.
This action allows players
to try and gain control of
an opposing player’s
character. So, as soon as
someone hits the table,
they are open game.
Like all games, Dragon
Dynasty: Three Kingdoms
does suffer from its own
faults as well. Most of
these problems have
nothing to do with the
actual mechanics of the
game, nor the cards
themselves. The first
problem lies in the
rulebook. The game is easy
to learn, but the rulebook
is just a few pages that
does not cover everything
one needs to know in order
to play. Another problem
albeit only for somebody
who notices almost every
error is in spelling and
grammar, which can easily
be worked out. The last
true issue with the game
lies in the names of some
Sample Location Card
Card Game

“In a brief skirmish,
Cáo Cao’s Ambition
had burned away by
combined knowledge
of local climate and
Wu’s treachery.”
There are two categories:
Fate and Battle (for lack of
better translation) cards.
Fate Cards acted like Lands
in M:TG. It comes in three
flavors: Heaven, Earth, and
Man. This concept
reinforced with the ideas
that Cáo Cao was favored
by Heaven by being at the
right place at the right
time; Sun Quán was
favored by Earth by being
the defender of his land;
and Liú Bèi was favored by
Man as he has lots of
brilliant advisors and
fearsome generals. Each of
Battle cards requires a
combination of Heaven,
Earth, and Man Fate cards
in order to activate. For
example, to bring General
Cáo Cao into play, he
would require 5 Heaven
Cards and 1 Man Card; to
bring General Sun Quán
into play, he would require
5 Earth Cards; and to bring
General Liú Bèi into play,
he would require 1 Heaven
Card, 1 Earth Card, and 5
Man Cards.)
Battle Cards are further
divided by colors and by
types. There are four
colors. Red represents
Heaven and Cáo Cao’s
forces. Blue represents
Earth and Sun Quán’s
forces. Green represents
Man and Liú Bèi’s forces.
White represents other
Introduction
Ambition of the Three
Kingdoms: Battle of Red
Cliff (hereinafter known as
ATK:BRC) is another dying
CCG on the subject of RTK.
This product came from
Koei, the maker of
wonderful computer games
such as Three Kingdoms,
Bandits of Ancient China,
Gengis Khan, and etc. ATK:
BRC is Koei’s second entry
into a non-computer game
industry. And like its
predecessor, Ambition of
the Three Kingdoms:
Tabletop Role Game
(hereinafter known as ATK:
TRG), it suffered a slow
death. Whether it is due to
lack of support, ho-hum
game mechanic, or small
number of gamers. We will
never know. However, it
may be of value to those
who are interested in
collecting paraphernalia
related to RTK.
ATK:BRC focused on one
specific event of Three
Kingdoms era, the Battle of
Red Cliff. This was the only
place and time where all
three leaders (Cáo Cao, Liú
Bèi and Sun Quán) were
within each other’s reach.
Event leading up to this
event was that Cáo Cao had
just acquired Jing Zhou
from Liú Biâo’s younger
son. Heard that his
nemesis, Liú Bèi had fled
south with group of
refugee. Cáo Cao decided
to press his luck and went
after Liú Bèi as opposed to
consolidate his hold on
Jing Zhou. Meantime, Liú
Bèi had send Zhugé Liàng
to Sun Quán and hoped for
an alliance. In a famous
battle of debate, Zhugé
Liàng defeated the dove
faction within Sun Quán’s
court, and enraged both
Sun Quán and Zhou Yú to
join Liú Bèi in fighting off
Cáo Cao’s advance. During
interim of the preparation
for both sides to do one
battle that ended all battle,
a battle of wits occurred
between Zhugé Liàng and
Zhou Yú with Lû Sù being
portrayed as the bumbling
fool. In a brief skirmish,
Cáo Cao’s Ambition had
burned away by combined
knowledge of local climate
and Wu’s treachery. As the
Prime Minister fled north,
he encountered not once,
but three of Liú Bèi’s Five
Tiger Generals. He barely
escaped with his life. At the
end of Battle of Red Cliff,
the formation of Three
Kingdoms was inevitable.
Component
At first glance, there are lot
of similarity between ATK:
BRC and Magic: The
Gathering (hereinafter
known as M:TG) There are
258 cards in ATK:BRC.
Sample Fate Cards
Red Cliff CCG
Game Review:
Koei’s
Ambition of the Three Kingdoms:
Battle of Red Cliff
The Red Faction’s
General Card
Red Cliff CCG

Villainous Cáo Cao. This is
very similar to Legends of
Five Rings used of same
personality card with
different experience trait. A
major advantage of General
cards over Troop cards is
that former can attack
independently of Troop
cards.
Most troops can not
attack on their own, they
required a General Card to
lead them. Some of troop
cards have special trait that
when they attacks, they can
only be defended by
opposing cards of same
traits (e.g. only those with
archer trait can defend
against attacking army with
archer trait). Again, this is
very similar to M:TG.
Items are power-up for
Generals. Most of them
increased attached
general’s Offense and/or
Defense. One reduces a
General’s Offense and
increase Defense by the
same amount (i.e. Baby Liú
Chán). The most interesting
one is the Item Card called,
Spirit of Lü Bù. This gives
+4/+4 to a general’s
Offense and Defense. It
also forces an army of a
Lord with higher
Endurance to retreat from
battle. These Item cards
have certain costs in
Heaven, Earth and/or Man.
influences.
The types of Battle cards
are Lords, Generals and
Troops, Items, Events, and
Schemes.
There are fifteen types
of Lords with five for each
of Heave, Earth and Man
color type. At the start of
the game, each player
selects a Lord to represent
him. Lord cards are noted
for their endurance or hit
points, starting hand size,
maximum hand size, and
one special ability. Both
Lord Cáo Cao and Lord Liú
Bèi have highest endurance
(21). Lord Liú Bèi and Lord
Lù Xùn have largest
starting hand size (7). And
the maximum number of
cards in hand is 8 and
share by Lord Liú Bèi, Lord
Simâ Yì and Lord Xún Yù.
Lord Cáo Cao’s special
ability is that all his
Generals and Troops gain
+1 Offense. Lord Sun
Quán’s special ability is
that every time his general
is defeated, he gains
endurance equal to that
general’s defensive score
up to maximum of 20. Lord
Liú Bèi’s special ability is
that all his Generals and
Troops gain +1 Defense.
Generals & Troops are
the largest components of
ATK:BRC. Famous generals,
devious advisors, and
valiant soldiers have
appeared. They all have
certain costs in Heaven,
Earth, and/or Man. At the
bottom right of the cards,
each is ranked, from left to
right, in its Offense,
Defense, and Knowledge
score. This plays as same
as Magic where one used
Offense to overcome
Defense to determine any
points go through to
reduce Lord’s Endurance.
Knowledge allows player to
use another card type,
Scheme. Player may pool
any number of Generals or
Advisors in order to satisfy
a Scheme card’s Knowledge
requirement.
Certain Generals and
Advisors have special
traits. These special
abilities gives certain
benefits in combat like
Zhang Fei, he can attack
twice with his army. It is
also interesting to see that
all of Lord Cards also
appeared in General Cards.
Some turned up more than
twice. This reflects that
personality in various
stages at Battle of Red
Cliff. For instance, beside a
Lord card for Cáo Cao,
there are three additional
General cards for Cáo Cao.
One is known as Cáo Cao at
Yang-tze. He has different
cost, attributes, and ability
than say Fleeing Cáo Cao or
Blue Faction’s Scheme
Card
Red Cliff CCG
Green Faction’s Advisor
Card
Red Cliff CCG
Page 27
“Player may pool any
number of Generals
or Advisors in order
to satisfy a Scheme
card’s Knowledge
requirement. “
Volume 1, Issue 1
Game Review:
Koei’s
Ambition of the Three Kingdoms:
Battle of Red Cliff

area along with rest of
them. Then troops are
reorganized. Scheme card
can be played.
3) Politics — Player can
brings out card(s) from his
hand to play as long as
there are sufficient Fate
Cards to pay for the cost.
Scheme card can be played.
4) Battle — There are six
phases in a Battle.
a) Assign Attacking
Force
b) Any Scheme Card
can be played
c) Assign Defending
Force
d) Any Scheme Card
can be played
e) Compared
Attacking Strength vs.
Defending Strength —
either attack fails or
defending lord takes
damage equal to the
difference between
Attacking Strength
and Defending
Strength.
f) Resolution. — Both
participating forces
bowed their units.
5) Aftermath — Player
can brings out card(s) from
his hand to play as long as
there are sufficient Fate
Cards to pay for the cost.
Scheme card can be played.
Events are situations or
famous moments occurred
around the time of Battle
of Red Cliff. Some are
natural events, and other
are men made. There are
those that give benefits to
the card owner. And then
there are those that give
penalty to another players.
All these have varies
Earth, and/or Man cost.
Schemes are equivalent
of spells in any other CCGs.
Here contains some of
notable stratagems of that
time like Borrow the
Southeast Wind, Empty
Castle Scheme, Borrow
Arrows with Ships of Straw,
and etc. Each Scheme Card
has knowledge cost. Player
tapped any number of
Generals and Advisors
cards in order to activate
or play the Scheme Card.
The most powerful of all
Scheme Cards is the
Stratagem of Fire. It costs 6
knowledge. It destroyed all
non Green color force on
board in addition to doing
3 points of damage to non
Green Lords!
Game Play
Each player constructed a
deck that contained 15
fates card of any
Earth and/or Man and a
minimum of 40 battle
cards with no more than 3
of same cards. It is possible
to play a Cáo Cao deck:
Lord Cáo Cao, 3 x Cáo Cao
at Yang-tze, 3 x Fleeing Cáo
Cao and 3 x Villainous Cáo
Cao. However, be aware
that once a player played a
personality card (for
example, Zhang Fei), then
no other player can bring
into play any variation of
that personality card.
At the beginning of a
game, a referee or someone
shuffles their Fate cards
into one deck that places at
the center of the play area.
Each player revealed what
Lord they are playing
(though don’t know what
steps are to be taken when
there are multiple people
with the same Lord card).
Both players determine
who goes first. This can be
done with traditional
paper-rock-scissors, a roll
of dice, or by seniority.
There are six steps
during a player’s turn.
1) Waiting for Orders —
Player straightened out his
bowed cards and the Fate
Cards in play. No Scheme
card can be played.
2) Organization — Player
first draws a Battle Card
then a Fate Card. Battle
Card is taken into Player’s
hand. Fate Card is to be
placed in the center of play
White Neutral Faction
Event Card
Red Cliff CCG
Sample Army Card
Red Cliff CCG
“It is possible to play a
Cáo Cao deck: Lord
Cáo Cao, 3 x Cáo Cao
at Yang-tze, 3 x Fleeing
Cáo Cao and 3 x
Villainous Cáo Cao.“
Game Review:
Koei’s
Ambition of Three Kingdoms: Battle of
Red Cliff

Back of a Card
Red Cliff CCG
Item Card
Red Cliff CCG
Page 29
“Koei has no
intention of export
outside of Japan.”
Volume 1, Issue 1
Game Review:
Koei’s
Ambition of Three Kingdoms: Battle of
Red Cliff
with the grandfather of
CCGs.
Ultimately, RTK:BRC is
relegated to item of
interest to RTK collectors
because the lack of support
through continue
expansion and the lack of
english translation. Koei
has several advantages
over the other two RTK
CCGs, namely the brand
position. Most people,
includes yours truly, knew
about RTK through playing
Koei’s RTK computer game.
Even after withdraw from
US market, people still
remembered fondly playing
RTK on pc or video system.
So, if Koei is to seriously
expanding outside of
Japan, they would be One.
For people who are
interested in seeking to
collect RTK:BRC, Japan
Yahoo!Auction is the best
source for getting them at
relatively cheap price. The
only problem is that most
sellers do not ship oversea
and most likely don’t speak
English.
6) Fins — Player makes
sure that his hand-size
does not exceed the
maximum of his Lord card.
Scheme card can be play.
This sequence of play
alternates among players
until one player remains
with his Lord having more
than 0 endurance.
Evaluation
RTK:BRC have several
advantages over other RTK
CCGs. After all, Koei has
the brand recognition as it
has recently produced
Romance of Three
Kingdoms VIII for
Japanese, Korean, and
Traditional Chinese edition.
It has database full of
Romance of Three
Kingdoms images and arts
and some of which are very
beautiful to look at. It has
an unique game mechanic
of Scheme cards not
limited solely by Advisor
Personality (as opposed to
other CCGs where only
Wizards can cast spells). It
solved the problem of
having unique personality
by having multiple of them
in various stages (as
opposed to other CCGs
where required Experience
1, Experience 2, Experience
3, etc. trait that makes the
game mechanic awkward or
those that only show up
once) during Three
Kingdoms storyline. Most
players would recognize
that Villainous Cáo Cao
comes before Cáo Cao at
Yang-tze which comes
before Fleeing Cáo Cao.
However, it also has
some minor nuisances.
First of all, it is in Japanese.
Koei has no intention of
export outside of Japan.
Second, the idea of mixing
Fate cards together would
not sit well with most
players. Even though these
are considered common
cards, people do take
possession of their cards,
common or not, seriously.
Even by using card sleeves,
it would reduce the
uncertainty, as player
would recognize which
cards are his and the
possibility of drawing a
particular type of Fate card.
And the game mechanic
has a strong similarity M:
TG. It is a minor nuisance
because most people are
familiar and comfortable

Deception are all
considered as Sorcery. It
requires X amount of cost
in order to activate.
Game Play
A player has to construct at
minimum of 40 cards deck
with no more than 3 of a
kind cards. And each
player starts the game with
20 life (or endurance to
borrow from other RTK
CCG). Players alternate
their turns once they
determined who goes first.
There are eight steps
during each player’s turn.
Untap—player
straighten all of his cards
that were tapped or turned
90 degree from previous
turn. However, there are
cards that may require
longer duration of being
tapped.
Upkeep—player paid
Upkeep on certain
creatures or artifacts in
order to keep them in play.
Draw Card—except on
the first turn, player draws
a card.
Main—here player
summon creatures and/or
use sorcery as long as he
has sufficient land to pay
for the cost and that it
would not result in losing
his life below 1.
Combat—player used
the summoned creatures to
attack with except that
creatures summoned this
Introduction
Portal: Three Kingdoms
(hereinafter known as P:
TK) is Wizards of the
Coast’s attempt to expand
its share into Asian market.
After all, RTK is a popular
subject in the East. To
make it into playable card
game would attract more
Asian consumers into CCG
market. Well, something
went wrong along the way
and P:TK became the
relative that WOTC is too
embarrassed to introduce
into US market.
P:TK is an 180 cards
Portal expansion with both
a 40 cards pre-constructed
starter deck or 8 cards
boosters. The scope of P:TK
is to cover entire period
from 189 AD to 249 AD.
Component
There are two main types
of cards: Land vs. Non-
land. There are five colors
of Land cards ranged from
Green (forest), Red
(mountain), Blue (island),
Black (swamp), and White
(plain). These cards power
Non-land cards.
Non-land cards are
further divided into
Creatures and Sorcery.
These cards are also color-
coded. Black is associated
all things Wei Kingdom;
you will find Cáo Cao as
Legend, Cunning Advisor
as Advisor, and Wei Scout
as Soldier. Blue is
associated all thing Wu
Kingdom; you will find Sun
Quán as Creature-Legend,
Council of Advisors as
Creature-Advisors, and Red
Cliff Armada as Creature-
Ships. Green is associated
mystics, barbarians and
nature; you will find Lady
Zhurong as Creature-
Legend, Taoist Hermit as
Creature-Mystic, and
Southern Elephant as
Creature-Elephant. Red is
associated with other
minor players of the Three
Kingdom era; you will find
Diaochan as Creature-
Legend, Yellow Scarves
Troops as Creature-
Soldiers, and Imperial
Recruiter as Creature-
Advisor. White is
associated all thing Shu
Kingdom; you will find Liu
Bei as Legend, Shu Farmer
as Farmer, and Shu Foot
Soldier as Soldier. Then
there are the twelve Zodiac
Creatures from Green, Red
and Black color schemes.
Though they have flavor
texts derived from the
Three Kingdoms novel,
these creatures are not part
of the storyline. It seems
that game designer just
want to slap some
creatures on in order to fill
the space.
Famous events in RTK
are considered to be
Sorcery Cards in P:TK. (Liu
Bei’s) Vengeance, (Emperor
Xian’s Blooded) Imperial
Edict, and (Zhou Yu’s)
Cao Cao, Legendary
Creature of Black
Faction.
Courtesy of WOTC’s Portal:
Three Kingdoms CCG
Famous events in RTK
are considered to be
Sorcery in Portal:
Three Kingdoms
Game Review
Wizard’s of the Coast
Mana Cards from three
of five possible
factions.
Three Kingdoms CCG

of having 12 more
character from the classic
novel. Third, the designers
of P:TK have little
knowledge of characters in
romance of three
kingdoms. The most
glaring error is that Sun Ce
has lower offensive/
defensive strength than
Sun Quan in P:TK. Lastly, P:
TK seemed static in a sense
that characters are taken
from specific period of
their lives. There is no
sense of character
development or changes as
most apparently in Koei’s
RTK:BRC.
Grant, all but the first
issue seemed nit-pick from
a RTK fanboy. But then
readers of this journal have
more knowledge about
Romance of Three
Kingdoms than average
audience. Therefore, it is
safe to point out these
seemly nit-pickings faults
with P:TK.
P:TK is a great interest
to those who loves to
collect all things Three
Kingdoms. It is an okay
expansion set for M:TG
players. For non-
Americans, this can be
another example of how
ignorant American
marketers botching up
another culture’s history.
P:TK can be found in
online auction such as
Ebay.com, just be prepared
to pay for an exuberant
round can not attack. They
suffered summon sickness.
Attacker selects creature or
creatures. Defender
selected his. Only creatures
with same special trait (i.e.
flying, charging, flanking)
can block attacking
creatures of same trait.
Once both players have
selected their creatures.
Attacker compared its
offensive strength against
defending creature’s
defensive strength. If
offense is less than defense
then attacker returns
tapped and do no damage
to the defender. If offense
is equal to defense, then
the defending creature dies
while protecting its master.
Attacker returned and
tapped. If offense is greater
than defense, then the
defending creature dies
and defending player lost
life point equals to the
difference between offense
and defense strength.
When player satisfies with
his attack does he progress
to next step.
Main 2—Player may cast
any sorcery or summon
creatures provide that
there are still some lands
left to power the card.
End—Here is where any
sorcery effects or game
effects that have the
duration state, “end at end
of the turn”. This is that
End of turn stage.
Clean-up—Player counts
how many cards in his
hand. If necessary, he has
to discard cards from his
hand down to maximum
hand size.
The object of the game
is to reduce opponent’s life
force to 0 or less.
Evaluation
This game has several
things in its favor. It has
good Chinese style
artworks as most of the
artists were from China on
par with Koei’s Romance of
Three Kingdoms: Battle of
Red Cliff. It has brand
recognition as most card
gamers were familiar with
the M:TG card mechanic. It
has the marketing clout as
Wizards of the Coast, the
originator of collectible
card game. All in all, most
expect this to be the hit out
of all four Three Kingdoms
theme card games.
However, P:TK was dead
before it got a chance to
start. First of all, why
Wizards choose to release
P:TK solely in Asia with
English, Chinese, Japanese
and Korean edition and not
release in US which is its
strongest consumer base.
The translations are
already available. Second,
P:TK has the smallest
selection of familiar
characters from Romance
of Three Kingdoms story. If
anything, Zodiac Creatures
should be replaced in favor
Why are Zodiac
Creatures included but
not other more famous
RTK personalities?
Three Kingdoms CCG
Empty City Ruse is con-
sidered to be White
Faction Sorcery.
Three Kingdoms CCG
Game Review

about China, the Japanese
have one huge advantage.
That is, they use kanji
(Chinese ideographs) as a
part of their writing
system. This means that
the names of the
characters appearing in
Three Kingdoms (and there
are a lot of them, believe
me!) can be rendered in the
same form they are in
Chinese, and they are
therefore easier to
recognise and remember. It
also means that the
occasional puns about the
composition of characters'
names become
comprehensible, since
Japanese readers will
understand the structure
of the ideographs which
lies behind such puns.
One possible
disadvantage is that, with
very few exceptions,
Japanese readers are totally
ignorant of the
pronunciation of the
names. A common habit of
the Japanese is to name
Chinese people using the
This review is done by a
friend of mine who lived in
Japan. I came upon his
website and remembered
this review. I have asked
and received the
permission to reprint here.
So here is Paul Mason's
review of the Three
Kingdoms Role Playing
Game.
Sangokushi Engi
Sangokushi Engi is best
translated 'Romance of the
Three Kingdoms Role-play'.
Although published by the
Japanese company Koei,
famous for its computer
strategy games, this is
actually a face-to-face (or
'tabletalk' as the Japanese
say) rolegame. Like most
Japanese role-playing
games, it is marred by the
use of tacky manga-style
artwork throughout. On the
other hand, unlike almost
every other Japanese
rolegame (except the Edo
period chambara game I'm
considering getting next) it
eschews crappy boiled
down D&D-derived western
hack fantasy backgrounds
for something a little more
substantial. The something
more substantial is the
mammoth Chinese epic of
the fall of the Han dynasty,
Romance of the Three
Kingdoms. Since the novel
form of the legend was
written around the same
time as The Water Margin
and the two are considered
the leading examples of
traditional Chinese
historical adventure fiction,
I'm sure you can imagine
that my interest was more
than piqued by the
discovery of this game.
Unfortunately I cannot
recommend you all rush
out and acquire it, for the
simple reason that it's in
Japanese. However, I will
try to describe its approach
and systems, so that you
have some idea of the way
the better end of the
Japanese rolegame
industry is going.
In doing a rolegame
Formation of the Three
Kingdoms along with
their specialty.
Courtesy of Koei’s Ambition of
the Three Kingdoms Role Game
Game Review
Koei’s
Ambition of the Three Kingdoms Role Game
Game Review
price and expansive
oversea shipping cost.
Good ole Cao Cao
according to Koei’s
RPG
Courtesy of Koei’s
Ambition of the Three
Kingdoms Role Game

Say 'Mao Zedong' or 'Deng
Xiaoping' to a Japanese
and you will be met with
incomprehension. 'Mo
Takuto' and 'To Shohei'
would elicit instant
recognition. So it's almost
as if we were to play a
Roman rolegame with all
Caecilivs, Marcvs and
Ivlianvs instead being
referred to as Cecil, Mark
and Julian. Except not,
because the Japanese
readings of Chinese names
are not the kun (or native
Japanese readings, used
for most Japanese names)
but the on, the Chinese-
derived readings.
previously seen done
successfully. This is to
use miniatures (or
cardboard cut-outs) for
combat, but not as a
literal visualisation of
the scene, but in an
abstract representation
of combat.
Sangokushi Engi
combats are fought on
a nine by nine grid
which is supplied on
the reverse of the
paper cover (the bound
book is two-colour, so the
colour cover is just a dust
jacket). Opponents roll
against each other as
above (obviously the
'difficulty' to beat is the
opponent's roll) and
according to their result
and the weapons they use,
the counters representing
the combatants move
across the board. When the
counters come over to your
side, it's going badly for
your character (depending
on armour worn, if it
reaches the square on the
edge it may mean death or
injury). In the case of non-
player characters, moving
the counter over to their
side may result in them
fleeing.
It's a very simple
concept. There are no hit
points: you're either fine,
injured or dead. This is a
reasonably clean idea,
allowing players to
Japanese reading of the
ideographs. Say 'Mao
Zedong' or 'Deng Xiaoping'
to a Japanese and you will
be met with
incomprehension. 'Mo
Takuto' and 'To Shohei'
would elicit instant
recognition. So it's almost
as if we were to play a
Roman rolegame with all
Caecilivs, Marcvs and
Ivlianvs instead being
referred to as Cecil, Mark
and Julian. Except not,
because the Japanese
readings of Chinese names
are not the kun (or native
Japanese readings, used for
most Japanese names) but
the on, the Chinese-derived
readings.
Anyway, linguistic
quirks aside, one of the
first things that strikes you
on opening this game is
that the reader is assumed
to be familiar with the
Romance of the Three
Kingdoms. And why not?
It's a phenomenally
successful story in Japan,
certainly comparable in
popularity to the stories of
Robin Hood or King Arthur
in the US (to choose
another example of
imported legends). This
makes me extremely
jealous, as it means that
the designers of the game
can just get right down to
the nitty gritty without
having to set the scene, or
even explain very much
about the China of the
period (though actually
they do fairly well at these
later on).
Attributes & Game
Play
The nitty gritty, in this
case, is a respectably clean
system. Characters are
rated for six characteristics
(tradition is a big thing in
Japan, remember), which I
will translate as Martial
Prowess, Physical Craft,
Presence, Negotiation,
Knowledge and Leadership.
These are rated out of 100
though the right hand digit
is dropped when
calculating chances of
success. On top of these,
characters can acquire
ability in a variety of skills,
each of which is associated
with one of the above
characteristics. These skills
are rated from 1 to 5. To
resolve action, the referee
sets a difficulty ranging
from 4-6 ('Even a baby
could do it') to 27 or over
('A feat that will go down in
Chinese history'). The
player rolls two dice and
adds the appropriate
characteristic plus skill (if
they have one).
That's more or less it.
Nothing so far should be
particularly unfamiliar or
startling to any of you lot.
The combat system does,
however, introduce an
unusual idea that I haven't
Game Review
Koei’s
Ambition of the Three Kingdoms Role Game
Combat Grid used in
Sangokushi Engi
Courtesy of Koei’s Ambition of
the Three Kingdoms Role Game

Romance of Three Kingdoms Vol1 Issue1

Romance of Three Kingdoms Vol1 Issue1

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