| “ | The Chinese are surrounding the fortress as I speak. Soon, there will be no way out for us... However, there is still a small chance for the rebellion to survive. The Ming only have a small presence to the east. If we clear that side, it would allow our men to escape. | ” |
| —Dialogue of The Mountain Siege | ||
Le Lai is a hero unit in Age of Empires II HD: Rise of the Rajas. He is based on the Vietnamese hero Lê Lai who was a subordinate commander of Le Loi's army during the Lam Son uprising against the Ming rule in Vietnam from 1418-1427.
He appears in the second scenario of Le Loi campaign, The Mountain Siege, and is available in the Scenario Editor. As a hero, he cannot be converted and can regenerate health.
In-game appearance[]
Rise of the Rajas[]
Le Lai is represented by two different heroes, both appearing under the same name:
- Two-Handed Swordsman - his stats are vastly improved, his bulk is massive, and his raw damage output 50% higher. He also moves a little faster than regular Two-Handed Swordsmen.
- Champion - while holding a stronger attack than the previous version of his, the hit points are fewer, the melee armor lower, and the attack bonuses are removed. However, his Line of Sight is a little longer, and he takes no bonus damage from anti-infantry attacks. Overall, Champion version is probably a little weaker.
Definitive Edition[]
Le Lai appears as a cavalry hero, replacing his other two forms. His model is shared with Dinh Le and Wang Tong.
His stats are similar to the Two-Handed Swordsman version, with the obvious differences being speed (30% faster), different armor class (but same +2 resistance), loss of attack bonus against Eagles (but not Standard Buildings) and different upgrades (most notably the free effects of the removed technology Tracking).
Campaign appearances[]
Bayinnaung[]
- The White Elephant: Before the Definitive Edition, one of Princess Thepkasattri's bodyguards is a renamed Le Lai (Champion). The bodyguards have to be killed in order to capture the princess' dowry.
Le Loi[]
- The Mountain Siege: Le Lai leads the defenders of the Dai Viet fortress, covering Le Loi's retreat east. After enough rebels escape, he will draw Ming attention by disguising himself as Le Loi.
Victors and Vanquished[]
- Nobunaga: Takeda Shingen is a renamed Le Lai. He leads the Takeda clan in east Honshu, one of six major clans vying for control of Japan.
History[]
Joining Le Loi's army[]
When Le Loi started to assemble his army in 1416, Le Lai was one of the first men to join. Le Lai soon became one of Le Loi's most trusted men, and during a meeting at Lung Nhai, Le Loi and 18 other men, including Le Lai, made an oath to protect Vietnam at all cost, no matter what the consequences may be. In February 1418, the rebellion became active after Le Loi proclaimed himself the king of the Binh Dinh Province. During this time, Le Lai was appointed as one of Le Loi's subordinate commanders, a position he would keep until his last stand at Chi Linh.
Sacrifice and death[]
In April 1418, two months after Le Loi had proclaimed himself king of the Binh Dinh Province, the Ming army surrounded a troop of Vietnamese rebels that included Le Lai and Le Loi at the Chi Linh mountaintop for ten days. During those ten days, the Vietnamese troops had a shortage of food and water, and were falling ill due to the cold weather. Fearing they would soon be crushed by the Ming army, and knowing that the capture of Le Loi would lead to the end of the Vietnamese rebellion, Le Lai volunteered to pose himself as Le Loi by wearing Le Loi's armor and leading an assault with 500 men in total the remaining Vietnamese troops along with two elephants against the Ming army, giving Le Loi and his army time to escape. While his diversion worked, Le Lai was captured and executed by the Ming with the troops that were crushed in the assault. The siege and Le Lai's sacrifice is depicted in The Mountain Siege.
Due to Le Lai's sacrifice, Le Loi would live to fight the Ming army for nine more years until finally achieving victory and independence for Vietnam in 1427. After defeating the Ming army and becoming emperor of Vietnam, Le Loi declared that if a memorial was ever to be held for him after his death, a memorial for Le Lai must be held one day before his own as a means of honoring Lai's heroism and sacrifice during the uprising.
Trivia[]
- In the HD Edition, both Le Lai versions can be seen in The Mountain Siege: the Two-Handed Swordsman appears next to Le Loi in the beginning of the scenario and the Champion appears in the Monastery in the fortress to attack the Ming after Le Loi reached the east in the scenario The Mountain Siege.
- However, this is ahistorical, as Le Lai led his army to lure the Ming out of the mountain, giving Le Loi and the Lam Sơn insurgent army enough time to escape. In the game, the Le Lai Champion version appears after Le Loi and the Vietnamese army escapes.
- Before the Definitive Edition, Le Lai was one of only four characters that are represented by two different hero units. The others were El Cid, Joan of Arc, and Prithviraj. All but Le Lai are their story's protagonists.
- In the HD Edition, both versions of Le Lai are available in the Scenario Editor, where they are listed under the very same name, which is a unique trait.
Gallery[]
