When a civil war plunged Dai Viet into chaos, the Ming Emperor intervened and seized control. Now, the only hope for freedom from oppression lies with one man: a minor noble named Le Loi. Will he be able to unite feuding factions, defeat the Chinese, and regain Vietnamese independence?
”
—In-game campaign description
The Le Loi campaign consists of 6 scenarios. The player plays as the Vietnamese, and the player color is yellow.
The campaign is narrated by an old man who, at the outro of the last scenario, reveals himself to be Wang Tong (Vietnamese: Vương Thông), a Ming Chinese general who fought against Lê Lợi during the Lam Sơn uprising. In the Definitive Edition, it was narrated by an unnamed historian in the modern days.
Some of the scenarios in the Definitive Edition have been slightly reworked, but the general map and objectives remain the same. More noticeably, the scenarios are significantly harder in the Definitive Edition because the AI is now programmed to be more aggressive, with some scenario layouts having drastically changed. For example, the second half of the Battle of Hanoi scenario is now more of a traditional build and destroy scenario where the Ming AI prioritizes attacking the Monastery.
Unit[]
Le Loi is an infantryhero. He used to have the appearance of a Champion. Since the Definitive Edition, he has a unique appearance. As a hero, he cannot be converted and can regenerate health. Like other infantry units, he is affected by all upgrades that affect infantry as well as any other bonuses that affect them. He is also available in the Scenario Editor.
With a total of six scenarios, the Le Loi campaign is the longest in Rise of the Rajas as well as the longest since the campaigns in The Conquerors.
The Le Loi campaign icon depicts a turtle grasping a sword in its mouth, which is a reference to the Thuận Thiên ("Heaven's Will"), the legendary sword wielded by Lê Lợi during the Lam Sơn uprising, specifically from the tale where Lê Lợi returned the sword to the Long Vương (Dragon King) at a lake which is now known as the Hồ Hoàn Kiếm ("Lake of the Returned Sword").
In the Definitive Edition, the campaign icon is a red-eared slider turtle. This is inaccurate as this is an American species. They are also too small to grab a long sword, unlike the extinct Vietnamese giant soft shell turtle.
As with other Rise of Rajas campaigns, all maps are covered in the new tropical jungle introduced in the expansion, though in truth the Red River Delta where it takes place is in the Köppen-classifiedsubtropical climate zone.
This is the only campaign in Rise of the Rajas that does not feature any Indian civilizations.
Zhu Di, the emperor of Ming during the first few scenarios and the primary behind-the-scenes antagonist in this campaign, was one of the sons of Zhu Yuanzhang, the protagonist in Lake Poyang.
Gallery[]
Le Loi in the Definitive Edition
A statue of Lê Lợi in front of the Municipal Hall of Thanh Hóa Province
Le Loi art in the campaign
Wang Tong, the Ming dynasty Chinese general tasked with subjugating Le Loi