| â | Liu Bei and his brothers swear an oath to protect the Han dynasty and crush the Yellow Turban rebellion. | â |
| —In-game scenario description | ||
The Oath of the Peach Garden is the first scenario of the Liu Bei campaign in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - The Three Kingdoms. It depicts the start of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in 184 CE, and Liu Bei's efforts in suppressing the rebels together with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.
Intro[]
The Empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been.
In the dying days of the Han dynasty, the Empire was like a precious vase knocked off its pedestal. As it fell towards the ground, some refused to accept the inevitable and imagined that the worst had passed.
The more far-sighted positioned themselves to pick up the pieces.
China had been plagued for years by peasant revolts. While the commoners languished in poverty, the Emperor's eunuch servants only enriched themselves. With each corrupt act and every extortion thinly veiled as a tax, more angry peasants crossed the line into open rebellion.
Like streams joining together in a mighty river, hundreds of thousands of rebels flocked to the Yellow Turbans' banner. Their leader was a man named Zhang Jue, a cultist who could summon storms and shadow warriors to do his bidding.
However, even among the common folk the Turbans had many opponents. Many saw their revolt as an affront to the Mandate of Heaven, which only increased the people's suffering. Liu Bei was one such man.
A distant relative of the Han Emperor, Liu Bei was a sandal maker whose sheer charisma made up for his lack of wealth. To some, his unusual height and long ears were signs that he was meant for great things.
Yet, when an imperial decree to rally warriors against the Turbans was posted in his village, he felt hopeless - for what could a lowly sandal maker do to save an empire?
His spirits soared when he spoke with two other men intent on enlisting: Zhang Fei, a boulder of a man with a temper as easily lit as a dried-out wheat field; and Guan Yu, a majestic, bearded warrior.
Even though they had never met before, Liu Bei felt he had found two long-lost comrades. They made offerings to the heavens in a peach garden, swearing to become brothers and to fight for the restoration of the Han:
"We do not ask to be born on the same day, but we ask to die on the same day."
With Liu Bei at the lead, the three sworn brothers set out to crush the Yellow Turban rebels.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Feudal Age - Ending Age: Castle Age
- Starting resources: 200 gold
- Population limit: 100
- Starting units:
- Liu Bei (hero)
Differences between difficulty levels[]
- On higher difficulty levels, the initial group of the Yellow Turban Guards has more units.
- On higher difficulty levels, the starting armies are smaller, with 10 of each unit type on Easiest/Standard, 9 on Moderate, and 8 on Hard/Legendary.
- On higher difficulty levels, the player is granted fewer resources upon taking over the central Han Dynasty base.
- On higher difficulty levels, the enemies get more powerful attack buffs upon summoning a magical storm (+1 on Easiest/Standard, +2 on Moderate/Hard, +3 on Legendary).
Objectives[]
- Wait for instructions
- Recruit an army by bringing a hero to it.
- Train Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.
- Reach the allied village.
- 0/2 Yellow Turban hideouts destroyed.
Optional objectives[]
- Bring one of your heroes to the Stable for additional cavalry or to the Blacksmith of additional upgrades.
- 0/5 Villager groups liberated.
- Kill Yellow Turban soldiers for reinforcements.
- 0/3 animals captured.
Hints[]
- You are limited to the Castle Age and cannot yet build Castles, warships or War Chariots. Initially, you are restricted to a population limit of 100, but liberating occupied villages will allow you to support a larger population.
- Liu Bei is a terrific leader and fighter. His ancient, winding Jian blades are powerful weapons, while his passive ability, Protector of the People, heals all nearby units.
- Guan Yu is an expert warrior whose Green Dragon Strike ability causes his crescent-moon blade to deal immense area damage whenever activated.
- Zhang Fei is an intimidating figure who slows down enemies with his Taunt ability. His steel-tempered Serpent Halberd strikes with deadly force.
- The Shu civilization generates a slow trickle of food while chopping wood, and can cheaply upgrade its ranged soldiers.
- The Hall of Heroes is a campaign-only building that costs wood. It trains hero units (and retrains fallen ones) that you recruit throughout the campaign.
Scouts[]
- Liu Bei (Green) begins with only his sworn brothers, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu. The three must raise a following to save their homeland and impress the local magistrates.
- The Han Dynasty (Red) is too weak to actively fight, but Liu Bei can use its units and buildings to fight the rebels.
- The Yellow Turbans (Yellow) have two hideouts south of the river. They will raid you with infantry, ranged soldiers, and Scout Cavalry.
- Lastly, groups of lightly armed Yellow Turban Guards (Orange) scattered across the countryside protect what the rebels have captured.
Players[]
Player[]
- Liu Bei ( Shu): The player starts in the north of the map with just Liu Bei himself. During the course of the scenario, the player recruits two more heroes (Guan Yu and Zhang Fei), and chooses their starting army. After taking control of a base near the center of the map, the player is tasked with destroying two Yellow Turbans bases to defeat the rebels.
Allies[]
- Han Dynasty ( Chinese): Controls the two armies near the starting area, from which the player must choose one, then the central base with a Town Center the player takes over upon approaching, and the five villages the player can liberate from Yellow Turban Guards.
Enemies[]
- Yellow Turbans ( Chinese): This player controls the two bases near the southern and eastern ends of the map. Once the player takes over the central base, they will periodically send attacks against it. The eastern base also has a Hall of Heroes. They train Men-at-Arms/Long Swordsmen, Archers, Skirmishers, and Spearmen. They do not advance beyond the Feudal Age.
- Yellow Turban Guards ( Chinese): They have their units spread all over the map, which they do not replenish. They initially have units and Watch Towers in the five Han Dynasty villages the player can liberate, and also have some soldiers near the three sacrificial animals the player can capture to end the attack buff for both enemy players. Their troops consist of Men-at-Arms, Archers, Skirmishers, and Spearmen. They too remain locked in the Feudal Age.
Strategy[]
This scenario is not particularly difficult even on Legendary difficulty, and is designed as an introduction to get the player acquainted with the campaign mechanics. After moving out of the starting area, the player is asked to train two more heroes, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, in their Hall of Heroes. With the three heroes, the player engages the Yellow Turban Guards troop just to the southeast, which should be no issue as long as Guan Yu is kept away from Spearmen, as in Liu Bei's presence, all heroes regenerate 90 hit points per minute. In combination with their very high hit points, powerful melee attack, and active abilities, the three heroes, when sticking together, are nigh invincible, and the player should not hesitate to send them into battle as a group. Should a hero fall in battle, they can be trained again in the Hall of Heroes for 100 gold.
After the initial Yellow Turban Guards troop is defeated, the player is asked to choose between two starting armies: a ranged force of Archers and Skirmishers to the east, or a melee force of Spearmen and White Feather Guards to the west. The player's choice will become the starting force for the rest of the campaign. Further south, the player can choose between Blacksmith improvements (Forging and Scale Mail Armor for an infantry army, or Fletching and Padded Archer Armor for a ranged army), or cavalry units (5 Light Cavalry) by bringing a hero next to the respective buildings.
Across the river are two villages (out of five), which are occupied by the Yellow Turban Guards troops and a Watch Tower. Defeating their units and destroying the Watch Tower in each village gives the player control of four Villagers, and increases population limit by five.
Once the player reaches the allied village with a Town Center near the center of the map, they take control, and the base-building portion of the scenario begins. This also activates the Yellow Turbans player, which periodically sends attacks against the player's base. However, as their units are stuck in the Feudal Age, they can be effectively handled even with a garrisoned Town Center. Just be careful of its garrison limit of 15 to avoid losing too many Villagers. Killing a certain number of Yellow Turban soldiers grants reinforcements of five Spearmen and five Archers (or their upgrades if researched) spawning to the east.
The player should send the three heroes to liberate the remaining villages. Not only does this help to jumpstart the economy, liberating all five villages also grants the player extra Villagers in the subsequent two scenarios (Heroes of the Realm and The Scholar and the Sandal Maker).
Shortly after taking over the base, rebels summon a magical storm, granting them an attack buff (+3 melee/pierce attack on Legendary difficulty), with the background lighting also changing to reflect this. To dispel this buff, the player must capture three animals: a pig to the northeast, a grey wolf to the northwest, and a goat to the southwest, in all cases guarded by Yellow Turban Guards.
The player should advance to the Castle Age, upgrade their units, and research all remaining Blacksmith technologies. All this will make the player's troops significantly superior to the rebel forces.
About 30 minutes after taking over the base, the player is informed that Dong Zhuo is held by the rebels to the southeast, and is given eight minutes to free him. Doing so will make the Archery Range work 20% faster, while ignoring him reduces the Archer line gold cost by 10%. In both cases, the effect persisting in subsequent campaign scenarios.
To finish the scenario, the player should send the three heroes, some accompanying units, and optionally siege engines to destroy both Yellow Turban bases, focusing on production buildings. Attacking other buildings, including Watch Towers, is not necessary. Once the last enemy production building is down, the player is victorious.
Achievement[]
For the scenario achievement "A Hero Comes; He Gains Renown", use any active ability at least once. The achievement is then awarded upon finishing the scenario.
Outro[]
Though fierce as tigers soldiers be,
Battles are won by strategy.
A hero comes; he gains renown,
Already destined for a crown.
The Yellow Turbans proved no match for the determined brothers. With the rebellion crushed, the newly-promoted Liu Bei seemed destined for a quick rise through the ranks. But the corruption of the court proved that a vain hope.
At the time, local leaders would often extort their subjects to bribe the palace eunuchs. Not long after Liu Bei's victory, an officer came to collect his blood money, but the honorable Liu Bei had no coin to give. This sent the official into a rage. Liu Bei had to stay Zhang Fei's hand lest he kill the man on the spot.
Liu Bei would receive no gratitude from the court for his achievements. Though hard to accept, this truth only strengthened his resolve. To restore the Han, he would root out political corruption, tendril by black tendril...
A more immediate threat had surfaced, an enemy that threatened to undo the very Empire Liu Bei hoped to save: the Great Usurper, Cao Cao.
Trivia[]
- Both the intro and the outro make several direct references to the 14th century novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in particular Chapter 1 (The Oath of the Peach Garden), after which the scenario is named.[1]
- "The Empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been." (話èȘȘ怩äžć€§ćąïŒćäč ćż ćïŒćäč ćż ćă) is the opening line of the novel. It appears again in the outro of the final scenario of the campaign, The Battle of Red Cliffs, if the player stays loyal to Sun Quan.
- "We do not ask to be born on the same day, but we ask to die on the same day." is a slightly loose translation of the original line äžæ±ććčŽćæćæ„çïŒćȘéĄććčŽćæćæ„æ»ă. This oath is also referenced in the outro of The Battle of Red Cliffs, when played in the Cao Cao campaign.
- The poem: "Though fierce as tigers soldiers be, / Battles are won by strategy. / A hero comes; he gains renown, / Already destined for a crown." (éç±ćłçźæç„ćïŒäșèéé éäžéŸăććșäŸżèœćć瞟ïŒèȘæćéŒćšć€çȘźă) is taken directly from the opening chapter. The poem's third line is also used as the name for the scenario's achievement.
References[]
- â Wikiquote entry for Romance of the Three Kingdoms (with variant translations)
