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00:30But, he does have the Han as his vassals, and arguably gets the best starting economy in the game.
00:37His playstyle focuses on oppression and control, and Dong Zhuo benefits from a faction specialization called Intimidation, which is your
00:45faction's special currency, as well as exclusive access to medium and heavy shock cavalry from the beginning, and the special
00:52Enforced Conscription building chain.
00:55He starts with the Sentinel General, Xiang Liao, and of course, the Warrior Without Equal.
01:01The Red Mist himself.
01:03Alubu!
01:05Let's dive straight in.
01:07By turn 2, it's time to quite literally open the floodgates, and get Dong Zhuo himself on the field.
01:14If we look at his character tab, you can see that as well as his iconic armor, and the blade
01:19of Xiang Yu, we can see his traits are mainly yellow and red.
01:23Cruel, arrogant, and greedy.
01:26Which tells you a lot about the type of person he is.
01:28Alongside a multitude of starting skills, his aptly named Reign of Terror ability is no joke.
01:35Plus 100% base melee damage, and armor-piercing damage, as well as becoming unbreakable to you and all troops
01:41within 50 meters, for the cost of only minus 50% melee evasion.
01:45All this makes Dong Zhuo nothing short of devastating on the battlefield.
01:50Quickly looking at the court panel, Dong Min is our serving faction heir, with Lu Bu as our Grand Commandant.
01:56We have a lot of starting characters available to us, because with Dong Zhuo, there are a number of more
02:02advanced mechanics accessible to him from turn 1.
02:05It's springtime of 191 AD, and although the Coalition has failed in an attempt to bring me down, my enemies
02:10are regrouping.
02:12My next steps will be simple. I will rush my nearest foe before he can build up to become a
02:17major threat.
02:17That enemy is Yuan Shu to my southeast, one of the original members of the Coalition against me.
02:23But success will heavily depend on me being able to force a few diplomatic agreements to make it happen.
02:28Let's join Dong Zhuo, who is about to descend upon Hangzhong City.
02:32This move is more than just a random act of violence.
02:35Tyrants rule by fear, and that fearsome reputation requires a certain amount of upkeep.
02:40Just underneath the court panel in the top left of the screen, you can see a clenched fist alongside a
02:46three-tier red bar.
02:47This bar represents our intimidation, and it's level in points from 0 to 100.
02:53Dong Zhuo's faction lives and dies by this currency.
02:56It is a literal measure of the fear people have for me.
03:00This currency must be managed, as it automatically decreases, little by little, every turn, depending on which tier you're in.
03:07Acts of aggression, or evil, such as raising a settlement to the ground, brutally killing one of my own court
03:14members in front of the rest, annexing a Han settlement by force, or just by winning battles, all raise my
03:21intimidation.
03:23Whereas using a coerced action to force diplomatic success, promoting someone, losing a battle, or losing a settlement, all lower
03:31my intimidation.
03:32Every action I make needs to consider this intimidation level, if I'm to keep my iron grip on my empire.
03:39So, while my intimidation level is strong, I'm going to flex on my vassals.
03:43Making a coerced move in diplomacy uses up exactly 30 points from my intimidation bar.
03:49Coercion can be used to force just about any political action.
03:52Here, I have demanded that the harm put 6.5k cash and a lucrative trade deal on the bargaining table.
03:58But why offer them anything of worth for it, when I can simply coerce them into handing it over?
04:03I need to make a fast, high-impact assault early in the campaign here, to harness my advantage, and that
04:10takes money.
04:11By the summer of 191 AD, Han Zhong is looking right for the taking, which will earn me a solid
04:1610 points of intimidation.
04:17I want to make one more coerced move before launching the attack, but I can't afford to go into the
04:22lowest tier of intimidation, and suffering the associated penalties.
04:25I'm on 49 currently, and I need to get to just under 60, so I think I need to make
04:30an example of someone.
04:32Someone surplus to requirements.
04:34Nifu is an overhead I don't need, and plays no part in my grander strategy.
04:39However, he can serve as a martyr for the cause in this instance.
04:42He's going to get the chop, literally.
04:45It's worth it to earn the extra intimidation points I need.
04:47An execution gives us plus 10 intimidation, and plus 250 confiscated funds, but does give us a 5 turn minus
04:5510 satisfaction to all other characters.
04:58A worthwhile cost at this time, but not worth repeating too often.
05:02Now, let's enter diplomacy again to lock down the support I need from Liu Biao, before engaging my real target,
05:09Yuan Shu.
05:10Liu Biao neighbours Yuan Shu's territory.
05:12We have a non-aggression pact with him, as well as a trade agreement too, which makes him a rare
05:17potential ally.
05:18I'm going to force him into a coalition with me, which achieves two things.
05:22It protects any Han provinces near Liu Biao, and focuses his war efforts on Yuan Shu before I get there.
05:29When the time comes, we may well be able to take on Yuan Shu together.
05:33After that, I'll reassess Liu Biao's usefulness to me.
05:37Now it's time to descend on Han Zhang, and remind everyone who's boss.
05:42We engage Zhang Liu on the tree-covered foothills of the mountains, Han Zhang in sight in the distance behind
05:48us.
05:49They have ranged superiority on us here, but the trees actually play to our advantage on that front, providing some
05:54natural cover.
05:55It's the winter of 191.
05:57The victory over Han Zhang is behind us, but what it did cost us is my faction heir, Dong Min,
06:04who fell during the battle.
06:05I will not allow, nor spare the time for grieving.
06:09Liu Bu, my Grand Commandant, is the obvious choice.
06:12A real warrior, worthy of carrying on my legacy.
06:16I will promote him to be my new faction heir.
06:18I will muster him a magnificent army, worthy of my banner, and let him loose, cutting a bloody path through
06:25the bandits of the Black Mountains in the east, crushing them as a threat.
06:30I will lead Dong Zhuo on the long journey down the Shang Yong Valley, annexing as I go to maintain
06:36my intimidation.
06:37My aim is to strike at the heart of Yuan Shu's empire, Nanyang, and burn it to the ground.
06:43A few turns on, and by harvest season of 192, Liu Bu has managed to catch Zhen Zhang, unaware and
06:49worn down, as she sieges a Han fishing port in Yi.
06:53She runs in fear of what's to come, but Liu Bu is unrelenting and gives chase.
06:58He quickly wins the battle, he has a huge numbers advantage.
07:01I choose to annex the fishing port to regain some troops.
07:04But, I purely wish for Liu Bu to cause havoc here, and find fights, gaining the intimidation.
07:10Zhen Zhang retreats to Yi Town proper, and instead of pursuing her, I set an ambush just outside of it,
07:16guarding the river crossing, waiting to see if I could catch her or anyone else unaware of my trap.
07:21After several seasons' travel, Dong Zhuo is finally in place, as the winter of 192 AD sets in, and I
07:28move forward, taking position on Nanyang.
07:30I'm halted in my tracks, though. Yuan Shu has moved up and taken position in a forward encampment, cutting off
07:36my route to the city.
07:37The battle favours him too much for me to be foolhardy enough to engage him here, while he has the
07:42advantage.
07:43Across the way, in Yi, Liu Bu comes up trumps again.
07:46I clearly said I wanted Liu Bu to go out and cause havoc, and that's exactly what he has done.
07:52Firstly, wounding Zhen Zhang.
07:54And now, Zhang Yan falls into my trap as well, as he attempts to cross the Yellow River into my
08:00territory in the desert.
08:01They would have done better, working together.
08:03To fight Liu Bu in standard combat is one thing, but to face him unprepared as he closes in around
08:09you from all sides,
08:11with the fury of over 200 heavy and medium shot cavalry to his name, the result wasn't pretty.
08:17Another trophy for Liu Bu as the king of the Black Mountains joins the scores of those who have fell
08:23to his blade.
08:24A baptism of blood and fire to begin his reign as my adopted son and heir, truly worthy of the
08:32Dong Dynasty.
08:33Back in Nanyang, spring is on the horizon, and I move Dong Zhuo towards the city.
08:38I'm just short of the movement I need, but it might just be enough to draw Yuan Shu out into
08:43open combat.
08:44Finally, the snake emerges. Yuan Shu has to take on the fight before my coalition reinforcements in Liu Biao's army
08:51arrive.
08:52The battle is truly close, but yet again, it's my shot cavalry that I owe this victory to.
08:57Combining clever use of guerrilla deployment with good flanking enabled them to cause maximum disruption to Yuan Shu's copious ranged
09:05backlines.
09:06Yuan Shu survives the battle, but is undoubtedly about to lose the war.
09:10Next turn, supported by Liu Biao's forces, we close in on Nanyang and deliver the killing blow.
09:16That treacherous cur Yuan Shu is delivered to me after the battle, and as a man of my word, I
09:22execute him without hesitation, and burn Nanyang to ashes.
09:26It can serve as a symbol, not far from the embers of Liu Yang.
09:31The first part of my conquest is complete, and what would you know?
09:35Dao Chan and I are to be married.
09:37It seems like everything's coming up Dong Zhuo.
09:42Thanks very much for watching.
09:57Grazie per la visione!
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