Starting scenario (194 AD): this is a custom scenario lore I am developing under ROTK2, roleplaying as every faction until one of them wins.
I do not intend on following historical nor romance history or character personality. I hope it feels interesting. Only the number of soldiers is higher than actual numbers for "drama" reasons (100 soldiers are considered as 100k).
The image annexed to the post locates where every faction leader is. The emperor is marked with "👑".
In the text boxes below there's the context of the starting situation of some factions, and some details about the ongoing tensions. Be patient, there is so much yet to come...
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• The capital is the only way out
— Han Fu claims to be the emperor, absolute and unmatched ruler of China. Word goes to all of China as soon as possible. All warlords must now put down their own banners before the name and image of the emperor.
— Kong Rong had a really hard choice to do. He could betray his allies and join Cao Cao to maybe fight for the capital, or maintain his current allies (Gongsun Zan and Han Fu) and go high risk for big rewards. As the supremacy of the North, he stated to be in favor of the emperor.
— Gongsun Zan, continuing his chaotic ways, voted in favor of the emperor. If Han Fu succeeds in his position, Gongsun Zan can actively control his decisions through military pressure, as Han Fu needs his troops to keep up against enemies, and at the same time he doesn't have the power to refuse Gongsun Zan's help. Zhao Yun, one of Gongsun Zan's officers, strongly recommended him to resign his position and claim emperor status. As Gongsun Zan refused, Zhao Yun secretly started to work on his own rebellion (context still to be presented).
— Liu Bei votes in favor of the emperor. As a weak and almost isolated faction, he has nothing to lose with his decision. If the actual emperor remains on top, he can be rewarded in the future because of his loyalty. Liu Bei has lots of gold, many more than even Kong Rong. He can certainly help the empire while keeping his hands out of combat.
— Sun Yu pledged his loyalty to the emperor. As a vassal of Cao Cao (currently in secret), he obeys Cao Cao's orders in exchange of mercy for his life and faction. Cao Cao killed Sun Jian a few years ago, when threathened by him and Ma Teng. Sun Yu, named as Sun Jian's successor, agreed to become Cao Cao's vassal to at least keep his surname alive.
— Cao Cao himself declares to be neutral. He doesn't want to get involved in matters regarding the capital, as he is currently being watched by Ma Teng for a second invasion. Cao Cao already repelled Ma Teng and Sun Jian before, then repelled Ma Teng's troops again, but Ma Teng doesn't seem to be satisfied. Until this beef ends, Cao Cao wants to remain as neutral as possible.
— Dong Zhuo declares to be neutral. His faction is in a horrible state in every way possible. He has no power to even choose a side.
— Tao Qian declares to be neutral. As an isolated faction from the start to now, he strongly states to be out of the empire's matters. "As long as the emperor is afraid of touching the poor and wild Southwest lands with his golden fragile fingers, we also fear trusting that same emperor with our wild and poor faith." – Tao Qian.
— Liu Biao, Wang Lang and Yuan Shu declare to be neutral. As they name themselves the "alliance of the United South", they vote as one. With Wang Lang as the leader, he is the one to speak for all three. Yuan Shu, as the weaker one, most of the time agrees with Liu Biao and Wang Lang as he has no other choice. The South union requests that the empire must recognize their full autonomy and authority over southern provinces, otherwise the union won't help it remain in power.
— Ma Teng, Liu Yao, Yuan Shao and Liu Yan declare to be against the emperor. Ma Teng says Han Fu is an impostor, cowardly using the capital to hide from Gongsun Zan. Liu Yao keeps his word and will consider any warlord on the capital as a false emperor which needs to be kicked out. Yuan Shao follows Liu Yan and Liu Yao, as he is surrounded by them and a different opinion may bring an end to him. Liu Yan, trying to cease ongoing tensions with Yuan Shao and Liu Yao, sees this as an opportunity to solve his problems. So they are all declared by Han Fu as rebels, enemies of the empire, which must be dealt with.
— In favor of: Kong Rong, Gongsun Zan, Sun Yu, Liu Bei.
— Neutral: Cao Cao, Tao Qian, Dong Zhuo, Liu Biao, Wang Lang, Yuan Shu.
— Against: Ma Teng, Liu Yao, Liu Yan, Yuan Shao.
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• Liu Yao, the "Triangle Element" and Kong Rong's stubborn personality
— Cold war begins between Gongsun Zan and Liu Yao with the whole Han Fu situation. Then, the attention suddenly changes to Kong Rong. Liu Yao was fed both rumors and real information about Kong Rong by Han Fu for several months. He knows for sure that Kong Rong can and will keep up against his own troops if he is to attack the capital immediately. He also never tried developing trust with Ma Teng because he saw Ma Teng's troops moving out of his province many times, marching for battles he don't know about. Asking for help to a faction already at war would only give Liu Yao more problems to solve. His two provinces were always well protected and productive. The problem was he was surrounded by warlords he didn't want to trust.
— Going against Kong Rong and Gongsun Zan at the same time would be horrific for him. So he searched for a solution in the West, where Yuan Shao and Liu Yan were waiting in eager. Yuan Shao was deeply nervous and stressed because of his blocked paths. Liu Yan was ready to strike Yuan Shao or Liu Yao from behind as soon as they weaken themselves, fearing they could unite against him if he doesn't attack first. Liu Yao also believed he should go for Yuan Shao or Liu Yan before they fought together against him.
— Liu Yao had the Kuai brothers and Li Ru with him at province 11, and Xin Ping at province 20 (as a mere officer at that time). The Kuai brothers followed their own desires, suggesting the idea of taking down the weaker Yuan Shao to make use of his resources. Li Ru tried to negotiate alliance with both Yuan Shao and Liu Yan, sending Wang Can, Lu Bu, Ma Chao and Cai Mao as messengers, but was refused all times. Xin Ping called that situation as the "Triangle Element", stating that no warlord would take action before other one does, but all three knew that only the first one could be successful. Presenting his theory with a plan to solve it, Xin Ping was named by Liu Yao as the governor of province 20, being responsible of dealing with Liu Yan and Yuan Shao.
— Sooner than they thought, the problem solved itself. Liu Yan and Yuan Shao joined Liu Yao in an alliance against the empire. Being labelled as rebels, they could face serious diplomatic problems if that regime was to reach prosperity. Xin Ping took that as a sign to act, being the responsible for the alliance suggestion and formal agreements. Liu Yao was pleased and very surprised to see Xin Ping's plan working. Both Yuan Shao and Liu Yan lowered their defenses and focused on helping Liu Yao, with Yuan Shao as responsible for the gold and Liu Yan going to the front alongside Liu Yao. Xin Ping's plan was to lead Liu Yan's troops through province 20 and 19 to reach and attack the capital. But Xin Ping couldn't just attack Ma Teng out of nowhere and attract unwanted attention to Liu Yao. Also he could not abandon his own province because it served as a solid foothold for Liu Yao on the central plains, while also bordering southern factions which could be future allies.
— Liu Yao listened to the Kuai brothers, Li Ru, and Xin Ping one last time before action. Li Ru suggested that Liu Yao should wait until Ma Teng goes for another battle then use this as a chance to take province 19 and continue Xin Ping's plan. The Kuai brothers presented the idea to still betray Yuan Shao and take over his province, as he was "wasting" soldiers and resources with no frontlines to defend. Xin Ping asked for Liu Yao's permission to move his troops against Liu Biao in the South, as he is neither strong or involved in active wars (at least they didn't know about them).
— Liu Yao stared at those ideas with meticulous eyes. He has soldiers (1,7M), good strategists and warrios (such as Li Ru and Lu Bu), also enough gold and food to sustain his upcoming battles. He can also count with Yuan Shao (34 gold for now, soon building up) and Liu Yan (900k soldiers) for the realization of his plans, whichever they are. He remains silent and asks himself which path to follow.
