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For the character, see Ma Teng

Ma Teng is a playable faction in Total War: Three Kingdoms. It starts the campaign in northern China, located in Jincheng commandery. The faction exists in 182, 190, 194, and 200. Gaining a rank as a duke, king, or emperor renames the faction to Liang.

Liang is a Han loyalist faction and cannot declare themselves emperor upon obtaining the rank of king. However, Liang can become emperor by capturing an existing imperial seat belonging to another faction.


Unique Features[]

Ma Teng Unique Units

Ma Teng's unique units

Ma Teng does not have its own faction resource.


Foraging[]

Foraging Forces is an army stance exclusively available to Ma Teng. It grants military supplies to the army that initiates the stance as well as a small amount of faction-wide food production. However, it disables movement for the army. Foraging is best used in desperate supply scenarios, where either the entire faction is running low on food, or the army is trapped in rough terrain/weather and low on military supplies. The exact stats of the stance are as follows:

Foraging Forces

  • Campaign movement: disabled
  • Recruitment and replenishment: enabled (own territory)
  • Campaign movement range required to adopt: 50%
  • +2 food production (foraging)
  • +10 military supplies

This army is setting up camp and contributing to your faction's food supply by foraging the surrounding lands.


Starting Situation[]

Mandate of Heaven (182)[]

TW3K Ma Teng 182

182 - Ma Teng (Pink), Han Sui (Blue)

Ma Teng's fight is almost as legendary as his loyalty to China. Beware all those who stand in his way! Though many say the dynasty is finished, Ma Teng remains loyal to the Han, prosecuting the enemies of the emperor above all else. On the western fringes of the empire, he has long defended China's most valuable trade routes, holding back hostile interlopers, and will continue to charge into battle in the emperor's name.

Start: Hard

Ma Teng doesn't have content in the Mandate of Heaven campaign. He starts in Wudu commandery with a coalition with Han Sui. Both factions are neutral and not part of the Empire under Liu Hong. As a result, Ma Teng will most likely remain unaffected by the outbreak of the Yellow Turban Rebellion and will remain idle throughout the campaign. A player can choose to take on a more hands-on approach by offering to become a vassal of the Emperor or striking out on their own and claiming the largely abandoned steppes of northwestern China for themselves.


Rise of the Warlords (190)[]

TW3K Ma Teng 190

190 - Ma Teng (Pink), Han Sui (Blue), Enemies (Red)

Even as the storm of chaos rolls and thunders over Luoyang, Ma Teng does not let the squalls of court cloud his mind. Though many say the dynasty is finished, Ma Teng remains loyal to the Han, prosecuting the enemies of the emperor above all else. On the western fringes of the empire, he has long defended China's most valuable trade routes, holding back hostile interlopers, and will continue to charge into battle in the emperor's name.

Start: Hard

Ma Teng is a staunch loyalist to the Empire, even after Dong Zhuo took control of it. Instead of fighting the tyrant, his campaign focuses on the nearby remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. The generic faction borders him to the north and the south, as well as Yellow Turban Warlord Gong Du further south. Dealing with them will be Ma Teng's most immediate priority. Ma Teng's initial dilemma triggers after the death of Dong Zhuo at the hands of Lü Bu. He is granted the choice to strike against his tyrannical successors, Li Jue and Guo Si, or to keep his nose clean and stay out of it. Under the control of the AI, Dong Zhuo will always die. However, if a player prevents his death while playing his faction, Ma Teng's initial dilemma will never trigger.

TW3K Ma Teng-Inital-dilemma

Ma Teng's initial dilemma

If he chooses to attack Li Jue and wins, Ma Teng will control Emperor Xian and be a great contender to restore the playable Han Empire. He can not form his own empire due to him being a Han loyalist but can become powerful enough to later attack a different emperor and claim an imperial seat for himself.


A World Betrayed (194)[]

TW3K Ma Teng 194

194 - Ma Teng (Pink), Han Sui (Blue), Enemies (Red)

Ma Teng had thought the emperor safe, but with Dong Zhuo dead, he sees the chaos coming, and hopes he is prepared for the storm. Though many say the dynasty is finished, Ma Teng remains loyal to the Han, prosecuting the enemies of the emperor above all else. On the western fringes of the empire, he has long defended China's most valuable trade routes, holding back hostile interlopers, and will continue to charge into battle in the emperor's name.

Start: Hard

Dong Zhuo is dead and his faction has been inherited by Li Jue and Guo Si. Fearing for the Emperor's life, Ma Teng formed a coalition with Han Sui and declared war on Li Jue. While his intentions are noble, Ma Teng finds himself severely outnumbered by Li Jue and his vassals. To make matters worse, Ma Teng and Han Sui have had a falling out and have grown to hate each other despite fighting in the same conflict. If Ma Teng can survive the imperial onslaught – possibly by allying with the power-hungry Liu Yan to the south – he will most likely find himself locked in a war with Han Sui in due time.


Fates Divided (200)[]

TW3K Ma Teng 200

200 - Ma Teng (Pink), Han Sui (Red)

Though Ma Teng clung to the defence of the emperor and the dynasty, time and war have driven him ever further from his goal. Since the tyrant's death, Ma Teng has found himself isolated from court and distracted by regional squabbles. His war with Han Sui, though violent, is but a prelude, for tension with his son drags him towards conflict with Cao Cao – the fate of his family, as well as China, hangs in the most precarious balance...

Start: Hard

Ma Teng's situation grows from bad to worse. His strained relationship with Han Sui has deteriorated into an all-out conflict between the two. Ma Teng has lost most of his land to his former ally and starts in a relatively weak position. That said, if Ma Teng can defeat Han Sui, he is an ideal candidate to become a northwestern superpower as the area is littered with abandoned settlements waiting to be claimed and weak minor warlords that are easy pickings. Cao Cao's Duchy of Wei is also likely to expand into the region if his war with Yuan Shao ends quickly, which can lead to further conflicts further into the campaign.

Character


Gallery[]

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