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For the character, see Zhang Yan

Zhang Yan is a playable faction in Total War: Three Kingdoms. It starts the campaign in northern China, located in Yanmen commandery. The faction appears in 190, 194, and 200. Gaining a rank as a duke, king, or emperor renames the faction to Heishan.

Zheng Yan is considered a bandit faction, having access to bandit units and buildings, as well as to the bandit network as opposed to the regular reforms tree.


Unique Features[]

Zhang Yan Unique Units

Zhang Yan's unique units

  • Unique Units
  • Unique Buildings
    • Black Mountain Hideout
  • Unique Features
    • Mercenary Treaties

Note: Zhang Yan doesn't have a faction resource.


Mercenary Treaties[]

TW3K Mercenary Contract

Zheng Jiang becoming a mercenary for Cao Cao

Mercenary treaties are a diplomatic option available to bandits, including Zhang Yan. One can't be too picky in times of war, and Zhang Yan plays into this, having the ability to sell his faction to the highest bidder. Upon a foreign warlord accepting a mercenary treaty, Zhang Yan will join the selected war. he will only join that war, and if a Warlord is involved in multiple conflicts at the same time, he will only fight on the side of the war for which he was paid.

TW3K Mercenary Mission

The associated mission to attack Dong Zhuo

Once a Mercenary Treaty is signed, Zhang Yan will declare war on the target and any vassals or allies involved in the ongoing conflict. He will gain military access and intel on the warlord paying for the mercenary treaty, granting the player full vision inside their borders and the line of sight of their deployed troops.

When Zhang Yan has accepted his contract, his employer will expect him to hold up his end of the bargain, and a 20-turn timer begins. A similar tiered modifier as Infamy appears called Fame & Fortune. Fame and fortune will start at the second tier, Unremarkable, and will rapidly decline by -4 per turn. If the modifier hits zero, the contract will be immediately abandoned. Zhang Yan will not receive the loot at the end of the 20 turns and will suffer a diplomatic penalty with the faction that hired him.

To raise Fame & Fortune, Zhang Yan must attack the target of his treaty. The more casualties he deals, the faster Fame & Fortune rises. Furthermore, when bound by a contract, Zhang Yan can gift captured settlements to the faction he is working for, which grants a significant bonus to the amount of Fame & Fortune he has. This is not required, however, and he can simply take the settlements for himself if he so desires.

The four tiers of Fame & Fortune are:

TW3K Mercenary Gift to Lord

Zhang Yan's option to hand over a captured settlement to his benefactor

Fame & Fortune: Despised (0-25)

  • No effects

There are those who doubt you are worth your coin – tread carefully, lest you find yourself out of work.

Fame & Fortune: Unremarkable (26-50)

  • Chance of additional rewards

You are yet to prove your worth. However, that can quickly change.

Fame & Fortune: Popular (51-75)

  • Chance of additional greater rewards
  • +4 morale (faction-wide)

The troops serving under you want for nothing, their wallets heavy and their morale high. You enjoy the benefits of your success.

Fame & Fortune: Celebrated

  • Chance of additional much greater rewards
  • +8 morale (faction-wide)

When your banners fly on the battlefield they inspire both pride and terror. Tribute flows to you from a grateful benefactor.


Starting Situation[]

Rise of the Warlords (190)[]

TW3K Zhang Yan 190

190 - Zhang Yan (Green), Enemies (Red)

Between the light of the civilised Han, and the chaos of opportunistic banditry, Zhang Yan straddles the twilight – he sees the carnage wrought by tyrants and power-seekers, and wonders how this can be turned to his advantage. To attack the Black Mountain bandits is to invite deception and ambush, as they have mastered the art of war unseen. Yet all the same, Zhang Yan will form alliances and friendships with any who will serve his interests – be they high-born or mud-stained...

Start: Hard

Zhang Yan starts the campaign in Yanmen commandery. He is in a tricky position, as he starts on the edge of the map and is smothered by other major factions nearby, such as Zheng Jiang, Yuan Shao, and Gongsun Zan. He starts at war with the Han Empire and can expand by taking their lands, but the Han has an unusually high number of generals in the area that will get in Zhang Yan's way.

TW3K Zhang Yan-Inital-dilemma

Zhang Yan's initial dilemma

Zhang Yan's initial dilemma revolves around his smothered starting position, as it gives him two options. He can attack Yuan Shao once the former leader of the coalition is busy fighting Gongsun Zan, or, alternatively, he can stay more localised and focus on securing his surroundings, alienating him from Zheng Jiang.


A World Betrayed (194)[]

TW3K Zhang Yan 194

194 - Zhang Yan (Green), Enemies (Red)

Zhang Yan and his bandits exist as neither fully Han or outlaw, and as the land slips into ever greater chaos, they know their best hope is to navigate the space between. To attack the Black Mountain bandits is to invite deception and ambush, as they have mastered the art of war unseen. Yet all the same, Zhang Yan will form alliances and friendships with any who will serve his interests – be they high-born or mud-stained...

Start: Hard

Zhang Yan starts the World Betrayed campaign once more located in Yanmen commandery, with some extra counties to his name. He has been roped into a war with Yuan Shao and Gao Gan to his south and the bandit king finds himself outnumbered. However, all hope is not lost, as Yuan Shao has more enemies. Gongsun Zan is also at war with him and would make a strong and obvious ally for Zhang Yan to drive back Yuan Shao together. Alternatively, Zhang Yan can slip west through Xihe commandery into the abandoned plains of northwestern China if the situation becomes too dire, leaving him with an escape route if necessary.


Fates Divided (200)[]

TW3K Zhang Yan 200

200 - Zhang Yan (Green), Enemies (Red)

Zhang Yan tries earnestly to work as an independent agent, yet the chaos consuming China has put him in a dire situation. Yuan Shao's rise brought only misery, crushing Zhang Yan's alliances under the pressure, and now it is all he can do to hold on to his last stronghold. It is not a matter of if Yuan Shao will come for him, but when: Zhang Yan will need all his strength, and luck besides, if he is to survive such an assault...

Start: Hard

TW3K Zhang Yan Situation

Zhang Yan's situation

Zhang Yan has no missions for the Fates Divided campaign. His situation has grown from bad to worse, as he stands completely surrounded by enemies led by Yuan Shao. He has merely a single county to his name in Xindu commandery, with an army under Yuan Shang fast approaching. However, Yuan Shao has more problems than the Black Mountain King to deal with, as he is involved in a major war with Cao Cao to his south. This gives Zhang Yan some breathing room to attack Shao's weaker settlements, though he is still in a very difficult situation and must expand carefully to not overextend.

Zhang Yan does have an unorthodox option available, however. If the situation becomes too much for him, he could raise a smaller army to "sneak" out of Xindu and retake his position in Yanmen commandery, which now lies abandoned. He could also migrate entirely to the abandoned northwestern steppes.


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