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For the character, see Zheng Jiang.

Zheng Jiang is a playable faction in Total War: Three Kingdoms. It starts the campaign landless in northern China in 190, moving to central China in 194 and 200. Gaining a rank as a duke, king, or emperor renames the faction to Tai.

Zheng Jiang 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[]

Unique Units

Zheng Jiang Unique Units

Zheng Jiang Unique Units

Unique Buildings

  • None

Unique Features


Infamy[]

Infamy is the unique faction resource of Zheng Jiang. It can be gained by winning battles and looting or sacking captured settlements. Therefore, rapid expansion and brutal conquest are the best course of action for Zheng Jiang, as low Infamy will grant a debuff to satisfaction. Infamy will also start to decay when it gets higher, gradually increasing alongside infamy.

Infamy can range from a minimum of zero to a maximum of 500 and is divided into five different tiers. These are:

Infamy: Inferior (0-50)

You snap at the heels of your would-be oppressor, yet you are a nuisance – nothing more.


Infamy: Acknowledged (51-125)

You have fought your way to recognition, but there is much more yet to do before they fear you.


Infamy: Renowned (126-225)

Worries whispers of your strength and might carry across China – it is your name that gives them pause!


Infamy: Dreaded (226-350)

Talk of the Bandit Queen strikes fear into the hearts of nobles and peasants alike – they dread your coming storm!


Infamy: Legendary (351-500)

All of China knows your strength and your brilliance – you have risen from nothing to claim everything; you have become a legend!


Mercenary Treaty[]

TW3K Mercenary Contract

Zheng Jiang becoming a mercenary for Cao Cao

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

TW3K Mercenary Mission

The associated mission to attack Dong Zhuo

Once a Mercenary Treaty is signed, Zheng Jiang will declare war on the target and any vassals or allies involved in the ongoing conflict. She 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 Zheng Jiang has accepted her contract, her employer will expect her to hold up her 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. Zheng Jiang will not receive the loot at the end of the 20 turns and will suffer a diplomatic penalty with the faction that hired her.

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

The four tiers of Fame & Fortune are:

TW3K Mercenary Gift to Lord

Zheng Jian's option to hand over a captured settlement to her 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 Zheng Jiang 190

190, Zheng Jiang - Green, Enemies - Red

Dynasties and nobility mean nothing to Zheng Jiang; she prefers to seize glory in her own way. As the Han burns, she sees at last the crumbling of an institution she deeply despises. What have they ever known of hunger? What fear have they ever felt for corrupt and avaricious officials? Zheng Jiang has never known the ease of a noble upbringing, nor the expectation of 'civilised' society. Instead, she is resolved to earn fame and prestige for herself through merciless fury and unrelenting strength!

Start: Very Hard

TW3K Zheng Jiang-Inital-dilemm

Zheng Jiang's initial dilemma

Zheng Jiang starts the game landless in Taiyuan commandery, stranded deep in Han territory. However, her start is better than it first appears, for the region is lightly defended, with the nearby city of Anyi in Hedong commandery being the only major stronghold standing in her way. After defeating Han general Cai Yong and capturing Jinyang, Zheng Jiang is in an excellent position to snowball through Taiyuan and Xihe commanderies. From there, she can either attack the wealthy Han stronghold of Hedong, head west into the uninhabited plains of Shuofang and Anding – most likely facing resistance from Dong Zhuo's forces under Lü Bu – or head east, attacking minor warlords such as Gao Gan, Zhang Yang, Wang Kuang, or even betraying her fellow bandit warlord Zhang Yan.

Zheng Jian's initial dilemma revolves around her diplomatic relationship with Zhang Yan. As they are both bandits in the same area of the campaign map, an alliance would be the most natural choice against powerful Han warlords to the east, such as Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shao, and Cao Cao. However, Zheng Jiang also has the option to double cross Zhang Yan and attack him, taking his territory for herself.

Characters


A World Betrayed (194)[]

TW3K Zheng Jiang 194

194. Zheng Jiang - Green, Zang Ba - Red

Dynasties and nobility mean nothing to Zheng Jiang; she prefers to seize glory in her own way. As the Han burns, she sees at last the crumbling of an institution she deeply despises. What have they ever known of hunger? What fear have they ever felt for corrupt and avaricious officials? Zheng Jiang has never known the ease of a noble upbringing, nor the expectation of 'civilised' society. Instead, she is resolved to earn fame and prestige for herself through merciless fury and unrelenting strength!

Start: Very Hard

Zheng Jiang's starting position in 194 is much more complicated than the one in 190. She starts landless once more, this time in the territory of minor warlord Zang Ba. After defeating Pu Bing and capturing Luxian, she is in a good position to capture Zang Ba's lands. However, her options to expand beyond that are extremely limited. Contrary to her relatively cushy 190 start, where she is surrounded by the crumbling and weak Han Empire, in 194, she stands surrounded by powerful warlords on all sides. Liu Bei and Kong Rong to the east, Cao Cao and Lü Bu to the west, Liu Chong and Yuan Shu to the south, and the mighty Yuan Shao and his vassals to the north. This makes her a sitting duck to more powerful factions with stronger starts, and not being overwhelmed by them will prove difficult indeed.

Characters


Fates Divided (200)[]

TW3K Zheng Jiang 200

200. Zheng Jiang - Green, Enemies - Red

Warlords have risen and dynasties fallen, yet Zheng Jiang's passion to rise above them all has never faltered. The Han's demise is no loss to her – it is an institution she has long despised, come at last to a just end.

Maybe now, she hopes, these gilded emperors and nobles will feel the sting of hunger and indignity when their palaces crumble. And maybe, she hopes, she will be the one to burn the foundations!

Start: Very Hard

Zheng Jiang starts the Fates Divided campaign with some territory to her name in Pengcheng commandery. However, it takes only one glance at the map to realize that her situation is all but hopeless. Cao Cao's Duchy of Wei nearly completely surrounds her, with the warlord himself present on her southern border, though he will most likely be more occupied with dealing with Liu Bei. To the north, Yu Jin commends a mighty Wei army on the south bank of the Yellow River, and he may be inclined to turn around and deal with the Bandit Queen personally. Zheng Jiang's only potential allies powerful enough to fight Cao Cao would be Liu Bei to the east and Yuan Shao to the north. The former is at war with her, and the latter starts off hating her.

It doesn't get any more challenging than this.

Characters


Gallery[]


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