Destiny of an Emperor 2 Bowang Po
Immediately as the text ends, Zhuge Liang is dispatching soldiers to certain areas to fend off Cao Cao’s “million man army”. Guan Yu is sent to ambush in the left hills with Zhang Fei on the right, Zhou Cang and Guan Ping in the rear, and Zhao Yun and Zhuge Liang with a frontal assault.
You’ll notice the town of Xin Ye has been upgraded a bit. Chen Deng was completely left out of the discussion of defensing against Cao Cao, as he is now not in your party but a member of the militia it seems. Or head of defense, whatever, it’s generals like Chen Deng that make Liu Bei’s army what it is, personally.
You’ll notice you’re moving slow (unless Chi Tu Ma is in Zhao Yun’s possession). That sucks but it’s only temporary. Zhuge has no equipment probably also. Hook him up at Jing Zhou castle, or you can just go straight to the forest if you want, you won’t really need improved weaponry here although the added defense helps. Also, note Zhuge Liang’s meager 255 intelligence count. Really though that’s another way of saying he can use tactics on ANYONE, period. So utilize this with your three attack spells (fire, water, boulder).
On your way there you might get a random general encounter for the first time in the game. Obviously you had noticed it was nothing but rebels and bandits up until now right? Well now generals show up in random battles, granted this batch isn’t too tough, and the difference to these as opposed to the ones in the first DoaE is that you cannot recruit them.
Now Cao Ren will oppose you as soon as you enter the forest. Zhuge threatens him and the battle begins. Yu Jin and Li Dian have been your enemy before near Luo Yang, and Cao Ren is obviously good overall with the bulk of his ability strength-based. Fortunately, Zhuge has a plan, so have Zhuge and Zhao cast spells or something first round. Fire damage then incinerates their party by 300 soldiers per general, and Guan Yu enters! Zhang Fei enters after the next turn and then it’s Zhou Cang/Guan Ping last.
NOTE!!!!!
If you defeat Cao Ren and the rest of his troops before the rest of your ambush parties (Zhou Cang/Guan Ping) come out, the emulator will freeze. This happened to me, at least. So basically, just defend or heal yourself and let the fire take them out, it’s the safe way to ensure a victory without having the game mess up. Or at least please save your state or game before this.
Return back to Xin Ye to get word of Liu Biao’s near-death situation. He will beg of you to take the throne from him but as a mere cousin Liu Bei will not accept. Eventually he will die, and Cai Mao will be there to both warn you of Cao Cao coming and to question you for not giving in to him. Hmm, he’s certainly not on board with your administration. At any rate, head back to Xin Ye. Zhuge Liang will give Liu Bei the idea that it is not out of the realm of reasonability for Liu Bei to assume the throne. Then you are prompted to head to Xia Kou to consult with Biao’s son Liu Qi.
Ironically enough, Liu Qi is in bed. What an assertive family Liu Biao has, eh. Liu Qi then begs of you (as in the game doesn’t let you not accept) to become the lord of Jing Zhou. Liu Bei does and soon enough he’s sitting on the throne. He orders you to throw out the Cai nephews (from Xin Ye and Jing Zhou castle).
Head to Jing Zhou to do so. This kind of sucks because you have to use Zhou Cang, and sit one of your tacticians (Zhuge, likely). Cai Zhong and Cai He will approach you, with Huang Zu and Han Sui as their allies. Now these generals are weak despite their obvious soldier advantage, so keep your health high to deliver maximum damage and picking up Copper Armor/Copper Shields at Xia Kou helps also. And again remember, now that you are fighting random general battles, you still can not recruit generals that you beat at gates/castles like you can in the first Destiny of an Emperor. Rest up and head to the second one, Xin Ye. I had a bit more trouble with this one although I’m not sure why, as the makeup of the battle is eerily similar to that of the last one. The only difference is Kuai Yue is an able tactician unlike anyone in the previous battle. Cai Xun, Jiang Xu, and Zhang Nan are generic yet decent fighters with their high HP counts, but not strong enough to make a difference against your army. Rest up here and head to the throne to hear that Lu Su, a Wu envoy, is coming to Xia Kou castle! Better get back there.