The upcoming Eight Princes DLC will technically be the third DLC pack for Total War: Three Kingdoms, although in many ways it is more akin to the first. After all, the Yellow Turban DLC was available at launch, while the Reign of Blood DLC was a very small addition. Eight Princes is a fully-fledged DLC with its own campaign map and cast of characters. The first of these will be Sima Wei, the Tempestuous General.
Sima Wei in the Total War: Three Kingdoms Eight Princes DLC
Among the eight princes themselves in the upcoming DLC, Sima Wei’s playstyle may be the most aggressive. A Vanguard hero, he will be able to recruit two unique infantry units; the Chu Infantry and Chu Spearmen. The former will be assault infantry, while the latter will be anti-cavalry spearmen. His unique building chain is Conscription, which offers higher unit recruitment rank, increased retinue deployment and replenishment, and even lower redeployment costs. Like many of the faction leaders in the base game, Sima Wei makes use of a unique resource. In his case, this resource is Fury, which he gains by conquering settlements and winning battles. Fury does decay over time, however, so Sima Wei players will need to keep fighting regularly in order to maintain it.
The benefit of Fury is that the resource will reduce unit upkeep costs, increase unit replenishment, and even alter other factions’ diplomatic attitudes towards him. However, just like the real Sima Wei, he is also quite generous to his allies. He has a unique action in his court which allows him to Present Gift; improving the recipient character’s relationship with the warlord. In addition, he can make use of two unique commandery assignments. The first is Reward the Nobility, which boosts noble support (the equivalent of public order in the Eight Princes DLC). The second is Rally Conscripts, which will boost local unit replenishment.
Sima Wei’s Starting Position
When it comes to his start position, Sima Wei will start in Shangyong, close to Luoyang, the imperial capital in Eight Princes. This means that he actually starts with easy access to a Weapon Craftsmen resource; a very useful starting asset. Like Liu Biao in the main game, he begins play with two vassals; the Prince of Ba and the Prince of Nanyang. He also begins play with two loyal subordinates named Qi Sheng and Gongsun Hong. Like their lord, they loathe Sima Liang.
The Rise and Fall of the Tempestuous General
“Sima Wei was one of the sons of Emperor Wu,” explains Creative Assembly; “original founder of the Jin dynasty, and was given military command of Jing province at the young age of 18. Known for his volatile temper, but also generous to the people and his troops, he joined Empress Jia in a conspiracy to overthrow Yang Jun. Now his troops march into Luoyang, establishing the political and martial pressure in the name of Empress Jia. Nevertheless, Sima Wei is loyal to the Jin, and will not hesitate to do what is best for the empire.”
Sima Wei is traditionally known as the second of the eight princes in the War of the Eight Princes, and was there at the beginning of this period of civil warfare. In the year 290, Empress Jia Nanfeng conspired with Sima Wei and Sima Liang to overthrow the emperor’s stepmother, Empress Yang Zhi, and her father Yang Jun. After the two princes marched into Luoyang they had Yang Jun killed, while Yang Zhi was starved to death. Subsequently, Sima Liang was named regent for Emperor Hui.
The Second Coup and a Ruthless Betrayal
However, Sima Liang and his ally Wei Guan were concerned about Sima Wei’s temper and they tried to remove him from his military post. In retaliation, Sima Wei’s two allies (the very same pair who players start with in the Eight Princes DLC; Qi Sheng and Gongsun Hong) told Empress Jia that the the pair were plotting to depose her. As such, Jia conspired with Sima Wei to stage a second coup in the summer of 291.
Sima Wei had his soldiers take Sima Liang and Wei Guan into custody at the order of an edict written by Emperor Hui, which demanded the pair be removed from office. However, once he had them in his clutches, Sima Wei had both men murdered, along with members of their families. Soon after the executions, Empress Jia realised that the deaths would sow chaos among the people. As such, she betrayed Sima Wei and accused him of forging the edict himself. For all his authority, Sima Wei’s soldiers turned on him immediately. He was executed along with Qi Sheng and Gongsun Hong.