When it comes to the many famous heroes present in Total War: Three Kingdoms, there are few who are as renowned as Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. This legendary trio swore an oath of brotherhood before setting out to fight the Yellow Turbans and would come to dominate many events during the era. Zhang Fei is a tempestuous but loyal and mighty warrior. However, his flaws would lead to his unfortunate end at the hands of two of his treacherous subordinates.
Total War: Three Kingdoms Heroes – Zhang Fei
“Zhang Fei is a stubborn, strong warrior with a fierce temper who refuses to back down or retreat,” explains Creative Assembly; “Liu Bei and Guan Yu, his oath brothers, command his deepest loyalty and he’d sacrifice himself for them in an instant.”
While Liu Bei is a Commander and Guan Yu is a Champion, Zhang Fei’s class in Total War: Three Kingdoms is Vanguard. Like other martial heroes such as Lu Bu and Gongsun Zan, Vanguards are supreme frontline leaders and masters of shock cavalry. Plus, they reduce unit recruitment costs in their army. Although Champions and Scholars might have superior duelling skills in one-on-one combat, Vanguards are unparalleled at scything through enemy units.
Zhang Fei’s Role and Special Abilities
Liu Bei starts the Total War: Three Kingdoms campaign with both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in his army. As such, Zhang Fei is available immediately to anybody who plays as Liu Bei. As one of Liu Bei’s sworn brothers, he’s an extremely valuable asset, not least because he starts play with the unique Legendary weapon; the Serpent Spear. This spear was one of four traits teased on Zhang Fei’s character poster. These traits, which include three other abilities, are as follows:
- Blazing Roar: “Zhang Fei’s burly howl can rout an entire regiment!”
- Final Rush: “With a final burst of speed, battle’s end is hastened.”
- Serpent Spear: “The visage of a serpent coils around this formidable spear.”
- Sundering Strike: “With a mighty cleave, Zhang Fei rends his foes’ defences.”
Early Career Alongside Liu Bei
Like Guan Yu, Zhang Fei’s story begins when he joined Liu Bei as he was raising soldiers to fight the Yellow Turbans. After the trio of heroes swore the Oath of the Peach Garden and became sworn brothers, they set out to join the fight against the rebellion. Following a series of conflicts with rebels and rivals, including Lu Bu and Yuan Shu, Liu Bei seized control of Xiapi; territory which was under the control of Cao Cao. The warlord didn’t take this attack lightly. He quickly moved on the sworn brothers and defeated them, forcing Liu Bei to flee and seek the aid of Yuan Shao. However, he quickly left and joined Liu Biao.
In the year 208, after Liu Biao died, Cao Cao invaded Jing Province. This prompted Liu Bei to evacuate the peasantry from his region. Pursued by Cao Cao and 5,000 cavalry soldiers, Liu Bei’s retreat was covered by Zhang Fei and just 20 of his own riders. The warrior destroyed a bridge and stood at the far side. When Cao Cao’s soldiers arrived, he roared; “I’m Zhang Yide. You can come forth and fight me to the death!” None dared to face him, and so he and the others were able to escape.
Following the Battle of Red Cliffs, in which Zhang Fei fought for Liu Bei, the mighty warrior was given the title; “General Who Attacks Barbarians”. Shortly after, in 209, Liu Bei married Sun Ren, but his new marriage was hardly peaceful. Just two years later, Sun Quan called for Sun Ren to return home; suspecting that he and Liu Bei would eventually go to war. When she departed, Sun Ren attempted to abduct Liu Shan, Liu Bei’s son by Lady Gan. However, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun pursued her and managed to rescue the future Shu Han emperor.
Founding of Shu Han and the Death of Zhang Fei
After successful campaigns in Yi Province and Hanzhong, Liu Bei founded the kingdom of Shu Han in 221. In doing so, he declared himself emperor of one of the namesake Three Kingdoms. Zhang Fei was appointed General of Chariots and Cavalry and enfeoffed as Marquis of Xi District. However, Zhang Fei had little time to enjoy his new position. In the year 219, Guan Yu had been killed during Lu Meng’s invasion of Jing Province. As a result, Liu Bei quickly launched an attack against Sun Quan in retaliation. Zhang Fei was leading 10,000 soldiers en route to join Liu Bei when two of his officers, Fan Qiang and Zhang Da, killed him in his sleep. The traitors took his severed head and defected to join Sun Quan.
Zhang Fei was certainly a mighty warrior; indeed, Cao Cao once wrote that Zhang Fei and Guan Yu were “capable of fighting thousands of enemies”. However, Zhang Fei was also known to be an overly strict and ruthless commander. Liu Bei often told him to restrain himself from punishing his men severely for any infractions. As a result, he was unpopular among the rank-and-file soldiery despite his talents and sense of righteousness. Certainly, Romance of the Three Kingdoms paints these flaws as the reason why he was betrayed by his own men.