Zhou Yu, Gongjin (周瑜,公瑾)'s Journal

Character Write-Up
~~QUICK 'N DIRTY~~ LONG AND RAMBLY BIOGRAPHY

Zhou Yu, styled Gongjin, was born to a noble family in the year 175 AD. During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, his family housed the family of the general Sun Jian, who had gone off to fight the Yellow Turbans on behalf of the Han dynasty. During this time, Zhou Yu and Sun Jian's eldest son, Sun Ce, became close friends.

After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Sun Jian and his family returned to their home in Chang Sha. Zhou Yu and Sun Ce did not see each other for many years - the young Zhou Yu enlisted in the army of Sun Jian's immediate superior, Yuan Shu, while Sun Ce came of age in Sun Jian's army and fought there. Sun Jian would be killed in battle, however, and soon, Sun Ce, along with what was left of Sun Jian's forces, returned to Yuan Shu. There, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were reunited, and Zhou Yu advised Sun Ce to establish a power base of his own. The two then married the two Qiao sisters and swore an oath of brotherhood.

Sun Ce agreed, and he asked Yuan Shu to allow him to invade Yang province in order to save his uncle, Wu Jing, who had been at war with Liu Yao. Yuan Shu consented, since Liu Yao was his enemy, and Sun Ce quickly defeated Liu Yao, and then proceeded to defeat Yan Bai Hu, Wang Lang, and Zu Lang, accumulating a large amount of territory and many talented officers in the process.

Then, seeing that Sun Ce and Zhou Yu had just conquered all of this massive territory for him, Yuan Shu declared himself Emperor of the Cheng dynasty. This move, however, was met with unanimous disapproval from the other feudal lords, and rather than stay with Yuan Shu, Sun Ce declared independence from him and received Yuan Shu's former noble rank from Cao Cao. Zhou Yu helped Sun Ce in the battle against Yuan Shu and then in the defense against Huang Zu, the man who had killed Sun Jian's father and had come to attack Sun Ce as well.

Sun Ce died shortly thereafter, and after mourning his loss, Zhou Yu returned to advise Sun Quan, Sun Ce's younger brother and successor. Zhou Yu led the attack on Huang Zu, and although Wu officer Ling Cao died in the battle, the warrior Gan Ning surrendered. Sun Quan was unsure on whether or not to trust Gan Ning, but it was Zhou Yu and Lu Meng who convinced Sun Quan to make use of him. Gan Ning proved to be a valuable asset, as he would kill Huang Zu and bring his head to Sun Quan.

Liu Bei, one of the more famous but less-powerful feudal lords, was defeated by Cao Cao and fled to the territory where Huang Zu had once occupied under the protection of Huang Zu's master, Liu Biao. However, Liu Biao soon died, and his son, Liu Cong, surrendered to Cao Cao, once more leaving Liu Bei without a home. Lu Su, a friend of Zhou Yu's and an advisor to Sun Quan, brought Liu Bei's strategist Zhuge Liang to negotiate an alliance so that the two forces could fight Cao Cao together.

While the generals were eager to get to work, all of Sun Quan's advisors were in favor of surrendering to Cao Cao, who outnumbered the Wu forces by a margin of about 5:2, and forsaking Liu Bei - except for Lu Su and Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu, Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong (then one of Zhou Yu's friends, who would later join Liu Bei after Zhou Yu's death), and the general Huang Gai made a daring and bold strategy - Pang Tong would work his way into the ranks of Cao Cao's navy and advise Cao Cao to chain his ships together. Huang Gai would feign allegiance to Cao Cao, and then burn down his fleet. Zhuge Liang would distract Cao Cao's forces while Zhou Yu and his general of equal rank, Cheng Pu, led the navy against Cao Cao's initial assault (in the novel, Zhuge Liang prays to summon a southeastern wind, but the wind was naturally occuring).

Then, at Chi Bi ("Red Wall"), it all came together without a hitch. Zhou Yu managed to defeat Cao Cao's navy in the first wave of attacks, forcing Cao Cao to back off and chain his ships together. Then, the Gan Ning raided the Wei supply camp, killing all of Cao Cao's best naval commanders. Huang Gai set sail under the guise of surrendering to Cao Cao - and instead, led a daring kamikaze attack that set all of Cao Cao's ships ablaze. The wind carried the flames even farther, and Cao Cao and his officers were forced to flee on small rafts as their once mighty warships sank into the ocean, held together by Pang Tong's chains.

It was the single most decisive battle in the Three Kingdoms, as the two lesser powers of Wu and Shu proved their worth in battle against Wei and emerged victorious. The exploits went down in legend, and anybody who's studied the time period would regard Zhou Yu as the hero of Chi Bi (or possibly Zhuge Liang instead, as the Chinese popular culture celebrates him more than Zhou Yu, but those who actually have studied the history pretty much know that it was chiefly Zhou Yu's day).

Zhou Yu then counterattacked, besieging the city of Nanjun. After a several-months long struggle during which Zhou Yu was struck by a poisoned arrow in the shoulder, the Wu forces emerged victorious over Nanjun's protector, Cao Ren. However, immediately upon entering the city, they found that Liu Bei had sent his general, Zhao Yun, to inform them that Sun Quan was allowing Liu Bei to temporarily borrow the city. And thus, despite doing no fighting, the Shu army claimed Nanjun. This outraged many in the Wu forces, who immediately sought to go to war with Liu Bei, but Zhou Yu had other ideas: absorb Liu Bei's forces into Sun Quan's own peacefully, and then annex the remaining warlords until their combined might was greater than that of Cao Cao's. Sun Quan approved of this plan, as Liu Zhang (Liu Bei's cousin and one of the few remaining powers) could be easily defeated, and Zhang Lu and Ma Chao (both smaller but stronger powers in the northwest) had already gone to war with Cao Cao and had actively sought allegiance with Wu. However, Zhou Yu suddenly took ill, and the plan was scrapped. Wu's best chance to unite the land slipped from their grasp.

Zhou Yu knew his time was limited, and so quickly notified Sun Quan that he was to appoint Lu Su as his successor. Then, Zhou Yu died of his illness in 210, a mere 10 years after Sun Ce had died. Lu Su, though capable, did not want to offend Liu Bei by attacking Liu Bei's relative, and so Liu Bei would be the one who conquered Liu Zhang. Although Lu Su, Lu Meng, and Lu Xun (a chain of successors) would take back the land that Shu had "stolen" from Wu, it Zhou Yu's "Two Kingdoms" plan, as it was called, died with him, and thus Wu was never able to unify China. Still, Zhou Yu had a unique record that even the more celebrated Zhuge Liang cannot claim: he won every battle he ever fought.

He had two sons, named Zhou Xun and Zhou Yin, as well as a daughter, Zhou Ying, all born to Xiao Qiao. Zhou Ying would marry Sun Quan's son, Sun Deng, while Zhou Xun would marry Sun Quan's daughter, Sun Luban. Zhou Xun died early, however.

LEGACY

There are many characters here who might ICly know who Zhou Yu is, as he is undoubtedly one of the most famous and talented men from the era. If your characters either LIVED during the year 208 AD (because they're immortal or really really old) or studied Chinese history at that time, they will undoubtedly know who Zhou Yu is.

ZHOU YU AND ZHUGE LIANG

There's a big scholarly debate about whether Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang were friends or enemies. I lean towards "friendly rivals." On one hand, Zhou Yu seems to have wanted to make use of Liu Bei in a way that would keep all of his officers alive and was quite interested in hiring Zhuge Liang, but on the other, there's a lot of folktales about Zhou Yu attacking Zhuge Liang and Zhuge Liang escaping, as well as Zhuge Liang causing Zhou Yu's death by frustrating him. These are typically only folktales, and in DW canon, there isn't really a clear distinction - in some of the DW games, Zhou Yu attacks Zhuge Liang, while in others, he does not.

To settle this difference, and to make roleplay more interesting, I take the approach that each of the Dynasty Warriors characters comes from their own "Musou Mode" (storyline). Thus, Zhou Yu (even if he came from the point in time after the alleged incident occured) would have no recollection of ever attacking Zhuge Liang, while Yue Ying, whose Musou Mode/Storyline would be more likely to incriminate Zhou Yu for the sake of her husband, would clearly remember him doing so.

Needless to say, this causes some great friction between Zhou Yu and Yue Ying in camp, hence her immediate attempt on his life when he arrived.

PERSONALITY

Zhou Yu's calm, confident, and demure. In public. In private, sometimes he can be riddled with anxiety or even depression, especially if he thinks he's failed. He can also be a bit light-hearted when reassured, however, and functions extremely well as an advisor to the more hasty Sun Ce.

He might come of as arrogant because of his formal approach to speaking, but the truth is, if one takes the time to get to know Zhou Yu, they'll find - in the words of his comrade Cheng Pu - that "to be with Zhou Gongjin is to drink cold wine unmixed with water... before you know it, you are drunk."

ABILITY

Zhou Yu is a capable fighter, but he is not anywhere near the level of Sun Ce or Gan Ning, two of the best fighters who ever lived. Still, he more than makes up for this in terms of intellect. If his enemy has a weakness, he will find it, and he will exploit it. He is quite proficient in (and fond of) the use of fire tactics as well - so, just sayin', he might be "in your base, burning your doods."

WU RELATIONS

Sun Ce - There is no closer bond shared between two heterosexual, non-experimental men in the world than the bond between Sun Ce and Zhou Yu. Their bond is so strong that in a theoretical situation, if Sun Ce were to kill Zhou Yu's entire extended family, Zhou Yu wouldn't bat an eye, and vice versa. (Thankfully, such an event never happened - it merely shows the extent to which the two are loyal to one another.)

Xiao Qiao - Xiao Qiao is Zhou Yu's wife. As such, they are very protective of one another, with him chiding her for exposing herself to unnecessary danger and her stubbornly refusing to let him go into battle without her. Early in their "relationship," I'm sure Xiao was less than excited to be married since she is a bit of a wild spirit, but has since attached herself firmly to Zhou Yu's waist. Their height difference is also one of the largest in ANY couple I've ever seen.

Da Qiao - Da Qiao is Zhou Yu's sister-in-law two times over: once through Xiao, and another through her marriage to Sun Ce. The two have similar personalities, and thus have a great connection to one another.

Lu Meng - Lu Meng is, essentially, a protege of Zhou Yu. When Lu Meng first joined Wu, he was a young boy who didn't know much about tactics and was only interested in killing things. It was the tutelage of Zhou Yu and Lu Su that turned Lu Meng into an incredible strategist and leader, and Lu Meng holds Zhou Yu's memory highly.

Lu Xun - Similar to the Lu Meng situation, only this time, add Lu Meng as one of the mentors. In Dynasty Warriors, Zhou Yu and Lu Xun share a bit of a bond, with Zhou Yu telling Lu Xun that one day, he will be the one on whose shoulders the future of Wu rests.

There you have it. Zhou Yu, one of the most celebrated men of the Three Kingdoms.