Chapter II: Managing Traitors, Yuan Shu and Cao Cao
(Begins with the game, and ends with meeting Yuan Shao.)

Xuzhou Castle

Headquarters
Inn (5 Gold Each)
Training Room (500 Gold)
Blacksmith (Short Swd; Stone Axe; Wood Spr; Leather Arm/Helm/Shld)
Merchant (Herbal, Smoke, Revive)

1. You begin the game standing in a room with Emperor Xian and Cao Cao. Speak with Emperor Xian, and he will explain to you that Yuan Shu has become a traitor, and requests that you dispatch him. Turn to Cao Cao and speak with him. He will explain that he has his own matters to attend to, but will offer the assistance of Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao.
2. Accept the services of Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao.
3. Walk toward the exit, and you will be stopped by your brother, Guan Yu. Hire Guan Yu—not that you have much of a choice.
4. After you exit the palace, when you reach the small bridge, you will be approached by Zhang Fei, who you should also hire. Check Zhang Fei and Guan Yu’s stats, and you will see how vital they will become.
5. Now that you have a full party, the time has come to equip everyone. If you fight without doing this, you will certainly regret it. Bring up the menu by pressing ‘A’, choose ‘Items’, select a weapon or piece of armor, and choose ‘Equip’. Now, do this for each officer, and each piece of gear.
6. You will need a tactician in order to use tactics (Destiny of an Emperor’s ‘magic’) in battle. To do this, bring up the main menu, choose ‘formation’, then choose ‘strategist’. The best choice at this point is Guan Yu or Liu Bei. I selected Guan Yu.
       Why? I have observed that the officer at the top of your lineup seems to be attacked more, and Liu Bei has the most soldiers.
7. Save your game at the Headquarters (you will know you are in the right room after you enter and find a room divided in two, with the one on the left offering to save your progress).

Field Battle: Ji Ling

1. Battle Ji Ling in the Field (Very Easy)
   • Ji Ling
   • Liang Gang
   • Liang Ji
   • Outlaw Army x2
   • (~21 Exp, ~72 Gold, Drops: Smoke)
     Have everyone target Ji Ling with regular physical attacks. He should fall early to mid way through your second round, depending on what level you are. After Ji Ling, defeat Liang Ji, then Liang Gang, using the same approach. The battle is as good as won.
2. You are probably still healthy enough to move on to the next battle.

Field Battle: Yuan Yin

1. Battle Yuan Yin in the Field (Easy)
   • Yuan Yin
   • Li Feng
   • Chen Lan
   • Outlaw Army x2
   • (~24 Exp, 103 Gold, Drops: Herbal)
     Yuan Yin has a fairly nasty fire tactic, but that isn’t enough to make him a serious threat. Begin the battle by having all of your officers but Liu Bei (and Guan Yu as well, if you wish) target Li Feng with physical attacks. Have Liu Bei (and Guan Yu if you chose him) use Lian Huo on Li Feng. If Li Feng survives this round he will be lucky. On the next round, target Li Feng as needed, but target Chen Lan with the rest of your attacks, including a Lian Huo or two. After this, all that remains is to remove Yuan Yin with physical attacks, then go all-out to finish the battle.
2. You may want to return to Xuzhou to recover your strength.

Cave (Toward Yuan Shu)

1. North from the position where Yuan Yin was waiting, you will find a cave. You will need to move through this cave to reach Yuan Shu. When you are prepared, enter the cave.
2. Follow the right-hand path to find ~80 Gold.
3. Retrace your steps, travel up, and follow the right path at the next fork to find a Herbal.
4. Continue up the path, and move down the western vertical passage. In a treasure chest, you will find a Leather Helmet.
5. In the second vertical passage you will find Leather Armor.
6. The path continues around toward the east, and north again. In a room sectioned of to the northeast you will find another Herbal.
7. Continue following the path until you reach Yuan Shu. As he shows up on the map, you will be able to prepare before facing him.
8. Battle Yuan Shu in the Cave (Moderate)
   • Yuan Shu
   • Ji Ling
   • Yue Jiu
   • Lei Bo
   • Zhang Xun
   • (34 Exp, 145 Gold, Drops: Leather Shield)
     This battle is quite a bit tougher than the previous two major battles you have faced. Observe that Yuan Shu is pretty dangerous in most any regard, and that Lei Bo is quite strong, making him dangerous as well, but that he is also as smart as a box of rocks. Have Liu Bei and Guan Yu target Lei Bo with Lian Huo, and everyone else attack Yuan Shu. Repeat for round 2. On round 3, have Guan Yu and Liu Bei use Lian Huo on Ji Ling, and continue to attack Yuan Shu with everyone else. For round 4, have everyone target Yuan Shu with physical attacks (he should nearly be defeated). As a result of this round, Yuan Shu and Ji Ling will probably both fall, leaving you with two moderate opponents left an a clear path to victory.
9. With Yuan Shu defeated, you should now return to Cao Cao.

Xuzhou Castle (2nd Visit)

Palace, Headquarters, Historian, Trainer
Inn (5 Gold Each)
Blacksmith (Short Swd; Stone Axe; Wood Spr; Leather Arm/Helm/Shld)
Merchant (Herbal, Smoke, Revive)

1. Upon your arrival, Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao will explain Cao Cao’s wishes for you to govern Xuzhou, then they will depart. If you like, you can pass their items over to your other officers, giving you something to pawn off for spare change.
2. By the entrance, an officer named Chen Deng will warn you that Cao Cao knows of your oath, and has become furious (this isn’t covered much in the story, but Liu Bei plotted with the Emperor and other civil and military officials to kill Cao Cao—you are in trouble now, because Cao Cao has discovered).
3. Rest at the inn, and save your game.
4. In the city, you will see someone who appears to be a general. This man, Che Zhou, tells you that you have been discovered, that the other conspirators have been beheaded, then attacks you!
5. Battle Che Zhou in the City (Easy)
   • Che Zhou
   • Outlaw Army x2
   • (~40 Exp, ~235 Gold, Drops: ???)
     As long as you rested at the inn, this battle shouldn’t be any trouble for you. Have Zhang Fei attack, and use Lian Huo with Liu Bei and Guan Yu. The battle will be over before you know it. He hits fairly hard, so keep a few TP set aside for Chi Xin.
6. Speak with Chen Deng again. He will explain that Cao Cao is probably going to come in search of you, and suggests seeking asylum with Yuan Shao. In order to have his ear, he theorizes that it will only be possible with a letter of introduction from Zheng Xuan, who lives to the north. He asks to join your party so he might introduce you. Hire him.
7. It is probably best to keep Guan Yu as your tactician.
8. Rest at the inn and save your game.
9. Would you like to enjoy a very unusual game glitch that allows you to have unusual people in your party, to recruit certain Wu officers, or even to resurrect Pang Tong, a very powerful strategist, after he dies (not normally possible)? If so, you will need to make sure every inventory slot for both Liu Bei and Chen Deng are completely filled. A few ways to make this easier include distributing any Revive or Herbal items you may have between the two of them. You can also give them Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao’s equipment, as long as you obtained it. Finally, when the time that you would need a full inventory comes, you can also unequip some gear to fill in spaces. If you don’t want to take chances, you can also buy some extra items while you are here in Xuzhou. Make sure you are prepared before you leave the city, and if you do take time preparing for this, be sure to save your game.
10. If you would like to purchase anything, do so now. When you are ready, exit the city.
11. Upon your exit, Cao Cao will attack you. He does indeed know of your treachery, and has come to take your head. Chen Deng speaks up and tells Cao Cao that it is he that is the traitor.
      (It is interesting to note that historically, Chen Deng, and his father, Chen Gui, worked to Cao Cao’s benefit.)
12. Battle Cao Cao outside Xuzhou (Impossible)
    • Cao Cao
    • Xu Zhu
    • Dian Wei
    • Zhang Liao
    • Xun Yu
    • (No Exp, No Gold)
      As soon as this battle begins, Chen Deng will remind you that your top priority is to escape to Jizhou. As such, selecting ‘Run’ to escape this battle seems like the logical action to take (and if Chen Deng’s plea isn’t enough, the soldiers and status of Cao Cao and his officers should be). If you stay, you will certainly be killed.
13. Once you have escaped the battle, you will be unable to return to Xuzhou (Cao Cao will remain in the city). Travel north until you find Zheng Xuan’s hut.

Zheng Xuan’s Hut

1. After you enter the hut, you will find yourself in a rather tranquil setting with a pond to the northeast. You will see the hut itself to the northwest. Enter the hut.
2. Inside, at first gSpear, it may seem like nobody is in there, though you may notice what looks like a shattered—something, sitting in the top center of the room. That something is actually Zheng Xuan. Destiny of an Emperor II is famous for glitching in many emulators. Most cannot display battle graphics properly and, it seems, not a single emulator we are aware of is able to display Zheng Xuan properly. This doesn’t affect your game, as you can still talk to him, so it is no big loss. If he does indeed look like a character for you, though, please send us an email (use the contact information at the top of this guide)!
3. Speak with Zheng Xuan. He will agree to write you a letter, but requests that you first search the cave to the east.

Eastern Cave (Zheng Xuan)

1. Follow the narrow path above you to obtain ~80 gold.
2. Pass through the large room at the front, and to the east. Pick up a treasure along the way containing ~80 gold.
3. Pass into the main corridor to the east, where you will find a number of treasures lined up along the center and top wall. The bottom chests contain, from left to right, a Leather Helmet and a Leather Shield. The four top treasures contain, from left to right, a Leather Armor, a Copper Sword (give this to Liu Bei), the Map (which is the reason why you came to this cave), and a Revive.
4. Loaded with your new treasure, return to Zheng Xuan.

Zheng Xuan’s Hut (2nd Visit)

1. Speak with Zheng Xuan again. He will hold a conversation with Liu Bei, inquiring as to what he hopes to accomplish with his future, then he will give you the Zheng Letter. He then tells you to go seek Yuan Shao.
       (We mentioned previously under Xuzhou a trick that allows you to get secret characters, resurrect Pang Tong, and even hire Wu officers. That ‘trick’ takes place right now. If both Chen Deng and Liu Bei have a full inventory when Zheng Xuan hands you his letter, he will ask you to drop something. After you do this, go to your other character (the one who doesn’t have a Zheng letter) and drop something else. Next, pass the Zheng Letter from the character that has one to the character who doesn’t, and the Zheng Letter should duplicate. If this happens, you know you have performed the trick properly. When the time comes to use the Zheng Letter, use the duplicate. The original on your other character is a glitched item, and will remain so for the rest of the game. When you use it, it will not vanish, and when you pass it, it will duplicate itself. Its duplicates cannot be dropped or stored, but when they are used they will be used permanently. Avoid duplicating too many, as it will make it difficult to manage equipment. You can always make more later from the original. For more information, as well as what to do with these Zheng Letters you can now duplicate, please see the secret ‘Zheng Letter Duplication and Fun Tricks’ in the ‘Secrets’ section.)
2. Now that you have Zheng’s letter and the Map, exit and travel back to the first cave you entered (the one where you fought Yuan Shu). You might recall seeing a small boat dock on the opposite side of that cave? That is where you are headed. Seek out the boat dock.
3. When you pass through the cave, you will see the dock. Walk on it to board the boat, which will take you for a ride to another land (and the next chapter).