Tian Yu

Tian Yu (onyomi: Den Yo) is a general of the Kingdom of Wei. After serving Gongsun Zan, he joined Cao Cao when the latter invaded northern China. He participated in repelling the Wu army when they attacked during Cao Rui's reign.

Roles in Games
In his first appearance in Dynasty Warriors 6, Tian Yu operates one of the fire traps at He Fei Castle. If he is defeated, the fire traps will stop working. He continues to serve as a Wei general in their later battles in the following installments.

In Dynasty Warriors 7, Tian Yu only serves as an enemy officer at Dongkou and the Wuzhang Plains.

Dynasty Warriors 8 has Tian Yu appear at Wuzhang Plains again. At Hefei Castle, once the rams at the main gate are destroyed and the Wu forces are forced to attack from the sides, Tian Yu will open the eastern gates and move south to intercept the Wu army.

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Tian Yu is a general with decent overall stats, with his leadership and intelligence standing out the most. He is fairly good with cavalry units. During the early scenarios, he can be either found as a free officer in the northern cities or serving Gongsun Zan. The later scenarios have him serve under Cao Cao and his successors.

In the fourteenth instalment of the series, special emphasis is placed on Tian Yu's tenure serving under Liu Bei at Pingyuan whom he has a loyal relation with and where he appears in the tutorial alongside Jian Yong to assist the three brothers. In the what-if scenario, "Yuan Shao: Ruler of the North Lands" where Liu Bei possesses control of Xuchang after Cao Cao loses the Battle of Guandu, Tian Yu serves within Liu Bei's ranks while in "The Han's Loyal Retainers", Tian Yu serves under Zhang Fei in an attempt to avenge the death of Liu Bei at Cao Cao's hand when Dong Cheng's assassination attempt of Cao Cao fails. In what-if scenarios where Cao Zhang breaks off to form his own faction separate from Cao Pi, Tian Yu will serve under Cao Zhang in reference to their close working relation. Tian Yu is aligned with Gongsun Zan's faction in the fictional "Gathering of Heroes" where he serves as the chief general of the faction.

Quotes

 * "Let's go! Now is the time to attack!"

Historical Information
Tian Yu was from Yuyang in You Province. In the early 190's, he joined Liu Bei to serve him as a magistrate, but shortly afterwards he returned to his hometown due to the illness of his mother. He then went on to serve the warlord Gongsun Zan and became a magistrate again. In 195, he managed to humiliate the defector Wang Men when he wanted to attack Yuyang, thus forcing him to retreat. When Gongsun Zan was defeated by Yuan Shao, Tian Yu stayed in his hometown until the late 200's, when Cao Cao invaded northern China. Tian Yu advised the local leader Xianyu Fu to submit to Cao Cao and followed him. The subsequent rebellions in You Province forced Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang to flee to the Wuhuan tribes.

During his early days in Cao Cao's service, Tian Yu served as a magistrate in Yu Province before he was sent to the northern borders, where he served as Senior Advisor to Cao Zhang, helping him to deal with the remaining tribes. During the late 210's, Tian Yu aided Cao Ren in defeating Hou Yin's Rebellion in Nanyang and restore order to the commandery. Tian Yu was appointed Administrator of Nanyang for his contributions.

During the reign of Cao Pi and Cao Rui, Tian Yu was sent back to the northern borders to defend it against the tribes. In 234, he was called south to assist Cao Rui and Man Chong in defending Hefei against Wu's invasion. Following the successful defense, he returned to the north and was appointed Protector of the Wuhuan. He continued to keep the northern tribes in check until his death in 252.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In chapter 103 of the novel, Cao Rui sent Tian Yu, Man Chong, and Liu Shao to repel the Wu army. Tian Yu reinforced Xiangyang and successfully held the city.