Cai Wenji

Cai Wenji (蔡文姬) is a new playable character featured in Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce 2. Coming from a family of imperial scholars, she is Cai Yong's daughter who specializes in poetry and composing music. She was historically rescued from a group of nomads by Cao Cao.

Her height in Kessen II is 165 cm (5'5").

Dynasty Warriors
She also appears as an NPC in the Mercenary missions of Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires, where she is made up from parts of edit officers (except the voice, which is unique to her and Dong Bai). During her Mercenary mission the player must escort her through the map while defending her against bandits and other enemies.

Cai Wenji in Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce 2 is a poet and talented musician who excels in her studies. She was kidnapped by a group of nomads and lived an unhappy life until Cao Cao rescued her and returned her home. Although she would prefer to resume her everyday life of serenity, Cai Wenji is disturbed by the turbulent age surrounding her. In order to restore peace, she decides to personally assist in the battlefield.

Kessen
In Kessen II, Cai Wengi is the illustrious queen of Fu, a country known for its exotic trade routes and peaceful relations with the Han people. Her portrayal in this game, as well as her tribesmen, are references to Ghengis Khan.

She learned her sword fighting from a legendary swordsman and is said to possess sorcery that surpasses Zhuge Liang and Himiko. She is asked by either leader to attack their rival, which she complies by ransacking the Jing Province. The two generals in her army are Ma Dai and Deng Ai, who can defect and join Shu and Wei respectively. Her other "generals" are powerful clones of herself. When she's defeated by the commanders, Liu Bei/Cao Cao will forgive her. Touched by their generosity, she will join their cause as a secondary general.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Her Romance of the Three Kingdoms persona is closer to her historical counterpart. She often appears as an optional soldier in the central plains area. Players may need to search for her in the area or wait for an ally officer to offer her service. Though she may be hired by any lord, Cai Yan will start with a higher loyalty when Cao Cao seeks for her. She is gifted with musical talents and can increase the efficiency of platforms that use instruments.

Voice Actors

 * Mary Elizabeth McGlynn - Kessen II (English)
 * Miku Yoshikawa - Dynasty Warriors series (Japanese)
 * Chizu Yonemoto - Kessen II (Japanese)

Fighting Style
In Kessen II, she leads a sturdy cavalry armed with bows whom can be upgraded to be stronger Mongolian horsemen. Her stats are nearly maxed in all four directions and she is one of the few playable characters in the game to start with a high magic and war stat. She posses three spells, two of them being high-leveled and arguably the most damaging spells in the game (Gale and Fissure). Her dueling ability allows her to initiate a rare wuxia-style sword fight with Mei Sanniang or Sun Li. Though her skills are impressive, she has difficulty maintaining a high army morale and maybe routed if her abilities are not available.

Her Romance of the Three Kingdoms counterpart is better suited for political and domestic affairs than waging war. If needed, however, she makes a decent support unit for cavalry units.

Historical Information
Cai Yan was from the Chenliu prefecture. She was the daughter of the Han minister Cai Yong and wife of Wei Zhongdao and later, Dong Si.

After her first marraige, Wei Zhongdao passed away and around the end of 194 AD, Cai Yan was abducted by the Xiongnu tribesmen. She was made a concubine to an important tribesman, Liu Bao, bore him two children, and lived with the Xiongnu for twelve years.

In the time when Dong Zhuo took control of the emperor, Cai Yong was promoted favorably, and so when Dong Zhuo was assassinated by the plan of Wang Yun, Cai Yong, who was with Wang Yun, heard the news and gasped in fright. Wang Yun had him arrested and eventually died in prison.

Cao Cao was a friend of Cai Yong and was sad that they would have no heir, so he had gold delivered to the Xiongnu in exchange for Cai Yan. She was returned and was remarried to Dong Si.

Cai Yan was said to be intelligent and possessed musical talent. One night she heard her father play an instrument, and a string broke. Cai Yan correctly stated it to be the second string, and Cai Yong broke another, this time, on purpose. Once again she was able to name the string.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Cai Yan briefly appears in chapter 71 of the novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Cao Cao was on a march to battle with Liu Bei in Hanzhong when he passed by Cai Yan's residence. Dong Si, her husband, was away and Cao Cao came to the gates with a few attendants. Upon hearing who the guest was, Cai Yan hurriedly raced to meet them, and after Cao Cao took a seat in the household, he noticed a tablet which contained mixmatched eight words that he couldn't interpret. Cai Yan pointed out that her father wrote it after hearing a specific tale. Yang Xiu, one of the men whom Cao Cao brought along, decleared he knew the riddle on the tablet.

Cao Cao and his subordinates later left the house and Yang Xiu mentioned what the eight words meant using wordplay.