Cai Yong

Cai Yong (onyomi: Sai Yō) was a famed scholar of his time, and was renowned for skills regarding music, calligraphy, mathematics, and astronomy. He was exiled when he spoke against the eunuchs, but was forced back to the capital under Dong Zhuo's threats. He is Cai Wenji's father, and Yang Hu's grandfather.

Dynasty Warriors
In Dynasty Warriors 7, Cai Yong will initially appear among Dong Zhuo's forces at Hulao gate, and will be located near Dong Zhuo's main camp.

In the Xtreme Legends expansion, Cai Yong's sprite uses an elder officer's instead. In Cai Wenji's hero scenario, he joins his daughter in defending the Emperor from the grasp of approaching warlords after Dong Zhuo's death. He is seriously hurt after fighting Lu Bu, while his daughter is severely exhausted from all the fighting, but Diaochan manages to convince the general to finally leave Chang'an. After Lu Bu's withdrawal, Cai Yong proceeds to narrate Diaochan's story to his daughter.

He reprises his role in Dynasty Warriors 8, but will instead be found defending the front lines of Hulao gate. In the Xtreme Legends expansion, he and Li Ru will ambush Lu Bu's forces at Chang'an, and they stand as the last obstacle to reaching Dong Zhuo. He and Wang Yun will later host a nobility tournament between Cao Cao, Sun Jian, and Yuan Shao at Wujun.

Quotes

 * "Your talents never cease to amaze me. I can't believe you memorized that entire book"
 * "I simply read the intent of the author infused in the text. If I do that, it naturally stays with me"
 * "Hmm... That's an interesting ability, as long as it doesn't start affecting your real life anyway."
 * Cai Yong and Cai Wenji; Dynasty Warriors 8

Historical Information
Cai Yong was born in Chenliu (present-day Qi county, Kaifeng, Henan). When his father, Cai Leng died, Cai Yong moved to stay with his uncle, Cai Zhi. When his mother died, Cai Yong gained recognition due to how he prepared her funeral. After his mother's death, Cai Yong became the student of Hu Guang, one of the highest ranked officials of the time, and Cai would study mathematics, astronomy, composition and the pitch pipes under Hu.

For his skills with the drums and the guqin, senior eunuchs recommended Cai to Emperor Huan during the 160s, but Cai feigned illness on the way, and returned home to study further. After a decade, he began working for Qiao Xuan as a clerk and duly impressed his employer. In 175, Cai and a group of scholars requested that the Five Classics of Confucianism be engraved on stone. Emperor Ling approved of the petition, and the result was the Xiping Stone Classics, which would be completed by 183. As his political career went on, Cai Yong was often given tasks regarding setting up ceremonies and festivals, and Cai began speaking more often against the influence of the eunuchs.

In 178, the eunuchs accused Cai and his uncle of extortion, and the two were initially sentenced to death, but they were exiled to the northern frontiers instead. Cai Yong later was allowed to return to the capital when he stated that his records on dynastic history and classics would be threatened due to the fighting in the area, but he offended the sibling of an influential eunuch, and fled south to the lands of Wu. He would end up staying at the south for more than a decade, and many people became his students, among whom was Gu Yong. After twelve years, Dong Zhuo, who had taken control of the emperor, demanded that Cai return to the capital. Cai initially declined, but Dong Zhuo relented that he could "eliminate whole clans", and Cai reluctantly accepted Dong's request.

During his service under Dong Zhuo, the warlord admired Cai's skills as a scholar and as a musician, but Cai was often alert and concerned regarding Dong's temper. He once considered sneaking back home, but quickly brushed off the idea when he realized he was too famous to do so without incident. In 192, Wang Yun killed Dong Zhuo in a plot to return power back to the emperor, and declared that any who dared to claim Dong's corpse, or openly grieved for Dong would be put to death. Cai Yong challenged the order, and was subsequently imprisoned awaiting death sentence despite pleas that Cai be allowed to finish his records before death. It was said that Wang eventually began regretting the order, but Cai Yong had died in prison by that time.

After his death, many of his works were lost in the succeeding wars. His library, under his student Wang Can, managed to survive some of the brunt so they could later be recorded into the Book of the Later Han. His daughter Cai Yan was also able to memorize four hundred of the four thousand books that were left to her at the request of the warlord Cao Cao.