Zhao Yun

"Let us join forces to put an end to this chaos. I propose an alliance."

- Zhao Yun

"Another obstacle in the path of justice has fallen before me!"

- Zhao Yun's famous quote

Zhao Yun, also known as The Dragon of Changshan, is one of the main protagonists in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Zhao Yun is one of the generals of Shu under Liu Bei. He has been lauded his bravery at Han River. The Dynasty Warriors incarnation of Zhao Yun has been used as the mascot character of the series.

Early Life
Zhao Yun's early years in the military were spent serving Liu Bei of Shu, his hard work an dedication eventually distinguished him from the ranks to the point where he was made one of Liu Bei's personal subordinates.

Retreat across Jingzhou
Eventually Liu Bei was forced to leave the service of his commander, Yuan Shao. General Cao Cao, Liu Bei's previous rival officer under Yuan Shao took the opportunity to pursue Liu Bei and his people.

In 208 Liu Bei was on the run from, Cao Cao's massive army. Liu Bei had left so suddenly he was forced to abandoned his family and flee with his closest retainers. While passing through Jingzhou, Zhao Yun broke off from the army to go back to retrieve Liu Bei's wife, Lady Gan and their son, Liu Shan. For his efforts, Zhao Yun was promoted to General. This action is one of Zhao Yun's most lawded in history and subsequently, adaptations of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Establishing Shu
In 213, Liu Bei went to recruit his old mentor, Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang would accept the recruitment and Zhao Yun worked with Liu Bei's brother, Zhang Fei to help Zhuge Liang win territory for Shu. Zhao Yun in particular focused on the western territories, such as the Battle of Mount Dingjun.

During the Battle of Mount Dingjun. Huang Zhong attacked pressed an attack to destroy Cao Cao's food supply. Zhao Yun would return from a scouting missing to find that Huang Zhong was gone. When his comrade did not return, Zhao Yun rallied a detachment to check on Huang Zhong. They would find themselves surrounded by Cao Cao's forces and, though Zhong Yun initially charged through enemy lines, he eventually had to retreat back to his base to tend to the massive casualties his attempted rescue had caused. Cao Cao's troops pursued but stopped at the gates of the camp thanks to a bluff by Zhuge Liang. The open gates with no signs of guards was instantly suspicious to Cao Cao and he choose to retreat rather than walk into any traps waiting for him. The situation was actually a ploy from Zhuge Liang, Shu had few soldiers left, so rather than put up a fight, Liu Bei's old mentor had made conquering them seem too easy to be true. Thanks to Zhuge Liang, Zhao was able to save most of his soldiers but still reported with heavy heart  that his colleague old colleague, Huang Zhong had to be left behind. Liu Bei venerated Huang Zhong, made Zhuge Liang his regent for tactics and promoted Zhao Yun for his bravery to try to save Huang Zhong and his wisdom to retreat rather than sacrifice the remaining troops for blind honor.

Turning Point of Shu
In 222, Liu Bei went to put down Wu commander Sun Quan in Xiaoting. Though the rest of Shu were eager for the victory, Zhao Yun, expressed distaste for the battle and remained in Jiāngzhōu. The battle became a slaughtering-ground for Shu's forces and as a result, Zhao Yun had preserved an army by avoiding the conflict. After Liu Bei died Shu was continued to be lead by Zhuge Liang, who promoted Zhao Yun to "General who Guards the East". Zhao Yun distracted Cao Cao's forces while Zhuge Liang went on an expedition across Mount Qi. From the start, however, Zhao Yun could see the invasion was going to fail was against them and eventually issued the order for retreat to preserve the Shu troops. Zhao Yun personally guarded the army's flank during the retreat. Zhao Yun's detachment didn't lose many war supplies and were able to re-distribute the resources to other the units. Though Zhuge Liang offered to reward Zhao Yun, he declined since it was still a defeat and willingly accepted he was demotion. Zhao Yun would meet his end in 229, succeeded by his son.

Trivia

 * Zhao Yun's moves in the game are reach attacks, this is based on the stories that depect him as able to wade through many crowds of enemies.
 * Zhao Yun outlived all the other Tiger Generals.