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Ying Taozi
Ying Taozi ( onyomi: Ei Toushi ) is the wife of Lu Meng and was regarded by Wu as Lady General Ying Fayang for her services to Wu as both combatant and medic. It is stated in records that she had famously turned down all of Sun Quan's offers to honoring her as a general, and likewise giving her the position. Poems and anecdotes mention her as a bright and compassionate woman, whose outlook often influenced the troops she had tended to. Taozi has been a playable character since Dynasty Warriors 5, and was a bodyguard NPC to Lu Meng in Dynasty Warriors 3 and Dynasty Warriors 4. Role In Games"Your compassion is your greatest asset, my lady, never lose it." Dynasty Warriors// info here// Romance of the Three Kingdoms Ying Taozi is first introduced in the novel being searched for by her parents in one of Sun Ce's camps. She is harshly berated until one of Sun Ce's generals approach them and explain to them her presence in camp, mentioning her brothers. Character InformationDevelopmentTaozi was genuinely developed over a joke regarding the character Bayonetta, which was admittedly taken too far and now no other 'concept' would fit Taozi better. Personality While not particularly motherly, Taozi is a patient and compassionate woman. She bears a heart of gold and usually puts others before herself. Relationships [ character name ] Voice Actors
Quotes
Gameplayinfo about movesets here WeaponsTaozi uses Bullet Shoes as her default weapon.
Historical InformationYing Taozi is a character of fiction. 
Born as the youngest child and only daughter of a former Lieutenant General Ying Zhaojin and his wife Luo Jie, Taozi was born into a well-to-do and a relatively well-respected family. Her life was relatively simple, she was taught to read and write, but mostly she was to help her mother do the chores at home, while her brothers trained to go into the army in their father’s place when they came of age. Taozi, at a young age, was bright and sociable. She was well-mannered and welcomed anyone who visited their home, which made her an ideal daughter of sorts, making her the favored child. Due to this, her brothers sort of distanced themselves from her, with the slight exception of Boxian, who still talked to her casually. Growing up, her mother would often go to the barracks and help tend to the wounded, and often brought Taozi along because there would be no one to care for her in her absence. From a young age, Taozi learned first aid and how to tend to wounds and injuries. She grew up to be compassionate and willingly helped people even when her mother told her to not go. This routine became her life up until she turned 14, when her father became ill and her brothers left for the army without a word. Her parents were grieved with her brother’s actions, and Taozi, fearing for both her parents and brothers, opted to leave and bring them home. Her departure caused her parents to panic, but her father was at that point too ill to go chase after her. This resulted, at the tender age of 14, in Taozi’s first experiences alone. She often spent her time in tending to the wounded in the camps, or whenever soldiers were brought home. She asked left and right for her brothers, until she ran into Sun Ce himself in a panic. The Little Conqueror felt sorry for the poor girl, and understood that she just wanted to bring her brothers home, knowing they had run away. They weren’t under Sun Ce’s direct orders, so he allowed her to stay around and gave her sleeping quarters with other civilians until she found them. Back home, her parents were disappointed, planning to arrange her with a slightly wealthier man ten years her senior. They expected her home soon, and Jie only waited for her husband to recover before they set off to find their daughter. Taozi, on the other hand, found her brothers when they returned to Tong’An a year later, and forced them to come home with her. They refused to go home, because of Boxian’s promise to give them a better life by getting promoted into a general, and that Taozi should go home because it was dangerous. Taozi relented and refused to budge until she could convince them. At that point, Taozi kept receiving letters from her parents, which she often replied that her duties were not yet done until she could bring their sons back home. Until Taozi’s brothers agreed to go home with her, Taozi kept to her duties in helping heal the sick and wounded. In the process, she began to read books on medicine and herbology, helping her find alternatives to her usual procedures and work more efficiently. This didn’t please her brothers, because she was learning to think for herself and become independent. They eventually gave up and told her that if they taught her how to use a sword, she would leave and return home. Taozi agreed, half-heartedly, because she would never leave until they returned with her. Though, at that point, she was trying to convince herself that she was in the army to bring her brothers home. They did teach her how to use a sword the best they can, and Taozi quickly picked up, finding these acquired skills useful in the future should the need arise. The more she trained, the more she began to realize she found a higher purpose to her life, and she knew that it pained her to know that many men will never come back to their families. She felt that with her skills, she could make a difference, probably. In 194, Sun Ce began his conquest into conquering Jiangdong, and Taozi was often left at camp to care for the wounded who were rushed there. Her time helping around the camp wasn’t always pleasant. She was often barraged with uncalled for comments because she was beautiful, and was often bribed with a “reward” for helping heal the wounded. She was verbally harassed with sexual comments and innuendos, and it’s only thanks to the generals that stayed with her, that she was completely safe. Taozi learnt to retort and scare off men who dared treat her that way. During Sun Ce’s offensive at Liyang across the Yangtze River, the main camp was attacked, and Taozi took up arms to help defend the base. Being one of, if not the only woman, some enemy soldiers under Liu Yao attempted to rape her. In retaliation to this, she cut off her hair as she was forced down, and escaped rape and possible death by killing her assailants and further pushing back Liu Yao’s forces in the main camp. Her feats were spoken highly of by the soldiers and officers present, and this caught Sun Ce’s attention. He rewarded her handsomely, for not running off and helping defend. She was gifted a beautiful sword, and accepted Sun Ce’s gifts to her. With that sword, Taozi cut off the rest of her hair, the harrowing experience she endured, she found in herself a newfound courage that supported her personal purpose. She knew in her heart that she was drifting away from her brothers, but these people needed someone to help them, and with the rewards she received, that made her stay. Her brothers were shocked and angry that she cut off her beautiful black hair into something so short and unattractive, and worried more for how she will be married rather than her safety. Taking offense to this, Taozi scolded them that all they care about was her worth as a woman compared to all the times she treated their wound and helped alleviate their pain. She was very young still, but she felt that it was too late for her to return home. She wrote letters to her parents, lying that she was still working on bringing them home. When soldiers began to respect her, she felt power and control in her life that she realized she lacked. During Sun Ce’s campaigns in Jiangdong, Taozi often rallied the soldiers to stand their ground wherever she was assigned, and eventually, her efforts and feats were recognized and acknowledged by other generals. She was offered to become a soldier under Lu Meng as a Commander of Separate Command, but she refused the offer, opting to remain in camps as a medic and assisting in organizing rations, supplies and tending to the wounded as usual. Respecting her decision, Sun Ce allowed her to remain. While she was not on duty, she would often be found reading books on medicine, herbs and some sciences, which was considered out of the ordinary for a woman. Lu Meng often found her reading up on those topics, and asked her what spurred her to pursue knowledge on such topics. Most of Taozi’s replies was because it’s what she finds herself drawn to, and actually is good at. Though not an intellectual, she often read Lu Meng’s suggestions, and sometimes studied with him. She was partially glad he stopped batting an eye at her for pursuing what women usually don’t. He even offered to help her find some way to do hands-on so she may work more efficiently in the field. She appreciated his help, and they became fast friends. Thanks to her friendship with Lu Meng, she also began to be introduced to other generals such as Zhou Yu, Sun Quan, Zhou Tai etc. Sometimes, Taozi would forget why she went to the army in the first place, forgetting her brothers on occasion, and remembering them when she saw them. She was earning respect for the deeds she does and the bravery she displays, but she continued to refuse any form of military position. By 200 AD, Sun Ce is assassinated, and Sun Quan rises to power in his brother’s stead. It was in this same year that Taozi and Lu Meng hurriedly marry, because Taozi found herself pregnant with Lu Meng’s child, whom they later named Lu Zong. Though it was a hasty marriage, it wasn’t loveless, needless to say. Both have been romantically involved for the past three years. A year later, Taozi’s parents sought out to force her to come home, unable to prolong her engagement to her actual fiancé. Upon seeing her again, she was carrying a sword, her hair short, and apparently married to another man. Her sudden change and newfound independence from the family disgusted both her parents, and both disowned her, telling her to never come home again because she defied them. Taozi bluffed that their sons were dead, and that they were not welcome in the Lu household because she is no longer their daughter. Taozi’s disownment did not stop her from doing her duties. Her parents were completely out of touch with her for years, she no longer needed them. In 203, Taozi was in duty in the battle of Xiakou against Liu Biao, but she was immediately pulled back from camp because she was found to be pregnant. Her activities in camp were more limited to healing the wounded instead of fighting, now that she had a son. During peaceful times, Taozi spent more time with her firstborn son, Zong. In 204 AD, Taozi gave birth to fraternal twin sons, Lu Mu and Lu Ba; but despite this, she still appeared in camps and defended, barely going to the front lines because her help was needed more behind the scenes rather than in the chaos. Taozi’s first experience in the front lines was in the battle of Jiangxia against Liu Biao. She didn’t take a liking to the front lines, despite being able to lead and rally soldiers to keep pushing, helping Sun Quan and Wu into victory. Later that year, Cao Cao had intended to conquer Wu, which led to the Battle of Chibi. Taozi, as per usual, was in the Wu Main Camp, with the exception that right now, she was with her husband, waiting for orders to attack. They both fought in the last push against Wei, and Taozi helped rout soldiers and generals to either bring into their army or execute. Her feats in battle and being able to fend off even the strongest of attacks against where she was assigned allowed her to earn the title of “Lady of the Fort” given by Sun Quan himself, despite her refusal to be given a military position. She was also known for her compassion and effort to keep the military’s spirits up as “Honorable Lady Ying Taozi”. She accepted these titles with humility, and further pushed herself to do better for the good of Wu. Taozi was present in the battle of Nanjun alongside her husband and was part of the front lines, but quickly retreated to tend to the wounded. The rest of the Battle, she remained in main camp tending to the soldiers and defending their stance. She returned home quickly to tend to her sons. Though she did not participate in battle for the next three years, she still continued to train alongside the soldiers and generals while tending to her sons. Lu Meng had to tell her that it was okay that she could stay home to care for their sons, and that they would take turns in caring for them. Taozi agreed to this, which allowed her to participate in training and some skirmishes. Once again, she was present in battle, this time taking to the defense in the battle of Hefei at Xiaoyao Ford against Cao Cao. Soon after, she finds out that her brothers had defected to Shu, and she took this personally as a betrayal for both of them. They have never spoken in so long, and she knew that her other older brother Shixun, resented her for earning respect as an officer and general and he didn’t. This pained her, but she knew what she had to do. Feeling responsible for their defection, she vowed to be the one to execute them herself when the time comes. Sun Quan applauded her for her voluntarism, but said it was unnecessary, to which she only replied “They are my flesh and blood, therefore I have the right to them.” Sun Quan didn’t argue after that. In 217, Taozi was part of the strengthening of the Ruxu Fort, and held off against Cao Cao in the Battle of Ruxukou. Cao Cao retreated, leading to victory. This was also when Taozi took notice of her husband’s declining health, and she began to take care of him and forced him to rest and take more precautions. Because of this, the entire year of 218, they spent time with their sons, and Taozi learned to help her younger sons cope with their conditions. Mu had auditory hypersensitivity, while Ba had scopopobia. She spent the year helping her sons learn to cope with them and function like normal, while encouraging them to help her care for Lu Meng. In 219, Taozi was on the front lines in the Battle at Fan Castle, once again meeting with her traitorous brothers, who had been promoted to minor generals since their defection. After Sun Quan ordered Guan Yu’s execution after Wu’s decisive victory alongside Wei, Taozi personally executed both her brothers who pleaded her to spare their lives. She heard none of their begging and beheaded them. Soon afterwards, she focused all her attention to her family, asking her sons to assist her in helping Lu Meng recover, but the latter only began to fall into worse sickness. Lu Meng succumbed to his illness in 219, and Taozi wept and mourned for her husband, vowing to carry on his legacy in Wu and asked his spirit to stay with her no matter what. Despite the depression creeping up within her after her husband’s death and her denial in regards to her brothers’ executions, Taozi pushed herself forward; knowing that’s the only thing she can do now. The dead are gone, and they can only watch over her. Taozi’s final battle was the Batlle of Yiling in the year 222. Where she participated in the front lines and help execute Lu Xun’s fire attack. Though she knew of the fire attack, she was caught in the confusion, and suffered horrible third degree burns. She was saved by her son, Lu Mu and Du Minshuo, a veteran commander. Taozi’s burns were too painful for her, and she knew that she wouldn’t be able to survive either way. She requested for her sons, and spoke to them her final words. When they left on her request, she struck herself in the chest with a knife, ending her life quickly instead of suffering a painful death from her horrible burns. She was buried beside Lu Meng with a posthumous military honor, “Lady General Ying Fayang ”. Her sons mourned her, and they took her and their father’s places in the Wu Army, continuing their legacies.
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