Part 10

Learn how to effectively use assassins, diplomats, merchants, and princesses in Total War: Three Kingdoms Part 10. Master settlement management and public order.

This section of the guide focuses on the strategic use of agents and the management of settlements in Total War: Three Kingdoms. While sabotage missions are generally easier than assassinations, buildings can be rebuilt, whereas a slain target is gone forever. Be cautious when using assassins; failure can make targets more wary and harder to eliminate. It's advisable to let rookie assassins gain experience on lower-value targets like bandits before attempting to assassinate important figures such as kings.

A faction can be eliminated by losing all its family members, though this is rare. However, removing family members significantly weakens a faction and its armies. Killing diplomats can hinder an opponent's ability to form alliances or negotiate ceasefires. Eliminating princesses weakens their family tree and reduces their diplomatic capabilities. Merchants, when killed, impact a faction's economy. Assassinating priests, imams, heretics, or witches helps maintain or establish your faction's religious dominance. Killing Cardinals can open up positions in the College of Cardinals, decrease a faction's standing with the Pope, and impede their influence in papal elections. Assassinating the Pope triggers a new election, which can alter your relationship with the Papacy depending on the new Pope's allegiance. If the Pope is heavily guarded or you face excommunication, Inquisitors may be dispatched to eliminate your priests and family members; assassins are the only means to counter them without reconciling with the Pope.

Merchants: Merchants generate income with zero upkeep. They increase their 'Finance' by occupying resource nodes, surviving rival takeover attempts, and successfully taking over other merchants. A Merchants' Guild exists, and any city with a Grain Exchange can recruit them. Highly valuable resources for trade include Gold, Ivory, Tobacco, Chocolate, and Silk. The value of any resource can be determined by selecting a merchant and hovering over the resource.

Princesses: Princesses possess 'Charm,' which functions similarly to a Diplomat's influence in negotiations and to an Assassin's 'Subterfuge' in marriage proposals. Princesses are typically royal daughters, though not all daughters of the faction leader, heir, or former leader are agents. They are born, not recruited, and have no associated guild. Their Charm can increase through successful negotiations and retinue expansion, but they may acquire negative traits like 'Secret Lover.' Princesses can marry foreign generals, their own cousins, or suitors who appear via an info card. Marrying a princess with traits like 'Intelligent' or 'Attractive' can bestow related benefits upon her husband. Similarly, marrying your Prince/King to foreign princesses can forge alliances and grant beneficial traits. Princesses come of age at 16, though this is not always clearly indicated.

Settlements: Settlements are crucial for producing soldiers and agents, generating income, and fulfilling campaign objectives. When conquering a settlement, it is generally advised to sack it for money rather than exterminate the population, as killing taxpayers can be detrimental. Settlements have several attributes, including Public Order, which indicates the populace's stability. A Public Order below 80% poses a risk of revolt, potentially leading to damage, loss of life, and even the loss of the settlement. Public Order above 90% is generally safe, and above 110% offers a buffer against immediate trouble, barring events like excommunication or the death of a highly chivalrous governor.