Welcome to an interview with Cao Cao. I invite all of you to join me as we pick apart the mind of the man in blue! The man who leads the Wei army. The man whose ambition is bigger than life.
Cao Cao: Welcome to all of you. Please sit down at my table so I can tell you about my ambition for the land.
Me: Well thank you Cao Cao. Or should I call you Mr. Cao.
Cao Cao: Just call me Cao.
Me: You do realize that here in America and other English speaking countries your name is spelled with a 'C'? Unfortunately it is also pronounced incorrectly. When people read this interview they are not going to be pronouncing your name as it was in the three kingdoms era. Instead they will pronounce it sounding like the word we use to describe a bovine.
Cao Cao: In that case I don't suppose you'll be wanting milk in your tea.
Me: Well, no! I mean (stuttering a lot).
Cao Cao: (laughs) Please don't be embarrassed. I recognize that my name is not pronounced correctly in the west. The people of the three kingdoms era were not all so well educated either. Most of my soldiers were common farmers and laborers after all. Education is not the only mark of a valuable soldier in my kingdom.
Me: Yes, you seem quite ambitious in the game Dynasty Warriors. You're a man who is focused on talent rather than honor.
Cao Cao: I am ambition. If I were from the west that would be my middle name! Tell him Dian Wei.
Dian Wei: Yeah! (there are a few moments of awkward silence.)
Cao Cao: See? Dian Wei was not chosen for his ability to converse. I chose him because he could crush a man's head with one hand as easily as a normal man could crush an egg.
Me: Well, you know there is a way that if you hold the egg just right it's actually incredibly hard to crush.
Cao Cao: Servants! Bring me a bowl of eggs! At once!
Servants: Yes, Cao Cao.
(Moments later they return with eggs.)
Cao Cao: Show me.
Me: Okay... (takes egg and does the "hard to break an egg trick")
Cao Cao: Amazing. Well, you are quite skinny. Let me try.
(Cao Cao tries and fails.)
Cao Cao: Dian Wei, you try!
Dian Wei: Yeah! (Throws the eggs on the ground and stomps on them with both feet.)
Cao Cao: Good work, Dian Wei!
Dian Wei: If those eggs were assassins they would be dead, Lord Cao Cao!
Cao Cao: Loyal, determined, efficient – the perfect compliment for my ambition.
Me: Well, I had some questions for you Cao.
Cao Cao: Of course. Like, what's my favorite color? It's blue if you haven't already guessed! (laughs.)
Me: (laughs politely) Well, I was kind of hoping to get a little closer to the core of what makes a man like you tick. Your's is not always voted the most favorite Kingdom in the gaming polls. However you and your officers receive a great deal of respect from gamers. Why do you think that is? Do you think there's some kind of commonality that westerners have with your particular way of doing things?
Cao Cao:
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