| Mou Gou | |||||||||||
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| Chinese | Meng Ao | ||||||||||
| Kanji | 蒙驁 | ||||||||||
| Romaji | Mou Gou | ||||||||||
| Epithet | Haku Rou (Bai Lao) | ||||||||||
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| “ | To me, you've always been the greatest hero, Great General Mou Gou. | ” |
Mou Gou was a Great General and leader of the Mou Gou Army of the State of Qin, was the father of Great General Mou Bu and the grandfather of Mou Ten and Mou Ki. He was known under the moniker "Haku Rou".
Appearance[]
Mou Gou was an old man in his 60s to 70s. Like his son, Mou Gou was an incredibly tall and large man as he regularly towered over people. He had a long and thick beard, closed eyes, and regularly wore a calm expression on his face. He later loses his left arm to Ren Pa after the Great General cut it off during their duel.
Personality[]
Mou Gou had a relaxed, almost too lax personality, as he would routinely tell his soldiers to take it slow and easy as he always had a calm look on his face throughout his appearance and was abnormally strict when it came to his own family as he would often forbid, Mou Bu from going to the battlefield early on in his youth and denied Mou Ki’s request on going to Han Campaign. The only time ever he was truly troubled from when had to face by the insurmountable wall in his life that was the former Zhao Great General and famous rival from his youth, Ren Pa and faced the armies of the Coalition. Whenever under a heavy amount pressure, Mou Gou disguised himself as a normal infantry soldier and would find a quiet place somewhere nearby to clear his head.
History[]
Mou Gou was born in the eastern State of Qi. Not much is known about his early life aside from the fact that he was married to an unnamed woman that give him (a daughter, Mou Aki, noncanonical) and a son, Mou Bu.
He joined the Qi Military at some point in his youth and rose through the ranks from squad leader to 1000-man Commander and was frequently pitted against a rising young prodigy from the state of Zhao named Ren Pa. But because he never won a single fight against the prodigy, he left his homelands with his son and wandered the lands. Mou Gou eventually emigrated to the State of Qin where he and his son would both have successful military careers as he rose to become a Great General during the previous era of the Six Great Generals whom he resented due to their talent and fame later build their family into a respectful and great house of nobility with a great number of vessels.
During this period that he would meet and take underneath his wing the head of the noble main branch Ou Family and cousin to Ou Ki, Ou Sen and an infamous mountain bandit from south of Qin, Kan Ki, who were prodigies that were exceptionally talented in the art of warfare but remained controversial due to their personalities, both of whom would serve as vice generals within his army.
10 years prior to the events of the series, he took over a castle of Han, making it his 4th.
Story[]
Training Arc[]
Mou Gou was made the Supreme commander-in-chief of an army of 200,000 soldiers to attack and invade the neighboring state of Han. He oversaw the troops attacking the city of Kouu which would be conquered in six days. After Kouu, Mou Gou and his Vice generals continued to subdue a total of 11 cities in a single month.
Sanyou Campaign Arc[]
A few years after the death of Ou Ki, he leads a Qin campaign to conquer the Sanyou region in Wei with 250,000 troops at his command and they arrived to besiege the Wei city of Kourou. When told of their losses and lack of progress, Mou Gou just tells his four commanders to check up on their troops, nothing more. He later announced that the plan is to continue the siege for an entire month despite the situation staying the same. Upon hearing a word that the Gyoku Hou Unit has gotten over the walls, he says it is heartwarming to see the energetic youth and hopefully, Ou Hon does not die due to his recklessness. His vice generals capture two Wei cities the day after Kourou falls to the Qin army and Mou Gou sets up a defensive march after some of his commanders are slain in Kinrikan.
When told that his enemy is none other than Renpa, he calms his men down and tells them his vice generals are working on counters to defeat him. He engages in his strange habit to destress from the thought of facing Renpa and is encouraged by Shin who meets him accidentally.
The next morning, after promoting Mou Ten and Ou Hon to the position of 1000-man commander, Mou Gou makes an exception for Shin provided he kills either 3 enemy commanders or a general. Shin accepts and is given the position along with all the troops from commander Kaku Bi’s unit. He arrives with the army at the Rui Plains around the same time the Wei army reaches Renpa's camp and meets with his Vice Generals, congratulating them on their work.
On the second day of battle, Mou Gou delivers a speech to his troops, telling them to be defensive for the upcoming battle. On the fifth day of battle, he is informed that the Gaku Ka have engaged Rin Ko and hesitates to call him back. He chooses to trust in his grandson's skills, calling him the most talented man born to the Mou family in the last three generations. When Mou Ten returns from his attack on Rin Ko's troops, Mou Gou calls him to share a few drinks and tells him that a battle to the death is drawing near but he won't run away from it. Positioning his HQ on high ground on the sixth day of battle, Mou Gou and his men watch the battle unfold and he recognizes the use of the Rindou, mentioning that it was used in the past to great success against Great General Ou Ki's defensive formations.
Shocked at Ren Pa's appearance at his rear, he directs his 8,000 troops to use an anti-defense formation specifically for Ren Pa. Finally leading Ren Pa to a dead end, Mou Gou calls for reinforcements as he attempts to finish him off only to realize that he already escaped its grasp. As his officers worry, telling him that Ren Pa is on his way to their position, he tells them not to panic and states that they can hold out by using the terrain advantage. When Ren Pa arrives, he is mounted and challenges the Great General to combat, stating that they shall exchange words by doing so. While he battles Ren Pa, Mou Gou manages to push back the Great General at various times in the fight and tells him that the golden age Ren Pa speaks of has passed. He moves to finish off the Zhao General but is hit by a powerful swing which kills his horse and severs his left arm at the elbow.
Talking to Ren Pa about the end of the golden age, he comments on Shin blocking Ren Pa's blow and tells him that the boy inherited Ou Ki's Glaive. Rising up, he points out Ren Pa's battles as empty since no one can match up to what he wants and rallies his men to attack the Zhao Great General just as Kai Shi Bou arrives with reinforcements.
When they see the burning of the Wei HQ, Ren Pa declares the battle as his loss, saying they were checkmated since Ou Sen's practically untouched army was merely waiting for the opportunity to deal a decisive blow. He calls for a ceasefire on terms which Mou Gou accepts. Mou Gou invites Ren Pa to chat but he declines and tells him that Sanyou is an important stronghold of great significance.
He had the Ou Sen Army stay behind to subjugate the region while the heavily wounded returned home. At the reward ceremony in the royal palace, Mou Gou was given the greatest honor for leading the Qin army to victory. He was raised one rank in the nobility, granted the lands of Kahaku and Zen, given 2,000 units of gold and 10 units of treasure.
Coalition Invasion Arc[]
During the Battle of Kankoku Pass General Mou Gou defended Kankoku Pass Wall against the Coalition Army forces of Wei and Han.
Kyou Kai's Revenge Arc[]
One year after the end of the war with the Coalition Armies, Great General Mou Gou was on the brink of his death bed as he was dying from old age. Before dying he revealed to Mou Ten and Shin, as they sat with him, that while he achieved his goal of finding status as a Great General, he had always been jealous and envious of the Six Great Generals as he was never able to become a hero. After lamenting on the past, he advised his grandson, Shin, and Ou Hon to cooperate and bond with their peers. While they didn't have to get along all the time, just cooperating was enough as this was one of the defining characteristics of the Six Great Generals.
Mou Gou’s passing was mourned by Mou Ten, Shin and his vessels as they all cried with Mou Ten saying that he was always the greatest hero he had ever known. And after receiving the news of his father’s passing, Mou Bu sat with a drink and thought back about to his childhood with his father as they traveled the lands together. He would exclaim that it had been quite a journey as he offered final toast.
Abilities[]
| “ | It's true that Mou Gou's military talents are inferior when compared to other great generals. However in exchange there is no one else that can compare when it comes to his eye for people. If that's the man that Mou Gou has chosen then it won't be a problem. | ” |
| STATS | |
|---|---|
| Strength | 85 |
| Leadership | 90 |
| Intelligence | 91 |
| Experience | S |
| Dislike the Six Great Generals Foh | |
| STATS | |
|---|---|
| Strength | 85 |
| Leadership | 90 |
| Intelligence | 91 |
| Experience | S |
| Dislike the Six Great Generals Foh | |
| STATS | |
|---|---|
| Strength | 89 |
| Leadership | 90 |
| Intelligence | 91 |
| Experience | A |
| Who?: Mediocre General Foh! | |
| STATS | |
|---|---|
| Strength | Unknown Foh |
| Leadership | 90 |
| Intelligence | 91 |
| Who?: Mediocre General Foh | |
Mou Gou was considered an unremarkable general who fought by the book, as he always won against opponents who were weaker than him. This was shown clearly as he always took his time to conduct sieges on enemy cities. To compensate for his mediocre skills as a tactician and strategist, he possessed a good eye for potential, as he recruited Kan Ki and Ou Sen as his Vice Generals.
Physical Abilities[]
Immense Strength: Mou Gou wielded a glaive in battle and possessed an enormous brute strength, despite his age. His brute strength alone was strong enough to push back Ren Pa every time in combat. Because of that, it was believed that it might even be above Ren Pa. Despite that, his martial skill was not good enough as his arm is severed by Ren Pa. This caused his prowess to be weakened after Sanyou Campaign Arc.
Leadership[]
Mou Gou had a unique way of raising morale and it is proven very effective. During his speeches he rarely focuses on himself, but rather gives off an aura of care for their lives. Not only that, he managed to recruit Ou Sen and Kan Ki under his leadership with the former bandit offered a tribute in his moniker name after his passing.
Tactical Abilities[]
As a general who fought by the book, his tactical and strategical abilities were mediocre at best. His usual battle plan was to split his forces into three separate armies, that would invade any region at the same pace. His grandson called him the "Famous Sieger of Cities", who patiently surrounded a city and pressured it with attacks to whittle down enemy morale until an opening appeared to strike. His army's battle style had always been a test of endurance.
Terrain Manipulation: Unlike Ou Sen's fort that possesses no single opening and is extremely hard to conquer, Mou Gou developed a mountain fortress with the tactic, Strategem of Broken Paths. Its strength lies in its deception to any attacking force and ability to conceal the path to the top. With this, it is possible to whittle down the enemy by using archers to shoot down those who are confused by the layout of the fort. However, the weakness is that it requires great planning and resources as well as trained troops who know how to use the layout effectively.
Gallery[]
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Trivia[]
- Mou Gou was mentioned for the first time in chapter 2 during Shin's flashbacks making him the first general in the series to be mentioned by name.
- In the Season 2 of the anime's version of Mou Gou's fight against Ren Pa, the scene where Mou Gou's arm is cut off is censored, instead, his arm got broken. This is later corrected in Season 3 of the anime, where his arm is now missing.
- Mou Gou was the last remaining veteran of Qin's old generation of Great Generals to pass away. He is also the only one who died of natural causes.
