General Tsing Shi Tao

Soon your base will glow like the sun!

*Melt! Everything must melt!*

## Introduction

**Tsing Shi Tao**(aka "The Nuke" or in Chinese 程世涛: Chéng Shì Tao, lit. "程" is his last name, "世涛" is his first name, means "brave and powerful like waves in his life") is a Chinese general who specializes in nuclear weaponry in Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour: Contra. His super unit is the Yan Wang. His main technologies are nuclear energy, radiation containment, radioisotope production, radiation-oriented weaponry and portable ballistic missiles.

## History

The 60 year old General Tao gets what he wants, at any cost. Impatient to a fault, General Tao relies heavily on nuclear technology on the battlefield. Unfortunately, there have been several terrible accidents. While General Tao was the responsible officer during the Mudanjiang Disaster of 2007, his considerable talents saved his career. General Tao believes such trials and errors are part of the development process.

His divisions are beginning to see the results of his convictions, as a prototype of an advanced nuclear power plant has produced better results. Programs to develop tactical nukes and to promote stability in radioactive isotopes are producing better safety records, which will be well-received by his troops.

A staunch Nationalist, Tao will do everything for the Motherland he loves and defends the most. His nationalism is so high that he could do anything unthinkable just for the sake of China including blowing up a recently-built USA Army's base in China with an experimental Hadron Collider, thinking that the Chinese Government would approve. This "pre-emptive strike" angered both the American (for killing his own countrymen) and the Chinese (for trying to trigger a war between the United States and China) Presidents, causing both nations to boycott each other's goods for a month. During public parleys, the two presidents seemed so angry that they argued and threw insults at each other in their respective native languages when trying to find cause of the incident. The Chinese Martial Court severely punished Tao for this action but his talents made him too essential for the PLA to be truly rid of him. So they agreed to not degrade Tao and have him executed for high treason but in exchange he had to present an apology to the US Military, to pay them a compensation of a million dollars for the damages and to promise never to do it again under penalty of death.

According to his medical files, Tao seems to suffer serious mental health issues, intensified by his extreme sense of patriotism. This probably explains the regrettable incidents he was responsible for (the Mudanjiang Disaster in 2007 and the destruction of an American base on Chinese soil in 2017 among others). The Ministry of National Defense itself fears that his irresponsible actions will trigger the Third World War one day but his tactical genius makes him a too valuable asset to be truly put out of the equation so the PLA instead keeps an eye on him, an American envoy is also watching over Tao to make sure he will not do anything that could endanger the interests of the USA.

General Tao is stationed at Base Ox, Chengdu, and his Combat Number is 0000-000000-1.

## Arsenal

### Infantry

* **Red Guard** - Basic Chinese Infantry. Can be upgraded with Nuclear Ammo to increase damage and effectiveness against vehicles.
* **Tank Hunter** - Anti-armor infantry.
* **Nuke Tank Hunter** - An upgraded Tank Hunter armed with a launcher that fires tactical nukes creating small nuclear explosions that deal a lot of damage and leaves radiation fields behind.
* **Field Engineer** - Immune to toxins and radiation, cleans up contamination, detects and detonates mines.
* **Red Arrow** - Anti-air infantry.
* **ECM Trooper** - Support infantry, disables enemy vehicles.
* **Hacker** - Support infantry, generates additional income.
* **Black Lotus** - Hero unit, can capture enemy buildings, disable enemy vehicles and steal cash.

### Vehicles

* **Dozer** - Builds structures.
* **Nuclear Battlemaster** - A Battlemaster preinstalled with Nuclear Engines, allowing for faster speeds. Capable of firing nuke shells when reaching Heroic veterancy.
* **Gatling Tank** - Anti-infantry and anti-aircraft tank, can be upgraded with Nuclear Ammo.
* **Irradiator Tank** - Contaminates an area with radiation fields. Can burn soldiers out of buildings.
* **Troop Crawler** - Standard Chinese APC.
* **Howitzer** - Artillery unit.
* **Listening Outpost** - Stealth detector, has long visual range.
* **Overlord Tank** - China's super heavy tank.
* **Nuke Cannon** - heavy artillery that fires nuclear shells over a long range.
* **Death Hand** - super long range weapon capable of firing nuclear shells over an unlimited range, but reloads very slowly and has very low accuracy.
* **Yan Wang** - super unit, very fast MLRS vehicle that shoots nuclear rockets from a fairly long distance.

### Aircraft

* **MiG MFI** - Strike fighter, fires radioactive-tipped missiles.
* **MiG-31 Interceptor** - Air superiority fighter.
* **Ka-29 Helix** - Heavy support helicopter, can be upgraded with various add-ons. Napalm bomb is replaced with a nuclear bomb.
* **White Dragon** - Gunship armed with homing missiles. Does not need to return to airfield for reloading.

### Structures

* **Command Center** - Builds dozers, commands generals powers, and provides radar when upgrades.
* **Advanced Nuclear Reactor** - Generates more power than classic reactors.
* **Barracks** - Trains infantry.
* **War Factory** - Builds and repair vehicles.
* **Supply Center** - Builds supply trucks and store resources.
* **Airfield** - Builds, rearm and repair aircraft.
* **Internet Center** - Provides shelter for four Hackers, researches Satellite Hack.
* **Speaker Tower** - Support structure. Gives firepower bonus to surrounding units and heals them.
* **Propaganda Center** - Technology building, researches upgrades. Unlocks many units and structures.
* **Nuclear Missile Silo** - China's main superweapon, Can be upgraded into a MIRV, splitting into 5 missiles upon impact.
* **Nuclear Storm** - Tao's second and most powerful superweapon of *Contra*, capable of destroying entire bases with one barrage. Requires a General Point to be unlocked.
* **Hadron Collider** - Doomsday device, destroys everything caught in its blast, requires 5 minutes to detonate, countdown cannot be cancelled. WARNING: DO NOT BUILD IT IN YOUR BASE!

### Upgrades

* **Radar** - Enables the mini map from the command center.
* **Pneumocushion** - Dozers become amphibious.
* **Land Mines** - Individual upgrade, surrounds the structure with mines.
* **Capture Building** - Allows red guards to capture hostile and neutral structures.

* **Isotope Stability** - Prevents most collateral radiation from harming friendly units when nearby vehicles are destroyed.
* **Nuclear Tanks** - Increases tanks speed by 25%, available by default.
* **Nuclear Ammo** - Increases Red Guard's firepower by 50%, Red Guards become more effective against vehicles and structures, Gatling Tanks deal 25% more damage.
* **Radioactive Shells** - Tank and artillery shells will leave radiation fields.
* **Satellite Hack I** - Reveals the location of the enemy command center.
* **Satellite Hack II** - Reveals all enemy activity for a short period of time.
* **Nationalism** - Increases Horde bonus by 25%
* **Radiation Defense** - All vehicles are immune to radiation, increases infantry's resistance to radiations
* **Subliminal Messaging** - Increases Speaker Tower bonus by 65%.
* **Reactive Shells** - Artillery shells are provided with jet engines which allow to fly farther. +15% attack range.
* **Aircraft Armor** - +25% armor to planes and helicopters.
* **Neutron Shells** - Unlocks Nuke Cannon's Neutron shell firing ability. Neutron shells will kill infantry in vehicles.
* **Cluster Mines Advancement** - Upgrades Cluster Mines general's power to drop Neutron Mines.
* **Improved MIRV** **(Nuclear Missile Silo)** - Equips the Nuclear Missile Silo with improved nuclear warheads with 5 MIRV parts. This upgrade affects only the Nuclear Missile Silo it had been researched at. (Requires MIRV general's power unlock)
* **Improved MIRV (Yan Wang)** - Equips the Yan Wang with improved nuclear warheads with 4 MIRV parts. This upgrade affects only the Yang Wang it had been researched at. (Requires MIRV general's power unlock)

### General's Powers

* Rank 1
	+ **Infantry Training** - All combat infantry will be trained as veterans.
		- +10% rate of fire
		- +10% damage
		- +10% health
	+ **Emergency Repair Level 1** -Repairs vehicles and buildings in an area. Heals infantry. (requires Rank 2) -> Light repair
* Rank 3
	+ **Cluster Mines** - Cluster Mines are deployed by air.
	+ **Nuclear Storm** - Allows the player to build the most devastating super weapon in the game - Nuclear Storm.
	+ **Artillery Barrage Level 1-3** - Call off artilleries to strike a target with radioactive shells.
		- Level 1: 12 shells
		- Level 2: 24 shells
		- Level 3: 36 shells
	+ **Cash Hack Level 1-3** - Steal money from enemy supply centers. The player cannot steal more money than the enemy has. Note: for GLA enemies, use it on their Factory.
		- Level 1: 2000$
		- Level 2: 4000$
		- Level 3: 6000$
	+ **Emergency Repair Level 2 & 3** - Repairs vehicles and buildings in an area. Heals infantry.
		- Level 2: Medium repair
		- Level 3: Serious repair
	+ **Frenzy Level 1-3** - Causes player's units to do more damage for a time when targeted.
		- Level 1: +25% for 30 seconds
		- Level 2: +50% for 45 seconds
		- Level 3: +100% for 1 minute
* Rank 5
	+ **Neutron Bomb** - Cleans area from any living creatures. Kills infantry and vehicle crews. Destroys biological contamination. Does not damage buildings. WARNING: Do not use this weapon in combination with other air strikes, it can destroy your planes.
	+ **Carpet Bomb** - Allows the player to call in a heavy bomber to carpet bomb an area.
	+ **MIRV** - Unlocks Nuclear missile MIRV upgrade and Yan Wang's MIRV special ability.

## Strengths and Advantages

* Tao's vehicles are some of the fastest in *Contra*, making them ideal hit & run attackers. His tanks have uranium shells upgrade from the start and can be upgraded further to fire Radioactive Shells.
* He uses advanced nuclear reactors instead of the standard nuclear reactor, due to having access to nuclear technology his reactors grants more power. This means it's much harder to power down his base by simply destroying power plants.
	+ Also Tao can have more space for building production facilities and super weapons because he doesn't need as much space to build power plants.
* He has the most powerful infantry unit in *Contra* capable of firing nuclear warheads.
* He is the only general to have access to Nuke Cannons, one of the most powerful and unstoppable artillery units in *Contra*, and he can upgrade them to fire neutron shells which unman any vehicle in it's blast radius.
* His Nuclear missile Launcher can be upgraded with MIRV warheads to improve their effectiveness, allowing them to one-shot command centers or super weapons.
* His super unit is extremely devastating and can be used as a hit & run attacker with great effect.
* His Nuclear Storm is by far the most powerful super weapon in *contra* available only at Rank 3 (Requires a General Point to be built first).

## Weaknesses and Disadvantages

* He does not have any defensive structures (therefore the best defense is a strong offence), this makes early game management extremely important, as you'll need to build up a decent offensive force to harass the enemies and slow down their progress. Do not play stationary defensive with Tao unless you have a terrain advantage.
* His vehicles are also some of the least durable in the Chinese faction.
* He requires Isotope Stability when fielding vehicles in large groups due to how volatile their nuclear engines are.
* His Nuclear Missile Launcher takes longer to be reload (7 min compared to the usual 6 min).

## Taunts

### General Taunts

* Time to put on your lead underwear!
* All forces, prepare for the next assault!
* You better bring a lot of sunblock with you, General.
* This is only the beginning general, The beginning of the end. Hehehehe...
* Surrender! Or do you want the bombing to continue?
* It looks like a nuclear winter this year, General.
* Melt! everything must melt!
* And now for my final attack. Hold on General, you're going to like this. Oh wait, no you won't!
* Is the heat getting to you, General?
* You are losing this war General. A few more bombs and your base will fall...

### Situational Taunts

* Now the battle begin in earnest, prepare yourself general! (At the beginning of his challenge)
* At least it's a dry heat, General.
* Ah! What?! I am out of power?! How can I be out of power?! Someone get me more power, NOW!!! (When Tao is low on power)
* AH! My War Factory! What have you done?! My precious tanks, gone! (When the player destroys General Tao's War Factory)
* Why you destroy my Barracks, General? It is not my men whom you should fear. (When the player destroys Tao's Barracks)
* Ah, NO! My warheads! My beautiful warheads! You will pay, General...! (When the player destroys a Nuclear Missile Silo)
* That's okay, General. I have more nukes for you. (When the player destroys a 2nd Nuclear Missile Silo)
* Hey, HEY! Do you know how much that nuke silo cost? (When the player destroys a 3rd Nuclear Missile Silo)
* Okay, General, that's enough! I'm running out of nukes. (When the player destroys a 4th Nuclear Missile Silo)
* Ah, you have destroyed all of my silos! Why, General? WHY?! (When the player destroys all five of General Tao's Nuclear Missile Silos)
* Now your War Factory is a glow crater! (When Tao destroys the player's War Factory)
* Ah! My Command Center...! **NO!!!!** I won't lose command... I won't!! (When the player destroys General Tao's Command Center)
* That ambulance will not save your men from the radiation. (When the player produces an Ambulance)
* Cold Fusion is no way to make power, General. (When Tao destroys the player's Cold Fusion Reactor)
* It pains me to destroy your reactors, General. (When Tao destroys the players Nuclear Reactor)
* We have found some supplies! Soon we will control all of the resources. (When Tao finds a supply depot)
* More supplies for us! How are you funding your troops General? (When Tao finds another supply depot)
* It appears we control all the supplies in the area. (When Tao finds even more supply depots)

## General's Challenge

Much like most challenges featured in the vanilla version of Zero Hour, General Tao's challenge has a few new twists put into it.

While Tao's nuclear missiles all have fixed strike locations, they're upgraded with improved MIRV warheads, allowing them to deal notably increased damage, capable of one-shotting even a superweapon. These nukes also have their normal 8 minute cool down instead of a 12 minute one. Thus destroying them before they could launch is going to be a very difficult task. Cutting off the silo's power source is also unrealistic, due to General Tao's abundant amount of reactors, and the fact that most destroyed reactors will be rebuilt.

* The first nuke will land north of your command center, just between the two supply piles. (However, sometimes it may glitch and strike the area east of where the Tech Oil Refinery is located)
* The second will land north east of your command center, in the center of the forested area.
* The third will land just east of your command center. (However, sometimes it may glitch and strike the area east of the second strike)

Besides that, General Tao also has a Nuclear Storm constructed, it's located between his primary and secondary base, and will activate as soon as the player reaches Rank 5. However, the Nuclear Storm is very poorly defended and will fall easily to weapon strikes, its lengthy 12 minute countdown also means that pretty much every super weapon can get at least one launch before it does. United States Generals (except for General Ironhand) can also use Aurora Bombers to destroy it with ease. However, it's of upmost importance that the player ensures that it doesn't get launched at your base, otherwise, it's essentially game over.

General Tao's super unit, Yang Wang, will be guarding the area around his 1st Nuclear Missile Silo (the one closest to his command center), if the Nuclear Storm is destroyed, the Yang Wang will then go on the offence, and will be rebuilt once destroyed, the use of air units and stealth units is recommended in order to reduce casualties.

A major weakness in Tao's A.I. in vanilla Zero Hour is that he will not rebuild any lost structures, this has been patched in Contra, now Tao will rebuild all but a handful of structures (such as the Nuclear Storm), including his Nuclear Missile Silos.

Obtaining supplies in this challenge shouldn't be difficult, as there are three supply depots and four Tech Oil Derricks within the vicinity. Thus it's advised to expand quickly and increase your income so you can build up you assault force and rebuild lost assets from weapons strikes quickly.

General Tao's doctrine is simple: Attack! Attack! Attack! He will send large amounts of infantry and tanks to the challenger's base. In the beginning, Tao will only send in basic units such as infantries, Battlemaster Tanks, Irradiator Tanks, Gatling Tanks, Helixes and Howitzers. Starting on Rank 3, however, he will begin to field more advanced units, such as Overlord Tanks, Nuke Cannons and Nuclear MiGs. Destroying his propaganda center can temporarily put a halt to his production of these units, but only temporary as it will be rebuilt soon.

Be warned that in the early stage of battle, General Tao will send a Helix carrying an Overlord Tank armed with Nuclear ATGMs and drop it behind your base, it will then attack from the "bottom" of the map while making its way to the top.

Unless you have excellent defenses like General Alexander does, playing turtle is a strategy that most likely won't get you very far. You'll have to take a leaf out of General Tao's book and launch an offence as soon as possible. Since he has no defensive structures, General Tao's base defenses will be relatively easy to crack, as besides a few pre-placed bunkers, General Tao's main defense consists of infantry men garrisoned in civilian structures. Assaulting directly with land units is a bad idea, since there are always Nuclear Tank Hunters garrisoned in them. However, they are rather vulnerable to air strikes, especially F-117s and Pegasus UACVs armed with bunker buster bombs, since there's only a couple of Red Arrow Troopers garrisoned inside them that can attack air. Another ideal unit for cleaning out the garrisons is the GLA's Mortar Buggy with gas warheads.

As for the various nuke cannons scattered around the outskirts of the ghost town, stealth units and air strikes are also a good strategy against them.

General Tao's base is overall lacking in anti-air defenses: besides the Red Arrow Troopers garrisoning the civilian structures and bunkers, Tao has only two MiG 31 Foxhounds circling the desolated town and the occasional Red Arrow and Gatling Tanks he produces. An airborne assault with helicopters will likely end badly for Tao once his garrisoned infantries have been eliminated. If sending in vast quantities of helicopters, be sure to take out the Barracks and War Factories first in order to put a stop to Red Arrow and Gatling Tank production.

If you're playing as Prince Kassad, it's highly advised to invest in the Panic general's power, as General Tao's units mainly rely in dealing splash damage, placing a Panic power in the middle of his base can lead to some serious destruction.

## Trivia

* His name is a bad spelling of the Chinese term "Qing Shi Tou" (青石头), meaning "green stones". Uranium is usually depicted in fiction as green, rocky formations. Nonetheless, his native Chinese name is 程世涛 *Cheng Shi Tao.*
* Tsing Tao also shares his first and last names with Tsingtao beer, a popular Chinese beer that is also widely exported around the world.
* General Tao is wearing an outfit meant for a Marshall of The Peoples' Republic of China because of the blue military uniform. He is likely of that rank. If that's true he would outrank every Chinese general except General Leang. Tao and Leang would be of the same rank.
* His personality is partially inspired from Contra 008 trailer in which a Hadron Collider destroys a USA HQ Base in China.
* Although real life China has Nuclear Weapons, it is impossible for China to have such WMDs in tactical scales for warfare uses due to their strict No First Use Nuclear Policy (meaning that the nation will never launch a nuclear attack first). Plus, it is also unlikely that the Chinese government would keep a mentally unstable person to take care of its nuclear weapons.
* The quote "Time to put on your lead underwear!" could be a reference to the Chinese adjective "吓尿了" (lit. meaning: shocked/surprised to the point of soiling oneself), possibly to remind the player that they should change their underwear into a lead one to not dirty it again by urinating. However, it might as well just be a reference to the fact that lead protects from radiation.