Song Xian

Song Xian (onyomi: Sō Ken) is a military officer who served under Lu Bu. In 198, when rival warlord Cao Cao besieged Lu Bu in Xiapi, Song Xian and his colleagues Hou Cheng and Wei Xu kidnapped Lu Bu's chief advisor Chen Gong and defected. Lu Bu was soon captured and executed as well. However, historically it was unknown what happened to Song Xian afterwards.

Dynasty Warriors
For his debut in Dynasty Warriors 2, Song Xian and his comrade Wei Xu only appear at Guandu on Cao Cao's side under Liu Yan. Even after the battle is won, Song Xian does not appear in more battles.

In Dynasty Warriors 3, he and Wei Xu appear only at Guan Du as well. The Xtreme Legends gives them a major role in Lu Bu's and Diao Chan's stories, however.

When one fights on Cao Cao's side at Xia Pi in Dynasty Warriors 4, Song Xian can be convinced to leave Lu Bu. He also appears in Guandu, but he and Wei Xu have reduced health gauges and fighting capability, making him likely to die early at the hands of Yan Liang.

In Dynasty Warriors 5, Song Xian appears at Xia Pi. He is located inside Xia Pi Castle and defends one of the western gates. Should the player take too long to capture the floodgates, he and Hou Cheng will attack Cao Cao's forces and open the gates. When the floodgates are taken, he and Hou Cheng will surrender to Cao Cao if their units did not get wiped out by the flood. He also appears at Guan Du when playing for Yuan Shao's forces.

In Dynasty Warriors 6, Song Xian serves Lu Bu's forces at Xia Pi. Contrary to previous installments, he will not defect to Cao Cao, but fight him instead. Dynasty Warriors 7 has Song Xian appear at Xiapi under Lu Bu's forces and at Guandu under Cao Cao's forces. In Dynasty Warriors 8, his defection can be prevented in Lu Bu's version of the battle by rescuing him, Wei Xu and Hou Cheng.

In the Xtreme Legends expansion, his defection along with the other two defectors is fixed, and he will defect with them shortly after the flood attack. In Chen Gong's strategy, he can be convinced to return to Lu Bu. If all three choose to return, he and the other defectors fake their betrayal in order to allow Chen Gong to enter the enemy main camp.

In Chen Gong's personal DLC scenario in 9, Song Xian, Wei Xu and Hou Cheng remain under heavy suspicion by the rest of Cao Cao's forces. When Chen Gong leads a rebellion against Cao Cao, he may implicate charges on all three men in order to force them to desert Cao Cao and join the strategist instead.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms games usually give Song Xian a high cavalry rating and above average battle skills. His other stats range around the 20's to 30's. Song Xian starts out serving Ding Yuan in most games, before joining Dong Zhuo, Lu Bu and finally Cao Cao. Some games feature an event about the Battle of Xiapi where Song Xian and his colleagues defect to Cao Cao.

Quotes

 * "I cannot share the same path with Lu Bu any longer."
 * "Master Chen Gong's defection still remains a big secret. The enemy is sure to be shocked when they hear about this."
 * "That Cao Cao sure is clever. He was able to control Liu Bei and isolate Master Lu Bu."
 * "How much longer do we have to deal with Liu Bei and Cao Cao? I'm starting to feel that we'll never defeat them. Did I choose the wrong person to serve? I hope I didn't...

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Song Xian served as one of Lu Bu's top eight generals during the latter's initial invasion of Cao Cao's territory and homeland of Yanzhou. When Lu Bu sent his daughter to marry Yuan Shu's son, Wei Xu and Song Xian were sent as an escort. Upon return, Wei Xu reported that Zhang Fei had disguised as a brigand and stole the horses that he and Song Xian purchased, leading to a confrontation between Lu Bu and Liu Bei, to which Wei Xu was warded off by Zhang Fei. He was also commanded to attack Yingchuan and Runan with Wei Xu when Lu Bu discovered Liu Bei had been conspiring with Cao Cao.

Hou Cheng, one of Lu Bu's top generals, had been put to execution when he illegally made wine in celebration of a recent victory. Song Xian and Wei Xu convinced Lu Bu to call off the execution, so Hou Cheng was then put to fifty lashes. Later, the three conspired against their lord, accusing him of listening only to his women and not generals. Soon, Song Xian and Wei Xu tied up their lord during his sleep and surrendered to Cao Cao, who had Lu Bu executed. Before then, however, when Lu Bu was being observed, he asked his betrayers, "Did I not treat you well? How could you betray me?" Song Xian responded, "You listened only to your women, not to your commanders. Is that what you mean by 'treat well'?" Lu Bu was silent.

Song Xian was later killed in a duel by Yan Liang.