Gongsun Yue

Gongsun Yue (onyomi: Kōson Etsu) is the cousin of Gongsun Zan. He was killed in battle when he was sent by Gongsun Zan to aid Yuan Shu against Yuan Shao and thus caused Gongsun Zan to declare war on Yuan Shao.

Role in Games
Gongsun Yue appears as an enemy officer at Changshan in Dynasty Warriors 5. He tries to defend the central gates against Yuan Shao's men. In Dynasty Warriors 6, Gongsun Yue will replace Dian Wei at Hulao Gate if the player chooses to play as Zhao Yun. He further appears in Zhao Yun's first legend stage in the seventh and in Zhang Jiao's version of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the eighth title. In the Empires games, he usually serves his cousin in Beiping.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms gives Gongsun Yue above average battle skills in the 70's, with his other stats being average in the 40's to 60's. Similar to the other members of Gongsun Zan's family, he is highly skilled with cavalry troops. He usually serves Gongsun Zan in the early scenarios.

Historical Information
In 191, Emperor Xian secretly sent Liu Yu's son Liu He to his father in order to seek help against Dong Zhuo. On his way, he was held by Yuan Shu, who used him to ask for supplies and troops from his father. Liu Yu compiled despite Gongsun Zan's protest. Since he feared that Yuan Shu would hold a grudge against him, Gongsun Zan sent Gongsun Yue with 1,000 troops and supplies to help Yuan Shu.

Later that year, Yuan Shao ordered his subordinate Zhou Yu (styled Renming) to attack Sun Jian at Yangcheng, while the latter returned from Luoyang. Yuan Shu sent Gongsun Yue to help him out. Although the battle was won, Gongsun Yue was hit by a stray arrow and died. Following his death, Gongsun Zan blamed Yuan Shao for it and declared war on him.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In the novel, Gongsun Yue is Gongsun Zan's younger half-brother. In chapter 7, he was sent as a messenger to demand that Yuan Shao split Jizhou with Gongsun Zan, since the two agreed to a two-pronged attack on the province. Yuan Shao told Gongsun Yue to fetch his brother, claiming that they had matters to discuss. On his way home, however, Gongsun Yue was confronted and killed by men claiming to be Dong Zhuo's bodyguards. Gongsun Yue was the assassins' only target, and so his unit safely made it home and reported it to Gongsun Zan, who claimed that Yuan Shao played him false, and so he waged war against Yuan Shao.