Yuan Shu

Yuan Shu (onyomi: En Jutsu) was the younger half-brother of Yuan Shao and a powerful warlord. Though he is a non-playable character, Yuan Shu is a central character to the rise and fall of the Later Han Dynasty. After Dong Zhuo's demise, he declared himself emperor of the short-lived Zhong Dynasty, and was subsequently branded as a traitor to the Han.

He placed ninth with fans in Gamecity's Shin Sangoku Musou Blast character popularity poll.

Role in Games

 * "Yuan Shu, you're running away? Just what did you come for in the first place?"
 * ―Lu Bu; Dynasty Warriors 6

Dynasty Warriors
In all of his portrayals, Yuan Shu is depicted as a deceitful, close-minded, foolish man. Like his brother, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu is infamous for his family name but is overconfident because of it. Keeping true to the events in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Yuan Shu is assigned to reinforce Sun Jian at the Battle of Si Shui Gate. Unfortunately for Sun Jian, he does not always give him back-up out of jealousy, forcing the general to retreat.

In Dynasty Warriors 4, he has a small role, although he does have a unique character model for a cutscene in which he is appointed support for Sun Jian by Yuan Shao. Sun Jian tells him that he is counting on him, and when he leaves, Yuan Shu tells him that he won't be so smug for long. He refuses to give Sun Jian the supply convoy at Sishui Gate, but this supply problem can be fixed if Fan Chou's supply depot is captured. His other appearance is in Jiang Dong, where he refuses to forsake his friend Liu Xun and holds off Sun Ce's army as Liu Xun retreats from Huan Castle. This is his second and last appearance in the whole game.

After Sun Ce gives Yuan Shu the Imperial Seal in exchange for troops, Yuan Shu declares himself Emperor. In Dynasty Warriors 6, Yuan Shu appears with his army at the Battle of Xia Pi, the Conquest of Wu and its clone stage, "Campaign Against Yuan Shu", claiming that the land of Wu is his own land. With the combined forces of Sun Ce and Liu Bei, Yuan Shu is defeated. In the former, he appears as reinforcements for Liu Yao, Wang Lang, and Yan Baihu's armies, in the latter, he is the enemy commander and his officers come as reinforcements to defend "the Emperor".

In Dynasty Warriors 7, Yuan Shu is in charge of the supply depot at Hulao Gate. Sun Jian's men complain about not receiving supplies, implying that Yuan Shu might be neglecting his duty. Shortly after this, the player gets noted that Yuan Shu is attacked by Dong Zhuo's men and has to rescue him. Once the player enters the supply depot, Yuan Shu comments about his allies thinking that he would not do his job right. When the base is cleared, Yuan Shu will resume the sending of supplies and the morale of Sun Jian's troops increases greatly. He later appears in Wu's story at Shouchun. Sun Ce unites with Cao Cao and Liu Bei in order to defeat Yuan Shu after he declared himself Emperor. After Shouchun's gates are breached, Yuan Shu seemingly disappears from the city, only to reappear outside of it and trying to escape the battlefield. Halfway through his escape, however, his generals Chen Lan and Lei Bo rebel against their master and block his path, buying the coalition enough time to intercept and kill Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shu makes his first appearance during the second chapter of Dynasty Warriors Next. While not specifically mentioned, his returning jealousy is implied to be the reason why Sun Jian is forced to take the enemy's own provisions at Sishui Gate. He serves as the final antagonist of the third chapter, using the seal given to him by Sun Ce to declare himself emperor much to the other warlords' disgust. His entire army clashes against them at Hefei, resulting in his death at their hands.

In the eighth installment, he reprises his role from the previous titles as well as helping Lu Bu at Xiapi, though his battles against Liu Bei and Sun Ce are no longer included in the story. In Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends, however, he plays a much larger role. During Lu Bu's story, his role varies depending upon whether the player takes the hypothetical path or not; in the historical path, Lu Bu assists Liu Bei in fighting Yuan Shu at Shouchun, then negotiates a truce between Liu and Yuan by shooting the tip of his halberd. Yuan Shu then assists Lu Bu at Xiapi. In the hypothetical path, however, a dominant Lu Bu marches south, and Yuan Shu is forced to seek refuge with Sun Ce. After Lu Bu invades Wu, Yuan Shu is killed in battle, and what's left of his forces join with Sun Ce and the other allied warlords at Changan. Yuan Shu also features prominently in two new hypothetical battles, in Wu and Shu's storylines respectively. In Wu's, Sun Ce must protect Yuan Shu from an overwhelming attack by Cao Cao's forces, while in Shu's, he reinforces Lu Bu against the allied forces of Liu Bei and Sun Ce.

Warriors Orochi
Yuan Shu appears as one of the vanguard leaders serving Orochi at the Battle of Jie Ting in the first game. In the sequel, he yet again serves on the front lines, but this time for Yuan Shao at the Battle of Shizugatake.

Quotes

 * "I am the Emperor! I am the land itself! You dare threaten me, you landless peasant?"
 * "I will not forsake my friend, Liu Xun! Yuan Shu does not bow to threats! We will guard Liu Xun's rear flank, follow me!"
 * "What is going on here? Why are you fighting over my land? I hold the Imperial Seal, which makes me as good as the Emperor. We will punish all who bring war and chaos to our land."
 * "You there, woman! Is the Emperor really here? Lie to me and I will show you no mercy."
 * "I sense that you people only mean to cause harm to him... I'm afraid I am going to have to stop you."
 * Yuan Shu and Cai Wenji; Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends


 * "First Cao Cao and now Sun Ce... Do you imbeciles not realize that I am the Emperor?"
 * "One as weak as yourself has no right to rule. You are blocking my path to conquest and therefore must be slain!"
 * Yuan Shu and Cao Cao; Dynasty Warriors Next


 * "If I had the Imperial Seal, the realm would be forced to do as I say. I must get my hands on it."
 * "That is the Emperor's seal. If someone unworthy were to use it, it would be the end of them."
 * "Hahahaha! You've got no guts! If you find it, bring it to me. I will take charge of it."
 * "Hmm... This is the one man I will definitely not give it to."
 * Yuan Shu and Sun Jian; Dynasty Warriors 8

Voice Actors

 * Eddie Frierson - Dynasty Warriors 5 (English-uncredited)
 * Michael Lindsay - Dynasty Warriors 7 (English-uncredited)
 * Spike Spencer - Dynasty Warriors 8 (English-uncredited)
 * Tsuyoshi Takishita - Dynasty Warriors series (Japanese)

Historical Information
When the Anti-Dong Zhuo coalition began to gain ground, one of Yuan Shu's officers advised him that Sun Jian may attempt to seize the capital for himself like Dong Zhuo had done. Yuan Shu began to distrust Sun Jian, and stopped sending him supplies. However, Sun Jian rode into Yuan Shu's camp in the middle of the night and re-affirmed his loyalty to the coalition forces. Yuan Shu's trust was regained, and he resumed sending supplies to Sun's vanguard army. Historically, this event did not damage Sun Jian's army in any great way, and he went on to win a great victory over Dong Zhuo's forces.

Sun Ce did not give the Imperial Seal to Yuan Shu according to historical records. Sun Jian, being a general of Yuan Shu's army at the time, most likely gave the Imperial Seal to his commander after finding it. Yuan Shu's Imperial State was named Zhong (仲).

After Yuan Shu's defeat by the hands of Liu Bei and Sun Ce, his officers Chen Lan and Lei Bao plundered their lord's possessions for themselves.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Yuan Shu first appears in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms in chapter 5 as one of the leaders of the Anti-Dong Zhou Coalition. He was appointed by his older half-brother Yuan Shao as the commander over the grain supplies. In the same chapter, he followed the advice of an unnamed advisor and denied Sun Jian much needed supplies, leading to the latter's defeat. In chapter 6, Sun Jian threatened him for such an action and to appaese his fellow warlord, Yuan Shu executed the advisor who suggested denying Sun Jian in the first place.

In chapter 7, after the Coalition fell apart, Yuan Shu sought both troops from Yuan Shao and supplies from Liu Biao, being denied on both accounts. Infuriated, Yuan Shu incited Sun Jian against Liu Biao for revenge.

Yuan Shu returned in chapter 14 as the scape goat needed to draw Liu Bei out from Xuzhou so Cao Cao could break up Liu Bei and Lu Bu's alliance. Yuan Shu easily survived Liu Bei's attack, as Lu Bu claimed Xuzhou almost immideately after Liu Bei left it.

In Chapter 15, Yuan Shu had Sun Ce under his command. When Ce approached him about borrowing men, Yuan Shu accepted the deal only when Sun Ce yielded the Imperial Seal.

Chapter 16 has Yuan Shu seek revenge against Liu Bei for his earlier attack, causing him to seek help from Lu Bu. Yuan Shu sent Ji Ling as the leader of this army, which was sent home in disgrace without any major fighting. After this defeat, Yuan Shu tried to negotiate a truce through marriage of his son to Lu Bu's daughter. Although initially successful, Lu Bu ultimately took his daughter back before she reached Yuan Shu's lands.

Chapter 17 opens with Yuan Shu declaring himself emperor. He immediatly set out for revenge against Lu Bu, but was repelled by him due to the treachery of Yang Feng and Han Xian and the timely assistance of Liu Bei. After this defeat, Yuan Shu found himself under assault by Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Ce all at once, causing him to flee his new capital, which was ransacked and destroyed after the month long siege.

Chapter 21 marks Yuan Shu's last appearance in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In a desperate attempt to save himself, now down most of his officers and army, Yuan Shu promised his half-brother the imperial seal if he helped him. Not wanting such an allegiance, Cao Cao assigned Liu Bei to guard the route between the two Yuans. When he tried to pass, Liu Bei drove him off, where he hid in shame, dying shortly after asking his cook for honeyed water, due to the remaining food in his camp being uneatable.