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. First joining the Allied Forces led by his half-brother, he later betrays Sun Jian and takes his son under his army.

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 back-up Sun Jian at the Battle of Si Shui Gate. Unfortunately for Sun Jian, out of jealously does not give him back-up, forcing Sun Jian 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.

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. In 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."
 * "Yuan Shu, I am counting on you."
 * "Common swine. You won't be smug for long."
 * Sun Jian and Yuan Shu, Dynasty Warriors 4


 * "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

Voice Actors

 * Eddie Frierson - Dynasty Warriors 4 (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.