Three Kingdoms History: Yuan Shu

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Yuan Shu was the son of a long line of powerful nobles from the Yuan family. His primary accomplishment during the Late-Han era was rising to eminence as a mighty warlord of the Central Plains. Though forced to re-establish himself at Shou Chun after repeated defeats at the hands of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, Yuan Shu would go on to proclaim himself an Emperor. This move, however, was extremely unpopular with his retainers, and eventually Yuan Shu would be defeated following numerous losses against Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Ce and Lü Bu.

Yuan Shu started his career off as the Leader of the Imperial Tiger Guard in the Late-Han dynasty. As the holder of this position, Yuan Shu fought to purge the Han dynasty of corrupt and influential eunuchs. When Dong Zhuo took over the capital, Luoyang, in AD 189, Yuan Shu established a base at Luyang and joined a group of warlords in opposing Dong Zhuo. After conquering Nanyang, Yuan Shu appointed Sun Jian to control his army. Sun Jian then proceeded to trounce Dong Zhuo’s army in battle after battle. Following Dong Zhuo’s retreat from the capital, however, Yuan Shu began to quarrel with his relative, Yuan Shao. Yuan Shu and his ally, Gongsun Zan, fought for a time with Yuan Shao, but both lords were ultimately defeated. In AD 193, Yuan Shu attempted to set up headquarters at Chenliu, but was decisively beaten by Cao Cao at the Battle of Fengqiu (and then in several other minor skirmishes). Yuan Shu fortunately succeeded in re-organizing his army after these losses. Soon Yuan Shu was able to conquer Shou Chun, a city that would remain his capital almost until his death.

With Shou Chun firmly under the control of his mailed fist, Yuan Shu ambitiously set out to seize numerous territories in the Southlands. First he eradicated Zhou Xin and his followers, taking over Danyang in the process. Then he conquered Lu Kang’s kingdom, which contained a sizable amount of land located in Lujiang commandery. At some point in time, a former ally of Yuan Shu’s, Liu Yao, revolted in Qu’a. Yuan Shu wisely dispatched Sun Ce to fight with Liu Yao, and in the next few years, Sun Ce would triumph against Liu Yao as well as other adversaries to the south and east. Eventually Sun Ce would himself rebel against Yuan Shu, but for the time being, Yuan Shu was still in a powerful position to expand.

In AD 196, after taking over Shouchun, Yuan Shu had set his eyes on Xu Province. Though relations between Yuan Shu and the lord of Xu, Tao Qian, were tense, Tao Qian died before any large war between the two warlords could be waged. Liu Bei, Tao Qian’s successor, then invaded Yuan Shu, but neither side could gain the upper hand. Xu Dan of Liu Bei convinced Lü Bu to attack Xiapi and Yuan Shu offered Lü Bu supplies to support his cause. Liu Bei came to Xiapi to support Zhang Fei but it was too late. He faced Yuan Shu again but was defeated. He took camp at Haixi, his men so desperate they even resorted to cannibalism. Liu Bei surrendered to Lü Bu and was received and restored to power in Xiapi. Having been turned on by Lü Bu, now allied with Liu Bei, Yuan Shu could drive no further into Xu province.

Still in AD 196 Yuan Shu set his sights upon declaring himself Emperor. Formerly, when he learned that Sun Jian had discovered the Imperial Seal he held his wife hostage and took it from him. In AD 197, despite opposition from Yan Xiang, Zhang Cheng and Sun Ce, he declared himself Emperor. In the end, unfortunately, this would prove to be a foolish move that alienated Yuan Shu from other warlords (who nominally supported the weakened Han dynasty) and even from his own subjects.

Because Lü Bu later would kill an envoy of Yuan Shu’s named Han Yin, Yuan Shu would attempt another massive invasion of Xu Province. Sadly for Yuan Shu, the attack would fail miserably and leave Yuan Shu’s grand army in shambles. Yuan Shu‘s short-lived dynasty, which he named ‘Zhong,’ would then be bombarded by assaults led by Cao Cao, Lü Bu, Liu Bei and former vassal Sun Ce. Though Yuan Shu did achieve great success against the small Kingdom of Chen, he ultimately could not prevail against so many hostile warlords fighting him. At length, his kingdom was obliterated by a Han-backed coalition, and he eventually died a humble death in a small village (where in his later years he was forced to retreat to). Yuan Shu’s children would then go serve Liu Xun (who was a subordinate of Yuan Shu’s and the Grand Administrator of Lujiang) and later Sun Quan (who married Yuan Shu’s daughter).

Fun Fact-During his reign, Yuan Shu changed the name of Jiujiang province to Huainan. Huainan, a name based off of the Huai river that ran through the province in that time, is the name that Koei uses for that area in their Romance of the Three Kingdoms games.