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| “ | You take the title of a minister of Han, but you are really a rebel against the House. Your crimes and evil deeds reach to the heavens, and you are worse than the usurper Wang Mang and the rebel Dong Zhuo. What are these slanderous words about rebellion that dare you address to me? | „ |
| ~ Yuan Shao. |
| “ | Yet another enemy officer bows before me! | „ |
| ~ Yuan Shao's victory quote. |
Yuan Shao is a character in the 14th-century Chinese classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms by the late Luo Guanzhong, and its multiple adaptations. He is a ruthless warlord who was lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil wars that occurred towards the end of the Han dynasty. He was also an elder half-brother of Yuan Shu, a warlord who controlled the Huai River region, though the two were not on good terms with each other. He serves as a playable character in the Dynasty Warriors series.
Biography
Born in a noble family, Yuan Shao was the son of former Interior Minister Yuan Feng and nephew of Minister Yuan Wei. Although he helped Dong Zhuo in slaughtering the eunuch, Yuan Shao opposed Dong Zhuo to replace the emperor Bian. Eventually he established a coalition against Dong Zhuo and was elected commander. They managed to Luoyang but failed to quell Dong Zhuo.
When the split occurred in the coalition, Yuan Shao began to conquer the northern regions. Initially he borrowed a lot of food supplies from Jizhou, a rich but weak area in defense. Following Feng Ji's advice, Yuan Shao asked for help from Gongsun Zan to attack Jizhou. When Han Fu, the Jizhou ruler surrendered, Yuan Shao led and recruited many talents from the district. Yuan Shao's promise to share the area with Gongsun Zan was not kept so that Gongsun Zan was attempted to attack Yuan Shao. Gongsun Zan failed in his efforts and finally ended his own life. Currently, Yuan Shao has mastered almost all the northern regions such as Youzhou, Qingzhou, and Binzhou. Many of Yuan Shao's successes are supported by the thinking of Tian Feng and Ju Shou; this resulted in jealousy from other advisers such as Guo Tu and Feng Ji.
However, Cao Cao's political power in the palace troubled Yuan Shao. Once again, Yuan Shao had a chance to destroy Cao Cao, when Cao Cao was busy fighting with Lu Bu, Liu Bei, Yuan Shu, and Zhang Xiu. The opportunity was missed because his youngest son was sick. By the time he decided to attack, Cao Cao had built his strength and was ready for battle. Yuan Shao sought the help of his advisers, but there was no agreement between them. Although Tian Feng and Ju Shou have given brilliant analysis, but Yuan Shao prefers the solution given by Guo Tu and Shen Pei. With all his strength placed in Guandu, Yuan Shao made many mistakes for mistakes with his peak being the betrayal of Xu You and Zhang He by the destruction of the supply warehouse in Wuchao. All the power he has collected is finally destroyed in a battle. His inability to make decisions and pride of power are the things that cause his destruction.
Trivia
- Yuan Shao is one of the recurring boss characters in the Knights of Valour videogame series.
