Shouchun

The Battle of Shouchun or Campaign against Yuan Shu was fought between the allied forces under Cao Cao, Sun Ce and Liu Bei and the forces of the Zhong Dynasty led by Yuan Shu. After having declared himself emperor, Cao Cao issued an edict to the other eastern warlords to destroy Yuan Shu. Lu Bu, who was initially part of the alliance, later betrayed it to side with Yuan Shu.

Role in Games
The battle appears for the first time in Dynasty Warriors 6 and uses the Wu Territory map. Liu Bei is sent by Cao Cao to defeat Yuan Shu, who had previously declared himself emperor. During the battle, Liu Bei will receive reinforcements by Sun Ce.

In Dynasty Warriors 7, Cao Cao, Sun Ce and Liu Bei unite to bring down Yuan Shu in Shouchun in Wu's story. Although weary of Cao Cao, both Sun Ce and Liu Bei decide to join the alliance. This is also the battle where Liu Bei and Sun Shangxiang meet each other for the first time. Cao Cao first orders the allied forces to surround Shouchun castle and lay siege to the gates. The player will be tasked to destroy the siege weapons on the castle walls and the defenders before the ram can get into position. Once the gates are breached, Yuan Shu will disappear and the player will have to search the castle for him, only to find some of his generals hiding in ambush. After a short time, Yuan Shu and the bulk of his army appear north of the castle and attempt to flee the battlefield. Midway, however, Chen Lan and Lei Bo defect to the allied forces and buy them enough time to catch up with Yuan Shu and slay him. The map also serves as the battlefield for Zhuge Dan's Rebellion.

In Dynasty Warriors 8, Yuan Shu's demise is only mentioned in the narration. The map again serves as the place for Zhuge Dan's Rebellion in Jin's story. In Wu's hypothetical path, after their victory at Hefei, Sun Quan pursues Cao Pi and the Wei army at Shouchun.

Historical Information
During the turmoil in Luoyang following Dong Zhuo's escape, Sun Jian found the imperial seal after conquering the city and gave it to his superior Yuan Shu. Years later, in 197, Yuan Shu used the seal to declare himself emperor, starting the Zhong Dynasty. This caused Sun Ce to break ties with him and the imperial court under Cao Cao's administration issued edicts to the surrounding warlords to destroy Yuan Shu.

Although Yuan Shu was powerful at the time he declared himself emperor, the rebellion of Sun Ce and other subjects caused him to lose many of his holdings in Yang Province, especially in Wu and Guangling. Yuan Shu's army was beaten by Lu Bu at Xiapi and Yuan Shu attempted to invade Chen kingdom in Yu Province. Although he managed to kill its King Liu Chong, Cao Cao led reinforcements and defeated Yuan Shu's army.

Yuan Shu managed to turn Lu Bu against his allies, but the latter was soon defeated and killed at Xiapi in 198. He then bribed the Shanyue leader Zu Lang to attack Sun Ce, but he was defeated and forced to surrender. Yuan Shu faced rebellions in his own camp, since Chen Lan and Lei Bo plundered his treasures and fled to the mountains. Yuan Shu then asked Yuan Shao for help, who sent Yuan Tan to escort him to Hebei. Cao Cao sent Liu Bei and Zhu Ling to intercept Yuan Shu and defeated Yuan Tan, forcing Yuan Shu to turn around and return to Shouchun. He died of illness on his way and Cao Cao's forces conquered Shouchun. Yuan Shu's family escaped south to Liu Xun in Lujiang, who was however defeated by Sun Ce in late 199.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In the novel, Liu Bei, Zhu Ling and the others move to Xu Province to cut off Yuan Shu's escape to the north. Yuan Shu sends his general Ji Ling to fight them, but he is cut down by Zhang Fei after two bouts. Following this, Liu Bei offers Yuan Shu to surrender, but Yuan Shu refuses by insulting him and orders his men to attack. His forces are defeated and he tries to retreat to Shouchun, but he is ambushed by Chen Lan and Lei Bo. Yuan Shu escapes to Jiangling with 1,000 men, many of whom die from starvation. Yuan Shu eventually dies as a broken man.