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For the character, see Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shu is a playable faction in Total War: Three Kingdoms. It starts the campaign in central China, located in Nanyang commandery. The faction exists in 190, 194, and 182. Gaining a rank as a duke, king, or emperor, renames the faction to Zhong.


Overview[]

Yuan Shu's playstyle is primarily focused on managing his legitimacy and claim to be Emperor. While he can progress through the ranks in the same ways as most factions, he has the unique ability to demand support of his legitimacy. This means that, if another faction leader accepts Yuan Shu's claim, it will grant Yuan Shu a significant amount of legitimacy.

High levels of legitimacy not only provide higher income but also a large amount of extra prestige, which will accelerate Yuan Shu's progression through the ranks. Legitimacy must also be spent on recruiting new characters into Yuan Shu’s faction – without others accepting his legitimacy, Yuan Shu will have trouble finding allies willing to join him.

Aside from legitimacy, Yuan Shu's other key focus is on commerce and industry. As faction leader, Yuan Shu provides a significant bonus to these income types, so it can be worthwhile to focus on these while he is at the helm. Characters in Yuan Shu's faction also have access to a unique assignment that requires some financial investment up front but then provides a significant bonus to income over time.


Unique Features[]

Yuan Shu Unique Units

Yuan Shu's uniue units

Unique Units

Unique Buildings

Unique Features


Legitimacy[]

Legitimacy is the unique faction resource of Yuan Shu, tied to his ambitions to become the next emperor of China. Legitimacy is gained passively through faction rank, increasing as Yuan Shu gains more prestige. Legitimacy can also be acquired through diplomacy. Yuan Shu can either vassalize factions or use a unique diplomacy option to him called Acknowledge Legitimacy. These will be explained later on.

Legitimacy can be used to recruit characters, build the Zhong Administration building, and launch a unique assignment called Business Ventures. Finally, as with all faction resources, it is a tiered resource, and the greater the amount of Legitimacy Yuan Shu has, the greater the passive benefits he receives. Legitimacy ranges from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 400 and is divided into four tiers. These are:

Legitimacy: Irrelevant (0-100)

Long have you been mocked, dismissed and ignored; will you languish in lowliness forever?


Legitimacy: Acknowledged (101-200)

Through determined effort, you have made yourself worthy of acknowledgement.


Legitimacy: Regarded (201-300)

You are finally given the respect you deserve – China knows of your efforts, and through fear or love, they approve.


Legitimacy: Revered (301-400)

There are few who now question your heavenly mandate; complete rule over China, and unlimited power, are finally within reach.


Diplomacy[]

Yuan Shu gains a unique diplomacy action under the Diplomatic Treaties tab called "Demand (faction leader) Supports Legitimacy". If the secondary party agrees, Yuan Shu will receive eight more Legitimacy per turn. However, this action does not actually form a diplomatic treaty between the two factions, and the two can still go to war. It does not vassalize the faction, nor does it grant military access, an alliance, or a non-aggression pact.

Another way of gaining Legitimacy is through vassalising a faction. Whether this is done through diplomacy or at the tip of a sword doesn't matter doesn't matter. Even if they hate Yuan Shu, any vassal will provide Legitimacy every turn.


Business Ventures[]

Business Ventures is a unique assignment of Yuan Shu. It sacrifices Legitimacy for greatly increased income in a commandery. The stats are as follows:

  • -6 Legitimacy per turn
  • +75% income from commerce (local commandery)
  • +25% income from industry (local commandery)
  • +25% income from peasantry (local commandery)

Your attendant will launch business ventures and oversee them within the commandery, making sure that the return from investments meets the standards of your house.


Recruiting Characters[]

Whereas every other faction recruits characters by paying a sum of money up-front, this is not the case for Yuan Shu, who recruits characters through using Legitimacy. Recruiting a character costs 50 Legitimacy. This is the only change made to the characters; they still have to be paid a regular salary and kept content like in any other faction.


Starting Situation[]

Rise of the Warlords (190)[]

TW3K Yuan Shu 190

190, Yuan Shu - Green (default red), Enemies - Red

Yuan Shu watches the ascent of Dong Zhuo, and believes he has the means and the right to wield such power instead. He hails from the prestigious and wealthy Yuan family, which weighs upon his shoulders, as does the braggish blustering of his half-brother, Yuan Shao. Only through demonstrating his legitimacy to others can Yuan Shu prove his right to rule.

Start: Very Hard

Yuan Shu starts the campaign in Nanyang commandery with only a single county to his name. However, expansion should be relatively easy, as he starts surrounded by the Han Empire, with very few forces stationed near his lands. After defeating Han general Jia Cong and capturing Xinye county, Yuan Shu can expand north and later east, vying for territory with other warlords such as Liu Chong and Cao Cao. He can also strike south against the Yellow Turban Warlord He Yi, or minor warlords such as Cai Mao and Huang Zu. However, he should keep a close eye on his border with Dong Zhuo to the northwest, as he might be inclined to attack Yuan Shu.

TW3K Yuan Shu-Inital-dilemma

Yuan Shu's initial dilemma

Yuan Shu's initial dilemma revolves around the Imperial Seal, which will be found by Sun Jian. The two start the campaign friendly toward each other's factions. However, Sun Jian will most likely be attacked by the powerful governor Liu Biao, and Yuan Shu's dilemma revolves around helping Sun Jian or leaving him to fend for himself. While the choice may seem obvious at first, Yuan Shu already has a dangerous front with Dong Zhuo, and adding a second front with Liu Biao might overwhelm his military. This effect is worsened due to Yuan Shu recruiting with Legitimacy as opposed to money, as it might make it difficult for Shu to field enough generals.

Overall, it is a difficult start, though not impossible. If Yuan Shu can find his footing early in the campaign, he is in a great position to expand in any direction due to his centralized starting location.

Characters

Children


Mandate of Heaven (182)[]

TW3K Yuan Shu 182

182, Yuan Shu - Red

Yuan Shu possesses an instinct second to none. He is the tiger who relishes the hunt! He hails from the prestigious and wealthy Yuan family, which weighs upon his shoulders, as does the braggish blustering of his half-brother, Yuan Shao. Only through demonstrating his legitimacy to others can Yuan Shu prove his right to rule.

Start: Very Hard

Yuan Shu, while a playable faction in 182, doesn't have any content. He has no missions or goals, nobody in his faction besides himself, and no feasible way to expand. Even his family has been deleted. Essentially, there is no point in playing this campaign.

As an A.I, Yuan Shu defies the recruitment restrictions, so he will often have two full armies just in his faction. It is unknown why and how this happens.

Characters


A World Betrayed (194)[]

TW3K Yuan Shu 194

194, Yuan Shu - Green, Wu Jing - Blue, Enemies - Red

Yuan Shu can feel his time is coming; with every new sentence written in history's ledger, he knows his time is approaching, and draws his schemes accordingly. He hails from the prestigious and wealthy Yuan family, which weighs upon his shoulders, as does the braggish blustering of his half-brother, Yuan Shao. Only through demonstrating his legitimacy to others can Yuan Shu prove his right to rule.

Start: Normal

Yuan Shu has been driven out of his original starting place in Nanyang commandery and now rules from Huainan commandery. His situation here is significantly more powerful. Yuan Shu starts the game with two vassals: Wu Jing and Sun Ce, the son of the late Sun Jian. Sun Ce is likely to conquer a great deal of the south, starting with the warlord Lu Kang. Besides Lu Knag, Yuan Shu is also at war with Liu Chong to the north and Liu Yao, Xue Li, and Hua Xin to the south. With the exception of Liu Chong and Yao, these weak warlords should prove little opposition to Yuan Shu.

After defeating Liu Yao, Yuan Shu will be in a great position to build a vast empire in southern China. He can mop up minor warlords such as Ze Rong, Xu Gong, and Xu Zhao, expand into south-eastern China ruled by the bandit Yan Baihu and Wang Lang, or strike further south, attacking the severely weakened remnants of the Han Empire or establishing order in the unruly lands of Jian'an and Yizhou. Yuan Shu's choices are nearly limitless in this matter, and he can easily become one of the three emperors from this position.

Characters


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