Yuan Shu (袁术; style name Gonglu 公路) (?? - 199) was a major warlord of the Later Han Dynasty who rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han court in 189. He was the younger half-borther of Yuan Shao. After the death of He Jin, he led a force to slay the eunuchs as the Imperial Corps Commander of the Imperial Tiger Guard just outside the capital. Later, he participated in an alliance against Dong Zhuo led by Yuan Shao but this alliance ultimately failed. After the dissension of this alliance, he was never on good terms with Yuan Shao again.
Yuan Shu fled to Shouchun (modern day Shouxian, Anhui province) after repeated defeats by the combined armies of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. He declared himself emperor under the short-lived Cheng Dynasty in 195, using the Imperial Jade Seal given to him by Sun Ce as an excuse. This audacious action made him hated by the other warlords. His extravagant lifestyle and arrogance caused many of his officers to desert him, including Sun Ce. Following crushing defeats by the armies of Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Lu Bu, Yuan Shu attempted to flee north to join Yuan Shao but died of illness before he could reach his half-brother.
A local of the county of Ruyang (汝陽), Yuan Shao was born in the noble Yuan clan, whose members had since the 1st century been prominent in the civil bureaucracy of the Han Dynasty.
When Yuan Shao was young, he participated in serving some of the "partisans" from death or other terrible fates during the second Disaster of Partisan Prohibitions.
In the winter of that year, Yuan Shao successfully defeated the cavalry forces of Gongsun Zan at the Battle of Jieqiao with the use of massed crossbowmen.
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