Suo Yuan

Suo Yuan is a fictional character. His first appearance was in Dynasty Warriors 4, Dynasty Warriors 5 and Dynasty Warriors 6. He is absent from Dynasty Warriors 7, and he appeared as a special guest in Tekken 6 and Soul Calibur IV. During his life, he found himself in the services of (or allied to) various warlords across China, including Sun Jian, Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, Tui Kang, Jou Yun and Suo Ning. He is the protagonist of The Halberd of Destiny, but he acts as the secondary antagonist of both Crimson Blood and The God of War. In the Dynasty Warriors series, he is 29 years old.

Role in Games
Suo Yuan appeared in Dynasty Warriors 4. He had just joined Yuan Shao's forces after being sold by Sun Jian. He fights under Yuan Shao at the Yellow Turban Rebellion and later in the Campaign against Dong Zhuo, however, he changes sides and helps Cao Cao destroy Tao Qian and Lu Bu. He returns to Yuan Shao's side for Guandu to defeat Cao Cao, but he plans with his oath brothers to rebel against him. Due to Yan Liang and Wen Chou believing Guan Yu fought for Yuan Shao, they were both killed by Cao Cao's forces. Chungyu Qiong revealed the plot after capture at Wuchao, which he allowed them to burn, Cao Cao sent him back to persuade more people to surrender, under the likes of Gao Lan, Zhang Hé and Xu You. However, some of Yuan Shao's officers told Yuan Shao the truth and Chungyu Qiong was executed. Suo Yuan surrenders alone to Cao Cao where he stays to destroy Cao Cao. He doesn't learn of his imperial state and continues to fight for Cao Cao until they crush Liu Bei at Chengdu.

In Dynasty Warriors 5, he starts his career attacking Zhang Jiao at Jizhou, a few days after Sun Jian sold him. However, Yuan Shao quickly withdraws from the chaos. Suo Yuan makes an oath with Yan Liang, Wen Chou and Chungyu Qiong. He falls in love with Diao Chan and she nearly has his son, however, she miscarries. Suo Yuan defeats Dong Zhuo at Hulao Pass and then continues to fight Cao Cao. He surrenders after Yan Liang, Wen Chou and Chungyu Qiong mistakenly attack Cao Cao's troops, believing them to have been Yuan Shao's troops. Suo Yuan helps Cao Cao defeat Yuan Shao's sons. He learns of his heritage from Bing Cao. He first attacks Mang Yachang at the Great Wall before defeating the western tribes to marry their princess, Tia Mae. He leads a war against Xu Yen which he wins and crushes the country. His sons rebel against him in order to war for succession, however, Suo Yuan painfully kills them all (except Suo Yan and Suo Chou, who did not rebel).

In Dynasty Warriors 6, his story is essentially the same, with a few changes. Firstly, he has a battle called Rock Mountains instead of Sishui Pass. Secondly, he partakes in the Battle of Xuchang after Guandu. Thirdly, he has a battle between the Great Wall and the western tribe war where he pursues Tia Mae down to the kingdom. Fourthly, he has a battle against Tui Kang called Rescue Bridge. And fifthly, his battle against his children change, so that in age order, each child rebels and takes their own fortress (of which there are fifteen). Liang Shan and Li Kiren also rebel when Suo Yuan refuses to favour one another, and they take two of the fortresses. Suo Yuan has to defeat his children in age order, otherwise the defeated children will continue to respawn. Suo Yuan will have to crush Liang Shan and Li Kiren, who quickly bring the children onto either side. Suo Yuan will have to kill them all one more time. His ending involves him realising what he has done and walking away.

In Tekken 6, he is unlocked when every boss is defeated in Scenario Campaign. His levels are Anna Williams, Marshall Law, Paul Phoenix, Armour King, Julia Chang, Asuka Kazama, Feng Wei and Jinpachi Mishima. He develops a feud with Armour King and Feng Wei, when Armour King dislikes his strength and Feng Wei believes he once attacked his dojo. Suo Yuan is called Suo Wenxiu in this game, as Wenxiu is his stylename. Suo Wenxiu claims that he knew Feng Wei's ancestor thousands of years ago, possibly referring to Feng Xu.

In Soul Calibur IV, he is unlocked when all characters are unlocked. He dislikes Ivy because she dresses in barely ay clothing. He and Kilik develop a friendship however, Suo Yuan does not like any of Kilik's close friends and strongly hates Maxi, who he deems as too rude. Suo Yuan steals the Soul Calibur from Sephiroth and the Soul Edge from Nightmare. He then destroys them both. He leaps from the tower as it crumbles and lands safely at the bottom, but his body, possessed by both swords, is unable to cope and after walking for a while, collapses onto the ground and dies. Kilik finds him and covers him in a flag similar to North Korea's flag in Dynasty Warriors 6.

He reappears in Dynasty Warriors 7: Empires. He appears in all of the scenarios besides "A Gathering of Heroes". In the 184 scenario, he can be recruited in any of Cao Cao, Sun Jian or Yuan Shao's initial territories, but if neglected as an officer, he will leave your force and take service under Yuan Shao, Cao Cao or his own force. In the 189/190/191/192 scenario, he serves Yuan Shao but randomly changes between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao. It is impossible to get him into a force with Sun Jian or Han Dang, as he will refuse. In the Guandu scenario, he will serve Yuan Shao. If the special event battle takes place, he will surrender to Cao Cao after Wuchao is burned down, but if it doesn't, he will join Cao Cao after their next battle. In the Chibi scenario, he can be recruited in any of the regions under Cao Cao but upon Cao Cao's lands being taken, he will create a force in the northernmost land. In the 215 scenario, his actions are the same as the above scenario. In the Rise of Jin scenario, he can be recruited all across the land but will not take service in a force which has Sima Yi. He can ony be recruited in the lands owned by Jin and Wei however so recruiting him is difficult. If one of Wei's lands are conquered, he cannot be recruited there. Therefore, the only way to recruit him is to be Wei or Jin and remove Sima Yi from their service. Because of the difficulty of collecting Suo Yuan, when he arrives, he brings 100,000 gold.

Early Life (157-175)
Suo Yuan was born on August 31 157 AD. He was born the son of the future Emperor of North Korea, Suo Nen, and his wife Lady Liu. During Lady Liu's pregnancy, Suo Nen's second wife Lady An poisoned her, causing complications during the birth which caused Suo Yuan not to age fast once he reached the age of thirty. Lady Liu died a few days after the birth, and Lady An adopted Suo Yuan as her own son. With Suo Nen's permission, she took Suo Yuan back to Anling, her hometown in China, in order to raise him away from the conflict between the North and South Korean empires. Lady An did not tell Suo Yuan that he was of imperial heritage and raised him in a simple house with simple lives. Suo Nen only visited Suo Yuan three times. These visits took place in 160, 164 and 169. In 161, Suo Nen annuled his marriage to Lady An in order that she could continue living in China. In 162, Lady An was hired by the Governor of Anling, Feng Qian, to work as a maid in his household. She developed a relationship with Feng Qian's son, Feng Xu, who she later married. Feng Xu became Suo Yuan's adopted father and he raised Suo Yuan in the hope that he could become a warrior.

In 172, Suo Yuan's uncle, Suo Ping, the current Emperor of North Korea, died of an illness. Suo Nen became the Emperor of North Korea when Suo Ping's son, Suo Ning, abdicated in his favour. Suo Nen and his brother, Suo Lang, gathered the armies and made a truce with the South Korean Emperor Xu Jing to allow them a safe journey without attacking their empire in exchange for the city of Nuamke. Xu Jing agreed and did not attack Suo Nen's armies as they left for China. Suo Nen's journey across the sea was hard and they were blown off-course back to North Korea. Their armies had to march north into China and around the sea in order to reach Anling, meaning the journey was two years long. In 174, Suo Nen arrived in Anling to take Suo Yuan from Lady An. Lady An was reluctant to allow Suo Yuan to join Suo Nen's army back to the empire. Suo Nen realised that she had not yet told him about his relation to the empire. Feng Xu quickly learned that Suo Yuan was of royal blood and disowned his wife for lying to him. Suo Yuan was also angered by Lady An, as she told him that his father was dead, and both Feng Xu and Suo Yuan raised an army in Anling in order to join Suo Nen's troops. Lady An raced to Feng Qian's mansion and persuaded him that Feng Xu was planning to assassinate him in order to become the Governor of Anling so that Feng Qian could raise an army to face his son. However, Feng Xu and Suo Yuan were able to flee and reach Suo Nen's troops.

The North Korean troops began the journey north. When they reached Mt Shinrei, they were intercepted by troops Suo Yuan believed were bandits, but were truly South Korean officers. Suo Nen sent his brother, Suo Lang, and his subordinate general Yue Lang to fight against the enemy. However, both generals were advised by the strategist Nu Lan to defect to the enemy. Yue Lang sent a message to Huang Yue asking them to meet up at Shouchun in order to discuss the terms of their defection, however, Suo Lang refused to allow Yue Lang's armies to move towards Shouchun. Instead, he took hold of Yue Lang's armies and fled north, abandoning Suo Nen at Mt Shinrei. Suo Yuan led his men to face the bandits but was lured across a large bridge over the valley below him, leading him to the River Wei. Huang Yue ambushed him there but Suo Nen arrived and saved Suo Yuan by taking the blow. Huang Yue arrested Suo Nen and Suo Yuan and placed them in seperate cages, leading them away from the mountain. Suo Nen died after handing Suo Yuan his halberd through the cages and they were separated. The driver of Suo Yuan's cage accidentally drove them off a cliff and Suo Yuan fled on a horse, only to fall from another cliffside onto the ground below. Suo Yuan was discovered by Sun Jian who brought him to Changsha and allowed him to become a citizen of the city. A year later, Suo Yuan sought Sun Jian in order to become a member of his army, in order to show his appreciation.

Bing Cao and Yue Bi, grand generals of North Korea, were both announced dead in the field of battle after the Battle of Mt Shinrei. Suo Lang and Yue Lang, who was Yue Bi's younger brother, joined the armies at Liaodong but were not denied entrance into North Korea by Suo Ning, who took the throne as Regent Emperor. Nu Lan was executed by Suo Ning upon his return to North Korea. Suo Yuan didn't discover that he was the legitimate heir to the throne. Feng Xu fell in the battle and his adoptive brothers joined Suo Ning's empire.

Service under Sun Jian (175-180)
Sun Jian allowed Suo Yuan to become a soldier when he visited him in order to see his newlyborn son, Sun Cé, but did not expect Suo Yuan to do well in this career and instead sought to make him a clerk. Suo Yuan requested that he was allowed to fight in one of these battles against a band of pirates in order to prove his worth. Suo Yuan led the campaign against bandits in Shanxi, Louting and Jinxing, three cities located on the Jiangdong River. Suo Yuan returned victorious and Sun Jian gave him the rank of Guardian of Changsha. In 176, a taoist priest in Sun Jian's service, called Zhang Bu, betrayed Sun Jian during a visit to the villages outside Changsha, and his forces took the castle while he was away. Suo Yuan was trapped inside the castle and was forced to save Sun Jian's wife, Lady Wu, who was locked within the city. Sun Jian rescued her and Sun Jian's officer Han Dang and led them to a drawbridge in order that they could flee from the city. He then returned into the city and solely crushed hordes of Zhang Bu's troops. He eventually drove the rebels into the inner keep of the castle. He locked the gates in order to quickly open all of the gates to allow Sun Jian's forces to return to the city. As Zhang Bu's men escaped the inner keep to face Suo Yuan, Sun Jian's men defeated Zhang Bu. Zhang Bu's brother, Zhang Wei, arrived to assist Suo Yuan, but Zhang Wei was killed by Suo Yuan at the north gate. Sun Jian thanked Suo Yuan for saving the city by having a banquet in his honour. Lady Wu also thanked him by sleeping with him later in the night of the banquet.

In 178, Suo Yuan persuaded Sun Jian to conquer the three cities on the river which he had earlier pacified. Sun Jian agreed and sent Han Dang and Suo Yuan to attack the cities separately. Suo Yuan headed to Shanxi while Han Dang headed to Jinxing. Suo Yuan and his troops drove Zhang Bu's men back to Louting, while Han Dang had difficulties driving Zhang Bu's nephew, Zhang Jue, from Jinxing. Suo Yuan acted as a messenger himself to persuade Zhang Bu to surrender but he was captured. Han Dang captured Jinxing while Suo Yuan was suffering torture in prison. Suo Yuan killed the torturer and fled the prison, gathering his troops and routing Zhang Bu at Louting. Zhang Bu was slain in the battle, and Zhang Jue withdrew back to Jinxing. Suo Yuan was once again victorious against the rebels and decided to pursue them. Han Dang beat Zhang Jue's forces north of the river and they fled to Shouchun. Han Dang and Suo Yuan met up between Louting and Jinxing. Han Dang was enraged by Suo Yuan and was overcome with jealousy. He wanted to attack Zhang Jue's fleeing soldiers but Suo Yuan persuaded him not to as the battle was done. Han Dang followed over the river but he was defeated by Zhang Jue, who had ordered his men to turn around and beat them. Suo Yuan crossed the river and saved Han Dang.

In 179, Zhang Jue's men had built up a hundred thousand man army in Shouchun, and he crossed the Jiangdong River in order to crush Sun Jian's men. Suo Yuan camped at Jeiliang as a subordinate of Han Dang. Han Dang planned a strategy in order for Suo Yuan to be slain at Jeiliang. Zhang Jue's men were strong and Jieliang was taken. Han Dang abandoned Suo Yuan and returned to Changsha with news of Suo Yuan's death. Suo Yuan fought his way out of Jieliang and found his way back to the city. Sun Jian was surprised to find Suo Yuan alive but was not content at the fact Jieliang Pass had been breached. In 180, after a year of taunts from Zhang Jue, Suo Yuan decided to strike them at Jieliang Pass. At first he had the advantage, able to crush Zhang Jue's forces back to Jieliang, claiming the pass in Sun Jian's name. Han Dang, pretending to be Suo Yuan, forged a letter claiming that he would act hostile during the march to Jieliang but he would surrender when he entered the city and turn around and push Han Dang from the pass. Suo Yuan marched to Jieliang and Zhang Jue opened the gates to welcome Suo Yuan in. However, Zhang Jue realised Suo Yuan did not want to surrender and closed the gates on Suo Yuan's troops, meaning Suo Yuan was trapped in the city. Suo Yuan's men were all killed outside Jieliang and Suo Yuan was able to flee from the city by using one of the rebel flags as a parachute and leaping from the castle walls. He escaped the city and returned to Jieliang Pass which had been seized by Zhang Jue's sons. Suo Yuan returned to Changsha in defeat once again, and unable to convince Sun Jian that he had been fooled into abandoning the pass, left in shame. Yuan Shao who was passing Jieling Pass, witnessed Suo Yuan fearlessly fighting the soldiers, aided him in defeating the rebels and travelled to Changsha. Yuan Shao offered to buy Suo Yuan for a hundred thousand tiger amulets. Sun Jian, disappointed in Suo Yuan's defeat, accepted, and Suo Yuan joined the Ji commander's troops.

Service under Yuan Shao (180-190)
When they were journeying north, they captured Jieling and the pass, and killed Zhang Jue. After they reached the Jizhou, they were assaulted by the forces of Zhang Jue's son, Zhang Jiao. Yuan Shao managed to defeat Zhang Jiao's men by destroying the altar, however, he did not allow his troops to pursue and withdrew from fighting Zhang Jiao's rebels, even after the taoist leader declared the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Instead, they remained hidden away from warfare in Jizhou. Suo Yuan met Lady An again here, as she had wedded Yuan Shao and became the Duchess of Ji. In 183, Suo Yuan was growing bored of staying with Yuan Shao and planned to escape and join Sun Jian's ranks again, however, he was persuaded against it by Kai Zhen, one of Yuan Shao's strategists, who reminded him how Sun Jian had sold him for a box of amulets. Suo Yuan instead remained in Yuan Shao's care. Yuan Shao had quickly forgotten Suo Yuan, and was disappointed as he did not manage to see Suo Yuan perform in battle, wasting Suo Yuan's talents. In 186, bandits attacked Yuan Shao's camp near a village called Taolan. The villagers fought the bandits out of Taolan, and Suo Yuan fought them from the other side of the hill, inadvertantly pushing the bandits back into the village. Yuan Shao's troops led by Kai Zhen rushed in to help Suo Yuan crush the bandits, and they eventually fought their way so close to the village that the villagers believed they were bandits too. A villager called Yan Liang attacked Suo Yuan and they fought to a stalemate. Seven brothers of the Wen clan attacked Suo Yuan to help Yan Liang. Suo Yuan disarmed each of the brothers and Kai Zhen set a trap to have a cage fall from the village walls and lock the brothers in. The plan worked, however, an arrow struck one of the brothers and knocked him into the youngest brother, who fell out of the way of the trap. Yan Liang and the youngest brother, Wen Chou, fought against Suo Yuan but were both defeated. Yan Liang and Wen Chou cursed Suo Yuan and ordered him to abandon the village along with his bandits, where Suo Yuan realised they were not bandits, and decided to tell them this.

Wen Chou's father, Wen Yuan, invited them to a banquet. His slave, Chungyu Qiong, was ordered to assassinate Suo Yuan and Yuan Shao. Chungyu Qiong, appalled by his master's hostility, took the dagger to the banquet and promised to complete the task. He gave Suo Yuan a coat which had large packs of pig's blood hidden in its inside pocket. Chungyu repeatedly stabbed Suo Yuan, and left his "corpse" on the ground. Yuan Shao was greatly alarmed and called forth his guards Zhang Hé and Gao Lan to defend him. They repelled Wen Chou's guards and arrested him. Wen Chou pleaded for his father's life to be spared but Yuan Shao was not convinced that Wen Yuan wouldn't attack him if he spared him, so Wen Chou, along with Yan Liang and Chungyu Qiong, surrendered to Yuan Shao. Suo Yuan, who was alive and well, pleaded with Yuan Shao to spare him. When Yuan Shao finally accepted, he readied his armies to return to Jicheng. Yuan Shao secretly poisoned Wen Yuan before he left, killing him later. Suo Yuan, Yan Liang, Wen Chou and Chungyu Qiong, all greatly admiring one another's bravery, decided that they would fight for the Han together, and proclaimed themselves "the Four King's Men", creating an oath of brotherhood.

Yuan Shao did not further himself in warfare until 189. He Jin, a great Han general, was murdered by ten eunuchs, who were commanders in the Han court. Yuan Shao, along with his half-brother Yuan Shu, attacked the Imperial Court and drove the treacherous eunuchs from the court. The leader of the Xiliang armies, Dong Zhuo, took the Emperor hostage and ravaged hell in the lands. In 190, Cao Cao, a Han commander, raised a call-for-arms against Dong Zhuo, gathering eighteen warlords. Suo Yuan supported Cao Cao's claim to become the commander of the coalition, however, Cao Cao himself asked Yuan Shao to lead the troops. Suo Yuan was forced to fight at Sishui Pass, where he remet Sun Jian. He visited Sun Jian's camp to see Lady Wu, and they slept together over the night, but when Sun Jian's camp was attacked by Dong Zhuo's general Li Meng, Sun Jian was forced to enter his tent to save his wife. However, Suo Yuan disguised himself as a soldier and pretended to be trying to save her himself and was ordered by Sun Jian to take her to Yuan Shao's camp. Suo Yuan escaped being caught by Sun Jian, and when he reached Yuan Shao's camp, slept with Lady Wu for the final time. He then took a horse and reached Yuan Shu and defeated him in a battle, carrying supplies back to Sun Jian's camps. Sun Jian, surprised to see him, thanked him for saving him in the battle, and fed his troops after driving Li Meng back. Suo Yuan, too impatient to wait for Hua Xiong to be driven out of the pass, instead took a secret route around the pass over a mountainous valley. He was ambushed by Li Ru, who he quickly defeated, and raced into Li Su's camp, causing the enemy army to be thrown into disarray. Suo Yuan fought Lu Bu outside the pass, but did not manage to get the upperhand and retreated from the line of battle.

Hidden in Dong Zhuo's area, many of the warriors went on patrol to search for him, but Suo Yuan had found a detour and was the first to enter Luoyang. When he had breached the city, Sishui Pass had fallen and Hulao Pass was nearly down. Suo Yuan entered Diao Chan's room by climbing the palace and threatened to kill her if he didn't find out how to destroy Dong Zhuo there and then. Diao Chan revealed that she loved neither Dong Zhuo nor Lu Bu, and was only doing this so that she can create a rift between the two men and kill Dong Zhuo. Suo Yuan realises her anguish and sleeps with her. He then rushes into Dong Zhuo's hall and strikes down many of the men with the intention of slaying Dong Zhuo, but is forced to retreat as he is outnumbered. He returns to Diao Chan where he is hidden for two weeks, writing letters to Yuan Shao and Cao Cao to assist him. He impregnates Diao Chan and leaves her with the child. He then leaps from her window and lands in a haystack. He returns to Rock Mountain, the secret route between Yuan Shao's camp and Hulao Pass, and, with Diao Chan's men, fires arrows into Hulao Pass. Lu Bu is forced to retreat and the pass is breached by Cao Cao and his forces. Suo Yuan then rides down to tell Cao Cao of his surrender from Yuan Shao's side to his. Suo Yuan then leads Cao Cao's men into Luoyang, only to find Dong Zhuo has burned the city to the ground and fled. He tries to visit Diao Chan but she has already left the capital with Dong Zhuo. As he searches the remains of the city to find the remaining troops, he is wounded by Li Jue, who escapes with the peasants and remaining soldiers. Suo Yuan is found by Tian Feng, who helps him recover. As they are leaving Luoyang to regather with the coalition, he spots Sun Jian holding the Imperial Seal. Suo Yuan readies his blade to strike Sun Jian dead and take the Imperial Seal for himself, but Tian Feng warns him not to, restraining him as he is wounded. Sun Jian hides the Imperial Seal and places it in a carriage before climbing in it. They return to the coalition's main camp.

Service Between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao (190-200)
Suo Yuan, now serving under Cao Cao, advised his new lord to leave the coalition and build his lands. However, his initial service to Cao Cao did not last long for his two friends in Yuan Shao's service, Tian Feng and Kai Zhen, were unable to continue lying on Suo Yuan's behalf. Suo Yuan left Cao Cao's encampment in 191 and returned to Yuan Shao, lying that he had been visiting a distant relative in Qiao. Suo Yuan was discontent with remaining in the service of Yuan Shao. He led the campaign against Gongsun Zan and slew Gongsun Yue personally while he was riding his horse, and defeated Ma Teng in several battles, where he met and captured his future wife, Lady Shi. In 193, Suo Yuan was persuaded by Kai Zhen to follow his dream, so he returned to Cao Cao's side once again. Soon after he had arrived, Cao Cao had begun a war with rogue Lu Bu, who had previously served Yuan Shao for a small amount of time during the war against Gongsun Zan. During the Defense of Puyang, Suo Yuan rode into Lu Bu's camp and defeated Gao Shun, however, Lu Bu had already taken Puyang with the help of traitor Chen Cong. He catches sight of Diao Chan with a small girl and believes it is his daughter from his previous relationship with her, so he rushes to her to greet her but is stopped by Lu Bu, who has returned from Puyang to bring Diao Chan there. Suo Yuan fends Lu Bu off before creating a standoff where he reveals that the daughter is not Lu Bu's but his. Suo Yuan learns that the girl is Lu Bu's daughter from another woman (not Diao Chan) and that Lu Bu forced Diao Chan to stab herself, causing her to miscarry Suo Yuan's child. Suo Yuan, disgusted, leaves the camp and stops the army from torching the city apparently because he does not want to hurt Lu Bu's daughter, but truthfully to avoid Diao Chan's death.

In 194, a tragedy involving the death of Cao Cao's father occurs, and Suo Yuan is chosen to lead the attack against Tao Qian in Xu. Lu Bu, who had been pushed out of Puyang, was attempting to take over Xu as well. Suo Yuan, encountering Diao Chan again, reveals to her he still loves her but she rejects him. Suo Yuan then leaves her and defeats Lu Bu and Tao Qian in battle. Liu Bei soon arrives and Suo Yuan retreats in order to persuade Cao Cao to retreat from the battle and revise his scheme. Cao Cao, drunk and enraged, attacks Suo Yuan for his suggestion and orders him to return to the battle and kill Tao Qian. In 195, Suo Yuan proceeds to do so but only manages to slay Tao Qian's sons, Tao Xun and Tao Wei. Suo Yuan returns to Cao Cao, who is content with this victory and agrees to retreat from the war. Later the next year, Yuan Shao learns from Tian Feng that Suo Yuan is no longer in the army during an argument, and Yuan Shao sets off to kill Suo Yuan's new wife, Lady Shi, who is in Kai Zhen's care. Kai Zhen however changes Yuan Shao's mind and instead requests that he attacks Cao Cao instead, who has just taken the Emperor away from Li Jue. Yuan Shao, during the battle, spots Suo Yuan who helps Cao Cao flee from the battle with the Emperor, however, when he learns his wife is in danger, abandons Cao Cao yet again to join Yuan Shao.

Angered, Yuan Shao has Suo Yuan beaten a thousand times by Kai Zhen himself. When the beating is over, Suo Yuan forgives Kai Zhen and announces that he does not plan to remain in Yuan Shao's service and decides to leave his wife in Kai Zhen's care. Suo Yuan's wife then gives birth to a son, Suo Cang. Suo Yuan, aided by Tian Feng and Kai Zhen, sneaks his family away from Yuan Shao's kingdom and takes them to Cao Cao. By the time he arrives, it is 197, and Suo Yuan learns of Zhang Xiu's attack on Wan. He then leads a support force to relieve Cao Cao and arrives in time to help Cao Cao escape the city after Dian Wei and Cao Ang's sacrifices. However, Suo Yuan refuses to sacrifice himself to help Cao Cao because he must be the one to help Cao Cao overcome the deaths of the two men. Suo Yuan persuades Cao Cao to kill Lu Bu, as he wants to win Diao Chan, and an alliance from Liu Bei soon arrives to defeat Lu Bu. Cao Cao proceeds to flood Xiapi, which Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan ensure happens as they defeat Gao Shun. Suo Yuan sneaks into the flooding city and rescues Diao Chan. Suo Yuan's plan is to lure Lu Bu out, knowing Lu Bu would want to retrieve Diao Chan and then slay him, so he rides away with her and hides. Cao Cao's forces manage to surround Lu Bu just outside Xiapi. When Diao Chan learns of Suo Yuan's ploy, she shouts at him that she will always hate him but opens up and reveals that she has always loved him, but cannot live without Lu Bu. Suo Yuan then lets her go and turns up to witness Lu Bu's execution via strangulation. Diao Chan begs him to kill her but he cannot do it so Cao Cao gives her poison so that Suo Yuan doesn't have to kill her himself. Suo Yuan then pleads for Cao Cao to allow Gao Shun to live but the general does not choose life and accepts death.

Suo Yuan, distressed by Diao Chan's death, begins heavily drinking alcohol and suddenly flees Cao Cao's camp fearing Cao Cao has sent assassins to assassinate him. By the time Suo Yuan sees sense, he is already in Yuan Shao's camp and he is stripped of all rank and imprisoned. When Gongsun Zan begins to repel Yuan Shao's force, Tian Feng suggests allowing Suo Yuan to return to fight. Supported by most of the army, Tian Feng's campaign to release Suo Yuan succeeds, and Suo Yuan defeats Gongsun Zan in a grand battle at the city of Jieqiao. Gongsun Zan eventually kills his entire family and himself via self-immolation. Yuan Shao forgives Suo Yuan for his treachery.

At some point between Gongsun Zan's death and his funeral, Suo Yuan takes seven students. These students are Yuan Ang (Yuan Shao's illegitimate son), Zhao Ang, Han Chen, Liang Cui, Yin Ji, Sui Bu and Xiang Ren. All of the seven students were highly favoured by Tian Feng, who recommended all of them to Yuan Shao. However, much like Suo Yuan, all of these men were united by a hatred of Yuan Shao's government. Yan Liang, Wen Chou and Chungyu Qiong also planned a rebellion and the seven scholars joined the conspiracy. Suo Yuan, as the self-proclaimed leader of the conspiracy, conspired with them to overthrow Yuan Shao and take service with Cao Cao. In 200, Suo Yuan's conspiracy becomes a fully-planned rebellion which would crush Yuan Shao and help Cao Cao conquer the northern plains, and the rebellion was to start at Guandu, an upcoming battle. Liang Cui, Yuan Ang, Zhao Ang and Yin Ji were the only students of the seven scholars who did not back out of the conspiracy. By the winter of 200, the plan was going to succeed but an immediate flaw was spotted by none other than Tian Feng's rival, Guo Tu. Tian Feng, hoping to persuade Yuan Shao to avoid Guandu out of his loyalty to him, persuaded Yuan Shao to attack Xuchang instead. He gathered aid from Ju Shou and planned to help Yuan Shao escape a death by the rebels, without giving the rebels away either, despite the fact that Ju Shou was unaware of a rebellion and simply trusted Tian Feng. Yuan Shao did not heed Tian Feng's warning and imprisoned him under Guo Tu's advise. Ju Shou was also warned.

Yuan Shao attacked Guandu but the rebellion was foreseen by Guo Tu (although he only knew that Yuan Ang and Chungyu Qiong were members). Guo Tu persuaded Yuan Shao not to send reinforcements to Chungyu Qiong at Wuchao, hoping Cao Cao would kill Chungyu Qiong first. However, the scheming strategist had not seen Yan Liang and Wen Chou's roles as well. Yan Liang was ordered to relieve Baima with aid from Liu Bei, who did not arrive. Planning to kill Liu Bei at Baima and surrender to Cao Cao, Yan Liang believed Guan Yu was in Liu Bei's unit and attacked him, unaware he served Cao Cao. Yan Liang was slain after a long duel and Suo Yuan discovered Guan Yu was in Cao Cao's camp. Suo Yuan then allowed Cao Cao to take Baima and rode with his four students to Yanjin. Wen Chou, also mistaking Xiahou Dun's ambush force for being Yuan Shao's men, attacked them. Wen Chou was thus slain too. Suo Yuan, deeply grieving his oath brothers' deaths, rode immediately to Wuchao to ensure the rebellion would succeed. Unfortunately, Cao Cao was unaware of the rebellion and believed he had won two major victories. Cao Cao set fire to Wuchao, believing Chungyu Qiong and his subordinates to have remained loyal to him. Cao Cao captured Wuchao and Chungyu Qiong and the battle had become a total loss in Yuan Shao's name, and for the rebellion, who had lost many generals. Chungyu Qiong was tortured before he revealed the truth of the rebellion. To prove his case, he cut off his own nose, and Cao Cao lamented. Then, he sent Chungyu Qiong to visit Yuan Shao and kill him. Chungyu Qiong, who had once worked with Cao Cao and Yuan Shao as a Colonel of the Western Garden Army, was torn between killing either master but rode north to slay Yuan Shao. Cao Cao was advised to slay Chungyu Qiong by Yuan Shao's former servant Xu You. Chungyu escaped Xu You's men and arrived in Yuan Shao's camp. He failed in his attempt to assassinate Yuan Shao and was executed himself. Xu You, shocked by Chungyu Qiong's loyalty to Cao Cao, returned and revealed all.

Suo Yuan, who had been absent from the campaign due to him mourning the death of his two oath brothers, finally rose in anger after Chungyu Qiong's execution. Zhang Hé and Gao Lan, decieved by Guo Tu and Shen Pei during the battle, fled to Cao Cao and surrendered. Suo Yuan, taking the opportunity of their surrender, took his four students and rode into one of Yuan Shao's final strongholds during the battle - the stronghold Liu Bei had abandoned when Yuan Shao threatened him to flee. Suo Yuan found Li Kiren, Li Jue's younger brother, and Liang Shan, Liang Cui's younger brother, roaming around the city and learned of their talents. He then recruited them and, with the four students, assaulted the stronghold. Yuan Shao believed Suo Yuan had come to relieve their armies until Suo Yuan led an attack on Chaoyuan, Yuan Shao's final stronghold. Yuan Shao was unable to prevent the force and fled Chaoyuan with only a hundred loyalists north over the Yellow River. Suo Yuan then returned to Cao Cao and surrendered himself, all seven students and his forces to Cao Cao.

Service under Cao Cao (200-204)
Suo Yuan, with the loss of his sworn brothers, recovered with the help of Kai Zhen, who brought news that Tian Feng had committed suicide after learning of Yuan Shao's defeat at Guandu and Ju Shou was killed by Cao Cao's men, having been captured by Cao Cao. Suo Yuan began a relationship with Kai Zhen's daughter Kai Swe, who acted as his concubine to help him overcome his brothers' deaths. In 201, Kai Zhen also succumbed to illness and it was said that Suo Yuan wept more than Kai Zhen's wife and children. Suo Yuan persuaded Cao Cao to ally with the newly founded Kingdom of Shang, of which Kai Zhen's sons, Kai Rue and Kai Cheng, were generals of. Suo Yuan, in an attempt to ease the war between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, later convinced Yuan Shao's son Yuan Shang to marry Kai Swe. Yuan Shang only accepted because of Kai Zhen's service to his father before his death. Suo Yuan, nevertheless, began a campaign against Yuan Shao's sons after Yuan Shao succumbed to an illness. Suo Yuan led major victories against the two brothers until 204. Suo Yuan was attacked by a group of men and rescued by a man called Bing Cao. Bing Cao claimed to be the Prime Minister of North Korea and recognised Suo Yuan from their march north when they were attacked by South Korean general Huang Yue, when Suo Yuan's father Suo Nen was killed. Suo Yuan learned he was the rightful heir to the North Korean throne and Bing Cao prepared an army to head to Korea. Suo Yuan was unsure whether or not he would abandon Cao Cao once more. Kai Rue, an ally of Suo Yuan, persuaded him to take over North Korea and create an alliance with Shang as he could not trust Cao Cao. Cao Cao eventually gave Suo Yuan permission to follow his own destiny, so Suo Yuan set forth to North Korea. Suo Yuan sailed across the sea but chose to sail south to South Korea so that he could raise an army to overthrow the current North Korean regent, Suo Yuan's cousin Suo Ning, who was the nephew of Suo Nen and abdicated to him after his father Suo Ping's death. Having gained a lot of aid, Suo Yuan marched north with Bing Cao, his seven students, Liang Shan and Li Kiren to reclaim his throne.

The Emperor of North Korea (204-214)
Believing his cousin would refuse to surrender the empire to him, having led the regency since 174, Suo Yuan prepared to kill him. Suo Yuan marched through North Korean lands, around the cities to avoid fatalities and marched to Oseana, the capital. Suo Ning came out the city with his army and greeted Suo Yuan, surrendering his crown to him. Advisors who supported Suo Ning were quickly angered by Suo Ning's second abdication and raised an army to kill Suo Yuan. Suo Yuan quickly pacified the rebellion and spared the rebels, proving himself to be a just ruler. Suo Yuan immediately earned respect from his officers. By 207, the people had become bored with Suo Yuan's reign, as most of his efforts were spent oversea in defeating the Yuan clan. Suo Yuan allied with Gongsun Kang and secretly had Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang killed. Kai Swe fled the city and attempted to join her brothers in Shang but found a home in Ji. Having helped Cao Cao defeat the Yuan brothers, Suo Yuan returned to his country. As the Emperor, his first decision was to change the capital from Oseana to Rishike, which was said to be a foolish choice as Rishike was surrounded by South Korean camps and was easy to surround, however, Suo Yuan chose the city because it was easier to travel to South Korea and Northern China from there.

In 211, Suo Yuan learned from Bing Cao that for hundreds of years the Emperors of North Korea had attempted to conquer Mongolia and the Mongol tribes in the area. Suo Yuan vowed to be the first and led a march to Shouchun, a major city ruled by the King of Tai, Jou Yun. Suo Yuan, who did not know of Jou Yun, and believed the city to have been under Cao Cao's control, marched in and settled his troops there. He was attacked by the King who believed him to have been invading. Suo Yuan was pushed out and forced to turn to Cao Cao at Xuchang. Suo Yuan, from there, rested his troops and then marched north through Ji to crush Mongolia. It was at Ji where Kai Swe fled from a year before Suo Yuan's arrival. Kai Rue's troops were searching the city and the deserts of Mongolia for her. After suffering heavy defeats, Suo Yuan returned to Ji and learned of the case. Suo Yuan then persuaded Cao Cao to lend him a number of officers in order to defeat the Mongolian troops. He then led the search party for Kai Swe. In 212, he abandoned the search party to continue the battle against the Mongol king Mang Yachang, who was a formidable leader. Suo Yuan did not manage to earn any decisive victories and wasn't able to make it through the Great Wall, refusing to send forces around the city as it would exhaust his men. Suo Yuan returned to the search party in 213, where he searched near the Kingdom of Shang and found Kai Swe lying around a band of tigers. Killing the tigers, Suo Yuan rushed to her side and discovered she had been lying there, feigning death, for nearly three days as she was so weak that she was unable to stand. Suo Yuan sent men to bring Kai Rue, only for her to die in Suo Yuan's arms seconds before Kai Rue's arrival. Kai Rue, upset by his sister's death, reacted by accusing Suo Yuan of causing her death.

Suo Yuan returned to the Mongolian frontlines, sending away Cao Cao's men as he did not want to march with a heavy army. Suo Yuan managed to break through the lines of a Mongolian general Shozu Lasa. Liang Shan, who had served with Suo Yuan for thirteen years, had grown weary of Li Kiren's recklessness, advised Suo Yuan to withdraw the officer from the war. Suo Yuan, in order to suffice his strategist, agreed but not before Li Kiren defeated the Mongol commander Han Shao and changing Suo Yuan's mind. Han Shao, defeated, left the Mongol ranks and joined Suo Yuan's forces a month later. By now, much of the bases on the Great Wall were under the North Korean command. Suo Yuan was making a breakthrough in the war. Mang Yachang then led an assault on the plains south of the wall and split the army. Suo Yuan managed to rush through the other gates and crush the Mongol forces there. Suo Yuan pursued Mang Yachang for miles down a narrow, rocky mountainous route to Shang Castle. Sieging the castle, Suo Yuan believed he would win the war, however, Mang Yachang destroyed most of Suo Yuan's bases and the siege was lifted. As Suo Yuan headed south of the wall, Mang Yachang's men flooded out in attack. Suo Yuan then counter-attacked and pursued the Mongols back through the rocky path and to the castle. Suo Yuan surrounded Mang Yachang's castle and sieged it a second time. This time, Mang Yachang could not send for relief or lift the siege, so he was forced to wait for Suo Yuan to lift the siege. The siege lasted a long time through to March 214, before Mang Yachang's men had become exhausted and the castle had been overcome by famine. Suo Yuan then swiftly retreated, setting forth one of his grandest plots of his career.

The Great Banquet Plot was designed by Suo Yuan to conquer all of Mongolia. As Suo Yuan's men fled to the Great Wall, a grand, almost mile-long banquet was being held. Suo Yuan took a seat at the centre of the banquet and feasted with his men, while Mongol soldiers charged at them with their spears. The fleeing North Korean army escaped the Mongol soldiers through the Great Wall's gates while the other soldiers feasted at the banquet. The Mongol soldiers, depriviated of food and water following the siege, were starving, thirsty and unable to fight. They stopped fighting and the entire army watched the North Koreans feasting. Suo Yuan then offered the leader of the attacking army, Kulu Sura, a chance to surrender the entire Mongol army for the chance for them to eat. Kulu Sura indeed surrendered, like Suo Yuan planned. Suo Yuan, when the Mongol army was well-fed, led them back up the rocky road once more to conquer Shang Castle. Suo Yuan fought Mang Yachang in the city until there were no more Mongol soldiers supporting Mang Yachang. Alone, Mang Yachang fled Shang Castle into the Capital-Borderline Maze, a large maze which ran from Shang Castle to the Mongolian capital. Suo Yuan managed to find his way through and conquered the capital, taking Mang Yachang and his sons captive at the battle. At their execution, Mang Yachang begged that he be tortured in order for his sons to go free. Impressed by his loyalty to his sons, Suo Yuan allowed him to survive the execution and agreed to sign a deal - Mang Yachang was to govern Mongolia while Suo Yuan governed North Korea, and each country would be united through Suo Yuan being the Emperor of both.

The Emperor of the United Empire of North Korea and Mongolia
On his journey south to visit Cao Cao, Suo Yuan was attacked by Kai Cheng of Shang. Suo Yuan insisted that his enemy retreated back to the kingdom but Kai Cheng remained in order to kill Suo Yuan. Suo Yuan defeated Kai Cheng in the duel, but he came back again. After onehundred and seventy bouts, Suo Yuan managed to kill his opponent and escape an ambush led by Kai Rue. All ties between Suo Yuan's empire and Tui Kang's kingdom were crushed after Kai Cheng's death. Suo Yuan was persuaded by his eldest son, Suo Cang, to take vengeance upon Kai Cheng for the ambush and crush Shang once and for all, however, Suo Yuan was more interested in a beautiful woman called Tia Mae. Suo Yuan pursued Tia Mae south of Shang and through the land of China, before he finally reached her. When he reached a city in the west, he discovered Tia Mae was the daughter of a king and was known by the title of the Unknown Girl. Her brother, the Unknown Prince, disliked Suo Yuan and pursued him away from his sister. Suo Yuan returned with an army and vowed not to leave without her. After many months of war, Suo Yuan managed to win the Unknown King's favour. Bing Cao and Liang Shan had begun to scheme against Li Kiren, planning to have him killed, but Bing Cao's untimely death following a wound from the Mongolian war prevented the plan from succeeding and Li Kiren lived to defeat the Unknown Prince. Following this defeat, the Unknown Prince decided to surrender the kingdom to Suo Yuan, claiming his father was "weak and unworthy". Much like Mang Yachang of Mongolia, the Unknown King was allowed to govern the Unknown Kingdom under Suo Yuan's empire and Tia Mae became Suo Yuan's wife.

Tia Mae's presence frustrated Suo Yuan's principle wife, Lady Shan, who was Suo Liang, Suo Wen and Suo Yu's mother and his empress. Suo Yuan, a year later, was so angered by Lady Shan's meddling that he sent her to Oseana and made Tia Mae his principle wife and later, his empress. Suo Yuan had numerous children with her.

The War against Tai and Shang
South Korea became a great threat to North Korea, however, Suo Yuan was uninterested and worked harder on cases which involved China. When the Kingdom of Tai's king Jou Yun became frustrated with Shang's king Tui Kang, a war broke out. Suo Yuan, before he had arrived at North Korea, joined Suo Cang in attacking the Shang army east of Shang. In November 214, they reached two sides of a canyon, united by a bridge, with shallow water at the bottom. Suo Yuan marched across the bridge and defeated most of the Shang forces, surrounding their general Bian Xue and the king Tui Kang. Bian Xue's wife and Li Kiren's sister Li Ang led an army to face her brother north of the canyon, where the sides of the canyon had lowered to the same level as the water. Li Ang was rescued from being slain by her brother by Kai Rue, who also rescued Tui Kang and Bian Xue. Then, he repelled Suo Cang and Suo Yuan's forces across the bridge and destroyed it, with himself on it, to prevent Suo Yuan from crossing. Kai Rue's foot was caught in the bridge as it fell and he was knocked unconscious by the rocks. Hanging upside down, blood began circulating to his head and he was dying. Tui Kang, Bian Xue and Li Ang later rescued Kai Rue from death and returned to their capital. The bridge was named Rescue Bridge after the event. Suo Yuan later sent Suo Cang to destroy Pengyang Castle, which was successfully crushed. Li Ang led an army to escape Suo Yuan's attack and managed to flee, leaving Suo Cang to celebrate.

Suo Yuan, no longer interested in Shang, decided to conquer the city of Shouchun, which was still under Jou Yun's control. Suo Yuan's men attacked Shouchun without mercy. By 217, Jou Yun had become completely distressed. Bian Xue and Li Ang had been killed in 215 by Dei Xing, a South Korean general who had been sent to crush the Kingdom of Shang by South Korean Emperor Xu Yen. With their deaths, Kai Rue had become totally enraged and sent the entire Shang army to destroy Tai. Suo Yuan planned to momentarily ally with Kai Rue in order to defeat Jou Yun, however, the plan did not succeed and Suo Yuan was at war immediately with the Shang forces in Tai's lands. Jou Yun's son-in-law Cui Yong was the Tai commander of Shouchun while Jou Yun remained in his capital, Wanxiu. Because Shouchun was strategically a greater stronghold than Wanxiu, Jou Yun considered changing capitals, however, was advised against this by one of his extremely intelligent strategists, who stated that by the time the movement was completed, Shouchun would be conquered and Tai would swiftly fall with it. Ignoring his advisor, he set out to make Shouchun his capital. At Shouchun, Jou Yun was challenged by Suo Yuan and Kai Rue who simultaneously destroyed Jou Yun's forces. Xi Xen of Shang lost his life in an attack on Shouchun which succeeded in disfiguring Tai general Tei Qian and passing into the city. Shouchun was overrun by Suo Yuan's men and the entire force fled back to Wanxiu. Jou Yun executed all his advisors, including the extremely intelligent strategist who advised against the capital change, which later caused many problems for him.

Suo Yuan's war against Shang and Tai was calmed after the capture of Shouchun, but in 218, his armies had completely abandoned the stronghold as Suo Yuan no longer wanted to control Wanxiu. Shouchun became the capital of Tai soon after it reflourished and by 220, it had grown to become even larger than Wanxiu. It was in 220 that Suo Yuan's youngest children, Suo Yan and Suo Xiao, were born and Cao Cao died. Suo Yuan fought battles against the South Koreans with the aid of his sons. By 225, a third of South Korea was under North Korean control. Suo Yuan pressed on the next year to destroy Shang and created an alliance with Jou Yun in order to make the target possible. In mid-226, Suo Yuan had reached a city north of Shouchun where he left his younger children with their mother, Tia Mae. Suo Yan and Suo Xiao had both suffered from tuberculosis since an early age and both were expected to die before childhood. Suo Yan slowly healed from his disease and became well however Suo Xiao succumbed to the illness. Distressed, Suo Yuan did not continue the relief on Shouchun to confront Kai Rue's army. By August 226, Tui Kang had withdrawn from Shouchun. Suo Yuan, still unable to overcome his grief, decided on turning around from Tai but Jou Yun's son-in-law Cui Yong had rebelled against him and he became desperate. Suo Yuan returned to Shouchun and repelled Cui Yong's forces, breaking the rebellion. While Suo Yuan left the battle once again to grieve his daughter, Jou Yun, believing to be victorious over his son-in-law, attacked Suo Yuan's bases in Tai and took over Suo Yuan's ships. Suo Yuan retaliated by setting fire to the ship and marching to Shouchun. He then forced his way into the city. Jou Yun's plot to betray Suo Yuan failed as Cui Yong reinstated the rebellion and marched into Shouchun. Suo Yuan captured Jou Yun and handed him over to Cui Yong, who had him strangled for his crimes. Suo Yuan then returned to North Korea.

In 229, he began a campaign against South Korea, defeating the emperor Xu Chao on numerous occasions. By 231, a treaty between North Korea and South Korea had been signed and a final battle for control over the city of Alikeje took place. Suo Yuan's son, Suo Chou, decided to lead the attack but was defeated and killed. A lamentful Suo Yuan took over the armies at Alikeje and defeated Xu Chao, winning control over the city and sealing the alliance. Suo Yuan didn't want to face his son's funeral and began drinking heavily. He almost missed the funeral but turned up during the procession to watch his son being buried. Between 231 and 237, his efforts were spent attacking Shang and Tai. In December 231, Tui Kang was killed by Dei Xing. Kai Rue then killed Dei Xing, but also died in the attack as the three men (Kai Rue, Dei Xing and Tui Kang's corpse) plummeted into the river below them. The sons of Tui Kang, Kai Rue, and Bian Xue and Li Ang became the leaders of Shang, respectively named Tui Haoneng, Kai Hong and Bian Man (Hong). Suo Yuan attempted to raid the Kingdom of Shang as it was weakened by the ruthless Tui Haoneng. A young advisor in Shang's ranks, Je Zue, plotted to replace Tui Haoneng with Tui Xun, the twin brother of Tui Kang, however, Je Zue soon discovered that Tui Haoneng would never abdicate the throne and instead planned his assassination. Je Zue's conspiracy failed and most of the conspirators were caught and killed. Suo Yuan's famous general and former student Yuan Ang allowed Je Zue to reside with him, where he secretly began giving strategies to Suo Yuan anonymously.

In 234, due to Je Zue's help, the Kingdom of Shang was overthrown and the tyrannical Tui Haoneng died. Je Zue joined North Korea's ranks officially. The Kingdom of Tai, having unexpectedly surpassed Shang, was led by Cui Yong. In 236, Cui Yong's general E Huan fell in battle to Suo Yuan, followed by Cui Yong himself. Jou Yun's son, Jou Chan, succeeded his brother-in-law as King and led the entire kingdom to a final stand in Shouchun in 237. Suo Yuan managed to infiltrate the city and personally slay all of the Tai leaders, annexing the Kingdom of Tai too. Those lands in China fell under North Korean control.

The War against the Wei Dynasty
In 239, Suo Yuan began a war with Sima Yi, who was serving the Wei Dynasty. Suo Yuan did not want the empire Cao Cao had founded two decades beforehand to be run into the ground and decided to remove Sima Yi from power. The war remained a stalemate until 245. Following a ruse using Suo Yuan's son-in-law Zhao Qu pretending to be a rebel, Suo Yuan managed to set up a perfect battle which would crush Sima Yi, however, Liang Shan, the Prime Minister, was plotting against Li Kiren and had made a plan to strip him of rank. Liang Shan's plan was to force him to attack his camp so that the army could be thrown into disarray before Shouchun was invaded. When Suo Yuan arrived and the battle had failed, Suo Yuan would have no choice but to strip him of rank. Li Kiren, not expected by Liang Shan, did much the opposite and attacked his own camp rather than Liang Shan's. Li Kiren had wanted to attack Shouchun, not knowing why he had to wait for Suo Yuan to arrive, so he ordered Suo Yan to strike. Li Kiren slew Suo Yan after he refused. Zhao Qu fled to tell Liang Shan what had happened so Li Kiren pursued him and slew him too. Suo Yuan's daughter and Zhao Qu's wife, Suo Shizai, had witnessed the events and reported them to Liang Shan. Liang Shan did not send news to Suo Yuan and plotted to allow Li Kiren to invade the city. Suo Shizai agreed with the plan and remained in Liang Shan's camp. When Suo Yuan arrived, he believed the plan of sieging the castle until he had arrived had worked and fired arrows into the castle at all sides. Li Kiren was killed by Suo Yuan, who had painted his arrows red - three of which had struck Li Kiren, one of them puncturing his lung and another in his skull.

Death
Suo Yuan became stressed after his "victory" (according to men in Liang Shan's facton) or "defeat" (according to men in Li Kiren's faction). He could not cope with losing either Suo Yan, Zhao Qu or Li Kiren and retired from battle. The fourth battle of Shouchun was the last battle he would ever fight. In 251, Sima Yi died, and Suo Yuan's health further plummeted, for he lamented the loss of a "great strategist and a greater man". Suo Yuan's health had fallen so much that he had become greyed with age, his hair falling out rapidly within his last years and his beard growing thick and white. Liang Shan took his dying lord, alongside Suo Yuan's sons who had begun to war among each other, and took them to visit the graves of Suo Xiao, Suo Yan, Suo Chou and Zhao Qu (where Yan Liang, Wen Chou and Chungyu Qiong were buried near). Suo Yuan collapsed while there and died in his bed beside his children, Liang Shan and his wife.

Notable Kills

 * Guan Yi, Governor of Shanxi (175)
 * Hong Zun, Governor of Louting (175)
 * Long Su, a bandit leader (177)
 * Duang Qi, a bandit leader (177)
 * Yuhei Quan, Governor of Jinxing (177)
 * Zhang Wei, a rebel leader (179)
 * Qu Yuelong, a torturer and rebel general (179)
 * Zhang Bu, a rebel leader (180)
 * Zhang Jue, a rebel leader (180)
 * Gongsun Yue, a Han general (191)
 * Tao Xun, a Han general (194)
 * Tao Wei, a Han general (194)
 * Fei Rixiao, a wife of Suo Yuan (209)
 * Kai Cheng, a Shang general (214)
 * Nui Bu, a Shang advisor and rebel (226)
 * Li Kiren, a North Korean general (245)

Titles

 * Prince Suo Yuan of North Korea, 157-172
 * Crown Prince Suo Yuan of North Korea, 172-174
 * Private, 175
 * Guardian of Changsha, 175-180
 * Lieutenant General of Senqian, 180-190
 * Governor of Wuchao, 190-196
 * Governor of Kaichao, 196-199
 * Commander General of Yijing, 199-200
 * Prefect of Hubei, 200-206
 * Emperor of North Korea, 206-256
 * Ambassador of East Korea, 206-233
 * Overlord of Mongolia, 214-256
 * Overlord of the Unknown Kingdom, 215-256

Relatives

 * Suo Nen, father
 * Lady Liu, mother
 * Lady An, stepmother
 * Feng Xu, stepfather
 * Ni Xianye, first wife
 * Wan Hexia, second wife
 * Lady Shi (176-19, third wife and mother of Suo Cang (eldest son, 196-264)
 * Yuan Lizhei, fourth wife
 * Bing Ziyui, fifth wife
 * Fei Rixiao, sixth wife
 * Tia Mae (196-256), seventh wife and mother of Suo Miaxe (eldest daughter, 214-291), Suo Qiong (sixth son, 214-278), Suo Chou (seventh son, 215-231), Suo Leiyu (second daughter, 217-288), Suo Shizai (third daughter, 218-296), Suo Yan (eighth son, 220-245) and Suo Xiao (fourth daughter, 220-226)
 * Wei Xiafeng, eighth wife
 * Diao Chan, lover and mother of his unborn child