In order to make the story lively and interesting, the novel will be exaggerated in some places. In the real history of the Three Kingdoms, Yuan Shao is a little better than the novel, but on the whole, his abilities and personality defects are basically similar to those in the novel, all of which are deliberate and indecisive, and his personality is characterized by being broad outside and taboo inside.

Yuan Shao was born in the Yuan family in Runan. He is a noble family in the Three Kingdoms. Four generations of five people in his family worship the three high positions. Yuan Shao himself is handsome, talented and likes to make friends with heroes. Because of his prominent family background, Yuan Shao became the county magistrate of Puyang before he was twenty years old, and he has a good reputation of being honest and capable.

When the Yellow Scarf Army Uprising broke out in A.D. 184, Yuan Shao was the chief of staff of General He Jin. In A.D. 188, Emperor Ling of Han established a strict armed military organization, which was led by eight young generals trusted or famous by Emperor Ling of Han, and was called "Eight Generals of Xiyuan". Among them, Jian Shuo, a trusted eunuch of Emperor Han Ling, served as a captain of Zhong Jun and Pope Army.

After the death of Emperor Ling of Han Dynasty, Liu Bian was young. He Taihou and his younger brother blades control state affairs, and the two brothers and sisters had an argument on killing bureaucrats. What did Yuan Shao give him that Dong Zhuo came to Beijing to coerce He Taihou into agreeing to kill bureaucrats? As a result, the news leaked out and blades was killed by bureaucrats. After Dong Zhuo went to Beijing, he abolished the monarch and poisoned the people, and all the princes in the world jointly opposed it. Yuan Shao became famous.

In A.D. 19 1 year, Han Fu, a priest of Jizhou, was persuaded by his subordinates to surrender Jizhou to Yuan Shao. Ju Shou, the driver of Han Fu's car, advised Yuan Shao to go to Peiping and Gongsun Zan to crusade against the rebels in Montenegro, occupy four states north of the Yellow River, and then welcome Han Xian to give orders to the world. Yuan Shao didn't adopt Jushou's idea of welcoming Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty, and Cao Cao took the lead.

Later, Yuan Shao defeated Gongsun Zan, defeated the Black Mountain Army, initially pacified the north, and occupied Qingzhou, Jizhou, Youzhou and Bingzhou, four states north of the Yellow River. He had hundreds of thousands of troops, and his fame and strength were above the princes in the world. In 200 AD, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao fought a decisive battle in Guandu. Yuan Shao's counselor Xu You betrayed Yuan Shao and defected to Cao Cao to advise him. Since then, two years later, Yuan Shao died of illness, and his sons killed each other in order to seize power. Finally, they were captured and killed by Cao Cao, and the once famous Yuan family forces withdrew from the historical stage.

Yuan Shao is more popular than that described in the novel, but his shortcomings are basically the same as those described in the romance of the Three Kingdoms. Yu Xun said that he can gather people, but he can't use them. He is a hero in cloth. Cao Cao said that he was ambitious but wise, and he was tough and timid. Yangfu said that he was generous and was good at seeking less and deciding more. Chen Shou, the author of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, commented on him as: he is jealous at home, resourceful but indecisive, talented but incompetent, and ignorant of goodness.