Food was scarce and his family and army was dying off rapidly.
"He had thirty pecks of wheat to feed his followers. Many of his own family had already starved to death. Shu could not swallow the coarse meal and asked the cook to find some honeyed water to ease his thirst. "We have bloody water," the cook said, "no honey." Suddenly Shu, who had been seated on his couch, groaned and toppled over. He spit up mouthfuls of blood and died. It was the sixth month of the fourth year of Jian An (A.D. 199)" (TK ch. 21 p.361).
Destiny of an Emperor : Str. 142 – Int. 152 – Soldiers – 899
Destiny of an Emperor Analysis : In the first Destiny of an Emperor for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Yuan Shu is one of the main generals you face (as Liu Bei) along your way as you unify China. Many of his primary generals from the Three Kingdoms novel are in the game, including Yuan Yin, Ji Ling, Zhang Xun, Lei Bo, Chen Ji, Li Feng, Han Xian, Liang Ji, Lu Fan, Liang Gang, Chen Lan and Lu Bu.
You can potentially fight Yuan Shu twice.