44 Facts About Xun You

Xun You accompanied Cao Cao on his military campaigns as a tactical adviser and occasional commander.

In 213, after Cao Cao had been enfeoffed by Emperor Xian as the Duke of Wei, Xun You served as the Prefect of the Masters of Writing in Cao Cao's dukedom.

In 214, while accompanying Cao Cao on a campaign against the southern warlord Sun Quan, Xun You died of illness along the way.

The authoritative historical source on Xun You's life is his official biography in book 10 of the Records of the Three Kingdoms, which was written by Chen Shou in the third century.

Xun You was born in the influential Xun family, whose ancestral home was in Yingyin County, Yingchuan Commandery, which is in present-day Xuchang, Henan.

Xun Yi was a second cousin of Xun Yu, hence Xun You was Xun Yu's second cousin-nephew even though he was six years older than Xun Yu.

Xun You was probably raised by his uncle Xun Qu and his grandfather Xun Tan.

Xun You, who was 12 years old then, sensed that something was wrong.

When Xun You was six or seven, Xun Qu once accidentally injured him while he was drunk.

Since then, every time Xun You left or entered his home, he would do so at times to deliberately avoid meeting his uncle.

Xun You Qu was very surprised by his nephew's intelligence when he heard about it.

When He Jin rose to power in 189 and became regent to his nephew, the young Emperor Shao, he recruited over 20 notable members of scholar-gentry background to join him including Xun You, who had been noted by the famed judge of talent Yin Xiu.

Xun You was appointed as a Gentleman of the Yellow Gate, allowing him to act as a liaison to the palace, in the imperial capital, Luoyang and would be the person fellow recruit Zheng Tai would complain to.

In Chang'an, Xun You secretly plotted with Zheng Tai, He Yong, Chong Ji and Wu Qiong to assassinate Dong Zhuo, who was notorious for his cruelty and tyranny.

However, they were discovered and Xun You was arrested and imprisoned.

Xun You was only released after Dong Zhuo was killed in 192.

However, the Wei Shu mentioned that Xun You was released after he sent someone to persuade and convince Dong Zhuo to free him.

Xun You then resigned amidst the chaos resulting from Dong Zhuo's assassination and fled home.

Cao Cao had long heard of Xun You and was overjoyed when they finally met.

Xun You would become close to Zhong Yao and seems to have worked closely with the young Guo Jia, another chief adviser.

Just as Xun You predicted, Liu Biao sent reinforcements to help Zhang Xiu, threatening Cao Cao's rear so putting Cao Cao's attacking forces in a disadvantageous position.

However, Xun You had a different opinion: he believed that Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao had yet to recover from a heavy defeat when pursuing Cao Cao and would not make any further moves.

Xun You warned Lu Bu was a formidable warrior and had support from the claimant emperor Yuan Shu, if left unchecked he could become a considerable threat and many would support him but right now, Lu Bu's allied forces were not yet organized so could be defeated if they moved now.

Later, Yuan Shao's adviser Xu Xun You defected to Cao Cao's side and urged Cao to attack Yuan's supply depot at Wuchao, which was guarded by Chunyu Qiong.

Xun You was thus enfeoffed as the Marquis of Lingshu Village.

In 207, while assessing his subordinates' contributions and recommending Emperor Xian to give out rewards accordingly, Cao Cao credited Xun Yu and Xun You for developing grand strategic plans for him with Xun You second only to Xun Yu.

Xun You received an additional 400 taxable households in his marquisate, making it 700 households in total.

Xun You was reassigned to serve as Central Military Adviser.

In 213, Xun You was the lead name in the memorial to Emperor Xian calling for the enfeoffing of Cao Cao as the Duke of Wei, a promotion Xun Yu had opposed before his death.

Xun You was appointed as the Prefect of the Masters of Writing, replacing the recently deceased Xun Yu who had opposed the dukedom.

In 214, Xun You accompanied Cao Cao on a campaign against the southern warlord Sun Quan but died of illness along the way.

Xun You was known for being a highly profound and insightful thinker who hid secrets very well.

The Wei Shu recorded that Xin Tao, a maternal cousin of Xun You, once asked Xun You why he urged Cao Cao to attack Ji Province.

The Fu Zi mentioned that someone, who lived around the same time as Xun You, once asked if there were any virtuous junzis in their time.

Lord Prefect Xun You is benevolent and virtuous, he displays wisdom in recommending talents, his personal conduct is flawless, and he is capable of adapting his strategies to suit changes.

Howard Goodman explains this was partly to provoke his brothers on factional lines, with Can married into the Cao family and other members of the Xun clan leaning towards the Sima family, and partly a philosophical position where Xun You seemed like a good mode for a mystery adapt, above the norms of society and politics.

The eldest, Xun You Ji, resembled his father in character but died early.

The second, Xun You Shi, inherited his father's title "Marquis of Lingshu Village" and had no son to succeed him when he died.

Xun You's title was later changed to "Marquis of Qiuyang Village".

Xun You is the nephew of Xun Yu, and they join at the same time as Cao Cao begins recruiting advisers but with Xun Yu more prominent.

Xun You suggests Kong Rong as a diplomat to Liu Biao which leads to Kong Rong recommending Mi Heng.

When Jing collapses to Cao Cao in 208 after the delay, Xun You is not happy with the surrendered Cai Mao and Zhang Yun getting such high ranks, urges Cao Cao to seize Jiangling before Liu Bei can take it.

In 211 as the Liang warlords led by Ma Chao fight to avenge Ma Teng's assassination by Cao Cao, Xun You tries to hastily construct a fort to secure Cao Cao's position using soil, but it keeps collapsing.

Xun You is buried with full honours, while Cao Cao drops the idea of being King for a short time.