Xun You
Xun You, courtesy name Gongda, was a statesman who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China and served as an adviser to the warlord Cao Cao. Born in the influential Xun family of Yingchuan Commandery, Xun You was recruited into the civil service by the general He Jin. When the warlord Dong Zhuo hijacked and controlled the Han central government between 189 and 192, Xun You plotted with four others to assassinate him but was discovered and imprisoned. Following his release after Dong Zhuo's death, he wanted to serve as the Administrator of Shu Commandery but eventually settled as an official in Jing Province.
In 196, after Cao Cao received the figurehead Han sovereign, Emperor Xian, and reestablished the new imperial capital in Xu, he summoned Xun You to the capital to serve as a Master of Writing and Military Adviser. From then on, Xun You was simultaneously a Han statesman and a subordinate of Cao Cao. He accompanied Cao Cao on his military campaigns as a tactical adviser and occasional commander. Between 198 and 207, he advised Cao Cao in the battles against rival warlords such as Zhang Xiu, Lü Bu, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shao's successors. In 207, on Cao Cao's recommendation, Emperor Xian made Xun You a village marquis to honour him for his contributions. 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. Described as a highly profound and insightful thinker, Xun You was also known for keeping a very low profile and his discretion.
Historical sources
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.In the fifth century, Pei Songzhi annotated the Sanguozhi by incorporating information from other sources to Chen Shou's original work and adding his personal commentary. Some alternative texts used in the annotations to the Sanguozhi include: the Wei Shu, by Wang Shen, Xun Yi and Ruan Ji; the Xun Shi Jia Zhuan ; the Han Ji, by Zhang Fan ; the Fu Zi, by Fu Xuan.
Family background and childhood
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. His grandfather, Xun Tan, whose courtesy name was Yuanzhi, served as the Administrator of Guangling Commandery. Xun You's father, Xun Yi, served as a commandery-level Assistant Officer. 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 orphaned at a young age. He was probably raised by his uncle Xun Qu and his grandfather Xun Tan. When his grandfather died, a minor administrative assistant, Zhang Quan, offered to be the tomb keeper. Xun You, who was 12 years old then, sensed that something was wrong. He told his uncle Xun Qu, "This man looks suspicious. I believe he's up to something." Upon investigation, it was revealed that Zhang Quan was actually a murderer on the run. Because of this incident, the young Xun You was seen as an extraordinary boy. 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 Qu was very surprised by his nephew's intelligence when he heard about it.
Early career
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. He 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. However, within the same year, He Jin was assassinated by the eunuch faction he had sought to destroy. The warlord Dong Zhuo took advantage of the ensuing political turmoil to hijack and control the central government. Between 190 and 191, several regional warlords formed a coalition and launched a campaign against Dong Zhuo in the name of saving the emperor, in response Dong Zhuo ordered Luoyang to be burnt down and relocated the capital to Chang'an. 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. While he was incarcerated, Xun You spoke and behaved normally as though nothing had happened. He 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. Appointed to be the Chancellor of Rencheng State, he rejected this appointment and asked to be the Administrator of Shu Commandery because he heard that Shu Commandery was prosperous and situated in a geographically strategic location. However, he was unable to travel to Shu Commandery as the routes to Shu had been cut off in the chaos, choosing instead to stay in the relative stability of Jing Province.
Service under Cao Cao
In 196, the warlord Cao Cao took control of Emperor Xian and brought him to Xu, establishing the new capital there. He wrote to Xun You: "The Empire is in chaos. It is time for intelligent people to do something. Do you not think you have spent too much time observing the changes in the Shu region?" Xun You was then appointed as the Administrator of Runan Commandery and later, probably in 198, summoned to the capital to serve as a Master of Writing. Cao Cao had long heard of Xun You and was overjoyed when they finally met. He told Xun Yu and Zhong Yao: "Gongda is no ordinary person. Now that I have him to advise me, why should I worry about not being able to pacify the Empire?" He also appointed Xun You as Master of the Army, always accompanying Cao Cao on campaign with Rafe De Crespigny identifying the rank as a chief of staff role, becoming one of Cao Cao's chief advisers. He would become close to Zhong Yao and seems to have worked closely with the young Guo Jia, another chief adviser. At some unknown point he helped compile a collection of administrative and penal codes for Cao Cao called the "Wei guan yi".Battles against Zhang Xiu and Lü Bu
In 198, when Cao Cao wanted to launch another attack on a rival warlord, Zhang Xiu, Xun You advised against it, saying, "Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao share borders. Zhang Xiu and his wandering army rely on Liu Biao for supplies. Liu Biao is unable to provide for them so they will eventually fall out. Why not wait and try to induce Zhang Xiu to surrender to you? When Zhang Xiu ends up in a desperate situation, Liu Biao will definitely support him." Cao Cao ignored Xun You's advice and attacked Zhang Xiu at Rang County. 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. Cao Cao told Xun You that he regretted not listening to his advice and was forced to retreat with mixed results against his pursuers.Despite the setback Cao Cao wanted to move to attack another rival warlord, the warrior Lü Bu in Xu Province to the east. Some warned against moving east as Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao might attack after their recent victory. 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. He warned Lü 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, Lü Bu's allied forces were not yet organized so could be defeated if they moved now. Lü Bu defeated Liu Bei and received help from Zang Ba but his uncoordinated army would struggle against Cao Cao.
During the Battle of Xiapi, Cao Cao defeated Lü Bu in the initial stages and forced him to retreat back to Xiapi Commandery. Cao Cao then laid siege to Xiapi and launched several attacks but was unable to breach the city walls. As his troops grew weary, Cao Cao considered withdrawing. However, Xun You and Guo Jia advised him, "Lü Bu is brave but foolhardy. His forces' morale is very low after suffering consecutive defeats. An army's morale depends on its commander's will to fight on. Chen Gong is intelligent but slow. Since Lü Bu's army's morale hasn't recovered yet and Chen Gong hasn't finalised his plans yet, you can eventually defeat Lü Bu if you continue attacking him." Cao Cao then ordered his troops to dig ditches and redirect the waters of the Yi and Si rivers to flood Xiapi, flooding the city from three directions. The defenders became demoralized, there would be a mutiny with the city gates opened, Lü Bu surrendered and was executed.
Battles against the Yuan family
In 200 CE, war broke out between Cao Cao and his former ally, the northern warlord Yuan Shao. At the Battle of Boma, Xun You suggested that Cao Cao use a diversionary tactic to eliminate Yuan Shao's general Yan Liang; faking to march across Yan Crossing at the Yellow River as if to attack Yuan Shao's rear then lead lightly armoured troops to Boma. Yuan Shao fell for the ruse and Yan Liang was caught by surprise by Cao Cao's arrival, the battle ended with victory for Cao Cao and Yan Liang's death at the hands of Guan Yu. After the victory at Boma, Cao Cao evacuated Boma with their baggage train along the south banks of the Yellow River, Cao Cao prepared an ambush with troops hidden behind the dykes. Cao Cao's subordinates were worried when Yuan Shao's cavalry, under Wen Chou and Liu Bei arrived and some of Cao Cao's officers suggested gathering the troops to defend the camp. Xun You said, "This is an opportunity to capture the enemy! Why should we retreat?" Cao Cao looked at Xun You and laughed. At the Battle of Yan Ford, when Yuan Shao's soldiers were scrambling for the baggage, Cao Cao sent his infantry and cavalry forces to attack them and scored a major victory; Yuan Shao's general Wen Chou was killed in action with two of Yuan Shao's most famous officers dead in the early skirmishes of the war. Cao Cao then retreated to Guandu ; Yuan Shao laid siege to Guandu.As both sides reached a stalemate at Guandu and Cao Cao's forces struggled for supplies, Xun You advised Cao Cao, "Yuan Shao's supplies will be reaching in one day. Han Xun, the officer leading the convoy, tends to underestimate the enemy. He can be easily defeated." Xun You also recommended Cao Cao's general Xu Huang to lead the attack on Han Xun. Cao Cao sent Xu Huang and Shi Huan to raid Han Xun's depot at Gushi and they burnt the supplies, granting Cao Cao's forces an important morale boost. Later, Yuan Shao's adviser Xu You defected to Cao Cao's side and urged Cao to attack Yuan's supply depot at Wuchao, which was guarded by Chunyu Qiong. While Cao Cao's other subordinates were suspicious about Xu You, only Xun You and Jia Xu advised Cao to heed Xu You's suggestion. Cao Cao then ordered Xun You and Cao Hong to remain behind to guard his main camp, while he personally led his forces to attack Wuchao and succeeded in destroying Yuan Shao's supplies. During the battle, Yuan Shao sent Zhang He and Gao Lan to attack Cao Cao's main camp at Guandu but Xu You and Cao Hong managed to hold. Seeing the tide had turned, Zhang He and Gao Lan, destroyed their own camps and sought to surrender. Cao Hong felt suspicious and was reluctant to accept their surrender but Xun You told Cao Hong, "Zhang He was angry that Yuan Shao did not listen to him so he decided to defect. Sir, what's there to suspect about him?" Cao Hong then accepted their surrender.
After Yuan Shao's death in June 202, Cao Cao launched a campaign against Yuan's sons Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang and fought them at the Battle of Liyang but soon the Yuan brothers were at war with each other. In the following year, Cao Cao had marched to attack Liu Biao when he received Yuan Tan's adviser Xin Pi to convey to Cao Cao his wish to surrender and seek aid from Cao in countering his brother. Cao Cao considered accepting Yuan Tan's surrender and sending troops to aid him, and then consulted his advisers. Most of them thought that Liu Biao was more powerful and that Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang posed no threat, so they urged Cao Cao to attack Liu Biao first. Xun You had a different opinion from them. He said, "The Empire has experienced so much turmoil, yet Liu Biao has holed up in the Jiang and Han regions. This shows that he has no intention of expanding his territory. The Yuans occupy four provinces and have 100,000 troops. Yuan Shao had treated his subordinates generously and hoped that his sons would cooperate harmoniously to safeguard his territories; that was why turmoil in the Empire never seemed to end. As of now, relations between the brothers have deteriorated and they seek to destroy each other. If one of them defeats and absorbs the other, he will become more powerful and more difficult to defeat. If you take advantage of their internal conflict to defeat them, you will restore stability in the Empire. You shouldn't miss this great opportunity." Cao Cao agreed, accepted Yuan Tan's surrender and led his forces to Ji and began the campaign that would destroy the Yuan brothers with Yuan Tan defeated and killed at the Battle of Nanpi in 205.