Jia Xu

Jia Xu is a new playable character in Dynasty Warriors 7. Prior to his playable appearance, he was a Wei NPC since Dynasty Warriors 2. He is an advisor who first served under the corrupt governor Dong Zhuo, and eventually went on to serve Cao Cao.

His height for his Dynasty Warriors counterpart is 172 cm (5'8").

Role in Games
In Wei's Story Mode in Dynasty Warriors 7, he first appears as Zhang Xiu's right hand at Wan Castle. He subtly persuades Zhang Xiu to pretend surrender to the invading Cao Cao in order to lure them into a trap. The plan succeeds but Cao Cao manages to escape with Dian Wei's sacrifice. To avenge his bodyguard's death, Cao Cao invades Wan Castle with Xu Zhu's help. Again overcoming all of his traps, Jia Xu is defeated and at Cao Cao's mercy. Rather than slay him and avenge Dian Wei, Cao Cao allows Jia Xu to live on as his strategist.

He acts as one of Cao Cao's strategists thereafter and is one of the generals who help Cao Cao's escape from Chi Bi. He takes command of the army at Tong Gate. His plan is to use Cao Cao and Han Sui's friendship to weaken the morale and loyalty of Ma Chao's army. His plan fails because Han Sui notices the treachery early. When Jia Xu personally threats Han Sui's life, however, the enemy commander finally defects to Cao Cao. With Ma Chao's morale severely weakened by the betrayal, Jia Xu adds insult to injury when he defeats Ma Chao himself. From there on, Jia Xu is not mentioned any further. He is present in a few battles after Tong Gate as an enemy in other kingdom's Story Modes.

Jia Xu's first Legendary Mode has him serve within Dong Zhuo's ranks. He protects his master from Lu Bu and Wang Yun's defection in the capital. His second Legendary Mode is another take on Wan Castle, this time from Jia Xu and Zhang Xiu's perspective. They strive to defeat Cao Cao, who has walled himself within the castle.

Development
To emphasize Cao Cao's eccentric trait of hiring anyone solely on their talents, Jia Xu was added into the Dynasty Warriors series. According to the producer, he was made to be the key strategist for Wei's story. His design was made to be limited so his chain and sickle would not get stuck to his clothing. Since he was involved in a plot to assassinate Cao Cao, his design included an assassin motif with a small dagger concealed behind his belt. To strive for individuality, they made it a Middle Eastern themed design. He is considered the "old man strategist" of the cast, one with sharp eyes and a rhythmic speech pattern. Jia Xu is the character who seemingly "devours other people with his words".

Voice Actors

 * Vic Mignogna - Dynasty Warriors 7 (English)
 * Hideo Ishikawa - Dynasty Warriors 7 (Japanese)
 * Kōji Totani - Romance of the Three Kingdoms drama CD series

Quotes

 * "If you refuse to bend, then you will break!"

Dynasty Warriors 7
Jia Xu is affiliated with the chain and sickle in this appearance. When he is equipped with it, he can perform a unique attack exclusive to him. When he performs his musous, he will automatically use the weapon in his attacks.


 * EX Attack: ,,,,undefined,undefined: Does a low swinging slash and follows up with a flaming upwards slash.
 * Musou 1: : Does a backwards crouching somersault and creates several clones of himself. He and his clones send forth their sickles to create flaming whirlwinds.
 * Musou 2: R1 + : Wraps his chain around his opponent's neck to pull them off balance and bring them closer; proceeds to do a few dashing slashes once they are in range.

Early Career
When Jia Xu was young, he was compared to Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, two primary strategists of the first emperor of the Han dynasty, Liu Bang. He was recommended as "Filial and Incorrupt", a recommendation for talented people who retain filial piety and upright behaviour, and was assigned as an attendant in the imperial court. One day, after leaving the court, Jia Xu was captured by a group of Di barbarians. Despite the sudden event, he claimed that he was the maternal grandson of Duan Jiong, a powerful and feared general at that time by the people, and asked to be buried apart from the other captives, saying that his family would pay a bold price for the corpse. As such, after negotiating a promise, Jia Xu was let go, and all of the other captives were killed.

Jia Xu later rejoined the court, taking the position as Chief Commandant of Pingjin. When Dong Zhuo and his clan were exterminated, a handful of his loyalists ― Guo Si, Li Jue, and Zhang Ji all wished to return to their respective homes. However, Jia Xu recommended that they all stay together and attack Chang'an in the name of Dong Zhuo. When they all agreed, Jia Xu fled the capital with them, building an army through their travels to get to Chang'an. Li Jue succeeded and led the attack on the city. The three loyalists wished to make Jia Xu an official nobleman, but he firmly declined. So, instead, they made him the head of a department in charge of recommending people to office, where many people benefitted from him. When his mother died, however, he relinquished his position.

Later, Guo Si and Li Jue went on to fight each other for superiority, so Li Jue invited Jia Xu to become his general. He accepted, and when the emperor was released, Jia Xu came to be under a man named Duan Wei. This was only for a short time, however, as Duan Wei and his army, though respecting Jia Xu, feared that he would turn traitor against them. The uneasy Jia Xu was courteous however, and soon left them as Zhang Xiu, whom Jia Xu had connections with, sent for him.

Under Zhang Xiu and Wei
Zhang Xiu made good with Jia Xu, who proved his useful intelligence. On one occasion, during Cao Cao's campaign against Zhang Xiu, Jia Xu disagreed with his lord's decision to personally pursue Cao Cao, sure that they would lose. They did, but, when when the lord retreated back, Jia Xu told them to pursue them once again as they would win ― which they did.

During the time of the Battle of Guandu, the major warlord Yuan Shao had sent a messenger to request an alliance from Zhang Xiu. Jia Xu told the messenger, "Return and express to Yuan Benchu that we decline. If he could not accept even his brother, could he accept the talented men of the realm?" Jia Xu referred to Yuan Shao's distrust for his half-brother, Yuan Shu. Zhang Xiu asked his advisor where they would find refuge, to which he replied they would find it with Cao Cao, as he is weak but controls the Emperor, and with his small numbers, would be glad to take them in. Yuan Shao had a very large army, so he would not regard their presence highly. Zhang Xiu thought, and led his troops to Cao Cao. When Cao Cao saw them coming, he rejoiced, and praised Jia Xu. Later in the battle, Jia Xu skillfully advised Cao Cao to many small victories.

Later, when Cao Cao was leading a campaign against Han Sui and Ma Chao, he followed all of Jia Xu's strategies which led to victory and victory.

Historical records praised Jia Xu's ability and stated that to keep away from suspicion, he avoided making friendly relationships with other prominent figures, and avoided marrying his children to other pretigious clans. Jia Xu was an important supporter to Cao Pi's rise to the throne, and the generals in Cao Cao's army would go to him for guidance out of respect.