Xun You

Not to be confused with Xun Yu.

Xun You (onyomi: Jun Yū) is an advisor of Wei and a skilled strategist compared to Xun Yu and Sima Yi, though his exact relation with the former is still dubious. Cao Cao's successes against Lu Bu and Yuan Shao were largely thanks to Xun You's planning.

Role in Games
Xun You is a constant Wei generic in Dynasty Warriors. He frequently appears in their early battles up to Chibi since the game's second entry and serves as a sub-officer most of the time. Dynasty Warriors 6 has him aid Liu Bei in the campaign against Yuan Shu alongside fellow Wei officers Zhu Ling and Han Hao. In Dynasty Warriors 8, he is constantly featured in Wei's ranks during the hypothetical scenarios of Wu and Shu.

In Warriors Orochi 2, Xun You is a constant general for Wei, first fighting at Shizugatake, where he serves as a guard for the main camp, then helping make Zhang He's plan a success by convincing Yuan Tan to turn against his father. At Komaki-Nagakute, he escorts Cao Cao for a rendezvous with the trapped Cao Pi, and at Guan Du, Xun You is a northern frontline officer.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms games give Xun You well-rounded stats. His intelligence, politics and charisma are usually among the top stats in the game, somewhat mirroring the stats of Xun Yu. His skill in the eleventh game reduces the cost of any battle strategies to one will, making him an excellent officer for units that are mainly used to disable enemy units. His decent leadership stat additionally allows him to lead units by himself without the danger of suffering too many casualties in battle. Just as in history, he serves He Jin, Dong Zhuo and finally Cao Cao.

Historical Information
Xun You was born in Yingchuan and part of the distinguished Xun family. His exact relation to Xun Yu is unknown, although it has been narrowed down to Xun You being either his cousin or nephew. Just as Xun Yu, he was known to be frugal, wise and humble. He would often discuss his plans with his masters in private. Xun You was recruited in 189 as an advisor to He Jin while the latter was fighting for power against the eunuchs. He was appointed "Gentleman in Attendance of the Yellow Gates" and, despite the fact that it was a rather low position, it allowed him to enter the imperial palace and thus ensure He Jin's command.

Later that year, He Jin was assassinated by the eunuchs and the capital fell into chaos when Yuan Shao and others started to massacre the eunuchs. The control over the capital and the emperor eventually fell into the hands of Dong Zhuo and Xun You entered his service. In 192, Xun You and two officials named Chong Ji and Zheng Tai made plans to assassinate Dong Zhuo. They were discovered and Xun You was put into jail. A short time later, Dong Zhuo himself was killed by Lu Bu and Xun You was released from prison. He left the capital and sought to hold an office in Lujiang in Yang Province, but he ultimately did not take the appointment and went to seek refuge in Jing Province instead.

In 196, Xun You was recommended to serve Cao Cao by his relative Xun Yu. Cao Cao made him as one of the Masters of Writing and was so impressed with his abilities that he further promoted him to Master of the Army, responsible for organizing and disciplining the soldiers as well as giving advice to the commander, in this case Cao Cao. In 197, Xun You advised Cao Cao to hold back a large-scale assault on Zhang Xiu, who had allied himself with Liu Biao after his victory at Wancheng, saying that they would eventually have a fall-out. Cao Cao took the advice and besieged Zhang Xiu only at Rang, but had to withdraw when Yuan Shao began to mobilize troops against Cao Cao.

When Lu Bu allied himself with Yuan Shu, Xun You urged Cao Cao to attack him. He served Cao Cao as a military advisor during the campaign against Lu Bu. Lu Bu suffered numerous defeats and retreated to Xiapi castle. Cao Cao wanted to retreat, but Xun You and Guo Jia persuaded him to keep up the attack. By the end of 198, Lu Bu surrendered. Two years later, Cao Cao began to engage Yuan Shao in battle. Cao Cao set out to help Liu Yan at Baima, who was attacked by Yan Liang. Xun You advised Cao Cao to send out a decoy unit to lure Yan Liang away from the main unit and take him by surprise. Cao Cao followed his advice and conducted a successful surprise attack on Yan Liang, who was killed by Guan Yu. Xun You then served as Cao Cao's chief adviser during the campaign and advised him to send Xu Huang to assault Han Meng's barrage train, depriving Yuan Shao of a large portion of his supplies. While Cao Cao carried out a surprise attack on Wuchao, Xun You guarded his main camp with Cao Hong and advised the latter to accept Zhang He's surrender after they defeated him.

After the death of Yuan Shao, his sons Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang fought for power. Xun You served as one of Cao Cao's advisors during the campaign against them. In 203, Yuan Tan sent Xin Pi to form an alliance with Cao Cao. Xun You convinced Cao Cao to accept the alliance and side with Yuan Tan. This allowed Cao Cao to focus on the conquest of Ye and drive Yuan Shang out of Ji Province. Later, Yuan Tan broke his alliance with Cao Cao and was defeated and killed at Nanpi in 205. Cao Cao went on to conquer the rest of Yuan Shao's former territory by 207. Cao Cao wanted to enfeoff many of his subjects after the unification of Hebei, including Xun Yu. Xun Yu, however, sent Xun You to inform Cao Cao that he would refuse any accolades, which included the building of a big estate for him, which was going to be as great as those of the Three Excellencies.

Xun You went on to serve Cao Cao as a civil administrator in the subsequent years. In 213, Cao Cao was made Duke of Wei and Xun You was promoted to the Prefect of Masters of Writing of the state of Wei, which was basically one of the rewards for longtime supporters in order to create a copy of the central Han government to easen a later transition from Han to Wei. Xun You eventually died in 214.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Xun You's actions in the novel remain largely the same. After the victory against the Yuan family, Cao Cao discovered a golden beam and a bronze bird that was enearthed at its source. Xun You interpreted it as an auspicious sign and Cao Cao went on to build the Bronze Bird Tower. He later advised Cao Cao to offer Sun Quan the southern half of Jing Province for destroying Liu Bei. At Chibi, he served as one of Cao Cao's main advisors and recommended to use Cai He and Cai Zhong to spy on the allied forces. He later objected Cao Cao's decision to become King of Wei and was mocked by Cao Cao for that and compared to Xun Yu, who had committed suicide earlier. Filled with grief, he grew ill and died. After his death, Cao Cao regretted his behaviour and stopped pursuing the title of King.