Fu Xun

Fu Xun (onyomi: Fu Son) is an official who lived during the late Han Dynasty of China and the Early Three Kingdoms era. Known for being well-read and a critical commentator, he first served as an official under Liu Biao, and was instrumental alongside Kuai Yue, Wang Can, and others in persuading Liu Cong, Liu Biao's heir, to surrender to Cao Cao.

Role in Games
In Dynasty Warriors 8 Fu Xun appears at the battle of Xiangyang, where he defends the southeastern corner of the castle Liu Biao holds against the Wu forces.

Fu Xun is an official in Romance of the Three Kingdoms who excels at political affairs, with his intelligence and politics ranging in the high 60s to low 70s as well as average charisma in the 50s, making him a good choice for domestic tasks. His battle stats however are severely low, making him a poor choice for leading any units.

Historical Information
Fu Xun was born in Niyang couny, Beidi Commandery around Tongchan, Shaanxi. He began his career by serving as a Gentlemen of Writing (尚書郎) in the Han Civil service, under Shang Shulang. However, Liu Biao was able to draw Fu Xun to Jing province during the warlord's time of recruiting intellectuals with the promise of stability and safety at a time when the capital was anything but safe. Fu Xun faithfully served Liu Biao for the next few years.

After the death of Liu Biao in 208, Fu Xun served Liu Biao's youngest son Liu Cong and was one of those in his court who would persuaded him to yield to Cao Cao, who had begun his invasion of Jing that same year. Liu Cong was first intent on resisting Cao Cao alongside his older brother Liu Qi and their subordinate Liu Bei. Fu Xun, however, reasoned: "If Liu Bei can't resist Cao Cao, then Jingzhou will not be able to survive; if Liu Bei can resist Cao Cao, then Liu Bei will no longer submit to the general. I hope the general You don't have any doubts about surrendering anymore." This argument won Liu Cang over and for his efforts, Cao Cao granted Fu Xun a Marquis Peerage of Guannei as reward. In 211, he was one of those who proposed to Emperor Xian to grant Cao Cao the title of Duke.

Almost a decade later in 220, Fu Xun was among those who joined Xun You in advising Cao Pi to depose Emperor Xian, and begin the kingdom of Wei. Supporting the regime change saw Fu Xun promoted to the ranks of Palace Attendant (侍中) and Master of Writing (尚書) in the Imperial court. Fu Xun's exact death year is unknown, but it was recorded that he died sometime during Cao Rui's reign.

Fu Xun, was renowned for his insight, both in people's character and the hidden purposes behind cryptic comments. Fu Xun predicted that Pang Tong would be a half-hero, which was fulfilled in his service under Liu Bei, who honored him second to Zhuge Liang. Fu Xun also believed that Pei Qian would outshine the rest of his family due to his high morals, which also proved an accurate assessment, as Pei Qian rose high in the Wei Kingdom court.

In another famous example of insight, when Cao Pi began decrying those who cried at his coronation while out on a trip, Fu Xun's friend Su Ze began to move to apologize, thinking Cao Pi was indirectly targeting him. Su Ze thought this because he had believed the rumors that Emperor Xian had died when Cao Pi became emperor and was quite embarrassed over his mistake. The story goes that Fu Xun either caught his eyes or pinched him to whisper that Cao Pi didn't know about Su Ze's embarrassing mistake, but was instead thinking of his brother, Cao Zhi. Another man Fu Xun offered an accurate assessment of was Wei Feng. Fu Xun claimed Wei Feng would rebel, and he did in the year 219.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Fu Xun makes a very brief appearance within the Romance of the Three Kingdoms in chapters 40 and 41. His main roll is similar to what he played in history for Liu Cong, helping convincing the young lord to submit to Cao Cao. The main difference in the novel is Fu Xun is far more hostile towards Liu Qi and Liu Bei. In the following chapter, Fu Xun is listed among those whom Cao Cao rewarded for persuading Liu Cong to surrender Jing Province to him.