Xun Yu, courtesy name Wenruo, is the second of the Eight Enigmas—a group of brilliant military strategists hand-picked by the legendary Sima Hui. While he's just as capable in warfare as his peers, diplomacy is where he really shines. He earned the nickname "Zhang Liang" for his approach to governance, named after the famous Han dynasty advisor who helped Liu Bang build an empire. The comparison fits: Xun Yu's benevolent policies have been crucial to stabilizing Cao Cao's rule, offering a softer counterweight to Guo Jia's ruthless military tactics.
What sets Xun Yu apart from other Enigmas like Guo Jia and Jia Xu is his actual goal. While they work toward making Cao Cao supreme, Xun Yu's real dream is restoring the Han dynasty itself. He simply believes Cao Cao is the only one capable of pulling it off, so he's stuck with him—even as Cao Cao's ambitions grew and increasingly favored Guo Jia's darker methods over his own.
His two biggest accomplishments speak for themselves: recruiting thousands of Yellow Turban soldiers and orchestrating the Emperor's capture. Both moves massively strengthened Cao Cao's position and helped transform him into the most powerful warlord in the land. Hard to overstate how much those victories mattered.
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