jia xu

Courtesy name Wenhe. Jia Xu stands as the third member of the Eight Enigma, a group of genius military advisors chosen by the esteemed veteran strategist Sima Hui, known as 'Shujing', from among his students. He is perhaps the most notorious of the Eight Enigma, infamous for his preference for sacrificial strategies that led to the deaths of his lords twice in order to eliminate the common enemy, Lu Bu. As the best friend of the Fourth Enigma, Guo Jia, Jia Xu fervently believes in the 'Darkness ideology'. This belief system praises actions of extreme cruelty over benevolence as the ultimate means to achieve peace and prosperity. This stance caused a rift between him and Shujing's teachings of justice, which he considered outdated, leading to his early graduation from Shujing's school. Throughout the narrative, Jia Xu served multiple lords. He was especially loyal to Dong Zhuo, the Imperial Prime Minister whose inhuman reformist methods aligned closely with Jia Xu's ideals. However, Dong Zhuo and his advisor, Li Ru—who was also Jia Xu's sworn brother—rarely followed Jia Xu's advice, ultimately leading to their downfall at the hands of Lu Bu. Jia Xu then allied with Dong Zhuo's son-in-law, Niu Fu, and managed to overthrow Lu Bu, but at the cost of Niu Fu's life and his own exile when Niu Fu's subordinates turned against him out of jealousy. Despite expressing interest in joining Cao Cao and maintaining secret contact with Guo Jia, he remained with the remnants of Dong Zhuo's faction. When Cao Cao launched an expedition against Lu Bu, Jia Xu returned and played a crucial role in Lu Bu's eventual downfall.