Xun Xu

Settles both the method and the commanders. Against Jia Chong's proposal of an assassin he argues that the state is already rotten — 'Liu Shan, the Ruler of Shu, is steeped in dissipation and has given all his confidence to one favorite, Eunuch Huang Hao… and Jiang Wei has gone to Tazhong only that he may save his life. If you send an able leader and a strong army, victory is certain. Where is the need for an assassin's dagger?' — and then names them: 'Deng Ai is the ablest leader of the day. Give him Zhong Hui as his second, and the thing is done.'

In the Jin court during the deliberations over the Wu campaign, one of the officials weighing Yang Hu's recommendations after his death.