Wei Shu (魏書; Book of Wei), by Wang Shen (), Xun Yi () and Ruan Ji; the Xun Shi Jia Zhuan (荀氏家傳; Xun Family Genealogy); the Han Ji (漢紀; Annals of Han), by Zhang Fan (); the Fu Zi (), by Fu Xuan. Family background and childhood Xun You was born in the influential Xun family, whose ancestral home was in Yingyin County (), Yingchuan Commandery (), which is in present-day Xuchang, Henan. His grandfather, Xun Tan (), whose courtesy name was Yuanzhi (), served as the Administrator () of Guangling Commandery (廣陵郡; around present-day Huai'an, Jiangsu). Xun You's father, Xun Yi (), served as a commandery-level Assistant Officer (). Xun Yi was a second cousin of Xun Yu, hence Xun You was Xun Yu's second cousin-nephew even though he was six years older than Xun Yu. Xun You was orphaned at a young age. He was probably raised by his uncle Xun Qu () and his grandfather Xun Tan. When his grandfather died, a minor administrative assistant, Zhang Quan (), offered to be the tomb keeper. Xun You, who was 12 years old then, sensed that something was wrong. He told his uncle Xun Qu, "This man looks suspicious. I believe he's up to something." Upon investigation, it was revealed that Zhang Quan was actually a murderer on the run. Because of this incident, the young Xun You was seen as an extraordinary boy. When Xun You was six or seven, Xun Qu once accidentally injured him while he was drunk. Since then, every time Xun You left or entered his home, he would do so at times to deliberately avoid meeting his uncle. Xun Qu was very surprised by his nephew's intelligence when he heard about it. Early career When the general He Jin rose to power in 189 and became regent to the child Emperor Shao, he recruited over 20 notable members of scholar-gentry background to join the civil service. Xun You was one of them. He was appointed as a Gentleman of the Yellow Gate () in the imperial capital, Luoyang. However, within the same year, He Jin was assassinated by the eunuch faction led by the Ten Attendants. The warlord Dong Zhuo took advantage of the ensuing political turmoil to hijack and control the central government. Between 190 and 191, several regional warlords formed a coalition and launched a campaign against Dong Zhuo in the