memorial to Emperor Xian to recommend him to award Xun You a marquis title to honour him for his contributions. Xun You was thus enfeoffed as the Marquis of Lingshu Village (). In 207, while assessing his subordinates' contributions and recommending Emperor Xian to give out rewards accordingly, Cao Cao credited Xun Yu and Xun You for developing grand strategic plans for him. Xun You received an additional 400 taxable households in his marquisate, making it 700 households in total. He was also reassigned to serve as Central Military Adviser (). The Wei Shu recorded that Cao Cao visited Xun You's residence when he returned from Liucheng (柳城; southwest of present-day Chaoyang, Liaoning) after a campaign. He told Xun You, "Now that the Empire has basically been pacified, it's time for me to share the rewards with virtuous scholar-officials like you. In the past, Emperor Gaozu allowed Zhang Zifang to choose 30,000 taxable households to form his own marquisate. Today, I intend to suggest to the Emperor to let you do the same." In 213, Emperor Xian enfeoffed Cao Cao as the Duke of Wei () and granted him a dukedom covering parts of present-day Hebei and Henan. Xun You was appointed as the Prefect of the Masters of Writing (). In 214, Xun You accompanied Cao Cao on a campaign against the southern warlord Sun Quan but died of illness along the way. He was 58 (by East Asian age reckoning) when he died. Cao Cao shed tears when he heard of Xun You's death. During the Zhengshi era (240–249) of the reign of Cao Fang, Xun You was posthumously honoured as "Marquis Jing" (敬侯; "respected marquis"). Appraisal Xun You was known for being a highly profound and insightful thinker who hid secrets very well. Since he started accompanying Cao Cao on his military campaigns, he had often helped Cao Cao devise and develop strategic plans. Many people, including his family members and relatives, hardly knew what was on his mind or what he had said. The Wei Shu recorded that Xin Tao (), a maternal cousin of Xun You, once asked Xun You why he urged Cao Cao to attack Ji Province. Xun You replied, "Since Zuozhi has come on behalf of Yuan Tan to surrender, it's expected that the Imperial Army will go there to pacify the area. How would I know why?" Xin Tao and others