Early Life
Jia Xu was born in Gozang (姑臧) in Wuwei (now Wuwei, Gansu). He received proper education since his childhood. A man from Hanyang named Yan Zhong (閻忠) once stated that Jia Xu had the genius of Zhang Liang and Chen Ping, two famous strategists in the early Han dynasty. He was appointed as an official in the Eastern Han government when he was a youth. However, upon seeing the corruption in the government at the time, he returned to Wuwei with excuses of sickness. On the way back he was captured by rebels from the Di tribe along with several other travellers. He lied that he was the grandson-in-law of Duan Gong (段熲), a popular general at that time, and was treated with respect and released, while the other travellers were all executed.
In 185, Han Sui in the northwest initiated a rebellion with the assistance of the various Qiang tribes, and took the Liang province for himself. The court of Eastern Han appointed general Dong Zhuo to subdue the rebellion, and Jia Xu was one of Dong's advisers at the time. In 189, Dong Zhuo entered the capital city of Luoyang, and became the de facto leader of the court by using Emperor Xian as a mere puppet. Dong Zhuo's cruelty and recklessness, however, soon started to create enemies, and Jia Xu, sensing defeat in Dong Zhuo, left the court. Jia Xu was then appointed as an advisor of Dong Zhuo's son-in-law, Niu Fu.
In May 192, Dong Zhuo was murdered by Lü Bu in Luoyang. Li Jue and a few other loyalists of Dong Zhuo, including Niu Fu Fan Chou, Guo Si, and Zhang Ji, managed to escape. However, Niu Fu was soon killed by one of his own servants, then Jia Xu went to join Li Jue and suggested him to gather troops and take Chang'an so as to avenge the death of Dong Zhuo and to take the Emperor captive. The plan succeeded; however, Guo Si and Li Jue start to fight over who was in control despite Jia Xu's mediation, and Jia Xu left them, partly also because his mother died. Nonetheless, Li Jue and Guo Si, admiring his talent, ordered him back.
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