Jia Kui 賈逵

Jia Kui, courtesy name Liangdao, was a man of Xiangling County in Hedong Commandery. As a child at play he always set out ranks of soldiers, so his grandfather Jia Xi thought him unusual, said he would surely become a general when he grew up, and taught him tens of thousands of words of military texts by word of mouth. He first became an official of the commandery and served as acting Chief of Jiangyi. Records, Wei 15 §68

When Guo Yuan attacked Hedong, every city and town he passed fell, but Jia Kui held Jiangyi firmly, and Guo Yuan called in the Chanyu to combine their forces and attack in haste. When the city was about to fall, the elders of Jiangyi made an agreement with Guo Yuan that Jia Kui would not be harmed. When Guo Yuan, wanting to make him a general, threatened him, and Guo Yuan's attendants dragged Jia Kui forward to make him kowtow, Jia Kui rebuked him: 'How could a senior official of the state kowtow to a bandit?' When Guo Yuan was about to behead him, the officials and people of Jiangyi climbed the walls and shouted that if he broke the agreement they would all die together, and Jia Kui escaped death. When the siege grew pressing, Jia Kui sent his seal and ribbon back to the commandery by a byway with the message to occupy Pishi quickly, and by a ruse made Guo Yuan suspect his adviser Zhu Ao so that he stayed put for seven days; the commandery followed his advice and so avoided defeat. Records, Wei 15 §68–70

Later he was recommended as Flourishing Talent and became Prefect of Mianchi. When Gao Gan rebelled, Zhang Yan was about to rise in support of him; Jia Kui, unaware, went to see Zhang Yan, and on hearing of the uprising devised plans for him as if he were a fellow conspirator, winning his trust. Saying that the city walls were not solid, he obtained soldiers from Zhang Yan and repaired the walls, then put to death all those who had intended to rise in revolt and held out against Zhang Yan. After Zhang Yan was defeated, Jia Kui left office on the death of his grandfather. Records, Wei 15 §71–72

When Cao Cao reached Hongnong on his campaign against Ma Chao, he had Jia Kui serve concurrently as Administrator of Hongnong, and after discussing affairs with him said, 'If every official of two thousand shi in the realm were like Jia Kui, what would I have to worry about?' Jia Kui had a disrespectful Commandant of Agricultural Garrisons flogged until his leg broke and was dismissed for it, but Cao Cao privately approved of him and made him Registrar to the Chancellor. When Cao Cao attacked Liu Bei, he sent Jia Kui ahead to the Xie Valley to survey the terrain; meeting several dozen carts of prisoners on the road, Jia Kui, judging that military affairs were urgent, executed only the one with the gravest crime and released the rest. Cao Cao approved of this, made him Grandee Remonstrant and had him take charge of military planning together with Xiahou Shang. Records, Wei 15 §72–73

When Cao Cao died at Luoyang, Jia Kui took charge of the funeral arrangements. At this time Cao Zhang, Marquis of Yanling, acting General of the Elite Cavalry, came hurrying from Chang'an and asked where the late king's seal and ribbon were. Jia Kui replied sternly, 'The crown prince is at Ye, so the state has an heir. The late king's seal and ribbon are not something Your Lordship should ask about,' and he escorted the coffin back to Ye. Records, Wei 15 §74

When Cao Pi became king, he made Jia Kui Prefect of Ye County, where many did not respect the law, and after a little over a month transferred him to Administrator of Wei Commandery. When the army went on campaign he again became Libationer Registrar to the Chancellor. When Jia Kui was implicated in another man's offense, Cao Pi shielded him, citing the example of Shuxiang, since Jia Kui's merit and virtue were his own. Records, Wei 15 §75

When they reached Qiao, Cao Pi made him Inspector of Yu Province. Jia Kui thoroughly investigated officials of two thousand shi and below who had been partial and lax and had not followed the law, impeached them all and had them dismissed, and the emperor said, 'Jia Kui is a true inspector indeed,' proclaimed throughout the realm that Yu Province should serve as the model, and granted him the rank of Marquis Within the Passes. In Yu Province, which bordered Wu, he set up scouts and equipped armored troops so that the enemy did not dare to attack, and he dammed the Yan and Ru rivers to make a new reservoir and the Lesser Yiyang Reservoir, and opened a canal of more than 200 li; this is the so-called Marquis Jia's Canal. In the Huangchu era he joined the other generals in attacking Wu, defeated Lü Fan at Dongpu, was made Marquis of Yangli Village and was given the additional title of General Who Establishes Might. Records, Wei 15 §76–78

When Emperor Ming took the throne, Jia Kui received an additional 200 households, bringing his fief with the earlier grant to 400 households. Jia Kui observed that Sun Quan, at Dongguan, would combine his forces to go to the rescue whenever there was trouble to the east or west, so if a direct road were opened to advance to the Yangtze, Sun Quan would be unable to rescue both sides and Dongguan could be taken. He therefore moved his garrison to Liaokou and submitted a plan for attacking it, which the emperor approved. Records, Wei 15 §79–80

In the 2nd year of Taihe (228) the emperor had Jia Kui lead four armies, including those of Man Chong, General of the Front, and Hu Zhi, Administrator of Dongguan, from Xiyang toward Dongguan, while Cao Xiu advanced from Wan and Sima Yi from Jiangling. When Cao Xiu asked to advance deep into enemy territory in response to enemies who were asking to surrender, an edict sent Jia Kui east to join Cao Xiu. Jia Kui reckoned that the enemy would not prepare defenses at Dongguan but would mass their troops at Wan, so if Cao Xiu went deep he would surely be defeated. After advancing 200 li, when he learned from captured enemies that Cao Xiu had been defeated and Sun Quan had cut off Jiashi, he overruled the generals who wanted to wait for the rear army and advanced day and night. He set out many flags and drums as a decoy force, the enemy withdrew, and Jia Kui occupied Jiashi and supplied Cao Xiu with troops and provisions. Records, Wei 15 §81–83

Jia Kui and Cao Xiu had not been on good terms from the start. In the Huangchu era, when Cao Pi wanted to give Jia Kui a tally of authority, Cao Xiu stopped it, saying that Jia Kui was headstrong by nature and looked down on the other generals, so he could not be made a commander-in-chief. Chen Shou wrote that at the defeat at Jiashi, had it not been for Jia Kui, Cao Xiu's army would hardly have been saved. Records, Wei 15 §83

When his illness became grave, Jia Kui said that he regretted going to see the late emperor without having cut off Sun Quan's head, and told them not to build or adorn anything at all for his funeral. After his death he was given the posthumous name Marquis Su, and his son Jia Chong succeeded him. The officials and people of Yu Province carved a stone and set up a shrine to him, and in the Qinglong era Emperor Ming visited the shrine, called him one who did not decay even in death, and had this proclaimed throughout the realm. Records, Wei 15 §84–85

In his assessment, Chen Shou said that since the end of the Han, inspectors had governed several commanderies as a whole and carried out administration, and that the men of this fascicle were those among them whose reputation matched their reality: all of them had a thorough grasp of the subtle turns of affairs and displayed both sternness and kindness. Records, Wei 15 §89