Xiahou Xuan
As Zhuge Dan was close friends with Xiahou Xuan and Deng Yang () – both were Cao Shuang's associates – and had witnessed the downfall of Wang Ling and Guanqiu Jian, he felt very uneasy and was worried that he would become a victim of the Sima family's purges. Thus, when he was stationed in Shouchun (壽春; present-day Shou County, Anhui), he attempted to increase his popularity among the masses in the Huai River area by being very generous. He also used his personal wealth to bribe his subordinates and hire thousands of mercenaries as bodyguards. He even pardoned criminals who committed capital offences.