Xu Chu 許褚

Xu Chu stood over eight chi tall with a waist ten spans around; his bearing was imposing and resolute, and his strength and courage surpassed other men's. At the end of the Han he gathered young men and several thousand households of his kinsmen, and together they strengthened their fortified wall to hold off bandits. When more than ten thousand bandits from Gebei in Runan attacked the wall, Xu Chu's side, few in number, fought hard until utterly exhausted. When their weapons and arrows ran out, Xu Chu had the men and women inside the wall gather stones the size of cups and pecks and place them at the four corners. Records, Wei 18 §48

Xu Chu hurled the stones, and whatever they struck was smashed, so that the bandits dared not advance. When food ran short, he feigned peace with the bandits and agreed to trade oxen for their grain, but the oxen the bandits led away kept running back. Xu Chu went out before the lines and dragged an ox backward by its tail with one hand for more than a hundred paces, and the astonished bandits fled without daring to take the oxen. Because of this, all who heard of it in the region of the Huai, the Ru, Chen, and Liang feared him. Records, Wei 18 §49

When Cao Cao campaigned through the region of the Huai and Ru rivers, Xu Chu led his followers over to him. Impressed at the sight of him, Cao Cao said, "This is my Fan Kuai," appointed him Chief Commandant (duwei) that same day, and put him in charge of the palace guard. The knights-errant who had followed Xu Chu all became Tiger Warriors (hushi). He accompanied the campaign against Zhang Xiu, was first onto the walls, and took heads numbering in the tens of thousands, for which he was promoted to Colonel (xiaowei); he also accompanied the attack on Yuan Shao at Guandu. Records, Wei 18 §50

At that time Xu Ta and other soldiers of the constant retinue plotted rebellion, but because Xu Chu was always in attendance at Cao Cao's side, they feared him and dared not act. Waiting for a day when Xu Chu had withdrawn to rest, Xu Ta and the others came in with knives hidden in their clothes, but Xu Chu, having reached his quarters, felt uneasy and at once returned to his post. When Xu Ta entered the tent, saw Xu Chu, and changed color in great alarm, Xu Chu realized what was happening and struck Xu Ta and the others dead on the spot. Cao Cao drew him still closer and trusted him more, always keeping him at his side whenever he went in or out. For hard fighting at the siege of Ye, he was granted the rank of Marquis Within the Passes (guannei hou). Records, Wei 18 §50–51

When attacking Han Sui and Ma Chao at Tong Pass, Cao Cao, about to cross the Yellow River northward, sent his troops over first and stayed behind on the south bank with only Xu Chu and a hundred-odd Tiger Warriors to guard the rear. When Ma Chao charged in with more than ten thousand infantry and cavalry and arrows poured down like rain, Xu Chu helped Cao Cao into a boat. As the soldiers scrambled to board and the boat was about to sink, Xu Chu cut down those clinging to it and raised a saddle in his left hand to shield Cao Cao. When the boatman was struck dead by an arrow, he rowed the boat with his right hand and barely got across. Chen Shou wrote that had it not been for Xu Chu that day, Cao Cao would have come close to disaster. Records, Wei 18 §51–52

Later, when Cao Cao met Han Sui and Ma Chao to talk, each side riding out on a single horse, he took only Xu Chu with him. Ma Chao, trusting his own strength, meant to lunge at Cao Cao, but suspecting that the rider in attendance was Xu Chu, he asked, "I hear you have one called the Tiger Marquis (huhou). Where is he?" When Cao Cao pointed to Xu Chu, Xu Chu glared at him with wide-open eyes, and Ma Chao dared not move. A few days later, when Ma Chao and the others were routed in battle, Xu Chu cut off enemy heads with his own hand, and he was promoted to General of the Household of the Martial Guard (wuwei zhonglang jiang). The title "Martial Guard" originated at this time. In the army he was called the Tiger Fool (huchi), because his strength was like a tiger's but he was simple-minded; that was why Ma Chao asked about the Tiger Marquis, and everyone in the realm took it to be his name. Records, Wei 18 §53–54

Xu Chu was cautious by nature and upheld the law, weighty in manner and sparing of words. When Cao Ren came from Jing Province to attend court, he met Xu Chu outside the hall and called him to come sit and talk in a side room, but Xu Chu said, "The King is about to come out," and went back inside the hall. To someone who reproached him for this, Xu Chu replied that although Cao Ren was a kinsman and an important minister, he was a guardian of the outer frontier, while Xu Chu himself was a servant attending within, so talking where many were present was enough. Hearing of this, Cao Cao cherished him all the more and promoted him to General of the Firm Center (zhongjian jiangjun). Records, Wei 18 §55–56

When Cao Cao died, Xu Chu wailed until he vomited blood. When Cao Pi ascended the throne, he advanced Xu Chu's fief to Marquis of Wansui Precinct and made him General of the Martial Guard (wuwei jiangjun), commanding the palace guard troops of the Central Army. Earlier, Cao Cao had judged all the Tiger Warriors under Xu Chu to be stalwart men and made them officers on the same day; of these, dozens later earned merit to become generals and be enfeoffed as marquises, and more than a hundred became Chief Commandants and Colonels, all of them swordsmen. Records, Wei 18 §56

When Cao Rui ascended the throne, he raised Xu Chu to Marquis of Mou District with a fief of 700 households and granted one of his sons the rank of Marquis Within the Passes. When Xu Chu died, he was given the posthumous title Marquis Zhuang, and his son Xu Yi succeeded him. During the Taihe era, Cao Rui, mindful of Xu Chu's loyalty and filial devotion, praised him in an edict and again granted two of his descendants the rank of Marquis Within the Passes. Later, when Zhong Hui invaded Shu, dividing his forces to enter by the Xie Valley and the Luo Valley, Xu Yi went ahead as a Gate Commander (yamen jiang) to clear the road; when a hole in a bridge trapped a horse's hoof, Zhong Hui had him beheaded. The biography of Zhong Hui recorded that he was not pardoned even though he was the son of Xu Chu, who had rendered service to the royal house. Records, Wei 18 §57Records, Wei 28 §102–103

In his assessment, Chen Shou said that Xu Chu and Dian Wei, beating back the enemy's spearhead on the left and right, were indeed like Fan Kuai of the Han. Records, Wei 18 §92