Xu Zhu

Xu Zhu is a character that first appeared on the first Chaos of the Three Kingdoms game. He is the bodyguard of dark lord Cao Cao that saved him when the latter was being ambushed by Zhang Xiu's army at Wan Castle. Now Xu Zhu vows to protect Cao Cao from any form of danger and support his cause at all cost.

Description
Xu Zhu is a hulking officer of the Wei army who acts as a bodyguard for dark lord Cao Cao. He is fierce and aggressive towards his foes and wipes out any soldiers that come in his path. His actions are the reason why Cao Cao and the other Wei generals respect him greatly, however the Wei emperor deeply became indebted to Xu Zhu after the latter saved his life by fending off Zhang Xiu's army at Wan Castle.

Historical Information
Early life

Xu Chu was born in Qiao county (present day Bozhou, Anhui). According to Chen Shou's Records of Three Kingdoms, he was over eight chi tall (about 190-200cms) with a waist circumference of ten wei (approximately 52 inches or 132 centimeters).

Towards the end of the Han Dynasty, Xu Chu rallied thousands of clan members and constructed a fortress to fend off the Yellow Turban rebels. An army of rebels from Runan, numbering more than 10,000, once attacked Xu Chu's fortress. The defenders were outnumbered and worn out as the battle dragged on. When the arrows were used up, Xu Chu told all within the fortress to gather stones the size of chess pieces and place them in the four corners of the fortress. He then hurled the stones at the enemies, crushing the bones of all those who were hit into powder. The rebels then kept a distance away and dared not come close. When the food stock was exhausted, Xu Chu negotiated a truce with the rebels as well as a deal to exchange an ox for food. When the rebels came to collect the ox, the animal would always run back. Then Xu Chu, holding on to the ox's tail, pulled it along for more than a hundred steps. Seeing this, the startled rebels took off without the ox.

[edit] Service under Cao Cao
In 197, Xu Chu led his militia to join the warlord Cao Cao. Seeing the strength of Xu Chu, Cao Cao exclaimed, "This is my Fan Kuai!" He then appointed Xu Chu as a captain of his close guards, who were known as Tiger Guards. During Cao Cao's campaign against Zhang Xiu, Xu Chu was at the forefront of the battle, and was promoted to a colonel for his valor in battle.

[edit] As a bodyguard
In 200, Xu Chu followed Cao Cao to the Battle of Guandu, during which Xu Ta and fellow conspirators plotted to assassinate Cao Cao. Fearing Xu Chu, they waited until he went back to rest before entering Cao Cao's tent with swords hidden in their robes. Xu Chu, however, felt uneasy and returned. Xu Ta and others, not expecting to find Xu Chu there, could not hide their astonishment. Xu Chu then discovered their intent and killed the would-be assassins. Following this incident, Cao Cao trusted him even more and would go nowhere without Xu Chu by his side. After assisting Cao Cao to conquer Ye in 203, Xu Chu was conferred the title of "Marquis of Guannei" (關內侯).

[edit] Incident of Ma Chao
During the Battle of Tong Pass against Ma Chao and Han Sui in 211, Cao Cao led his troops north across the Ji River (濟河) in an attempt to circle to the rear of the enemy. The bulk of Cao Cao's troops had already crossed the river, leaving Cao and his Tiger Guards to bring up the rear, when Ma Chao and his 10,000 horsemen caught up with them. As the enemies were approaching fast, Cao Cao's soldiers rushed to get on board the ferry, which was on the verge of sinking under the weight. Holding up a saddle with his left hand to shield Cao Cao from the enemies' arrows, Xu Chu slashed those who were trying to clamber onto the vessel. By then the boatman was also shot dead. Still holding up the saddle, Xu Chu pushed the ferry away from shore and to safety with a bargepole. Later, Cao Cao, bringing along no one but Xu Chu, met with Ma Chao and Han Sui for a negotiation. Ma Chao intended to nab Cao Cao but suspected that the man beside him was Xu Chu, whose name he had heard for long. Ma Chao then asked Cao Cao, "Where is your Tiger Marquis"? Cao Cao pointed at Xu Chu, who stared at Ma Chao. Fearing the mighty man, Ma Chao then gave up his idea.

[edit] Death
When Cao Cao died, Xu Chu was so overwhelmed with sorrow that he wailed and vomited blood. Cao Cao's successor Cao Pi also favored Xu Chu greatly and further promote him to General of Military Might and placed him in charge of the palace guards. When it came to Cao Rui's reign, Xu Chu was made the Marquis of Mouxiang. After his death, Xu Chu was conferred the posthumous title of "Marquis Zhuang", literally meaning "robust marquis".

Xu Chu's son, Xu Yi (許儀), was ordered by Zhong Hui later to taking charge in road construction in Cao Wei's campaign against Shu Han in 263. However, the road was poorly built and as result, Zhong Hui had Xu Yi beheaded. By doing so, Zhong Hui established his authority and the road was rebuilt.

[edit] Appraisal
The Records of Three Kingdoms describes Xu Chu as a cautious and loyal man with few words. It recorded an incident where Cao Ren, a cousin and much trusted general of Cao Cao, came from Jing Province to see Cao Cao. Running into Xu Chu outside the hall, Cao Ren called for him to go inside together for a talk. However, Xu Chu declined, saying, "The king will soon be out". This made Cao Ren very unhappy. When criticized for turning down the eminent man, Xu Chu replied, "Though Cao Ren is favored, he is an external official, whereas I am an internal official. We could talk among others. Why enter the hall and talk in private"? When Cao Cao heard of this, he began to favor Xu Chu even more and promoted him to General of the Center (中間將軍).

[edit] In fiction
Xu Chu appears in Luo Guanzhong's historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. To further pronounce the bravery and strength of Xu Chu, Luo Guanzhong added a fictional battle between Xu and Ma Chao in Chapter 59 – Xu Chu Strips for a Fight with Ma Chao.

During the confrontation between the armies of Cao Cao and Ma Chao, Xu Chu challenged the latter to a duel. Ma Chao took up the challenge and the pair rode forth to engage in a battle on horseback. Neither Xu Chu's sword nor Ma Chao's spear could get an upper hand after over a hundred bouts. By then, both of their steeds were spent, so each retired to their own lines to change a fresh mount before renewing the contest.

Hundred more bouts elapsed and still neither man could triumph over the other. Suddenly, Xu Chu galloped back to his own side, stripped off his heavy armor, and rode back to battle bare-chested. 30 bouts later, Xu Chu plunged towards his foe with sword held high to strike, but Ma Chao evaded the strike and rode in with his spear pointing at Xu Chu's heart. Discarding his sword, Xu Chu clamped the spear firmly under his left arm.

A struggle for the spear then ensued. With his enormous strength, Xu Chu snapped the spearshaft into two such that each were holding on to one half. The duel then continued, with each man assailing the other with the splintered rod. Cao Cao, fearing for his champion warrior, ordered Xiahou Yuan and Cao Hong to flank the enemy. Seeing this, Ma Chao's aides also rushed out with their troops. In the chaos Xu Chu received two arrow wounds on the arm and Cao Cao's force retreated to its temporary fortress.

Skills
Skull Breaker
 * First Appearance: Chaos of the Three Kingdoms
 * Description: Xu Zhu wraps his chained flail around a couple of enemy soldiers and slams them down 3 times before finishing them off with a piledriver.

Brain Shaker
 * First Appearance: Chaos of the Three Kingdoms
 * Description: Xu Zhu slams his morning star on the ground which causes a torrent of stalagmites to erupt from the ground and impales all enemies on screen. Earth Elemental.

Spinning Strike
 * First Appearance: Chaos of the Three Kingdoms
 * Description: Xu Zhu performs a super fast spinning clothesline to ram into enemy soldiers while blowing them away with a powerful sandstorm. Earth Elemental.

Valor Attack: Violent Soul Judgement
 * First Appearance: Chaos of the Three Kingdoms
 * Description: Xu Zhu will go beserk and starts smashing and swinging his morning star flail at enemy soldiers 45 times in a brutal fashion, he then jumps in the air and hurls the now huge spiked ball of his morning star toward the ground which then explodes on impact, burning the enemy soldiers and killing them on the spot. Earth Elemental.

Primary Echo Eruption
 * First Appearance: Chaos of the Three Kingdoms 2
 * Description: Xu Zhu leaps forward to perform a falling double leg drop which will collide into enemy soldiers on impact.

Defiant Adamantine Swing
 * First Appearance: Chaos of the Three Kingdoms 2
 * Description: Xu Zhu moves around twirling his body in a stationary 360 circular motion three times while swinging his flail about horizontally, knocking enemy soldiers away.

Agonizing Rainbow Stomp


 * First Appearance: Chaos of the Three Kingdoms 2
 * Description: Xu Zhu swings his flail above repeatedly before it glows a tye-dye like color and proceeds to slam it to ground, producing a giant stone fist that will grab enemy soldiers from afar and pulls them from underneath. Earth Elemental.

Valour Attack: Rough Times in the Chaotic Dynasty
 * First Appearance: Chaos of the Three Kingdoms 2
 * Description: Xu Zhu jumps far into the atmosphere and start to fall into a rapid reentry while carrying the head of a giant Chinese war god statue, causing him to heavily crash land into enemy soldiers which engulfs them in a sea of erupting lava, killing them. Earth Elemental.