1. Xu Shu was born in the late Eastern Han dynasty and used to be a vigilante swordsman in his early life.
29 Facts About Xu Shu
1. 2.
Xu Shu lived a reclusive life from the 190s to mid-200s in Jing Province, where he met and befriended Zhuge Liang.
3.
Xu Shu recommended Zhuge Liang to Liu Bei during this period of time.
4.
Xu Shu's mother was captured by Cao Cao's forces during the battle.
5.
Xu Shu was eventually tricked into leaving Liu Bei and joining Cao Cao, but he recommended Zhuge Liang to Liu Bei before leaving and swore never to give advice to Cao Cao.
6.
Xu Shu was from Yingchuan Commandery, Yu Province, which is in present-day central Henan.
7.
Xu Shu's original given name was Fu, and he was born into a poor family.
8.
Xu Shu was a swordsman in his early life; during the latter part of the Zhong'ping era of Emperor Ling's reign, he once helped someone take revenge by killing another person.
9.
Xu Shu was later arrested by an official, who asked him for his name, but he did not reply.
10.
Xu Shu was so grateful to be saved that he gave up his life as a swordsman and became a scholar.
11.
When Xu Shu first attended school, his mates ostracised him because of his background, but he remained humble and hardworking.
12.
Xu Shu woke up early, cleaned the school alone, and paid great attention to his studies.
13.
Xu Shu met Shi Tao and became close friends with him.
14.
Xu Shu accompanied Liu Bei on his journey towards Xiakou.
15.
Xu Shu is featured as a fairly prominent character in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which romanticises the historical events before and during the Three Kingdoms period.
16.
However, Xu Shu told Liu Bei that he was neither of them.
17.
Xu Shu agreed to become Liu Bei's strategist and helped Liu counter an invading army led by Cao Cao's general Cao Ren.
18.
Cao Ren deployed his troops in an "Eight Gates Golden Locks Formation" outside Xinye, but Xu Shu pointed out the weaknesses in the formation and instructed Liu's general Zhao Yun on how to break it.
19.
Xu Shu accurately predicted that Cao Ren would launch a surprise attack that night after his defeat.
20.
Cao Cao was impressed when he heard about Xu Shu and was eager to recruit Xu as an adviser.
21.
Xu Shu invited Xu Shu's mother to meet him and asked her to write a letter to her son, requesting that her son come to join him.
22.
Xu Shu's mother refused, denounced Cao Cao as a treacherous villain, and threw an ink stone at him.
23.
Cao Cao then had Xu Shu's mother detained and asked Cheng Yu to pretend to be Xu Shu's sworn brother to win the trust of Xu's mother.
24.
Xu Shu wrote a letter to Xu Shu in the handwriting of Xu's mother, telling Xu that she was in trouble and urging him to come to the imperial capital Xu quickly.
25.
Xu Shu was a filial son so he immediately left for Xu after reading the letter.
26.
Xu Shu was in a hurry when he sped off on horseback.
27.
Xu Shu's mother was furious with her son's failure to discern between truth and deception, and ashamed by the fact that her son joined Cao Cao instead of Liu Bei.
28.
Xu Shu remained with Cao Cao, but he swore never to give advice to Cao.
29.
Xu Shu is first introduced as a playable character in Dynasty Warriors 7: Empires of Koei's Dynasty Warriors video game series.