As one of the few wise men in the early Three Kingdoms period, Xu Shu once played a very important role in the establishment of the Liu Bei Dynasty. According to the book, Xu Shu, a native of Yingchuan, is a fellow townsman of Chengyu, a counselor under Cao Cao (who caused the tragedy of Xu Shu’s life). He is a good Ranger, good at fencing, and follows Sima Hui. He took refuge because of killing people. His alias is Shan Fu. He met Liu Bei in Xinye and became a military division. When Xu Shu went to Liu Bei, he was at a time when Liu Bei was lonely and poor. He had less than a thousand soldiers. There was only one town in Xinye. He would stop Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Guan Cang and other people. He was faced with Cao Cao, who had just calmed Yuan Shao and had a great momentum. In order to enable Liu Bei to have a foothold under the pressure of a strong enemy, and to enable Liu Bei to have the heart to compete for supremacy in a situation of military weakness and danger, Xu Shu showed his talent. Within a few months, he skillfully executed a clever plan to kill LV Kuang, cut LV Xiang, smash the eight gate golden lock array, defeat Cao Ren and take Fan City, which changed Liu Bei’s morale and military morale, made Cao Cao Cao’s arrogance cold, and later came out of the mountain for Zhugeliang, The implementation of the “three parts of the world” plan has laid a preliminary foundation.
It’s a pity that such a clever Xu Shu, whose filial piety was taken advantage of, easily cheated Xu Chang for a fake letter after helping Liu Bei for several months. This not only disappointed his virtuous mother and killed herself, but also caused Xu Shu’s lifelong regret; It also made Cao Cao happy in vain. What he got was a bystander who did not plan for him all his life. As a matter of fact, the most regrettable thing for readers is that in the field of competition between Counselors and wise men in the early Three Kingdoms period, they lost an extremely important military strategist and many methods of military use that can be learned and emulated by future generations. About Xu Shu’s ending, the book tells us that on the eve of the Red Cliff war, Pang Tong made a series of skilful contributions across the river. In order to avoid the smoke of war and the persecution of Cao Cao, Xu Shu listened to the plan of the Phoenix chick, spread rumors in Cao camp that Ma Teng and Han Sui had rebelled against Chang’an, took the initiative to ask for orders, and left the battlefield to go west to Chang’an with the senior general Zang ba. From then on, Xu Shu was like a dragon without a tail in the ever-changing epic of the Three Kingdoms, Disappeared forever.
Where did Xu Shu go after he left Cao Cao? Do you live in seclusion under the mountains, rivers and springs all your life, or do you always watch the disputes between Wei, Shu and Wu? I really don’t want to believe that Xu Shu, who is so full of wisdom, easily withdrew from such a big stage where he can fully display his talents as the Three Kingdoms, which seems unreasonable and does not conform to Xu Shu’s character. Not long ago, I saw a commentary on the Three Kingdoms, which explained Xu Shu’s whereabouts after he left Cao Ying. It seems that it is meaningful to listen to it.
It should be written that after leaving Chibi, Xu Shu and Zang Ba came to Chang’an. Because they originally made rumors, there must be no war. One day, Xu Shu went out alone and found a dead body whose head and face were all injured by wolves in the valley. So Xu Shu took off his clothes and put on the clothes of the dead. The golden cicada came out of its shell and floated away. After Cao Cao returned to Xuchang after the great defeat of Chibi, he heard that Xu Shu had been eaten by wolves. He was both amused and deplored. Starting from the psychology of loving talents, he sent people to guard Xu’s mother’s tomb all his life. As for Xu Shu, he also appeared in the Three Kingdoms later, that is, when Liu Bei avenged Guan Yu and attacked Wu, during the Guoting war, Guan Xing chased after Wu general panzhang and spent the night in the villa. He met an elderly man who worshiped Guan Yu. The old man is said to be Xu Shu in seclusion.
Above all, there is obviously an element of romance, and the credibility is not high. However, for a talented person like Xu Shu, I would rather believe it is true.