Xu Sheng 徐盛

Xu Sheng 徐盛

Biography
Suffering from the chaos in his home, Xu Sheng fled to Wu to seek refuge. In 200 A.D. after his brother died, Sun Quan assumed control of the forces in the territory of Wu; at that time, Xu Sheng was made a Senior Major, given a command of 500 people, and appointed Chief of Chaisang (柴桑) to defend against Huang Zu to the west.

Huang Zu's son, Huang She, brought a force of several 1,000 to attack Sheng. At that time, Sheng had fewer than 200 soldiers with him, so he remained behind his walls and let the enemy besiege him. The siege went poorly for Huang She's forces as over 1,000 of his men had been wounded in the attack; Huang She then turned to withdraw, but Sheng threw open the city gates and charged after him, dealing a crushing blow to the retreating army. Huang She disappeared after the defeat, not wanting to show himself to his father, and turned to banditry. Sun Quan promoted Xu Sheng to Colonel and appointed him as county magistrate of Wuhu (蕪湖). Xu Sheng then led a punitive campaign against the mountain bandits of Lincheng (臨城) and was appointed as General of the Gentlemen of the Household with the responsibility of supervising the training of soldiers.

Cao Cao attacked Ruxu (濡須); the Wei forces planned on coming down the Heng river (橫江), so Sheng was sent to stop their advance. Sheng was sailing in an Armoured Breaker (蒙衝), when the fleet was struck by violent winds. The ships were dashed onto the enemy shores and the Wu forces panicked, none of the generals dared leave their boats. Only Xu Sheng took the initiative, he suddenly attacked the enemy forces, routing them. The enemy retreated to tend to their injured and, as the winds calmed down, the fleet was able to launch from the shore. Sun Quan praised Xu Sheng's efforts.

In 221 A.D., Sun Quan sought to establish an alliance with Cao Pi because he feared the retribution of Liu Bei regarding the death of his general, Guan Yu. Cao Pi dispatched Xing Zhen to informed Sun Quan that Cao Pi had made him King of Wu. Sun Quan came out of his palace to greet Xing Zhen as a sign of respect, yet Xing Zhen behaved arrogantly. Both Xu Sheng and Zhang Zhao were furious at Zhen's impudence and Sheng said: "You and I are unable to exert our strength to the utmost in the interest of the State, neither have we annexed Xuchang and Luoyang nor have we conquered Ba and Shu; instead we let our Sovereign conclude a covenant with Xing Zhen. What a shame!" And then he wept. When Xing Zhen heard, he was worried and said: "If Jiangdong has a general and minister like this, it will not remain long in a subordinate position."

Xu Sheng was later made General Who Manifests Majesty, enfeoffed as Marquis of a Chief Village, appointed Grand Administrator of Lujiang and Lincheng county was added to his fief.

As expected, Liu Bei attacked Xiling (西陵) seeking retribution for Guan Yu's death. Xu Sheng attacked and destroyed several of Liu Bei's camps, earning great merit. The following year, Cao Pi attacked Wu on three fronts. Cao Xiu led the attack against Dongkou (洞口) against Xu Sheng, Lü Fan and Quan Cong. It must have seemed like déjà vu for Xu Sheng as disaster struck the Wu forces and a freak storm dashed their fleet against the northern shore, thousands of soldiers being captured or killed.

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