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Xu Sheng (birth and death dates unknown), courtesy name Wenxiang, was a native of Ju County, Langya Commandery (present-day Ju County, Shandong Province). He was a general of the Wu Kingdom during the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, and held the official rank of General of Andong. He was also enfeoffed as Marquis of Duting and Marquis of Wuhu.

Xu Sheng had fled south to Wu Commandery in his early years due to unrest in his hometown. After Sun Quan took control of the government, he appointed Xu Sheng as a separate commander and concurrently as the magistrate of Chaisang County.
He led troops to garrison and defend against Huang Zu. Huang Zu's son, Huang She, once led several thousand troops to attack, but Xu Sheng resisted with fewer than two hundred men.
Over a thousand of Huang She's troops were killed or wounded. Afterwards, Xu Sheng opened the city gates and launched a preemptive attack, defeating the enemy outnumbered and forcing them to flee in disarray.
Huang She dared not invade again; Xu Sheng was promoted to Colonel for his merits and concurrently served as Magistrate of Wuhu County; later, Xu Sheng was promoted to Lieutenant General for his merits in suppressing the rebels.

In the eighteenth year of Jian'an of Emperor Xian of Han (213 AD), Xu Sheng led his troops to resist Cao Cao's attack with Sun Quan. When Cao Cao's army attacked Hengjiang, Xu Sheng led his troops to meet the enemy and defeated them.

Xu Sheng subsequently distinguished himself in battle, rising to the rank of General Jianwu, being enfeoffed as Marquis of Duting, and concurrently serving as Prefect of Lujiang Commandery. This occurred in the first year of the Huangwu era of the Sun Wu dynasty (222 AD).

When Liu Bei invaded Yiling (present-day Yichang, Hubei), Xu Sheng led his troops to meet the enemy alongside Lu Xun and distinguished himself in battle.

Soon after, Wei general Cao Xiu led his troops to attack Dongkou (south of present-day He County, Anhui). Xu Sheng, along with Lü Fan and Quan Cong, crossed the river to meet the attack and defeated Cao Xiu.

Xu Sheng was promoted to General of Andong and enfeoffed as Marquis of Wuhu for his meritorious service. In the third year of Huangwu (224 AD) of the Wu dynasty, Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, personally led a large army to invade.

Xu Sheng suggested to Sun Quan that a protective wall be built along the Yangtze River, stretching for hundreds of miles, but Cao Pi returned empty-handed.

Xu Sheng died soon after, and his son Xu Kai inherited the title and took over command of the army.

Contemporaries such as Jiang Qin praised Xu Sheng as "loyal, diligent, courageous, and capable."
Later generations, such as Chen Shou, a historian of the Jin Dynasty, Liu Yiqing, a scholar of the Southern Song Dynasty, and Zhang Ruyu, a scholar of the Southern Song Dynasty, all believed that Xu Sheng was brave and resourceful, and included him in the list of "Twelve Tiger Generals of Jiangdong". They praised him as a famous general of Sun Wu.

Xu Sheng, courtesy name Wenxiang, was a native of Ju County, Langya Commandery (present-day Ju County, Shandong Province). In his early years, due to turmoil in his hometown, Xu Sheng crossed the Yangtze River southward and settled in Wu Commandery.

He was known locally for his courage. In the fifth year of Jian'an (200 AD) during the reign of Emperor Xian of Han, Sun Ce was assassinated, and Sun Quan succeeded him to the throne, taking charge of major affairs. He appointed Xu Sheng as a separate commander.
He was given 500 soldiers and appointed acting magistrate of Chaisang County to defend against Huang Zu, a general under Liu Biao.

While Xu Sheng was stationed in Chaisang (now within the territory of Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province), Huang Zu's son, Huang She, once led several thousand men down the Yangtze River to attack Xu Sheng.

At that time, Xu Sheng had fewer than two hundred soldiers under his command. He led his troops to fight the enemy and resisted bravely, killing and wounding more than a thousand Huang She soldiers in the battle.

Xu Sheng opened the city gates again and led his troops out to fight. Outnumbered, he routed the enemy, who fled in disarray. Huang She never dared to invade again. After the battle,
Xu Sheng was promoted to Colonel by Sun Quan for his merits and concurrently served as Magistrate of Wuhu County. Later, Xu Sheng made outstanding contributions in suppressing bandits in the southern mountains of Lincheng County and was promoted to Lieutenant General, in charge of commanding the troops of the Five Schools Camp.

In the eighteenth year of Jian'an (213 AD) during the reign of Emperor Xian of Han, Cao Cao led a large army to attack Ruxu (north of present-day Wuwei City, Anhui Province), and Xu Sheng led his troops to join Sun Quan in resisting him.

Cao Cao's army launched a major attack on Hengjiang, and Xu Sheng and his generals led their troops to meet them in battle. At that time, the Wu army was aboard the attacking Mengchong ships.

A strong wind arose on the Yangtze River, blowing the warships to the north bank where the enemy was located. The soldiers were terrified, and no one dared to disembark and launch an attack.

Only Xu Sheng led his soldiers to suddenly rush ashore, killing the enemy. The enemy army retreated and fled, and Xu Sheng's army achieved some success.

After the strong winds subsided, Xu Sheng led his troops back to the south bank, and Sun Quan greatly admired his bravery and strength.

In the 20th year of Jian'an (215 AD), Sun Quan led his troops to conquer Hefei. Xu Sheng led his troops to join the campaign but was defeated by Wei general Zhang Liao at Xiaoyao Ford (northeast of the old city of Hefei, Anhui Province).
Xu Sheng was wounded in battle and lost his spear; fortunately, General He Qi led 3,000 soldiers to his rescue and retrieved Xu Sheng's lost spear, allowing Sun Quan and Xu Sheng to retreat.

In October of the first year of the Huangchu era of the Cao Wei dynasty (220 AD), Cao Pi declared himself emperor.
The following year, Sun Quan, as a vassal state, submitted to Cao Wei. Cao Pi dispatched envoy Xing Zhen to Sun Wu to appoint Sun Quan as King of Wu. Upon Xing Zhen's arrival,
Sun Quan personally went to the capital to await his arrival, and Xing Zhen displayed an arrogant and domineering expression. Zhang Zhao was furious about this, and Xu Sheng was also very indignant.
He turned to his colleagues and said that as a subject, he could not bravely sacrifice himself for his monarch, nor could he help Sun Wu annex Cao Wei's Xuchang and Luoyang, and conquer Shu Han's Yizhou.
To allow the monarch to enter into an alliance with the likes of Xing Zhen is a utter disgrace, and he finished speaking, tears streaming down his face. Xing Zhen, upon hearing this,
He told those who had come to Jiangdong that the military and civil officials of Jiangdong had performed so well that they would not be willing to submit to Cao Wei for long.

Afterwards, Xu Sheng was promoted to General Jianwu, enfeoffed as Marquis of Duting, and concurrently served as Prefect of Lujiang. Sun Quan granted Lincheng County to Xu Sheng as his fief. This was in the first year of Huangwu of Sun Wu (222 AD).

Liu Bei led a large army to attack Yiling (present-day Yichang, Hubei). Xu Sheng led his troops to meet the enemy with Lu Xun, capturing enemy camps and achieving meritorious service in many battles.

In September of the same year, Cao Xiu, a general of Cao Wei, led a large army to attack Dongkou (south of present-day He County, Anhui). Xu Sheng, along with Lü Fan and Quan Cong, led their troops across the Yangtze River to resist.

Due to a sudden strong wind, many soldiers on board were lost. Xu Sheng rallied the remaining soldiers and confronted Cao Xiu across the river. Cao Xiu sent troops to approach the Wu army's warships.
Launching an attack, Xu Sheng, outnumbered, fought against overwhelming odds, and the enemy was unable to break through. Soon after, Cao Xiu withdrew his troops. For his meritorious service in defending against the enemy, Xu Sheng was promoted to General of the East and enfeoffed as Marquis of Wuhu.

In the third year of the Huangwu era of the Wu dynasty (224 AD), Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, personally led a large army south to invade, intending to cross the Yangtze River. Xu Sheng offered a plan to Sun Quan.

From the time of Jianye, protective walls were built along the Yangtze River, fences were made of grass and trees, fake buildings were constructed on the protective walls, and then fleets of ships were sent to cruise on the Yangtze River.

The soldiers all thought this method was useless, but Xu Sheng ignored them and insisted on completing the construction of the protective wall.

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When Cao Pi led his army to Guangling (present-day Yangzhou, Jiangsu), he was astonished to see the defensive wall built by the Wu Kingdom on the opposite bank of the Yangtze River.

The protective wall stretched for hundreds of miles, and then the Yangtze River rose. One couldn't help but sigh that although Cao Wei had thousands of cavalry units, they had no use for them here.

Cao Pi then led his army to retreat, and the generals and soldiers were finally convinced of Xu Sheng's previous strategy.

Xu Sheng died during the Huangwu era, and his son Xu Kai inherited the title and took over command of the army.

Jiang Qin, a general of the Wu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period, commented: Xu Sheng was loyal, brave, and strong, with courage and magnanimity, and liked to command armies of more than 10,000 men.

The Jin Dynasty historian Chen Shou included Xu Sheng alongside Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang, Jiang Qin, Zhou Tai, Chen Wu, Dong Xi, Gan Ning, Ling Tong, and Pan Zhang.

Ding Feng and twelve other Wu generals are listed in the first biography in the Records of the Three Kingdoms. They are praised as tiger generals of Jiangdong and subordinates who should be treated well by the Sun family.

Liu Yiqing, a scholar of the Southern Song Dynasty, commented in "Eulogy of Worthies of Xuzhou": Xu Sheng was known for his integrity and courage. When Cao Cao attacked Ruxu, Xu Sheng was always ranked first among the generals sent by Sun Quan. Sun Yuanyan, a poet of the late Tang Dynasty, praised Xu Sheng in a poem: "Wanting to divide the country into three, Xing Zhen carried the imperial edict to Jiangnan. Who among the generals and ministers of that time was worthy of respect? General Xu Sheng was the most unwilling."

The story refers to the second year of the Huangchu era of Cao Wei (221 AD), when Sun Quan submitted to Cao Pi. Xing Zhen came to Jiangnan to confer upon Sun Quan the title of King of Wu. Among the ministers present, Xu Sheng was the most unwilling.

The Southern Song scholar Zhang Ruyu commented: "Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Gan Ning, Xu Sheng, Pan Zhang, Zhu Ran, Zhu Huan, He Qi, Ling Tong, Quan Cong, and Lü Fan were all wise enough to command an army and brave enough to resist a powerful enemy. None of them were incompetent."

When Xu Sheng was serving as the magistrate of Wuhu County, one of Jiang Qin's subordinates committed a crime and was arrested and imprisoned by Xu Sheng. Xu Sheng submitted a memorial to Sun Quan.

He requested that the official be executed. At that time, Jiang Qin was leading troops stationed in Xuancheng to suppress bandits within the territory of Yuzhang Commandery. Sun Quan, considering that Jiang Qin was leading troops in the field,
Xu Sheng's request was not granted, and Xu Sheng blamed Jiang Qin for this. Later, when Cao Cao led his army to attack Ruxu, Jiang Qin and Lü Meng were in charge of commanding the generals and soldiers.

Xu Sheng was often worried that Jiang Qin would persecute him, but Jiang Qin often praised Xu Sheng's virtues. Over time, Xu Sheng was finally convinced by Jiang Qin's character, and the two reconciled. This story became a popular tale at the time.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was constant warfare and warlords vying for power. The country was generally divided into three forces: Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu.

The stories of this period are diverse and fascinating. Circumstances create heroes, and various civil and military officials rise to prominence amidst such chaos. Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan all possessed their own unique talents.

Xu Sheng was a valiant general of Eastern Wu, but he was far less famous than other heroes of that era.

Xu Sheng was a fierce general of the Wu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period. When the chaos broke out at the end of the Han Dynasty, he originally lived in seclusion in Jiangdong, but was recruited by Sun Quan and began to assist Sun Quan.

In his early years, Xu Sheng fought against Huang Zu. When Liu Bei attacked Wu, he followed Lu Xun and captured many camps of the Shu army.

When Cao Xiu attacked Wu, Xu Sheng achieved a victory against overwhelming odds despite being outnumbered. Later, Xu Sheng offered a brilliant strategy that successfully forced Cao Pi, who was launching a major campaign against Wu, to retreat.

He made outstanding contributions to the Wu Kingdom. Logically, such a person should have become very famous, but Xu Sheng's reputation is not very high.
Throughout history, the most discussed and focused-on regimes during this period are Cao Wei and Shu Han, even though Eastern Wu was also a powerful state during the Three Kingdoms period.

However, it seems that many people are unwilling to pay attention to him because the three regimes have different overall development paths.

Liu Bei's development path was to restore the Han Dynasty, and he adopted a direct confrontation approach when facing other warlord forces. In contrast, Cao Wei and his son followed a cunning and ruthless path.
Taking the initiative to attack forces that refuse to submit, the attitude of "those who submit to me prosper, those who oppose me perish" is a domineering yet powerful style.

Therefore, these two forces have always been the main adversaries in the Three Kingdoms period. Conflicts between the two sides are the most likely to attract attention, whether to those directly involved in the Three Kingdoms at the time.

Even outsiders in later generations have all focused their attention on the struggle between Shu Han and Cao Wei, and have intentionally or unintentionally paid less attention to Eastern Wu.

This aligns with the development strategy of Eastern Wu, which consistently followed a strategy of concealing its strength and remaining inconspicuous, waiting for the opportune moment to strike from behind. Such tactics are considered shameful by many who enjoy following this period of history.

The saying goes that all warfare is based on deception, and stratagems can be used on the battlefield. However, it is rare to find military strategists like the Eastern Wu who used stratagems to such an extreme degree.

Eastern Wu often dared not confront the powerful Cao Wei head-on, but when it came to Shu Han, with whom it had formed an alliance, it would take advantage of the enemy's weakened forces to betray its ally.

Therefore, many people interested in this period of history either ignore or dislike the Eastern Wu, and this attitude also affects others' attention to the generals of Eastern Wu.

For example, many people only know Zhuge Liang but not Lu Xun or Lu Su. When talking about famous generals of Shu Han and Cao Wei, they can name many, but when talking about Eastern Wu, they only know Zhou Yu.

Many generals and capable ministers of Eastern Wu were like this; influenced by the country's development path, they did not receive much attention overall, so it was predictable that Xu Sheng would not be famous in later generations.

In order to determine whether a general can become famous, in addition to looking at his military achievements, the influence of the battles he participates in is also a very important indicator.

Xu Sheng's military achievements were remarkable, but his participation in the battles had little impact on the overall situation of the Three Kingdoms period. This statement has two meanings: first, even if he had not participated in these battles, they would most likely have been won anyway.

Even if they lost, it wouldn't be a disastrous defeat. Secondly, some of the battles he participated in were victories that benefited Eastern Wu, while losses would cause Eastern Wu some damage.

But regardless of the outcome, it won't significantly change the overall situation.

Xu Sheng's classic battle was the Battle of Dongkou during Cao Pi's three-pronged attack on Wu. In this battle, he promptly organized the remaining troops to resist.
This bought precious time for the arrival of reinforcements from Eastern Wu. If one doesn't consider the overall picture of the war, one would naturally think that Xu Sheng deserves the most credit for this war. However, in fact, it was Zhu Huan who played the primary role in this war.

In this battle, Zhu Huan defeated tens of thousands of enemy troops with only 5000 men. In comparison, Xu Sheng's achievements were not as remarkable, so Xu Sheng only played a secondary role in this battle.

The same situation occurred in the Battle of Ruxukou, which preceded the Battle of Dongkou. In this battle, Xu Sheng demonstrated his remarkable emergency response capabilities.
This reduced the losses suffered by Eastern Wu in this battle, but it was equally embarrassing that the greatest credit for this battle went to the then-commander Lü Meng.

Xu Sheng thus found himself in an in-between position. He played a certain role in some battles, but his role had little impact on the overall war.

Did Xu Sheng lack the ability to lead a war? Not at all. He spearheaded the Battle of Guangling between Wei and Wu in 224 AD. Cao Pi then led a large army to attack Wu again.

Xu Sheng came up with a brilliant plan: using wooden stakes and reed mats, he built hundreds of miles of fake city walls and towers overnight, creating a tight defense that left Cao Pi only able to look at the river and sigh in frustration before returning home.

Xu Sheng successfully forced Cao Pi's army to retreat, defending the Wu Kingdom. Moreover, Wu won the war with almost no casualties.

Xu Sheng's contribution this time was immense; however, he still couldn't be considered a top general of the Three Kingdoms period, because the most decisive factor in this battle wasn't troop strength. (End of Chapter)