Wei Warrior
Xu Chu, the Tiger Fool
許褚died about 2304 star
In short
Xu Chu (died about 230) commanded Cao Cao's bodyguard after Dian Wei. The army called him the Tiger Fool, for strength like a tiger's and a slow, simple manner. At Tong Pass in 211 he carried Cao Cao onto a ferry under Ma Chao's arrows, shielding him with a saddle in one hand and poling the boat with the other.
| Lived | died about 230 |
|---|---|
| Name in Chinese | 許褚 |
| Courtesy name | Zhongkang |
| Served | Cao Cao, Cao Pi, Cao Rui |
The history
Xu Chu was from Qiao, like Cao Cao. He stood over eight chi tall, and when bandits came against his village’s fort he led its defense with stones the size of cups. To buy peace he traded the bandits an ox for grain. The ox ran home, and Xu Chu dragged it back by the tail, one handed, for a hundred paces. The bandits left without the ox.
He brought his followers to Cao Cao in 197. Cao Cao called him his own Fan Kuai and made him a guard that day. After Dian Wei’s death the bodyguard was his.
He was careful as well as strong. When a guard officer plotted to kill Cao Cao, Xu Chu, off duty, felt uneasy, went back to the tent, and was there when the man came in. At Tong Pass in 211 he got Cao Cao across the river under fire. At the parley that followed, Ma Chao counted on his own strength to take Cao Cao on the spot, and asked where the Tiger Marquis was. Cao Cao pointed. Xu Chu glared, and Ma Chao went back to his lines.
He said little and kept the rules. He would not chat with Cao Ren, a kinsman of his lord, outside the audience hall. When Cao Cao died, Xu Chu wept until he coughed blood. He served two more rulers and died under Cao Rui.
The novel
Romance of the Three Kingdoms gives him the duel the history withheld: stripped of his armor, he fights Ma Chao to a draw. It is why he is drawn bare chested to this day.
Xu Chu in the game
In Warlords of the Three Kingdoms Xu Chu is the Tiger Fool: a 4 star warriorof Wei. The game's line for him: “Cao Cao's bodyguard, who once dragged an ox backward by its tail for a hundred paces.”
| Kingdom | Wei |
|---|---|
| Role | Warrior |
| Rarity | 4 star |
| Base attack and defense | 27 and 21 |
| Where from | Comes with the starter pack, offered once to a new warlord. |
A warlord sworn to Wei fields him 10% stronger, as every General of their own Kingdom. Wei, Shu or Wu has what the choice changes.
Four star is where he starts. Duplicates become shards, shards add stars, and each star adds a tenth to both numbers.
Questions
Why was Xu Chu called the Tiger Fool?
The army gave him the name: strong as a tiger, and plain and slow in manner. Ma Chao knew it, and at Tong Pass asked Cao Cao where his Tiger Marquis was.
Did Xu Chu fight Ma Chao?
In the novel they duel for hundreds of rounds, Xu Chu stripped to the waist. In the history they only stared. Ma Chao meant to seize Cao Cao at a parley, saw Xu Chu glaring behind him, and did not move.
How did Xu Chu save Cao Cao?
At the crossing of the Yellow River in 211, Ma Chao attacked while Cao Cao was still on the south bank. Xu Chu got him into a boat, cut down soldiers who were swamping it, held up a saddle against the arrows, and poled across after the boatman was shot.
How do you get Xu Chu in Warlords of the Three Kingdoms?
Comes with the starter pack, offered once to a new warlord.
Sources
The history follows Chen Shou's Records of the Three Kingdoms, written in the third century, with Pei Songzhi's annotations of the fifth, and Fan Ye's Book of the Later Han for the years before the Han court fell apart. What the page calls the novel is Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, of the fourteenth century. Where the two disagree, the page says which is speaking. For more on him, see Xu Chu on Wikipedia.
Written by Gitkonek Studio, .
Keep reading
- Cao Cao, the Hero of ChaosXu Shao called him a capable minister in peace and a treacherous hero in chaos; he laughed and took the second.
- Sima Yi, the Wolf Who Looks BackHe outwaited Cao Cao, outlasted Zhuge Liang, and left his grandsons an empire that had not been his.
- Zhang Liao, the Terror of HefeiAt Xiaoyao Ford his eight hundred broke Sun Quan's host, and in Wu his name was used to quiet crying children.
- Dian Wei, the Guard at WanchengHe held the camp gate at Wancheng with a halberd in each hand so that his lord could reach the river.
- Guo Jia, the Demon TalentCao Cao's favorite strategist, whose counsel won the north and whose death, Cao Cao said, lost Red Cliffs.