Xu Sheng Xu Sheng ( died c . 225 ) , Wenxiang , was a military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the early Three Kingdoms period . Early life and career . Xu Sheng was a native of Ju ( 莒 ) , Langya ( 琅邪 ) , which is in present - day Ju County , Rizhao , Shandong . When chaos broke out in central and northern China towards the end of the Han Dynasty , Xu Sheng moved from his hometown to Wu commandery ( 吳 ; capital in present - day Suzhou , Jiangsu ) in southern China , where he gained a reputation for his bravery . He was later recruited by the warlord Sun Quan , who controlled much of the territories in Jiangdong at that time . Sun Quan appointed Xu Sheng as a " Major of Separate Command " ( 別部司馬 ) , placed him in command of 500 troops , and sent him to defend Chaisang ( 柴桑 ; southwest of present - day Jiujiang , Jiangxi ) from Huang Zu , the Administrator of Jiangxia commandery ( 江夏郡 ; capital in present - day Yunmeng County , Xiaogan , Hubei ) . Huang Zu once sent his son Huang She ( 黃射 ) to lead a few thousand troops to attack Chaisang . At that time , Xu Sheng had less than 200 men with him , so they fired arrows at Huang She ' s advancing forces and wounded over 1 , 000 enemy soldiers . Xu Sheng then ordered the city gates to be opened and they charged out and defeated the enemy . Huang She no longer posed a threat to Xu Sheng after that battle . Xu Sheng was promoted to Colonel ( 校尉 ) and appointed as Prefect ( 令 ) of Wuhu . Later , he defeated some bandits in Nan ' e ( 南阿 ) , Lincheng ( 臨城 ) , and was promoted to " General of the Household " ( 中郎將 ) and was tasked with overseeing a regiment . Wars with Cao Cao and Liu Bei . In 213 , when Sun Quan ' s rival Cao Cao led an army to attack Ruxu ( 濡須 ; north of present - day Wuwei County , Wuhu , Anhui ) , Xu Sheng accompanied Sun Quan to the battlefront to resist the enemy , leading to the Battle of Ruxu . Cao Cao launched a heavy assault on Hengjiang ( 橫江 ; southeast of present - day He County , Anhui , on the northern shore of the Chang River ) , so Xu Sheng and Sun Quan ' s other generals led their forces to defend that position . Due to strong winds , their mengchong s ( a type of warship ) were blown across the river towards Cao Cao ' s side . Sun Quan ' s generals were all terrified and did not dare to land on the enemy ' s grounds . However , Xu Sheng led his men on a charge towards the enemy , and succeeded in felling a few , driving the rest back . When the winds stopped , Sun Quan ' s forces returned to their side and Xu Sheng received high praise from his lord . In 214 - 215 , Sun Quan led his armies to attack Hefei , a strategic fortress defended by Cao Cao ' s general Zhang Liao , leading to the Battle of Xiaoyao Ford . During an early skirmish , when Sun Quan ' s forces were just setting up their camps outside Hefei , Zhang Liao suddenly led hundreds of troops on a fierce assault , completely catching the enemy off guard . Xu Sheng was defeated and his men fled , but were coerced into returning to battle after two deserters ( one from Xu Sheng ' s unit and the other from Song Qian ' s ) were executed by Pan Zhang . Xu Sheng lost his " mao " ( 矛 ; a type of long spear ) in the earlier clash but his weapon was later retrieved on the battlefield by He Qi . Sun Quan ' s forces were forced to retreat after a plague broke out , and Sun Quan suffered an unexpected defeat at Xiaoyao Ford , where he arranged an amiss retreat procedure . Xu Sheng was promoted to " General Who Builds Martial Might " ( 建武將軍 ) , granted the title of " Marquis of a Chief Village " ( 都亭侯 ) , appointed as Administrator of Lujiang ( 廬江太守 ) and given Lincheng County ( 臨城縣 ) as his taxable fief . Between 221 - 222 , when the Battle of Xiaoting broke out between Sun Quan and Liu Bei , Xu Sheng participated in the war and succeeded in capturing many enemy camps and making contributions when Sun Quan ' s forces launched a counterattack after enduring defeats in earlier engagements . War with Wei , and death . In late 222 , Cao Pi ordered his general Cao Xiu to lead the Wei armies to attack Dongkou ( 洞口 ; present - day Dongkou County , Hunan ) . In response to the invasion , Xu Sheng , along with Lü Fan and Quan Cong led Sun Quan ' s forces across the river to defend Dongkou . However , they encountered a storm and many of their troops and ships were lost . Sun Quan ' s generals were browbeaten because they had lost about half of their ships in the storm , but were overjoyed when they heard of the arrival of He Qi , who actually reached Dongkou behind schedule and was not affected by the disaster . Coincidentally , He Qi was obsessed with luxuries so his ships were finely decorated and his weapons were of top quality . Cao Xiu was shocked when he witnessed the grandeur display of He Qi ' s refulgent navy so he paused the attack and withdrew . Xu Sheng managed to gather his surviving troops and form a defence line along the shore . A naval battle ensued , during which Cao Xiu targeted Lü Fan while sending his subordinates to attack Xu Sheng . Xu Sheng was outnumbered but he managed to hold his position . Both sides eventually withdrew their forces . In late 224 , when Cao Pi mobilised a large army to attack Sun Quan , Xu Sheng suggested to pitch encampments from Jianye ( 建業 ; the capital of Sun Quan ' s domain , in present - day Nanjing , Jiangsu ) , erect fake towers within each camp , and suspend some warships on the river . Sun Quan ' s other generals disagreed and felt that such " defences " would serve no purpose , but Xu Sheng ignored them and proceeded with his plan . Xu Sheng ' s ruse effectively led to the construction of a " wall " along the river banks that served as a border stretching over hundreds of " li " . When Cao Pi reached Guangling ( 廣陵郡 ; covering parts of present - day Jiangsu ) , he saw Sun Quan ' s " strong defences " and the high tide and sighed , " Wei has thousands of armed cavalry units but they cannot be deployed here " . He then withdrew his forces . Sun Quan ' s generals finally recognised Xu Sheng ' s idea . Xu Sheng died sometime during the Huangwu era ( 222 - 229 ) in the reign of Sun Quan , before the latter declared himself " Emperor of Eastern Wu " . His militia and marquis title were inherited by his son , Xu Kai ( 徐楷 ) . Appraisal . Xu Sheng was known for his confidence and fervent loyalty towards Sun Quan , as demonstrated in the incident when Xing Zhen ( 邢貞 ) came to confer the title of " King of Wu " ( 吳王 ) on Sun Quan . In 220 , Sun Quan became a vassal of the state of Cao Wei , which replaced the Han Dynasty after the Wei founder , Cao Pi , forced Emperor Xian of Han to abdicate the throne to him . Cao Pi sent Xing Zhen as an emissary to meet Sun Quan and confer the title of " King of Wu " ( 吳王 ) on the latter . Xing Zhen behaved arrogantly in front of Sun Quan , which incurred much anger from Sun ' s subjects , including Zhang Zhao and Xu Sheng . Xu Sheng told his colleagues , " Isn ' t it humiliating to watch our lord submit to Xing Zhen and not be able to serve him with our lives and help him conquer Xuchang , Luoyang and Bashu ? " Tears rolled down his face . When Xing Zhen heard Xu Sheng ' s remark , he told an aide , " It ' s obvious from the reactions of the subjects of Jiangdong that they will not remain subservient for long . " Xing Zhen was right , because in 222 , Sun Quan declared independence from Wei but continued ruling his domain under the title " King of Wu " before proclaiming himself " Emperor of Eastern Wu " in 229 . Xu Sheng ' s self - ego did not always lead to positive actions though . After the Battle of Ruxu in 217 , Zhou Tai was appointed as the commander of the garrison at Ruxu , with Xu Sheng and Zhu Ran as his subordinates . However , both of them were unwilling to submit to Zhou Tai ' s command , citing the latter ' s humble origins in comparison to their more affluent family backgrounds . When Sun Quan heard about it , he made a personal trip to Ruxu and hosted a party for all the officers there , during which he asked Zhou Tai to display his battle scars for all to see . He later awarded Zhou with an imperial parasol . After that incident , Xu Sheng and Zhu Ran agreed to submit to Zhou Tai ' s command . Xu Sheng was also known for his tendency to worry too much . When he was serving as the Prefect of Wuhu , he arrested one of Jiang Qin ' s subordinates and sought permission from Sun Quan to have that man executed . However , Sun Quan declined because Jiang Qin was away battling bandits in Yuzhang ( 豫章 ) . Since then , Xu Sheng had been apprehensive of Jiang Qin . During the Battle of Ruxu in 217 , Jiang Qin and Lü Meng were placed in charge of military discipline among Sun Quan ' s forces . Xu Sheng was worried that Jiang Qin might use the opportunity to find fault with him , but much to his surprise , Jiang praised him in front of Sun Quan . When Sun Quan asked Jiang Qin why he did so , Jiang replied that Xu Sheng was " loyal and hardworking , possessed both courage and talent , and was capable of leading thousands of troops " .