Xu Chu was a fierce general under Cao Cao during the Three Kingdoms period, and was called "My Fan Duo" by Cao Cao, and the military was in awe and called him "Tiger Fool". After Dianwei's death, he shouldered the important responsibility of guarding Cao Cao, and his performance was also very good. According to the Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, when Ma Chao wanted to sneak up on Cao Cao,
"Xu Chu's eyes widened, and Chao Nai did not dare to move."
You can see his bravery. However, why was the son of such a tiger general beheaded by Zhong Hui and shown to the public?
As mentioned above, Xu Chu followed Cao Cao in his conquests and made great achievements, and he was also respected by the soldiers because of his bravery and martial prowess, so he had a high status in Cao Wei and was named "Backbone General". After Cao Cao's death, he
"Crying European Blood"
This shows the depth of the feelings of the two monarchs. Cao Pi was grateful for his credit, and he went
"Enter the Marquis of Banzai Ting, General Qianwu Wei, and Governor of the Chinese Army."
After the Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rui succeeded to the throne, he rewarded Xu Chu
"Marquis of Jinmu Township, seven hundred households, give the Viscount a person marquis of Guannei."
It can be seen that Xu Chu, as an old minister of the Three Dynasties, received generous treatment and respect for his status. However, although it is often said that "the tiger father has no dog", Xu Yi, the son of Xu Chu, the son of the "tiger father", did not inherit his father's Wu Yong, and by the fourth year of Jing Yuan (263), when Cao Wei was vigorously cutting down Shu, he was only a small General of Yamen.
In the third year of Jingyuan (262), Sima Zhao, who was in power
"With the Shu general Jiang Wei repeatedly disturbing the borderlands, the small people of the Shu state were tired and exhausted, and they wanted to make a big move toward Shu."
Seeing that Shu Han was already at the end of the crossbow, and Jiang Wei often attacked the border, he was overwhelmed. So he sent more than 100,000 troops to try to pacify the Shu Han in one fell swoop.
thereinto
"Deng Ai and Zhuge Xu each commanded more than 30,000 troops, Ai Qu Gansong and Pu Zhonglian Wei, Xu Qu Wu Street, Qiaotou Absolute Wei Road. More than 100,000 people will be united, and they will be divided into valleys from the Valley of Slope and the Valley of Luo. ”
That is to say, the army of more than 60,000 people in Deng Ai and Zhuge Xu was used as an auxiliary, and the 100,000 troops led by Zhong Hui were the main force attacking Shu.
A year later, in the autumn, Zheng shu marched towards Yizhou. Since the ancient Shu Road was difficult, Zhong Hui was also well aware of this, so he sent Xu Yi, who was then the ya gatekeeper, as a forward to build roads and bridges first, so that the army could pass. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms records:
"The first order of the tooth gatekeeper Xu Yi in the front of the road, will be in the back, and the bridge is crossed, the horse's foot is trapped, so it is chopped."
Zhong Hui led the horse to walk on the bridge that Xu Yi had repaired, but the bridge deck was trampled by the horse's hooves, and Zhong Hui, who was furious, did not care about the contributions made by his father Xu Chu to Cao Wei, and was about to behead Xu Yi for public display. thereupon
"When the armies hear this, they are shocked."
As mentioned above, Xu Chu was deeply loved by the generals, and his son Xu Yi naturally had some reputation in the army. Now that he had been beheaded for failing to repair the bridge, the soldiers were shocked and terrified.
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is more vividly described, with the original text writing:
"He would summon Xu Yi to the tent and rebuke him: 'I just went to the bridge, trapped the horse's hoof, and almost fell off the bridge... Ru violates military orders, and should be punished according to military law! 'Push out the chop left and right. The generals told him, "His father Xu Chu has made a contribution to the imperial court, and he hopes that he will forgive him." He said angrily, "The military law is unknown, so why should it be ordered?" So he ordered the beheading to be displayed to the public. All will be shocked. ”
According to the romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhong would behead Xu Yi because he did not fulfill his duty as a pioneer and violated military law. In order to make the military law obedient to the public, Zhong Hui did not care about his father's merits, but treated Xu Yi equally, and treated Xu Yi according to military law, which also successfully achieved results, so that the army did not dare to violate military law. In this way, Zhong Hui's move of beheading Xu Yi is similar to Zhuge Liang's beheading of ma Chen, all in order to highlight the status of military law and thus better command the generals.