徐庶
Xu Shu
Allegiances: Liu Bei’s adviser, forced to Wei for his mother’s sake
Profile
A swordsman turned scholar — Liu Bei’s first real strategist in the Xinye days. When Cao Cao’s side took his mother, he left in tears, but not before recommending his replacement: "He is beyond any comparison with me." That recommendation set the three visits in motion. In Wei he held office but never rose high; hearing of it years later, Zhuge Liang sighed, "Has Wei so many talents that Xu Shu goes unused?"
Key events
- 208
Xu Shu Leaves Liu Bei
Liu Bei’s adviser Xu Shu departs in tears for his captive mother’s sake — recommending, as he leaves, a man named Zhuge Liang.
History vs. the novelHistoryvsNovel
The forged letter, the mother’s suicide, the vow never to devise a single plan for Wei — all the novel’s. In the histories, his mother was captured in the rout at Changban, and he simply chose to follow her.