Xu Yi

Historical Record

Xu Yi, his courtesy name unknown, was the son of Xu Chu, a renowned general of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period ^c:3354. Xu Chu was famed for his cautious, law-abiding, weighty, and reticent character, and for his loyalty to Cao Cao; he had served as General of the Central Firmness and General of Martial Guard, commanding the inner army and the palace guard troops, and was deeply trusted and valued by Cao Cao and Cao Pi. When Cao Cao died, Xu Chu wailed and vomited blood, a measure of his loyalty. After Cao Pi succeeded to the throne, Xu Chu was enfeoffed Marquis of Wansui Pavilion. In the Ming Emperor's reign he was further advanced to Marquis of Mouxiang, and one of his sons was granted the rank of Marquis Within the Passes. After Xu Chu died, he was given the posthumous title Marquis Zhuang, and his son Xu Yi inherited his rank ^c:3354. Xu Yi's elder brother Xu Ding was, for his military merit, enfeoffed General Who Spreads Awe and made commander of the patrol-road Tiger Guards. During the Taihe era, Cao Rui, the Ming Emperor of Wei, mindful of Xu Chu's loyalty and filial devotion, issued a special edict of praise and again granted two of Xu Chu's descendants the rank of Marquis Within the Passes. The histories, however, record that Xu Yi was in the end killed by Zhong Hui ^c:3354. In the early Taishi era, Xu Yi's son Xu Zong inherited the rank.

In the Novel

In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Xu Yi's image is given more dramatic color, especially in his important role in Zhong Hui's campaign against Shu. He is portrayed as a general who inherited his father Xu Chu's air of a "tiger general." When Zhong Hui gathered his commanders to deliberate on the choice of a vanguard, Xu Yi volunteered, crying out, "I am willing to go" ^c:3355. Seeing that he was Xu Chu's son, and with the other commanders unanimously recommending him, Zhong Hui appointed him vanguard, conferred the vanguard's seal, and allotted him five thousand horsemen and one thousand foot soldiers, ordering him to advance by the central route out of the Xie Valley and take Hanzhong directly. Zhong Hui specially emphasized that, since the route was mostly rugged mountain terrain, Xu Yi must be responsible for leveling the roads, repairing bridges, and cutting through mountains and breaking rocks to keep the march clear — failing which he would be dealt with by military law ^c:3355.

After receiving his orders, Xu Yi, eager to win the first merit, led his troops straight for Nanzheng Pass. Believing that seizing this pass would open the way into Hanzhong, he ordered his subordinate commanders to storm it with all their strength. But the Shu general Lu Xun guarding the pass was well prepared: he had hidden soldiers to the left and right of the wooden bridge before the pass and set up the ten-bolt repeating crossbows left behind by the Martial Marquis Zhuge. When Xu Yi's troops charged, the Shu army loosed ten thousand arrows at once, routing the Wei troops and shooting down several dozen riders. Xu Yi was forced to withdraw and report the situation to Zhong Hui ^c:3956.

Zhong Hui personally led over a hundred riders to inspect, and was indeed met by the arrows and crossbow bolts. As he retreated across the bridge, the bridge surface collapsed, his horse's hooves caught fast, and he nearly fell from his mount. Only thanks to his subordinate commander Xun Kai, who shot dead the pursuing Lu Xun in time, did Zhong Hui escape danger. Enraged, Zhong Hui summoned Xu Yi and sternly rebuked him for failing in his vanguard's duty — for not repairing the bridges and roads, nearly costing Zhong Hui his life. He held that Xu Yi had defied military orders and should be dealt with by military law, and ordered him taken out and beheaded. Though the commanders pleaded on the grounds that Xu Chu had rendered merit to the court, Zhong Hui insisted that military law could not be set aside, and in the end beheaded Xu Yi as a public warning, leaving all the commanders aghast ^c:3956. This episode has no basis in the histories; it is a fiction created by the Romance of the Three Kingdoms to shape the image of Zhong Hui's strict military discipline.

Key Relationships

* Xu Chu (kin_of): Xu Yi was the son of the Cao Wei general Xu Chu ^c:3354. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Xu Yi is taken to have inherited his father's air of a "tiger general," and when he was appointed vanguard, the commanders recommended him on the strength of his father's name ^c:3355.
* Zhong Hui (serves): Xu Yi served as vanguard during Zhong Hui's campaign against Shu ^c:3355. He took his orders directly from Zhong Hui and was in the end beheaded by Zhong Hui for failing to complete the bridge-and-road repairs Zhong Hui had assigned, and for nearly bringing Zhong Hui to harm ^c:3956 (novel only).
* Lu Xun (opponent): In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Lu Xun was the Shu general guarding Nanzheng Pass, who cleverly laid an ambush and defeated Xu Yi's vanguard force ^c:3956 (novel only).
* Xun Kai (indirect relationship): In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, when Zhong Hui nearly fell from the bridge and was pursued by Lu Xun, Xun Kai shot Lu Xun dead in time and saved Zhong Hui's life. Zhong Hui richly rewarded Xun Kai, and on this account grew all the more resolved to behead Xu Yi ^c:3956 (novel only).

Signature Scene

* Volunteering as vanguard, eager for the first merit: In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, when Zhong Hui gathered his commanders to deliberate on the vanguard for the Shu campaign, Xu Yi "answered, 'I am willing to go.'" ^c:3355 This scene displays his eagerness to win merit and lays the groundwork for the later tragedy (novel only).
* Failing to storm Nanzheng Pass, beheaded over the disrepaired bridge: Xu Yi led his troops to Nanzheng Pass and, eager to storm it, met an ambush by the Shu general Lu Xun and was routed ^c:3956. Zhong Hui then came to the field in person and, crossing the bridge, nearly fell from his horse because the bridge was in disrepair. Enraged, Zhong Hui held that Xu Yi had failed in the vanguard's duty of repairing bridges and roads, and in the end, ignoring the commanders' pleas, had him beheaded as a public warning ^c:3956. This is Xu Yi's most representative episode in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, deeply depicting his tragic fate and underscoring Zhong Hui's harsh military law (novel only).
* Killed by Zhong Hui: The histories record that Xu Yi was in the end killed by Zhong Hui ^c:3354. Although the histories do not detail the specific cause or process, this ending echoes the novel's episode of Xu Yi being beheaded for dereliction of duty — only the novel dramatized it and added detail.