Zhuge Xu

Historical Record

According to the surviving sources, the records concerning Zhuge Xu are extremely scarce—one might even say there is no direct biographical source material. In orthodox histories such as the Records of the Three Kingdoms, there is no explicit biography or detailed account of his deeds. This leaves Zhuge Xu's true historical face indistinct, and his life, offices, specific contributions, or failings cannot be verified from the orthodox histories. Our understanding of Zhuge Xu therefore relies mainly on the shaping of literary works such as the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

In the Novel

In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Xu appears as the Cao Wei Inspector of Yongzhou and is one of the important generals in Deng Ai's great army campaigning against Shu. He first appears when Deng Ai, on imperial order, was about to campaign against Shu and assembled the various forces to receive commands, among whom was the Inspector of Yongzhou, Zhuge Xu ^c:3598. In deploying his strategy for the Shu campaign, Deng Ai dispatched Zhuge Xu to lead fifteen thousand troops to advance first and cut off Jiang Wei's line of retreat, intending to trap him at Dazhong ^c:3598.

However, in carrying out his task, Zhuge Xu displayed the cautious, even somewhat timid side of his character. When Jiang Wei was besieged on several fronts by the Wei army and caught in a dilemma, his deputy Ning Sui offered a plan, having Jiang Wei feign an attack on Yongzhou. Jiang Wei adopted the plan and led his troops into the Konghan Valley, pretending to attack Yongzhou. On hearing the report, Zhuge Xu "was greatly alarmed and said, 'Yongzhou is the place where my forces are concentrated; if I lose it through carelessness, the court will surely call me to account.'" ^c:14474 This fear of being called to account by the court prompted him to hurriedly withdraw his main force to rescue Yongzhou, leaving only a small force to guard the Yinping bridgehead. Jiang Wei took advantage of precisely this, seizing the chance to turn his troops back, burning the Wei army's stockades, and successfully breaking out ^c:14474.

When Zhuge Xu pursued Jiang Wei to the foot of the Jianmen Pass, he clashed with Jiang Wei again. Jiang Wei led five thousand troops out of the pass, charging straight into the Wei ranks, and routed Zhuge Xu, who fled in great defeat, withdrawing several dozen li to make camp, with countless Wei dead and wounded ^c:6351. This battle further highlighted Zhuge Xu's deficiencies in military command and Jiang Wei's valor and skill in battle.

Thereafter, Zhuge Xu was called to account by Zhong Hui for his failure and unauthorized action. Zhong Hui angrily rebuked him for failing to hold the Yinping bridgehead and for advancing his troops without authorization, leading to defeat. Zhuge Xu argued in his defense that Jiang Wei was full of crafty schemes and had feigned an attack on Yongzhou, and that he had gone to rescue Yongzhou for fear of losing it. Zhong Hui, enraged, wished to behead him. Fortunately the Supervisor of the Army Wei Guan dissuaded him, pointing out that Zhuge Xu was a man under Deng Ai's command and should not be killed at Zhong Hui's own discretion, lest it harm relations. In the end, Zhong Hui sent Zhuge Xu under escort in a prison cart to Luoyang, to be dealt with by the Duke of Jin, and incorporated Zhuge Xu's troops into his own ^c:3958. This event also indirectly aggravated the conflict between Zhong Hui and Deng Ai.

Key Relationships

* Deng Ai (serves): Zhuge Xu was a subordinate general in Deng Ai's great army campaigning against Shu, following Deng Ai's orders and command ^c:3598. However, he was ultimately sent under escort by Zhong Hui, indirectly deepening the rift between Deng Ai and Zhong Hui (novel-only).
* Cao Wei (serves): As Inspector of Yongzhou, Zhuge Xu was an important official of the Cao Wei regime, ordered to take part in the campaign against Shu. His worry that "the court will surely call me to account" embodies his awe of court authority (novel-only) ^c:14474.
* Jiang Wei (opponent): In the course of the Shu campaign, Zhuge Xu clashed with Jiang Wei several times but never gained the upper hand, repeatedly being confounded by Jiang Wei's stratagems, ultimately leading to the rout of his troops and his own capture (novel-only) ^c:14474.
* Zhong Hui (superior/captor): Zhong Hui was the commander of another column in the Shu campaign and was extremely displeased with Zhuge Xu's failure and unauthorized action, ultimately seizing him and sending him under escort to Luoyang (novel-only) ^c:3958.

Iconic Scenes

* Ordered to cut off Jiang Wei's retreat: When Deng Ai deployed his Shu campaign, he dispatched Zhuge Xu to lead fifteen thousand troops to advance first and cut off Jiang Wei's line of retreat; this is the scene in which Zhuge Xu first undertakes a key military task in the novel ^c:3598.
* Falling for Jiang Wei's feigned attack on Yongzhou: Jiang Wei exploited Zhuge Xu's fear of losing Yongzhou and of being called to account by the court, feigning an attack on Yongzhou and forcing Zhuge Xu to withdraw his troops to its rescue, thereby successfully breaking out. This scene fully displays Zhuge Xu's character weakness and Jiang Wei's cunning ^c:14474.
* Great defeat at the foot of the Jianmen Pass: Zhuge Xu pursued Jiang Wei to the foot of the Jianmen Pass and was again routed and put to flight by Jiang Wei's charging troops, suffering heavy losses. This battle further confirmed Zhuge Xu's image of military inadequacy (novel-only) ^c:6351.
* Called to account and sent under escort by Zhong Hui: Because of his failure and unauthorized action, Zhuge Xu was called to account by Zhong Hui and nearly beheaded, ultimately sent under escort in a prison cart to Luoyang. This event was not only a turning point in Zhuge Xu's personal fate but also laid the groundwork for the conflict between Zhong Hui and Deng Ai (novel-only) ^c:3958.