Cao Cao's bodyguard, a man strong enough to drag an ox by the tail. At the river crossing he held up a saddle against the arrows and cut the clinging men from the boat.
The boatman was killed at his oar; Chu raised the saddle to shield the chancellor, and with his other hand cut the clinging men from the hull.Sanguozhi, Wei shu 18, Biography of Xu Chu
Appears in
Relations
- Cao Cao bodyguard — Carried his lord across under arrows at the Yellow River, 211. Later Cao Cao said of the crossing, 'Today I nearly fell into the hands of a little bandit.'
- Ma Chao opponents — Ma Chao's cavalry brought the arrows at the river; no history records a duel between them.
Myth vs record
The story you may know
He stripped off his armour and fought Ma Chao in single combat before Tong Pass.
What the sources say
The duel of chapter 59 of the novel is invention. Xu Chu's recorded part at Tong Pass was defensive — carrying his lord across under arrows, saddle raised as a shield — and no single combat between the two appears in any history.