Xu Yi, the son of the tiger general Xu Chu, was used as a tool to establish his authority and was beheaded by Zhong Hui
Xu Chu was one of Cao Cao's most powerful generals, leading his troops by Cao Cao's side until the last moment of his life. Xu Chu was not only brave and good at fighting, but also saved Cao Cao's life many times, not only won Cao Cao's trust, but also received the support of Cao Pi, Cao Rong and other princes and kings. However, when Xu Chu's son Xu Yan accompanied Zhong Hui to Sichuan, he was executed because Zhong Hui wanted to kill him as a demonstration of strictness.
In the winter of the third year of Zhenyuan (262), Sima Zhao appointed Zhong Hui as the general of Zhenxi and the minister of Guanzhong. In the autumn of the following year, Wei sent troops to attack Shu. Zhong Hui served as the commander-in-chief, commanding 100,000 troops, marching into Xiegu and Lugu, and Deng Ai and Zhuge Xu each commanded 30,000 troops to prevent Jiang Wei from retreating.
As the main force to destroy Shu, Zhonghui paved the way for the army led by Xu Chu's son, Xu Yan. As the bell was crossing the bridge, the bridge suddenly broke, and his horse's hooves fell into the pit. Zhong Hui was furious, regardless of his previous suspicions, and beheaded Xu Chu (Xu Yan's father).
The reason why Zhong Hui killed Xu Shu is actually not difficult to understand. You must know that the erudite and talented Zhong Hui was often able to intervene in the affairs of the palace because he was trusted by Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, but the first time he led his troops to fight was at the beginning of his staff in the Battle of Shu.
Although Zhong Hui has become famous, the generals and students in the army do not believe that Zhong Hui is really a highly respected and battle-hardened commander. Therefore, Zhong Hui, who led the troops for the first time, must establish his prestige, and Xu Yi leads by example, like"Hit chicken blood"The same pulled out the gun.
Why did Zhong Hui correct the name of Xu City? Personally, I think the reasons are as follows:
1.Xu Yan has enough weight. Since Zhong Hui wants to gain prestige by killing people, he can't kill people, otherwise he can't achieve the prestige effect, and Xu Yan undoubtedly meets this condition.
According to historical records, Xu Si had limited ability, low status, and poor reputation, but his father Xu Ji was a very strong person. Xu Chu, as the Taishou of Wuwei and the Marquis of Wuxiang, not only commanded the imperial army for a long time, but also served Cao Cao, Cao Pi, and Cao Rong for three generations, and his status in Cao Wei was very high, and he also had a certain reputation in the army, so it was difficult to kill Xu Yan.
2.Xu Yan does not belong to his own faction. As we all know, Sima Shi was in the Wei Ming Emperor Cao Rong,"Gao Pingling"After seizing the military and political power, it began to rise rapidly. However, because Xu Chu was trusted by the Cao family himself, it was difficult for Xu to integrate into the Sima faction, which may be related to Xu Yan's difficulty in being re-elected.
At the same time, Zhonghui was also valued by Sima Shi and had been with Sima Shi for a long time. He was favored by Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, and when the ministers opposed Sima Zhao's attack on Shu, it was Zhong Hui who strongly supported Sima Zhao's decision, so Zhong Hui was obviously a descendant of Sima Zhao. For the Sima clan, Cao Wei's former ministers were the target of pressure, so killing Xu Xi was in his interest and would not have a negative impact. For the Sima clan, Cao Wei's former ministers were the target of pressure, so Zhong Hui's assassination of Xu Si was in the interests of the Sima clan, and naturally it would not cause adverse consequences.
3.Xu Shu had no interest in dynastic politics. Xu Chu was favored by Cao Cao, Cao Pi, and Cao Rong for three generations, not only because of his loyalty, but also because he was able to perform his duties. For example, after the Battle of Hanzhong, Cao Cao returned to Luoyang, and Cao Ren came from Jingzhou to visit Cao Cao. When Cao Cao was still in the room, Cao Ren saw Xu Chu standing guard outside the hall, so he invited him to the next room to talk and wait. Xu Chu knew that Cao Ren was a clan general that Cao Cao trusted very much, and he thought that the ministers should not be close to the foreign ministers, so he only said one sentence:"King Wei is about to come out. "He turned and returned to the temple.
Xu Chu has such a character, although he has won the trust of the king, but this way of doing things also brings a big drawback, that is, the relationship between the civil and military forces of the imperial court is very large, so he can't just talk about personal relationships, and even offend many people because of it. Therefore, we can say that Xu Si had no background in the imperial court, and if he was killed, the courtiers would not attack him.
To sum up, Xu Yan does not belong to the Sima faction, because of his father's relationship, he has a certain influence in the army, and he does not have much power in the court, so it is legitimate for Xu Yan to kill the powerful. Moreover, Xu Yan violated the military law, and it was natural to kill him, so Xu Yan became the unlucky guy used to top Zhong Xuan.