Xu Zhu

Xu Zhu is a character who has been playable in every Dynasty Warriors title to date. He and Dian Wei act as Cao Cao's personal bodyguards. Known as a simple-minded giant yet fierce in battle, his nickname is "Frenzy Tiger".

In the Dynasty Warriors series, he is 25 years old and his height is 184 cm (a little over 6'). The height of Xu Zhu's character in Kessen II is 190 cm (close to 6'3").

Dynasty Warriors
Xu Zhu is a man who likes to eat and protect his lord. Serving Cao Cao after the Allied Forces disband, he follows his master in several of his campaigns. A shining moment in his service is defending Cao Cao at Tong Gate. He bravely faces Ma Chao's charge and stops the general's advance with his might. Xu Zhu often lives to continue serving Wei until its final battles in the series.

His Legend Mode in Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends details Xu Zhu's origins before joining Cao Cao. Xu Zhu is a resident of a nameless village who bravely defends it from bandits. When Cao Cao's army starts to pillage them for food, Xu Zhu resists them by defeating the generals and their supply captains. The one leading the troop is Cao Cao's bodyguard, Dian Wei, who at first tries to avoid Xu Zhu's rampage but orders his defeat in his subsequent appearances. On Dian Wei's third defeat, they compliment one another's strength and Dian Wei offers Xu Zhu to return with him to his master. Xu Zhu agrees on the simple conditions that everyone is happy and that he is fed good food.

Dynasty Warriors 5 describes Xu Zhu's previously mentioned recruitment and notes that Cao Cao is impressed with Xu Zhu for matching Dian Wei's might. He participates in Hu Lao Gate with Dian Wei but his friend soon dies to ensure their lord's safety at Wan Castle. To fill in the void that Dian Wei left, Xu Zhu redoubles his efforts to protect his lord at Chang Ban and Tong Gate. While partaking in the defense at Mt. Ding Jun, he spots Zuo Ci spying on them. The elderly one questions Xu Zhu's loyalty for Cao Cao but Xu Zhu is too concerned with his duty to bother with a thoughtful answer. Zuo Ci flees and an ill Cao Cao passes away after the battle. Serving Cao Pi to defeat Wu at He Fei Castle, Xu Zhu notices Zuo Ci's presence a second time. Knowing that Zuo Ci was plotting against his former master, the warrior accuses the elder of causing Cao Cao's death and defeats him. Though Wei ultimately claims victory over both kingdoms, Xu Zhu tires of his life as a general and retires. To honor the deaths of his dear lord and friend, Xu Zhu promises to grow a huge rice field for them.

He shares his Legend Mode in the Xtreme Legends expansion with Cao Cao, Dian Wei and Xiahou Dun. Cao Cao and his closest generals use their collective strengths to save the emperor from Dong Zhuo's army. Xu Zhu and Xiahou Dun takes the western path while Dian Wei and Cao Cao take the east. Caught between two armies, the emperor's carriage is rescued and, after cutting through Lu Bu's upstart, the emperor returns safely and is placed under Cao Cao's protection.

Xu Zhu continues to appear in many of Wei's campaigns in the sequel. He is present during cutscenes related to Guan Du and Chi Bi. He lives to act in the later campaigns and defends Xu Chang during Sima Yi's rebellion. In Special, he appears as Xun Yu's reinforcements during Sun Ce's siege of the aforementioned castle. Sun Ce sends Taishi Ci to deal with him. Cao Cao also orders him to stop Ma Chao's attempt to break the river dam at Tong Gate.

Warriors Orochi
During Orochi's scenario, Xu Zhu is one of the officers who supports his lord's stand against Orochi. Losing to cannon fire and the serpent army, however, Xu Zhu retreats.

In Warriors Orochi, he acts as a gatekeeper for the resistance force lead by Huang Gai at Kuzegawa. Xu Zhu is duped into joining with the promise of food, but Huang Gai orders that they wouldn't be fed until they defeat Cao Pi and Mitsunari's army. After his defat defeated, Cao Pi tells his men not to imprison Xu Zhu but give him food to pacify him. Post battle, Xu Zhu begs for Cao Pi's forgiveness and rejoins Wei. Xu Zhu believes that if Cao Cao were there, he'd be able to solve everything.

Cao Cao orders him and Pang De to aid Huang Gai and Goemon in Warriors Orochi 2. They erect an impenetrable defense against Masamune's army while the Wu leaders circle through the mountain path. He and Pang De join Wu after the battle. He shares his dream stage with Huang Gai and Hanzō and trio work together to rescue Gracia. When she returns with his lord, Xu Zhu is specially praised for protecting the lass.

Kessen
Xu Zhu appears as a woman named Hu Zhi (虎稚) in Kessen II. Her namesake is Xu Zhu's nickname, Tiger Fool. The developers adjusted Xu Zhu for the part to serve as an interesting contrast to the other beautiful women protecting their masters in the game. She leads an army of foot soldiers in battle.

Hu Zhi is a general who uses her strength to serve Cao Cao. A tall and physically built figure, she is said to have the strength to match Guan Yu or Zhang Fei's ferocity. Since she doesn't like to talk too much, she doesn't socialize with other people too often. For one reason or another, Hu Zhi gets along with Himiko and they often support one another in their respective armies.

Personality
Xu Zhu is a gentle-hearted giant who is a uniquely jolly man in Wei. He's a glutinous fellow and often cites being hungry in someway during conversations. Though he seems to possess a childish intellect, his respect for his lord's generosity and wit makes him a loyal subject. In spite of his strength in battle, he actually doesn't like fighting or people being aggressive towards one another. He sees people who oppose his lord as bullies or braggarts who "just can't get along".

He's friends with Dian Wei as both men are strong, practical in their duties, and simple minded. If his friend dies, Xu Zhu will be saddened by the news.

On account of his kind heart, Xu Zhu lacks rivals in the games, only being angered if someone opposes his lord. This is represented in Dynasty Warriors 5, in which Xu Zhu develops a short term rivalry with Zuo Ci, due to the fact that the old man opposes Cao Cao's power and threatens to kill him.

Character Symbolism
His Level 11 Weapon takes its namesake from either Shennong or the sun. Shennong, also called the Fire Emperor, was described in Records of the Grand Historian as one who respected a dragon god and gave himself a surname after the Jiang River he lived beside. Creating a stringed instrument from a nearby tree, he went to the city to teach the people and reigned for 120 years. In legends, he is sometimes named a half-ox creature of a gigantic height.

The original names for Xu Zhu's third and fourth weapons and his Standard weapon in Dynasty Warriors 6 directly reference a half-ox, half-human god in Chinese mythology, Chihyu. He is famous for his physical brutality and for leading a rebellion against the Yellow Emperor. After his death, a tree grew where his blood was splattered. The leaves would turn crimson as autumn came, which was also called the grudge of Chihyu. He is also occasionally attributed to red flags for a similar reason. According to Records of the Grand Historian, Shi Huangdi worshiped this entity.

His Skill weapon takes its namesake from a mythical beast known as Qiongji. It was supposedly one of Shaohao's sons whose spirit became resentful after his death. It has been described as an ox with a hedgehog's hands who possesses a canine-like cry or a fearsome tiger that sprouts wings on its back. Both versions are known to prey on human flesh and it is a malevolent spirit said to haunt Guishan. The Huainanzi partially attributes it as a wind god. A particularly brutal execution method in legends was to throw the guilty party of an argument into the mountains so their heads could be devoured by the Qiongji.

Xu Zhu's Strength weapon is named after Hundun, another mythical beast known popularly as a floating being of primordial chaos. It has a canine-like body with long hair and bites on its tail in a fetal position. Its eyes could see, but its ears couldn't hear. Hundun turns repeatedly in a circle, seeming to smile as its face rolls toward the sky. A fickle and sometimes described as idiotic beast, it despises siding with good people, loves to be with those of evil.

Voice Actors

 * Doug Stone - Dynasty Warriors 4~6, Warrior Orochi series (English)
 * Yu Heamu - Dynasty Warriors 2 (Korean)
 * Lee Jang-won - Dynasty Warriors 3~5 (Korean)
 * Takahiro Yoshimisu - Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi series (Japanese)
 * Keiichiro Yamamoto - Dynasty Tactics (Japanese)
 * Yasuhiko Kawazu - Dynasty Tactics 2 (Japanese)
 * Junko Noda - Kessen II (Japanese)

Quotes

 * See also: Xu Zhu/Quotes


 * "That's one down!"
 * "Phew! You're strong! I've never gotten so hungry after a battle!"
 * "Hey, why don't you come with us?"
 * "Mmm... If you promise we'll make a world, umm... with lots of laughing, and lots and lots of food, then I'll go with you!"
 * "Right! That's settled!"
 * Dian Wei and Xu Zhu; Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends


 * "Now you face me!"
 * "You must be an evil man, if you're trying to kill lord Cao Cao!"
 * Ma Chao and Xu Zhu; Dynasty Warriors 5


 * "Naughty, naughty! Attacking Lord Cao Cao's castle while he's away? I'll squash you good!"
 * Arriving at Xu Chang; Dynasty Warriors 6: Special


 * "We don't need ropes for him. Just find him something to eat and he'll be happy."
 * Cao Pi; Warriors Orochi

Ground Moveset

 * undefined: A stomp that knock over enemies.
 * , undefined: Knocks enemies in the air by bringing his club up from the left.
 * ,, undefined (undefined, undefined, undefined): A series of overhead smashes.
 * ,, , undefined: Swings in a massive arc, using a similar technique to a baseball player.
 * ,, , , undefined: Smashes the ground with his club, creating a massive shock from the earth.
 * ,, , , , undefined (undefined, undefined): Puts club to chest and hops to knock enemies into the air, ended with a butt slam that produces a shockwave.
 * Swings around in circles with an outstretched club. In his True Musou version, he ends the move with a powerful swing.


 * , : Aerial swipe.
 * , undefined: Xu Zhu curls up into a ball and crashes into the ground twice.
 * Dashing : Curls into a ball and rolls himself forward.

Horse Moveset

 * undefined: Xu Zhu leans to each side, and swings his weapon.
 * ,, , , , : Three attacks to the right side, three to the left.
 * Repeating slashes to all sides until the Musou gauge empties.

Dynasty Warriors 6

 * He shares his attacks with Dong Zhuo, Wei Yan and Huang Gai. See Cloned Moveset for more details.


 * Special attack: Swift Attack: immediately boosts Xu Zhu's Renbu gauge up to the Infinite Renbu and grants higher attack and defense power. When used at low, red health, the effects of Swift Attack increase.

Dynasty Warriors
Due to his immence strength, Xu Zhu carries around powerful, heavy weapons, which results in stronger attacks that take longer to perform. His main moves involving simple strikes to opposing officers, although he often uses attacks that pound the ground and knock down all of his surrounding enemies.

Weapons

 * See also: Xu Zhu/Weapons

Trivia

 * His name is spelled as "Xu Chu" in Cao Cao's movie gallery section in Dynasty Warriors 6.