Ever since Xu Shu entered Liu Bei's service, he and Guan Yu had been responsible for guarding the rear.
Though he had worked hard and earned great merit, he had never had a chance to distinguish himself.
Guan Yu had at least once been dispatched by Qin Tian to the south to cut off Yuan Shu's retreat, but Xu Shu had truly remained in Pei Commandery the entire time.
Yet even so, Xu Shu had voiced no complaint and had worked tirelessly in Xiang County.
Unlike Zhuge Liang and Qin Tian, he had once been a wandering hero in his youth, but after abandoning martial pursuits for scholarship, his temperament had become far more restrained.
Though the office of Chancellor of Pei was not especially high, it was still a grand post on par with a commandery governor.
Xu Shu had been under Liu Bei for barely a year, yet he was already satisfied to hold an office worth two thousand shi.
In principle, Xu Shu, as the commander of a region, should not have personally gone on diplomatic missions so easily. The reason he had personally traveled to Langya had to be traced back to Liu Bei's southern campaign.
After Liu Bei marched south, Xu Shu and Guan Yu had been tasked with guarding Xiang County.
Originally, Xu Shu had held only the position of an aide, but after Guan Yu went south, he became the highest-ranking official in Pei Commandery.
Over the following year, while Qin Tian and Old Liu continuously opened up new lands in the south, Xu Shu was promoted to Chancellor of Pei and remained occupied with governing Pei Commandery.
The situation around Pei Commandery was exceptionally complicated. For quite some time, nearly every side of Pei Commandery had been surrounded by powerful enemies.
Faced