Xu Shao and Guo Tai (郭泰) were famous character evaluators at the time and their appraisals were highly valued among scholar-officials.
[2] While Xu Shao was at Yangzhou, he praised Liu Ye as someone with the ability to help a sovereign govern his realm.
[3] When a teenage[4] Xu Shao went to Yingchuan Commandery (潁川郡; covering present-day southern and central Henan), he visited and mingled with many reputable men in the region, except for Chen Shi.
When asked, Xu Shao replied, "Taiqiu[5] is too well-acquainted, it's difficult for him to be thorough; Zhongju (Chen Fan's courtesy name) is a serious person who hardly makes compromises.
[10] Yang Biao (楊彪), the Excellency of Works (司空; one of the Three Ducal Ministers), once attempted to recruit Xu Shao to serve in his office but the latter refused.
Later, when the Han imperial court wanted to recruit Xu Shao again, he declined, "Villains are rampant.
He then headed further south to Qu'e County (曲阿縣; present-day Danyang, Jiangsu), where he joined Liu Yao, the Inspector of Yang Province.
[11] When Sun Ce was on a series of conquests in the Wu region, Xu Shao and Liu Yao fled south to Yuzhang Commandery (豫章郡; around present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi).
At the time, Zhou Shu (周術), the previous Administrator of Yuzhang Commandery, had died of illness so his office was vacant.
After driving Zhuge Xuan away, as Xu Shao foresaw, Ze Rong killed Zhu Hao and took control of Yuzhang Commandery.