Early career Xu, a
Hui Muslim from
Xindu,
Chengdu, took part in the Imperial martial art exams and later served in the wars in
Tibet and
Taiwan. Originally served as a mounted cavalry soldier, he was awarded to the position of Bazong (7th rank General) of the
Green Standard Army, before getting promoted to the position of Shoubei (5th rank General) a few years later. Xu Shiheng was sent to the island to capture the rebels' leader,
Lin Shuangwen. His military merit was further enhanced by his ferocious conquest and ability to convince the local population to join his rank against the rebels. During the conquest, he managed to capture another rebels' leader,
Zhuang Datian, in a combined effort using the navy and the land force. Maximising from the ongoing chaos in
Đại Việt and pleas from the last King of the dynasty,
Lê Chiêu Thống, Qianlong authorised an expedition to Vietnam, in which Xu obliged to follow under the lead of
Sun Shiyi. This decision proved to be costly for his life, as in the
Chinese New Year of 1789 (25 January),
Nguyễn Huệ suddenly launched a
major assault. Xu Shiheng himself had warned Sun Shiyi about the deception trap by the Tây Sơn army earlier but was not heard. ==References==