Guo Sheng, nicknamed Rival of Rengui, is a mounted halberd warrior in Water Margin. He comes from Jialing and trades in mercury before losing his goods in a storm. Skilled with the sky-piercing halberd, he hears of Lu Fang’s ability and rides to Duiying Mountain to measure his own technique against another fighter who uses the same long weapon.
The two men duel repeatedly without deciding a winner. In their best-known exchange, the colored tassels on their halberds twist together, locking both weapons above the horses. Hua Rong fires a precise arrow that cuts the knot apart. Guo Sheng recognizes the feat, meets Song Jiang, and joins the company beside the rival who has now become his closest battlefield partner. The episode gives him a concrete beginning built on challenge, skill, and admiration rather than simple recruitment.
Guo Sheng and Lu Fang later serve around Liangshan’s central command as paired riders, appearing together in deployments while remaining separate fighters. Guo Sheng follows the army through the campaigns after amnesty and dies in the war against Fang La, struck down by falling stone at Wulong Ridge. His pale armor, comparable halberd, Rengui nickname, and balanced placement opposite Lu Fang make the pair recognizable, but his merchant origin and separate death preserve his own course.
