Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

As the weather grew colder day by day, both the Wei Kingdom in the north and the Wu Kingdom in the south were simultaneously preparing for war.

It's just that one side has been preparing for nearly two years, while the other side is still passively facing the challenge.

On October 24th, Quan Cong, the General of the Guards of Wu and the Governor of Xuzhou, led 10,000 troops from Wuhu to Tukou, about 100 li away from Guangling. Tukou was ten li away from Tangyi City, and they supported each other. The situation around Guangling became even more tense.

Wu's army north of the Yangtze River numbered 14,000, while the army in Dantu totaled 20,000. Garrison forces from Danyang, Jurong, and Yangxian were also being rapidly transferred to Dantu. Clearly, Sun Quan was maintaining an extreme sense of crisis. By early November, more than 40,000 Wu troops had gathered in Dantu, Tukou, and Tangyi, three places connected by waterways.

Meanwhile, Cao Rui, along with Guanqiu Jian and Xiahou Xian, had a combined force of 10,000 cavalrymen stationed in the area between Guangling and Tangyi.

Wang Ling's elite 10,000-strong cavalry was positioned further ahead, about 20 li from Tangyi, while Cao Rui's troops were 30 li behind Wang Ling's. The area along the river in Guangling Commandery was truly a blessed land, with flat terrain and crisscrossing rivers. In times of peace, the population of this area would certainly not be less than that of the vicinity of Shouchun in Huainan. In winter, cavalry could traverse this terrain in the blink of an eye, covering 30 li in the blink of an eye.

“Your Majesty,” Guanqiu Jian said, bowing, “Lu Zhengdong sent a military report from Huaiyin. Since the Great Wei took control of Guangling and Hailing to the east of Guangling, the navy began to hastily build several ports on the coast south of Yandu last month. In about half a month, that is, before the end of November, the temporary dock at Hailing will also be completed. General Hu is overseeing this matter there.”

"With these wharves along the sea and river, the navy could stop or resupply along the way, thus allowing them to bypass the Huai River and reach the Hailing and Guangling areas."

Cao Rui nodded: "Which troops did the Privy Council send to guard these docks?"

Guanqiu Jian looked at the letter again: "Lord Dong and Privy Councilor Liu have led 5,000 Liaodong soldiers to guard various places along the Huai River and the coast, with about 500 men in each place."

"Lu Zhengdong has personally confirmed that the families of these Liaodong soldiers are all in Yecheng, and the commanders of each unit are all capable men selected by the Privy Council in the past two years. Their loyalty to the Great Wei is trustworthy." Guanqiu Jian paused, then looked down again: "Lu Zhengdong added that these Liaodong soldiers are considered weak among the armies of the Great Wei in Yangzhou. They are loyal but lack combat strength, so they are well-suited for guarding the docks."

Cao Rui chuckled, stood up from his chair with his hands behind his back, and strolled leisurely towards the outside of the military tent: "Zhong Gong, come with me for a walk."

"Yes," Guanqiu Jian replied, following closely behind Cao Rui on his right.

Since this was a cavalry camp, and it was winter, with the main tasks being reserve and support, the defenses around the camp were not heavy; the troops were simply and orderly stationed according to the standard layout.

Ten thousand cavalrymen on the winter plains north of the Yangtze River were an unstoppable force. Only the Wu Kingdom needed to be wary of these ten thousand cavalrymen; the cavalry themselves didn't need to worry too much. This was the confidence that speed and combat power gave the cavalrymen.

Cao Rui slowly said, "Lu Boyan is complaining to me. He is not saying that Dong Zhao's deployment of troops was reasonable, but complaining that Dong Zhao sent weak troops to the docks on his only route."

Guanqiu Jian was taken aback for a moment, then remembered what Lu Xun had said in his letter, that Dong Zhao had sent him only weak troops. He glanced at the emperor's expression and cautiously replied, "General Lu's words seem to make some sense. In the fourth year of Taihe, Your Majesty brought back 5,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry from Liaodong, and at the beginning of this year, another 5,000 Liaodong soldiers were conscripted to go south. If my prediction is correct, since General Lu can say this, it is likely that Lord Dong has sent these latter 5,000 soldiers to defend the docks."

"I suspect so too." Cao Rui nodded. "Lu Boyan has always been reliable and never complained. I rarely see him teasing others like this. It must be because the great battle is approaching, and he must be feeling quite nervous and anxious. Even if we don't consider it from a military perspective, from a personal point of view, if we can defeat the Wu army in one battle, he can return to Wu County in glory and be reunited with his clan."

"Lu Boyan has been with the Great Wei for eight years, and he has always been patient and prudent. If even he is like this, what should others be like?"

Guanqiu Jian remained silent.

Cao Rui continued, “I have been in Guangling for nearly a month. With the great battle approaching, it seems I have been using the pretext of attracting Sun Quan’s attention to stay here and enjoy some peace and quiet. However, there is one good thing: I am far away from Shouchun, and I can observe the situation from afar, carefully considering the thoughts of all the ministers and generals of Wei.”

"Would Zhonggong like to hear it?"

The two men paced around the camp, with soldiers kneeling in welcome. Cao Rui simply waved and walked past quickly, not interfering with their work.

Since Cao Rui had already put it this way, Guanqiu Jian naturally had no choice but to agree to this option.

Cao Rui said almost to himself, "In the past month, the General wrote to me twice, requesting to take command of the army. Dong Zhuo is as steady as ever, focusing on the stability of the military personnel, while Liu Ye is getting busier and busier, sending me one battle plan after another."

"As for the Ministry of Personnel, Sima Yi reminded me to set up government offices in Wu in advance, saying that Jingzhou could be divided into North Jingzhou and South Jingzhou, and Yangzhou could also be divided into North Yangzhou and South Yangzhou, with the Yangtze River as the boundary. He suggested that capable ministers should be selected from the imperial court to be appointed as governors in advance, and that officials from the Ministry of Personnel should be selected to serve as temporary prefects in various places, as a necessary measure to take over Wu. Chen Jiao from the Censorate also suggested that I send military supervisors from the Censorate to various armies to ensure that the armies do not violate the law when fighting... Of course, with so many people gathered together, there were bound to be frictions, disagreements, and dissatisfactions."

Cao Rui sighed softly: "With a great battle approaching, everyone has their own desires. It's a good thing to have desires, and I don't blame them. I thought that I, having experienced many battles, would be calm, but during the days we've been in Guangling, my heart has gradually become restless."

Guanqiu Jian, standing beside him, said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, with an army of 250,000 divided into six routes to attack Wu, which are thousands of miles apart in the east and west, the number of people involved is more than a million."

"In my opinion, it is already quite remarkable that the Great Wei has been able to prepare for war to this extent, with the army, generals, officials, and civilians all in good order."

Seeing that Cao Rui remained silent, Guanqiu Jian whispered and advised, "With renowned ministers and capable generals working together and Your Majesty strategizing and overseeing the overall situation, I believe that such a large-scale war is bound to have its share of troubles. The ministers of Wei have already done more than enough."

"If I may be so bold as to offer this advice, nothing in this world is perfect. Now that the enemy is in Jiangnan, as long as Great Wei performs better than Sun Quan, that will be enough." (End of Chapter)