Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

More than forty years have passed since Cao Cao raised his army, during which countless battles have taken place, and a standard procedure for how to attack cities has long been established.

When attacking from afar, intimidation is the primary objective.

To compensate for the insufficient combat strength of Man Chong and Huan Fan's troops, Cao Rui and the Privy Council split the Left Guard of the Imperial Guard within the central army. The commander-in-chief, Wen Qin, led 5,000 of the strongest troops to Man Chong, while the remaining 5,000 cavalrymen were placed under the command of Huan Fan. Huan Fan had previously served as the Central Protector of the Army and was someone these cavalry generals were familiar with, so it was not surprising that they were placed under his command.

Huan Fan personally led two thousand cavalry to guard the east of the city, while ordering the remaining three thousand cavalry to circle the city, displaying their might. Listening to the sound of galloping hooves and occasional shouts below the city, amidst the billowing dust, Wu general Sima Xicheng's face on the city wall grew increasingly pale.

"Si Fan." Huan Fan pointed to someone behind him: "Chaisang is not a key location for Wu at present. When we launched a surprise attack and captured Hukou yesterday, the officials there said that Chaisang only had a thousand defenders and was not a threat. Today, seeing our military strength, they should be terrified. You are my military advisor, so go and persuade the garrison commander in the city to surrender."

"Subordinates take orders."

Si Fan, about thirty-five years old, accepted the order and went out without delay. From Xi Cheng's perspective on the city wall, after the three thousand cavalrymen finished their intimidation by circling the city, they returned to the east of the city and formed ranks. Then the ranks split in two, and only one rider came out from the split ranks.

Xi Cheng, despite his humble origins, was no fool for being able to become a Sima (military commander) in Wu, responsible for defending a city and leading a thousand men. He had just witnessed the state of the Wei cavalry. The fact that so many Wei cavalry could circle the city, form ranks, and change formations in such a short time demonstrated the organization and training of an extremely elite army.

It's another form of silent intimidation.

When people are terrified to the extreme, they are often helpless. Especially when Xi Cheng saw Si Fan riding alone, the Wei infantry who had just disembarked at the dock were also gathering. Cold sweat was streaming down his forehead, and the middle-aged assistant next to him was leaning against the wall, unable to speak.

"Sima, should we shoot this man?" a centurion asked as he approached.

Xi Cheng pursed his lips and shook his head: "Let's see what this person has to say."

"Yes, sir." The centurion, having been turned away, clasped his hands in salute and stood behind Xi Cheng. At this moment, Si Fan had also moved to a position ten steps away from the city.

"Who are you?" Xi Cheng asked loudly, trying to remain calm.

"I am Si Fan, a military advisor under the General Who Guards the North of the Great Wei." Si Fan reined in his horse and pointed towards the city wall: "Is the person on the city wall Xi Sima?"

Everyone around looked at Xi Cheng, who had spoken. Si Fan guessed what was going on, chuckled, and without asking any further questions, said loudly:

"This year, the Great Wei has mobilized a total of 830,000 troops by land and sea to attack Wu, and we are determined to win. Our army has advanced all the way from Wancheng to here, and we have captured everything along the way. They surrendered at the mere sight of us. The state of Wu is like a candle in the wind."

"Xi Sima, you have seen the strength of our army. Ten thousand men can take the city in one fell swoop. Whether to fight or surrender is up to you."

The figure of 830,000 was fabricated. When Cao Rui visited Wancheng, he had mentioned this number to Huan Fan. Huan Fan was unaware of the significance, and Cao Rui didn't explain further, so the figure was simply used without much comprehension. In any case, it was just a fabrication; the number 830,000, with its fractional parts, sounded more believable than a million-strong army.

Before Xi Cheng could speak, the middle-aged clerk beside him impatiently asked, "Your Excellency, what if we fight, or what if we don't?"

Si Fan bowed towards the city wall and said, "If Xi Sima is wise enough to surrender, General Huan can recommend him for a position with a salary of 2,000 shi. If he remains stubborn and unrepentant, then the Great Wei army will have no choice but to discuss the principles of war with you."

The army is a top-down entity, with each level having its own agenda. For ordinary soldiers, Chaisang had been peaceful for decades, but today, suddenly surrounded by the Wei army, the fear was palpable; these Wu soldiers had never seen so many cavalry in their lives. For Xi Cheng and his officials, the Wei army's advance from downstream was terrifying enough, but the Crown Prince and the Right General in Wuchang hadn't given any orders, and there was no one downstream to stop them. To Xi Cheng, it was like the sky had fallen.

Si Fan turned to look behind him, and Huan Fan seemed to understand his military advisor's meaning. He immediately ordered his soldiers to shout, and ten thousand infantry and cavalry shouted in unison, their voices echoing across the plains and along the riverbank. Everyone in the city was terrified.

"Sir, the Wei army is too powerful. Could it be that they've opened the city gates and surrendered?" the middle-aged clerk asked in a low voice.

The two centurions standing nearby were also watching their commander's expression. For these junior officers, being in such a predicament was practically being abandoned. To talk about integrity, loyalty, and filial piety would be too demanding. Needless to say, the Wei army outside the city was enormous, and Chaisang City hadn't been repaired for many years; it was certainly impossible to hold it.

Xi Cheng's face turned pale. He stared at the middle-aged clerk and the two centurions for a moment. All he saw in their eyes was fear and terror—a sign that their spirits had been broken. Even if Xi Cheng ordered them to hold their ground, the soldiers were not strong, the city was not fortified, their courage had been extinguished, and the enemy's arrival was unknown. How could this city be defended? Who would be willing to defend it?

Finally, Xi Cheng sighed deeply, tears welling in his eyes: "I have served in the army for twenty years, and at the age of forty, I became a commander of a thousand shi (a unit of grain measure). I originally joined the army from a fisherman's family in Hukou. The Great Wu has been very kind to me, and I should repay it with my life. But if I force you to hold the city, it will harm the entire army in the city. What can I do?"

Those around him remained silent, and Xi Cheng did not ask the Wei envoy any more questions. Instead, he sat down and leaned against the city wall, drew his ring-pommel sword from his waist, and resolutely committed suicide there. The middle-aged assistant beside him was too cowardly to offer any obstruction.

What happened next was as if it were a natural progression.

The Wu army on the city wall withdrew immediately, and the middle-aged officer led the attack on the city. The hundred-man generals inside the city knelt to welcome them at the city gate and even consciously ordered the soldiers to put away their weapons. After the Wei cavalry entered the city to search, General Huan Fan, the General Who Guards the North, led his troops into the city. Upon hearing the middle-aged officer's report, he and his accompanying officers went to the city wall to see Xi Cheng's body and listened to the middle-aged officer recount Xi Cheng's words before he committed suicide.

"Is that what he said?" Huan Fan sighed softly, then squatted down and closed Xi Cheng's not-yet-completely-closed eyes. "Although this man was ignorant of the general trend of the world and did not know that surrendering to the Great Wei was in accordance with the will of Heaven and the principles of Heaven, he was still somewhat blindly loyal and cared about the lives of the garrison in the city. He was a loyal to the point of being pedantic."

“Bury this man and give his family a hundred gold pieces as a consolation.”

“Yes, General.” Si Fan replied from the side: “This man is called Xi Cheng. His family was captured in the city yesterday when we attacked Hukou. They are easy to find.”

"Yes." Huan Fan nodded.

"General, what can I do for the Great Wei?" asked the middle-aged clerk beside him with a smirk.

Huan Fan patted the man on the shoulder and said calmly, "Now that Xi Cheng, the original Sima of Chaisang, is dead, you are the new Sima who will command these thousand men in the city! Tomorrow, after I leave some men to guard Chaisang, when the whole army marches south to attack Liling, your troops will be my vanguard!"

"General... General, are you still going to attack south?" The middle-aged clerk's voice trembled slightly.

"Indeed, Liling, Haihun, Poyang, and Nanchang are all cities where I will soon be waging war. You will have many opportunities to distinguish yourself. After we take Nanchang, I will recommend you for the title of Marquis of Guannei!"

After saying this, Huan Fan strode away to inspect the city's defenses with his accompanying officers, leaving the middle-aged assistant behind in a state of panic.

To claim credit for your service... you have to be alive to do so!

Huan Fan strode ahead, with Si Fan walking behind him on his right. Si Fan whispered, "General, I believe that although Chaisang has surrendered today, Xi Cheng was willing to die for Sun Quan. There are countless others like him in Wu. Your decision to have the Wu army lead the vanguard, using the Wu people's spirit to attack the Wu people, will further demoralize the remaining city's defenders. This is an extremely brilliant move."

Huan Fan chuckled and replied, "This is also why His Majesty and the court insist on attacking Wu. Sun Quan has only taken Chaisang for a little over twenty years. If it drags on for another ten or twenty years, I'm afraid the soldiers and civilians here will be completely separated from the soldiers and civilians of the Great Wei north of the Yangtze River, and the rift will be impossible to mend."

Si Fan also expressed his agreement.

The most important aspect of attacking Wu was crossing the river, which was true for both Huan Fan and the main Wei army in Yangzhou.

This time, General Huan Fan, the General Who Guards the North, led his own 20,000 troops and 5,000 elite cavalry reinforcements from the imperial court, totaling 25,000 men. They crossed the river near Wankou and then marched upstream along the river towards Chaisang in the southwest without stopping for even a day. At this time, the river had not yet risen, and the early spring weather was still cold. The exposed riverbanks and the official roads built along the river became the marching route for Huan Fan's troops.

Thanks to the unified planning of the imperial court and the Privy Council, Xiangfan, Jiangxia, and Wankou successively advanced into Wu territory. The news was relayed from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River to the lower reaches, so the Wu army, which was already smaller than the Wei army, was further compressed into the vicinity of Jiangling and Wuchang.

The same applies to Yangzhou.

Cao Rui himself was stationed near the old city of Guangling and Tangyi. Later, he had Zhong Yu forge his handwriting to communicate with Sun Quan every other day, causing the Wu army in Yangzhou to focus its forces and ships on Guangling on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. This was a natural occurrence; with the Wei emperor in Guangling, Sun Quan would naturally be on guard and there was no reason for him to keep an eye on Wankou at the same time.

The simultaneous gathering of troops by the Wu Kingdom at Wuchang upstream and Jianye and Dantu downstream gave Huan Fan a strategic opportunity that was once in a lifetime.

The distance from Wankou along the Yangtze River to Chaisang is only about 300 li by water.

Huan Fan seized the opportunity and sailed down the river to Chaisang without stopping for even a day. Five thousand cavalrymen led the way, ten thousand infantrymen followed behind the cavalry, and the remaining ten thousand men, mainly warships, escorted the ships carrying provisions and supplies, sailing along the river in sync with the infantry and cavalry.

When Wu general Gan Tong, who had previously led 10,000 men from Jianye to reinforce the army, learned of the Wei army's decisive march, he became so fearful that he was afraid to fight.

Even Sun Quan was so anxious upon learning of the Wei army's multi-pronged attack. How could General Gan Tong dare to launch an attack so casually? Even if his fleet was superior to Huan Fan's warships on paper, there would inevitably be losses in battle. Would Sun Quan punish him then? The Wu army was already smaller than the Wei army. Since Sun Quan's mission was to rescue Ding Feng, why not just lead the army to follow behind Ding Feng?

Since the year before last, the political situation in the court has been treacherous and unpredictable, and everyone is on tenterhooks. In addition, Sun Quan was assassinated last year, which made the crisis even more apparent.

Gan Tong didn't know whether Sun Quan would order his head to be cut off if he suffered too much damage or lost a battle, so passive resistance became the best solution.

Indeed, the military and political affairs of a nation are inextricably linked and inseparable. (End of Chapter)