Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

On the afternoon of January 19, Cao Rui led his troops to Jingnanwu.

Thanks to the large-scale construction of marching roads undertaken in Yangzhou in the eighth year of the Taihe reign (1361), the route from Shouchun to Hefei, then to Dongxing, and finally to Ruxu was unobstructed. Temporary camps were built along the way, and if the goal was to increase marching speed, the infantry could easily march seventy or eighty li per day. The five hundred li journey could be completed in six days.

However, Cao Rui did not do that. He still ordered the army to advance slowly south, taking nine days to arrive. There were still tough battles ahead, so it was better to be considerate of the soldiers first.

The current commander of Ruxu Dock in Wu is General Zhu Ran.

After receiving the order from Minister Gu Yong to scout northwards, Zhu Ran took the matter very seriously. He led his troops out of Ruxu Dock and displayed their military might outside Jingnan West Dock for several days, attracting the attention of Zhang Hu's forces. Meanwhile, he took the opportunity to send out his only hundred or so cavalrymen as scouts.

Twelve scouts, ten riders per squad, were dispatched, four on the west side and eight on the east side. These cavalrymen did not disappoint Zhu Ran's expectations. The two furthest scouts even risked their lives to reach the area between Dongxing and Hefei, where they discovered that the majority of the Wei army was advancing south.

However, when it comes to the elite status of their scouts, the Wei army is still superior.

Of the twelve cavalry units, only three returned to Ruxu Dock; the rest were killed by the Wei army en route.

This information was enough for Zhu Ran.

Zhu Ran, with only 10,000 elite troops, believed that the fortified city of Ruxu was high and sturdy, blocking the river at the confluence of the Ruxu River and preventing the Wei army from passing through again. He even wrote back to Gu Yong, assuring him that with him at Ruxu, the city was safe. Besides Zhu Ran, Zhu Cai, Taishi Xiang, and Zhang Cheng, the reinstated Left General, also shared the same confidence.

Defending a city is something anyone can do. Ruxu Dock was already difficult to attack, and with Zhu Ran, the best city defender in Wu, as its commander, it was even more secure.

Just when the generals of Ruxu thought they were safe, things didn't go as planned. Two military reports arrived one after the other. In addition to the military reports, the Wei emperor's banner and ceremonial guards also appeared at Jingnanwu in the north, seemingly unconcerned that the Wu people would see them, and were displayed prominently at the front.

"Xianxi and Liyang each have a thousand soldiers directly under Jianye, isn't that right?" Zhu Ran held the military report and looked eagerly at everyone in the hall.

“One thousand each.” Former General Zhang Cheng asked, “General, what is the meaning of this? And where did this military report come from?”

Zhu Ran took a deep breath: "These are military reports from Liyang and Xianxi. This morning, both cities were simultaneously besieged by Wei cavalry, with about five thousand cavalrymen in each location. What's strange is that the Wei army doesn't seem to be in a hurry to attack the cities. They waited until the city's garrison commander sent out the message before they surrounded the city with three sides open and one side left open, leaving the riverside side of the city exposed."

“This…” Zhang Cheng hesitated for a moment: “It seems that the Wei army is waiting for us to rescue Liyang and Xianxi!”

Both Liyang and Xianxi are riverside cities located northeast of Ruxu.

"We cannot save them," General Zhu Cai advised from the side. "Let alone whether Liyang and Xianxi should be saved, or whether the Wei army can even cross the river there. Just considering the troop strength here at Ruxu, we don't have the spare capacity to send troops to Liyang and Xianxi!"

"Could we ask Lord Gu to send troops to rescue them?" Taishi Xiang interjected.

Zhang Cheng shook his head: "We have 10,000 soldiers here, and Lord Gu has about 10,000 soldiers. We have to take care of Dantu downstream, and we also have to take care of Ruxu here. How can we risk crossing the river to send troops to Liyang and Xianxi, two unimportant places?"

"So we're just going to abandon them like this?!" Taishi Xiang asked in disbelief. "How can we abandon two riverside locations? Where will we place the nation's river defenses?" Zhang Cheng glanced at Taishi Xiang. "Stop spouting these grand pronouncements; they're of no use to the important matters. There are nearly ten thousand cavalrymen at Liyang and Xianxi. How many soldiers do you plan to use to replace them? If we send fewer than ten thousand, it will be of no use. It's better not to send any at all!"

Taishi Xiang remained silent.

Zhang Cheng, Zhu Cai, and Taishi Xiang all looked at Zhu Ran simultaneously.

Zhu Ran pondered for a long time before slowly asking, "General Zhang, how did Zhu Xiumu defend this place back then?"

“That was in the first year of Huangwu.” Zhang Cheng sighed: “Wei general Cao Ren led tens of thousands of troops to attack, and also sent Jiang Ji to send troops eastward to feign an attack on Xianxi. Zhu Xiumu first sent 5,000 troops to rescue Xianxi, and then Cao Ren attacked. Zhu Xiumu led his troops and navy to defeat Cao Ren’s troops who wanted to attack the city and Ruxu Zhongzhou in two separate battles, and then won the victory.”

Zhu Ran then asked, "At that time, it seemed that the gains and losses at Liyang and Xianxi were not important to Zhu Xiumu?"

“Of course it was important,” Zhang Cheng replied. “However, after Jiang Ji attacked Xianxi, the Wei general Cao Ren was defeated, and Jiang Ji also withdrew with Cao Ren. There was not much fighting at Xianxi.”

Zhu Ran took a deep breath, stood up, and paced back and forth in the hall, as if trying to calm his chaotic mind. It wasn't until nearly fifteen minutes later that Zhu Ran finally stopped, turned around and looked sadly at everyone, and shook his head, saying, "I can't fight this battle against Zhu Xiumu."

Zhang Cheng seemed to know Zhu Ran's predicament, and his expression was not good either. He nodded and did not say anything more.

Instead, Taishi Xiang asked again, "Then what should we do in Ruxu? Are we just going to sit here and watch the Wei army go to Liyang and Xianxi, then cross the Hengjiang River near Liyang and head straight for Jianye? We should do something!"

"Then you decide how to do it!" Even Zhang Cheng, with his usually good temper, lost his composure after being provoked by Taishi Xiang: "You decide!"

Taishi Xiang was about to retort, but Zhu Ran stopped him: "Calm down, let's all think about it again. Although the situation is critical, it's not beyond saving."

Taishi Xiang lowered his head, Zhang Cheng turned his face away, and the hall fell silent again.

Although General Zhu Ran held a higher position and commanded more troops than Zhu Huan had in the past, he was simply unable to replicate Zhu Huan's past achievements.

In the first year of Huangwu (also the third year of Huangchu in Wei), Cao Ren led an army of only about 30,000 men to attack Ruxu. Apart from the troops that were given to Jiang Ji to feign an attack on Xianxi, Cao Ren's actual force attacking Ruxu was no more than 30,000.

Zhu Huan used 5,000 Wu soldiers to defend against 30,000 Wei soldiers who came from afar. Although the difference in combat strength was huge, it was not to the point that they were completely unable to fight.

But today, Zhu Ran is completely unable to move.

In terms of distance, Cao Ren had traveled a long way from Shouchun, while Zhu Huan was stationed in a fortified city, waiting in comfort. However, the Wei army had marched slowly from Shouchun to this point, and with Jingnanwu, belonging to the Wei state, just five miles to the north, they had no reason to be exhausted.

In terms of troop strength, Zhu Huan has 5,000 men against Cao Ren's 30,000, and the Wu army has the advantage of naval vessels. However, today Zhu Ran has 10,000 men against the Wei army's 40,000, and the Wei emperor himself is on the opposite side. Judging from this, they're going to launch a full-scale attack on Ruxu!
How should this battle be fought?
There's no way to fight! And there's no way to save Liyang and Xianxi either! The reason is simple: no troops! (End of Chapter)