Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

No soldiers! In the end, it's still because we don't have enough soldiers!
This is the most difficult thing in the world.

At this moment, on January 19th, Wu's army of nearly 140,000 troops had been deployed along the river.

General Bu Zhi had 8,000 troops in Xiling, General Zhuge Jin had nearly 40,000 troops in Jiangling, and the troops in Wuchang were increased to 20,000. Quan Cong's 30,000 troops also came to Xiakou. In addition, Sun Quan had more than 10,000 troops guarding the shore of Pengli Lake, making a total of around 110,000.

At this time, the only troops remaining in Yangzhou were Zhu Ran's 10,000 troops from Ruxu, Sun Shao's 10,000 troops from Dantu, and Gu Yong's 10,000 troops defending the capital Jianye, totaling no more than 30,000.

Zhu Ran ultimately had no solution.

He excelled at defending cities, but lacked the strategic acumen to offer much insight into such macro-level military strategic contradictions.

Forty thousand troops have arrived north of Ruxu Dock, and another ten thousand cavalrymen are at Liyang and Xianxi. How can Zhu Ran possibly save them? He can't conjure up an army out of thin air!
Zhu Ran had no other choice but to write the matter into a military report and inform Sun Shao in Dantu, Gu Yong in Jianye, Sun Quan in Poyang, and Crown Prince Sun Deng in Wuchang.

Zhu Ran's pressure was actually not that great; compared to Gu Yong, it was nothing.

Gu Yong received two military reports simultaneously on the night of the 19th.

The first letter came from Zhu Ran of Ruxu.

Zhu Ran stated that there were 40,000 Wei soldiers north of Ruxuwu and 10,000 soldiers in Liyang and Xianxi, totaling 50,000.

The second letter came from Sun Shao of Dantu.

Sun Shao reported that a massive Wei navy had inexplicably arrived at Dantu and easily annihilated General He Da's naval forces on the river and docks north of Dantu. After landing, the Wei navy intended to besiege Dantu, but Sun Shao managed to send this military report before the city was completely surrounded.

According to Sun Shao's letter, this Wei navy was extremely large, with at least three hundred ships of various sizes.

Three hundred ships... that would mean a navy of over thirty thousand men.

In addition, Sun Shao had already sent someone to report to Jianye two days ago that there were at least 20,000 Wei troops in the old city of Guangling to the north, so that would be 50,000 troops.

With 50,000 Wei troops in Ruxu and 50,000 Wei troops in Dantu, the Wei army must have at least 100,000 troops in Yangzhou at this time.

How to prevent?
There's no way to defend against it!

At this time, Emperor Sun Quan was still in Poyang, and the outcome of the battle between the 50,000 troops fighting the Wei army in Wuchang was still uncertain. Gu Yong's 10,000 troops could barely defend the vicinity of Jianye, let alone have the strength to rescue Dantu or Ruxu.
As night deepened, Gu Yong, hunched over his desk under the oil lamp, appeared even more gaunt, his eyes reddening, his entire being caught in a complex mix of emotions including anxiety, fear, unease, and excitement.

It wasn't until 1:15 PM that Gu Yong got a preliminary idea.

Ultimately, the mess left by the Sun family will have to be dealt with by them. What power does someone who was demoted for two years and then reinstated have, temporarily placed in this position, have to make decisions about the fate of the Wu kingdom?

Entering the palace.

The ministers of the Imperial Secretariat were no more intelligent than Gu Yong. When Gu Yong was stumped, they couldn't offer any better solutions. The Nine Ministers and other officials in the capital, holding even lower positions, were even less of a threat, let alone the insignificant and mediocre members of the Sun clan.

The only course of action now is to enter the palace.

Lady Bu in Jianye Palace was treated like an empress; this was common knowledge both inside and outside the court, and Sun Quan tacitly acknowledged it. Moreover, Princess Zhu, Sun Luyu, Sun Quan's only adult descendant, was also in the palace at this time. As for the other two princes, Sun He and Sun Ba, they were merely children not yet ten years old. If important decisions needed to be made, Bu Lianshi and Sun Luyu were the only people Gu Yong could consult with.

At this moment, what Gu Yong needs to do is not how to plan or formulate strategies, but how to make choices.

The officials of the Ministry of Personnel rode swiftly to the gate of Jianye Palace and summoned a palace attendant to find Lady Bu and inform her that Minister Gu had an extremely urgent matter to report to the palace and requested that Lady Bu and Princess Zhu receive him together.

Bu Lianshi was fast asleep when a palace attendant hurriedly knocked on the door and woke her up.

"Reporting to Madam, Minister Gu is currently requesting an audience outside the palace gates, stating that he has urgent business with Lady Bu and Princess Zhu," the eunuch said cautiously.

Bu Lianshi hurriedly put on her outer robe, stood up from the bed, and immediately alarm bells rang in her mind. She asked, "How many men did Lord Gu bring to the palace gate?"

The eunuch replied, "Lord Gu only brought one person with him."

Bu Lianshi asked again, "What exactly is the matter?"

The eunuch shook his head: "Lord Gu only said it was an extremely urgent matter."

Bu Lianshi hesitated for a few seconds, then gritted her teeth and said, "Go and wake Xiao Hu up, and let her come with me to the palace gate to see Lord Gu. Then Lord Gu won't have to go into the palace."

"As you command," the eunuch replied.

Since losing her husband, Sun Luyu had been living in the side hall of her mother, Bu Lianshi's, residence. Still half-asleep, she asked her mother, puzzled, as they boarded the carriage, "Mother, what happened?"

Having accompanied Sun Quan through decades of turmoil, Bu Lianshi had gained some understanding of the perilous situation of a monarch. Turning to her daughter, she said, "Little Tiger, let me be frank with you. Gu Gong's midnight visit to the palace is almost certainly not a good thing. Either something terrible has happened in Jianye, or something terrible has happened to the country, or something has happened to your father."

Sun Luyu's expression didn't change much upon hearing this. Her facial features were very similar to Sun Luban's, only much thinner. She gave a soft hum and lowered her head to fiddle with her fingers: "Is that so?"

He then fell silent.

Bu Lianshi clicked her tongue: "Little Tiger, why aren't you worried?"

Sun Luyu spread his hands, his expression full of sickly frailty, and spoke slowly: "What could be worse than one's own father killing one's own husband? Didn't the Han Dynasty, which lasted four hundred years, also perish? Let it be, whatever happens, at worst we'll all die together! Husband dies, father dies, mother dies, Lord Gu dies, and I die too, then we can all meet in the Yellow Springs and be reunited!"

Bu Lianshi was so angry that she couldn't speak. She pointed at her daughter with trembling hands, but couldn't bring herself to curse her. Then she let out a long sigh.

At the palace gate, Bu Lianshi and Sun Luyu got out of the carriage.

Gu Yong bowed and said, "Madam, Princess, I have important matters to report. Please dismiss everyone else."

"You may all step back." Bu Lianshi waved her hand, and the eunuchs tactfully retreated three zhang away, each holding a torch, giving the group enough space to talk quietly.

Sun Luyu stood motionless, seemingly unconcerned, listening to Gu Yong's endless account of the military situation in Ruxu and Dantu, the state of the Wei army, how His Majesty was unable to return from Poyang, and how the Wu army was too far from Wuchang to provide reinforcements. He watched as his mother went from stunned to trembling to weeping, remaining completely still. (End of Chapter)