Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Poyang Prefecture, within the city of Qiyang.

Qiyang was located north of Poyang, the capital of Poyang Commandery, and was still a county town situated on the banks of Poyang Lake. After Sun Quan sailed south from Chaisang, Qiyang was the first place he passed through.

Today, on this Poyang Lake, General Huan Fan's fleet and Sun Quan's fleet made tentative contact all day long, and only officially engaged in battle on the lake at dusk. The outcome of the battle was very optimistic for Sun Quan.

Leveraging their superior ships and well-trained naval forces, Sun Quan's central fleet sank and captured over sixty small boats from the Wei army. Naval battles are not easy to quantify, but based on the number of ships, Sun Quan concluded in the post-battle debriefing that the Wei army had suffered nearly two thousand casualties that day.

This result is already considered excellent from a tactical perspective.

Just a few days prior, after Huan Fan's army and fleet set out north, due to the excessive amount of supplies and provisions they carried, as well as the considerable number of laborers and prisoners, Huan Fan chose to first travel north from Nanchang to the vicinity of Haihun where the Liao River flows into Pengli Lake and set up camp, before heading east to attack Qiyang, and then Poyang. This gave Sun Quan time to mobilize troops and gather supplies.

Since the battle only began in the evening, it was already late at night by the time the Wu army had tallied their losses and gains and settled their units. The soldiers had all gone to sleep, but Sun Quan and others were still discussing matters.

Sun Quan smiled and looked around at the five men in the hall: Hu Zong, Xu Xiang, Gan Tong, Ding Feng, and Zhou Fang. "Today I have two pieces of good news."

"The first thing is that this evening, we killed more than 2,000 Wei soldiers and captured more than 60 ships. Huan Fan's Wei army had been rampant for many days, but today the Wu army finally thwarted their advance. The Wei army's strength has been confined to the west of Pengli Lake, and Huan Fan will find it difficult to advance eastward across Pengli Lake."

"We will rest for a day tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow I will personally supervise the navy to wipe out the ships of Huan Fan's Wei army."

"Ding Feng." Sun Quan looked at Ding Feng, the lieutenant general who had served as the vanguard today: "Today your troops fought bravely and were not afraid of the enemy's strength, and you achieved many victories. I hereby appoint you as General Jianwei. Tomorrow, in addition to leading your own troops, you will be given two thousand more men to continue serving as my vanguard and to wipe out the Wei army's ships!"

"Your Majesty, I obey!" Ding Feng immediately bowed and said, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, you will witness my achievements tomorrow!"

"Good! That's the kind of boldness I want!" Sun Quan nodded with a smile and continued, "The second thing is the news that came from Wuchang."

"Zihuang led 30,000 troops to join the battle at Xiakou on the 14th. They launched several attacks over the next few days. By the time Zihuang sent the letter on the 18th, the Wei army under Xiahou Ru at Xiakou was already showing signs of weakness. Zihuang predicted that within seven more days, he could launch a full-scale attack on the Wei army's defenses and then return to reinforce them."

Hu Zong added from the side, "The letter was sent on the 18th, so the troops should advance no later than the 25th, and then we can lead the army to reinforce this place."

“Indeed!” Sun Quan laughed. “Huan Fan? I have never heard of his talent. He is just a close minister who has obtained a high position by chance. How could he lead troops? He led troops south from Wankou and made a surprise attack all the way, but he only gained an advantage by surprise. His use of troops is completely without any strategy or tactics.”

"Now this man and his more than 20,000 troops are about to be trapped by me west of Pengli Lake. Huan Fan can either flee north to Chaisang, or wait here for Zihuang to return to his aid and be annihilated by my army."

Sun Quan was in a very good mood today, and his ministers, not wanting to spoil the mood, said many auspicious words and compliments. Sun Quan's face also began to brighten after being gloomy for many days.

At this moment, at Liaoshuikou, dozens of miles away from Qiyang, Huan Fan, the General Who Guards the North of the Great Wei, was not worried at all about the loss of soldiers today. Instead, he broke with tradition and drank with Sun Li and the other man.

"Two thousand soldiers are nothing," Huan Fan said with a smile, raising his cup. "To have gained this unexpected joy in exchange for two thousand soldiers is more than enough for us!"

"Yes." Sun Li's excitement was almost impossible to contain. "The best news today is that Sun Quan is actually in Qiyang! He's leading his navy here to attack us! General, do you think Sun Quan knows that the Wei navy has arrived in Guangling?" "How would he know?" Huan Fan laughed heartily. "His 145,000 troops are attacking Yangzhou, while Sun Quan himself is in Qiyang by the Pengli Lake, in such a cramped place!"

"Deda, what else could this be but the doom of the Wu Kingdom?"

Sun Li nodded repeatedly: "Indeed, the fate of Wu is sealed by Heaven, all thanks to the Emperor's great blessings. General, why don't we pay our respects to the direction of Ruxu from afar?"

"Wishing the Emperor a long life!" Huan Fan raised his wine cup.

"To the Emperor's birthday!" Sun Li responded, and the two drank together.

After setting down his wine cup, Huan Fan picked up some food and said with emotion, "It's no exaggeration to say that we relied on the Emperor's great fortune. Deda, you don't know that when His Majesty and General Man devised the strategy to deploy the Wu army in Fancheng, I was puzzled. The Wei army was well-trained and well-supplied, with more troops and better ships. Why would they come up with such a risky plan to deploy the Wu army? What if the Wu army didn't respond? What if my route, or Xiahou Pingnan's route, were defeated?"

"But today, having captured Wu troops during the war and learned that Sun Quan is in Qiyang, I truly understand the strategy of Your Majesty and General Man. Since Sun Quan is not in Jianye or Wu, this campaign against Wei can quickly take Danyang, Wu Commandery, and Kuaiji!"

Sun Li nodded in agreement, "Who can argue with that? According to the court's ten-day deployment schedule, His Majesty should have already led his army to Ruxu. It shouldn't be difficult for Lu Zhengdong to take over Dantu. With preparations in place, Dantu is sure to be conquered! Once Guanqiu leads his army across the river, Wu will surely be in the hands of Wei!"

"How the general deploys his troops here is not so important."

Huan Fan laughed and said, "If we could keep Sun Quan bound at Poyang Lake for a few more days, that would be even better!"

……

The next day, before dawn.

The night outside Dantu City was so dark it was almost impenetrable.

Following yesterday's battle, 13,000 troops from Le Lin's and Hu Zhi's forces were the first to besiege the city. Lu Xun's navy only managed to haul 5,000 elite guards from Guangling City in the north, bringing the total siege force to 18,000.

Lu Xun's remaining 40,000 naval troops did not participate in yesterday's battle. The reason is simple: Lu Xun's strategic mission was not to besiege or attack Dantu, but to quickly send all 30,000-plus men of Guanqiu Jian's forces north of the Yangtze River to the south bank, and after completing this mission, to continue westward along the Yangtze River to clear out the various naval camps around Jianye.

These camps held no secrets from Lu Xun at all.

Meanwhile, in Dantu City, Sun Shao, the former general of Wu, governor of Youzhou, and member of the imperial clan, was issuing military orders to his various commanders, officers, and captains under the glow of torches.

"The Wei army has come a long way, and this is their first night here. Our army is besieged and has little outside support. Our only plan now is to attack them under cover of night, to break their morale, so that we can hold out here until reinforcements arrive!" (End of Chapter)