Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

As dawn broke, Lu Xun and Guanqiu Jian appeared outside Dantu City, both looking rather grim.

General Wang Ling of the Valiant Guard also remained expressionless. When Wang Ling accompanied Lu Xun and Guanqiu Jian on their inspection of the Hu Zhi tribe's camp south of the city, there seemed to be a hint of mockery on his face.

“Leading the army, we marched east. Yesterday, General Hu and I agreed to each hold our camps and help each other. Yes, I withstood Wu Gou’s night attack, but by the time I led my troops from the east of the city to the south, the situation had deteriorated drastically… This, this is truly beyond my ability to save.”

Guanqiu Jian's face was grim: "How much damage did your unit sustain?"

“Three men,” Wang Ling replied. “The three men tripped and fell while pursuing the Wu army at night, sustaining minor injuries. Apart from that, no soldiers died in battle.”

"Where is Hu Zhibu?"

“Over seven hundred,” Wang Ling replied.

In the military tent next to these three men lay the corpse of General Zhenwei, Hu Zhi (Hu Wende). This corpse was found by Wang Ling himself when he came to this place at dawn to settle the troops, and after failing to find Hu Zhi, he hurriedly searched among the corpses lying scattered on the ground.

War shows no mercy to anyone.

Whether a scholar or a general, and no matter how well he conducts himself, none can withstand the fatal injury inflicted by a ring-pommel sword slicing across their neck.

Lu Xun stood there with his hands clasped, listening to Wang Ling finish recounting everything, and then let out a long sigh. Hu Zhi was a good man; he himself had recommended him for the vanguard position, which was more than enough to repay the meal he had carefully prepared.

Considering Lu Xun's many tumultuous experiences over the years, the death of a general he had met just yesterday was nothing. But for Guanqiu Jian, this matter was quite unpleasant.

Hu Zhi was his subordinate and the first vanguard to cross the river. It was truly inexcusable that he was killed outside Dantu City before even engaging in a major battle. Moreover, this man was recommended by Lu Xun. If Lu Xun were to relay the exact words to the emperor, he might be accused of shirking responsibility.

"General Lu." Guanqiu Jian composed himself and looked at Lu Xun: "Hu Wende was my subordinate. I will report his death in the military report to His Majesty. General Lu can simply say that it was a matter concerning his own naval subordinates."

"Okay." Lu Xun nodded.

Lu Xun knew that Guanqiu Jian wouldn't shift the blame onto him. Guanqiu Jian was a former official of the Emperor, while Lu Xun was the Emperor's brother-in-law; in terms of intimacy, it wasn't necessarily clear who was closer. Since Guanqiu Jian was saying this, he was essentially taking all the blame for the losses suffered by the Hu Zhi tribe upon himself.

She does know how to get along with people.

After the army hastily made a thin coffin to bury Hu Zhi, he was transported to Guangling in Jiangbei along with other fallen soldiers.

By evening, Guanqiu Jian's entire force had reached Dantu outside Jiangnan. The 5,000 troops under General Yue Lin and General Cao Zhao exchanged positions. Hu Zhi's remaining troops, along with General Xiahou Xian's 5,000 cavalry, were stationed south of the city, while the east of the city was guarded by General Pu Zhong's 6,000 infantry.

Meanwhile, Wang Ling's 10,000 elite guards and Guanqiu Jian's 5,000 cavalry, totaling 15,000 central troops, were stationed at the southeastern part of Dantu City, where it connected to the waterway.

After completing his mission of transporting troops, Lu Xun led his navy back to their ships, setting up camps at the docks of Guangling on the north bank of the Yangtze River and Dantu on the south bank. Of the 50,000 naval troops, 5,000 would remain to transport provisions and supplies for Guanqiu Jian's forces over the next few days; the remaining 45,000 would set sail westward towards Jianye. In the central command tent, Guanqiu Jian, fully armored and expressionless, stood before his generals. All the commanders were present; in case of emergency, they could easily return to their camps on horseback.

"Hu Wende died in the chaos of the Wu army's night attack last night." Guanqiu Jian looked around, his tone icy: "The army is a battlefield, and death is not a taboo subject. Hu Wende died last night; he was the first general of the Great Wei to cross the river, but he was also the first to die in Jiangnan. Today, I and you have all crossed the river, but I don't know when we will all die here!"

Guanqiu Jian's words were rather harsh, but the generals in the tent knew their commander's extremely bad mood, and none dared to refute him. Even Wang Ling, known for his outspoken nature, dared not say anything at this moment. Having served as the Commander of the Central Army for many years, Guanqiu Jian had amassed considerable authority.

Guanqiu Jian continued, “Why did Hu Wende die last night, while General Wang was unharmed and no one in the army was lost? This is the difference between being prepared and unprepared, between being thorough and being lucky. How to build camps, how to guard against night attacks, each of you has been tested by the Privy Council, so I don’t need to say more.”

"I only want you to remember one thing. You, as the first army of the Great Wei to cross the Yangtze River and march south, are here to conquer counties, achieve merit, and be granted titles and honors to your families, not to die in the south of the Yangtze River due to your own negligence!"

"Wang Ling!" Guanqiu Jian's voice rose an octave.

"Your subordinate is here," Wang Ling quickly replied, clasping his hands in greeting.

"Cao Zhao!"

"Your subordinate is here." Cao Zhao also stepped forward in response.

Then came Xiahou Xian, Pu Zhong, and all the Sima under his direct command; Guanqiu Jian called out their names one by one.

"Hu Wende died in battle, he died while serving the king!" Guanqiu Jian took a deep breath: "I will strive to obtain the posthumous honors he deserves. But this is a one-time exception. If any of your units make mistakes in this matter again, I will not only not help you in the slightest, but I will also plead guilty to the court! Do you understand?"

"Understood, sir!" everyone responded in unison.

"Now that you know, let's talk about the upcoming battle," Guanqiu Jian said. "Tomorrow morning, General Wang Ling will lead 5,000 elite guards to take over Xiahou Xian's defense in the south of the city, and will also supervise Generals Cao Zhao and Pu Zhong to keep the Wu army locked up in the east of the city and prevent them from leaving."

Wang Ling was suddenly startled and, disregarding everything else, immediately cupped his hands and asked, "General, I can lead troops to attack Jianye! It's a waste of my talents to keep the Wu army trapped here. I can serve as the vanguard for you to attack the Wu bandits' capital!"

"Who said I was going to attack Jianye?" Guanqiu Jian retorted.

"If we don't attack Jianye, where should we attack?" Wang Ling was puzzled. "Our army has already crossed the Yangtze River. Shouldn't we be attacking the capital of Wu?"

Guanqiu Jian snorted: "Jianye is right there, you can't fly away or escape. When Lu Zhengdong attacked Wu's navy under He Da, it was like crushing dry leaves, and Wu's navy had no power to resist at all. If the navy goes west tomorrow, it will not be difficult to sweep away Wu's navy all the way to Ruxu."

"Jianye, let the General lead the attack. I will conquer the counties of Danyang Commandery east of Jurong, and also take Wu Commandery to the south. Sun Quan has named his kingdom Wu; if Wu Commandery falls to Wei, his reign will be over!"

"All generals, heed my command!" Guanqiu Jian declared proudly. "Tomorrow, General Wang Ling will lead Cao Zhao's and Pu Zhong's troops, totaling 16,000 men. I will lead the remaining troops to garrison Qu'a in the south, and then we will conquer Wu Commandery!" (End of Chapter)