Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Wu County has been prosperous since ancient times.

Guanqiu Jian marched southeast from Dantu, passing through Qu'a and Piling counties. While attacking the cities, he also followed the principle of minimizing the disturbance to the people. The two cities surrendered almost without resistance.

The local powerful clans lacked the will to hold out, and the county magistrates and officials of both places were puzzled by the fact that the Wei army had broken through the barrier of the great river and marched to this point. In addition, the city was not heavily guarded, and the scale of the Wei army of 10,000 cavalry was indeed terrifying, so surrender was just a matter of course.

Xiahou Xian's five thousand cavalrymen acted as the vanguard, surrounding Wuxi City. Guanqiu Jian led the remaining five thousand cavalrymen to catch up, but Wuxi City remained tightly shut.

Seeing this, Guanqiu Jian became curious. Upon seeing Xiahou Xian, he pointed towards the city and said, "General Xiahou, send someone to ask the people in the city whether they are willing to surrender or not. If they are willing to surrender, in addition to retaining their original official positions, I can also secure the title of Marquis within the Pass for the magistrate in charge of the city. If they are unwilling to surrender, the attack on the city will begin in half an hour, and I will stay in the city tonight."

"As you command." Xiahou Xian nodded. "General, please wait a moment, I will send someone to inquire immediately."

As Xiahou Xian's subordinate officer received the order and rode out of the formation alone, he was then carried into the city by a large basket hanging from the city wall. Before the officer could leave the city, a scholar-like man descended the city wall in the same manner and calmly arrived at Guanqiu Jian's formation.

"I am a guest of the county magistrate in this city, named Huating, and I have come to pay my respects to the general." The man bowed.

Guanqiu Jian sat on his horse, looked down at the man for a few moments, and asked, "The magistrate of the city is called Lou Xuan, right? What does he want to say to you? Ask away. I will only give Wuxi half an hour. Once the time is up, I will attack the city."

"The envoy from the great nation has already spoken to the people in the city about what the general said." The Wu scholar named Huating cupped his hands and asked, "The county magistrate sent me here to ask the general three questions."

"Ask me?" Guanqiu Jian chuckled, raised his riding whip and pointed at the man, then said to Xiahou Xian with a smile, "When did such a bold person emerge from Wu? Along our journey, the Wu people we've met in Dantu, Qu'a, and Piling have all been cowards!"

Xiahou Xian also laughed and said, "General, you are busy with military affairs. Just listen to what this man asked. If the question is wrong, we can use him to fill in the gaps when we are short of people to carry soil to fill the ditches during the attack on the city."

Guanqiu Jian nodded: "Alright."

The group of soldiers around him laughed, but this Wu scholar's face turned pale and he was sweating. It took him nearly ten breaths to calm down.

A scholar from Wu asked, "The county magistrate has ordered me to first inquire of the general: how did your troops march to this point?"

Guanqiu Jian said calmly, "As for you, I don't bother with empty threats. The imperial navy has defeated Wu general He Da's fleet and besieged Sun Shao's forces in Dantu. I will personally lead the army to conquer Wu County. My force is only one of the six routes, with a total strength of 250,000. This attack on Wu has already secured victory. The day of Sun Quan's demise has arrived."

The Wu scholar's face grew even paler, and he asked again, "If the general takes our city, do you intend to kill or spare lives?"

Guanqiu Jian glanced at the man, and with everyone watching, he remained cautious in his speech: "Killing or saving lives is not my prerogative, but a matter of military law. If Wuxi City should not be persuaded to surrender and is only taken by attack, then all the officers and soldiers defending the city will be executed without exception. Whether or not the city is massacred depends on how the people within the city welcome the royal army. The decision to kill or save lives rests with you, not with me." The Wu soldiers' doubts were largely resolved, and they bowed again: "General, I have one last question. Does the General intend to take Wu County quickly, or will you conquer each city one by one?"

Guanqiu Jian remained silent, lightly nudged his horse's flank, circled the man, and when he reached behind him, gently tapped the man's nape with the hilt of his sword. He then dismounted, stood before the man, and asked in a deep voice:
"So what if we take it quickly? So what if we have a strategy for building a fortress?"

The Wu scholar bowed and said, "If we take it quickly, I have a plan that can help the general pacify Wu County within ten days. The powerful clans will surely help the general raise food and military supplies, so there will be no need for the hardship of attacking the city! If we take it city by city, even if the general is invincible, the cavalry under the general's command will be exhausted, which will be detrimental to the army and the overall situation of your country!"

Guanqiu Jian sneered: "Who are you? Huating, that's probably not your real name, is it?"

The Wu scholar chuckled, straightening his slightly bowed back: "General, you are wise. I am Lou Xuan, the magistrate of Wuxi County. I have come out of the city to offer you a plan!"

"Lou Xuan?" Guanqiu Jian said, "Magistrate Lou, if we can truly pacify Wu County within ten days as you say, I will recommend you as the Prefect of Wu County. If you are a boastful and unrealistic person, then you deserve to be executed. Do you understand?"

"I understand," Lou Xuan said calmly. "Now that the Wei army has crossed the river, taking Wu County will be a piece of cake. All we need to do is..."

"Wait." Guanqiu Jian reached out to stop Lou Xuan: "You must be an official of Wu. And I have always deeply hated those who are disloyal. If you don't have a reasonable explanation, you don't need to say anything more. I will kill you right now!"

Lou Xuan cupped his hands and said, "I am thirty-two years old. When I was still an infant, I moved to Wu with my father to avoid the chaos. My place of origin is not Wu, but Qi County in Qiao Commandery! According to my place of origin, I am a proper citizen of Wei, not Wu. This is an act of restoring order and returning to the rightful order, not an act of rebellion or disloyalty!"

"Qixian?" Guanqiu Jian chuckled. "Since you're from Qiao County, then you're His Majesty's fellow townsman. Please continue."

Lou Xuan swallowed hard and continued, "To conquer Wu, we only need two strategies."

"One is to trap their troops."

"Since Jianye mobilized troops from Wu and Hui to defend Dantu to the north, the vast Wu Commandery has only 2,500 infantrymen stationed there. A thousand are stationed northwest of Wu County, another thousand between Jiaxing and Haiyan to guard against pirates, and five hundred guard the Sun family mausoleum in Fuchun. Besides these, there are no other troops. General, you can quickly send cavalry to attack the two garrisons in Wu County and Jiaxing. These are weak forces, unable to withstand a single blow from the elite Wei cavalry; they can be captured in one fell swoop! As for Fuchun, it is remote, so General, you need not worry about it. The rest of the troops in Wu Commandery are merely private soldiers and retainers of various ethnic groups, ranging from a few hundred to a thousand. They are all self-serving bandits, each residing in their fortified villages, and are not worth worrying about!"

Guanqiu Jian nodded and looked at Xiahou Xian.

Xiahou Xian understood and immediately said, "I have noted it down. I will go and interrogate the magistrates of Qu'a and Piling counties later. After Wuxi city opens, I will interrogate the people in the city and verify their identities to ensure there are no mistakes." (End of this chapter)