Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Cao Rui stood on a high platform built in the camp, gazing at the scene outside Ruxu Dock to the south.

On both the east and west sides of the Ruxu River, over a hundred catapults on each side were hurling stones at the city walls of the two Wu army fortified villages. Since early yesterday morning, the catapults had launched a remarkably swift offensive.

Thanks to the unified arrangements made by the imperial court in the fourth year of the Taihe era, Chen Qun, the then military commander of Yangzhou, constructed two fortified villages, Jingnan East Fortress and Jingnan West Fortress, four or five li north of the Wu Kingdom's Ruxu Fortress, facing off against the Wu army's Ruxu Fortress. Protected by these fortified villages, before this battle, the Wei Kingdom was able to slowly transport large quantities of grain and military supplies to Jingnan Fortress by ship, including a massive amount of stones, which were piled up like mountains north of the fortress. Even with the stones piled in the open outside the city, there was no need to worry, as the grain stored within the city would suffice.

Break it with force.

This is the benefit of controlling water transport routes.

In other words, the Wei army had previously engaged in open-field battles when attacking Ruxu, and had never launched a siege with such a massive stockpile of supplies. The extremely convenient and low-cost water transport, coupled with the modified design of the catapults by the Imperial Workshop, which allowed for both long-distance hurling into various parts of the city and short-range attacks on the city walls, made a siege of Ruxu using catapults a viable option.

Liu Ye stood beside Cao Rui and pointed to the outside of Ruxu Dock: "Your Majesty, please look. After a day of bombardment, all the watchtowers and battlements on the outer walls of Ruxu East and West Docks have been destroyed. Yesterday at noon, the Wu army attempted to launch a simultaneous attack from both docks, but was blocked by the Wuwei Army. Last night at midnight, they launched another night attack, which was also blocked by the Wuwei Army."

"Today, the target of the catapult attack is the corner of Ruxu City."

"Given the defeat of Wu's troops on the battlefield yesterday, Wu's general Zhu Ran dares not lead his army out again today."

Cao Rui nodded and continued looking towards Ruxu Dock: "Can we destroy the corner of the city today?"

Liu Ye explained, “Your Majesty, Ruxu Dock is 35 feet high. The inner wall is made of rammed earth, and the outer wall is covered with bricks. The Wuwei Army tested it last year when they were conducting military exercises in Xiquyang. I went there to see it with my own eyes. A one-day attack could basically smash off the outer wall bricks, exposing the rammed earth at the corners of the city.”

"The two fortified villages of Ruxu, Dongwu and Xiwu, are not large cities. I estimate that by the day after tomorrow at the latest, the army will be able to use ladders, siege carts, and other equipment to attack the cities. Stones and arrows rained down like rain, and the Wu army on the city walls dared not linger for even a moment. To be honest, this is the first time in my life that I have seen such a well-supplied siege. Even when Emperor Wu attacked Ye City, there was no such grand spectacle."

“Each generation has its own tasks.” Cao Rui chuckled. “Didn’t the sage say that a country is not secured by the dangers of mountains and streams, and that the world is not dominated by the advantages of weapons? But sometimes, the opposite of what Confucianism says is more effective.”

"Ruxu Dock has hindered the Great Wei for nearly twenty years, preventing the Great Wei army from advancing south. Now, I am taking advantage of the fact that there are few soldiers here and the Wu army is unable to come to our aid, to completely smash and conquer Ruxu City. Only by breaking through it by force can we remove the psychological barrier that the Great Wei has been unable to conquer for many years, and boost the morale of the Great Wei army."

"Liu Qing, you and the General should act swiftly. I will observe your success from here."

"According to the order."

Cao Rui added, "Cao Tai and Cheng Xi have made contributions, and the Privy Council should record their merits."

"I have noted it down," Liu Ye said, bowing.

The army is where organization is most crucial, and the most well-organized army in the Great Wei is undoubtedly the Central Army. Due to the Great Wei's overwhelming military presence north of Ruxu, a large number of cavalry are not needed. The army responsible for launching the siege is Cheng Xi's Right Guard of the Imperial Guards. The Central Army's elite cavalry are of the highest quality, making them the best choice for coordinating the siege using siege weaponry.

At this moment, Cao Rui only had a little over 30,000 troops beside him.

Cao Shuang and Jiang Wei are currently waiting to cross the river at Liyang with 22,000 infantry and cavalry. At Ruxu, there are only two full-strength units of 10,000 men each: the Wuwei Army and the Yulin Right Army. In addition, there are only 3,000 cavalrymen led by Bian Lan, Zhen Xiang, and Duan Mo accompanying the emperor, as well as 5,000 cavalrymen led by Bei Yan and 4,000 infantrymen led by Zhang Hu.

Meanwhile, the Wu army inside the city was gripped by immense and utter panic. Ruxu was the most important fortress north of the Yangtze River for Wu, and its generals and junior officers were all loyal to Wu. However, the current situation had instilled a widespread fear of battle in the people of the city.

It's no lie.

For the Wei army outside the city, setting up positions and launching stone projectiles inward was an organizational and costly endeavor. Furthermore, with the elite Wuwei Army stationed there, they had no need to worry about the Wu army suddenly appearing in their faces. The battle was fought with remarkable composure.

For the Wu army inside the city, smashing the facilities on the city walls and launching the stone projectiles into the city was like divine punishment.

In addition, General Zhu Cai was killed on the city wall yesterday. Although he was not directly hit by the stone projectiles, he was buried under the towers that collapsed due to the bombardment. Zhu Ran sent people to risk their lives to rescue Zhu Cai. Zhu Cai was bleeding from the mouth, which should be due to internal injuries caused by being hit in the abdomen by the beam. He survived the night and died at dawn.

Zhu Cai was Zhu Zhi's second son.

Zhu Zhi was a veteran official during the reign of Sun Jian in the Wu Kingdom. When Sun Quan was just over ten years old, it was Zhu Zhi who recommended him as a candidate for officialdom, thus beginning his career. As early as the seventh year of Jian'an (200 AD), more than thirty years ago, when Sun Quan had only been in power for two years, Zhu Zhi was appointed as the Prefect of Wu Commandery as General Who Supports Righteousness, with the four counties of Lou, Youquan, Wuxi, and Piling under his command. To make a somewhat imperfect analogy, Zhu Zhi was a figure similar to Xiahou Dun, who stabilized Sun Quan's rear.

The death of the son of such a meritorious general greatly demoralized the troops at both the eastern and western outposts of Ruxu. Zhu Zhi's eldest son was none other than Zhu Ran, the commander-in-chief of Ruxu and General of Chariots and Cavalry of Wu, and Zhu Cai was his younger brother.

Facilities to protect against stone projectiles were built in Xiwu, Ruxu. Upon hearing of Zhu Cai's death, Zhang Cheng specially came to Xiwu from the pontoon bridge along the south side of the river to see Zhu Cai one last time.

On the one hand, having both been stationed in Ruxu for a long time and being second-generation members of the Wu Kingdom, Zhang Cheng and Zhu Cai still shared some affection. On the other hand, Zhu Ran's younger brother died as a result of indirect damage from Wei army stone projectiles. As the General of the Rear of Wu and the garrison commander of Ruxu East Fort, Zhang Cheng also needed to pay attention to the psychological state of his commander-in-chief, Zhu Ran, and how Zhu Ran would choose to proceed in the current situation.

After all, his younger brother had died. Humans are not plants or trees, and Zhu Ran must be in an even more difficult situation right now.

After comforting Zhu Ran, Zhang Cheng sighed and finally asked the question that had been on his mind:

"General, what should we do now? Today is the second day that the Wei army has started using stone carts to bombard the city, and their morale is already so low. If we delay for a few more days, the Wei army will probably be close enough to attack the city."

"What can we do?" Zhu Ran's eyes were now devoid of any emotion, bloodshot as he slowly turned his head and stared directly at Zhang Cheng: "What else can we do but defend to the very end? Now, the only option is to die for our country!"

Zhang Cheng was startled by Zhu Ran's gaze and quickly explained, "General, I didn't mean anything by 'what to do,' but Ruxu is the key to Great Wu and must be defended. The Wei army is raining down stones and mud balls everywhere, and much of the city wall has already been destroyed. In another day or two, when the bricks and stones of the city wall are completely broken, even if we want to defend it, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold it!"

"Could we find an opportunity to break out of the city and launch another attack on the Wei army?"

Seeing that Zhang Cheng showed no fear, Zhu Ran also relaxed his tense guard and sighed deeply: "The Wei army's offensive is so fierce that I have never seen anything like it in my life, and it has never been recorded in history books. More than ten years ago, when Cao Zhen attacked Jiangling, he also built tunnels, siege ladders, and arrow towers, but he never launched such a fierce attack as today. The damage that the Wei army has done to the city and the morale of the troops in one day is almost comparable to that of a month in Jiangling."

"It is difficult to hold out for long in a city."

"We went into battle, but we couldn't defeat them."

"This place is of utmost importance, and there is no imperial will, so we must hold it firmly."

In this tense moment, Zhang Cheng was unconsciously lost in thought. Zhu Ran had been guarding Jiangling for six months. According to Zhu Ran's account today, that meant he could only hold out for six days?
Zhang Cheng quickly regained his composure and sighed, "We cannot fight, we cannot defend, we cannot flee. Having received so much kindness from the Great Wu over the years, then the general and I shall die here!"

Zhu Ran sighed and waved his hand: "The situation in Dongwu is equally precarious. Chengsi, you should go back."

"Take care, General!" Zhang Cheng bowed.

Zhu Ran nodded emphatically.

At this moment, Taishi Xiang, inside the Ruxu East Dock, began to waver slightly.

There were four generals on duty at Ruxu Dock. Taishi Xiangzhi was ranked below Zhu Ran, Zhang Cheng, and Zhu Cai. Taking advantage of Zhang Cheng's trip to Xiwu, he specially summoned several of his trusted confidants to his side.

"Captain," a Thousand Stone Sima responded with clasped hands.

"Greetings, Captain." The three centurions followed behind the commander and saluted.

"Xu Tian, ​​Xu Li, He You, and Zhao Fang, you four have been my trusted confidants for many years. Now that the General of the Rear has gone to Xiwu, I finally have time to call you four to my side." Taishi Xiang sighed, "Zhu Cai is dead, and the morale in the fortress is greatly depressed. Moreover, the Wei army's move to launch stone carts to smash the city is so fierce that even with the fortification of Ruxu Fortress, I'm afraid it won't last long."

Sima Xutian, who was much older than Taishi Xiang, asked in bewilderment, "General, you are always so resourceful. Why are you asking your subordinates today? Since Ruxu is besieged and the war is urgent, why not just send troops from Jianye here?"

"Jianye?" Taishi Xiang sighed again: "Jianye is probably in dire straits! You are not yet of the rank of two thousand shi, so there are some things you do not know. Now the imperial army has all gone to the direction of Jingzhou, the Wei army has already crossed the river from Guangling, and the navy is no match for the Wei fleet on the river."

"Judging from Yangzhou alone, the Wei army numbers at least 100,000. Adding the three routes of attack from the west, Wei has mobilized at least 200,000 troops this time!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Tian's face turned pale, and his lips trembled: "Captain, are you saying that the Wei army crossed the river and defeated the Wu navy?"

"Otherwise, why would I have come to discuss matters with you!" Taishi Xiang frowned and stamped his foot heavily. "Moreover, you may not know, but Huan Fan, the General Who Guards the North stationed in Wancheng, after defeating Chaisang, continued southward, and Haihun, Nanchang, and other places are now in Wei's hands!" (End of this chapter)