Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

War is always full of unexpected events.

Taking advantage of a strategic gap in the Wu army's advance, Huan Fan, the General Who Guards the North of Wei, penetrated south of Chaisang. However, like the wings of a butterfly, his influence extended to the decision-making of a key general in Ruxu Dock more than ten days later.

Just now, only Taishi Xiang frowned, but now the other four are also panicking.

Tai Shixiang's hesitation at this moment cannot be summarized by the words "cowardice in the face of battle"; human nature is far more complex than such a simple dogma.

If we were to discuss which of the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu, and Wu had the worst military system at that time, Wu's army had the strongest personal dependence, and the herd system was one of the biggest differences between Wu and Wei and Shu.

When Sun Quan previously reduced his troops, there were always countermeasures to the policies. Quan Cong, who was in charge of Ruxu at the time, reluctantly instructed his generals to keep a few trusted officers by their side, and then rotate the rest of the troops.

The reason is also very simple.

It doesn't matter if soldiers are replaced, but if not even a trusted officer is left behind, and the generals don't have capable and competent people to do things, how can they be relied on in battle? Therefore, Xu Tian and the other three were the officers that Quan Cong had tacitly allowed Taishi Xiang to keep.

The Wu Kingdom was short-lived, and many of the titles of its rulers and ministers were only established after Sun Quan formally established the kingdom and proclaimed himself King of Wu. In total, it only lasted for ten years, which was not enough to erase the complex background of the generals during the Han Dynasty.

Taishi Xiang's father, Taishi Ci, was different from the generals of the Sun family.

After Taishi Ci fled with Liu Yao in defeat, he briefly established himself as the governor of Danyang, an experience that cannot be concealed.

Taishi Ci's righteous deeds of rescuing Kong Rong in Beihai and seeking help from Liu Bei need no further explanation. Later, Taishi Ci was defeated by Sun Ce at Shenting. In name, Sun Ce regarded Taishi Ci as an assistant, but in practice, he did not give him much importance.

Sun Ce did this: In the fourth year of Jian'an, he separated the two counties of Haihun and Jianchang in Yuzhang Commandery during the Han Dynasty. The same territory was divided into six counties: Haihun, Yongxiu, Xi'an, Jianchang, Xinwu, and Yifeng. Taishi Ci was appointed as the Commandant of Jianchang to govern these six counties.

What are Haihun and Jianchang? They are remote places in the northwest of Yuzhang Commandery. Huan Fan's army did not stop in Haihun when passing through it, while Jianchang is located in the mountains further west.

Nominally, it was to resist Liu Biao's general Liu Pan, but if Taishi Ci was to be given important positions, the two important places along the river, Chaisang and Nanchang, the capital of Yuzhang Commandery, were right next to Taishi Ci's jurisdiction. Why not give Chaisang and Nanchang to Taishi Ci as well? Turning two counties into six is ​​almost fraud. Sun Jian and his son Sun Ce were known for their bravery, but they also had their share of ungrateful acts.

After Sun Quan took over, Taishi Ci's jurisdiction remained unchanged. He was not involved in major battles such as the conquest of Jingzhou or the attack on Huang Zu, nor was he awarded the lucrative task of pacifying the mountain tribes. Taishi Ci was known for his loyalty, bravery, benevolence, and filial piety. His dying lament, "A man should be born with a seven-foot sword to ascend the emperor's steps," was a heartfelt expression of his character.

When Emperor Guangwu of Han appointed Feng Yi to manage Guanzhong, he bestowed upon Feng Yi a seven-foot-long sword.

Taishi Ci was marginalized by the brothers Sun Ce and Sun Quan. As Taishi Xiang grew up and became more aware of things, he often harbored resentment. In addition, his troops were later stripped by Sun Quan, and he had served as a colonel with a salary of two thousand piculs for many years, which further fueled his discontent.

Moreover, Taishi Xiang's mother had passed away, and he only had one daughter in Jianchang, so he didn't have much of a foothold in Wu. The three men beside him, Sima Xutian, Dubo Xuli, He You, and Zhao Fang, were all from Yuzhang, so it could be said that their interests were aligned with Taishi Xiang's.

Moreover, the Wei army has always been kind to surrendered generals, and his ancestral graves are in Donglai, Qingzhou. He is fundamentally different from these Wu people!

Xu Tian was extremely anxious: "Captain, what should we do now? The imperial reinforcements have not arrived, and the situation in the city is deteriorating every day... Captain, please give us some advice. Now that the Wei army has crossed the river, Jianye is in grave danger. What should we do?"

Taishi Xiang took a deep breath: "Do you intend to become traitors?"

Xu Tian's eyes widened at first, but after realizing that Taishi Xiang wouldn't set a trap for him, he shook his head: "Of course I don't want to."

The people behind him echoed this sentiment. Taishi Xiang then asked, "Would you rather die here?"

Xu Tian gave a bitter smile: "My hometown has been occupied by the Wei people, and this city is about to fall. The future of the court is uncertain. If I really die here, I'm afraid I'll just become a roadside skeleton, with no one to collect it, waiting to be eaten by birds and beasts!"

Tai Shixiang nodded: "Since that's the case, you don't need to ask me what I'm thinking. Xu Tian, ​​your thousand men will follow me when I call you. Xu Li, you are my personal attendant, no need for further explanation. He You and Zhao Fang, you two are in He Sima's unit. When the time comes, I will send someone to call you, you two can come to me on your own, and you are not allowed to bring anyone else."

The four men immediately bowed to Taishi Xiang and said, "Yes, sir." Although Taishi Xiang did not explicitly state it, it was enough to reassure them.

Meanwhile, in Jingzhou, north of the Han River and south of Anlu City.

Of the three armies that were the first to set out, General Xiahou Ru's army was the second in order. Of the 20,000 troops, 10,000 were relatively weak foreign troops and 10,000 were prefectural and county soldiers. They were far from the strong troops under Man Chong's command, nor were they as reliable as the foreign troops that Jia Kui and Huan Fan of Wancheng had trained for many years. They also did not receive any support from the central army. They were the weakest of the six armies of the Great Wei.

According to the old strategy of the three-pronged attack on Wu during the Huangchu period, Wen Ping threatened Wuchang in Jiangxia, preventing the garrison troops around Wuchang from moving an inch.

Before launching his campaign, Xiahou Ru positioned himself similarly to Wen Ping in the past: to station his troops north of Miankou, to spy on Xiakou and Wuchang to the south, and to cross the river to harass the enemy if the opportunity arose, or to draw away Wu's forces if the opportunity did not arise.

But things didn't go as planned. Quan Cong arrived with Wu's most formidable 30,000-strong central army. Even if Sun Quan were harsh on anyone, he wouldn't skimp on his central army, which was essentially the foundation of his own life and fortune.

With 50,000 Wu troops facing 20,000 Wei troops, the battle line advanced more than 200 li northwest from Miankou within ten days.

Of Xiahou Ru's 20,000 troops, more than 8,000 were lost in a large-scale attack by Quan Cong seven days prior. The remaining force of just over 10,000 was unable to withstand the onslaught and retreated slowly along the Yun River until they reached Anlu, the starting point of their campaign. After entering Anlu, Xiahou Ru's army was reduced to less than 10,000 men.

Wen Ping had been operating here for many years, and with troops stationed here to guard their homeland, the Wu army attempted to attack Anlu for a day, but failed to capture it.

For Quan Cong, achieving the goal of annihilating 10,000 enemies with 50,000 troops was already a remarkable victory. Quan Cong believed that he had achieved his objective by leading the central army into battle, and after judging that it would be difficult to capture Anlu in the short term, he reacted decisively.

"Your Highness, I have met you." Quan Cong walked into Sun Huan's central military tent from outside and met Crown Prince Sun Deng inside.

"General Wei," Sun Deng stood up and returned the greeting with a cupped hand, "If General Wei hadn't come, I would have gone to find him myself. How should we proceed with the next battle?"

Quan Cong said, "I have come here today to resign from my post. Now that Great Wu is besieged on all sides, the state of things in Wuchang has exceeded my expectations. I suggest that Your Majesty and the Right General retreat to Xiakou. The Wei army in Jiangxia is no longer able to fight. The Right General should lead the army upstream to rescue the General Jiangling's troops. I will immediately lead my army eastward to support Your Majesty near Chaisang!"

Sun Deng didn't seem surprised, but he didn't respond for a moment and instead fell silent.

Quan Cong asked anxiously, "I wonder what Your Highness is considering?"

After a long while, Sun Deng finally said, "General Wei was right to support His Majesty. Since Jiangxia has already provided emergency relief, we shouldn't fight there anymore. But I am the Crown Prince of Great Wu. By stationing myself in Wuchang, I can reassure the people of Wuchang, and by stationing myself in Nanjun, I can also reassure the people of Nanjun!"

“General Wei,” Sun Deng’s face also turned serious, “I intend to personally lead 13,000 soldiers up the river to support the Grand General and protect the territory of Great Wu! Does General Wei have any objections?”

Quan Cong initially wanted to say that this arrangement was inappropriate, but when he thought of Sun Quan, despite his illness, still leading over ten thousand troops to remain in Chaisang and personally confront Huan Fan's Wei army there, he sighed inwardly and immediately relented, bowing respectfully.
"Your Highness is so magnanimous, how could I possibly have any objections? I hope Your Highness will take care of yourself!"

Sun Deng nodded in agreement. (End of Chapter)