Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

As soon as the city gates opened and the flags on the city walls were lowered, the commotion in the south of the city resumed. Even the most obtuse general would understand what was going on.

As Tai Shixiang led his troops out of the city, they abandoned their weapons on both sides of the city gate and lined up in formation beside the city wall. Dian Man's troops, who were responsible for guarding the area outside Ruxu East Fortress, were the first to enter the city. Li Ji led his army to guard Tai Shixiang's troops and sent a message to the rear.

Ruxu Fort, which had remained unconquered for nearly twenty years, was finally brought under the control of the Great Wei.

"Your Majesty, the Wu army has withdrawn from Ruxu Dock, and the garrison commander of Dongdock, Taishi Xiang, has opened the city gates and surrendered," Xu Shu hurriedly entered from outside the hall and reported loudly.

Cao Rui was somewhat surprised: "Didn't they report just half an hour ago that Wu's reinforcements had arrived? Since Wu's army has withdrawn, we should quickly enter the dock."

Xu Shu said urgently, "Your Majesty, the Wu army retreated into Ruxu Zhongzhou via a pontoon bridge, and it will take some time for them to reach Chun Valley in Jiangnan. Since the two forts of Ruxu are no longer there, and the waterways are now in the hands of the Great Wei, we should quickly dispatch a large number of ships from Jingnan Fortress and sail south to seize Ruxu Zhongzhou!"

Pei Qian also realized what was happening: "Since the Wu general has opened the city gates, the Wu army will surely have no will to fight. We should order Zhang Hu's troops to quickly board the ships and advance south! We should also transport the pontoon bridge prepared in Jingnan Dock there, and let the Wuwei Army launch a rapid attack on Zhongzhou!"

Cao Rui understood and looked at Xu Shu, who immediately ran off to deliver the message. The entire battlefield near Jingnanwu and Ruxuwu was in motion.

About half an hour later, the imperial carriage moved from Jingnan East Fortress to Ruxu East Fortress. Surrounded by his ministers, Cao Rui ascended the city wall of Ruxu East Fortress and looked south:
"Is that the Central Continent of Ruxu?"

“Yes.” Cao Zhen nodded: “Zhang Hu’s troops have already advanced southward from the northwest of Zhongzhou, and Wu’s troops have lost the two docks in the north. Cao Tai himself is in the east supervising the Wuwei Army’s Dian Man and Li Ji’s troops, totaling 5,000 infantrymen, and has also arrived in the northeast of Zhongzhou.”

Cao Rui nodded: "Bring me the umbrella and my chair. I will sit on the city wall and watch the battle. General, please go about your business. Later, have someone count the number of prisoners and then summon the Taishi Xiang who surrendered."

"Your subject obeys the decree." Cao Zhen bowed and took his leave.

The battle lines in Ruxu Zhongzhou gradually receded, and Wu's ships of all sizes set sail south, leaving behind hundreds of corpses. Meanwhile, the Wu civilians and laborers who lived in Zhongzhou, unable to find ships and unable to leave in time, surrendered one after another.

Liu Ye walked up from below the city wall: "Your Majesty, the number of surrendered soldiers and prisoners has been counted. There are 1,460 surrendered soldiers from Taishi Xiang's unit. Excluding those from this unit and not counting the wounded, there are 827 prisoners captured from the East and West forts. Countless corpses have also been recovered."

"Your Majesty, Taishi Xiang is right below the city ladder. Should we call him up?"

“Agreed.” Cao Rui nodded.

Before long, Taishi Xiang, who had already removed his weapons, followed behind Zhen Xiang and knelt down and kowtowed from a distance of two zhang.

"Come closer, let me see your face," Cao Rui said softly.

Zhen Xiang bent down and patted Taishi Xiang on the back, then brought him to Cao Rui. Cao Rui looked the man over and asked, "Taishi Xiang, Taishi Yuanfu, right? You're a colonel in the Wu army?"

"Yes." Taishi Xiang's tone was somewhat hurried: "Your surrender is an act of abandoning darkness and embracing the light!"

"Raise your head, I'm not afraid of being seen." Cao Rui said calmly, "I've heard of your father, Taishi Ci. He grew up in a chaotic world, possessing both martial arts and moral character. Although his talent and military strategy are lacking, and he drifts with the tide, he can still be considered a loyal and righteous man. You opened the city gates only when most of the Wu army was retreating, which was a bit cunning, but you ultimately bought some time for Wei, and the military intelligence you provided had some value. So I will spare your life."

"Taishi Xiang, what are your thoughts on submitting to the Great Wei?"

Taishi Xiang and Cao Rui exchanged a glance, then Taishi Xiang instinctively lowered his head. Remembering the emperor's words of "sparing your life," he became even more fearful, his legs trembling: "Your Majesty, I only ask to serve the Great Wei and make contributions, so as not to waste my talents. I will obey Your Majesty's orders!"

Cao Rui chuckled lightly: "Though that's what you say, if I were to actually make you guard the gate, you certainly wouldn't want to. Since you claim to be talented, how could you not know what you're capable of doing?"

Taishi Xiang bowed deeply and kowtowed: "Your subject is willing to follow the army and serve as the vanguard for Your Majesty in conquering the Wu region, to serve you with utmost loyalty!"

"Rise," Cao Rui said, not directly answering Taishi Xiang's question.

Tai Shi Xiang carefully stood up.

Cao Rui then said, "Judging from your official position, you surrendered the city in a timely manner, and your faults outweigh your merits. Therefore, I demote you to the rank of Sima of a thousand shi (a unit of grain measurement). Taishi Xiang, do you have any complaints?"

Even when facing Sun Quan, Taishi Xiang had never been so nervous. He repeatedly replied, "Your Majesty's grace is boundless, Your Majesty's favor is boundless!"

“However, official position is one thing, and title is another,” Cao Rui said. “Since you have brought 1,500 soldiers to surrender, I will not break my promise to the world. I will enfeoff you as a Marquis of Ting, with a fief of 1,500 households. Your title will be determined after the war.”

"Your subject accepts the decree and thanks you!" Taishi Xiang was truly convinced, his joy far outweighing his sorrow. With the Wu kingdom seemingly beyond hope, compared to the title of a marquis with 1,500 households, what did it matter that he had gone from a 2,000-stone military officer in Wu to a 1,000-stone military commander in Wei? It was an unexpectedly safe departure!
Moreover, the war between Wei and Wu has only just begun. The emperor has not yet crossed the river. There are so many places in Jingzhou, Yangzhou, and Jiaozhou, so there are plenty of opportunities to make a name for oneself!
Cao Rui said, "The 1,500 men who surrendered with you will still be under your command, and your troops will be temporarily placed under the command of Duan Mo, the Colonel of Changshui. In addition to your troops, the 2,000 soldiers who surrendered in Liyang, Xianxi, Ruxu and other places will also be under the command of Duan Mo."

"And now I have a task for you."

"Your Majesty, please give your orders!" Taishi Xiang bowed deeply.

Cao Rui pointed and said, "Taishi Xiang, demolish this city of Ruxu for me! Start demolishing it from the north wall of Dongwu, go now!"

Taishi Xiang was taken aback for a moment, then bowed deeply and said, "Your subject will go immediately!"

Night falls, cross the river.

Lu Xun's troops were half transporting troops and half resting, and they finally managed to transport Jiang Wei and Cao Shuang's more than 20,000 troops to Caishi on the other side of the river in one day.

Shicheng was easily captured by Cao Shuang, so Jiang Wei's troops camped there. It was January, and the weather was rather cold, so the Wuhuan and Xianbei cavalry under Jiang Wei's command could still tolerate the climate of Jiangnan.

However, Lu Xun at Hengjiang Ferry had a grim expression and, unusually, lost his temper in his own warship:

"Xiahou Jiquan! You can't even handle such a small matter. Where are the ships? Where are the ships? Two ships and six hundred men, where are they now? Your troops are missing six hundred men, and you, as a general, don't even know? How dare you come back to see me?"

In the Wei navy, a general with a miscellaneous title commanded 10,000 troops, and under his command were five captains with 2,000 troops each. There was also a convention in naming these generals after ships: Cao Zhi was the General of the Tower Ship, Yue Lin was the General of the Warship, and Xiahou Wei and Xiahou Jiquan were the Generals of the Fighting Ship.

Xiahou Wei was the fourth son of Xiahou Yuan and the younger brother of Xiahou Ba. Originally, according to Xiahou Wei's resume, although commanding the navy would be less difficult, he was still relatively inexperienced. Lu Xun initially did not agree to Xiahou Wei joining the navy as a general. It was only after Dong Zhao talked with Lu Xun that he insisted on putting him in the position.

The reason is quite simple. If you lack experience, you can gain it through fighting, right? The Great Wei should give generals surnamed Cao and Xiahou more room to grow and promote them when they are due. This is the greatest principle of human relationships in the Great Wei army.

Today, Lu Xun was stationed at Hengjiang Ferry transporting troops, and sent Xiahou Wei with 5,000 naval men as the vanguard to scout south towards Wuhu. Xiahou Wei returned first, but the two warships he left behind to cover the rear had not yet returned. It was getting late, and sending out a small fleet was risky, no wonder Lu Xun was so angry.

Xiahou Wei lowered his head and sighed, unsure how to explain. He was forced to stand a foot in front of Lu Xun in the hall as punishment. Lu Xun neither spoke to him nor allowed him to leave, so he had no choice but to remain in this position. About half an hour later, the two warships returned to Hengjiang Ferry. Xiahou Wei let out a long sigh of relief. Lu Xun glared at Xiahou Wei and went ashore to ask him what was wrong.

"General!"

"Meet the General!"

After disembarking, the captains of the two warships rushed towards Lu Xun's flagship, where they ran into Lu Xun, who had come to inspect the vessel.

"What happened? Why are you back so late?" Lu Xun asked in a deep voice.

A captain named Cheng Po quickly replied, "General, when Zhang Bu and I were covering the rear, we saw a large number of ships coming down from upstream outside Wuhu Port. Moreover, the large and small ships were moving in an irregular pattern, quite scattered. When they saw that we only had two ships, they were not in a hurry to drive us away, but instead went ashore first. So Zhang Bu and I stayed a little longer."

"It wasn't until Wu's army sent boats to drive us away that Zhang Bu and I hurriedly retreated. Wu's army chased us along the river for half an hour before stopping, so we quickly returned. The journey was slower after nightfall, which is why we were a little late."

Lu Xun waited quietly for Cheng Po to finish speaking, without urging him, and then said in a soft voice, "Cheng Po, Zhang Bu, how many Wu troops do you estimate have arrived in Wuhu?"

Cheng Po hesitated for a few seconds, and Zhang Bu said, "There are many large and small ships. My rough estimate is that there are around 20,000 ships!"

"Cheng Po?" Lu Xun urged again.

Cheng Po said, "Pretty much! My estimate is about the same as Zhang Bu's!"

"Alright. Go back to your camps. You have done nothing wrong." Lu Xun waved his hand, then turned and walked towards his ship. Seeing that Xiahou Wei wanted to talk to Cheng Po and Zhang Bu, he pulled Xiahou Wei over.

Xiahou Wei was puzzled: "General, what is it you want to tell me? Both ships have returned."

Lu Xun glanced at Xiahou Wei: "Come, cross the river with my boat. I have business to attend to Cao Zhaobo and Jiang Boyue!" (End of Chapter)