Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Lu Xun barely slept last night.

The more a general is stationed in the field, the more he must respect the emperor's orders and the authority of the court. Anyone who claims that a general in the field is not bound by the emperor's orders is either an extremely close confidant of the emperor or has become so arrogant as to act arbitrarily.

Lu Xun, of course, was uninvolved in either.

After crossing the river at Niuzhu to Hengjiangdu, Lu Xun summoned his generals and officers to arrange the march toward Wuhu the next day. He then wrote a long letter of nearly a thousand words, recording his conversation with Generals Jiang Wei and Cao Shuang in its entirety, and explaining his strategic judgment to the emperor, as well as how he persuaded Jiang Wei and Cao Shuang.

It is only right to persuade allied forces to abandon their original objectives and change their strategic direction, and to report this clearly. However, the navy is different from other branches of the military. When the ships are sailing, Lu Xun can sleep soundly in his cabin. If there is any need, the military advisor can call him, which will not take up any time.

Setting off before dawn, despite unfavorable factors such as water flow and wind direction, Lu Xun's entire army had already crossed the river northwest of Wuhu by noon.

On the city wall of Wuhu, Wu's General of Chariots and Cavalry Zhu Ran and Attendant Hu Zong had already received reports from scouts and arrived at the western city wall of Wuhu, gazing at the Wei army fleet on the river.

The river makes a bend south of Wuhu, changing from an east-west direction to a north-south direction, and maintains this direction all the way down to Jianye.

Zhu Ran sighed, "The Wei fleet is so impressive! Judging from the size of its ships, it must have tens of thousands of soldiers. I just don't know if they are tens of thousands of naval troops or Wei infantry accompanying the ships."

"How much difference could there be?" Hu Zong shook his head with a wry smile. "Just by looking at them briefly, you can tell that there are at least 30,000 to 40,000 of them. And looking at the Wei army's large ships, whether they are tower ships or fighting ships, their design is no worse than that of the Wu ships."

"When I first heard that Dantu was besieged by the Wei army and that Heda's forces were defeated by the Wei navy, I found it hard to believe. Seeing this scene today, I realize that Heda's defeat was not unjust. Yifeng, I've been thinking about this for days. When exactly were these Wei ships built? And where did they come from? Could they be from the Zhongdu River? The Zhongdu River should be shallow and frozen, so where did so many ships come from?"

"So many ships have arrived in Wuhu, but what about Jianye? What about Dantu? Why is there not a single word from them? What if the Wei fleet reaches Ruxu and transports all the Wei soldiers across the river? What will we do then?"

Although Hu Zong also led troops, he was not usually acting as a commander-in-chief in independent operations. Seeing the Wei fleet in such a magnificent display from the city walls, his last shred of resolve crumbled. As the Wu Kingdom, which spanned the Yangtze River, Hu Zong, who was in charge of the daily military affairs of the central army, knew better than anyone what this Wei fleet, which was rampaging across the river, truly represented.

Rather than saying Hu Zong was talking to himself, it would be more accurate to say that he was trying to adjust his mindset and pull himself back from the brink of collapse.

Zhu Ran was in a much better mood than Hu Zong, having already adjusted his mindset. However, he didn't want to comfort Hu Zong, but instead sighed from the side:

“Wei Ze, what’s the use of saying all this now? Even if Quan Zihuang’s 30,000 troops went downstream, they would probably be powerless. If they hadn’t chosen to go to Wuhu yesterday, but instead headed towards Chaisang, they might have…”

Zhu Ran and Hu Zong were almost lost in thought on the city wall. First, they discussed the movements of the Wei navy, then they argued about where the decision to go to Wuhu yesterday went wrong, and then they even started to blame each other. Finally, they encouraged each other.

This situation is completely different from when Zhu Ran was guarding Jiangling.

With the Wei navy so rampant on the Yangtze River, there was no Zhou Yu to turn the tide and save the situation. Let alone Lu Xun, whose opponent was none other than Lu Boyan! Lu Xun, of course, knew his place and understood the Wu generals' intentions; it was merely that his passing through Wuhu had caused Hu Zong and Zhu Ran to lose their composure so drastically. Furthermore, Lu Xun hadn't left any ships to guard Wuhu; too few would be useless, and too many wouldn't serve to support Ruxu or assist its troops in crossing the river.

After more than a day, significant progress has been made in dismantling the city walls at Ruxu East and West Forts. The bricks and stones on the city walls have all been removed, and the surrounding city gates and water gates have all been demolished.

Zhang Hu's troops were stationed on Ruxu Zhongzhou. The cleanup of the battlefield was done by laborers conscripted from Yangzhou. The Wuwei Army and the Yulin Right Army were stationed in the east and west respectively, and were resting and preparing for the crossing of the river the next day.

It can be said that after the fall of Ruxu Fortress, everyone from General Cao Zhen down to ordinary Sima and Qu Chang knew that the destruction of the Wu Kingdom was only a matter of time.

Lu Xun led his fleet to capture the almost undefended Chun Gu Wharf in the south. After his ship stopped south of Ruxu East Dock, he briefly met with General Cao Tai, who was guarding the area, and then rode off towards Jingnan East Dock.

"Lord Lu has arrived?" Cao Rui seemed unsurprised by Lu Xun's arrival, and said with a smile, "If Lord Lu hadn't come, I would have sent a boat across the river tomorrow to retrieve the Spring Valley."

Lu Xun cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I am still a little late. I left a 10,000-strong naval force under the General of the Warships in Jianye, and I have brought the remaining 40,000 naval troops with me. There is something I need to report to Your Majesty."

"What is it?" Cao Rui asked calmly.

"I have deduced that the Wu army is currently mobilizing troops from upstream towards this location. Therefore, I request that Colonels Jiang and Cao lead their troops south from Niuzhu and Shicheng. They are expected to arrive north of Wuhu City by noon tomorrow," Lu Xun explained carefully before presenting the prepared memorial.

Wang Su walked up to Lu Xun, took the document, and then handed it to Cao Rui. Cao Rui glanced at it briefly and nodded in acceptance.
“Your consideration is correct. Jiangdong is a place that Sun Quan must save. He cannot risk losing Yangzhou by keeping his troops in Wuchang and the upper reaches of the Yangtze River for an extended period. As for Jianye, it’s just a matter of taking it a few days sooner or later.”

"But I have a question for you." Cao Rui looked into Lu Xun's eyes: "Since you have made the judgment that Sun Quan must be coming from upstream at this moment, why did you still say that you should assist the army in crossing the river here?"

"Your Majesty..." Lu Xun was momentarily at a loss, but after regaining his composure, he cupped his hands and said, "Does Your Majesty mean that I should continue upstream along the river?"

Cao Rui laughed and said, "You see, this is where your bias lies. Since Sun Quan is coming from upstream, a major battle is about to break out here. So let me ask you, if I were to lead troops south of the Yangtze River to attack Wuhu, would it be easier to let Sun Quan in or to keep him out?"

Lu Xun replied without hesitation, "It's easier to fight outside! His Majesty just told me that there are only a little over 10,000 troops around Wuhu. The Great Wei has 50,000 troops against a little over 10,000. The Wuwei Army is invincible in infantry combat. Wuhu is not a fortified city. It can be captured within ten days!"

Cao Rui nodded: "In that case, with Minister Lu here, it's just that I'm adding tens of thousands of troops, and the Wu army is also adding tens of thousands of troops, which only complicates the situation."

"Now that the Ruxu waterway is open, the boats of all sizes from Dongxing have been transported here along the Ruxu River. Tomorrow, the army can cross the river to Chungu."

"Minister Lu, you need not wait for me here. Tomorrow morning, continue your journey westward along the Yangtze River! Do you know where you should stop?" (End of Chapter)