Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

By noon on January 26, the more than 20,000 men under the command of Colonel Jiang Wei and Colonel Cao Shuang had all arrived north of Wuhu City.

Lu Xun, as expected of a seasoned and renowned general, led his troops along this hundred-mile journey, meticulously documenting the roads, mountains, dangerous terrain, rivers, and encampments just as Lu Xun had marked out, leaving nothing out.

With 20,000 infantry and cavalry advancing simultaneously, when the vanguard was still ten miles from Wuhu, Jiang Wei looked at Cao Shuang and said, "Zhaobo, I will lead the cavalry to encircle Wuhu from the east and south sides according to the predetermined route. You will set up camp north of the city first."

Cao Shuang nodded: "Very good. I just don't know how General Lu and His Majesty are doing, and whether they can come to Wuhu to meet us in time."

Jiang Wei laughed and said, "That's not something you or I need to worry about. The arrow is on the string, so let's shoot it. I'm leading the Hu cavalry away. I'll only take three hundred of my own cavalry, and the remaining five hundred will be yours. You have one thousand five hundred central army cavalry, five thousand Liaodong infantry, and four thousand vassal state soldiers here, so there shouldn't be any problems."

"The troops in Wuhu are fewer than both of ours. If something still goes wrong here, I might as well write my name backwards." Cao Shuang laughed heartily, "Go then!"

"Take care." Jiang Wei cupped his hands in greeting, then led his troops to set off first.

Wuhu was originally a place where Quan Cong had been stationed for a long time, and it was much more important than Chaisang in the military deployment of Wu. Although Wuhu was not a fortified city, it had stockpiled a huge amount of grain, military supplies and equipment. These were originally reserves to ensure logistics when the Wei army launched a large-scale invasion of Ruxu, but when Ruxu fell, they were not used at all.

The arrival of 20,000 troops could not be concealed.

Jiang Wei's troops followed the standard tactics issued by the Privy Council. They first used their speed advantage to lead their cavalry to occupy several bridges and ferry crossings on the river east of Wuhu. Then, they led the Hu cavalry to the outskirts of Wuhu City and ran back and forth on the open ground east of Wuhu City, making a show of intimidation.

This scene has already been discovered by Zhu Ran, Zhang Cheng, Hu Zong, and others on the city wall.

They were trapped in Wuhu City, unaware of the changing situation of Wu officials in Jianye and Wujun downstream, nor when Sun Quan would lead reinforcements upstream.

But whether it was Zhu Ran, Zhang Cheng, or Hu Zong, their loyalty to Sun Quan was completely pure. When people are in despair, they often concoct elaborate deceptions to numb themselves. Three people together are no smarter than one person alone.

After nearly two days of discussion, Zhu Ran, Zhang Cheng, and Hu Zong concluded that the Wei army had merely taken advantage of the Wu army's deployment upstream. Although their ships were large and numerous, their actual naval strength was certainly inferior to that of the Great Wu.

If the Wu navy were to join forces upstream and sail down to defeat the Wei navy, thus cutting off the river, and if the various counties south of the Yangtze River were to mobilize manpower and resources to trap the Wei army in the south, Wu would not only be able to turn the tide but would also achieve a greater feat than Zhou Yu's defeat of Cao Cao's army at the Battle of Red Cliffs!
As for who Zhou Gongjin was... they all placed their hopes on Quan Cong, Quan Zihuang. Now that the country's generals are almost extinct, the only senior general who can excel in both field and naval battles is Quan Cong.

Quan Cong himself did not know that he could be compared to Zhou Yu.

First do this, then do this, and finally do this. Then we can hold our ground in Wuhu and draw away Wei's forces. Wouldn't that be the way to victory?
Meanwhile, in the eastern dock of Ruxu, Cao Rui personally stood by the pier, seeing off General Cao Zhen as he boarded the ship.

"Many people have advised me to cross the river, but I am determined not to for now. There's no need for the General to persuade me any further. Once Jianye is captured, I will go directly there." Cao Rui said calmly, pointing south of the Yangtze River. "According to Lu Xun, Cao Shuang and Jiang Wei's troops should have reached the outskirts of Wuhu by now. Including the General's troops, there are more than 40,000 soldiers around Wuhu in the south. We will overcome all difficulties. I await the General's report of victory in Ruxu."

Cao Zhen bowed deeply and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured! Your subject will certainly not fail in your command and will capture Wuhu as soon as possible!"

"Very well. Take care, General. Now go and board the ship." Cao Rui waved his hand. "Your subject takes his leave." Cao Zhen boarded the ship and left.

Lu Xun's troops had all left before dawn, and the massive fleet of 40,000 naval soldiers swept upstream along the river.

As for Cao Rui's whereabouts, the many officials accompanying the army were divided into two opinions.

One view, represented by Cao Zhen and Liu Ye, was that it was safest for the emperor to be with the army. They ordered the entire army to cross the river at Ruxu to Chungu on the other side, and then join forces to march towards Wuhu, and later attack Wuhu.

Another view, represented by four cabinet ministers, argued that the emperor, being of paramount importance, should not cross the river lightly. Although the Great Wei held the advantage in the war, the river was not yet at peace, and the Jiangnan region along the river did not require so many troops.

While the cabinet ministers were still privately presenting their reports, they refuted the words of Cao Zhen, Liu Ye, and others, arguing that they had been fighting alongside His Majesty for too long and had become too reliant on His Majesty's presence in the army.

Cao Rui ultimately adopted the unanimous opinion of the four cabinet ministers, deciding to remain north of the Yangtze River and proceed with greater caution, waiting until Jianye was captured before crossing the river.

Moreover, Cao Rui himself had analyzed the war and believed that Cao Zhen and others could handle the war well. There was only less than 20,000 Wu troops, so he did not need to personally take charge. Therefore, he was happy to save himself some trouble.

At Dongwu in Ruxu, General Cao Zhen led 10,000 Wuwei soldiers, 4,000 infantrymen under Zhang Hu, 5,000 Liaodong cavalry under Bei Yan, and infantry captain Bian Lan's troops as the general's personal guards, totaling 20,000 men, south to Chungu.

Duan Mo, the Colonel of Changshui, led a thousand cavalry and supervised three thousand Wu soldiers who had surrendered before and after him to follow Cao Zhen and stationed them in Chungu, where they were responsible for the supply of military provisions from Ruxu to Chungu.

Including Jiang Wei and Cao Shuang's more than 20,000 men, the number of Wei troops around Wuhu Lake has now reached more than 40,000, which is three times the size of the troops inside Wuhu City.

Inside Wuhu City, Zhu Ran, Zhang Cheng, and Hu Zong led 15,000 troops in a steadfast defense. Outside Wuhu City, Cao Zhen led over 40,000 soldiers, determined to attack. They all had their own tasks to attend to and had already prepared for the impending battle.

But at this moment, one person was particularly confused.

Huan Fan launched a surprise attack on Sun Quan early yesterday morning. Although he did not capture Sun Quan himself, the results were still quite satisfactory. He killed Xu Xiang, the Wu Kingdom's Chamberlain, and also captured Sun Quan's ceremonial regalia, carriages, and several sets of imperial robes. Even Sun Quan's own outer robe was taken from Xu Xiang.

After that, Huan Fan led his army to search extensively along the way. Although he did not find any trace of Sun Quan, he did accept the surrender of many Wu soldiers.

Pengze City was also brought back under the control of the Great Wei.

But Huan Fan is now unsure what to do.

Huan Fan's original strategic objective was to launch a surprise attack on Chaisang, Yuzhang, and Poyang to draw away as much of Wu's forces as possible. However, the Wu army had already withdrawn from these areas, and even Sun Quan himself had vanished without a trace. Huan Fan was also unable to contact the imperial court, putting him in a very difficult position. (End of Chapter)