Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Shi Song and Huang Gai made their stance clear, and with Sun Deng pushing things along, Chen Shi, isolated and helpless, had no choice but to comply.

The general direction had been determined, but the specific details remained unresolved. Which unit would advance first, which would follow, which would remain behind… Sun Deng and several ministers argued until evening, exhausted both physically and mentally, and in the end, they could only reach a vague agreement:

Longbian, being the heartland of Jiaozhi, needed to be controlled by the army. Sun Deng appointed Pan Zhu, a court official, to lead 2,500 soldiers, and Chen Shi also sent his trusted general Chen Long to lead 2,500 soldiers, totaling 5,000 infantrymen stationed in Longbian as a garrison.

The governors of Jiuzhen, Shi Song, and Rinan, Huang Gai, each commanded troops in the south, totaling ten thousand men, who naturally served as the vanguard. Emperor Sun Deng of Wu led his own force of seven thousand five hundred men, and Huang Fu brought over four thousand soldiers from Hepu, which also came under Sun Deng's command, forming the core force of approximately twelve thousand men. The rearguard consisted of the ten thousand-plus Jiaozhi troops from the Chen dynasty.

Chen Shi's cunning was on full display. From Sun Deng to Shi Song and Huang Gai, none of them could do anything about him. As long as Chen Shi was willing to lead his troops south, that would be the best outcome at the moment.

According to the calendar of the Great Wei Dynasty, Sun Deng and his forces set out on January 4th of the thirteenth year of Taihe. At this time, it was the seventeenth year of Jianxing in Shu Han. Of course, within Sun Deng's group, the era name 'Fenghuang' from when Sun Deng proclaimed himself emperor in Jiangling was still in use, which was the fifth year of Fenghuang.

Jiaozhi was crisscrossed by waterways, and the army had countless boats of all sizes. The army traveled by river, and when more than 30,000 troops set off from several encampments at the same time, chaos ensued.

Chen Shi was the governor of Jiaozhi. His self-preservation mentality was not new; he had been cautious since the time when he and others formed an alliance to rebel.

The troops from Rinan and Jiuzhen counties in the south were all deployed by Chen Shi to Quyang County in the southeast. Longbian is located upstream of Quyang, and Quyang is the only route for advancing into Jiaozhi by sea and attacking Longbian. Chen Shi originally intended for Shi Song and Huang Gai's troops to be at the forefront, but their advance was a fortunate accident.

The two were marching in haste, but Chen Shi delayed again near Longbian City, waiting for Sun Deng's army to set off before trailing behind.

As a result, there was a difference of more than a day between Sun Deng's army and the armies of Shi Song and Huang Gai.

The group had originally agreed to gather in Ding'an County, 200 li to the south, before advancing south together. However, just three days after their departure, Sun Deng and Chen Shi, who were still a day away from Ding'an, received an urgent report.

Upon hearing the messenger's report, Sun Deng looked anxious: "What? The vanguard has been defeated so quickly??"

"Your Majesty," the messenger knelt and kowtowed repeatedly, "Your Majesty, Prefect Shi and Prefect Huang thought there were no Wei troops in Ding'an City, but unexpectedly, they had only entered halfway into the city when Wei troops charged in from outside... The troops inside the city were still unaware of the situation when the troops outside shouted for retreat, causing chaos in the army. Everyone scrambled to cross the river, and even many armors and weapons were abandoned..."

The messenger was out of breath, and Sun Deng, in a moment of urgency, stepped forward and questioned him personally: "How many casualties were suffered in the vanguard? How are Prefect Shi and Prefect Huang now?"

"Prefect Huang led the troops ahead, but now his whereabouts are unknown; he may be trapped in the city. Prefect Shi hastily retreated to the north of the Xiliu River; approximately, about thirty percent of his soldiers have not crossed the river!"

Sun Deng's face turned pale, and he felt a ringing in his ears. Liu Zan helped him ask the messenger to leave and then helped Sun Deng sit down quickly.

Sun Deng sighed deeply: "General Liu, if three thousand soldiers are lost in Ding'an City and south of Xiliushui, judging from the armies of Prefects Shi and Huang, the fighting strength of these two units will be rendered useless!"

Liu Zan nodded silently, weighing his options in his mind.

After a series of defeats several years ago, only Liu Zan remained by Sun Deng's side as a veteran general. The rest of the generals were former commanders of the Thousand-Stone Army or commanders of the Imperial Guard. Most of the more shrewd ones had voluntarily defected to Shu during the previous territorial exchange between Wu and Shu.

First they crossed the river, then they were ambushed, and lost 30% of their soldiers. Huang Gai, the governor of Rinan, who was in the vanguard, must have been killed in the city. Without a doubt, the soldiers who abandoned their armor and weapons and scrambled to swim to the other side of the river were practically defenseless.

Sun Deng himself must step in!

Liu Zan gritted his teeth and earnestly advised, "Your Majesty, the vanguard still has about seven thousand troops stationed north of Xiliushui. I fear that they cannot hold out for long. The enemy situation is still unclear. Your Majesty should lead your troops forward to hold off the rear of the vanguard so that they can stabilize their position and prevent another defeat!"

Sun Deng remained silent for a long time before asking, "What if by the time I lead my troops to Ding'an, the vanguard has already been completely defeated?"

Liu Zan said, "Your Majesty, on the 28th of last year, officials in the prefecture reported the arrival of the Wei army's fleet. Your Majesty received the news on the 30th, and the army set out four days later. The entire Wei army is on ships, so perhaps their numbers are not very large. If Ding'an is lost, the Wei army can pursue us to the northwest or detour to the northeast until they reach Longbian. At that time, the army will be in a state of panic, and it may be difficult to control them again!"

"Your Majesty, why not let Prefect Chen march south as well? With the two armies combined, there will be over 20,000 troops. What need would we have to fear a small Wei force? In my opinion, Prefects Shi and Huang clearly failed to conduct proper scouting and were in a hurry to return south, which led to this great defeat!" Sun Deng pondered for a long time before slowly saying, "That's the only way. However, General, please send someone to the rear immediately to meet with Prefect Chen. Only after receiving his promise can I continue the advance."

"I will make the arrangements immediately!" Liu Zan bowed and withdrew.

Just two hours later, Liu Zan's messenger brought Chen Shi's reply. Chen Shi stated that Ding'an was a crucial location in Jiaozhi and should not be lost lightly. He said that His Majesty would lead the troops ahead, and he would naturally lead his army behind him.

Without hesitation, Sun Deng continued his advance along the waterway. After camping for the night, and having marched for only half a day, he encountered a retreating, routed army. The prefect of Jiuzhen, Shi Song, was at the forefront of the fleeing troops, fleeing towards Sun Deng's army.

Upon seeing the panicked Shi Song, Sun Deng instantly drew half of his sword from his waist and pointed it directly at Shi Song: "Shi Song! How could you be defeated so easily? What kind of general is the first to flee? If you run away, what will happen to the soldiers behind you?"

Upon seeing Sun Deng's furious expression, Shi Song, who was in his fifties, immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty! The Wei army is strong, and my troops are really unable to resist it. Now the Wei troops are coming from the lower reaches of the Xiliu River. I hope Your Majesty will quickly organize the army to resist them!"

Sun Deng had intended to hold his sword to Shi Song's neck, but he finally held back and asked with a forced smile, "Prefect Shi, the military situation is urgent and you can't say more. Tell me quickly, how exactly did your troops lose!"

"Yes, yes," Shi Song began to introduce, his voice trembling.

After being ambushed by the Wei army outside Ding'an City yesterday morning, Huang Gai was not in the army. Shi Song was struggling to maintain the morale of the army, which was on the verge of collapse, north of the Xiliushui River. With the river as a shelter, and urging his soldiers to fight back because of the Wei army's surprise attack, and with no movement from the Wei army on the opposite bank for the time being, Shi Song managed to organize his soldiers to set up camp and organize a defense.

Unexpectedly, just as the army was resting after nightfall, the Wei army on the opposite bank repeatedly shouted insults and provoked them, which did not stop until late at night.

At the break of dawn, the Wei army used the first light of day to build several pontoon bridges across the river and launched a three-pronged attack from upstream and downstream. The morale of Shi Song's troops was already low, and they were barely able to defend their camp. However, they were overwhelmed by the fierce and powerful attack of the Wei army and could only hold out for less than an hour before they withdrew from the camp and fled upstream.

……

Upon hearing Shi Song's words, Sun Deng's chest heaved, and he turned to look at Liu Zan: "General Liu, Prefect Shi has really caused us a lot of trouble. He was able to be ambushed and killed across a river! You must keep an eye on him in the army and make sure that Prefect Shi doesn't suffer any harm!"

"Very well, I will take care of it immediately." Liu Zan strode towards Shi Song, grabbed Shi Song's shoulder and said, "Prefect Shi, please. We will clean up the mess for you. You should go into the army camp and rest for a while!"

Shi Song wept uncontrollably, silently kowtowing, and was led away by Liu Zan as meekly as a lamb to the slaughter. He had originally intended to establish a separatist regime, and a warlord without an army is nothing. He had returned with his defeated troops in a swarm of fleeing soldiers, and it would be merciful for Sun Deng to spare his life.

No sooner had Liu Zan left than Sun Deng personally began to arrange the army's defenses on the spot. It must be said that, due to the small number of soldiers and generals in Wu, Sun Deng often personally took charge of the campaigns and the subjugation of the local barbarians and Yi peoples in Zangke County, which greatly enhanced his military capabilities.

Sun Deng had full confidence in commanding an army of ten thousand men.

Sun Deng was confident, but Guanqiu Jian didn't care about any of that. After the ambush at Ding'an yesterday and the surprise attack on Shi Song's troops this morning, Guanqiu Jian had already equated the fighting strength of the local infantry in Jiaozhou with the phrase "clay chickens and earthen dogs".

In Guanqiu Jian's view, when he accompanied His Majesty to conquer Liaodong nine years ago, the Goguryeo infantry were more resilient and organized than the armies of Shi Song and Huang Gai. The hot climate made the soldiers loose-willed by nature and brave and fierce when fighting individually, but once their formation was slightly broken and they lost their courage, they would flee like chickens and dogs.

Previously, when crossing the river, the Prefect of Cangwu, Shi Bao, and the Lieutenant General, Pu Zhong, each led two thousand soldiers to cross from upstream and downstream. The combined casualties of these two men were less than two hundred. Guanqiu Jian's own force of four thousand northern soldiers suffered only thirty-odd casualties, which was insignificant compared to the losses of Shi Song and Huang Gai's troops.

Sun Deng's troops halted on the spot. Shi Bao, the prefect of Cangwu, led two thousand soldiers from the prefecture as the vanguard to pursue them. Upon seeing Sun Deng's well-prepared defenses, Shi Bao immediately steadied his position and sent a trusted soldier to inform Guanqiu Jian of the situation. Guanqiu Jian, however, only ordered Shi Bao to return twenty li to set up camp and build fortifications, and instructed him to follow orders.

Sun Deng was completely bewildered by the battle situation at the front. Meanwhile, Chen Shi's troops in the rear gradually joined forces with Sun Deng, setting up camps along the Xiliu River. They spent the night in fear of the Wei army.

The next day, just as dawn broke, Sun Deng was awakened by a series of urgent shouts. The military camp was gradually becoming noisy. Without thinking much, Sun Deng ran barefoot out of the tent and looked in the direction the soldiers were pointing.

On a narrow stream about half a mile wide, more than a hundred paces across, over ten large boats were lined up and sailing upstream in single file! (End of Chapter)