Three Kingdoms: I am not Cao Rui

Indeed, Zhu Cai had been stationed in Ruxu in recent years and was the general second only to Luo Tong, the governor of Ruxu. Luo Tong was still ill, so only Zhu Cai could do this.

Quan Cong responded with dignity, and Zhu Cai did not dare to neglect him at all. He bowed and said, "Reporting to the Left Grand Commander, what I know should start from the 30th day of the last month..."

Zhu Cai described the military situation he knew in detail and chronological order. Not only Quan Cong, but also Lu Dai, Zhang Cheng and others were listening carefully. From time to time, someone asked questions, and Zhu Cai patiently answered them one by one.

According to the geography of the mountains and rivers here, Ruxu Zhongzhou naturally became the command center of the Wu army.

The east and west sides of Ruxu Zhongzhou are separated by water, and the south is adjacent to the river. Compared with the two forts on land, it is a safer place for the Wu army, which has the advantage on water, and is not afraid of attack.

At that moment, most of the important generals from Wu's Yangzhou side gathered in the military tent in Ruxu Zhongzhou: Quan Cong, Lu Dai, Zhang Cheng, Lu Ju, as well as deputy generals and deputy generals such as Taishi Xiang, Zhu Cai, Gao Shou and He Da.

Only Sun Shao, a general of the Wu royal family, stayed in Jianye to take charge of defense and did not come here. Luo Tong was seriously ill and could not speak much, so Lu Dai sent someone to take care of him in another tent.

After Lü Dai, Zhang Cheng and others had asked their questions, Quan Cong, who was sitting at the head, finally spoke:
"General Zhu, according to what you just said, the Wei army sent cavalry first, then infantry, and finally civilians. Tens of thousands of civilians must have come from Shouchun, not Hefei."

"Let me ask you, how many days will it take for the infantry and civilians to arrive from Shouchun?"

Zhu Cai thought for a few moments, then bowed and replied, "Reporting to the Left Grand Commander, the distance from Shouchun to Ruxu is about 500 miles. There are waterways along the way for convenience. The infantry can arrive in five days by boat, but if the civilians walk here, it may take eight to ten days."

Quan Cong nodded and said, "Assuming that the Wei cavalry took 30 days to reach Dongxing, the Wei State should have recruited civilians from Shouchun and nearby areas at the same time as sending out the troops, preparing to march southward."

"Wolf ambitions! The Wei army has planned this long ago!"

Everyone in the tent also echoed it. They had just arrived here, and it was absolutely politically correct to curse the State of Wei to boost morale. There would be no mistake.

Quan Cong added: "The Wei army sent so many civilians here. There is no other possible answer except to build a fortress and military camp."

"Let me ask you, if the Wei army succeeds in building a city here, how will we, the leaders of the army, deal with it? How can we face the Supreme? How can we keep Ruxu for a long time?"

Lu Dai sighed and said in a low voice: "The several counties in Jiangdong all rely on Ruxu to resist Wei State, to prevent Wei State's ships and troops from flowing along the Ruxu River to the Yangtze River."

"If we allow the Wei army to build a camp, and if they don't leave, it will be a disaster for Wu, and we may even lose Ruxu."

Quan Cong nodded solemnly: "What Lu Gong said is absolutely right."

"The Wei army came from afar and has a large number of troops. They built a camp and a wall in the north. Our army was unable to meet the enemy a few days ago. Today, the army I brought back from Xiangyang, together with the Yangzhou army and the Ruxu garrison, has a total of more than 30,000 people. Even if we cannot say that we have an advantage, we can say that we are evenly matched. How can we watch the Wei army calmly build a city?"

After that, Quan Cong suddenly stood up from the table, looking around at everyone with a burning gaze: "Everyone, the Wei army is building a city on the east and west banks of the Ruxu River. If we don't take advantage of the enemy's incomplete fortifications to stop them from building the city, it will be extremely difficult to capture it when the camp is complete in the future."

"The Supreme ordered me to come here and guard the city carefully, but you all know the current situation. If we don't go to war, even though Ruxu is still there, the enemy will continue to fight with our army for a long time."

"I want to gather my army and go to battle. I will first capture the Wei army from one place in the east or west. Do you have any objections?"

Quan Cong looked around at everyone, but the generals did not rush to respond and remained silent.

When Quan Cong first arrived, the military officer Qin Huang had already read the King of Wu's edict to everyone. The edict clearly stated that they must guard Ruxu carefully and not neglect it. If they followed Quan Cong's words and sent troops, would it be considered a violation of the King of Wu's will?

Everyone could see the situation clearly, but it was against the will, which made everyone afraid to agree to it immediately.

After a while, Lu Dai's sigh broke the silence.

"When it comes to state affairs, we must be courageous and resolute. We must not be cowardly or we will regret it in the future." Lu Dai turned his head to look at Zhu Cai and said, "Jun Ye, please get me some ink and bamboo slips."

"Yes." Zhu Cai replied with a cupped hand. Everyone looked at Lu Dai without saying anything.

A moment later, the seventy-year-old Yangzhou governor Lü Dai knelt in front of the table and picked up a brush to write on a piece of silk. After writing more than a hundred words, he stopped writing and looked up at everyone:
"Everyone, the military situation here is about war. You are all pillars of the country and have led troops for a long time. There should be no dispute on this matter. I have written down all the military situation, and I ask you to sign it with me."

Seeing Lü Dai like this, Quan Cong sighed inexplicably. Everyone was present, so it was not easy to say too much. He just bowed to Lü Dai, who smiled and nodded in response.

Lü Dai, the governor of Yangzhou, agreed with this, so who among the generals could say no? They all understood the principle that the law does not punish the masses, not to mention that the war situation in Yangzhou depended on them, so why should they worry about being punished?

After Lü Dai signed and stamped his name, Zhang Cheng came over, bent down and picked up his pen. Then came Lü Ju, and then Tai Shi Xiang, Zhu Cai, Gao Shou, He Da and others. No one was left out.

After a while, Quan Cong held the document signed by all the generals and said loudly: "Everyone will serve the country together with me, Quan Cong. I hope you can organize your troops after returning to the camp today, and follow me to repel the Wei thieves tomorrow morning!"

"Yes, sir!" Lu Dai responded along with everyone else.

……

At dawn the next day, Lü Dai's 10,000 troops set out from the south bank of the river and sailed to the east bank of the north bank. The soldiers got off the boats in batches and began to line up under the command of their respective commanders and military commanders.

Ruxu Fort was divided into two parts, east and west. Similarly, the fortress built by the Wei army on the north side was also divided into two parts, east and west.

The west side of the Ruxu River is low-lying, with occasional muddy ponds and tributaries, and is not as flat as the east side. Therefore, when Quan Cong assigned military tasks yesterday, he also defended the west and attacked the east, intending to concentrate all the troops on the east side.

According to yesterday's distribution, the newly appointed Left Grand Commander of Wu, Quan Cong, has selected a total of 25,000 soldiers, 8,000 of whom are from Quan Cong's own army, 10,000 from Lu Dai's army in Jiangnan, and the remaining 7,000 are led by Zhang Cheng.

The war was started by the navy.

The Wei army camp was four miles north of Wu's Ruxuwu, and there was a floating bridge connecting the east and west banks. The camp was majestic and well-organized, and quite spectacular.

Lieutenant General Le Chen was sitting idle in the camp when he heard many exclamations from outside the tent. Hearing this, Le Chen got angry and walked out of the tent while shouting:

"Who is making noise in the camp? Don't forget the military law! Where are the guards?"

A guard, Du Bo, came running from the direction of the watchtower not far away. When he was about ten feet away from Le Chen, he shouted:

"General, the Wu army's ships are coming! The ships are coming!"

Le Chen subconsciously placed his right hand on the hilt of the knife at his waist and shouted, "Tell me clearly, what kind of ship is this!"

The guard Du Bo swallowed his saliva and pointed in the direction of the river: "It looks like a warship, but it's a little different. General, please go and take a look yourself!"

"The Wu army is coming with warships?" Although Le Chen was a little skeptical, the situation was urgent and he could not delay any longer. While ordering the army to blow horns and drums to prepare for a battle, he personally went to the camp gate by the river to take a look.

From the time the Wei soldiers saw the Wu ships approaching to the time Le Chen left the camp, it took only about an incense stick of time.

Le Chen happened to witness the attacking warships of the Wu army and was dumbfounded for a moment.

The so-called warship, also known as a Mengchong, is a long and narrow ship with multiple oars on the sides. Due to the shape of the ship and the role of the rowers, it is swift and fierce in naval battles.

Some time ago, Le Chen saw the Wu army's ships at the mouth of Ruxu River from afar. He thought that the water was shallow in early winter and the Wu army's ships could not enter. But today, the Wu army sent warships into the Ruxu River! (End of this chapter)