After Zhu Huan sat down, Lu Sun did not stop dispatching and instead looked at Quan Zong, who was also sitting in the tent as the right commander.
Lu Sun said slowly, "General Quan, I want to choose 20,000 people in your department tomorrow noon and set up a camp 30 li east of our main camp."
"That area is quite spacious, extending about eight li in width from the foot of the mountain to the hills, and there's a small river that covers it in front. I want your 20,000 men to camp and set up a campsite west of the river, to shield my army's eight-li-wide passage."
"Can you do that?" Lu Sun asked, looking at Quan Zong's face.
Quan Zong stood up, bowed and accepted the order. His expression was obviously more obedient than Zhu Huan's just now: "I accept the order. It will be possible for my 20,000 troops to shield an eight-li-wide area. However, Mr. Commander, what will I do after I set up camp there tomorrow?"
After a moment of silence, Lu Sun said, "If the Wei army sends ten thousand troops, your department should confront them across the river. If the Wei army exceeds ten thousand, you must immediately inform me, and I will provide support for you."
"If no large enemy army is encountered tomorrow, set up camp again 30 li east in the morning of the next day, and the deployment will be the same as before."
Quan Zong nodded and agreed, but then asked, "Commander, I have a total of 30,000 troops. Which 20,000 should I choose?"
Lu Sun stared directly into Quan Zong's eyes for a moment before saying, "General Quan, since the King of Wu trusts you and has appointed you as the right commander, naturally, I, as the overall commander, also trust you."
"The general command of the overall commander has been entrusted to you. What two million people to choose and how to set up a camp to face the enemy, that is your responsibility. Why should everything be assigned by the overall commander?"
Although Lu Sun's words carried a hint of questioning, Quan Zong was not annoyed. When they fought at Yushan, Quan Zong did not fight under Lu Sun's command. Since it was their first time working together, this small matter should be used to test them.
Indeed, Lu Baiyan is truly as the rumors say, with excellent ability to deploy troops. He knows how to use people and is skilled in deployment. Quan Zong truly believes this! As the General of Suinan, Quan Zong thought to himself that executing such a task would be no difficulty at all. It was precisely because Lu Sun did not interfere.
Quan Zong stood up, looked into the tent, and carefully examined it before turning to Lu Sun and saying, "Commander Lu, since it is your responsibility to deploy the troops, then the troops under the right general's command, including the ten thousand Changsha soldiers and Jiaozhou soldiers, should remain at the Anfu camp."
"I will lead my own department and the nine thousand troops, along with the ten thousand troops from Chen's No Difficulties army, two thousand troops each from He's and Zhu's departments. That will be a total of twenty thousand men moving north tomorrow."
The right general is referring to Bu Zhao, who was previously stationed in Changsha. Bu Zhao holds the highest rank among the commanders under Quan Zong's supervision. Leaving him at the main camp under Lu Sun's jurisdiction saves some trouble.
Bu Zhao nodded silently in his seat. The three commanders named by Quan Zong, Chen Biao, He Da, and Zhu Jù, got up and bowed to receive the order.
At this moment, Zhu Huan sat in the tent, seeing that Quan Zong had received the military order and was about to set off north the next day. After all, Liu Shao, who was sent to investigate, was under Zhu Huan's supervision. But why did Lu Sun let Quan Zong take the lead instead?
Although Zhu Huan agreed with Lu Sun's claim to be skilled in offensive tactics, he had also knelt before Lu Sun at Wan Kou a few days ago. It was indeed not appropriate for him to say anything at this time.
Just a slight bit unwilling.
……
Wuqiangkou, Wei army camp.
Wei army left from Shouchun, so the time spent on the journey was naturally more.
The cavalry of Grand Marshal Cao Xiu's department of 30,000 arrived on January 4. And the emperor personally led the cavalry of the five thousand central army, arriving at Wuqiangkou in the evening of January 5.
Almost at the same time as Lu Sun, Emperor Cao Rui also received the war report from Guache, led by Zhu Gai's troops.
After all, Wuqiangkou is 180 li from Wu Cheng, and Guache is 90 li away from Wuqiangkou. They are both in the central area connecting the two places. Both are mounted units sending the same message, so the time it takes to reach them is naturally similar.
The camp at Wuqiangkou was located against the mountain and facing the water, with its troops arranged from south to north. At this time, Emperor Cao Rui, Grand Marshal Cao Xiu, Marshal Yang and the rest of the military advisors, were all inside the main tent of the emperor's camp in the middle, discussing matters.
A rather large map was hanging inside the tent. Emperor Cao Rui was standing in front of the map with his hands behind his back, staring at the location of Guache drawn on the map.
After a moment, Emperor Cao Rui turned to the officials in the tent and said, "Since Zhu Gai has already occupied the strategic position of Guache and set up camp, how should we use our army?"
Grand Marshal Cao Xiu stood up without hesitation: "Your Majesty, the position of Guache is very strategic. Since Zhu Gai has occupied it, we must defend it to prevent Wu troops from taking it. How about sending reinforcements to Guache at dawn tomorrow to assist Zhu Gai in defending it?"
Emperor Cao Rui stood in front of the map, listening to Cao Xiu's words without saying a word.
Grand Marshal Cao Xiu undoubtedly led the main attack. As early as ten days ago, when they discussed the military situation in Shouchun, Cao Xiu had proposed a rapid attack on Wu Cheng, and he did not support the idea of testing the plan to attack Runushu.
If the Wu troops have already arrived at Guache, and there is no news from Wu Cheng, then it is natural that Wu troops have already surrounded Wu Cheng.
Moreover, according to Zhu Gai's report, information from the captured Wu soldiers indicates that the ones who arrived at Guache first were from Liu Shao's troops, who had established a camp near Wu Cheng as early as January 3rd. And on the first day of the first month of the year, King Sun Quan of Wu had also personally visited Wuankou.
The information obtained from the captured Wu soldiers was only this much. As for the camp, deployment, and geography, it is not possible for a small soldier to know.
After thinking for a moment, Emperor Cao Rui asked, "Zhu Gai has already occupied the strategic position of Guache with his cavalry. Neither advancing nor retreating can be blocked by the Wu troops. Before this, the overall strategy is what matters most."
Emperor Cao Rui looked around at the ministers and said, "Earlier in Shouchun, we discussed with you all that we would determine the specific strategy upon reaching Wuqiangkou."
"Now that the front-line army is in battle, let everyone discuss how to attack and when to attack."
Grand Marshal Cao Xiu spoke first: "Your Majesty, it would be better to wait until the eighty thousand infantry led by General Lu Sun arrives at Wuqiangkou before advancing south. Besides, Zhu Gai has already occupied Guache, and it's only ninety li from Guache to Wu Cheng."
"With more than a million troops advancing south in a resolute manner, how can the Eastern Wu have more troops than we do? Moreover, this is a land battle. What are we afraid of the Wu soldiers for? Having a large number of troops is the right path in military strategy."
Emperor Cao Rui heard what Cao Xiu said, and he already started sighing in his heart. From Wuqiangkou to Wu Cheng via the plain land to the southwest of Wuqiangkou, there are at most ten thousand li of flat ground. With more than a million people advancing south, it is impossible to spread them out simultaneously along a single line. Even with more troops, what good would they be in the short term?
At this moment, Emperor Cao Rui finally understood why Cao Xiu, the historical figure, had been defeated and returned with nearly 10,000 lost troops in Wu Cheng and Shiting.
At this moment, Emperor Cao Rui looked towards Sima Yi. After a glance at each other, Sima Yi did not speak.
Emperor Cao Rui stood up, coughed lightly, and said, "Grand Marshal Sima, I think with more than a hundred thousand people advancing south at the same time, the narrow roads will certainly not allow for everyone to advance at once. Let's establish a sequence of deployments instead."
Cao Xiu, seeing that his words were twice rebuffed by the emperor, thus folded his hands and sat down.
Even during the journey from Luoyang to Shouchun, which took fifteen days, Emperor Cao Rui had repeatedly discussed military strategy with Sima Yi. It must be said that Sima Yi had some unique insights in the field of military affairs.
According to Sima Yi's perspective, the most important thing in waging war is to carefully consider one's generals and enemies, and to judge the situation and circumstances.
In a nutshell, it is to obtain as much information about the enemy as possible. According to the enemy's generals, troops, and logistics, make judgments, and based on the time and human affairs force the enemy to slowly move into our comfort zone.
Then, use one's own strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses.
Indeed, quite exquisite.
Emperor Cao Rui had no military expertise. After understanding Sima Yi's theory, he combined the memories of two early generals, Xu Chu and Cao Hong, who had been in the Cao camp since the early days, and recapped all the wars in which the Cao Wei had fought since its inception.
When there is a victory, there must be something to rely on.
When there is a defeat, there must be something that is short.
With the assistance of Sima Yi and Liu Ye, among others, who are currently some of the top military strategists on Earth, Emperor Cao Rui successfully summarized the reason for every battle victory into one sentence: that is to correctly allocate troops within the time and space range, and then strike with a greater number of forces.
The so-called deployment of troops within the time and space range means being familiar with the situation of each unit, using reasonable time and geographical movements to achieve a multiple-to-one advantage in battle at each location that needs to be fought.
Of course, this "multiple-to-one" advantage is not necessarily in terms of troop numbers, but rather in terms of combat power.
The "more" in combat power can be achieved through having more troops, but it can also be determined by factors such as a higher rate of armor-clad soldiers, higher levels of military tactics and technology, higher morale, better weaponry, and so on.
If that's the case, then the most important thing at this moment is to understand ourselves and others and clarify the deployment of Wu forces.
Emperor Cao Rui looked at Sima Yi: "Marshals, I think the battle plans for the following battles should be arranged carefully, assuming Wu has deployed 100,000 troops this time."
Sima Yi also responded with great intuition: "The emperor's words are absolutely correct. A lion should exert its full strength when catching a rabbit. Sun Quan's treacherous troops have long been an external threat, and this time we will strike them down with the might of a thunderstorm."
Although Emperor Cao Rui felt that the adjectives in Sima Yi's words were a bit extravagant, he continued, "In that case, we should first dispatch some troops to Zhu Gai's location."
Before the next sentence could be said, Cao Xiu spoke up again: "Using ten thousand people to estimate Wu's army is indeed difficult. How about we let Zhu Gai's cavalry lead the way first and explore the direction of Wu Cheng and the surrounding hills? Taking advantage of the mobility of cavalry, I believe Wu's army will be helpless."
Emperor Cao Rui nodded. Whether or not Cao Xiu's strategy was correct, in terms of tactics, his arrangement was still quite reassuring.
However, just as Emperor Cao Rui was pleased with Cao Xiu's words, ready to speak and end today's military meeting, and decide to head south only after General Cao Zhen arrived, Cao Xiu spoke another word.
Cao Xiu said, "Your Majesty, with more than 100,000 people advancing south, road repairs along the way are also essential. Since Jia Ban's troops have experience in setting up camps at Wuqiangkou, it might be better if they led the way south tomorrow and repaired the roads first."
The expressions of those present varied after hearing Cao Xiu's words, but all of them turned their gaze to Jia Kai, the Governor of Henan. At this moment, it was evident that Jia Kai's face had become stiff.
(End of chapter)
