In the central command tent, Cao Xiu noticed that the emperor had successively assigned tasks to General Zhu Gai, the Governor of Yu Province Jia Huai, and General Liu Nuo, and sat there looking anxious.
At this time, Cao Xiu had already begun to fidget.
The reason for the southern expedition this time was that Zhou Fang sent Cao Xiu a fake surrender letter. According to the usual procedures, it was the duty of the prefectural military commander in command of Yangzi Province to lead his troops southward.
As time went on and the situation escalated, it exceeded Cao Xiu's expectations and the scope of his control.
Not only were the number of troops approaching Shouchun increasing, but the emperor himself even personally led 50,000 troops southward.
Although so far most of the military orders had been issued in the name of the Grand Marshal Cao Xiu. But how many of them were Cao Xiu's own arrangements, Cao Xiu has numbers. Even Cao Xiu himself, after the emperor's camp, is doing an intermediary for the emperor's orders.
It's more accurate to say that Cao Xiu wanted to establish military merit by leading troops, rather than wanting to actually command the army. He intended to rely on his military achievements to counter the rumors and gossip in the court and among the officers about how his position as Grand Marshal was based solely on his surname Cao and his royal lineage.
Cao Xiu could no longer restrain himself and stood up to bow to the emperor and ask, "Your Majesty, what should be done with the 30,000-strong army I am commanding?"
Cao Rui, of course, noticed Cao Xiu's anxious expression and understood Cao Xiu's intention to request a battle. However, from any aspect, Cao Rui did not want to let Cao Xiu lead troops southward alone at this time.
In the original history, Cao Xiu was defeated by Lu Su's army of 90,000 men at the Stone Pavilion and managed to escape with the rapid rescue efforts of Jia Hui. He fell ill and died that same year.
It's worth noting that Cao Xiu is not just a commander; he is also one of the two remaining royal generals, along with Cao Zhen, who can be considered an equal in the family. If Cao Xiu were to pass away, the balance between the house of Cao and the officials and military officers in court would be rapidly disrupted.
Although Cao Rui believed that with his presence, Cao Xiu was unlikely to have the same fate as in history and believed that Cao Xiu could be saved.
But in any case, it's still advisable to avoid mentioning it a bit, for the sake of a positive psychological cue, if nothing else.
Cao Rui looked at Cao Xiu's eyes and slowly said, "Grand Marshal, the 30,000-strong army under your command is not only the strongest military force of our mighty Wei Dynasty, but also the one that bears the weight of our Cao family's prosperity."
"This army is too important to face the infantry of Wu troops in the narrow and hilly terrain of Wan City. Only Grand Marshal Cao Xiu will be able to handle it properly. I can't trust anyone else with it."
"Can Grand Marshal understand the meaning of what I've said?"
Cao Xiu is merely requesting and seeking battles, not necessarily against the emperor's will. From Liaodong to Xiliang, from Yanyue to Yangzi, on the vast territory of the Wei Dynasty, there are only a total of approximately 50,500 organized cavalry units.
At this moment in Yangzi Province, besides the 10,000 cavalry of Zhu Gai and the 5,000 cavalry protecting the emperor, the remaining 30,000 cavalry are all in his hands. If these 30,000 cavalry have any mishaps, it will truly become a major incident that shakes the foundation of Cao's rule.
Cao Xiu took a deep breath, then bowed to the emperor, "I understand Your Majesty's concerns."
Cao Rui nodded, "The 30,000 cavalry under the Grand Marshal's command serves as a decisive factor. Either they should remain inactive at Wu's main camp, or they should be deployed on the plain between Wu's main camp and Guangchuan, or near Wan City during a decisive battle."
"Here in this command post, I still need Grand Marshal's assistance to support me. Grand Marshal doesn't have to decline."
Cao Xiu, of course, agreed to take it on.
"But a moment later, Cao Xiu seemed to think of something else, "Your Majesty, perhaps it would be better to send the banner of my army to Zhu Gai. The Wu troops do not know the strength of our Wei army, and they might misjudge our situation.
Cao Rui was just about to nod, when he turned his glance towards the direction of Sima Yi and Liu Ye. Seeing that both nodded in agreement, he then promptly agreed without any hesitation.
......
With the continuous issuance of military orders from both the Wei and Wu camps at Wuqiang Pass and Ancheng during the late night of January 5th, the fate of over 200,000 soldiers on both sides of Wei and Wu turned with it.
On the sixth morning, just after Zhu Gai had woken up in his camp at Guangchuan, he received a military order from Cao Xiu at Wuqiang Pass. Along with the order, there were also Cao Xiu's own flag and number signals.
After a simple breakfast, Zhu Gai hesitated not for a moment and led 4,000 cavalry westward personally.
At that time, Zhu Gai as the Right General had some feeling of overconfidence. It was because his unit was mostly cavalry, while the Wu army consisted only of foot soldiers.
No matter how many troops were in Wan City, two thousand, three thousand, or even ten thousand, twenty thousand, the troops in Wan City were just infantry. From the foot of the mountain to the hilltops, extending for nearly ninety li and at least six to seven li in width, Zhu Gai could move around freely.
Indeed, that's true. Four legs are naturally faster than two. The advantage of cavalry does not lie in their role in long-distance travel and riding, but rather in their explosive power and speed, which allow for rapid tactical deployments in a short period of time.
Even if there were ambushes on both sides, the narrowest part was still six to seven li wide. It would be difficult to hide in ambushes there.
If Wu troops were to deploy all of their cavalry, that would be even better. It would be like a cherry on top and would simply mean crushing them where they stand.
Zhu Gai had been leading cavalry for twenty years, and he absolutely did not believe that the Wu cavalry could surpass his own.
Although very arrogant, the fact remains so.
A few days before, when Lu Su sent Pan Jiang with 2,000 cavalry to urgently isolate Wan City to the east of Qiankou on January 2nd, he collected the entire Wu army's cavalry force of 2,000 men, which was a painstaking effort.
The land of Wu does not produce horses, and these 2,000 cavalry men that the Wu army strained every effort to gather came from a myriad of sources.
There were those obtained from Sun Ce and Sun Quan's consecutive campaigns in various regions after the beginning of the Eastern Wu period, as well as those captured from the Jing and Yang states during their long-term conflicts with Shu Han and Cao Wei, those obtained from Cao Wei in broad daylight, even those bought from Liaodong.
That's quite interesting to say.
It's interesting to note that as early as the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an, when Sun Quan wanted to send Lu Meng to attack Jingzhou and cut off the rear path of Guan Yu, he had dispatched envoys to visit Zhouchang in the Han court and Cao Cao. The envoys of Wu were not just there to complete diplomatic tasks; they also bought back two hundred horses, and Sun Quan was overjoyed and rewarded them generously.
In the third year of the Huangchu reign, while the Wu army was fighting fiercely with the Shu Han army at Yiling, Cao Pi had sent envoys to the Eastern Wu to express goodwill and had also sent dozens of horses to Sun Quan.
What's the most interesting is that Sun Quan, in order to buy horses, had his fleet travel up the coast to the Pung Kung Kang in Liaodong. Pung Kung Kang initially did sell Sun Quan hundreds of war horses, but when a envoy from Cao Wei in Liaodong threatened him slightly, he immediately halted such transactions and killed Sun Quan's envoy.
It can only be said that in the current stage of the north's conflict with the south, in addition to geographical and demographic advantages, excellent warhorses as a strategic resource are also an indispensable and important aspect.
On the sixth morning, almost at the same time as Zhu Gai, Wu's Right Division Commander and Military Supervisor Quan Cheng received an order from Major General Lu Xun to lead his troops of 20,000 and slowly march eastward.
At the head of the column were 6,000 troops under Quan Cheng himself, followed by 4,000 troops from Jianjiang and then 2,000 elite units.
Following Quan Cheng were 10,000 troops led by the Wunanzhu Chen Biao, arranged in a formation of 3,000, 3,000, and 4,000 under Chen Biao himself and two officers of the two-thousand-cowry rank.
Then came the 2,000 troops each of He Da and Zhu Jù.
Quan Cheng knew in his heart that even though he could glean from the news of the previous night that the vanguard of Wei troops was cavalry, details such as the number of cavalry, the general commanding them, and whether there were infantry troops following remained unknown.
Naturally, it is paramount to be cautious.
At noon, the 20,000 infantry of Quan Cheng's army arrived at the designated location. As Lu Xun had said, from the foot of the mountain to the hilltops, this place was about eight li wide. In the winter, water was scarce, so the depth of the Little River in front was less than knee-high. Therefore, using it as a barrier might not be very effective.
Quan Cheng was constantly on the lookout for the arrival of Wei cavalry, so he arranged 12,000 men to form three large arrays, spreading out in a line behind the Little River.
The remaining 8,000 men began to set up camps along the river.
But the more one tries to avoid something, the faster it tends to come.
Just as Quan Cheng had finished distributing the tasks, the scouts he had dispatched eastwards towards the direction of Guangchuan hurried back to camp.
A personal guard reported the matter to Quan Cheng, and as he focused his eyes on the distance, just as the scout stepped into the camp, the faint yet deep sound of horse hooves could be heard among the camp's crowd. Over a li away, a blur of cavalry could also be seen appearing gradually.
This scout was truly useless. The news had been reported and it was as if it had not been reported at all.
Quan Cheng panicked and quickly ordered his personal guards to command the three arrays of 4,000 men to quickly form up and for the 8,000 men building fortifications to distribute and hide behind the arrays.
Too late.
The Little River flows from northwest to southeast. The four-thousand-man array on the left side, which had not yet been fully prepared, was still two li away from the foot of the mountain. At this moment, nearly two thousand soldiers who were about to set up camp on the hillside were running as fast as they could, with their formations dispersed, towards the nearest array.
In front of cavalry, infantry soldiers who lose their formation are practically as good as dead.
Zhu Gai led his troops across the river from the gap in the north where the Wu army was exposed, and in less than half a bell's time, nearly a thousand corpses had been left on the plain by the Wu army.
When Quan Cheng's largest array had finished forming up and began marching northwards with shouts and clanging of drums, Zhu Gai's 4,000 horsemen had already reversed their direction and were heading back to the east bank of the Little River.
Quan Cheng dared not take any risks and quickly ordered his largest array to not cross the river and to move closer to his own center.
Oddly enough, while the Wu army was hurrying to form ranks on the west side of the Little River, the Wei troops on the east side were all seated on their horses, looking calmly at the Wu army as it formed up, showing no intention of crossing the river again.
After the Wu and Wei troops formed their array across the river, no movement could be seen on the part of the Cao army.
It wasn't until a half an hour had passed and the day began to wane with the sun starting to set that a messenger, riding alone on his horse, slowly crossed the Little River and approached Quan Cheng's own banner.
I'll look into how to post it. I'm planning to share a simple illustration I've used up to today's battle, just for reference, before the release of the next two chapters tonight.
(Chapter complete)
