Just across a shallow, knee-deep stream, Wu Jun's right wing, commanded by Quan Cong of Wujun, and Wei's right general Zhu Gaing, with his cavalry of 10,000 men under command, faced each other across the river.
The river, dividing in the middle, although it serves no real purpose, still counts as a sort of boundary. Knowing that it offers no sense of security, there is still some psychological comfort in its existence.
Humans will instinctively fear unfamiliar things.
In the early days of the Battle of Red Cliff, many soldiers from Henan and Hebei Province who took boats on the river were so afraid of the vast river and windy waves that some even ran away.
The soldiers from the south naturally also feared the cavalry. In addition to the innate fear brought by unfamiliarity, there was also an overwhelming panic when they were not in formation and had to turn and flee in the face of cavalry charges.
To be honest, if facing the initial wave of the cavalry charge, even with an array of 100 or 300 men, the number of survivors would still be half. How could so many bodies be lost in just a half-hour?
But it's useless to think about it now. The Wu troops have been arrayed on the west bank of the river for a long time, and the injured troops on the empty ground to the north do not have the opportunity to attend to them.
In fact, from the perspective of Quan Zhong, the supervisor of the right wing of the Wu army, across from them the Wei cavalry was clearly flying a standard emblazoned with 'Wei Grand Marshal Cao'.
Grand Marshal Cao naturally refers to Cao Xiu, who just took office this year. Otherwise, who could it be? In the year of Huang Chu Three, when Wei invaded the south through three routes, only the Eastern Route led by Cao Xiu achieved significant gains.
This is enough to cause alarm.
Therefore, even though only one person came from the opposing side, the officers of the Wu army did not dare to be negligent. Quan Zhong therefore sent Zhu Jiu, a Jianyi Prefect who had come to join the battle with two thousand soldiers from Jianye and was accompanied by two thousand stones of his own, along with one of his trusted bodyguards.
At this time, the sky was gradually getting dark. A person on horseback walked out from the cavalry array across the river and slowly walked to the river's edge. Then, they stepped by step and crossed the river.
And on the west bank of the river, the army of Wu also slightly separated. Jia Dang and Quan Zhong's trusted bodyguard, also two people and two horses, met him.
A few more strides away, Zhu Jiu reined in his horse and barked to the opposite side, frowning, "Who comes here? Report your name quickly."
However, the Wei envoy did not stop. On the contrary, he walked to face Zhu Jiu, and then smiled and said, "I am Zhou Ding, the general of military affairs under Grand Marshal Cao. I have come to meet the commander-in-chief of the Wu army."
Just as Zhu Jiu was about to respond, Zhou Ding, while pointing with his horsewhip at the large banner in the center of the Wu army formation, continued, "I see the character 'Quan' on your central banner. Is the commander of the opposite array Quan Zhong?"
The surname Quan is not common, and among the well-known people in Wu with the surname Quan, only Quan Zhong, the commander of Sihnan Commandery, was a natural choice.
At this time, Quan Zhong's trusted bodyguard, with a face full of anger, drew his knife and pointed it at Zhou Ding's face: "Who allows you to call my general by his given name? Arrogance!"
Zhou Ding shook his head, ignoring the bodyguard's display, glanced at the green silk belt with a silver seal hanging from Zhu Jiu's waist, and knowing that the person across was a subordinate of two thousand stones, he bowed and looked at Zhu Jiu and said, "May I ask your name?"
Zhu Jiu also coldly replied, "I am Zhu Jiu, a prefect. If you don't show proper manners, I will cut off your head right here!"
Zhou Ding lightly shook his head: "I understand the meaning of your words, but my head is not in the hands of the prefect, nor in that of General Quan. It is in the hands of our Grand Marshal Cao and your King Wu. Quickly lead me to meet General Quan Zhong."
Zhu Jiu coldly snorted, turned his horse's head and walked back to his own array, while Zhou Ding's trusted bodyguard also glared at Zhou Ding and followed him westward. Zhou Ding did not care, and followed behind Zhu Jiu.
Soon after, Zhou Ding saw Wu's right commander Quan Zhong sitting on his horse. Without waiting for Zhou Ding to salute, Quan Zhong immediately spoke: "You are the envoy of Cao Xiu, right? Don't delay. The two hundred thousand men here are under my command. What is it that you want to say to me?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ding, though he did not dismount, still bowed slightly and asked, "General Quan, my Grand Marshal sent me across the river to inquire after you. Where is Zhou Fang?"
Quan Zhong narrowed his eyes and looked at Zhou Ding for a while, then suddenly laughed and shook his head: "Zhou Fang is a native of our Wu country, and what business does he have with your Grand Marshal? I have nothing to say to you."
Zhou Ding continued with a calm face, "Zhou Fang may be in the east of the Yangtze River, but he has longed for the rule of the central government and made an alliance with my Grand Marshal. Please inform this official about Zhou Fang's message so that I can report it to my Grand Marshal."
Quan Zhong knocked the dust off his armor with his hand and blew a breath through his mouth, then said softly, "Cao Xiu is in the cavalry formation on the other side?"
Zhou Ding nodded in agreement: "It is indeed your Grand Marshal who sent me to ask."
Quan Zhong looked into Zhou Ding's eyes and began to fabricate: "Zhou Fang? He was chopped by King Wu a long time ago and buried on the banks of the Wu River. If Grand Marshal Cao is interested, he can come and take it himself."
"That is why King Wu sent me to attack you."
Zhou Ding continued with a calm face: "General Quan, are you planning to attack the great Wei? With just over a hundred and thirty bodies in less than half an hour, what is your capability?"
As he spoke, the bodyguards around Quan Zhong drew their knives and pointed them at Zhou Ding.
Quan Zhong said calmly, "Go on, you may leave. I have no desire to argue with you. Wait until tomorrow when the main force arrives, and then we'll see how you fare."
Zhou Ding asked again: "General Quan, do you have a large army behind you? Who is leading it? Is it the King himself or Lu Xun? Wait until my Great Wei army arrives..."
Before Zhou Ding could finish, Quan Zhong turned to his bodyguards and waved his hand: "Drive him out."
Zhou Ding saw this and smiled faintly, bowed slightly, and said, "There is no need for your efforts, I will leave myself. General Quan, this official takes his leave." Zhou Ding then walked out of the Wu army's main formation with a few of Quan Zhong's bodyguards accompanying him, at the same pace as when he had come, slowly crossing the river.
On the other side of the river, Wei's four thousand cavalry, after Zhou Ding's return, also turned their troops towards the northeast direction of Guazhu.
The Wei cavalry carrying the flag that read 'Wei Grand Marshal Cao' gradually moved away, and on the west bank of the river, Quan Zhong heaved a sigh of relief and promptly ordered people to rush to build camp before the sun set.
The banner of Cao Xiu was indeed real, but Cao Xiu himself was not in the camp. As for Zhou Ding, who was known as the 'Military Affairs Assistant of the Grand Marshal', he was only a military affairs assistant under Zhu Gaiguan, the Right General. As for Zhou Feng, how he was doing with Wei's army did not matter to them.
Regardless of the circumstances, the military order that came from the Wei camp of Cao Xiu was to make Zhu Gaiguan appear to be carrying Cao Xiu's flag to confuse their opponents. It now appears that there are two possibilities. Firstly, Wu may have reinforcements in the rear. Secondly, Quan Zhong said he was in command of 20,000 men, which means there may also be someone of equal or greater rank commanding a larger number of Wu troops.
After confirming that there were no Wu troops following behind, the Wei cavalry rode for several miles until they reached the foot of the north mountain. Zhu Gaiguan summoned his trusted subordinate, Siming Wei, to stand in front of him.
Zhu Gaiguan sat on his horse and addressed Siming Wei: "You lost fifty riders before, and I intentionally wanted to give you a chance to make up for it. Now that the Wu army has cut off Anhui City, the Grand Marshal has ordered me to send someone to inform them."
"I have decided that you will lead two hundred men to climb the mountain and travel along the mountain path to Tianzhu Mountain to the north of Anhui City. Whether it's making a beacon or setting fire to the mountain at night, ensure that the garrison of Anhui City can see it!"
Siming Wei did not hesitate and directly asked back, "General, how many days do you want me to reach Anhui City to the north?"
Zhu Gaiguan thought for a moment and said, "The distance to Anhui City is about 35 miles here. Even with the rough terrain and having to travel over twice that distance, it is only 100 miles. With only 200 men, you don't need to set up camp. I give you three days!"
"By the midnight of January 9th, three days later, make sure you arrive. Take as much food as you can from the four thousand cavalry here. After you finish reporting back, return to this place. By then, it is estimated that Wu troops have already been defeated by Great Wei."
Siming Wei had no doubts about his right general's orders and immediately knelt down on the ground to accept them. He then quickly selected two detachments of one hundred men each from his own thousand, gathered food supplies, and prepared fire-starting materials before coming to Zhu Gaiguan's side to bid farewell.
After hesitating for a moment, Siming Wei said, "General, if I cannot return, please take care of my family and children."
Zhu Gaiguan cursed from his horse, "Fool! Do you think I want you to die? Bring all two hundred people back to me, or I'll chop off your head!"
After being scolded, Siming Wei instead smiled. After a bow, he led his troops and plunged into the mountains northward without stopping.
The Wu soldiers on the east bank of the river had just completed temporary campments and were in the middle of settling their troops for the night when the sound of galloping horses from the opposite side echoed across.
It was not Zhu Gaiguan himself who arrived, but rather another detachment of two thousand Wei cavalry who had departed from Guazhu and rotated to this location.
The sound of the hoofbeats woke many Wu soldiers from their sleep. But afraid to yell due to the strict military law, they dared not sleep deeply, enduring a night of fear and anxiety.
At this time, the Wei camp of Wujiangkou, which had received their new commander General Man Chong, Qingzhou Administrator King Ling, Dongguang Prefect Hu Zhi, Langyue Administrator Sun Li, and two men who had defected from Wu to Wei - Han Zong and Zhai Dan - were present in the emperor's tent.
Cao Xiu, Sima Yi, and the several attendants had their own tasks. At the moment, in the tent assisting the emperor with documents were Xiahou Yuan and Jiang Wei, two scholars promoted from the Grand Academy and who had followed the southern campaign as assistants to cavalry officers.
The tent was filled with bright lights, and the emperor was flipping through military reports. Standing in front of the map, Xiahou Yuan explained the recent military situation to those who had just arrived at Wuqiangkou today, Jiang Wei.
Soon, Jiang Wei bowed to the emperor and said, "Reporting to your Majesty, I have already informed the various generals and prefects of the military situation. Please show us your will."
After blinking heavily, Emperor Cao Rui looked at the few people in the tent and said, "Have all of you understood?"
The several people below, including Man Chong and Sun Li, all responded that they had understood, while the two men who had defected from Wu to Wei - Han Zong and Zhai Dan - were still somewhat stunned.
Emperor Cao Rui looked at the two men with a friendly smile, "You two must be Marquis Han and Marquis Zhai, correct?"
(Chapter Complete)
