In the camp of Wucheng, Sun Quan and Zhuge Jing, He Qi looked at each other. The three faced off, silent.
More than ten days ago at Wankou, Sun Quan had proudly announced the mobilization of troops, watching so many commanders and soldiers of the Eastern Wu set out to battle.
Now, only three people remain in the tent, the melancholic feeling is hard to describe.
In his mind, Zhuge Jing had a thousand words to say, but in the end, they were reduced to one sentence: "Your Majesty, retreat the troops."
"Your Majesty, take the troops here in Wucheng back with you, use the power of the Yangtze River at Wankou to hold them off for a while. Perhaps you can save some of the defeated troops."
"The Wei army will be here at the latest by tomorrow night. We must leave now, or we will be too late."
He Qi, as an old general of Eastern Wu, also advised: "Your Majesty, now our navy is still there. Even if Wei army wins, they can only occupy Jiangbei."
"The navy is still here, and Jingzhou and Yangzhou are still in hand. Your Majesty, let's go."
Sun Quan has been in charge of Jiangdong for twenty-six years since he took power. Whether it was Red Cliff or Shileng, regardless of the danger, there had never been such a situation. Even if Sun Quan repeatedly confronted Cao Wei on the northern bank and surrendered to avoid punishment, it was only to conserve strength and wait for the right time to strike.
Now, with the loss of contact with eighty thousand troops, and the likelihood of the entire army being wiped out, Sun Quan is unwilling to accept this outcome no matter what. But facts are facts; what can one do about it?
Why are you not allowed to lose Wucheng as Sun Quan and Lu Su did at Red Cliff and Shileng?
Sun Quan sighed deeply and said, "Lift the siege of Wucheng now, and do it quickly. By dawn tomorrow, prepare for an immediate southward retreat."
Zhuge Jing was stunned for a moment, looking around and seeing that there was no one else present, only himself as the Left General, he had to accept this military order himself: "I will comply."
However, just as Zhuge Jing was about to ask whether they should retreat to Wankou or back to Wuhan, Sun Quan suddenly rose from his seat, surprising him.
Sun Quan squinted his eyes, rested his hands heavily on the table, and bit his teeth to force out a word from his mouth: "Let the army retreat south first! Ziyu, Gongmiao, you two will come with me on the ship tomorrow and wait for the Wei soldiers to arrive!"
Zhuge Jing and He Qi looked at each other.
Although they had to wait for the Wei soldiers, they believed that there would be no risk on board. Since this was the case, there was no need to argue anymore. Following Sun Quan's lead and waiting for him was the best option.
On the second day, the thirteenth day of the first month, although the Wei army had not yet reached Wucheng, General Cao Tai's forces had already arrived north of Wankou.
Like Wucheng, the name of this place, Wankou, also comes from the Wuanshui River. The Tianzhushan to the north of Wucheng is called Wuanshan.
And because of the existence of Wuanshan, Wuanshui, and Wankou in the later generations, the Anhui Province is named after 'Wu' as its abbreviation. The Wankou area was known as Anqing in later times. It is indeed a major town.
On the tenth afternoon, Cao Tai arrived south of Guache and immediately led ten thousand infantrymen to advance southward, trying to cross the hills to reach Wankou. The road was scarce and there were few people, although the terrain was undulating, it was still quite difficult.
It was less than a hundred miles. Cao Tai led his army to carry grain and supplies, and marched without stopping overnight. Along the way, there were frequent instances of people falling behind. To achieve the surprise attack, Cao Tai only left them behind. When Cao Tai arrived at the north of Wankou, there were only about 5000 soldiers left around him.
The term "surprise attack" sounds refreshing, but it also comes with a high cost. A large reduction in non-combatants is one such cost.
Wankou Wucun was located on the left bank of the Wuanshui River as it flows into the river. When Cao Tai had gathered his forces in the mountains and prepared to come out, the garrison inside Wankou Wucun was completely unaware.
It is not surprising that the garrison was not on guard, as Wankou is too far away from the main battlefield of Wucheng.
Although the plan was for a surprise attack, when Cao Tai finally saw Wankou Wucun from a distance, he realized that it was situated by the water's edge, more than twoli away from the nearest mountain.
Although it would be easier at night, but it is currently the noon, with the sun in the sky. Under the open sky, a surprise attack is not possible, so they have to prepare for a strong attack.
As Cao Tai led his army out from the mountains and prepared to advance towards Wankou Wucun, the garrison inside Wankou Wucun had not expected to find Wei troops from this direction, but soon noticed and organized themselves to defend along the wall of the fortress.
The word 'wucun' originally means a small fortress. Since the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, with turmoil and rebellion everywhere, militarylords, warlords, bandits ran amok, and local strongmen built fortresses to defend themselves.
Even the current Wuwei General Xu Chu, before he submitted to Cao Cao's camp, had gathered thousands of people from the county and built a fortress to protect himself. The bandits of Ruyuan had attacked Xu Chu's fortress with a force of ten thousand, but were all repelled by Xu Chu and his men.
However, in Wankou at this time, Wankou Wucun was not as vast as the fortress Xu Chu built with 'thousands of families', and Cao Tai's five thousand Wei troops were far more disciplined than the former bandits of Ruyuan.
The 'wucun' by the water differs greatly in design from the 'wucun' on land. The land 'wucun' is naturally square, but the one by the water often consists only of a semi-circular fortress wall facing the land, leaving a large opening towards the shipyard direction.
Yesterday, when Sun Quan led the navy upstream along the Wuanshui River, only a thousand garrison soldiers were left at Wankou, under the command of Sun Quan's trusted general Song Qian.
Cao Tai, in a surprise attack without any psychological preparation from the Wu troops, led his forces to launch an assault. After the commander Song Qian was shot dead by Wei troops, it was not much of a struggle for Cao Tai to capture Wankou Wucun.
The Wu troops defending the area were about two hundred dead, with only a few hundred able to escape in small boats left in the shipyard next to them. Many others swam across the Wuanshui River to the west, leaving only a hundred who surrendered.
Seeing that the fortress wall had been breached, Cao Tai's General-in-Chief Su Yi asked: "General, the imperial edict is to capture Wankou. Our forces have already seized it. What should we do next?"
Cao Tai thought for a moment and said, "There are still some military supplies and grain here that can sustain us for more than ten days. Since we have already occupied Wankou, and there is no specific instruction in the imperial edict on what to do after occupying Wankou, we should naturally act at the right opportunity."
"Bring all the usable supplies from inside the fortress and set up camp at our departure point. We will first observe the situation for a few days here."
Su Yi, hearing Cao Tai's words, was about to obey the command and leave, but was stopped by Cao Tai.
Cao Tai said, "Order my troops to massacre all the surrendered Wu soldiers and throw their bodies into the Wuanshui River as a conclusion!"
"……" Hearing Cao Tai's such order, Su Yi was worried for a moment: "General, killing the defeated is an unlucky thing. If the court pursues this, won't we just bring trouble upon ourselves?"
Cao Tai glared at Su Yi: "The Wu dogs injured my father at Ruru in the past, and my father died before he returned to Shouchun. I will never share the sky with Wu! Only a hundred people, not thousands or tens of thousands, what can we kill? Who will know?"
Cao Tai pulled Su Yi close and whispered in his ear: "After the soldiers have moved the supplies from the fortress, leave a detachment of bodyguards to massacre these Wu dogs in the fortress, and then throw their bodies into the river!"
Although Su Yi was reluctantly following the orders, he had no choice. After all, the hatred between Wei and Wu has been longstanding and cannot be easily resolved in a short time.
The middle troops, including the generals who have come a long way from Luoyang, consider battles as battles. They do not speak of personal grievances.
For Cao Tai, as an external army general whose father, Cao Ren, died due to the Wu people, this is not just personal enmity but also a typical attitude of a warrior. After years of fighting, it's natural for them not to take life and death too seriously. As for the enemy's life, who cares? It's not worth much money.
As Cao Tai was directing his troops to burn down the shipyard and transport the supplies, a messenger ran up to Cao Tai's side and reported: "General, we just found a woman hidden in one of the houses in the fortress."
A woman? Cao Tai shrugged it off and said: "So what about a woman? Keep her together with the captives and guard them."
The guards explained, "General, this woman seems to be no ordinary woman. She won't reveal her identity, and I'm at a loss for words. Please take a look yourself, General."
Cao Tai raised his eyebrows, suspiciously staring at the guards, and followed them to walk into the fortress.
Sun Luba had hidden inside Wankou Wucun when Wu troops were defending it. If Song Qian was still alive, he would probably have taken Sun Luba and broken through the encirclement. But Song Qian was unfortunately killed in battle, and Wei troops launched a fierce attack, causing Wu troops to scatter and run away. In this situation, Sun Luba could only hide herself.
What else could Sun Luba do? She couldn't swim and had no boat, so she could only hide within the fortress for a while.
As expected, Sun Luba remained silent when facing the Wei soldiers. But when she saw Cao Tai, the two thousand stone general, she voluntarily spoke of her background.
After listening, Cao Tai shook his head and could only order the guards to watch over Sun Luba. Then he would take her away.
In the early years, when Cao Cao chased Liu Bei at Changban Slope, he had captured Liu Bei's two daughters, and Cao Tai was then in the army of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.
After twenty years, it seems that we have captured Sun Quan's daughter after all.
...
At this time, Cao Zhen stood up and bowed his hands, saying to the emperor: "Your Majesty, as the emperor leading the army in person, the great battle has ended with great success. The remaining matters can be handled by the Grand Marshal. I think Your Majesty should return to the capital."
Cao Rui nodded: "The role of the emperor here is simply to bring the central army and to bring wise men together with the Grand Marshal and General to coordinate the battlefield."
"Now that Sun Quan has only twenty thousand soldiers left, General, you are right. It is time for the emperor to return to Luoyang."
The central forces of Wei have already learned about the overall situation of Wu's army through the mouths of captured Wu military officers. Sun Quan moved a total of ten thousand troops, in the battle for several days, about two thousand were killed, and four thousand were captured on that day.
The remaining Wu troops who escaped into the southern hills were about two thousand. Within two days, about a thousand of them came out to surrender one by one.
So, there are now fifty thousand captives here.
It cannot be said that the massive number of captives is not a great burden on Wei's forces. As for how to deal with these captives, of course, it is one of the top priorities for the emperor to consider before returning to Shouchun.
(The end of this chapter)
