The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 141 Zhu Huan of Wu County respectfully welcomes the King of Wei on his southward journey

After seeing Zhu Huan off, Zhou Tai looked at Sun Shao and asked, "Do you think Zhu Huan might rebel?"

Sun Shao shook his head and said, "I'm not sure, but he agreed so readily without uttering a single complaint, which is not like him. It's obviously not normal."

Zhou Tai nodded and said, "That's right. Send someone to keep an eye on him later. I want to see him leave the camp with my own eyes."

Sun Shao pondered, "Commander, I don't quite understand. We're already preparing to withdraw, so why bother with him? Can't we just pack our things and leave?"

Zhou Tai shook his head and said, "You make it sound so easy. There are 20,000 troops and enough food and supplies for half a year at Ruxukou. Do you think these supplies can be easily packed up and taken away?"

"Our mission is to safely lead 20,000 troops to Jiangling. To ensure a safe retreat, we must make full preparations. We must remove supplies first, then personnel. Otherwise, the Wei army will cross the river as soon as we make a move, and how will we retreat then?"

"The Wei army consists entirely of cavalry, which we simply cannot outrun. If we cross the river to pursue them, our orderly retreat could very well turn into a chaotic rout. Is that what you want to see?"

Sun Shao clasped his hands and said, "This subordinate understands. I will make the arrangements immediately and personally escort General Zhu Huan with men."

Zhu Huan returned to the camp and, seeing that Zhu Yong had already returned, hurriedly said, "Zhou Tai may have seen through our intentions and ordered me to leave now. Has the message been sent out?"

Zhu Yong nodded and said, "I've sent you away, but what will we do if you leave now? Besides, you'll definitely take me with you if you leave, and if I don't leave, it will also arouse Zhou Tai's suspicion."

Zhu Huan pondered, "It seems that the affairs of the camp can only be entrusted to Zhu Sheng. Zhou Tai does not know that Zhu Sheng has arrived, and Zhu Sheng should not attract attention by hiding in the camp. But Zhu Sheng, can you still hold on?"

Zhu Huan was, after all, the deputy general of Ruxukou, so it was easy for him to hide someone in the military camp. Zhu Sheng was a member of the Zhu family and knew his trusted generals, so he could easily mediate between them.

The only concern is that Zhu Shenggang just came from Jianye and is now exhausted and in dire need of rest. I wonder if he can hold on until dark.

Zhu Sheng nodded emphatically and said, "No problem. For the sake of the family, I'm willing to go all out."

Zhu Huan patted him on the shoulder and said, "Alright, once we take Ruxukou, I will personally go to General Zhang Liao to ask for credit for you. Zhu Yong, pack your things and let's go."

Half an hour later, Zhu Huan left the camp with dozens of personal guards. Zhou Tai and Sun Shao came out of the camp to see him off. The two sides stood at the camp gate and talked nonsense that no one believed for a long time before Zhu Huan turned and left.

Not long after he left, Zhang Liao received his letter.

……

Guan Yu's raid on Jianye once again disrupted the stabilizing situation in the country, giving Cao Cao hope for unification.

Upon receiving the news, Cao Cao was overjoyed and began to continuously send troops to Xiangyang and Ruxukou.

At present, a total of 120,000 Wei troops have gathered in Juchao, north of the Yangtze River, one-third of whom are the naval forces trained by Cao Cao in Chaohu.

This Wei army was led by General Zhang Liao, who was in charge of conquering the east, and assisted by General Zang Ba, who was in charge of displaying his might, and General Cao Xiu, who was in charge of the central army.

In addition to the three, Cao Cao also sent Jia Kui, an advisor, to supervise the transport of grain and fodder, which shows the importance he attached to this southern expedition.

Around 1 p.m. in the afternoon, Zhang Liao had just finished inspecting the terrain when he received a secret letter from Zhu Huan. He dared not delay and hurriedly summoned Jia Kui, Zang Ba, Cao Xiu, and others to discuss the matter.

Inside the command tent, Zhang Liao and the other two finished reading the letter before asking, "Do you think Zhu Huan's words are credible?"

The generals of Eastern Wu loved to use the ruse of feigning injury. The Wei army had suffered a great loss at the Battle of Red Cliffs at the hands of Zhou Yu and Huang Gai, and they no longer dared to easily trust these Jiangdong cowards.

Zang Ba shook his head and said, "It's hard to judge. Lü Meng has gone crazy lately and has blocked the passage from Jianye to Ruxukou. We can't get any news from him."

"As for Zhu Huan's statement that Zhang Cheng's 50,000-strong army was completely annihilated by Guan Xing in Shan County, causing the morale of the Wu army to plummet, and Lü Meng thus abandoned Jiangdong and prepared to retreat to Jiangling, I feel that it is somewhat absurd."

"It's possible he said Guan Yu annihilated Zhang Cheng's 50,000-strong army, but Guan Xing..."

Although he didn't say what followed, it was enough to show his distrust of Guan Xing's annihilation of Zhang Cheng.

Since Guan Xing's annihilation of Zhang Cheng was a fabrication, then Lü Meng's retreat and Zhu Huan's rebellion were also fabricated. This was a deliberate attempt to lure them into a trap.

Jia Kui, however, held a different opinion. He stroked his beard and pondered, saying, "I think we can give it a try. First of all, it's probably true that Guan Xing annihilated Zhang Cheng. Lü Meng and Zhang Zhao wouldn't joke about this. If they really wanted to deceive us, wouldn't it be more credible to say that Guan Yu and Wang Fu destroyed Zhang Cheng?"

"Secondly, the reason why Lü Meng blocked the passage to Ruxukou was definitely because he was afraid that bad news would reach Ruxukou. If it were good news, why would he block it? He would rather shout it out loud and let everyone know."

"More importantly, Zhang Cheng has already been captured by Guan Xing once, so being captured again is not unacceptable."

"But Zhang Cheng's defeat again had a fatal impact on the Wu army. The morale of the Wu army in Jianye must have collapsed. Lü Meng knew that there was no hope of taking back Jianye and could only retreat. If he did not retreat, not only would he not be able to take back Jianye, but he himself might also be killed."

"Since Lü Meng has withdrawn, there is no need for Zhou Tai to stay at Ruxukou to guard the gate for Guan Yu. The Ruxu garrison will probably withdraw soon. Zhu Huan did not want to withdraw to Jiangling, which is why he had ulterior motives."

"Therefore, I think we can trust Zhu Huan this once. We will launch an attack on Ruxukou at 3:00 AM tonight. Even if we fail to capture it, our losses will not be significant. But if we do capture it, the benefits will be enormous."

Cao Xiu nodded and said, "I agree with Doctor Jia's opinion. We can give it a try."

Zhang Liao immediately made the decision: "Then let's do it. Xuan Gao (Zang Ba's courtesy name), you will be the vanguard tonight. We will launch the attack promptly at 3:00 AM."

Zang Ba clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, saying, "Yes..."

The hour of Yin (3-5 AM) arrived quickly, and Zang Ba personally led his navy to launch an attack on Ruxukou.

Ruxukou was difficult to attack because of its strategic location, as it is the outlet of Chaohu Lake to the Yangtze River, essentially a tributary of the Yangtze.

More importantly, Ruxukou is located between Ruxu and Qibao Mountains. The Wu army has built many platforms on the two mountains to set up catapults and ballistae, allowing them to attack the Wei army from the platforms. However, the Wei army cannot attack the platforms and can only passively take the beating.

In addition, the reefs at the mouth of Ruxu made navigation difficult, which caused the Wei army to suffer repeated defeats. But tonight is different.

The Wei army's actions quickly attracted the attention of the Wu army, which, as usual, immediately organized a counterattack, maneuvering catapults and ballistae to relentlessly attack the Wei army.

Zang Ba cursed angrily as he watched the incoming stones and crossbow bolts, but before he could finish cursing, he heard screams coming from the Wu army's ranks, and then saw Wu soldiers' corpses fall off the platform.

Amidst screams, a Wu soldier shouted, "By order of General Zhu Huan, we respectfully welcome the King of Wei!"

Zang Ba was overjoyed and shouted excitedly, "Charge over there!"

Under Zang Ba's orders, the Wei army charged towards the Yangtze River despite sporadic attacks. They broke through the blockade and reached the steps behind the Wu army. Zang Ba then sent two teams up the steps to help Zhu Huan's generals clear out the remaining enemy. Upon seeing this, Zhang Liao immediately ordered a general offensive.

Meanwhile, Zang Ba, after rushing through the outlet and entering the Yangtze River, did not hesitate and personally rowed towards the opposite bank.

The Wei army's actions quickly alerted the Wu army on the south bank. Zhou Tai, who had been sleeping fully clothed that night, immediately got up and rushed to the riverbank upon hearing the commotion, shouting, "Everyone, return to your positions and do your utmost to block the Wei army!"

"Ahhhhh..." Several screams came from behind as soon as the words were spoken.

Amidst screams, a familiar voice shouted, "Zhu Huan of Wu County welcomes the King of Wei southward! Kill him!"