Chapter 97: Paving the Way Although Cao Rui had been on the road marching these days, he had not missed any news or intelligence. The five thousand men led by Cao Hong and Xu Chu marched at a speed of eighty miles a day. Intelligence from Luoyang, Xiangyang and Shouchun was continuously gathered here by Cao Rui several times a day. Several days earlier, before Cao Rui arrived in Chenliu, Cao Xiu informed the emperor of Jia Kui's transfer. Whether it was stationed in Wancheng or in the so-called "opening up" of roads, it seemed that Jia Kui, the governor of Yuzhou, was a bit of a waste of talent. However, Cao Rui did not stop Cao Xiu from arranging Jia Kui's work. Cao Xiu was the commander-in-chief of all military affairs in Yangzhou, and the Grand Marshal, the top military officer in the country. It is understandable that Jia Kui and Cao Xiu wrote letters to each other to complain when Jia Kui was still in Yuzhou and had not yet rushed to Yangzhou Shouchun to gather. Once Jia Kui arrived in Shouchun, he had to obey Cao Xiu's orders, whether to station in Wancheng or to "open up" a road, Jia Kui had to obey for both reason and emotion. More than 100,000 troops were stationed near Shouchun, and others were idle, only giving you, Jia Kui, the opportunity to do something, and maybe some people would envy you. From another perspective, Cao Rui had originally ordered Cao Xiu to arrange people to "open up the road". However, this "opening up the road" was different from the ordinary vanguard task, and it required a person like Jia Kui who was both talented in civil and military affairs and had a reputation for courage and strategy. Wancheng was not a strange place for the generals of Wei State. The reason why the confrontation between Cao Wei and Eastern Wu was divided into Yangzhou and Jingzhou was precisely because of the existence of the Dabie Mountains, which divided Jiangbei into east and west.
Wancheng is located in Lujiang County, backed by the Dabie Mountains to the north and the Yangtze River to the south along the Wan River. It is quite far away from Hefei to the northeast and Jiangxia to the west. This place in Wancheng has no strategic value, and the local people fled for strategic reasons more than ten years ago, which in fact formed an uninhabited area like the area around Huainan Guangling. As early as the Jian'an period, Zhang Liao had sent troops to occupy this place. In the following twenty years, Cao Wei and Dongwu continued to fight here. Precisely because the generals of Wei were quite familiar with this place, Cao Xiu in history underestimated the enemy and rushed forward, until he encountered an army of 90,000 strong in the vicinity of Wancheng and was forced to fight. The road from Shouchun to Hefei and then to Wancheng was easy to travel, but extremely narrow. The army had to pass through Tiaobei to reach Hefei from Shouchun, and then cross the hilly area full of lakes and swamps to reach Wancheng. The unfortified mouths, rocky cliffs and trailers on the road are all dangerous places. Since the area near Wancheng was to be the battle site, building supply lines and fortifications along the way was a top priority. Cao Rui was actually relieved to let Jia Kui do this. Just as Cao Rui, Xu Chu and Cao Hong were patrolling the camp at the border of Qiao County, the situation in Eastern Wu to the south was also quite lively. Unlike Lu Xun, who hesitated for several days before heading eastward along the Yangtze River after preparing 5,000 troops, General Zhu Huan, who was stationed in Ruxu and Wuhu, had received an imperial edict from King Sun Quan of Wu long ago. The content of the imperial edict was very simple. There was no need to mobilize troops. Zhu Huan could just come to Wuchang himself. After receiving the imperial edict, Zhu Huan did not think about anything else. Instead, he set out by boat that night and arrived in Wuchang in three days and nights. It was already midnight when Zhu Huan and his son Zhu Yi arrived in Wuchang. It was too late to enter Wuchang City, so Zhu Huan and Zhu Yi could only stay in the post house outside the city. After getting off the boat, Zhu Huan and his party took two horses from the attendant at the dock. Zhu Huan, Zhu Yi and nine personal soldiers walked towards the post station. The winter night was quite cold, and the river breeze made the flags outside the posthouse whistle. "Knock, knock, knock." The personal soldiers knocked on the door of the inn without any courtesy. A moment later, the gate of the post house was opened from the inside. The clerk on duty saw that Zhu Huan was wearing a high-ranking military uniform, and there were several personal soldiers around him. The clerk saluted and said, "Greetings, General. Are you going to stay at this post house?" The guards were already standing outside the door. As Zhu Huan's son, Zhu Yi stepped forward and bowed, saying, "My father is General Fenwu, and he was ordered to go to Wuchang. Now he can't enter the city in the middle of the night and needs to stay overnight. Please choose a room for my father. For the remaining ten people, please arrange ordinary rooms for us." The clerk looked a little hesitant at this time. "Greetings, General. It's not that I don't want to make room for you, but the best rooms in the inn are already occupied. I'm really sorry."
After several days of traveling, the river was quite cold in winter, and Zhu Huan drank a lot along the way. When he heard what the clerk said, there was no more wine in the upper room, he became more and more impatient. The generals of Eastern Wu were quite different from those of Shu Han and Cao Wei. Military exploits were everything to them. They tolerated corruption, lust, and alcoholism completely. If he can tolerate even the private soldiers of his subordinates, then what does the bad habits and arrogance of his generals matter? Zhu Huan cursed drunkenly, "You are blind. I am General Zhu Huan. Who can live better than me?" The clerk knew that he could not afford to offend General Zhu Huan, so he bowed even deeper and said, "I report to the general that the person living in the upper room is also a general. I really can't do anything." Who is Zhu Huan? Cao Ren, the Grand Marshal who had defeated Cao Wei at Ruxu, was always proud of his military achievements. If it was a civilian official, it would be fine, but a famous general living here? Who could have made greater contributions than me? Even if Lu Boyan was here, Zhu Huan was not afraid of him! Zhu Huan looked down at the clerk coldly and said, "Who is that person inside? Tell him to get out and give me the room." The noise of several people at the door had already awakened the people who were sleeping in the inn. However, after hearing the name of Zhu Huan, no one dared to come out and talk to him. Just when Zhu Huan was about to draw his sword in anger, a man slowly walked down the stairs. He was wearing an outer robe and had loose hair, and it was obvious that he had been woken up from his sleep. The person who came was Quan Cong, the governor of Jiujiang, the general of Suinan, and the Marquis of Qiantang. Quan Cong bowed and said, "Brother Xiumu, you are here. I heard the arguing upstairs. Is it because I am living in the room?" Zhu Huan looked up at Quan Cong who was walking down the stairs. The alcohol had not yet worn off. Zhu Huan was not convinced by anyone and he believed that Quan Cong's contribution was far inferior to his own, so his anger had not subsided. Zhu Huan said, "Quan Zihuang, Quan Zihuang, you are the one who stole my upper room?" Quan Cong was also a general stationed in a certain place, and his experience was not much less than Zhu Huan. Moreover, regarding Zhu Huan's previous defeat of Cao Ren, Quan Cong once thought that Cao Ren was almost dead, so Quan Cong could still win if he was sent there. Quan Cong originally wanted to greet Zhu Huan and reminisce about the past, as they hadn't seen each other for four or five years. But who knew that Zhu Huan was born in the year of the dog and would bite people the moment he came up to him? Quan Cong stood on the steps and could not go down. He looked at Zhu Huan from above and said, "General Zhu, the posthouse is a government office. We should follow the first come first served principle." "I came to Wuchang in compliance with the order of the King of Wu. I am staying in a room in the post station. Do you think you want to snatch it from me?" Zhu Huan was already furious at this time: "You came here on the orders of the King of Wu, but am I not here on the orders of the King of Wu?" Today is one thousand words short, tomorrow will add two thousand words (End of this chapter)