Ruxu Campaigns 濡須口之戰

According to the Biography of the Lord of Wu, Sun Quan built Ruxuwu on hearing that Lord Cao was about to invade. When Cao Cao attacked Ruxu in the 1st month of the 18th year of Jian'an (213), Sun Quan held him off for more than a month, and Cao Cao, gazing at Sun Quan's army, admired its order and discipline and withdrew. The Annals of Emperor Wu record that Cao Cao advanced to Ruxukou, broke Sun Quan's camp at Jiangxi, captured his Chief Commander Gongsun Yang and then withdrew his army, and the Biography of Lü Meng says that Lü Meng urged Sun Quan to build a fortification flanking the river mouth, and the defenses were so thorough that Cao Cao could not take it and withdrew. Records, Wu 2 §17–18Records, Wei 1 §120Records, Wu 9 §66

According to the Annals of Emperor Wu, in the 10th month, winter, of the 21st year of Jian'an (216) Cao Cao set out again to attack Sun Quan and reached Qiao in the 11th month; in the 1st month of the following year he encamped at Juchao, and in the 2nd month he advanced to Haoxi in Jiangxi. When Sun Quan built a city at Ruxukou and held it, Cao Cao closed in and attacked, and Sun Quan retreated and fled. The Biography of the Lord of Wu records that in the winter of the 21st year of Jian'an Lord Cao halted at Juchao and then attacked Ruxu, and that in the spring of the following year, when Sun Quan sent the Commandant Xu Xiang to ask to surrender, Lord Cao sent an envoy in reply, restored friendly relations and swore to renew the marriage alliance. Records, Wei 1 §155–156Records, Wu 2 §23–24

According to the Biography of Lü Meng, after the battle at Hefei, when Lord Cao again came out to Ruxu with a large army, Sun Quan made Lü Meng commander and had him hold the fortification built earlier, placing ten thousand powerful crossbows on top of it. Lü Meng attacked and broke Lord Cao's vanguard before it had finished building its camp, and Lord Cao led his army away. Records, Wu 9 §76

The passages on the generals in Records of Wu 10 do not say in which year it happened and write only "when Lord Cao came out to Ruxu." Jiang Qin, together with Lü Meng, took charge of directing the various armies; Zhou Tai hurried to meet the attack and afterward stayed behind to supervise Ruxu, and Sun Quan held a banquet at Ruxuwu where he asked about Zhou Tai's scars one by one. Gan Ning, as Commander of the Front Division, fed the wine and food Sun Quan had granted to his more than one hundred men, then at the second watch went out with gags in their mouths and struck the enemy's forward camp, and when the enemy was startled and withdrew, he was given two thousand more soldiers. Dong Xi was stationed at Ruxukou in command of a five-storied tower ship, and died when the ship was wrecked by a violent wind at night. Records, Wu 10 §24 · 29–30 · 62–63 · 51

The Biography of Zang Ba records that when Zang Ba went to attack Sun Quan at Ruxukou, he served as vanguard together with Zhang Liao; they met with heavy rains, the waters rose and the enemy ships drew near, so that all the officers and men grew uneasy, and when Zhang Liao wanted to leave, Zang Ba stopped him. Later, when Sun Quan asked to surrender, Cao Cao on his return left Zang Ba with Xiahou Dun and others at Juchao, and the Annals of Emperor Wu say that in the 3rd month he left Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren, Zhang Liao and others at Juchao. Records, Wei 18 §27–28Records, Wei 1 §156

According to the Biography of Zhu Huan, in the 1st year of Huangwu (222), when Wei's Grand Marshal Cao Ren headed for Ruxu with several tens of thousands of infantry and cavalry, Zhu Huan, who had replaced Zhou Tai as Commander of Ruxu, sent part of his troops away on a false rumor that Cao Ren would attack Xianxi to the east, and was left to face him with the remaining five thousand men. When his generals were afraid, Zhu Huan reassured them, saying that victory and defeat depended on the general, not on the number of troops, and that since they held a high city and were waiting rested for a weary enemy, there would be nothing to worry about even if Cao Pi came in person. He laid down his banners and stilled his drums to make himself look weak and lure Cao Ren in. Records, Wu 11 §48–51

Cao Ren sent his son Cao Tai to attack the city of Ruxu and had the general Chang Diao lead Zhuge Qian, Wang Shuang and others in oiled boats to raid Zhongzhou, where the wives and children of the troops were, while he himself stayed at Tuogao with ten thousand men. When Zhu Huan personally held off Cao Tai, Cao Tai burned his camp and withdrew; Chang Diao was beheaded and his head displayed, Wang Shuang was captured alive and sent to Wuchang, and more than a thousand were cut down or drowned on the field. The Biography of the Lord of Wu dates this to the 3rd month of the 2nd year of Huangwu (223), saying that the general Yan Gui and others defeated Chang Diao and the rest and that the Wei forces all withdrew that month. The Biography of Luo Tong says that Luo Tong held them off and defeated them together with Yan Gui, and the Biography of Jiang Ji records that Jiang Ji warned that sending troops onto the sandbar of Ruxu was walking into hell of one's own accord, but Cao Ren did not listen and was defeated. Records, Wu 11 §51–52Records, Wu 2 §49Records, Wu 12 §62Records, Wei 14 §121