Treatise on Military Preparedness, Volume 14

Treatise on Armament Technology, Volume 23

Wei Rui

外一 Inventory code: Outer 1

...at the dam. Rui The OCR reads "Qing" (慶), but historical context and the previous page confirm this is General Wei Rui (魏叡) personally contested the position with the enemy. The Wei Northern Wei soldiers retreated. Consequently, he built a rampart upon the dam to secure his own position. He constructed combat vessels doujian (鬥艦): heavy, multi-decked warships used as floating siege towers that were as high as the walls of Hefei city. Besieging it from all four sides, those within the city began to wail in despair. The defending general, Du Yuanlun, was struck by a crossbow bolt and killed. The city subsequently collapsed, and over ten thousand prisoners were taken or decapitated.

Rui's constitution was naturally frail; he had never even sat astride a horse. In every battle, he would typically ride in a board-carriage original: banyu (板輿), a simple wooden sedan chair or litter to supervise and encourage his officers and soldiers. His courage was without equal. By day, he received guests and travelers; by night, he calculated military logistics, keeping the lamps burning until dawn. He cared for his multitude of troops as if he could never do enough for them; for this reason, volunteers vied to join his service. Wherever he established a camp, the lodgings and defensive walls were all constructed with such precision that they matched the level and plumb-line A metaphor for extreme discipline and order in engineering.

He advanced as far as Dongling. At that point, an imperial edict was issued to withdraw the army original: banshi (班師). The various generals were concerned that because the enemy city was so close, they might be pursued and overtaken. Rui sent all the baggage trains zizhong (輜重): the heavy logistics line including supplies, equipment, and non-combatants to the front, while he personally rode a small carriage to bring up the rear. The people of Wei respected Rui's formidable reputation; they watched from a distance but did not dare to approach. The entire army returned intact. Consequently, the administrative seat of Yuzhou Province was moved to Hefei.