Treatise on Military Preparedness, Volume 14

...and ascended the walls again; not one of them retreated. In a single day, they fought dozens of engagements, with casualties on both sides numbering in the tens of thousands. The corpses of the Wei soldiers piled up until they were level with the city walls. In the second month, the Emperor of Wei Wei Zhu (魏主): Emperor Xuanwu of the Northern Wei dynasty summoned Yuan Ying to return, but Ying submitted a memorial claiming that victory was certain and requested a brief extension of time.

Thereupon, the Emperor of Liang Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan ordered Wei Rui to rescue Zhongli and placed Cao Jingzong under his command and coordination.

Flying bridges are a legacy of the Great Duke Original: "飞桥太公遗法." Referring to Jiang Ziya, the "Grand Duke Wang," a legendary strategist whose military manuals allegedly contained designs for rapid bridge-building.

Wei Rui set out from Hefei through the Great Marsh of Yinling. Whenever they encountered mountain streams or deep valleys, he immediately constructed "flying bridges" Rapidly assembled or portable wooden bridges to move his army across.

Because people feared the overwhelming strength of the Wei army, many urged Rui to advance slowly. Rui replied: "The people of Zhongli are living in holes they have dug into the ground and must carry the corpses of their comrades just to reach water. Even if we race with chariots and sprinting soldiers, I still fear we will be too late. How could we possibly delay? The Wei forces have already fallen into my trap."

"You, Cao, need not worry. We shall reach Shaoyang within ten days."

The Emperor of Liang had previously issued a secret command to Jingzong, saying: "Regarding Wei Rui, he is a man of high reputation from your home region; you ought to treat him with great respect." When Jingzong met Rui, his etiquette was extremely humble and cautious. When the Emperor of Liang

The character for "Ying" is mistakenly written as "Han" A textual correction regarding the names of the generals or sovereigns mentioned in the original woodblock print.

heard of this, he said: "Since the two generals are in harmony, the army will certainly succeed." They then advanced and stationed themselves at Shaoyang Island. Rui dug trenches across the island...