Examination of Strategic Warfare

The Wei Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 CE) dispatched General Cui Liang to attack Xiashi. Xiao Baoyin breached the Huai River embankment. Although Cui Liang attacked Xiashi, he could not capture it; he had an agreement with Li Chong for their land and naval forces to advance together, but Li Chong repeatedly missed the appointed dates and failed to arrive. Empress Dowager Hu The de facto ruler of Northern Wei at the time, seeing that the various generals were not acting as one, appointed the Minister Li Ping as a Traveling Executive Xingtai (行臺): a high-ranking official sent from the central government to the front lines to exercise supreme regional command to coordinate the various armies.

When Li Ping arrived at Xiashi, he supervised Li Chong, Cui Liang, and the others, setting a strict date for the assault. None dared to deviate from his orders, and their battles frequently met with success. The Liang ruler Emperor Wu of Liang sent General Chang Yizhi to rescue Fushan, but before he arrived, 康絢 (Kang Xuan) had already struck the Wei troops and repelled them. He then ordered Chang Yizhi to rescue Xiashi. In response, Cui Liang sent General Cui Yanbo to defend Xiacai.

General Yanbo took wagon wheels and removed their outer rims, sharpening the spokes into points. He joined these spokes together in pairs and used twisted bamboo to create thick cables original: "絙", threading them through the wheels to connect them. He stretched more than ten of these lines across the water to form a bridge. At both ends, he installed large winches Lulu (轆轤): a pulley or windlass system used here to raise or lower the bridge, allowing the structure to be raised or submerged at will. Because of this design, it could be neither burned nor hacked through by the enemy. Having thus cut off the escape route of Zhao Zuyue, he then ordered the final assault.