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Zhu Huan (177-238 AD), courtesy name Xiumu, was a native of Wu County, Wu Commandery (present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu Province).

He was a famous general of the Wu Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period, and rose to the rank of General of the Vanguard and Governor of Qingzhou. He was also enfeoffed as Marquis of Xincheng and Marquis of Jiaxing.

Zhu Huan served as the magistrate of Yuyao County in his early years, and later rose to the rank of Colonel of the Vanquishing Bandits, leading troops to suppress mountain bandits and thieves. For his meritorious service, he was promoted to Lieutenant General and granted the title of Marquis of Xincheng.

He succeeded Zhou Tai in guarding Ruxu (north of present-day Wuwei City, Anhui Province). In the first year of Huangwu (222 AD) of Eastern Wu, Cao Ren led a large army to attack Ruxu.

Zhu Huan divided his forces to meet the enemy, with only five thousand soldiers, and the generals were terrified. Zhu Huan boosted morale and used a stratagem to defeat Cao Ren. For his merit, he was promoted to General of Valiant Might and granted the title of Marquis of Jiaxing.

In the seventh year of the Huangwu era of Eastern Wu (228 AD), Cao Xiu fell into a trap and led his army deep into enemy territory. Zhu Huan, Lu Xun, and Quan Cong launched a three-pronged attack on Cao Xiu.
He inflicted a major defeat on the Wei army at Shiting (present-day Shucheng County, Anhui Province). The following year, Zhu Huan was promoted to General of the Vanguard and concurrently served as Governor of Qingzhou.

In the sixth year of the Jiahe era of Eastern Wu (237 AD), Lü Xi, the chief clerk of Lujiang County of Wei, planned to open the city gates and surrender. Quan Cong and Zhu Huan led troops to meet him, but were forced to retreat when their plan was exposed.

Li Ying, the prefect of Lujiang Commandery, led his troops in pursuit, with Zhu Huan personally covering the rear. The Wei army, terrified, dared not engage in battle. During the retreat, Zhu Huan, along with Quan Cong...

General Hu Zong, due to a conflict over command, arbitrarily killed someone. He later claimed to have suffered a bout of madness and returned to Jianye (present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu) for treatment. The following year, Zhu Huan died at the age of sixty-two.

Zhu Huan was resolute and resourceful, generous with his wealth and righteous, and cared for his soldiers. He was supported by his subordinates and could be called a famous general of his generation. Sun Quan relied on him greatly.

However, Zhu Huan was arrogant and ashamed to be subordinate to others. He had a conflict with Quan Cong and Hu Zong and killed people without authorization. Sun Sheng, a historian of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, compared him to a tiger and wolf, who acted arrogantly and domineeringly. Sun Quan tolerated his crimes, which violated the laws of the country.

When Sun Quan was a general, Zhu Huan, as one of his advisors, was appointed magistrate of Yuyao County. Upon arriving in Yuyao to take up his post, Zhu Huan encountered a plague outbreak in the area.
Food was scarce, so Zhu Huan distributed medicine and porridge to relieve the people, for which the local gentry and commoners were very grateful. Soon after, Zhu Huan was promoted to Colonel of the Suppression of Bandits.

He was given two thousand men to go to Wu and Kuaiji counties to suppress mountain bandits and thieves. He also used the strongest men among the scattered bandits as soldiers, and within a year he had more than ten thousand men.

Mountain bandits rose up in Danyang and Poyang prefectures, attacking cities, killing and kidnapping local officials, and establishing settlements in various places. Zhu Huan led his troops in a series of campaigns to quell the rebellion.
He quelled all the bandits in the two prefectures. Soon after, Zhu Huan was promoted to lieutenant general for his merits and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Xincheng. Later, he succeeded Zhou Tai in guarding Ruxu (north of present-day Wuwei City, Anhui Province).

In February of the first year of Huangwu in Eastern Wu (222 AD), Cao Ren, the Grand Marshal of Wei, led tens of thousands of troops to attack Ruxu (north of present-day Wuwei City, Anhui Province).

Cao Ren planned to send troops to seize Zhongzhou in the Yangtze River south of Ruxu[a], and pretended to spread rumors that he would attack Xianxi (northeast of present-day Wuwei County, Anhui Province) to the east.

Zhu Huan divided his forces to meet the enemy and sent troops to rescue Xianxi. The army set off, but suddenly received news that Cao Ren's army was already seventy li away from Ruxu.

Zhu Huan hurriedly sent people to recall the army that had come to the rescue of Xianxi, but before the army returned, Cao Ren's army arrived.

At that time, Zhu Huan commanded only five thousand troops, and his soldiers were trembling with fear. Zhu Huan reassured his generals, and the two armies clashed.

The outcome of a battle is determined by the commander, not the number of soldiers. Cao Ren lacked strategic acumen and courage in his military campaigns, while the Cao Wei soldiers were cowardly and burdened by the long march.
The men and horses were exhausted; while the Wu army held a fortified city, with access to the Yangtze River to the south and mountains to the north, allowing them to wait in comfort. Analyzing the situation,

They are invincible. Even if Cao Pi himself came, there would be no cause for concern, let alone the likes of Cao Ren.

Zhu Huan's analysis was insightful and well-reasoned, greatly encouraging the soldiers. Zhu Huan then ordered the entire army to lower their flags and cease fire, feigning weakness to lure Cao Ren into attacking the city.
As expected, Cao Ren dispatched his son Cao Tai to lead an army to attack Ruxu City, and also sent General Chang Diao to command Zhuge Qian, Wang Shuang, and others to attack Zhongzhou in the Yangtze River by oil tankers.
Cao Ren led 10,000 troops to stay behind at Tuogao (present-day Chaohu City, Anhui Province) to support Cao Tai and others.

Zhu Huan first dispatched troops to attack the enemy's oil tankers and raid Chang Diao and his men, and then personally led his army to resist Cao Tai's attack.

Unable to capture the city, Cao Tai had no choice but to burn down the camp and retreat. Zhu Huan seized the opportunity to launch a surprise attack from both sides, defeating the Wei army and killing the Wei general Chang Diao. He also captured Wang Shuang alive and sent Chang Diao's head and Wang Shuang to Wuchang to report the victory and claim credit.

In this battle, more than a thousand Wei soldiers were killed or drowned. Sun Quan rewarded Zhu Huan for his merits, promoted him to General of Valiant Might, concurrently appointed him as Chancellor of Pengcheng, and granted him the title of Marquis of Jiaxing.

In May of the seventh year of the Huangwu era of the Eastern Wu dynasty (228 AD), Zhou Fang, the prefect of Poyang Commandery, wrote a letter to Cao Xiu, the Grand Marshal of Wei, feigning surrender to Wei.
He ordered Cao Xiu to send a large army to meet him. Cao Xiu, unaware of the trap, personally led an army of 100,000 to Wan County (present-day Qianshan City, Anhui Province) to meet Zhou Fang.

In August of the same year, Sun Quan personally came to Wan County and appointed Lu Xun as Grand Commander, Zhu Huan and Quan Cong as Left and Right Commanders, respectively, each leading an army of 30,000 to attack Cao Xiu.

Upon realizing he had fallen into a trap, Cao Xiu had no choice but to lead his army to retreat to Shiting (present-day Shucheng County, Anhui Province). Cao Xiu should have retreated quickly, but he believed that with his large army, he could engage in a decisive battle with Eastern Wu.

Zhu Huan advised Sun Quan that Cao Xiu was only given a high position because of kinship and did not qualify as a general with both courage and strategy. Now that the two armies were about to engage in a decisive battle...
Cao Xiu will inevitably suffer a major defeat and then flee through Jiashi and Guache. The roads to these two places are treacherous and narrow. If ten thousand elite troops were to block his path...
This would allow them to annihilate the Wei army and capture Cao Xiu alive. Zhu Huan requested to lead his troops to intercept them; if they could capture Cao Xiu, they could then advance rapidly in victory.

He conquered Shouchun (present-day Shouxian County, Huainan City, Anhui Province), then seized Huainan, and launched a northern expedition against Cao Wei. Sun Quan consulted Lu Xun, who believed Zhu Huan's strategy was unfeasible and did not adopt it.

Zhu Huan led his army, together with Lu Xun and Quan Cong, to besiege Cao Xiu's army at Shiting (within present-day Shucheng County, Anhui Province). Cao Xiu's army was thrown into chaos.
They fled in disarray, abandoning their armor and supplies. Cao Xiu, after his defeat, indeed led his remaining troops to Jiashi (present-day Yangping Town, Yuan'an County, Hubei Province).
Upon hearing of Cao Xiu's defeat, Wei general Jia Kui rushed to his aid by both land and water, forcing the Eastern Wu army to retreat. Zhu Huan, who had participated in the victory over Cao Xiu, was promoted to General of the Vanguard the following year for his meritorious service, concurrently serving as Governor of Qingzhou and granted the authority to act on behalf of the emperor.
In the sixth year of the Jiahe era of the Eastern Wu (237 AD), Lü Xi, the chief clerk of Lujiang Commandery in the Wei Kingdom, requested that Eastern Wu send troops to assist him, intending to act as an inside agent and surrender the city.
Zhu Huan and General Quan Cong led troops to provide support. However, upon arrival, their plan was exposed, and the army was forced to retreat.

Outside Lujiang City flowed a large river. The various Wu army units crossed the river and departed, with Zhu Huan personally covering the rear. Li Ying, the prefect of Lujiang, reorganized his troops and pursued them.

They planned to launch an attack when the Wu army was halfway across the river, but seeing Zhu Huan personally covering their rear, the Wei army dared not move.

At that time, Quan Cong was the commander-in-chief of the entire army, and Sun Quan sent Lieutenant General Hu Zong to convey the imperial edict and participate in military command. Quan Cong's large-scale army deployment yielded no results.
After discussion, they planned to deploy their generals to attack the cities of Wei. Zhu Huan, always arrogant, was ashamed to be commanded by either of them, so he went to see Quan Cong.
He pressed for an explanation as to why troops had been dispatched so hastily. Zhu Huan became agitated and angry, arguing with Quan Cong. Quan Cong, trying to justify himself, said it was Hu Zong's idea.

Zhu Huan was even more enraged upon hearing this, and upon returning to his camp, he sent someone to summon Hu Zong. When Hu Zong arrived at the camp gate, Zhu Huan went out to greet him, intending to take action against him.

Someone ran out through a side door next to the tent and told Hu Zong to go back. Zhu Huan went out of the camp gate and didn't see Hu Zong, knowing it was the work of the guards.
He immediately killed the man who had informed Hu Zong. When his subordinates came to remonstrate, Zhu Huan also killed them. Zhu Huan claimed he was suffering a fit of madness.
He returned to Jianye (present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu) to receive medical treatment. Sun Quan, valuing Zhu Huan's merits and abilities, did not punish him, but instead ordered his son, Zhu Yi, to take command of the troops.
He then sent a physician to treat him, and several months later sent him back to Ruxu Zhongzhou. Sun Quan personally hosted a farewell banquet for Zhu Huan, hoping he would recover soon and once again lead troops to attack Wei. Zhu Huan was deeply grateful and expressed his willingness to take on this important responsibility and share the burden for the country.

Zhu Huan was generous with his wealth and valued loyalty. He had an excellent memory and could remember someone he met once, even decades later. He had tens of thousands of soldiers under his command, and he even knew their wives and children.

Zhu Huan cherished his soldiers and protected their families, distributing all his salary and property to his subordinates. Later, when Zhu Huan fell seriously ill, all his soldiers were worried about him.

In the first year of the Chiwu era of Eastern Wu (238 AD), Zhu Huan died at the age of sixty-two. His subordinates, soldiers, and family members all mourned and missed him dearly.

Zhu Huan had no surplus wealth, so Sun Quan specially bestowed upon him 5,000 bushels of salt to cover his funeral expenses. After Zhu Huan's death, his son Zhu Yi inherited his title.

Chen Shou, in his *Records of the Three Kingdoms*, commented: Zhu Huan was renowned for his bravery and fierceness. He was naturally arrogant, disdaining to be subservient to others, and in every battle he fought…
When he was controlled and commanded by others and unable to act freely, he was always furious and indignant. However, Zhu Huan valued loyalty and righteousness over wealth and had a very good memory.

He cherished his soldiers and had no personal wealth, which earned him their support. After his death, his subordinates, soldiers, and family members all mourned and missed him dearly.

The Eastern Jin historian Sun Sheng commented: "A subject who abuses his power and influence is a scourge to both the country and his family. Zhu Huan was cruel and bloodthirsty."

Even a king cannot kill tigers and wolves at will, let alone a mere general or minister. As the saying goes, gaining one person but losing a country is a loss. Sun Quan's indulgence of Zhu Huan's crimes undermined the laws of the state, resulting in a net loss for him.

The Southern Song scholar Zhang Mou commented: "Throughout history, those who relied on the natural barrier of the Yangtze River to garrison troops and occupy strategic locations were able to defeat their enemies and achieve victory."

Most of them were located on the north bank of the Yangtze River. Therefore, Lü Meng built the Ruxu fortress, while Zhu Huan, as a subordinate general, was able to repel Cao Ren's large army, and Zhuge Ke built the Dongxing dike.
Ding Feng, with a mere 3,000 soldiers, was able to defeat Hu Zun's 70,000 men. This turn of events from weakness to strength was simply a product of the changing circumstances.

Southern Song scholar Zhang Ruyu commented: "Scholars such as Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Gan Ning, Xu Sheng, Pan Zhang, Zhu Ran, Zhu Huan, He Qi, Ling Tong, and Quan Cong..."

Lu Fan and his ilk were all wise enough to command an army and brave enough to defeat the enemy; none of them were incompetent.

Hao Jing, a scholar from the late Song and early Yuan dynasties, commented: Zhu Zhi and Lü Fan were given important positions due to their hard work and high achievements, while Zhu Ran and Zhu Huan were known for their courage and bravery. All of them vaguely possessed the demeanor of ancient generals.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhu Huan, a general of Eastern Wu, acquired a maidservant. Every night after he went to sleep, the maidservant's head would fly away, sometimes appearing and disappearing through a dog hole.

Sometimes they enter and exit through the skylight, using their ears as wings when flying. As dawn approaches, their heads fly back and rejoin their bodies. This happens many times.

The person sleeping next to her found it strange, so one night they lit a lamp to check and found that the maid's body was still there, but her head was gone, and her body temperature was slightly low.

Her breathing was normal, so they covered her body with a blanket. The next morning, her head returned. Because the blanket covered her body...

Unable to reunite with the body, it fell to the ground two or three times. The creature was extremely distressed, its breathing became rapid, and it looked as if it were about to die.

So the person next to her removed the blanket. Her head flew up again, attaching to her neck. After a while, her breathing calmed down.

Zhu Huan believed the maid was a monster and, feeling frightened, dared not keep her any longer and quickly sent her away. Later, Zhu Huan inquired about her whereabouts...
Only then did I realize that this was her nature. At that time, the generals who participated in the southern expedition often captured the people of the Luotou clan. Once, someone used a copper plate to cover the body after the head flew away. When the head flew back, it couldn't squeeze into the copper plate. As a result, the person died.

When Sun Quan saw Zhu Huan off in Jianye, Zhu Huan suddenly raised his wine cup and said to Sun Quan, "Your Majesty, I am about to leave you. If I could touch Your Majesty's beard,..."

"I have no regrets in this life." Upon hearing this, Sun Quan leaned slightly against the table and stretched his head out. Zhu Huan stepped forward, stroked his beard, and sighed:

"I can say I've really struck a chord with the tiger today!" Sun Quan laughed heartily. Later, people used "stroking a tiger's whiskers" as a metaphor for offending powerful people.

Cao Cao once led a large army along the route from Ruxukou, a journey known as "crossing Chaohu four times." This means he traversed the Chaohu region four times.

This strategy was adopted to attack Eastern Wu. This waterway not only provided a convenient military passage, but also gave Cao Cao a strategic advantage, allowing him to be flexible and change the direction of attack at any time.

Ruxukou thus became a strategic key point in the battle between Cao Cao and Sun Quan, with the two armies engaging in fierce confrontations in this waterway, vying for this strategic location.

The waterways here are deep and winding, making it difficult for the army to move through them. The complex terrain of the battlefield added many twists and turns and variables to the military confrontation between Cao Wei and Eastern Wu.

To strengthen the defense of this strategic location, the Wu Kingdom built Ruxu City at the foot of Ruxu Mountain, north of Wukou, making the defense line even more solid.

There is an island in the middle of the river outside Ruxukou, called "Zhongzhou". This island was formed by the accumulation of mud and sand in the river, and its location is exactly in the middle of Ruxukou. The Wu Kingdom settled the wives, children and elderly of its garrison troops on this island, with a population of over 10,000.

Zhongzhou became a special residential area and a settlement for the families of Wu soldiers. This arrangement not only helped maintain the stability of the garrison's families but also provided additional protection for this strategic location, ensuring a more robust defense line at Ruxukou.

The entire Ruxukou area presented a solid military defense line. Through the arrangement of fortified city walls, wooden palisades, and islands, the Wu Kingdom demonstrated its well-thought-out military layout in this region.

This military buildup enabled the Wu army to better respond to Cao Wei's attacks and safeguard this strategic location. (End of Chapter)