Ruxukou

	Battle of Ruxukou
Date	213; 217; 222 ~ 223
Location	Ruxu, Yang Province (east of Lake Chaohu, Anhui)
Result	Wu seizes victory; Wei forces retreat. (213, 222) Indecisive; Wei forces retreat. (217)
Forces
Wu	Wei
Commanders
Sun Quan (213, 217); Zhu Huan (222)	Cao Cao (213, 217); Cao Ren (222)

The Battle of Ruxukou (濡須口の戦い, rōmaji: Jushukō no Tatakai) was one of many battles that occurred between the forces of Wu and Wei at Ruxu. The skirmishes took place after Wu suffered a major defeat by the hands of Wei at Hefei, though the games give focus to the second battle, which took place at 217. Due to the prolonged stalemate between the two as they were at their full military strength at the time, Cao Cao and Sun Quan eventually decided to a truce, and Cao Cao withdrew. It was from this battle that Wu heavily declared its own independence from Cao Cao's mandate.

During the battle, Gan Ning led a raid to a Wei camp that contained 100,000 soldiers, and inflicted heavy damages without suffering a single casualty from his 100. This led to Sun Quan's famous quote, "Mengde (Cao Cao) has Zhang Liao, while I have Xingba (Gan Ning)."

Role in Games[]

Dynasty Warriors[]

The Dynasty Warriors series primarily revolves around the events at Ruxukou in 217 from Wu's perspective. This battle is featured in expansion titles starting with Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends and is often relegated as Gan Ning's legend stage. In Dynasty Warriors 5: Xtreme Legends, Ru Xu Kou is shared by Taishi Ci, Lu Meng, Gan Ning, Zhou Tai, and Ling Tong, with each officer contributing to the battle in different ways.

In Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends, players experience this battle from Wei's point of view after Cao Cao's death. The night raid is initiated through the efforts of Lu Meng, Ling Tong, and Gan Ning. Sun Quan orders a charge, and Cao Cao's troops struggle against Ling Tong, Gan Ning, and Lu Meng's assault.

In Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends, the area is reused as the "Invasion of Runan" in Wu's story. Sun Ce's forces assist Yuan Shu against Cao Cao.

In Dynasty Warriors 9, Ruxukou serves as the last major battle for Chapter 7 of Wei's Story Mode. Cao Cao launches an attack on Sun Quan and Jianye from Hefei, overcoming all of Wu's strategies. However, learning of reinforcements coming in from the south, Cao Cao pulls his forces back to Hefei and advances on Hanzhong.

In Lu Su's Hypothetical version, he agrees to team up with Guan Yu and Guan Yinping to resist Wei. The first mission is to defeat Zhang Liao, the enemy vanguard, followed by defeating Zhang He and Zhou Cang.

Warriors Orochi[]

In Warriors Orochi 2, this battle returns as Wu's first stage. After a brief encounter with Lu Bu, the player is tasked with accompanying Yoshitsune to the escape route alongside Ranmaru and Zhou Tai while facing the remnants of the Orochi forces. Kotarō will also appear twice to harass the player throughout the battle. After the battle is won, Yoshitsune joins Wu.

Historical Information[]

The Battle of Ruxukou was at first a disadvantageous battle for Sun Quan due to Cao Cao's larger numbers and the former's retreat from Hefei. Cao Cao ordered Zang Ba and Sun Guan to lead the Qingzhou corps to battle. In response, Xu Sheng and Ling Tong were sent to do battle, and they successfully killed Sun Guan, forcing Cao Cao to retreat momentarily. Cao Cao would not give up so easily, and his forces were further bolstered by Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan.

Though Cao Cao was on the offensive, he and his army were forced to retreat when Gan Ning led a hundred troops to destroy their main camp at nightfall. The raid ended without any casualties for Gan Ning's troops.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms[]

After Gan Ning's raid, Cao Cao's general, Yue Jin, challenged the Wu forces, but was shot in the face by Sun Quan. Sun Quan revealed Gan Ning was the archer, and Ling Tong let go of his grudge. A truce was reached, and Cao Cao's and Sun Quan's forces retreated to Hefei and Ruxukou.