Cao Ren
Cao Ren led a large army against the position but first disseminated false information indicating that he was going to attack Xianxi. The general defending Ruxu, Zhu Huan, took the bait and sent much of his army to Xianxi. After the ploy succeeded, Cao Ren attacked Ruxu. Zhu Huan soon realized his mistake, but there was no time for him to recall his soldiers before Cao Ren attacked. Cao Ren’s army experienced great success initially and destroyed all of Zhu Huan’s armies in the field. Zhu Huan had a plan though. He decided to make his army look even smaller than it really was in order to lure Cao Ren out and ambush him. He hid his soldiers in the homes of civilians, struck his banners, and stilled his drums to make the city look almost deserted. Cao Ren believed that Zhu Huan sent nearly all of his men to Xianxi, so he had his son Cao Tai attack the city. He also sent a naval force under Chang Diao, Zhuge Qian, and Wang Shuang to capture a certain island in the river where the families of Zhu Huan’s officers stayed. Cao Ren himself remained at the rear to offer support.