Tiger Owl

Chapter 11 Lure the snake out of its hole
Liu Kuangyi took his leave, and Lu Su smiled and said, "Having asked so many questions, General, you must have already made up your mind!"

There was a reason why Gan Ning appointed Lu Su as Chief Secretary instead of Military Advisor.

The reason is that Gan Ning himself can lead troops into battle. He has more knowledge and understanding than the people of the Three Kingdoms period, spanning two thousand years. He can apply all kinds of strategies from history, so Gan Ning believes that he does not need a strategist.

However, Gan Ning needed a capable person to manage his finances and handle the tedious military and political affairs, which was precisely Lu Su's strength.

Lu Su was meticulous, patient, and conscientious in his work. Moreover, he was kind and generous and treated the people well, which was exactly what Gan Ning needed. As an outsider, Gan Ning needed a good reputation and goodwill in Jingzhou and Jiangdong, and Lu Su could help him with that.

Gan Ning nodded and said, "Our biggest advantage right now is that the other side doesn't know we exist. If we take advantage of Huang Zu's love of grand achievements, people will follow suit. If we create an opportunity for Hu Xian to make a contribution, he will definitely take the bait!"

Lu Su stroked his beard and praised, "General, you see things very clearly!"

...........
That morning, Hu Xian was drinking in the military office, but he was racking his brains to figure out how to please Huang Zu so that Huang Zu would appoint him as the magistrate of Chaisang as soon as possible.

Hu Xian had no military merits, no seniority, and no ability. He only managed to obtain the position of Chaisang Biebu Sima by flattering Huang Zu.

Hu Xian himself was well aware that if he didn't make some contributions soon, the opportunity to become the Chief of Chaisang would probably fall into Su Fei's hands, since Huang She supported Su Fei.

Just then, a soldier came to report, "General, an old farmer has come to ask for help, saying that Zhang Li, a bandit from Mount Lu, has come down the mountain to plunder their village."

Hu Xian's eyes lit up. He was just about to go to sleep when his pillow appeared. He quickly said, "Bring the messenger up!"

Before long, an old farmer dressed in short clothes was brought up. He knelt down and pleaded, "General, please save us!"

"Don't rush, tell me first, where is your village?"

"Reporting to the general, I am from Dong'an Village, Taiping Township!"

Hu Xian looked at the map and saw that it was about 30 li away from Chaisang City, not at the foot of Mount Lu.

"Aren't you at the foot of Mount Lu?"

“General, a rabbit doesn’t eat the grass near its burrow. Zhang Li never robs villages at the foot of Mount Lu; he always robs villages further away.”

That makes some sense. Hu Xian then asked, "How many of them are there?"

"There are probably more than a hundred people. They have already robbed several villages, taking a lot of money and dozens of young women. General, hurry! Otherwise they will escape."

Hu Xian was overjoyed. The old farmer's words resonated with him. A little over a hundred people, a large amount of money, and dozens of young women—it was as if the heavens had sent him a windfall and a great achievement.

He immediately ordered, "Order the troops to assemble!"

At this moment, Ding Feng, a junior officer under his command, advised, "General, why don't we send some soldiers to investigate first?"

Hu Xian had never liked Ding Feng. He came from a humble background, thought he was a master of martial arts and looked down on him. He was always going against him and was a real troublemaker.

Hu Xian angrily rebuked, "Speed ​​is of the essence in war. By the time we've investigated, the bandits will have already fled. You stay here to guard the city; I don't need you to go!"

Ding Feng was just a military officer, with little influence and only seventeen years old. Although he felt it was a bit inappropriate, Hu Xian was determined to kill the bandits and gain merit, so there was nothing he could do.

A quarter of an hour later, Hu Xian led four hundred soldiers southward along the official road.

…………

At this moment, Gan Ning led three hundred men to ambush Hu Xian by the official road. They were on high ground and patiently waited for Hu Xian to take the bait.

Gan Ning also has a very real weakness. Although his three hundred men are brave, they have no armor, no long weapons, no bows and arrows, and no horses; each man only has a sword. Huang Zu's army, on the other hand, has armor, spears, and swords. If the two armies clash, even if Gan Ning's men are highly motivated and invincible, and ultimately defeat Huang Zu's army, they will certainly pay a heavy price.

At this point, Gan Ning needs to use strategy rather than direct combat.

"General, they're here!" Wang Ping whispered.

Gan Ning nodded. He had seen it too. In the distance, yellow dust billowed as an army of over four hundred men rushed toward them along the official road.

The location he chose was in a valley, with low slopes on both sides and an official road running through the middle. The entire valley was less than a mile long, so it could hardly be called a valley, but rather a sloping valley.

Gan Ning took down his bow and arrow; he had only one chance to shoot and kill Hu Xian.

Zhang Xi stepped forward and whispered, "General, the man on horseback is Hu Xian!"

Gan Ning nodded and drew an arrow, nocking it onto the bowstring.

As the procession drew closer, Gan Ning squinted at the rider. He was tall and imposing, but his riding posture revealed a lack of strength in his waist and legs, indicating that his martial arts skills were mediocre.

Although warhorses in the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period had stirrups, they did not have high-bridged saddles, but rather cylindrical saddles. This placed high demands on the strength of mounted generals and cavalry, especially their waist and groin strength.

The key reason why Lü Bu was able to become Cao Cao's formidable enemy was that he possessed five thousand elite cavalry.

However, although Hu Xian's martial arts skills were lacking, his equipment was excellent. He carried a coiled dragon spear, wore a fish-scale iron armor, a phoenix-wing iron helmet, and a chainmail neck guard that covered his neck completely. His face was also covered by a bronze mask, with only his eyes showing.

This man is afraid of death and protects himself very well. There is only one place to shoot him: his eyes and the space between his eyebrows!
Behind him was a military commander, presumably a troop leader, who was running on foot with an iron spear in his hand. He looked to be in his thirties or forties and was probably not Ding Feng.

Gan Ning did not see any highly skilled martial artists among the enemy troops, so Ding Feng must not have come and had stayed behind to defend the city.

The enemy force of four hundred men had entered the valley. The time had come. Gan Ning whispered, "Order the brothers to get ready!"

He drew his bow to its fullest extent and released an arrow. The arrow was as fast as lightning, and Hu Xian didn't even have time to react. "Thud!" The arrow pierced through his brow and went straight to the back of his head. The bloody arrowhead even pierced through his helmet.

Hu Xian fell off his horse, and shouts of battle erupted from both sides. Gan Ning threw down his bow and arrows, drew his double halberds, and leaped down the hillside, heading straight for the commander of the troops.

The soldiers on the official road were thrown into chaos. Qu Chang shouted, "Don't panic, everyone! Follow my instructions!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Gan Ning had already reached him. With a swift movement of his twin halberds, a head the size of a bucket flew into the air, spraying blood everywhere.

Gan Ning trampled the headless corpse under his feet and roared, his voice like a tiger's howl.

"Who else wants to come up and die?"

The soldiers were terrified by what they saw. The general before them was like a god, and everyone was filled with fear. They turned and ran. Three hundred soldiers rushed down the hillside, each with a sword in hand, shouting loudly, cutting off the enemy soldiers' retreat.

Left with no other choice, the soldiers turned back and ran in chaos. Gan Ning snatched Hu Xian's horse and blocked their path alone, raising his halberd and shouting: "I am Gan Ning, the Colonel appointed by the court, ordered to recapture Chaisang. You are all subjects of the Han Dynasty. If you do not wish to die, you should surrender to the court at once!"

The soldiers were all intimidated by Gan Ning. Upon hearing that he was a general sent by the imperial court, they had no one to lead them. Someone shouted, "We are willing to surrender to the imperial court!"

Four hundred soldiers laid down their weapons and knelt in surrender. Wang Ping and his men took the opportunity to move forward and confiscate the soldiers' spears.

This is a risky move. If the enemy still has one general alive, things will get complicated. This requires the person in charge to not only be a master archer, but also to be exceptionally skilled in martial arts, decisive and ruthless, and able to intimidate the enemy soldiers. Among the many generals in Jiangdong, only the Tiger General Gan Ning, besides the Little Conqueror Sun Ce, could do this.

(End of this chapter)