Tiger Owl

Chapter 18 Cleverly Resolving the Crisis
Gan Ning led a hundred armored soldiers to meet the enemy. When he saw the general leading the way, he was stunned. It was Zhang Xi!

"what happened?"

Gan Ning spurred his horse forward and demanded, "Where are these soldiers from?"

Zhang Xi chuckled and turned around to shout, "This is everyone's new lord, General Gan, also the magistrate of Chaisang appointed by the imperial court!"

Everyone knelt down, clasped their hands in greeting, and said, "We are willing to serve General Gan!"

Gan Ning was overjoyed and asked in surprise, "These are the thousand surrendered soldiers?"

"There are actually only 720 people!"

Gan Ning didn't bother to ask why. He shouted, "I don't have much to say, just one sentence: everyone who follows me, Gan Ning, is my brother. We share hardships and joys. I'll distribute the money to everyone!"

Everyone cheered.

With over seven hundred men at his disposal, Gan Ning was completely relieved. He immediately ordered the surrendered soldiers to be given their weapons, and together they escorted the surrendered soldiers back to Haihun County.

“At the time, I thought that Zhang Ying must have soldiers from Chaisang under his command. Zhang Ying could not have led them to attack Chaisang, so they must be among the surrendered soldiers. I asked the surrendered soldiers, and the soldiers from Chaisang raised their hands!”

As a result, more than 400 people raised their hands. I took them outside and told them that the general was the county magistrate of Chaisang appointed by the imperial court and was the official recognized by the people of Chaisang. I asked them if they were willing to serve the imperial court and the general. These surrendered soldiers from Chaisang all expressed their willingness.

I then asked the other soldiers if they were willing to serve the general and if they were not, they could go home. In the end, nearly three hundred men stayed.

"After a quick reorganization, I've brought them to assist in the battle."

Gan Ning was truly moved. Who said there were no talented soldiers? They just hadn't been discovered yet.

Although Zhang Xi spoke of it casually, the courage and boldness he displayed were not something that ordinary people possessed; the slightest misstep could have led to a mutiny.

Given Zhang Xi's meticulousness, it's impossible that he was unaware of the risks involved. It just goes to show that he made the right choice in entrusting the surrendered soldiers to Zhang Xi.

Gan Ning patted Zhang Xi on the shoulder and said, "From now on, you are promoted to platoon leader, the same rank as Wang Ping and Ding Feng!"

…………

Just as Gan Ning arrived in Haihun County, a fleet of over a thousand warships of various sizes, carrying ten thousand troops, sailed from the Yangtze River into Pengli Lake and headed towards Nanchang in a grand and imposing manner.

A large flag with the character 'Sun' on it was hanging on the mast of the leading ship, which cost five thousand shi (a unit of dry measure). This signified the return of Sun Ben, the new Prefect of Yuzhang, to assume his post.

Sun Ben's fleet was discovered by Wang Xiaoman, one of Gan Ning's men left at the mouth of the Xiushui River. They immediately rowed a fast boat back to Haihun County to report.

After listening to Wang Xiaoman's report, Gan Ning's expression turned solemn. He knew very well that once Sun Ben arrived, he would soon launch an attack on Zhang Ying and Zuo Rong. He could no longer stay in Haihun County and had to retreat to Chaisang.

Gan Ning reaped considerable profits from the suppression of Zhang Ying. Firstly, there was a substantial amount of grain; the official granary in Haihun County contained a full 10,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain, which was essentially the land tax from several counties.

Zhang Ying refused to hand over the land tax to Yuzhang County, and instead withheld it privately, only handing over a small amount of cloth to make up the difference.

Secondly, there were 8,000 bolts of cloth and 3,000 sets of armor. Each set of armor included a spear, a bow and arrow, a knife, a leather suit of armor, and a shield.

There were also war drums, flags, pig iron, copper ingots and other military supplies, including 600 tents, more than 500 boats of various kinds, 100 warhorses, as well as salt, meat sauce, wine, hay, black beans and so on.

Of course, there were also 7,400 strings of five-zhu coins, which were also taxes, the poll tax from several counties, all of which Zhang Ying intercepted.

Gan Ning immediately divided his troops into two groups. One group took the waterway to transport various supplies back to Chaisang, while the other group, led by Gan Ning, returned to Chaisang by land.

Before leaving, Gan Ning appointed Li Dai as the assistant magistrate of Haihun County.

Three days later, Gan Ning's army and fleet arrived in Chaisang almost simultaneously.

Upon returning to Chaisang, Gan Ning's first action was to gather all his men.

The open space in the military camp was filled with soldiers and generals, a total of 3,500 people, which was all his troops at present.

Standing atop the wooden platform, Gan Ning addressed the crowd loudly: "I am deeply grateful and moved that you are all willing to follow me. What I, Gan Ning, value is unwavering loyalty and your unwavering commitment. I will repay you all with all my might. Before you are seven thousand strings of cash and five thousand bolts of cloth. Each of you will receive two strings of cash and one bolt of cloth. Those who have followed me for a long time and have rendered meritorious service in defending the city will receive more cloth. In my army, Gan Ning, there are eight words you must always remember: 'Regardless of background, rewards and punishments are clearly defined!'"

Gan Ning took a deep breath and said loudly, "A true man born in chaotic times should establish unparalleled achievements, let heaven and earth bear witness, and together we will do something magnificent!"

The three thousand five hundred soldiers, their blood boiling, raised their arms and shouted in unison: "We are loyal to our lord, heaven and earth bear witness!"

Even Lu Su was moved by the crowd's passion, and couldn't help but shed tears, murmuring to himself, "A true man born in chaotic times should establish unparalleled achievements. Well said!"

Generous rewards and passion can boost morale, but the survival crisis must be addressed.

Inside the room, Gan Ning invited Lu Su to sit down. "Chief Clerk, you once served under Sun Ce. Are you familiar with Sun Ben or Lü Fan?"

Lu Su laughed and said, "My best friend is Zhou Yu. Sun Ben and Lü Fan are not easy to deal with. Sun Ben has always been very proud and considers himself the number two in Jiangdong. Lü Fan is strict and upright and does not show favoritism. However, relatively speaking, I think Sun Ben is worth a try!"

Gan Ning pondered for a moment and then asked, "Does Sun Ben have any weaknesses?"

Lu Su nodded. "Sun Ben's biggest weakness is that he is prone to underestimating his enemy. If he hadn't underestimated his enemy back then, he wouldn't have been driven out of Danyang County by Liu Yao."

Our lord could write a letter to Sun Ben, adopting a humble attitude and offering to surrender Haihun County to him. Then, we should conceal our strength and make Sun Ben think we are weak. He will naturally despise us and disdain attacking us. He will focus his energy on Tong Zhi of Luling, Liu Xin of Changsha, and Zuo Rong of Poyang. That's one point.

Secondly, it is also very important that the lord emphasizes in the letter that he was personally appointed by Cao Cao as the magistrate of Chaisang.

"Why?"

Lu Su stroked his beard and smiled, "Because Sun Ben's daughter was just betrothed to Cao Cao's son Cao Zhang, Sun Ben might do Cao Cao a favor."

Gan Ning nodded silently. The key point was that Sun Ben's daughter was betrothed to Cao Zhang. Lu Su only didn't emphasize it to protect his own pride.

Could he really fool Sun Ben and evade the enemy's army by simply writing a letter? Sun Ben wasn't that stupid, especially with the shrewd Lü Fan by his side.

Although Gan Ning was unwilling to admit it, the fact was that he survived largely because he used Cao Cao's name.

Just like when he went to Nanchang to find Hua Xin, if he hadn't brought up Cao Cao in the end, would Hua Xin have helped him? Don't even think about it.

However, Gan Ning thought again, why would Cao Cao help him? Wasn't it because he had offered up the Imperial Seal of the State? In the end, it was because he had seized the Imperial Seal of the State.

Having figured this out, Gan Ning felt relieved. He thought for a moment and asked, "Since we can use Cao Cao's name, do we still need to hide our strength?"

Lu Su smiled slightly and said, "Hiding our strength is a tactic, not only against Sun Ben, but also against Liu Biao, Huang Zu, and even Zuo Rong. I estimate that they will all send spies to probe our strength. Once we hide our strength, it will give them a wrong judgment, which will only benefit us. In addition, we can fly the flag of Cao Cao's army, making Sun Ben and Huang Zu more convinced that we are Cao Cao's men, so that they will not dare to act rashly."

Gan Ning deeply agreed with Lu Su's words. Their primary task now was to survive. All's fair in war, and impersonating Cao Cao's men was just one way to survive.

Gan Ning spread out a map and pointed to Xunyang County on the other side of the Yangtze River, saying, "How about I disperse some of my troops to Xunyang County on the other side of the Yangtze River?"

Lu Su smiled and said, "I think it would be better to keep our troops at the nearby Mount Lu. In case Huang Zu's army attacks, we will have time to transfer our troops back."

Lu Su's words reminded Gan Ning that there was still a bandit named Zhang Li on Mount Lu, whom he had almost forgotten about.

Gan Ning immediately made arrangements. He first wrote a letter and sent a fluent soldier to deliver it to Sun Ben.

At the same time, he sent people to keep an eye on Zuo Rong, annexing the weak to replenish his strength. If he could think of this, wouldn't Zuo Rong think of it too? To Zuo Rong, he was also a gift from heaven to replenish his strength.

Gan Ning then ordered Wang Ping and Ding Feng to each lead 500 men into Mount Lu to annihilate the bandit Zhang Li. Gan Ning gave the two men instructions in person, saying that by doing so, they would surely find the bandit's lair.

At the same time, he ordered Shen Mi and Lou Fa to each lead eight hundred men to Longtou Island for military training.

As a result, only nine hundred people remained in Chaisang City, and Gan Ning personally trained the troops within the city.

That afternoon, a merchant ship from Nanchang arrived in Chaisang.

(End of this chapter)