Tiger Owl

Chapter 95 Famous General of Qianshan
On the tenth day of the first lunar month, the streets of Wan County began to bustle with activity. Since more than 100,000 disaster victims were relocated here, Wan County, which had been somewhat deserted, has become prosperous again.

During the New Year period, Wan County is especially lively, with restaurants and taverns doing very well.

In the east of Wanxian County, there is a tavern and an inn next to each other. One is called Jiangnan Inn and the other is called Jiangnan Restaurant. They are obviously invested by the same owner and have the same name.

This is a shop that has been around for at least thirty years. The owner is Duan Jiangnan, a native of Wan County, but his son, Duan Ren, is a captain in the Gan Ning Army and a subordinate of Taishi Ci.

It was precisely because of this relationship that the restaurant and inn became a temporary intelligence point for the Yuzhang Army. Two scouts were deployed there. When Huang Zu attacked Lujiang County, it was they who promptly notified Xu Qiu, the governor of Lujiang County, which enabled Xu Qiu and his officials to retreat in time.

The two scouts were named Wei Kan and Xi Ping. Wei Kan was a garrison commander, and their task was to gather information about the enemy's equipment and troop strength in Wan County.

The first task is very simple; you can tell by looking at the equipment of the soldiers patrolling the streets every day.

However, intelligence on troop strength and numbers is not easy to obtain because it is constantly changing. The normal garrison is 10,000, but at the beginning of the year, 5,000 more were added, and in the past few days, another 3,000 troops are to be added.

That morning, Xi Ping hurriedly returned and said, "Village Chief, I have two pieces of the latest intelligence."

"What information?"

"Two soldiers who came to the restaurant to eat boasted that they were kerosene soldiers, numbering three thousand, and that their treatment was better than that of other soldiers."

Wei Kan quickly asked, "Did you see them take out anything to show off?"

"They didn't bring any, but they boasted that it would shatter upon landing and burst into flames. I estimate it's similar to our kerosene bottles, probably a copy of ours."

This intelligence is very important and must be sent out immediately.

Wei Kan then asked, "Is there any other important intelligence?"

"Another piece of intelligence is that Sunhe's grain convoy was attacked again by the Qianshan bandits, resulting in the loss of over a hundred cartloads of grain."

Wei Kan was genuinely shocked. "This mountain bandit is really formidable. This is the third time he has attacked Xu Qian's supply convoy."

Qianshan belongs to the Dabie Mountains, which later became Tianzhu Mountain. There were originally no bandits here, but after the large-scale migration to Lujiang County, a band of bandits appeared in Qianshan. Under the guise of acting on behalf of Heaven and robbing the rich to help the poor, they attacked the official granary of Wan County and stole several thousand shi of grain. This attracted many poor people to come and seek refuge with their families. It is said that they have taken in more than a thousand households and have more than a thousand soldiers under their command.

Wei Kan hesitated for a moment. This intelligence wasn't actually that important, but he decided to write it down anyway.

Wei Kan immediately wrote a message by pigeon, sealed it in a letterbox, and hurried to the backyard. He tied the letterbox to the pigeon's leg, threw the pigeon into the air, and the pigeon flapped its wings and flew into the sky. After circling twice, it flew towards Xunyang County.

Qianshan is today's Tianzhu Mountain. The mountain is majestic yet beautiful. The south side has many huge rocks and strange peaks, while the north side is covered with lush forests, babbling streams, and mountain springs and waterfalls. In particular, the mountain is full of ravines, which can easily hide people.

After Pei Yuanshao and his group arrived in Lujiang County, they were dissatisfied with the local government's arrangements. The officials insisted on splitting the more than 300 of them into different counties in Lujiang County, or they would demand a large bribe. Since they could not afford the money, they simply went back up the mountain.

Pei Yuanshao's elder brother was none other than Zhao Yun, who had come south from Youzhou. He did not come alone, but brought with him two civil officials and more than a dozen subordinates who had followed him for many years, plus their families, making a total of thirty-eight people. Most of the family members were parents, wives and children, and the journey south was very arduous.

Just when their food supplies were about to run out, they encountered Pei Yuanshao. Zhao Yun simply seized Pei Yuanshao's stronghold, and Pei Yuanshao accepted his defeat wholeheartedly, relinquishing his position as the eldest brother and becoming the second-in-command himself.

Soon after arriving at Qianshan, many disgruntled refugees, equally dissatisfied with the government's resettlement, gathered around them. In just over a month, their population exceeded a thousand households, totaling four to five thousand people, with a force of over a thousand soldiers. Feeding so many people became a major problem. Zhao Yun had no choice but to seize an official granary outside the city of Wan County, obtaining over a thousand shi of grain. He then robbed Sun Ben's logistics and supply teams three times. With grain, armor, tents, salt, and other essential supplies, they had everything they needed.

This relieved Zhao Yun somewhat. He began to organize his soldiers to cultivate the land, sow wheat, raise chickens and ducks, and grow vegetables, gradually establishing his own foothold.

Besides Pei Yuanshao, Zhao Yun had two other scholars under his command. One was Tian Yu, who was originally Gongsun Zan's advisor, and the other was Fan Fang, who was Gongsun Zan's granary official in charge of grain and supplies. After Gongsun Zan's defeat and death, neither of them wanted to surrender to Yuan Shao, so they took their wives and children and followed Zhao Yun south to join the new lord.

Inside a large tent, Tian Yu smiled and said to Zhao Yun, "It's obvious that Sun Ben is going to attack Xunyang County. Gan Ning occupies 30% of Lujiang County's land, which Sun Ben certainly cannot tolerate. Similarly, Gan Ning also wants to seize Lujiang. At the latest, the great battle will break out next month."

Zhao Yun asked, "Who will win between these two?"

Tian Yu shook his head. "Gan Ning will definitely have the upper hand in naval battles, but I'm not sure about land battles. However, I hope Gan Ning wins."

"Why?"

"Just ask Wenkai; he just came back from Xunyang County."

Fan Fang, standing beside him, stroked his beard and said, “In Xunyang County, the land tax is one-thirtieth, and in Wan County, it is one-fifteenth. Xunyang County only collects the tax on land tax, while the poll tax is waived. It is said that Gan Ning has waived the poll tax since Chaisang and promised never to increase taxes in his territory. Therefore, he is very popular in Yuzhang County.”

The poll tax and the head tax were both for people aged 15 and over. The poll tax was 120 cash per year, as set by the imperial court. The head tax was 20 cash per year for people aged 5 to 14.

Pei Yuanshao chuckled, "We're so carefree, we don't have to pay any taxes!"

Tian Yu glared at him fiercely. "Are you still so proud of being a bandit?" Pei Yuanshao was so frightened that he dared not laugh anymore.

Zhao Yun pondered for a moment and said, "In that case, everyone hopes Gan Ning will win! What is the name of his commander in Xunyang County?"

Fan Fang said, "His name is Taishi Ci. General, have you heard of him?"

Zhao Yun thought for a moment, "I think I've heard this name before!"

Fan Fang smiled slightly and said, "Taishi Ci was a famous general! Back then, he broke through the encirclement alone to seek help from Liu Bei in order to save Kong Rong. Later, he went south to join Liu Yao, but Liu Yao did not use him. He was recruited by Sun Ce. After Sun Ce died, he was not tolerated by Jiangdong. Gan Ning invited him and entrusted him with an important task. He became one of Gan Ning's five military colonels, with 15,000 men under his command."

Zhao Yun asked thoughtfully, "Is Liu Bei still in Jingzhou?"

Tian Yu nodded. "He is stationed in Xinye County, Nanyang Commandery, and is living under someone else's roof. Liu Biao will not tolerate him sooner or later. Sometimes, being too famous can also be a burden."

Zhao Yun originally wanted to join Liu Bei, but Tian Yu strongly opposed it. Tian Yu was originally Liu Bei's subordinate and knew Liu Bei well. He was indecisive, lacked courage, had the ambition to conquer the Central Plains, but lacked the strength to do so. To put it bluntly, he was overestimating his abilities.

Back then, Tian Yu advised Liu Bei to plan for Bingzhou and establish a base, but Liu Bei refused to listen and insisted on accepting Tao Qian's post as the governor of Yuzhang. Tian Yu then resigned and left, citing the reason of returning to his hometown to take care of his elderly mother.

When Zhao Yun heard that Liu Bei was in dire straits, he felt saddened. Tian Yu smiled and said, "This battle between Gan Ning and Sun Ben is also an opportunity for us. We can take advantage of the chaos to seize food and supplies and recruit scattered soldiers."

Zhao Yun nodded. "We need to send out more scouts to gather information so we can seize the opportunity!"

(End of this chapter)