Chapter 10: Chaisang Has A Master
The first large-scale southward migration of population in history occurred during the late Eastern Han Dynasty, triggered by the Yellow Turban Rebellion and Dong Zhuo’s chaos, causing a large number of northern citizens to flee to the south.
Jiangdong had the largest number of southward migrants, followed by Jingxiang, and then Bashu.
With a large number of northern citizens migrating south, populations in southern regions all grew rapidly, and Chaisang was no exception.
Cao Cao said that the chief official of Chaisang could not be called County Magistrate, but only County Chief, because Chaisang had only a little over one thousand households, but that was old data from before; in reality, Chaisang County’s population had already exceeded three thousand households.
Gan Ning and Lu Su arrived together in Chaisang, but what surprised them was that Chaisang actually had a garrison.
“Last time I passed through Chaisang, there were no troops here. Why is there suddenly a garrison now?”
Gan Ning looked at the soldiers on the city wall, his face full of confusion.
“Perhaps it was sent by Prefect Hua Xin. After all, this place belongs to Yuzhang Commandery!”
“It’s not Hua Xin, it’s Huang Zu!”
Gan Ning pointed at the flag on the city wall. It had been wrapped up earlier, but now the wind blew it open, revealing a black character for “Huang.”
Lu Su nodded. “It seems Huang Zu struck first!”
“Let’s find my subordinates first!”
The group arrived at an inn in the east of the city. As soon as they entered, a young man rushed forward joyfully and said, “Lord, you’re back!”
The young man was called Zhang Xi, and he was one of Gan Ning’s subordinates.
“Where are they? Why are you the only one here?”
“This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s go inside.”
Gan Ning led Lu Su and Wang Ping into the room. Zhang Xi poked his head out to look outside, then closed the door and said, “The brothers are not inside the city. They’ve all hidden in the countryside.”
“Why?”
“We had too many people, which aroused suspicion. Before they started investigating, Big Brother Shen and Big Brother Lou took the brothers out of the city. I stayed here to wait for Lord to return.”
Gan Ning frowned and asked, “Who is the other side?”
“Huang She!”
Zhang Xi sighed and said, “On the third day after we arrived in Chaisang, Huang She led several thousand men to kill their way in. The County Chief surrendered, Huang She’s army took control of Chaisang, and they began checking household registrations inside the city. Anyone with more than ten people had to go to the barracks to explain. We have three hundred men, so…”
“But I don’t feel like Chaisang has several thousand troops.”
“That was a month ago. Huang She has already led his army back. Now Chaisang only has five hundred garrison troops, led by a general named Hu Xian. He controls the entire Chaisang. My uncle does business in Chaisang, so Big Brother Shen had me stay here to wait for Lord and collect intelligence at the same time.”
“I see. Where are the brothers now?”
“Inside Pengli Marsh. I’ll take Lord to find them right now.”
Gan Ning nodded and said to Lu Su, “We’ll go rendezvous first, then discuss the next steps.”
Lu Su smiled faintly. “It seems General’s first opponent is not Hua Xin, but Huang Zu!”
……
Pengli Marsh is the predecessor of today’s Poyang Lake.
But the Han Dynasty’s Pengli Marsh was much larger than Poyang Lake, not only on the south bank of the Yangtze River, but also with large areas of water on the north bank.
Islands of various sizes dotted the lake, most uninhabited, but some larger ones were home to many fishermen living in villages.
After entering Pengli Marsh for about half an hour, a large island appeared ahead, covered with forests and many houses.
“This is the place, called Dragon Head Island. They say it looks like a dragon’s head, but I can’t see it anyway.”
The island was indeed very large, at least ten thousand mu of land. In the northeast corner of the island, there was a fishing village with two or three hundred households, where Gan Ning’s subordinates were currently stationed.
Gan Ning soon found Shen Mi and Lou Fa. The subordinates had not become merchants but had temporarily become fishermen.
“We are confident we can take out Hu Xian and capture Chaisang City, but this subordinate still decided to wait for Lord to return before acting!”
Shen Mi was the oldest, and he was Gan Ning’s Deputy General.
“You did the right thing. Now we can openly take back Chaisang!”
Gan Ning briefly explained his trip to Cao Cao. Shen Mi and Lou Fa were overjoyed. Lord was the court-appointed Magistrate of Chaisang, as well as Colonel of the Chongsai Army and Commander of a Detached Unit, so he could legitimately have an army.
Military power is very important. Although the Imperial Court had been tossed around to the point of near collapse, people throughout the world still recognized the court and their status as Han ministers.
If one had an army without the court-granted authority to command troops, it would be called bandit army or local militia, like soldiers recruited by local officials.
Now that Gan Ning had the rank of Colonel and the position of Commander of a Detached Unit, his three hundred subordinates were truly Imperial Court troops, and Shen Mi and Lou Fa were also official court generals, equivalent to being on the rolls.
If it were Gan Ning’s personality from before, he would now lead three hundred men straight into Chaisang.
But Gan Ning was different now. Having come from the era of Quan Chu Xiang, Gan Ning first considered cost-effectiveness: how to achieve the greatest interests at the smallest cost.
To achieve this, knowing yourself and your enemy was key.
Gan Ning gathered the three hundred men and said loudly to everyone, “The first thing we need to do now is transform ourselves, turn us into a real army.”
Gan Ning appointed Shen Mi, Lou Fa, and Wang Ping as Company Commanders, each leading one hundred men, with Military Officers, Squad Leaders, and Sergeants below them.
Gan Ning also appointed Lu Su as Chief Clerk, handed all property to Lu Su to manage, and assigned him thirty soldiers as subordinates.
“From now on, we are called the Jiangdong Chaisang Army. I hope that by this time next year, we can rename ourselves the Jiangdong Yuzhang Army.”
…….
In Chaisang’s Xunyang Restaurant, inside the private room on the second floor, Gan Ning and Lu Su were drinking wine while watching outside the window. At this time, Zhang Xi brought in a middle-aged man named Liu Kuangyi, a merchant and Zhang Xi’s uncle.
It was precisely because of this connection that Zhang Xi was left in Chaisang as an informant.
When Liu Kuangyi heard that Gan Ning was the court-appointed new County Chief, he hurriedly knelt down to pay respects. “Commoner Liu Kuangyi pays respects to County Lord!”
“Landlord Liu need not stand on ceremony. Please sit!”
Gan Ning invited Liu Kuangyi to sit and smiled as he asked, “I hear Landlord Liu used to do business in Xiakou?”
“I have been doing business around Jiangxia for nearly twenty years.”
“Then how much does Landlord Liu know about this man Huang Zu?”
Liu Kuangyi thought for a moment and said, “Huang Zu was quite bold and righteous when he was young, and the local aristocracy all liked him. Now that he is old, he has become muddled, particularly fond of boasting and seeking glory. I hear he boasts all day about his bravery in killing Sun Jian back then, but his son Huang She is not bad. He strictly ordered Hu Xian not to plunder Chaisang citizens, or else Hu Xian would have acted long ago.”
“Is this Hu Xian also fond of boasting and seeking glory?”
Liu Kuangyi sneered, “Hu Xian is Huang Zu’s adopted son and particularly good at flattering Huang Zu, so he was appointed by Huang Zu as Commander of a Detached Unit in Chaisang. Of course he wants to make achievements to satisfy Huang Zu’s preferences, so Hu Xian grabs Jiangdong spies inside the city all day. Anyone entering the city from outside with more than three people gets detained and interrogated.”
“How is his martial arts?”
Liu Kuangyi shook his head. “Hu Xian has no real ability. He is a famous playboy in Jiangxia. County Lord has no need to worry about him, but he has a young general under him with rather strong martial arts. County Lord should take note of this man!”
“What is this young general’s name?” Gan Ning asked curiously.
“In response to County Lord, this man is called Ding Feng!”
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