Chapter 4: Arrival In Xuchang
Gan Ning still had an important task to do, which was to take out Zheng Bao to prevent any unexpected complications on Lu Su’s side.
On the waterway about ten li outside East City, Gan Ning and three hundred subordinates were ambushing on both sides of the waterway.
Before long, the sound of gongs and drums came from afar—they were coming!
Gan Ning immediately shouted: “Archery, prepare!”
Gan Ning had always been ruthless, and even though the current Gan Ning was a transmigrator, he couldn’t change the ruthless nature ingrained in Gan Ning’s bones.
The three hundred subordinates drew their bows and nocked arrows, waiting for the passenger ship to arrive. Soon, the passenger ship with gongs and drums sailed in, and the banner welcoming the great talent Lu Su was glaringly conspicuous.
Gan Ning gritted his teeth and ordered: “Loose arrows!”
The subordinates loosed arrows almost simultaneously, three hundred powerful arrows flying toward the passenger ship together. The Great Han beating gongs and drums were caught off guard and struck by arrows one after another, with cries of agony filling the air. The dense arrows pierced through the thin cabin, and the boatman rowing at the stern reacted extremely quickly, flipping into the river.
The large passenger ship spun on the river surface, silent on board. Gan Ning waved his hand, and small boats surrounded it from all directions. Gan Ning jumped onto the large ship, drew his short halberd, kicked open the cabin door, and rushed in.
Inside the cabin was a mess, with a young man lying there, in his twenties, with a sharp, monkey-like face and a skinny build, his body riddled with arrows, already dead on the spot.
Gan Ning was stunned—this young man was King Zheng? He didn’t match his cognition! He felt King Zheng should be middle-aged.
At this moment, Shen Mi dragged the boatman out of the water. The boatman was scared pale, kneeling on the deck and kowtowing desperately for mercy.
Gan Ning squatted down and said: “I can spare your life, but you must tell me the truth. If there’s even one false word, I’ll chop off your head!”
“This figurine… will report everything truthfully!”
“Who is the young man in the cabin?”
“It’s Zheng Bao’s son Zheng Huai!”
“Zheng Bao himself didn’t come?”
“He originally came too, but when passing Jiangting, he heard there was a major incident there. Zheng Bao feared Liu Xun would come after him, so he turned back with his subordinates. He had his son come to East City County in his place to welcome Mr. Lu.”
So that’s how it was—Gan Ning understood. Zheng Bao worried Liu Xun would think he killed Yuan Shu and send the army for revenge, so he hurried back to make deployments.
Lucky for him!
“Take these corpses back. Tell Zheng Bao to obediently hand the imperial seal to Prefect Liu, or next time it’ll be him who dies!”
The boatman dared not disobey and tremblingly sailed the boat back.
Only then did Gan Ning instruct Shen Mi and Lou Fa a few words. Shen Mi and Lou Fa took most of the subordinates to Chaisang for business first, while Gan Ning took Wang Ping and three subordinates on a small boat toward Xuchang.
……..
Eastern Han’s shipping was very developed, with the Imperial Court vigorously dredging waterways, a crisscrossing river network making water travel very convenient.
Going to Xuchang by water required following the Huai River west, entering the Ying River west of Shouchun County, then sailing north along the Ying River until reaching Xuchang.
That morning, Gan Ning’s small boat slowly docked at the dock outside Xuchang City. There were many ships at the dock, moored in disarray, so they couldn’t get to the edge and left one person to watch the boat.
Gan Ning jumped from one small boat to another, finally reaching the shore, with Wang Ping and the other two subordinates following behind.
“How are the ships here parked so messily? It’s inconvenient even to get ashore—far worse than in Jiangdong.”
Gan Ning heard a young lady complaining.
Gan Ning looked back and saw a large ornate official ship moored in the distance, magnificently decorated, escorted by several armed warrior ships.
The official ship also couldn’t reach the edge and had to borrow other small boats to get ashore, just like Gan Ning and his group.
The treasure ship’s owners were four people, two men and two women, all young. The two men were about seventeen or eighteen, handsome, dressed in white single shirts, holding feather fans, with long swords at their waists.
The two girls wore conical hats for sun protection with veils around them, covering their faces; by their figures, they were at most eleven or twelve.
One wore a red warrior outfit with a set of archery on her back, heroic and valiant, at first glance seeming like a young boy. The other wore a green jacket and skirt, with a jade bracelet on her exquisite snow-white wrist.
Two sturdy women supported the two young ladies one in front and one behind. The two young men had already gone ashore, fanning themselves with feather fans and discussing the surrounding scenery.
“Third Brother, aren’t you going to help Aruo?” the archery girl complained.
“No need, I can do it myself!”
The green-skirted girl lifted her jacket and skirt and jumped ashore in two or three bounds like a little deer. A luxurious carriage was waiting for them on the shore.
“Lord, let’s go!” Wang Ping quietly reminded Gan Ning.
“Let’s go!” Gan Ning then withdrew his gaze and led his three subordinates toward inside the city.
At this moment, the green-skirted girl noticed Gan Ning and was slightly stunned.
“Aruo, what are you looking at? Get in the carriage.”
The green-skirted girl shook her head. “Nothing, I just think that man’s appearance is a bit strange.”
The other three all laughed. “Aruo wants to read fortunes again!”
……….
At this time, the world was in chaos, with surging refugees everywhere, and Xuchang was no exception. Entering the city no longer required a travel permit; as long as one didn’t look suspicious, the defending soldiers couldn’t be bothered to check.
The four of Gan Ning were not checked and smoothly entered Xuchang City.
As soon as they passed the city gate, a bustling and lively atmosphere hit them. The main street straight ahead was Xuchang City’s central axis, Zhengyang Gate Street, paved with stone slabs. It had just rained, and the ground was very clean.
Commerce on the main street was very prosperous, with wooden shops of various sizes on both sides, all relatively low. Taverns, inns, general stores, cloth shops, silk shops, vegetable and food shops, etc.—all kinds of shops for clothing, food, housing, and transport, nothing missing, with banners large and small everywhere.
There were also a few powdered and rouged women standing at a courtyard gate, beckoning to passersby. This trade was for leisure after food and shelter; as the ancients said, “When full and warm, one thinks of lust.”
Vehicles on the street were mainly ox carts, with some donkey carts for goods. Citizens mostly walked, dressed in short cloth jackets and skirts, colors monotonous, mainly blue, black, brown, and white.
Gan Ning’s mind still had various private cars and electric bikes zipping back and forth, neon lights flashing, but now it was the fourth year of Jian’an. Gan Ning sighed inwardly—he could never go back.
“Young Master, excuse me!”
Gan Ning turned around to see a man who looked like a butler standing behind him.
“Looking for me?” Gan Ning asked with a smile.
The butler pointed to the carriage behind and said with a smile: “My master ventures to ask if Young Master is from the southwest?”
It turned out to be the four from the dock earlier. The two girls had removed their gauze hats, but with gauze curtains on the carriage window, he still couldn’t see their faces clearly.
But Gan Ning wasn’t interested—only eleven or twelve, like junior high low-grade girls.
Gan Ning shook his head with a smile. “I’m from Shouchun!”
“I see, sorry to bother you!”
The butler went back to report, and laughter immediately came from the carriage. “This time Aruo got it wrong!”
“How could that be? The divination clearly showed he came from the southwest.”
Gan Ning’s heart stirred—this young lady was quite skilled at divination, accurately divining he came from Bashu.
The luxurious carriage set off under the escort of several horse-riding warriors. Through the gauze curtain, the green-skirted girl was still carefully observing Gan Ning.
Gan Ning had no interest in them and smiled to Wang Ping: “Let’s find a place to stay first, then go eat!”
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