Chapter 135: Throat And Lifeline
When the Salt Fleet arrived at Chaisang, Gan Ning was inspecting the expansion of the new city in Chaisang. Chaisang was originally a medium-sized county town with a city wall perimeter of twenty li. The main east city wall was demolished and extended five li eastward, ultimately forming a large city with a perimeter of thirty li. Numerous government offices, official residences, and official granaries were also built in the expanded sections.
It was now the depths of winter in early December, but the construction site was still bustling with activity to meet deadlines. It was basically eighty percent complete, with the remaining twenty percent consisting mainly of road works and interior decorations in the official residences. The city walls were already finished.
At this time, Gan Ning stood on the newly built city wall covered in white snow, silently watching the laborers and artisans digging ponds and building roads.
Lu Su laughed beside him, “Lord, at this construction pace, it will indeed be completed by January next year.”
Gan Ning nodded and said, “We don’t need to move in all at once. The various government offices can move in batches, starting from January. First, allocate the official residences and official courtyards properly so that those moving in have a place to stay. We can even give the keys to the officials in advance, letting them send their butlers to manage things ahead of time.”
“This subordinate understands. This subordinate will make proper arrangements.”
At this moment, Gan Ning glanced at the Messenger beside him who hesitated to speak and said, “Is there something?”
The Messenger knelt on one knee and said, “Reporting to the Lord, the Salt Fleet has arrived at the Chaisang dock. On the way, it was also attacked by Sun Ben’s navy.”
Gan Ning frowned slightly, “Let’s go take a look!”
They arrived at the riverside dock, where the river surface was filled with Salt Ships. Thousands of laborers were busy unloading cargo, carrying sacks of salt off the large ships and piling them on the dock. Carts moved continuously, transporting the salt sacks from the dock into the official granary.
The salt, iron, and money from Yuzhang Commandery were stored in Chaisang County, while bulk supplies such as grain, oils, armor, and the like were stored in Nanchang County.
Gan Ning arrived at the dock, and the Commandant of the guards, Qian Chang, stepped forward, bowed, and saluted, “This subordinate pays respects to the Lord!”
“I heard you were attacked by Sun Ben’s navy?”
“Indeed. Our fleet was sailing along the south bank and was attacked by two hundred Mengchong Warships from the enemy within Danyang Commandery territory. We fought back fiercely. Later, Jiangdong scout ships came to assist, and we repelled the enemy.”
“How many brothers did we lose?”
“Reporting to the Lord, over a hundred wounded, over fifty killed in action, and nine warships burned. The enemy losses were five times ours.”
Gan Ning nodded and asked again, “Did the Salt Ships suffer any losses?”
“The Salt Ships had no losses at all. Although a dozen enemy soldiers boarded the Salt Ships and tried to cut the ropes connecting the ships, unfortunately we used iron chains, which the enemy couldn’t cut.”
“It seems Sun Ben was specifically targeting our salt transport ships. There must be an insider traitor.”
Lu Su shook his head and said, “There is an insider, but not on our side. It should be that Sun Ben has intelligence scouts in Eastern Wu. Sun Ben knows the situation in Jiangdong like the back of his hand.”
Gan Ning was silent for a moment and said, “Salt is our lifeline, and Sun Ben knows it. Eastern Wu certainly knows it too. Sun Ben can only harass us with small actions, but Eastern Wu can strangle us at any time. As long as the salt is still in Eastern Wu’s hands, we can forget about capturing Lujiang Commandery and Jiujiang Commandery, and we’ll always be at Eastern Wu’s mercy.”
At this point, Gan Ning turned to Lu Su and said, “Treat salt and iron as the second most important matter after grain. We must control salt and iron in our own hands. This is our vital lifeline, a matter of our life and death. Immediately increase the number of salt households. Our salt must be completely self-produced.”
Lu Su pondered for a moment and said, “This subordinate also understands the importance of salt. The salt deposits in Luling Commandery are buried quite deep and hard to mine, so production can’t increase. This subordinate has already organized a prospecting team to search for rock salt in Changsha Commandery. Additionally, this subordinate has heard that Huang Zu has already solved his salt problem.”
“Did they find a salt mine?” Gan Ning asked sensitively.
“They did. To the west of Anlu County. The prospecting team sent by Huang Zu discovered a large deposit of high-quality rock salt. The quality is very pure, buried shallow and easy to mine, with enormous reserves—enough for the entire Jingxiang region for centuries or even millennia. So Huang Zu escaped the salt crisis in just a few months. But interestingly, he hasn’t sold salt to Liu Biao.”
Gan Ning nodded, “That cunning old fox. He’s afraid of attracting Liu Biao’s covetous gaze.”
At this point, Gan Ning smiled faintly and said, “I’ve been looking for a reason to attack Huang Zu, and now I’ve finally found one.”
Lu Su reminded him, “Anlu County is Huang Zu’s clan territory. Even if we capture that salt mine, it won’t be so easy to swallow.”
Gan Ning was silent for a moment and said, “Zijing, your reminder is very apt. Though there are difficulties, it’s still better than doing nothing. Salt is our Achilles’ heel. No matter what, I cannot let our Achilles’ heel remain in others’ hands.”
Returning from Chaisang to Nanchang County, by the time Gan Ning arrived back in Nanchang, it was already the first watch of the night. He went straight back to his mansion, where everyone had already gone to sleep.
Hearing her husband had returned, Da Qiao hurried out to greet him.
“Has everyone gone to sleep?”
“Yes, they have.”
“Then let’s keep quiet. Let’s go to the study first, so we don’t wake everyone up.”
In the study, Da Qiao helped her husband remove his outer robe. Gan Ning pulled her into his arms, and the two embraced in a passionate kiss.
After a good while, Da Qiao heard a “gurgle!” from her husband’s stomach.
She then realized and quickly asked with concern, “Husband, you haven’t eaten yet?”
Gan Ning smiled and said, “Not yet! Get me some cakes to tide me over! It’s too late now.”
“How can that be!”
Da Qiao hugged her husband’s neck again, planted a heavy kiss on his face, and said with a charming laugh, “Stay here obediently. I’ll have the kitchen prepare a few side dishes and heat a bottle of wine for you!”
Gan Ning sat comfortably in the study, watching Da Qiao’s departing figure. A hard-to-describe emotion suddenly welled up in his heart. If Da Qiao had initially attracted him with her beauty, now her gentle and virtuous nature like flowing water made him feel the warmth of a family even more.
Before long, Da Qiao brought in several plates of side dishes and a large bowl of noodle slices. She knew her husband was hungry and needed to eat his fill first.
Gan Ning was truly starving. He wolfed down the large bowl of noodle slices in no time and finally felt seventy percent full.
“Where’s the wine?”
Gan Ning then noticed there was no wine on the table. Da Qiao smiled and took a wine pot from the steaming wooden bucket, then poured a wine cup for her husband.
“Drink a cup with me.” Gan Ning smiled.
“Alright!”
Da Qiao also took out a tiny wine cup, only a third the size of Gan Ning’s. She said with a charming laugh, “This isn’t me cheating. You know my tolerance—just one cup and I’m drunk, so I can only drink a little.”
Gan Ning laughed heartily, “Small cup it is! I’ll fill it for you.”
He filled a cup for Da Qiao. The two gently clinked cups, smiled at each other, and drank it all down.
Da Qiao grabbed the wine pot and poured for her husband, saying softly, “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Business matters?”
“No, for business matters, I’ve actually let Yun Qing handle them. I’m too thin-skinned. When something improper comes up, I don’t have the heart to point it out. But Yun Qing is different—she’ll mercilessly call out the Chief Steward without hesitation.”
Gan Ning nodded, “Then what do you need to tell me?”
“Xu Wei’s elder brother has come.”
“Ah! How long has he been here?”
“Several days already. He’s been waiting for you.”
Gan Ning frowned, “What is he here for? To take Xu Wei away?”
Da Qiao gently shook her head, “I don’t know what he’s here for. I haven’t seen him. I only heard Yun Qing say her elder brother is waiting for you to return.”
“Has Xu Wei talked with her elder brother?”
Da Qiao nodded, “She’s met him twice. It doesn’t seem like there was any heated argument.”
Gan Ning pondered for a moment and said, “I’ll see him tomorrow.”
