Chapter 14: Night Raid On The Armory
At night, the barracks by the riverside outside the city were very quiet. About fifty steps from the barracks stood a sharp-roofed large house built of green bricks. This was the navy’s small armory in Yuzhang Commandery, though it had already been taken over by Sun Ce’s Army.
Five soldiers stood guard at the door, while another five hid beside the armory gate sleeping.
At the second watch, Gan Ning led Wang Ping and a team of soldiers marching toward it.
Still a dozen steps from the warehouse gate, they were spotted by the guards. The leading sergeant shouted loudly, “Password!”
“Heaven’s treasures!”
The password was correct, and the guards relaxed. Gan Ning led his subordinates forward and asked discontentedly, “I’m here on Lord Lu’s orders to check the post. Why are there only you few? Where are the others?”
The sergeant pointed guiltily into the gate passage and explained to Gan Ning, “Our two squads of soldiers take turns on guard duty. They’ll come to relieve us at the third watch!”
Gan Ning turned to Wang Ping and said, “Go check!”
Wang Ping understood and immediately led a team of soldiers into the gate passage.
At this moment, a gleaming dagger appeared in Gan Ning’s hand. He swept through like a whirlwind, instantly slitting the throats of three soldiers. The three clutched their throats in agony and fell, wanting to shout but unable to make a sound.
The other two soldiers were shocked and turned to run. Gan Ning pounced like a fierce tiger, grabbed their heads, and smashed them together viciously. Their skulls shattered, and they collapsed limply on the spot.
At this time, Wang Ping led his subordinates out from the passage. “All taken out!”
Gan Ning pointed at the five corpses. “Drag them inside!”
Wang Ping led his subordinates to drag the corpses inside, while the other five soldiers changed into the guards’ armor and continued standing post.
Gan Ning quickly searched for an emergency side door and soon found an alley. At the end of the alley was indeed a small door.
At this moment, Wang Ping led several subordinates running over.
Gan Ning inserted an iron crowbar into the wooden door, braced his foot against the wall, and strained with both arms to pry forcefully. “Crack!” The wooden door was forcibly pried open.
“Go notify the brothers to come over!”
Wang Ping turned and ran outward. Their three hundred subordinates were ambushed a hundred steps away, waiting for Gan Ning’s news.
Gan Ning entered the warehouse. It was pitch black inside, with moonlight filtering through the upper vents, bringing a bit of light. Soon, Gan Ning’s eyes adapted to the warehouse.
The warehouse was about five hundred square meters in area, piled full of various weapons. Grass sacks held spears and straight sabers, wooden boxes contained crossbows and arrows, bundles of leather armor were stacked like small mountains, and shields were neatly stacked together.
Gan Ning quickly estimated: roughly two thousand sets of armor, exactly matching what Hua Xin had said.
At this time, Wang Ping and Ding Feng led three hundred soldiers rushing into the warehouse.
“Everyone hurry and carry! Retreat the same way back to the ambush point!”
The warehouse was about half a li from the riverbank, but they couldn’t go directly to the riverside—they’d be spotted by patrolling soldiers. They could only transport from the side to the previous ambush forest, then from the forest to the riverside.
The soldiers all pitched in, shouldering spears and battle sabers, hugging crossbows and arrows, carrying bundles of leather armor, rushing out of the warehouse like ants moving house.
Gan Ning searched around inside the warehouse and suddenly spotted a pile of items in the corner, covered with oiled cloth and sitting isolated to one side. Gan Ning walked up, lifted the oiled cloth, and saw more tightly wrapped in oiled cloth inside, looking like armor.
Gan Ning’s heart stirred. He picked one up—it was very heavy, at least thirty jin each.
Gan Ning was overjoyed. Sure enough, it was iron armor, two hundred sets in total.
Iron armor was the second most valuable supply in any army after warhorses, each set worth several hundred strings of cash, and crucially, civilians were not allowed to forge it.
Gan Ning turned around and saw Ding Feng leading subordinates returning. He hurriedly said, “Carry this first!”
Ding Feng stepped forward, lifted a set of iron armor, and said in surprise, “It’s actually iron armor!”
“Hurry and carry it away!”
The soldiers each shouldered two sets of iron armor and ran out.
After half a shichen, the three hundred soldiers had cleared the armory completely.
Before leaving, Gan Ning “accidentally” left behind a military token from Liu Yao’s army.
Currently, both Zhang Ying’s and Ze Rong’s armies used such military tokens.
……
Forty mengchong warships were moored at the river surface military dock, with two on-duty soldiers on each ship. Suddenly, countless black-clad water ghosts emerged from the water, knives in their mouths.
It wasn’t without reason that Gan Ning was cursed as a water bandit—he had indeed done plenty of this in his youth. His subordinates were all expert swimmers with rich experience. They lightly leaped aboard; five handled one ship—some killed, some stood watch, some cut iron chains, coordinating perfectly.
The on-duty soldiers were silently taken out in their sleep, corpses tossed into the river, followed by clanging sounds.
This was the most dangerous moment in stealing ships. Sure enough, the soldiers cutting the iron chains alerted the shore patrols.
A dozen patrolling soldiers ran over to check and saw countless shadows crouched at the bow cutting iron chains, with soldier corpses washed ashore by the river.
The patrolling soldiers were shocked, retreated hurriedly, and shouted, “Water ghosts! Water ghosts!”
The watchtower also rang the alarm bell: “Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!”
Gan Ning grew anxious, drew his twin halberds, and slashed at the iron chain. “Crack!” The iron chain snapped. He leaped onto another ship and swung his halberds to sever its chain.
“Go, quick!”
He severed the chains of over a dozen ships in succession. At this point, a large group of soldiers rushed out from the barracks and began shooting arrows from this side, arrows like sudden rain. Gan Ning swung his halberds to block arrows. With a swing of his left halberd, “Crack!” The last ship’s iron chain was cut.
“Shoot that ship!” Great General Han Dang pointed at Gan Ning’s ship and shouted.
Three hundred soldiers loosed arrows together, a dense volley aimed at Gan Ning.
Gan Ning saw the danger, rolled into the cabin. Dozens of arrows instantly riddled the deck. Several subordinates desperately rowed away from the dock. Hundreds of Jiangdong soldiers rushed to the riverbank brandishing spears and shouting, but it was too late. They watched helplessly as the last mengchong warship sailed into the river under cover of night and mist.
……
At dawn, Lv Fan arrived at the armory with a grim face. It was empty all around; two thousand sets of armor and two hundred sets of iron armor had vanished without a trace, of course along with forty mengchong warships.
“Strategist, this is the military token found at the scene!”
A soldier presented a bronze token to Lv Fan. Lv Fan examined it and snorted coldly.
“Does the strategist think this is a frame-up?” Han Dang asked from the side.
Lv Fan shook his head. “This wasn’t done by Ze Rong or Zhang Ying!”
“How do you know?”
Lv Fan said calmly, “I saw the scene: someone slit three soldiers’ throats in an instant and smashed two soldiers’ skulls, silencing all five without a cry. Could General Han do that?”
Han Dang thought and said, “I could kill five soldiers, but keep them from making a sound? No, I couldn’t.”
“If even General Han couldn’t, could Zhang Ying or Ze Rong?”
Han Dang nodded. “Strategist is right. I saw that person leap between ships wielding halberds effortlessly, every chain cut precisely at the joint with tremendous power and accuracy. Zhang Ying and Ze Rong lack that skill. Who could it be?”
Lv Fan sneered. “Tracking this person is simple: see who got those forty mengchong warships.”
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