Chapter 18: Cleverly Resolving The Crisis
Gan Ning led a hundred ironclad soldiers to meet them in battle. When he saw clearly the general walking at the front, he was stunned—it was actually Zhang Xi!
“What’s going on?”
Gan Ning spurred his horse forward and shouted, “Whose soldiers are these?”
Zhang Xi chuckled and shouted back, “This is everyone’s new lord, General Gan, also the Magistrate of Chaisang appointed by the Imperial Court!”
Everyone knelt down and clasped their fists, saying, “We are willing to serve General Gan!”
Gan Ning was overjoyed. He asked in surprise, “These are those one thousand surrendered soldiers?”
“Actually, there are only seven hundred and twenty men!”
Gan Ning didn’t bother asking the reason. He said loudly, “I have nothing much to say, just one sentence: everyone who follows me, Gan Ning, are my brothers. We share hardships together, enjoy blessings together, and when there is money, I will distribute it to everyone!!”
The crowd cheered enthusiastically.
With more than seven hundred men suddenly in hand, Gan Ning completely relaxed. He immediately ordered weapons to be distributed to the surrendered soldiers, and everyone escorted the surrendered soldiers back to Haihun County together.
“At that time, this subordinate thought that Zhang Ying must have soldiers from Chaisang under him. Zhang Ying couldn’t possibly take them to attack Chaisang, so they must be among the surrendered soldiers. I asked the surrendered soldiers, and those from Chaisang raised their hands!
As a result, more than four hundred men raised their hands at once. I took them outside and told them that the general is the Magistrate of Chaisang County appointed by the Imperial Court, the recognized chief official by the citizens of Chaisang. I asked if they were willing to serve the Imperial Court and the general. These Chaisang surrendered soldiers all expressed willingness.
I then asked the other soldiers: those willing to serve the general could stay, and those unwilling could go home. In the end, nearly three hundred men stayed.
This subordinate simply reorganized them and brought them to assist in the battle.”
Gan Ning was truly moved. Who says there is no talent among the rank and file? It’s just that it hasn’t been discovered.
Although Zhang Xi spoke lightly of it, the courage and boldness required were not something an ordinary person could possess. A slight mistake could cause a mutiny.
With Zhang Xi’s careful nature, he couldn’t possibly be unaware of the risks involved. It could only be said that Gan Ning had not misjudged him—entrusting the surrendered soldiers to Zhang Xi was right.
Gan Ning patted Zhang Xi’s shoulder and said, “From now on, you are promoted to Battalion Commander, same rank as Wang Ping and Ding Feng!”
…………
At the same time as Gan Ning arrived at Haihun County, a fleet of over a thousand warships of various sizes, fully loaded with ten thousand troops, sailed from the Yangtze River into Pengli Marsh, heading majestically toward Nanchang, with an impressive momentum.
At the mast of the leading five thousand stone large ship hung a large flag with a single character ‘Sun’—this was the new Prefect of Yuzhang Commandery, Sun Ben, returning to take office.
Sun Ben’s fleet was discovered by Wang Xiaoman, whom Gan Ning had left at the mouth of Xiushui River, and they immediately rowed fast boats back to Haihun County to report.
After hearing Wang Xiaoman’s report, Gan Ning’s expression turned grave. He knew very well that once Sun Ben arrived, he would soon launch a campaign to annihilate Zhang Ying and Ze Rong. Haihun County could no longer be stayed in—he must withdraw back to Chaisang.
This time in annihilating Zhang Ying, Gan Ning gained abundant spoils. First were the grains: there were fully ten thousand shi in the official granary of Haihun County, which were actually land taxes from several counties.
Zhang Ying refused to hand over the land taxes to Yuzhang Commandery and privately withheld them, only turning in a small amount of cloth as a token.
Next were eight thousand bolts of cloth, and three thousand sets of armor. Each set of armor included a spear, a set of archery, a sword, a suit of leather armor, and a shield.
There were also war drums, flags, pig iron, copper ingots, and other military supplies, including six hundred tents, over five hundred various ships, a hundred warhorses, and also salt, meat sauce, wine, fodder, black beans, and so on.
Of course, there were also seven thousand four hundred guan of wu zhu coins—this was also taxes, the poll taxes from several counties, all intercepted by Zhang Ying.
Gan Ning immediately divided his forces into two routes: one part took the water route, transporting various supplies back to Chaisang by water; the other part of the army was led by Gan Ning himself, returning to Chaisang by land route.
Before departing, Gan Ning appointed Li Dai as the County Assistant of Haihun County.
Three days later, Gan Ning’s army and fleet arrived at Chaisang almost simultaneously.
The first thing upon returning to Chaisang, Gan Ning gathered all his subordinates.
The open space in the barracks was filled with soldiers and generals, a total of three thousand five hundred men—this was all his current officers and soldiers.
Standing on the wooden platform, Gan Ning said loudly to everyone, “I am very grateful and moved that everyone is willing to follow me. What I, Gan Ning, want is firm stance, loyalty to me. I will also do my utmost to repay everyone. In front of everyone are seven thousand guan of money and five thousand bolts of cloth. Each person will receive two guan of money and one bolt of cloth. Those who have followed me longer or have merit in defending the city will receive more cloth.
In my, Gan Ning’s, army, there are eight words everyone must firmly remember: ‘Regardless of origin, rewards and punishments are clear!’”
Gan Ning took a deep breath and said loudly again, “A true man born in the chaotic world should achieve unparalleled feats. Let heaven and earth bear witness—we will together accomplish a grand and earth-shaking undertaking!”
The three thousand five hundred officers and soldiers were fired up, raising their arms together and shouting, “Loyalty to the lord, heaven and earth bear witness!”
Even Lu Su was infected by the crowd’s passion, unable to hold back tears, murmuring to himself, “A true man born in the chaotic world should achieve unparalleled feats—well said!”
Heavy rewards and passion can rally morale, but the crisis of survival must still be addressed.
In the room, Gan Ning invited Lu Su to sit. “Chief Clerk once served under Sun Ce. Are you familiar with Sun Ben or Lv Fan?”
Lu Su smiled and said, “The one I’m closest to is Zhou Yu. Sun Ben and Lv Fan are both not easy to deal with. Sun Ben has always been very proud, considering himself the second figure in Jiangdong. Lv Fan is strict and upright, impartial. But relatively speaking, I think Sun Ben is worth a try!”
Gan Ning pondered and asked, “Does Sun Ben have any weaknesses?”
Lu Su nodded. “Sun Ben’s biggest weakness is that he’s prone to underestimating the enemy. Back then, if he hadn’t underestimated the enemy, he wouldn’t have been driven out of Danyang Commandery by Liu Yao.
The lord can write a letter to Sun Ben, with a humble attitude, offering to present Haihun County to Sun Ben, then hide some strength to make Sun Ben think we are weak. Naturally, Sun Ben will look down on us and disdain to attack us. He will focus his energy on Tong Zhi of Luling, Liu Xin of Changsha, and Ze Rong of Poyang—these three. This is one.
Secondly, the lord must emphasize in the letter that he is the Magistrate of Chaisang personally appointed by Cao Cao. This point is also very important.”
“Why?”
Lu Su stroked his beard and smiled. “Because Sun Ben’s daughter has just been betrothed to Cao Cao’s son Cao Zhang. Sun Ben might give Cao Cao this favor.”
Gan Ning nodded silently. The key was that Sun Ben’s daughter was betrothed to Cao Zhang; Lu Su had only spared his own pride by not emphasizing it.
Rely on writing a letter to fool Sun Ben and evade the opponent’s large army? Sun Ben wasn’t that stupid, not to mention there was the shrewd Lv Fan.
Although Gan Ning was unwilling to admit it, the fact was this: his survival was largely due to flying Cao Cao’s banner.
Just like when he went to Nanchang to find Hua Xin—if he hadn’t brought out Cao Cao at the end, would Hua Xin have helped him? Not a chance.
But Gan Ning thought again: why would Cao Cao help him? Wasn’t it because he had presented the Imperial Seal? In the end, it was because he had captured the Imperial Seal.
Understanding this, Gan Ning felt relieved. He thought and asked, “Since we can use Cao Cao’s banner, do we still need to hide our strength?”
Lu Su smiled faintly. “Hiding strength is a tactic, not just against Sun Ben, but also Liu Biao, Huang Zu, even Ze Rong. I estimate they will all send spies to probe our strength. Once we hide it, it will give them a false judgment, which can only benefit us. Additionally, we can hang Cao Army flags, making Sun Ben and Huang Zu even more convinced we are Cao Cao’s people, so they won’t dare act rashly.”
Lu Su’s words deeply convinced Gan Ning. Their primary task now was to survive. All’s fair in war—pretending to be Cao Cao’s people was just a means of survival.
Gan Ning spread out a map and pointed to Xunyang County across the Yangtze River. “How about dispersing part of the troops to Xunyang County across the Yangtze?”
Lu Su smiled and said, “I think placing the troops at the nearby Mount Lu is better. If Huang Zu’s army attacks, we can also timely transfer the troops back.”
Lu Su’s words reminded Gan Ning—there were still mountain bandits Zhang Li on Mount Lu, whom he had almost forgotten.
Gan Ning immediately made deployments. First, he wrote a letter and sent an articulate soldier to deliver it to Sun Ben.
At the same time, he sent people to keep watch on Ze Rong. Swallowing the weak to replenish blood and grow stronger—did Gan Ning think of it, but Ze Rong not? To Ze Rong, Gan Ning was equally a heaven-sent target for replenishing blood.
Gan Ning then ordered Wang Ping and Ding Feng each to lead five hundred men into Mount Lu to annihilate the mountain bandit Zhang Li. Gan Ning personally instructed the two on the plan, ensuring they could find the bandits’ lair.
Simultaneously, he ordered Shen Mi and Lou Fa each to lead eight hundred men to Dragon Head Island to drill troops.
This way, only nine hundred men remained inside Chaisang City, and Gan Ning personally drilled troops in the city.
That afternoon, a merchant ship from Nanchang arrived at Chaisang.
