Chapter 27: Sneak Attack On Wan County
The great generals of the Two Han dynasties initially commonly used spears, but the spearheads were short, with limited armor-piercing ability, and the spear shafts were extremely prone to breaking. Artisans continuously improved upon the weaknesses of spears, using zhe wood as material, repeatedly soaking in oil and drying, then bonding with fish bladder glue, wrapping with hemp rope and coating with raw lacquer, and covering with kudzu cloth, creating a composite shaft that was both rigid and flexible.
They also lengthened the spearhead, forging a prismatic long blade from hundred-times-refined steel, making it extremely sharp for piercing armor, and capable of both slashing and thrusting, but this made it prone to losing balance with the shaft. Artisans added a metal ferrule to the end of the shaft, which not only balanced the center of gravity but also allowed the sharp metal ferrule to assist in offense.
At the same time, they installed a rough-surfaced metal ridge below the blade, named “mercy ridge,” which actually prevented thrusting too deep and making it hard to withdraw. When used with a warhorse, the entire weapon reached four meters in length and took three years to complete.
This is the horse spear, the king of weapons after the end of the Han dynasty.
It was precisely because of the invention of the horse spear that great generals and heavy cavalry needed to wield the horse spear with both hands, requiring them to control the warhorse with their legs to steady their bodies, and paired stirrups thus appeared at the end of the Han dynasty.
In Gan Ning’s hand was a horse spear of extremely exquisite craftsmanship, one of Ze Rong’s collected weapons. Its maker could no longer be traced, but this horse spear had become Gan Ning’s beloved.
Among Ze Rong’s collected weapons there was also a Green Dragon halberd, but Gan Ning did not choose a halberd again. He was a halberd expert and knew its weaknesses well; the crescent side prong hindered the halberd blade from piercing armor, making the halberd’s armor-piercing ability the same as a spear.
At the same time, the side prong was very easily caught by the enemy army’s weapons or armor.
In moments of life and death, if the side prong was caught, it meant death for the halberd-wielding great general. Lu Bu was the exception; his Sky Piercer halberd weighed one hundred twenty jin, with the halberd blade alone a foot long. Even if the side prong was caught, the opponent would already be dead.
Gan Ning did not have Lu Bu’s strength, so he ultimately chose the horse spear and gave up the halberd he was accustomed to using.
The horse spear could both slash and thrust, fully meeting his requirements.
At the same time, he discarded the twin halberds he had used for many years and switched to a thirty-jin steel whip.
The hand halberd was his standard equipment when he was with the Brocade Sail Bandits; it could kill ordinary soldiers, but against great generals clad in heavy armor, the hand halberd was too weak, unable to pierce iron armor at all, and could only target gaps in the enemy’s armor.
The gaps in iron armor were generally under the armpits. The hand halberd was useless, so against Hu Xian and Zhang Ying clad in iron armor, he killed them with arrows.
But the steel whip was different; it used blunt force against hardness. One solid strike and the opponent’s internal organs would rupture, requiring no armor-piercing at all.
In the courtyard, Gan Ning was riding a horse and practicing with the spear. The spear blade flashed with cold light, flipping up and down incomparably fast. Gan Ning’s martial arts, besides strength, were most formidable in speed and precision.
Although the current Gan Ning had transmigrated, he had fully inherited Gan Ning’s martial arts and strength.
At this time, a soldier hurried over, saluted, and said: “Report to the lord, Chief Clerk Yang has an urgent matter and requests an audience!”
Gan Ning reined in his horse spear. “Invite him in!”
Soon, Yang Jing strode up, bowed in salute, and said: “Report to the lord, this subordinate has an important situation to report!”
“Speak, what important situation?”
“Yuan Shu’s family and retainer troops are all under house arrest by Liu Xun in Wan County, about three hundred people, including Yuan Shu’s brothers and wife and children, as well as great general Zhang Xun, Chief Clerk Yang Xuan, and others.”
Gan Ning nodded. After he seized the imperial seal, Liu Xun had arrived to kill him, so Yuan Shu’s family and retainer troops must have fallen into Liu Xun’s hands. He had only just learned that Yuan Shu’s family was under house arrest in Wan County.
“How do you know?” Gan Ning asked.
“Today I received a letter from my cousin, who married Qiao Rui. After our hometown was attacked by the Yellow Turban Army, everyone lost contact. I have been living in Chaisang with my father.”
“Didn’t Qiao Rui die?”
“I don’t know. She wrote to tell me. Currently, Qiao Rui’s brother Qiao An is taking care of her and her three daughters. Qiao An was appointed Zongzheng Shaoqing by Yuan Shu. They are also under house arrest in Wan County. They heard that Liu Xun plans to hand them over to the Imperial Court, so they are very frightened.”
Gan Ning’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he hurriedly asked: “Your cousin has two daughters?”
“Exactly!”
“How old are they?”
“The elder is about thirteen or fourteen, and the younger is a year smaller.”
Two daughters, surnamed Qiao. Qiao and Qiao have been interchangeable since ancient times. Could they be Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao?
Gan Ning had asked Lu Su, and Sun Ce had already married, the daughter of his uncle Wu Jing.
Zhou Yu was twenty-four this year and had married five years ago.
This meant Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao were both concubines, which was also normal. Both were from noble families, and marriage was the bond to continue noble family relations, arranged long ago.
In history, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu took Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao as concubines this year when attacking Lujiang Commandery, though their ages seemed a bit young.
But on second thought, Eastern Han women married very early, and many wed at thirteen or fourteen.
Gan Ning’s heart suddenly heated up, and he smiled and asked: “Your cousin is asking you for help?”
“Yes, but this subordinate has no way, so I can only report it truthfully to the lord!”
“I understand. You go back first; I’ll consider this matter.”
Yang Jing saluted and left. Gan Ning smiled. What a coincidence. He had just received an express letter sent by someone from Cao Cao, who hoped he would capture Yuan Shu’s family for him. Cao Cao also stated in the letter that he would help defeat Liu Xun.
It seemed taking Wan County was heaven’s will!
Gan Ning pondered for a moment and said: “Find Wang Ping for me!”
……..
Wan County was the second largest county in Lujiang Commandery, with a large population and flourishing commerce, very close to Chaisang, less than two hundred li in a straight line.
Gan Ning’s original plan for harassment was not Wan County, but Linhu County. First, Linhu County was close to the Yangtze River, making withdrawal convenient. Second, north of Linhu County was Shu County where Liu Xun was, only thirty-some li away. Occupying Linhu County right beside his bed would surely make Liu Xun fly into a rage.
However, upon learning that Yuan Shu’s family and retainer troops were placed in Wan County, especially after receiving Cao Cao’s express letter.
Gan Ning changed his plan. He felt that Yuan Shu’s family and retainer troops were the unfinished business from before, specially left for him by heaven.
Gan Ning decided to take Wan County, hand Yuan Shu’s family to Cao Cao, and exchange for Cao Cao’s help in defeating Liu Xun.
Of course, these were all superficial excuses. Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao were the real reason Gan Ning changed his mind. This was the opportunity heaven left for him.
That evening, a fleet approached the water city gate of Wan County. Two tax officials stood at the water gate, waving to the fleet to signal docking.
“What cargo are you transporting?”
“Rice!” the fleet master answered.
The lead tax official carried a lantern forward to inspect; the cargo hold was indeed full of rice.
“How much?”
“Forty shi per ship, five ships total, two hundred shi altogether!”
The tax official estimated; it was about that amount.
The other tax official inspected every ship and, upon returning, subtly flashed a glimpse of white silver light in his palm.
“Checked; all grain!”
The lead tax official understood and nodded: “Then I won’t weigh it. You should know the rules: grain business tax is ten coins per shi, two thousand coins total.”
Liu Xun needed grain, so he set the grain business tax the lowest, leading many merchants to use grain to evade taxes, with a little grain on top and other goods below.
The tax officials knew this well and made plenty of extra profit from it.
The merchant readily took out two strings of Wu Zhu coins and handed them over. The tax official immediately issued a tax receipt, and with a wave of the merchant’s hand, the boatmen poled with bamboo poles, and the five ships slowly entered the city.
