Chapter 37: Heart Set And Unwavering
At dusk, the new butler, Wu, brought various brand-new daily necessities, all the best available in the city, along with several hundred catties of charcoal and two braziers.
Two large food boxes were also delivered from the nearby Grand Restaurant in Xunyang, containing seven or eight dishes, steaming rice, and flatbreads. Xiao Qiao’s eyes immediately lit up with joy, and she quickly set out the food.
“Mother, Elder Sister, come quickly to eat, I’m starving!”
She picked up a flatbread, took a big bite, and her bright eyes sparkled, “Sister, it’s filled with meat!”
Madam Yang stepped forward and affectionately patted her youngest daughter’s head, “Little glutton, the dishes are a bit cold, Mother will warm them up for you.”
“They’re still warm! Warming them again will make them taste bad, and the mutton will get gamey.”
Xiao Qiao, though the youngest, was known as the family’s greatest foodie. When their father was alive, the family was well-off, and she had tasted all sorts of delicacies.
Later, her father died in battle. Yuan Shu promised five hundred taels of silver as a pension, but not a single copper coin was ever received. Without income, the mother and daughters had to rely on their uncle’s support and sell valuable possessions to get by, their lives becoming poorer and poorer.
In the past two years, Yuan Shu’s constant warfare had caused the price of rice in the Jianghuai region to skyrocket, with starving people everywhere. The mother and daughters often couldn’t even get enough to eat, going hungry one moment and full the next, which was why both sisters were relatively thin.
“Sister, the braised mutton is so delicious, come and try it!”
“You and Mother eat first, I’ll be right there!”
Among the daily necessities, Da Qiao found a kettle, a stove, and tea cakes. She had known how to brew tea since she was young. General Gan was taking such good care of them, she felt she should at least brew a pot of hot tea for the General.
After finding the tea set, Da Qiao washed her hands and went to eat.
……….
Gan Ning returned at full dark. Before he was even ten steps from the courtyard gate, he saw a slender figure rush out from within. Judging by the figure, it should be Da Qiao. Gan Ning chuckled to himself, what was this young lady up to?
Gan Ning entered the study and found it brightly lit. A brazier with a roaring fire kept the room as warm as spring. A pot of steaming tea sat on the desk, and his teacup was washed and placed neatly to the side.
Gan Ning sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and took a sip of the piping hot liquid, immediately feeling a warm current spread through his entire body.
……….
At the third watch, four figures appeared in front of the former small residence of Madam Yang and her daughters. Leading them was a tall, stout man, who was the merchant who had given Madam Yang fifty taels of silver that noon.
The merchant, named Wang Kai, was an elite operative from the Jiangdong Intelligence Camp, acting under the orders of Lord Sun Ce to bring Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao back to Jiangdong.
Since he had already given them money, he intended to take them tonight, by force if they refused to go.
Wang Kai waved his hand, and three of his subordinates scaled the wall into the courtyard, quietly opening the gate. Wang Kai also entered the courtyard.
Just then, a large group of soldiers rushed out from the alleys on both sides, surrounding the small residence. Wang Xiaoman waved his hand, and dozens of soldiers charged in. Shouts of killing and cries erupted from the courtyard.
Before long, Wang Kai and his three subordinates were bound like rice dumplings and brought out. Their mouths were gagged, their heads covered with black cloth, and the soldiers pushed the four of them into an ox cart. A large contingent of soldiers then followed the ox cart away.
The next morning, Wang Xiaoman reported last night’s events and the interrogation results to Gan Ning.
“Reporting to my Lord, the leader is named Wang Kai, a scout from the Jiangdong Intelligence Camp. He brought three soldiers disguised as merchants with the sole mission of taking Madam Yang and her two daughters back to Jiangdong. Zhang Xun’s defection is unrelated to them, and they had no knowledge of it.”
Gan Ning nodded, “Release them all. Escort them respectfully out of our territory, and have them deliver my letter back to Jiangdong for Sun Ce.”
Gan Ning wanted to explicitly inform Sun Ce that Da Qiao was now his concubine and that Sun Ce was forbidden from sending anyone to harass them again.
“Your subordinate obeys the order!”
Gan Ning thought for a moment and said, “Also, what is the status of the intelligence station you had me establish in Wu County a few days ago?”
“Reporting to my Lord, it is currently being set up. We plan to open a restaurant, which will allow us to gather various types of news.”
Gan Ning nodded, “The priority is news about Sun Ce!”
“Your subordinate understands. Once there is any information, we will send it back using carrier pigeons!”
Carrier pigeons, also known as ‘fei nu’, have been used to transmit messages since the Qin and Han dynasties.
Based on the timeline, Sun Ce would have an accident next spring. Although he had been injured by Gan Ning’s arrow, according to Wang Kai’s confession, Sun Ce’s arrow wound was almost healed.
Once Sun Ce had an accident, it would be time for his alliance treaty with Yu Jin to expire.
He could not be restrained by a mere piece of paper.
………..
In the study, Sun Ce sneezed heavily.
His three-year-old son, Sun Shao, clapped his hands and laughed, “Someone is thinking of Daddy!”
Sun Ce hugged his son and laughed, “Who told you someone is thinking of Daddy?”
“Elder Sister said that when you sneeze, it means someone is thinking of you!”
Sun Ce currently had one wife and one concubine, who had given him three daughters and one son. His eldest daughter was only six years old.
Just then, his wife, Madam Wu, entered the study with tea. Madam Wu was the daughter of Sun Ce’s maternal uncle, Wu Jing. She was one year older than Sun Ce, and they had been betrothed since childhood.
“Shao’er, come down quickly, Daddy’s wound is not yet healed.”
Sun Shao quickly jumped down from his father’s embrace. Sun Ce laughed, “I’m almost completely recovered.”
“You still mustn’t be careless, you need to rest well.”
Madam Wu placed the ginseng tea on the table and saw her husband sketching battle plans on paper, his target surprisingly being Xuchang.
“Husband still intends to attack Xuchang?”
Sun Ce nodded, “I received a secret imperial edict from the Son of Heaven, begging me to participate in eradicating the treacherous official and restoring the Great Han. Everyone has decided to rise up together, so how can I stand aside? Just as Cao Cao and Yuan Shao are locked in a great battle, Xuchang’s troops are sparse. How could I let such an opportunity pass?”
“Didn’t you say you would attack Chaisang for revenge in the spring?”
Sun Ce waved his hand with a smile, “Chaisang Gan Ning is merely a minor ailment, my elder brother and Sun Fu are enough to deal with him. My ambition lies in Xuchang, and I will lead my army on the Northern Expedition next spring.”
“But…”
Madam Wu said worriedly, “The aristocracy within Jiangdong opposes the Northern Expedition. Husband, you should listen to their opinions!”
Sun Ce was slightly displeased. His maternal uncle, Wu Jing, also opposed the Northern Expedition, so his wife must have been instructed by her father to persuade him.
“You are a woman, you should not concern yourself with military and state affairs.”
Madam Wu nodded silently and said to her son, “Shao’er, don’t disturb Daddy, come with Mother!”
Sun Shao obediently took his mother’s hand and left. Sun Ce paced back and forth in the room, hands behind his back. This Northern Expedition was strongly supported by northern generals led by Taishi Ci, while southern generals did not oppose it but were not enthusiastic. However, civil officials had largely voiced their opposition, which distressed Sun Ce. Especially Zhang Zhao, who argued that historically, southern regimes had never succeeded in northern expeditions and strongly urged him to abandon the idea.
But once Sun Ce made up his mind, nothing could sway him.
Sun Ce stood by the window, gazing at the northern sky. He slowly clenched his fist, thinking that a man without the ambition to unify the world had lived in vain.
Regardless of how many opposed him, Sun Ce’s mind was made up; he would lead his army north in the spring.
He had already ordered Taishi Ci to lead ten thousand troops as the vanguard and stationed them in Shouchun. Once the northern rivers thawed, he would personally lead the fleet and an army of fifty thousand north, first taking Guangling Commandery.
