Chapter 92: Sincerity Of The Alliance
After the autumn harvest ended, the weather grew cooler day by day. After sowing winter wheat seeds, the fields began to fall silent. In the blink of an eye, it was November, and a cold wave rapidly swept south from the North, bringing widespread snowfall. The entire Yangtze River basin soon turned into a world of snow.
On the plains outside Shu County in Lujiang Commandery stood several temporary grain silos. Hundreds of Sun Ben’s Army soldiers were training with firearms. They lit fire oil bottles one by one and threw them at the silos. Soon the silos caught fire, with thick smoke billowing.
Watching the training from afar, Sun Ben nodded in satisfaction. Although making these fire oil bottles was simple, their effect was excellent. They were indeed sharp weapons for fire warfare. No wonder Gan Ning had defeated Huang Zu with them.
Obtaining the fire oil bottles was one of the benefits of Sun Ben’s alliance with Huang Zu. Huang Zu had specially sent a batch of three thousand fire oil bottles.
Of course, Huang Zu gave him the fire bottles on condition. Huang Zu did not intend to participate in the battle to attack Xunyang County. His reason was simple: he had just signed an agreement with Gan Ning promising not to invade Xunyang County, and the ink was not yet dry. He could not break his word so quickly.
He spoke as if he had such outstanding credibility, but in reality, Huang Zu could not afford the consequences of breaking the agreement. Once he did, he would be unable to set foot on the Yangtze River again, and vital supply lines would be cut off, such as salt from Bashu.
More importantly, if the Yangtze River trade routes were severed, the major noble families of Jiangxia would surely abandon him collectively.
Huang Zu politely declined Sun Ben’s suggestion to join forces in attacking Xunyang County. At the same time, to compensate for breaking faith as an ally, he sent three thousand newly made fire oil bottles to Sun Ben.
This fire oil bottle was basically a one-time-use technology. Once Gan Ning used it, the opponent would immediately learn it. Gan Ning was well aware of this, so he destroyed Huang Zu’s navy the first time he used it, achieving great success.
Even if Huang Zu learned it, he could no longer reverse his own crushing defeat.
“What kind of fire oil is in these?” Sun Ben asked the technical official beside him.
“Reporting to my lord, it’s a mixture of tung oil and pine resin oil. It burns very easily.”
Sun Ben nodded. Both oils were readily available fire oils. “Pass my order: this winter, produce large quantities of tung oil and pine resin oil, and make large numbers of pottery bottles!”
Sun Ben was also an experienced veteran general. He knew well the benefits of this fire oil for naval battles and sieges.
“Any intelligence on Xunyang County?” Sun Ben asked again.
Lujiang Sima Xu Qian bowed and said, “Reporting to my lord, according to reliable information from our scouts, the Xunyang army has a garrison of five thousand men, led by Taishi Ci!”
Sun Ben nodded. “It’s actually Taishi Ci. What a coincidence!”
Sun Ben then said to Prefect Sun He, “Their troop strength is not large, but Taishi Ci is a fierce general and must not be taken lightly. Strengthen army training this winter, and march on Xunyang County next spring to drive Taishi Ci out of Lujiang Commandery.”
Sun He bowed in salute. “This subordinate obeys the order!”
On the training ground of Nanchang County, a drill involving fire oil bottles was also underway.
Two teams stood fifty paces apart. Soldiers from one team suddenly lit fire oil bottles and threw them forcefully. The fire oil bottles landed more than thirty paces away, shattering and burning. Soldiers from the opposite side immediately ran over and poured sand and soil on the burning fire oil. In moments, the flames were extinguished.
Yuzhang Army soldiers had long known that water could not extinguish burning fire oil, as it would float on the water and continue burning. They began using other methods to put out the fire.
Gan Ning was well aware that his fire oil bottles would soon spread—not only to southern warlords, but also to Cao Cao in the North.
Military technology developed this way: once a new technology appeared, it would spread rapidly and could not be concealed. Thus, one needed not only spears but also shields.
Wang Ping shouted, “Continue!”
The firefighting team rotated to a new batch. This time, a thousand soldiers came up. Like the sand and soil method, they worked in pairs: one to fight the fire, the other carrying five sets of damp bedding on his back.
Whether using sand and soil or damp bedding to extinguish fires, these were not new inventions but traditional methods. Gan Ning simply wanted to find the most effective way to counter fire oil.
Hundreds of soldiers threw out hundreds of fire bottles again. The bottles landed and burned. A thousand soldiers rushed forward. One soldier deftly threw damp bedding over the raging flames, and the fire vanished instantly. In moments, hundreds of burning pools of fire were all extinguished.
The watching generals burst into warm applause. Gan Ning nodded in relief. The effect was indeed excellent, and damp bedding could be reused, reducing costs.
This was essentially suffocation firefighting, cutting off oxygen. Water molecules could rapidly cool, and it was highly targeted. Fire bottles formed pools upon landing, perfectly suited for smothering with bedding.
But this damp bedding method had two key points. First, the bedding had to be thoroughly soaked, with no dry corners, or it would fuel the fire instead.
Second, actions had to be fast: extinguish before the fire oil spread. Fire oil was fluid, and once it spread out, it became hard to put out.
Gan Ning immediately ordered, “Pass the order to all armies to form firefighting teams and intensify training. Not only must firefighting team soldiers master it proficiently, but ordinary soldiers must also learn firefighting methods.”
“Obeying the order!” The standard bearer officer hurried off to relay the command.
At this moment, a soldier ran up, knelt on one knee, and reported, “Reporting to my lord, the Jiangdong envoy has arrived in Nanchang.”
Gan Ning was slightly startled. What was Sun Quan sending someone for at this time?
He pondered briefly, then said to Lu Su behind him, “Please have the strategist talk with the envoy first and probe their true intentions.”
In the afternoon, Lu Su came to Gan Ning’s official residence.
“Reporting to my lord, this subordinate has spoken with Zhu Zhi.”
“Strategist, please sit!”
Gan Ning invited Lu Su to sit, and Lu Su then said unhurriedly, “Their intention is to ally with us to deal with Sun Ben and Huang Zu together. Of course, alliance is a major matter. Zhu Zhi is here just to test the waters. If we are willing to ally, both sides will sit down for detailed talks.”
Gan Ning pondered for a moment and asked, “What is the strategist’s view?”
Lu Su thought for a moment and said, “This subordinate believes Jiangdong’s alliance proposal lacks sincerity. Deep down, Jiangdong has always wanted to swallow us up. They face internal crises, so they want to stabilize us temporarily. I sense they have deeper intentions.”
“What intentions?”
“Lujiang Commandery!” Lu Su said pointedly.
“Does the strategist mean they fear us occupying Lujiang Commandery?”
Lu Su nodded. “Exactly. Zhu Zhi made no secret of telling me that Sun Ben is merely Jiangdong’s internal contradiction. The implication was that the three commanderies north of the river are Jiangdong’s land and we should not covet them. For me, the most immediate issue is the ownership of Lujiang Commandery.”
Gan Ning stood with hands behind his back and paced a few steps. “Then what is the point of allying to deal with Sun Ben and Huang Zu?”
Lu Su smiled faintly. “Jiangdong’s meaning is: deal with Sun Ben and Huang Zu together. Huang Zu’s base goes to us, Sun Ben’s base to Jiangdong. Moreover, Zhu Zhi mentioned the previous Lujiang border demarcation agreement we signed, which Jiangdong sees as the foundation of our alliance.”
Gan Ning pondered for a moment and said, “Is it possible that Sun Ben and Jiangdong will join forces to attack us?”
“It can only be said there is that possibility, but it is slim. The key is Cao Cao behind Sun Ben. Cao Cao’s energy is focused on the North and he will never allow the two Suns to reconcile. Otherwise, what would be the point of him dividing them?
Today Zhu Zhi told me some news: there is evidence that Sun Ben assassinated Sun Yi and framed the Marquis of Wu. Clearly, this evidence has suddenly appeared to make the Marquis of Wu and Sun Ben irreconcilable.
Gan Ning was slightly startled. “What evidence?”
“This subordinate did not ask in detail. If my lord is interested, this subordinate can talk with Zhu Zhi again.”
Gan Ning nodded. “You can ask. As for the alliance, we can take it slow. If we really cannot reach consensus on the Lujiang Commandery issue, we and Jiangdong can sign a non-aggression pact, which benefits both sides.”
Lu Su nodded. “This subordinate will have a good talk with Zhu Zhi again.”
