I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 192: Old Business

Jiang Qin led about a hundred soldiers to Zhu County.

Zhu County Magistrate Gan Ning had also spotted Jiang Qin's group early on, but upon seeing that they numbered only a hundred, he mocked from the wall: "A mere hundred men, and you think you can take over Zhu County? Have you been staying in Jiangdong for too long?"

Before Jiangdong, many county towns did not have city walls. Even Wanling, the former seat of Danyang County, was only surrounded by a fence, which served as the outer defense of the county town.

But Jingzhou is different.

Especially in northern Jingzhou, the wealth far surpasses that of Jiangdong before.

Even a small town like Zhu County has rammed earth walls ten feet high, its own armory, and even a dozen Han crossbows that Gan Ning has taken out and set up on the city wall, aimed at the approaching Jiang Qin.

Jiang Qin reined in his horse in time and, upon seeing Gan Ning, immediately said loudly, "There are now 100,000 troops gathered in the east of Jiangdong! If they really wanted to attack this place, how could they have only sent 100 men?"

Gan Ning braced himself against the wall: "You're right! So what brings you here today?"

"Please step back a moment, I have a message for you!"

Upon hearing Jiang Qin's words, Gan Ning not only did not back down, but instead stood there with a playful expression, looking at Jiang Qin.

Seeing this, Jiang Qin didn't waste any words and immediately drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

The next moment, an arrow flew past Gan Ning's head and embedded itself in the city wall behind him.

Gan Ning was suddenly startled: "You want to kill me?"

"But your archery skills are poor! Why didn't you listen when I told you to step back?"

Gan Ning cursed and ordered someone to retrieve the letter attached to the arrow, his brows gradually furrowing.

After reading the letter, Gan Ning called out loudly to those below, "Were you originally a river bandit?"

"I may not be as good as you, the Brocade Sail Bandit, but I am still a notorious thief of Chaohu!"

When Jiang Qin talked about his background, he made no attempt to hide it or feel embarrassed.

"Now, I am the Lieutenant General of the Warships under the command of the General of the Flying Cavalry!"

Lieutenant General...

Upon hearing this title, Gan Ning licked his lips enviously.

Although the titles of General and Lieutenant General have gradually lost their value due to war, they are still general positions! They should not be confused with those of Commandant or Military Advisor.

Many soldiers from respectable families spent their entire lives wanting nothing more than the title of Lieutenant General, but it was obtained by Jiang Qin, a river bandit.
Gan Ning read the letter again: "Liu Biaoji wants to persuade me to surrender?"

"You are a Han subject, and your lord is the General of Chariots and Cavalry of the Great Han. What are you talking about surrendering?"

Jiang Qin simply shouted, "The imperial court had already issued a proclamation to punish Liu Biao! Now we are leading the royal army to attack the disobedient!"

Gan Ning chuckled: "Who doesn't know that Cao Cao uses the emperor to command the feudal lords? Who doesn't know that your Liu Miao is in cahoots with Cao Cao? And what kind of royal army is this..."

Jiang Qin's face remained dark: "Enough of that. I'll just ask you this: are we the royal army or not?"

Gan Ning: “…”

After standing on the city wall for a long time, Gan Ning finally asked, "If I were to abandon the darkness and embrace the light now, I wonder how General Liu would treat me?"

"Treat him as a captain! And give him another eight hundred soldiers!"

Gan Ning was somewhat displeased: "Only eight hundred?"

"Our lord said that Gan Xingba will be given 800 soldiers, which is equivalent to an ordinary general leading 8,000 elite troops!"

Gan Ning was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter, his bird feathers fluttering and the copper bells at his waist jingling.

"That General Liu is really good at saying nice things! And coincidentally, I love hearing nice things too!"

Gan Ning waved his hand and said, "Open the city gates! What kind of county magistrate is this? I'm not doing this damn job!"

"Su Fei has treated me well, but he's not in charge! I'll repay his kindness later!"

Gan Ning hung his official seal as "Magistrate of Zhu County" on the city tower, turned around and walked towards the city gate, grabbing Jiang Qin's hand: "Where is General Liu now?"

"Currently in E County!"

Jiang Qin and Gan Ning quickly returned to E County, and Liu Miao was overjoyed to see Gan Ning.

"I've long admired Xingba's reputation, and today my wish has finally come true!"

Gan Ning exclaimed in surprise, "Has General Liu actually heard of my name, Gan Ning?"

"The Jinfan Bandits! Of course I've heard of them!"

Gan Ning's face flushed instantly, feeling that Liu Miao was insulting him and publicly exposing his shortcomings in front of everyone.

"In this world, there are many who become bandits when they have no other choice. But there are very few who become bandits when they are rich."

Liu Miao was not truly trying to humiliate Gan Ning, but was genuinely curious about his experiences as a pirate.

"Xingba was in Shu at the time, and he could use Shu brocade to make sails. Logically speaking, he must have been rich and powerful, so why did he still do that thing of acting on behalf of Heaven?"

Gan Ning then believed that Liu Miao meant him no harm and that mentioning the past was not meant to mock him, which gradually put Gan Ning at ease.

"Please don't be offended, General Liu. It's just that Jingzhou is a place where many famous people come and go. They immediately introduce themselves. If they encounter someone from the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers, they will be very respectful; if they encounter someone from the school of great scholars, they will treat them with courtesy; if they encounter someone from the peddler's, bandit's or criminal background, they will roll their eyes and ignore them."

Clearly, the differential treatment in Jingzhou had a negative impact on Gan Ning, which is why he was unable to adapt to Liu Miao's questions.

After explaining, Gan Ning began to recount his past as a "Jinfan Pirate." "General Liu doesn't need to pat himself on the back, talking about acting on behalf of Heaven and saving the common people. At first, I became a river bandit simply because it felt prestigious and exciting! Everyone called you 'Master' wherever you went—it was great!"

"Back then, even the most daring men would avoid boating. If they encountered some bold women, they would even wave at us directly. Life was... wonderful!"

Zhou Tai, standing behind Liu Miao, suddenly started nodding repeatedly.

Gan Ning's eyes lit up: "You too?"

"of course!"

Zhou Tai felt no shame, but rather a sense of pride!
When Gan Ning saw that Liu Miao was surrounded by so many people from the same clan, he had no more scruples.

"But as I continued doing it, I realized, what's the point of all this prestige? Is it some kind of great thing to command the respect of those who can't even afford to eat or buy clothes?"

Gan Ning shook his head.

Fear was no longer something he could have achieved at that time.

Respect is the ideal that a true man should pursue!
"Later, I stopped attacking others, read some books, and entered officialdom. I started as a clerk and gradually rose to become the prefectural governor of Shu."

"But in the end, he was misled by Liu He, the Prefect of Jingzhou, and rebelled against Liu Zhang, resulting in him being banished to this place, Jingzhou! Ha~"

Gan Ning's expression clearly showed his dejection.

He frequently broke the law in his youth, and after finally reforming, he made another mistake that led to eternal regret, forcing him to flee to the ends of the earth and end up in Jingzhou, a place with a strict hierarchy.

It has only been a few years since Gan Ning came to Jingzhou. If Gan Ning, with his personality, stayed in Jingzhou for more than ten years, wouldn't he go crazy?

Liu Miao, having heard about Gan Ning's experience, then asked, "So how did you become the magistrate of Zhu County?"

Gan Ning had nothing to hide and directly revealed his conflict with Huang Zu.

Liu Miao then turned to Taishi Ci and asked, "Ziyi, if Huang Zu had listened to Xingba's plan and immediately launched a strong attack on E County, could you have defended this place?"

Taishi Ci immediately shook his head.

"We had already exhausted ourselves fighting the two thousand Changsha soldiers left behind by Liu Pan in the city. How could we possibly fight Huang Zu again?"

"If Huang Zu had really led his troops to attack at that time, I'm afraid I would have had no choice but to retreat."

Liu Miao then turned around and said to Gan Ning with a smile, "In that case, it seems I'm quite lucky."

"It's not luck."

Gan Ning then told Liu Miao that Huang Zu did not want to help Liu Pan.

"Huang Zu is now old, senile, and incompetent. He is jealous of the virtuous and capable, and his army is short of supplies and food. Those around him are deceiving and fooling him, while he is greedy for money and extorts money from his subordinates, officers, and soldiers. These people are all resentful, and his warships and various combat equipment are damaged and not repaired. His soldiers have not been trained for a long time and have long lost their ability to be feared."

Gan Ning suddenly prostrated himself on the ground: "This humble general is willing to be the vanguard for the lord, to capture Xiakou, to kill Huang Zu for the lord, and to break through the barrier of Xiangfan!"

Liu Miao glanced outside the tent and asked Lu Su beside him, "Has the weather been fine these past few days?"

"The sky is cloudless, and swallows often land around to forage for food, so there shouldn't be any major storms."

"Then it's not the time to attack Huang Zu."

Gan Ning found Liu Miao's conversation with Lu Su puzzling.

A major battle with Huang Zu would inevitably be a naval battle!
If we're going to fight a water war, why not in good weather? Are we going to fight it in bad weather?

When the storm comes, a wave will crash over you and you won't be able to stand or hold your knife. How can you fight a war like that?

Gan Ning looked at Liu Miao strangely.

He had often heard that Liu Miao was not knowledgeable in military affairs. Could it be that the rumors were actually true?
Unexpectedly, even Zhou Yu agreed with Liu Miao: "Without the wind and rain, it is indeed not easy to fight a decisive battle with Huang Zu's navy."

"However, it's not that they did nothing at all."

In the center of the camp was a map of the area near Xiakou, with the Han River flowing down from the northwest being particularly conspicuous.

"Entering the Han River in a small boat."

“Each time they entered in small groups of boats, Huang Zu was caught between chasing them and not chasing them.”

"Let these small boats tie down some of Huang Zu's troops and ships from the rear. In this way, we can wait for a good opportunity to fight Huang Zu and win!"

Gan Ning's eyes lit up.

Isn't this the tactic I discussed with Su Fei before?

On Liu Miao's side, they actually adopted a tactic of concealment?

Liu Miao then asked Jiang Qin, "Gongyi, are you ready?"

"nature!"

Jiang Qin replied, "Liu Ziyang has loaded some new gadgets onto the ship, perfect for fighting in shallow water!"

Liu Miao then asked Gan Ning, "Now is not a good time to fight Huang Zu. Xingba, would you be willing to do something else first?"

Although Gan Ning had already anticipated this, he seemed unwilling to believe it and asked Liu Miao in return, "What does my lord want me to do?"

"It's just your old profession in Sichuan and Chongqing!"

　I swear a solemn oath! I will update on time!!!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)