Tiger Owl

Chapter 142 Relocation of the Capital to Chaisang
Da Qiao got up and left. Not long after, Xu Wei hurried over. She had already taken a bath and changed into a new outfit. Her pretty face was free of any makeup, and her bright eyes, white teeth, and snow-white skin made her exceptionally radiant and beautiful.

"See General!"

Xu Wei gave a graceful curtsy, and Gan Ning looked her over and smiled, "You look even better without makeup!"

Xu Wei's pretty face flushed red. There were only the two of them in the room. Gan Ning pointed to the side of the table, indicating that she should sit down next to him.

Xu Wei's pretty face turned even redder, but she still obediently sat down next to Gan Ning.

"Is the Xu family pressuring you again?" Gan Ning asked, putting his arm around her.

Xu Wei nodded slightly, "My grandmother revealed the truth; her real intention was to make me marry Sun Kuang."

"and then?"

"Then I clearly and without hesitation rejected her, got up and left."

"They didn't detain you?" Gan Ning asked again.

Xu Wei shook his head. "My father is here! They assured him before that I would be free to come and go as I pleased. Besides, it was the carriage from the Yuzhang County Liaison Office in Jiangdong that took me to the Xu residence, and there were soldiers waiting at the gate. They wouldn't dare to stop me."

Gan Ning said with delight, "This is very well done. With our official protection, it makes a difference."

Xu Wei hesitated for a moment, but she still had to tell the truth. Sang Zhi was also there, and this matter could not be kept from General Gan.

"My father wanted to take me to Xuchang."

"So you didn't go with him?"

Xu Wei sighed, "Once I go, I'll never come back."

"why?"

“I understand my father. He had promised to let me come back, but he changed his mind in the afternoon. I know what he was thinking. He wouldn’t let me go with you. He took me to Xuchang and wanted me to marry a man he liked. So I ran away again.”

Gan Ning sighed, "Now you've completely fallen out with the Xu family."

Xu Wei resolutely said, "This is my choice, and I have no regrets!"

Gan Ning was touched and gently hugged her, saying, "Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. Let's change how we address each other. Call me like Xiao Qiao does."

A hint of joy flashed in Xu Wei's eyes, and she lowered her head shyly, saying, "Gan Lang!"

"That's right. I'll send someone to Xuchang to propose to your father after spring."

Gan Ning lowered his head, and Xu Wei slowly raised her pretty face, closed her eyes, and kissed her future husband with joy.

The move took place faster than expected. On the morning of January 28th, a fleet of thousands of large ships set sail for Chaisang.

This is actually the second round. A large amount of luggage and servants had already been moved away before, and today is the day the master is moving.

Gan Ning's ship was a 20,000-shi warship, the same main ship that Liu Cong had ridden. It was captured by the Yuzhang Army and was the largest warship in Jingzhou, as well as the largest warship in the Yuzhang Army. It was converted into a royal ship and became Gan Ning's personal ship. It was equipped with six pairs of paddle wheels, operated by twenty-four people, and its speed exceeded that of a paddle boat with a hundred people.

The ship has four decks. Gan Ning and his family live on the third deck. In addition to the Qiao sisters and Xu Wei, there is also Gan Ning's mother-in-law, Yang Shi. However, Yang Shi spends most of her time in the cabin chanting scriptures and worshipping Buddha.

Gan Ning and the three women stood on the deck admiring the scenery on both banks. Although it was early spring, the river breeze still carried a chill.

Seeing that the three women's pretty faces were flushed red from the river wind, Gan Ning laughed and said, "It's too cold outside, let's go back to the cabin!" The group went into the cabin, and the large ship cut through the waves and continued its journey towards Chaisang.

Two days later, the fleet arrived in Chaisang. Gan Ning led everyone by carriage to the Wuchang Marquis's Mansion located in the east of the city. Unlike the semi-official residence and semi-mansion in Nanchang County, this was a completely independent mansion, covering an area of ​​twenty acres, divided into three courtyards (front, middle and rear) and two separate courtyards on the east and west sides.

The East Wing was the dormitory for the female guards, while Yang was arranged to live in the West Wing, where a Buddhist hall was specially built for her, which made her extremely happy.

"You all go ahead and get busy! There are rules for how things are arranged here, and you can't help with that."

Full of joy, Madam Yang went to tend to her Buddhist hall, while two maids helped her pack her luggage.

Gan Ning then led the three women to the inner residence, which covered an area of ​​ten acres. There was a large garden covering four acres, as well as four courtyards, each of which was independent and located around the garden.

Xiao Qiao and Xu Wei each received a small courtyard, adjacent to each other, connected by a small gate for easy visits. In the center was the main courtyard, covering two acres, with more than a dozen rooms, including bedrooms, living rooms, studies, and so on.
Xiao Qiao and Xu Wei went to their respective courtyards, while Gan Ning put his arm around Da Qiao's waist and walked into the main courtyard.

"Do you like it here?"

Da Qiao nodded gently, "As long as I'm with my husband, I like anywhere, but I like this place too."

Gan Ning was delighted and kissed Da Qiao's pretty face, saying with a smile, "This is the new house. If you find anything that is not perfect, tell me and I will arrange for someone to fix it."

"I'll be careful. Now I need to pack my clothes; I have a ton of things to do!"

"Go ahead! I'm going to the official residence; we'll have a proper dinner together tonight."

Da Qiao went to her bedroom to pack her clothes, and Gan Ning also returned to his official residence.

Gan Ning's official residence is called the Jianwu General's Mansion. Previously, Nanchang County was the Yuzhang Prefecture government office. Now that Gan Ning has four prefectures under his control, it is indeed inappropriate for his official residence to remain in the Yuzhang Prefecture government office.

Gan Ning sat down in his new official residence. The furniture and decorations were no different from his old official residence. If it weren't for the change in the position of the window and the view outside, one would think it was the old official residence.

At this moment, Lu Su walked to the door, bowed, and said, "Greetings, General!"

"Strategist, please don't stand on ceremony, come in and have a seat!"

Lu Su walked in and sat down, handing a piece of intelligence to Gan Ning. "This is news from Huang Zu's side: a civil unrest has broken out in Xiling County!"

Gan Ning quickly took the intelligence report and read it carefully. A riot had broken out in Huangyan Township, Xiling County. Thousands of farmers resisted taxes and killed more than a dozen tax collectors. The riot was suppressed by Huang Zu's army, which killed more than a hundred people.

"What does 'resisting taxes' mean?" Gan Ning asked, frowning.

"Huang Zu's expenses for maintaining an army of 40,000 were too great. I heard that he failed to borrow grain from Liu Biao, so he raised the tax to one-tenth of the total tax and the poll tax from 120 to 500 coins. As a result, many farmers resisted taxes last autumn and refused to pay land tax and poll tax. Now it is the end of January, and Huang Zu sent people to urge the payment of last year's taxes, which resulted in a riot."

Gan Ning nodded. "In that case, the people under Huang Zu's rule will definitely flee to Wuchang County in large numbers!"

"I heard that he confiscated all the boats in the country, probably because he was afraid people would flee."

Gan Ning pondered for a moment and then asked, "How are the preparations for war going?"

"It's almost done. All the troops have been recalled from Changsha Commandery. In addition, Huang Zhong also wants to join the battle. What should we do?"

Gan Ning shook his head. "Let's let Huang Zhong off the hook this time. After all, he and Huang Zu are from the same family. The strategist should appease him, and we'll definitely consider him next time."

(End of this chapter)