Tiger Owl

Chapter 157 Intelligence on Fancheng
June arrived gradually, and the weather grew hotter day by day.

Fancheng is a military city on the north bank of the Han River and the gateway to Xiangyang. To attack Xiangyang, Fancheng must be captured first. Therefore, although Fancheng is nominally under the jurisdiction of Nanyang Commandery, it is actually firmly controlled by Liu Biao's army. Under normal circumstances, the garrison in Fancheng is around 5,000 men, currently commanded by Cai Huan, the son of Cai Mao.

Fancheng was actually a county town with tens of thousands of residents. The military camp was located in the northwest corner of the city and covered a huge area. It was a large military camp that could accommodate 20,000 soldiers.

There were many restaurants and brothels near the military camp, catering to soldiers. One of them was a small tavern called Xiao Yang's Tavern. Business was so-so. It had recently changed owners, but business improved after the change because the wine was of good quality and the price was cheap. The tavern was full of soldiers every day.

The manager, also surnamed Yang, was a middle-aged man. In his words, he was the uncle of the young manager, running the tavern for his nephew. The soldiers all called him Old Yang.

"Old Yang, this wine is good. Where did you get it?"

"Hehe! My relative owns a winery and promised to supply me with some good wine."

"Why couldn't Xiao Yang get it before?"

"Young people are easily embarrassed, so of course they won't get good wine."

Old Yang was always smiling, and the soldiers liked him very much. They could talk about military affairs without any restraint in front of him. Who would have thought that this harmless shopkeeper was actually an intelligence agent for the Yuzhang Army?

Old Yang's real name was Yang Ming, a native of Xiangyang. His son served as a garrison commander in the Yuzhang Army, and he and his wife ran a small tavern in Chaisang. The intelligence battalion took a liking to him and persuaded the couple to join the intelligence battalion.

Ten days after the training, Mr. and Mrs. Yang were assigned to Fancheng to keep an eye on Liu Biao's army.

"I heard that 20,000 troops are coming. Our good days are coming to an end," a soldier sighed.

"real or fake?"

"Of course it's true. I heard it from General Qin. The governor has ordered Zhang Yun to personally lead 20,000 troops to garrison Fancheng. Our three-person rooms will become ten-person rooms again."

Everyone sighed and shook their heads. Old Yang heard them clearly. He raised his wine jug and toasted everyone, saying with a smile, "Thank you, brothers, for telling me the news of our fortune! With more troops, our little shop will do even better business."

"Old Yang, your shop is too small. There's not enough room for us to sit down. The increase in the army won't do you any good."

"I can sell the wine to outsiders! Everyone can bring the wine and food back to the barracks, wouldn't business be just as good?"

The soldiers burst into laughter, "Old Yang's plan was brilliant, but things didn't go as planned!"

"How do you say this?"

"Don't you know the rules of the military? Once there is a large increase in troops, we will inevitably enter a state of war, and drinking will not be allowed then."

"Ah! Didn't I run out of business?"

Don't worry! We'll definitely come and patronize your business when we have the chance.

Yang Ming took note of this. That day, business was exceptionally good. The place was packed with soldiers from morning till night, and every soldier was drunk.

They also relayed crucial intelligence to Yang Ming: 20,000 troops had entered the camp before dawn, and starting tomorrow, the entire army would be in wartime, forbidden from leaving the camp, and strictly prohibited from drinking alcohol. Therefore, the soldiers were determined to drink to their hearts' content today, consuming over a hundred jars of wine in a single day.

The next morning, the camp gates were tightly closed, and soldiers were not allowed to come out. Security was also increased, and the shouts of training could be heard inside the camp. Judging from the sound, there were no fewer than 10,000 soldiers.

Yang Ming hurriedly closed the tavern and rushed back to the rented house where he and his wife lived, and they kept two homing pigeons in the backyard.

Yang Ming hurriedly wrote two pigeon messages, put them in a letter tube, and tied them to the pigeon's leg.

This was also a key point in Pang Tong's training: important intelligence must be sent via two pigeons to avoid mistakes and missing the message.

He and his wife opened the cage, and two carrier pigeons flapped their wings and took flight, circling south towards Chaisang. That very evening, Gan Ning received intelligence that Liu Biao had reinforced Fancheng with 20,000 troops, which meant that Liu Biao was about to launch an offensive against Jiangxia County.

This is the power of intelligence. Although Liu Biao's military campaign was very secretive and the spies in Xiangyang could not obtain accurate information, Liu Biao's deployment of heavy troops in Fancheng revealed the opportunity for battle.

Inside the VIP hall, Gan Ning paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. He asked Pang Tong, "Is there any news from Xiangyang?"

Pang Tong shook his head. "There is no news from Xiangyang. I suspect Liu Biao is planning a surprise attack, so he has already deployed his troops along the Han River. Once preparations are complete, he will suddenly attack Jiangxia County."

Gan Ning then asked Lu Su, "How much salt do we have in our salt warehouse in Anlu County?"

Lu Su bowed and said, "Reporting to the general, approximately 300,000 shi of grain have all been transferred to the county town."

Gan Ning nodded. "The key is to protect Anlu County. Send the order to Huang Zhong: do not allow the enemy to approach the salt mine."

Lu Su agreed, then asked, "Shall we proceed according to the original plan?"

Gan Ning thought for a moment and said to Xu Shu, "Military Advisor Xu, you can go to Jiangxia County immediately to coordinate the three armies in battle. I will give you the military tally, and the three armies must obey your orders!"

Xu Shu rose and bowed, "This humble servant will depart tonight!"

Gan Ning immediately took the military tally and command arrow and handed them to Xu Shu. Xu Shu bowed and took his leave.

That evening, Gan Ning issued orders to the relevant armies, with Wei Yan, stationed at Xiakou, tasked with blocking the Han River and cutting off the enemy's retreat route after they crossed it.

Gan Ning also sent someone to inform Huang Zhong, the commander of the Jiangxia army, and sent Zhao Yun to lead his troops across the river from E County to support Huang Zu. In addition, he required the three commanders and captains to obey the orders of the military advisor Xu Shu and not to disobey the military advisor's orders.

Gan Ning laid a trap, waiting for Liu Biao's army to arrive.

Liu Biao never dreamed that his plans in Fancheng would expose his military secrets.

In fact, Liu Biao intended to launch a surprise attack on Jiangxia County. According to Cai Mao's plan, the 30,000 troops of Jingzhou had already been dispersed into smaller units and secretly deployed near three river crossings in Jingling County, Jucheng Town, and Lankou Town. The three armies were each 30 li apart and would quickly regroup after crossing the river.

However, to prevent Liu Bei from taking risks, Liu Biao followed Cai Mao's advice and sent 20,000 more troops to Fancheng.

Inside the official residence, Cai Mao reported: "Reporting to the lord, the entire army is ready and can launch an attack at any time."

"Are the logistical supplies ready?"

"We have transported grain and supplies across the Han River using more than 500 cargo ships, and preparations are complete."

Liu Biao nodded and then asked, "Is there any news from Chaisang?"

"No new information, please rest assured, my lord. Once the enemy's troops move, our scouts will immediately send a message by pigeon to inform me. The enemy should be unprepared."

After a moment's hesitation, Cai Mao added, "I did receive some news yesterday, but it had nothing to do with the military. It was that Pang Tong had been appointed as Gan Ning's deputy military advisor."

Liu Biao's face immediately turned ugly, but he was somewhat helpless, as these powerful families were all playing both sides.

On one hand, Pang Shanmin served as a legal officer under him, while on the other hand, Pang Tong served as a deputy military advisor under Gan Ning. The Ma family was the same, and even Cai Mao, who was right in front of them, was also two-timing. The Cai family had connections in the court! Nominally they were loyal to the court, but in reality they were loyal to Cao Cao. And Huang Chengyan's son-in-law, Zhuge Liang, was also loyal to Liu Bei.

Liu Biao had long known about the character of these powerful families, but there was nothing he could do. He had lost Jiangxia County, and many of these families needed to secure their future.

Liu Biao nodded and immediately ordered, "Order the three armies to cross the river and attack!"

(End of this chapter)