Tiger Owl

Chapter 21 Waiting for the rabbit
Inside the county government office, Gan Ning addressed the crowd: "We just received a report from Nanchang that Sun Ben has already dispatched troops. Taishi Ci has led 5,000 soldiers to garrison Haihun County, while Sun Ben is personally leading 6,000 to 7,000 soldiers north by water. We don't know his destination, but since he's heading north, there are only two possible targets: either Zuo Rong in Poyang County, or us!"

Gan Ning took a few steps and then said to everyone, "Although Sun Ben has promised on the surface not to attack us for the time being, he will not tolerate the presence of a thorn in Yuzhang. Our fate must be in our own hands. We cannot place our hopes on his promises. After careful consideration, I have decided to prepare for war and use the terrain advantage of Penglize to fight the enemy."

Lu Su slowly said, "My lord is right. Relying on the mercy of others will only put a noose around our own necks. One end of the noose is still in the hands of the other side. Sun Ben can strangle us at any time. We must take control of our own destiny and fight to the death against the other side. If we are unfortunately defeated, we will retreat to Jiangbei and wait for an opportunity to make a comeback."

Everyone was filled with excitement, rubbing their hands together and saying, "Please give the order, my lord!"

Gan Ning nodded and said to Wang Ping's younger brother, Wang Xiaoman, "Xiaoman, take your men to gather intelligence along the Gan River. Notify me immediately if you have any news!"

"Follow the order!"

Sixteen-year-old Wang Xiaoman bowed respectfully. He was extremely quick-witted and had previously followed his elder brother to investigate intelligence. Now, he was gradually becoming capable of handling things on his own. He was the one who discovered that Sun Ben's army had returned to Nanchang.

Gan Ning's strength lies in delegating authority to his subordinates, which is why Zhang Xi had the opportunity to stand out.

Similarly, if you want to train Wang Xiaoman to become a top-notch scout, you have to let him do important things and give him full authority.

Gan Ning then addressed the crowd, saying, "Let's seize the time to train the army, especially strengthening archery and close-quarters combat training!"

...........
That morning, as 3,500 soldiers were training intensely on the drill ground, Gan Ning approached Lu Su and said, "I'm considering whether we should take Xunyang County. That way, we'll have a third stronghold and won't suffer a complete defeat."

Lu Su pondered for a moment and said, "I have also considered this issue. Xunyang County is located in the southwesternmost part of Jiujiang Commandery and is Liu Xun's territory. If we take Xunyang Commandery, once Liu Xun finds out, he will find an excuse to attack us. However, on the other hand, Xunyang County is too remote for Liu Xun, and he may not care about it."

If he wanted to attack us, he wouldn't bother with any pretext. My concern is that Sun Ben might use Liu Xun to destroy us, so he wouldn't have to worry about Cao Cao blaming him.

"Does the gentleman believe that Sun Ben is not attacking us this time?"

Lu Su nodded. "As I said before, Sun Ben and Cao Cao have just formed a marriage alliance, so he will have to give Cao Cao face no matter what. Therefore, I think he will attack Zuo Rong first, and then turn around to attack Tongzhi in Luling. But he won't let us have an easy time either. He will definitely instigate Liu Xun to attack us. After he destroys Tongzhi, he will take back Chaisang from Liu Xun. That would be perfect."

Gan Ning slowly said, "Since that's the case, let's just take Xunyang County as our retreat. Longtou Island is nice, but the fishermen there will reveal our whereabouts."

"Your subordinate agrees!"

The two reached an agreement, and Gan Ning was about to make arrangements when Wang Xiaoman urgently sent someone back with a message.

After reading the letter, Gan Ning could no longer worry about Xunyang County and immediately summoned everyone.

"I just received a message from Xiaoman. Zuo Rong's army was defeated by Sun Ben. Zuo Rong is leading his remaining troops north in about two hundred ships. Their target is likely our Chaisang. We must meet them in battle."

Gan Ning's advantage lies in his navy, and he naturally wants to make use of that advantage.

Lu Su laughed and said, "Zuo Rong is extremely greedy and will definitely be carrying a lot of money. Even if his target is not Chaisang, we should still intercept him and take advantage of him. Our strength will increase again."

Gan Ning was overjoyed. He immediately made arrangements, with Lu Su and Zhang Xi leading 500 soldiers to guard Chaisang, while he personally led his generals and 3,000 soldiers to Pengli Marsh to deploy and ensure the complete annihilation of Zuo Rong's remaining forces.

..........
Zuo Rong's fleet had already entered Pengli Lake, but it was not possible to reach Chaisang directly from Pengli Lake, as Chaisang County was still more than ten miles away from Pengli Lake.

This is also because the area of ​​Pengli Lake has been constantly changing. When Chaisang City was built, it was close to Pengli Lake, but as time went by, Pengli Lake began to shrink, and Chaisang City became farther and farther away from the lake.

However, the Yangtze River has not changed much. Chaisang is still located close to the river. To reach Chaisang by boat, one must first enter the Yangtze River from Hukou and then travel more than 20 miles west along the Yangtze River to reach the Chaisang County Wharf.

Zuo Rong stood at the bow of the boat, hands behind his back, squinting at the vast lake in the distance. There were many small islands, and fishing boats and merchant ships shuttled back and forth everywhere. At this moment, a soldier came to report, "Reporting to the lord, some fishermen want to report Gan Ning's whereabouts."

Zuo Rong was taken aback for a moment, then immediately ordered, "Bring him up!"

Before long, an old fisherman was brought up, knelt down and bowed, saying, "This old man, Wang Feng, pays his respects to the General!"

Why did you report Gan Ning?

"Reporting to the general, Gan Ning used to be a river pirate in Ba County, committing all sorts of evil deeds. I suffered greatly because of him. Later, my family moved to Pengli Lake to become fishermen. I never expected that Gan Ning would come with us. I really can't stand him."

Zuo Rong chuckled. So it was an old grudge, a lingering problem left by the Jin Fan bandits. He understood! He understood! He then asked, "So what do you want to report about Gan Ning?"

"Reporting to the General, Gan Ning led a large fleet to Xunyang County on the north bank of the Yangtze River a few days ago. I personally witnessed their fleet unloading cargo after arriving at the shore."

Zuo Rong stroked his beard and nodded. He understood. A cunning rabbit has three burrows. It turned out that Gan Ning had another stronghold in Xunyang County.

At this moment, Gan Ning was hiding behind a small island, watching as the old fisherman was taken onto the third large ship. He sneered and boarded the third ship.

..........
Not long after the old fisherman left, dozens of warships suddenly appeared on the river, moving at incredible speed, weaving between the two hundred large ships.

These rammed warships have always been the mainstay of the navy. They are narrow and long, highly maneuverable, and very easy to engage enemy ships.

The entire ship was covered with raw cowhide, including a huge cabin on board, so no one could be seen from the outside; the soldiers hid inside the cabin.

There are eight oar holes on each side of the cabin, and sixteen soldiers row inside the cabin.

The ship's cabin had crossbow windows and spear holes on all sides, so even if the enemy jumped onto the ship, they couldn't enter the cabin, and arrows and boulders couldn't damage the warship.

"Dang! Dang! Dang!"

On the first large ship, alarm bells rang loudly, and General Chen Mu shouted, "Enemy! Fire arrows!"

The soldiers on the large ship squatted on both sides of the ship's side, drew their bows and arrows, and shot at the fast boats on the river. However, the water was very rough and the large ship was rocking violently. Unless they were professional sailors, their arrows were basically inaccurate.

The Chaisang fleet was moving too fast, and a soldier urgently said to Zuo Rong, "My lord, quickly hide in the cabin and don't let the thieves find you!"

Zuo Rong quickly ducked and slipped into the cabin.

Just then, Gan Ning's warships approached Zuo Rong's ships. Eight rowing soldiers extended their hook-and-hook guns from the rowing holes and hooked Zuo Rong's large ship, bringing the two ships close together.

Gan Ning, clad in iron armor and helmet, led his men out of the cabin. He climbed onto the ship's railing and leaped onto the enemy's large ship.

More than twenty enemy soldiers rushed forward, but Gan Ning slashed left and right, unstoppable. In just a moment, he killed eight of them, and his men also killed the remaining dozen or so soldiers outside the ship.

Gan Ning kicked open the cabin door and led his men inside.

(End of this chapter)