Tiger Owl

Chapter 28 Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao
Under the cover of night, five ships quietly approached the water gate. There was also a passageway leading up to the city wall next to the water gate, about two hundred paces from the south gate. At night, the water gate was closed, and there was no one around.

There was something fishy about the five ships. They were covered with a layer of rice, and the cabins below were empty. Each cabin contained twenty soldiers in iron armor.

A total of one hundred armored soldiers, led by Wang Ping, will work together to seize Wan County.

As the second watch of the night approached, Wang Ping heard the watchman's gong. With a gentle wave of his hand, he led twenty armored soldiers ashore, followed by the armored soldiers from the four ships behind him.

The team quickly assembled and, led by Wang Ping, went up the passageway to the city.

Because of the recent Gan Ning's ambush of Zheng Bao, the atmosphere in Wan County was still quite tense. The garrison commander, Liu Song, was Liu Xun's cousin. Liu Xun appointed him as a general and led 3,000 troops to guard Wan County. He was also responsible for guarding Yuan Shu's family and troops.

Liu Song then dispatched 1,200 men to guard the four city gates, which was equivalent to entering a state of war.

There were 300 guards at the south gate, most of them concentrated at the gate.

Fortunately, the troops guarding Wan County were not elite troops. Specifically, at night, well-trained elite troops would diligently guard the city gates, while the more fatigued troops would not be as strict with military discipline at night.

For example, at this moment, most of the more than 300 soldiers were asleep against the wall, and only a few dozen soldiers were standing on the city wall, yawning and looking sleepy.

Why attack the city walls? Because two important switches are located there. One is the drawbridge mechanism, which must be lowered from the city walls. The other is the main switch for the city gate, which is the heaviest and thickest bolt above the gate, and it must be opened from the gate.

The bolt was fixed to the city gate, but it needed to be erected in the morning and lowered in the evening, fitting perfectly into the bolt slot. All of this required an iron chain on the city wall.

"Who is it? Password!"

The sentries on the city wall spotted the approaching column of soldiers.

"Damn it, you don't even recognize me anymore?" Wang Ping shouted angrily.

The soldier was a little confused; he really didn't recognize who the other person was.

By the time he realized something was wrong, it was too late; Wang Ping's steel spear had already pierced the soldier's chest.

"Ah!" The soldier screamed and fell to the ground.

"Kill!" Wang Ping gave the order, and a hundred of his men charged forward with spears raised.

Chaos erupted on the city wall, instantly knocking down more than a dozen soldiers. The remaining sleeping soldiers were awakened, but instead of fleeing, they got up and fought back. At the same time, the piercing alarm bell rang.

"Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang!"

The alarm bells rang throughout the city, and soldiers from the east and west of the city rushed towards this location.

"Why isn't the suspension bridge down yet?" Wang Ping shouted anxiously.

"General, the winch is locked!"

Wang Ping picked up a battle sword and slashed fiercely at the iron chain. "Clang!" Sparks flew, and the battle sword was chipped.

"Sever the iron chains!"

Several soldiers rushed forward, slashing wildly with their swords. With a loud "Bang!", the iron chains flew up, and the drawbridge hung diagonally over the city wall, along with the iron chains on the other side.

Several soldiers rushed forward and hacked at the iron chains, which suddenly snapped and flew up like snakes. The suspension bridge crashed down and slammed heavily onto the opposite bank.

At this time, Gan Ning led several thousand men to the city gate and waited for it to open.

The iron bolt above the gate has been pulled up, which went smoothly, but we must go down into the city to open the bolt below the gate.

Sweat beaded on Wang Ping's forehead. The six hundred enemy soldiers on both the east and west sides had already advanced to within a hundred paces, and he knew nothing about the situation below the city.

"Brother, I'll go!"

His brother, Wang Xiaoman, shouted, "Come with me!"

He led twenty soldiers down to the city walls. As soon as they rushed down, a hail of arrows came flying at them. Dozens of enemy soldiers guarding the city gates had been waiting for them for a long time.

The armored vehicles finally proved their effectiveness, and not a single one was injured. "Kill—"

Wang Xiaoman raised his spear and charged forward, followed by his twenty men. The two sides clashed fiercely at the city gate.

Wang Xiaoman pierced his opponent's neck with a spear. "Cover me!" he shouted, and dashed into the city gate. Five of his men rushed forward and lined up in front of the gate to cover Wang Xiaoman as he opened it.

Just then, two thousand soldiers, led by Liu Song, rushed in from afar, and the city gates were finally opened.

Gan Ning spurred his warhorse and charged into the city gate. The soldiers quickly made way for him, and five thousand soldiers followed him in.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Liu Song shouted, "Retreat! Retreat from the north city!"

He led two thousand soldiers and turned tail, rushing towards the north gate of the city. The north gate had already been opened, and Liu Song fled in panic, followed by his two thousand men.

Gan Ning did not lead his troops in pursuit; he did not have much time and had to withdraw before dawn.

...........
The large courtyards where Yuan Shu's family and retainers were placed under house arrest were taken over by Gan Ning's men.

The more than 300 people who were under house arrest were all awakened and came out of their respective courtyards.

Gan Ning gathered the more than three hundred people together and said loudly to them, "I am Gan Ning of Chaisang. Those who are willing to come with me, I will take you to Chaisang and I will protect you. Those who do not wish to follow me, Gan Ning, I will not force them. Now everyone come with me to Chaisang. After this storm has passed, I will respect your choice."

Everyone hurried back to pack up, and Gan Ning found Qiao An and the Yang mother and daughter.

He spotted the two sisters at a glance. Although they appeared somewhat thin due to malnutrition, their natural beauty remained unchanged. Both girls were extremely beautiful, especially with their bright eyes and white teeth. The elder sister's eyes were deep and clear, like a pool of autumn water, while the younger sister's eyes were bright and clear, glancing left and right. Both of them were exceptionally charming and captivating.

In an instant, Gan Ning concluded that the two girls were Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao. At this moment, Gan Ning smiled a bit like a wolf. Da Qiao had only been with Sun Ce for less than half a year and had already become a widow. It was really unfortunate. He should take care of her himself.

As for Xiao Qiao, we can take our time to nurture her. A man with a broad mind can embrace the world, and of course he can also tolerate a beautiful young woman like Xiao Qiao.

"I came here specifically to rescue you. From now on, your safety is my responsibility!"

He is not gentle and refined; Gan Ning inherited many of the clan's personality traits, among which domineering is one.

Yang and Qiao An felt a chill in their hearts. This General Gan had taken a fancy to the two young ladies. They had just escaped one pit of fire, only to fall into the tiger's den.

Qiao An whispered, "Go back and discuss it with Yang Jing. If it really doesn't work, we'll think of another way to go to Jiangdong."

Ms. Yang nodded gently, her heart filled with worry.

The two girls were also timidly observing the imposing and tall young man. They had both heard that this young man was the one who attacked Yuan Shu four months ago, beheaded him, and stole the imperial seal.

At the same time, it was also a great defeat for Zheng Bao's army, with thousands of people being burned to death in Chaisang Ganning.

They were surprised to find that he was still so young. Gan Ning's youthfulness was beyond their expectations; they had all thought that Gan Ning was at least thirty or forty years old, the same age as their father.

Gan Ning possessed an imposing aura that instilled fear in the enemy and was extremely domineering in his speech, yet he evoked a different, indescribable feeling towards the two young girls.

A sense of security: Gan Ning's strength and domineering nature give people a sense of reliability, and this sense of reliability is a kind of security for women.

Gan Ning not only gave the two young girls a sense of security, but also everyone else. Apart from Yuan Shu's family, everyone else chose to follow Gan Ning.

After all, Yuan Shu's neck was severed by Gan Ning's sword. Even if they couldn't avenge their father and brother, they certainly wouldn't serve their enemy.

Of course, not being willing to serve Gan Ning did not mean they could leave freely. Yuan Shu's family had extremely high political value and could be exchanged for Cao Cao's support, so how could Gan Ning let them go?

From the moment Yuan Shu rebelled and declared himself emperor, his and his family's fate was no longer in their own hands.

As dawn approached, the soldiers looted all the supplies and food from the Wanxian warehouse, and escorted more than 700 prisoners of war away by boat to Chaisang.

Yuan Shu's family members were also escorted by soldiers and taken by boat to Chaisang.

In the cabin of the largest ship, the two sisters huddled together, gazing at Gan Ning standing at the bow. On the great river, Gan Ning stood holding a spear, looking like a god in the glow of the rising sun.

(End of this chapter)