Tiger Owl

Chapter 298 Heading South to Prepare for War
Lü Fan did not become the wine shop's accountant, but the intelligence station chief was inspired and spent 300 strings of cash to buy Lü Fan a title as a county official, and he changed his name to Liu Zheng.

One of the key advantages here is that no one in Xuchang knows Lü Fan. The portrait on the wanted poster is blurry in terms of eyebrows and facial features, but the most distinctive feature is his neatly trimmed, foot-long beard.

The long beard had always been Lü Fan's trademark, but when Lü Fan shaved off his long beard and his skin turned dark, he became a completely different person. Even the guards of the Imperial Guard who had once monitored him could not recognize him.

Although Lü Fan could disguise himself and leave directly, the journey from Xuchang to Chaisang involved passing through a large area of ​​Cao Cao's territory, with numerous checkpoints. Without a legitimate identity, it was indeed quite dangerous, and he could easily be suspected and detained if he wasn't careful.

By using a legitimate official identity as a cover, one can pass through any checkpoints encountered along the way without any problems.

Ten days later, Lü Fan, an official in charge of clerks in Xuchang County, who was using the alias Liu Zheng, calmly passed through one checkpoint after another with several of his yamen runners.

Finally, he boarded the passenger ship that the intelligence station had prepared in advance. He was returning to his hometown to visit his father because he was seriously ill. Lü Fan bid farewell to the few yamen runners who had seen him off, and the passenger ship set sail south.

...........
As the weather gradually turned colder, a light snow fell in mid-November, marking the first snowfall of winter in Chaisang City.

In the past few days, another piece of good news came from Gan Ning's family: Xu Wei is pregnant. This news kept everyone in Gan Ning's household busy.

However, at this time, some subtle changes occurred in the situation in the south. Xiahou Yuan led an army of 150,000 to Shexian. Xiahou Yuan's move was like a stone thrown into a still lake, not only causing ripples on the surface but also causing some unknown changes underwater. Gan Ning decided to go to Nanchang in person to meet the impending storm.

Inside the inner courtyard, Da Qiao was packing her husband's luggage, as he would be setting off for Nanchang County the next day.

"Husband, how long will you be gone this time?" Da Qiao asked softly.

"About a month! Maybe a little faster."

Gan Ning was going to personally command the battle this time, and he wasn't sure about the timing. However, with the strategist Pang Tong there, he could return ahead of time, since Chaisang couldn't do without him.

"How about letting Ayu go with you? She can take care of you, and I'll feel more at ease."

Gan Ning thought about it and agreed; he did need someone to take care of him.

"I'm sorry to trouble you to take good care of Yunqing."

"Don't worry! I'll take good care of her, and Shangxiang will help me too, so you don't need to worry."

Thinking of Sun Shangxiang, Gan Ning nodded, "I will try my best to get back before the end of the year."

The next morning, Gan Ning took Xiao Qiao aboard his private ship with a value of 40,000 shi (a unit of weight), which was accompanied by 500 large warships and 15,000 soldiers—Wang Ping's army.

The grain and supplies had already been transported to Nanchang. Now Gan Ning is adding reinforcements, bringing the total strength in Nanchang to 100,000, in order to deal with the two-pronged attack by Xiahou Yuan and Sun Ben.

The ship rocked slightly, and then set sail, heading steadily towards the mouth of the Pengli Lake, dozens of miles away, with large warships providing close escort both in front and behind.

Gan Ning's 40,000-shi ship was a multi-story vessel with four decks on each side. The warehouses, boatmen's quarters, cabins, kitchen, stables, etc. were all below deck, while the upper four decks were the council cabins, staff cabins, baggage cabins, guard cabins, etc.

Gan Ning and Xiao Qiao lived on the third floor. In addition to the two of them, there were three personal maids and two personal female guards on this floor.

The large ship sailed quietly on the river. Gan Ning stood in front of the sand table, quietly looking at the two east-west passages in the southern part of Yuzhang County, considering the possible flaws in the pre-planned countermeasures.

At this moment, Xiao Qiao walked in carrying a cup of tea. Over the past two years, as she has grown older, she has gradually matured and become more sensible. Her former carefree and willful personality is no longer visible, but her enthusiastic and outgoing nature remains unchanged. Moreover, her occasional mischievousness makes her even more endearing.

"This is the lotus root starch paste I just developed, my husband, please try it!"

Xiao Qiao's greatest hobby is researching and making all kinds of delicacies. She always gets inspiration from her husband and then tries again and again. She has set aside a room in her courtyard called the Gourmet Workshop, which is filled with all kinds of utensils, including five different types of grinders. She also has two strong and robust maids who are responsible for her rough processing.

Gan Ning taught her how to make lotus root starch. She washes and dries fresh lotus roots, grinds them into a fine powder, and then mixes it with boiling water to form a gel-like consistency. Adding various seasonings creates a variety of flavors. These days, Xiao Qiao has been researching lotus root starch with great enthusiasm.

Gan Ning took the small jade bowl, scooped some out with a small spoon and tasted it. Xiao Qiao blinked her big eyes and looked at her husband expectantly.

"It's not bad, very delicate and delicious, but it's a little lacking in sweetness."

"It's still not sweet enough!"

Sweetness is a recurring problem for Xiao Qiao when it comes to cooking. Xiao Qiao looked troubled and said, "I've tried maltose and honey, my husband, is there a better way?"

"Of course!"

Gan Ning put his arm around her and laughed, "Aren't all kinds of fruits very sweet? You can juice them and add them to your food."

Xiao Qiao's eyes lit up, unable to hide her surprise, "That's a good idea!"

Seeing that her husband seemed hesitant to speak, she understood and immediately grabbed his hand, saying sweetly, "My dear husband, there must be a better way! Tell me quickly!"

Gan Ning smiled and nodded, "There is indeed a better way. I'll teach you how to make sugar when we get back."

Gan Ning was referring to sugarcane boiling. Jiaozhou was rich in sugarcane, which had long been a tribute to the imperial palace and a delicacy at the banquets of the powerful and wealthy. However, sugar boiling had not yet appeared. It was not until the early Tang Dynasty, after Wang Xuance conquered India, that he brought back the sugar boiling method from India, and sugarcane gradually replaced maltose and honey.

A few days later, the fleet arrived in Nanchang, where the strategist Pang Tong, along with generals Zhao Yun, Taishi Ci, Ding Feng, and others who had arrived earlier, came to the dock to greet them.

Gan Ning did not rest. After settling Xiao Qiao in their villa, he immediately summoned the generals in the military camp for a meeting.

"What's the latest intelligence?" Gan Ning asked.

Pang Tong pointed to Shexian on the sand table with a wooden pole and said, "Thousands of civilian ships, fully loaded with grain and supplies, have arrived in Shexian. We keep spotting Cao Cao's scouts, who should have been sent by Xiahou Yuan."

Has Xiahou Yuan already dispatched troops?

"Not yet. They seem to be waiting for something. I suspect it's news from Sun Ben."

"What about Sun Ben?" Gan Ning asked again.

"There's been no movement from Sun Ben's side yet. As before, Sun Quan is still observing Xiahou Yuan."

Gan Ning pondered for a moment and asked, "Why did Xiahou Yuan suddenly move into Shexian? According to their tacit understanding, shouldn't Sun Ben have acted first?"

Pang Tong shook his head. "This humble servant doesn't know either, but there must be something behind this that we don't know about."

Gan Ning walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, then asked, "How do Yu County and Damu County communicate? Is there any carrier pigeon communication?"

"no!"

Pang Tong shook his head. "They haven't had time to establish carrier pigeon communication yet; for now, they're still using messengers to deliver messages."

After pondering for a long time, Gan Ning finally made up his mind and said, "Xiahou Yuan has already sent out troops. Cao Cao will not allow Sun Ben to remain inactive. He may suddenly send out troops. We cannot wait any longer. We must act immediately according to the original plan!"

(End of this chapter)