Tiger Owl

Chapter 40 Deploying Troops on a Snowy Night
Pengze County and Chaisang County are very similar, with similar populations and areas. Pengze guards the east bank of Pengli Lake, while Chaisang guards the west bank. The two county towns stand like two guardian generals at the mountain gate, on either side of the mouth of Pengli Lake.

As December arrives, the festive atmosphere of the Lunar New Year gradually intensifies in Pengze County. Especially after a heavy snowfall, every household closes their doors and windows, sits at home warming themselves by the fire, and enjoys the leisurely time before the New Year.

The same was true in the military camp. Things were a little better when Yu Jin was there, but after Yu Jin went back to report on his duties, Chen Lan and Lei Bo only cared about their own enjoyment, and the training and management obviously became lax.

That morning, Wang Xiaoman led dozens of his men into the city by boat.

Wang Xiaoman is Wang Ping's younger brother. He is only seventeen years old this year. He is very clever. After accumulating several experiences, he gradually became bold and careful, and became the most qualified scout leader under Gan Ning.

Wang Xiaoman was just testing the waters. He wanted to see if he would be questioned by the city guards if he brought thirty men into the city. He came up with many reasons, such as buying New Year's goods and wanting to work as dock laborers.

But the result was beyond his expectations. All his preparations were unnecessary. He did not encounter any checks, there were no guards at the water gate, and he did not even see any tax collectors. They went straight into the city.

"General, it seems they've really become complacent," one of his men whispered.

Wang Xiaoman nodded slightly, "Let's take another look and see if we're just lucky or if we were really lax in our defenses!"

They found an inn near the North Gate to stay in. Wang Xiaoman rewarded the waiter with two strings of cash and asked him, "I came here to deliver goods. When I entered the city half a month ago, the checks were very strict. Why didn't I encounter any checks this time?"

The waiter said with a smile, "Last time it was when General Yu was still here, right? General Yu is very strict. Take our little shop for example! We have to report the list of guests staying at the shop every day. I heard that General Yu went back to Xuchang. Now these two generals don't care about anything. We haven't reported the list for seven days in a row, and no one has come to ask about it. I heard that the army is on holiday and it's almost Chinese New Year! It's understandable."

Wang Xiaoman went out and came to the front of a wealthy family. The family's surname was Yao, and they were the largest landowners in Pengze. Wang Xiaoman had previously received some information about this.

Lei Bo wanted to force Yao's daughter to marry him.

Wang Xiaoman received Gan Ning's visiting card and was soon invited to the inner hall.

Before long, a tall, stout middle-aged man walked in. His name was Yao Jian'an, the largest landowner in Pengze County, whose family owned tens of thousands of acres of fertile land.

Wang Xiaoman quickly stood up and bowed, "I am Wang Xiaoman, a general under General Chaisanggan. I apologize for disturbing you, Master Yao."

Yao Jian'an encountered an extremely troubling matter: Lei Bo was trying to force him to marry his youngest daughter. Lei Bo was already forty years old, a year older than him, while his daughter was only thirteen. Not to mention the huge age gap, more importantly, Lei Bo was extremely cruel and rude. He had been a bandit in Lujiang County and killed countless people. If he succeeded, his and his daughter's reputations would be completely ruined.

Moreover, Lei Bo did not love his daughter; rather, he coveted his family fortune and wanted to seize it through a marriage alliance.

Yao Jian'an was truly anxious at this moment. Just yesterday, Lei Bo sent someone to deliver the betrothal gifts, left them at the door and left, and boasted that he would come to pick up the bride in three days.

At this moment, Gan Ning suddenly sent someone, and Yao Jian'an was like a drowning man grabbing a piece of wood.

"Young General, please have a seat!"

The two took their seats as host and guest, and Wang Xiaoman handed Gan Ning's letter to Yao Jian'an. Yao Jian'an was overjoyed upon reading the letter; Gan Ning was coming to attack Pengze County.

He hurriedly asked, "When will General Gan send out his troops?"

Wang Xiaoman said calmly, "They'll arrive tonight."

Yao Jian'an breathed a slight sigh of relief. Lei Bo was going to force him to marry his daughter in three days, so now there was hope.

"What does General Gan want me to do?"

“I heard that your son is serving as a military advisor in the army. We need a detailed map of the army’s defenses, and we also need Master Yao’s help to capture the north gate of Pengze County. General Gan has agreed to appoint your son as the chief clerk of Pengcheng County afterward.” Yao Jian’an nodded and immediately said to Wang Xiaoman, “Please sit for a moment, young general. I will send someone to fetch my son right away.”

Yao Jian'an's son was named Yao En, who was a military advisor under Yu Jin. In order to win over the local gentry, Yu Jin recruited a group of gentry sons into the army as civil officials, and Yao En was one of them.

Before long, Yao En rushed over. Upon hearing that Gan Ning needed the Yao family's help, Yao En quickly pulled his father aside and whispered, "General Yu has treated me well. How can I betray him?"

"Stupid!"

Yao Jian'an cursed, "Are you just going to stand by and watch your sister be taken away by Lei Bo? Lei Bo will be coming to our door in two days. Yu Jin won't be back until after spring. By then, it will be too late. Our family property might even be seized by Lei Bo. Do you think Lei Bo will let you go? Don't be silly. General Gan is our only chance. Besides, General Gan promised to appoint you as the magistrate of Pengze County."

"Really?" Yao En's eyes lit up.

Yao Jian'an took out the letter and pointed to the end of it, saying, "Look here. After this is done, your son will be appointed as the magistrate of Pengze County. I will never go back on my word. It's written here in black and white. If he goes back on his word, how will he be able to establish himself in Yuzhang County?"

Yao En was overjoyed and immediately forgot about Yu Jin's kindness to him. He immediately drew a detailed map of the military camp for Wang Xiaoman and explained the current situation in detail.

The city's defenses and military camps are now very lax. The root cause is that Cao Cao did not keep his previous promise to enfeoff Chen Lan and Lei Bo as Marquises within the Pass, which made the two very dissatisfied. They put up a show of inaction to protest Cao Cao's breach of faith.

Wang Xiaoman's heart settled down; the opportunity was right in front of her.

...........
Like Chaisang, the military camp in Pengze County was also located outside the city, covering thousands of acres. At this time, the military camp was also covered with snow, but unlike the military camp in Chaisang, there was no trace of snow in the military camp in Chaisang.

Chaisang is actually very close to Pengze, separated only by a lake mouth about 20 li wide and a little land, making the two counties about 40 li apart.

As night fell, an army of eight thousand men landed on the east bank of the lake and marched swiftly toward the Pengze County military camp. The scout commander whispered to Gan Ning, "The enemy's armory is in the southeast corner, guarded by soldiers. It is less than a hundred paces from the camp wall, but the nearest barracks is five hundred paces away."

The military camp in Pengze County has suspended training for ten days. Winter training for the army is a very tough thing. Every day, soldiers must get up before dawn, no matter how cold the weather is. The soldiers are suffering greatly.

At 1:15 AM, roll call is taken, followed by morning exercises and running. After that, we come back for breakfast, and then begin our daily training.

The roll call must be presided over by the commander-in-chief. When Yu Jin was in Pengze, he had to take roll call every day, rain or shine. After Yu Jin left, Chen Lan and Lei Bo should take roll call.

Chen Lan and Lei Bo each took a concubine in Pengze County and stayed with her every night. They would only come to the military camp after dawn, so it was impossible for them to roll call.

But if it were just about women, Chen Lan and Lei Bo could have easily arranged for their concubines to live in the military camp, which wouldn't have affected their roll call. So women were never the problem.

The real reason was that Cao Cao promised to enfeoff the two men as Marquises within the Passes, but after they surrendered, Cao Cao selectively forgot about it.

Cao Cao's breach of trust greatly displeased the two men, so they responded by shirking their duties.

Cao Cao's army had a rule that training could be suspended on holidays or in the event of major weather disasters.

Major weather disasters refer to strong winds and heavy rain, or heavy snow in the middle of winter, but training must resume after the rain and snow stop.

Chen Lan and Lei Bo took advantage of the heavy snow in the dead of winter to enter the rest period twenty days early. The biggest feature of the rest period is that weapons are put away. Since there is no need to train, the soldiers naturally do not need to sleep with their weapons.

But for Gan Ning, the enemy's rest period presented him with an opportunity. Once he captured the armory, his 12,000 soldiers would be easy prey.

(End of this chapter)