Tiger Owl

Chapter 42 Taking advantage of the situation
A large map was set up in the office, and several generals gathered together. Lu Su pointed to the map and said, "Sun Ben's army actually has 15,000 men in Yuzhang. In addition to the 10,000 men in Nanchang County, there are 2,000 men under the command of Zhou Tai, the magistrate of Poyang County, and 3,000 men under the command of He Qi, the magistrate of Haihun County. There are also hundreds of warships in Nanchang, and countless amounts of money and grain. Once we attack Nanchang, Zhou Tai and He Qi will definitely lead their troops to reinforce it, and we will face an enemy army of 15,000 men."

Secondly, Chen Lan and Lei Bo's deliberate slacking off stemmed from their dissatisfaction with Cao Cao, which is entirely different in nature. Normal rest periods don't involve the entire army resting; at least 30% of the troops would remain on guard. If our lord believes that Nanchang County will also be completely rested during the New Year period like Pengze County, then he is gravely mistaken.

Gan Ning frowned and asked, "Does the Chief Secretary oppose my attack on Nanchang?"

"No!"

Lu Su shook his head. "Now is our best opportunity. Once Sun Ben and Lü Fan return next spring, the opportunity will be gone."

"What does the Chief Secretary mean?"

Lu Su smiled slightly and said, "What I mean is, don't attack head-on, but use strategy to take Nanchang. Don't give Haihun County and Poyang County a chance to come to the rescue. The enemy's forces are scattered, which is perfect for us to defeat them one by one."

Gan Ning slammed his hand on the table, his gaze sweeping over everyone, and said, "If Heaven grants us this opportunity and we don't seize it, we'll suffer the consequences! It's decided then and there: we'll take Nanchang County before the end of the year!"

The generals were all eager to fight. Wang Xiaoman stood up, clasped his hands, and said, "This humble officer is willing to lead the troops to lie in ambush, to cooperate with the main army from the inside and outside, and to capture Nanchang County. I humbly request the lord's approval!"

Gan Ning gladly said, "You can lead three hundred soldiers to lie in ambush. Be careful not to be discovered by the enemy. There is a Gaosheng Inn next to the north gate of Nanchang County. You can stay there. I will send someone to contact you!"

"Follow the order!"

Wang Xiaoman bowed and set off first.

Just then, a soldier ran up to report, "Zhang Xi has retreated!"

Gan Ning frowned. "Send him to see me!"

Before long, Zhang Xi entered the main hall, disheveled and looking quite disheveled.

He stepped forward, knelt down, and wept, saying, "This humble servant underestimated the enemy and lost Liling County. Please punish me, my lord!"

"Don't rush to apologize. Explain the situation to me first."

"Reporting to my lord, yesterday a young general named Xu Sheng came down from the city. He was only about seventeen or eighteen years old and his military rank didn't seem high. He only brought two hundred men to challenge the city of Liling. I took advantage of his youth and led five hundred men out to meet him. After only a few rounds, I couldn't withstand him and turned back to the city. But when I got to the city, I found that the city had already been occupied by his men. It turned out that he had used a feint to lure me out of the city."

I wanted to fight my way back, but I found that his forces had increased to four hundred men. Knowing I was no match for him, I had no choice but to lead my troops in retreat.

Gan Ning was not surprised at all; Zhang Xi was certainly no match for Xu Sheng.

How many brothers were killed or wounded?

"More than thirty people were killed or wounded, all by arrows from the city walls."

Gan Ning turned to Lu Su and asked, "This Xu Sheng, Chief Secretary, you should know him, right?"

Lu Su had served as a military advisor under Sun Ce for a year and knew Sun Ce's generals very well. He smiled slightly and said, "This man is from Langya County and is a descendant of the Xu family of Langya. When I resigned, he had just joined the army and was inexperienced. At that time, Xu Kun's cousin Xu Xiang also joined the army, and the Xu family's resources were all given to Xu Xiang."

Xu Sheng was only appointed as a garrison commander. If he had followed Sun Ce in Wu Commandery, he might have had a promising future, but since he followed Sun Ben in Yuzhang Commandery, his life would not have been easy.

"Why?" Gan Ning asked, puzzled.

Lu Su smiled and said, "Back then, the Xu family supported Sun Ce in reclaiming his father's army, but Sun Ben refused to hand it over. Xu's mother, who was also Sun Jian's sister, scolded Sun Ben severely. It is said that Xu Kun even beat Sun Ben up. From then on, the Xu family and Sun Ben had a grudge. Now that Xu Sheng has become Sun Ben's subordinate, how can his life be easy? His superior should be He Qi. He Qi has always been Sun Ben's trusted general. He Qi's order for Xu Sheng to attack Liling County is clearly a way of making things difficult for him."

Lu Su saw things very clearly. Liling County was the southern gateway to Chaisang, so Gan Ning ceded Haihun County but not Liling County. Instead, he ordered Zhang Xi to lead 500 troops to defend Liling County. Xu Sheng captured the southern gateway to Chaisang, breaking the tacit agreement. How could Gan Ning let it go?

Gan Ning walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, then turned around and smiled, "If we attack Haihun County, will the Nanchang army come to our aid?"

Lu Su stroked his beard and laughed, "What a brilliant plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain!"

That day, Gan Ning ordered that each soldier be rewarded with two strings of cash as New Year's money, and even the 12,000 soldiers from Pengze who had just surrendered received a share.

The more than 20,000 soldiers cheered. The Pengze soldiers had received the money and psychologically recognized Gan Ning as their lord. Gan Ning ordered Lu Su to immediately incorporate and train the Pengze soldiers, quickly converting them into his own army.

The following morning, Gan Ning personally led an army of 10,000 to attack Liling County, south of Mount Lu.

Liling County is a small county with a city circumference of only twelve li and a population of about one thousand households. Although the county town is not large, it is very important to Chaisang County and is known as the southern gateway to Chaisang.

After Gan Ning defeated Zhang Ying, he handed over Haihun County to Sun Ben, but did not hand over Liling County. Both sides tacitly acknowledged that Liling County was Gan Ning's territory.

Now that Xu Sheng has captured Liling County, the tacit understanding between Sun Ben and Gan Ning has been broken.

The commander, Xu Sheng, was only seventeen years old, the same age as Ding Feng, and was also a very brave young general.

Unfortunately, he was unlucky and was assigned to Sun Ben's command, becoming a victim of the escalating conflict between Sun Ben and the Xu family. Xu Sheng served in the army for a year and a half, but only managed to become a squad leader, a low-ranking officer, equivalent to a platoon leader in later times.

Xu Sheng had a very strong personality and often argued with his superiors. Sun Ben disliked him greatly and sent him to follow He Qi.

Gan Ning's surprise attack on Pengze County gave Xu Sheng an opportunity, and he suggested that He Qi launch a surprise attack on Chaisang. However, He Qi reprimanded Xu Sheng, who was dissatisfied and returned to his tent to berate He Qi for his incompetence.

Because of his careless words, He Qi ordered Xu Sheng to attack Liling County.

Xu Sheng sent 100 soldiers to ambush Zhang Xi in the county town beforehand, and then used a diversionary tactic to lure Zhang Xi out of the town for a one-on-one duel, which led to the fall of Liling County.

Although Xu Sheng easily captured Liling County, this was just the beginning of his crisis.

Around noon, Xu Sheng received a rapid report from his subordinates that Gan Ning was personally leading an army of 10,000 men to attack Liling County.

Xu Sheng was shocked. He only had five hundred men under his command. How could he possibly defend Liling County? Moreover, Liling County was not like Chaisang. The city walls were relatively small and difficult to hold. What was even more critical was that the people were all loyal to Gan Ning, and Xu Sheng could not recruit any militia soldiers.

Xu Sheng was so anxious that he paced back and forth. Just then, a cavalry force of two hundred men galloped over and reached the city. The lead cavalryman shot an arrow at the city wall, and a letter was stuck in the arrow.

A soldier found the letter and hurriedly handed it to Xu Sheng. Xu Sheng opened the letter and found that it was written to him by Gan Ning. In the letter, Gan Ning praised Xu Sheng for his bravery and skill in battle, calling him a rare talent. Gan Ning hoped that Xu Sheng would join him and promised to give him an important position so that they could work together to restore the Han Dynasty and save the people from suffering.

The letter concluded: 'If the general needs to reconsider, Gan Ning will not force him. He hopes the general will withdraw on his own initiative and avoid harming the people of Liling.'

After reading the letter, Xu Sheng was moved, but then he sighed. He was a member of the Xu family, and how could he pledge allegiance to Gan Ning without the family's consent?
Left with no other choice, he ordered his troops to open the south gate and retreat. When Gan Ning's army was still ten miles away from Liling County, Xu Sheng led five hundred men to abandon Liling County and retreat towards Haihun County.

(End of this chapter)