Tiger Owl

Chapter 84 Where There's a Will, There's a Way

Taimo County was located in the western mountainous area of ​​Kuaiji Commandery, roughly in the area of ​​Quzhou, Zhejiang Province today. During the Three Kingdoms period, it was an extremely remote small county with barren land and impoverished people, most of whom were Yue people from the mountains.

In a picturesque spot outside the city, Taishi Ci knelt before a small grave, his eyes filled with despair and grief.

Only three months after taking office in Taimo County, his youngest son, Taishi Lai, unfortunately fell ill and died, a heavy blow to Taishi Ci.

He placed a bunch of wildflowers on the grave and whispered, "Your father was incompetent and failed to take good care of you. Please forgive your father!"

Tears welled up in Taishi Ci's eyes, and he suddenly covered his face and burst into tears...

It wasn't until dusk that Taishi Ci dragged his heavy steps home. There was basically nothing going on in the small county. As the county magistrate, his job was to maintain order and mediate disputes. These were nothing more than villagers arguing over territory when selling vegetables, or neighbors fighting over the height of a wall. There were very few scoundrels or local ruffians. The place was too poor for them to stay.

As soon as he got home, his wife, Wang, came up to him and said, "Husband, Mr. Qiao is here again, and he's with a young man."

Mr. Qiao is Qiao An. He is now serving as a military advisor in the staff office, in charge of foreign affairs. He came to invite Taishi Ci on Gan Ning's orders, but Taishi Ci politely declined. This is his second visit.

Taishi Ci nodded and went to the guest hall. Although Taishi Ci's residence was an official residence, it was a very old wooden house with many rats and cockroaches. Snakes often appeared there, and it was very damp. His eldest son often had leg pain, and his youngest son also fell seriously ill here and died a month later.

Qiao An stood up, clasped his hands in a fist and smiled, "I'm sorry to bother General Taishi again!"

Taishi Ci was stunned. The young man standing behind Qiao An was none other than Gan Ning, who was smiling at him.

Taishi Ci felt a lump in his throat. Gan Ning had actually come in person. He quickly stepped forward and bowed, "This humble servant greets General Gan!"

Madam Wang happened to bring in tea and was also taken aback. She asked softly, "Husband, who is this?"

Taishi Ci sighed, "He is General Gan, the prefect of the three prefectures, whom I told my wife about."

Madam Wang was startled and quickly apologized, saying, "Ah! I was unaware and have slighted the general."

Gan Ning waved his hand and said, "Sister-in-law, there's no need to blame yourself. It was Gan Ning who was presumptuous to come."

Taishi Ci quickly invited Gan Ning to sit down. Gan Ning took out two boxes containing top-quality writing implements and said apologetically, "These were originally small gifts I brought for my two nephews, but I just learned about my younger nephew's situation. Please accept my condolences, Brother Taishi!"

Taishi Ci nodded. "Life is unpredictable. Although I have lost my beloved son, I can only bear it in the end. General Gan, are you trying to persuade me to go to Yuzhang County?"

Gan Ning said sincerely, "Gan Ning aspires to rule the world and needs the assistance of capable generals. General Taishi is a mighty general who should lead a large army across the land. How can he be confined by a small county? I humbly request General Taishi's assistance."

At this moment, Wang choked up at the door and said, "Husband, please say yes! We have already lost Lai'er, we cannot lose Heng'er too."

Her eldest son always complained of leg pain, and medicine was ineffective, which broke Wang's heart. The conditions here were too poor, and she was afraid of losing her eldest son again.

Taishi Ci had previously declined Qiao An's offer out of gratitude for Sun Ce's recognition and kindness, but the death of his youngest son completely changed Taishi Ci's mindset. He felt that he had done everything he could and owed no one anything.

Taishi Ci stood up, knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I have no way to repay the general's sincerity. I am willing to serve the general like a dog or a horse!"

Gan Ning was overjoyed; his trip had not been in vain, and he had finally managed to invite Taishi Ci.

Gan Ning helped Taishi Ci up and said, "When Brother Taishi came to Chaisang to persuade me back then, I knew we were kindred spirits. With Brother Taishi's assistance, how could Gan Ning not succeed in his great undertaking?"

Taishi Ci nodded and said, "There's one more thing. I want to move my youngest son's coffin to Nanchang!"

"Of course, I'll have Military Advisor Qiao handle this matter."

Qiao An quickly replied, "General Taishi, rest assured, I will bring your son back to Nanchang safely."

The next day, Taishi Ci wrote a letter of resignation and handed it, along with the county magistrate's seal, to the county head, asking him to pass it on to Lord Wu. He packed his bags and, with his wife and children, set off with Gan Ning. Taishi Ci entrusted the relocation of his youngest son's coffin to Qiao An. Qiao An then spent a large sum of money to hire Taoist priests to move the grave. After seven days of rituals, Qiao An and a dozen Taoist priests escorted the coffin on their journey.

It's not far from Taimo County to Nanchang. There's no need to take a boat on the Yangtze River. Just travel west along the official road by land. After two days, you'll enter the territory of Yuzhang Prefecture. A few more days and you'll arrive at Nanchang County.

Gan Ning then appointed Taishi Ci as the Fifth Army Colonel, commanding 15,000 troops stationed in Xunyang County, and granted Taishi Ci a thousand troops. These were Taishi Ci's own troops, and wherever Taishi Ci was transferred, these thousand troops would follow. This was the first time Taishi Ci had his own troops since he raised an army in Donglai County.

Of course, captains had a retinue of a thousand men, lieutenants had a retinue of three hundred men, and those below lieutenant level had none.

Gan Ning's forces have now increased to 65,000 men, divided into five armies. The Second Army, commanded by Colonel Ding Feng, consists of 15,000 men and is stationed in Wuchang County.

The Third Army Commander was Xu Sheng, who led 15,000 men stationed in Pengze County.

The Fourth Army was smaller, with only 5,000 men, and was commanded by Colonel Shen Mi, stationed in Luling County.

The Fifth Army Commander was Taishi Ci, while the First Army Commander was Wang Ping, who commanded 10,000 troops stationed in Nanchang County.

The 60,000 troops under the command of the Five Military Commanders were all directly loyal to Gan Ning and were mobilized by Gan Ning's orders and tiger tally.

Although the 60,000-strong army was loyal to Gan Ning, legally it was not Gan Ning's private army, but rather the army of the Yuzhang Commandery regime.

Therefore, Gan Ning also had his own retinue of five thousand men, led by Zhang Xi and Wang Xiaoman.

That morning, Wang Xiaoman returned to report his orders, and he also brought the latest news from Jiangdong.

After completing her mission in Xuchang, Wang Xiaoman did not return directly to Chaisang. Instead, she disguised herself as a merchant and stayed in Wu County for a period of time to inquire about news from Jiangdong.

"Let's talk about Xuchang first!" Gan Ning said with a smile.

"Reporting to my lord, assassinating Sun Yi is not difficult. Cao Cao did not send anyone to monitor Sun Yi, and Sun Yi himself is very high-profile, going out every day and making public appearances. However, to ensure that he is killed without leaving any trace and without leaving any clues for the other party, it will take some effort."

The main thing is to observe and understand his habits and details. For example, when he invites guests to a banquet, the best opportunity is when he sees them off. When he has drunk too much, his reaction time is impaired, and his personal guards cannot get too close to him; they must maintain a certain distance.

We chose the day when Xuchang was celebrating the victory at the Battle of Guandu. The restaurants were packed with guests. When Sun Yi was seeing off his guests, there were many people at the door, making it impossible to guard against them. That was our opportunity. We struck decisively, shooting a poisoned arrow through his head.

"Weren't you discovered during your retreat?"

"Reporting to my lord, we were very careful and considered everything thoroughly. All our men can speak the Jiangdong Wu dialect, so even if someone overhears us, it will be the Jiangdong accent. I believe no one would suspect that we were the ones who did it."

Gan Ning nodded. "What about the situation in Wu County?"

Wang Xiaoman laughed and said, "The situation in Wu County is very interesting. Sun Quan actually suppressed the news of Sun Yi's assassination. Only a very few insiders know about it. Old Madam Wu should know. I heard that she fell ill and never recovered. High officials like Zhang Zhao may know."

"What about the Xu family?"

"I heard that Miss Xu ran away from her arranged marriage and went to Kuaiji County. She probably doesn't know that Sun Yi was assassinated. Then there's another granddaughter of the Xu family who is going to marry Sun Quan. Apparently, she's still a widow. Everyone in Wu County is talking about this."

At this point, Wang Xiaoman added, "I heard that Jiangdong is going to move its capital to Dantu County. Dantu has already started to expand the city, so it must be true. Everyone in the city knows about it."

"Any news from Sun Ben's side?"

Wang Xiaoman shook her head, "All I know is that Sun Ben has been keeping a low profile lately, and I spend most of my time in Jiujiang County, rarely interacting with Wu County, and no one has mentioned him."

Gan Ning suddenly remembered something and asked, "I asked you to inquire about Zhao Yun. Do you have any information about him?"

(End of this chapter)