With Cao Cao by my side, what do I have to fear from the world?

Chapter 244, Cai Mao was switched.

That very night, Gan Ning received a letter from Zhuge Liang. Gan Ning was initially taken aback, as he was completely unfamiliar with the name Zhuge Liang.

However, Zhuge Liang explained in the letter: Originally, this letter was meant for His Majesty, but the journey to and from Xuchang was time-sensitive. General Gan and Minister Chen must be careful, as Liu Biao might secretly use a substitute to deliberately spare Cai Mao's life. You must send people to keep a close watch on the people coming and going from the Cai family in the next few days.

"What? That old Liu Biao has some nerve! Does he really dare to do this?"

After reading the letter, Gan Ning flew into a rage and couldn't help but start cursing.

Chen Gong took the letter and quickly read it through. He stroked his beard and pondered for a while before saying, "Although I have never heard of Zhuge Liang, since His Majesty admires him so much, this man must have extraordinary abilities. I also have this concern: Liu Biao has promised to execute Cai Mao on the surface, but he might secretly use some underhanded methods."

"It's better to be safe than sorry. We must send people to keep a close eye on things and see if Liu Biao is secretly up to something."

Liu Biao had already made up his mind, and in order to transfer Gan Ning away as soon as possible, he was willing to go all out and execute Cai Mao.

However, even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman. When Lady Cai threatened to kill herself, Liu Biao's heart softened again.

That night, Liu Biao and Lady Cai went to the prison together.

Cai Mao's body had not fully recovered. Although the prison was filled with dry straw and he was in a private cell, he was not comfortable at all.

Upon seeing the two, Cai Mao struggled to his feet, glaring angrily at Liu Biao with eyes full of murderous resentment.

"My lord, I did not assassinate Gan Ning. You cannot frame me out of thin air. I have said this more than a hundred times. I did not do it!"

Liu Biao shook his head in disappointment. "At this point, De Gui, what's the use of still trying to argue? Can you produce any evidence to prove your innocence?"

Cai Mao roared, "Anyway, I didn't do it."

Madam Cai glared at him and said reproachfully, "This is not the time to talk about these things. You must leave Xiangyang immediately. This matter has even alarmed the emperor. No one can protect you."

Upon hearing that the emperor intended to execute him, Cai Mao immediately lost his composure and stopped arguing about whether he had actually attempted to assassinate Gan Ning.

The three conspired and decided to find someone with a similar build to Cai Mao to replace him. That very night, they secretly released Cai Mao and swiftly executed the substitute.

In any case, the emperor did not require Liu Biao to publicly behead Cai Mao in the street, and Liu Biao did not believe that anyone would examine the body.

After all, he was the governor of Jingzhou, and no one would inspect him casually.

Anyone who investigates is essentially questioning Liu Biao and offending his supreme authority as the Governor of Jingzhou.

Cai Mao secretly returned to the Cai family and hid there temporarily, waiting for the storm to pass before sneaking out of the city.

When Gan Ning learned that Cai Mao had returned to the Cai family, he immediately thought of leading his men to surround the Cai family, but Chen Gong stopped him.

Chen Gong advised, "Xingba, we must not act rashly. We only have a thousand men in the city. If we surround the Cai family tonight, wouldn't that be tantamount to breaking with Liu Biao directly? Have you thought about the consequences if we force Liu Biao to rebel?"

Although Chen Gong was straightforward and intolerant of injustice, he was, after all, a strategist and could not simply launch a direct attack like Gan Ning.

Gan Ning scoffed dismissively, "It's better if you push me too far. Who's afraid of who? Don't underestimate me just because I only have a thousand men. If it really comes down to a fight, I can still make Liu Biao regret being my enemy."

Chen Gong shook his head. "It's best to avoid fighting if possible. His Majesty's next focus is on Qingzhou. It's not the time to declare war on Liu Biao yet. His Majesty is far-sighted. Let's consider this carefully. Besides, how do we explain the fact that we didn't find Cai Mao at the Cai family's residence? The Cai family is so large and powerful, hiding someone shouldn't be too difficult."

Gan Ning said indignantly, "Then let's find the body and examine it on the spot to see if it's Cai Mao who died. Wouldn't that make it clear at a glance?"

Chen Gong shook his head again, "There's no need for that. Doing so would only lead to a falling out with Liu Biao."

Gan Ning was somewhat confused. "If this won't work and that won't work, then what do you suggest we do? We can't just let it go like this, can we?"

Chen Gong laughed, “Why don’t we play along? Liu Biao says he executed Cai Mao, so we’ll believe him and spread the word, praising him for putting righteousness above family ties and personally killing Cai Mao. But we’ll keep a close eye on the Cai family. I don’t believe Cai Mao can just hide and not come out. If everyone in Xiangyang knows Cai Mao has been executed, will he still be able to stay in Xiangyang?”

Gan Ning slapped his thigh, suddenly realizing, "I understand now. The Cai family will secretly send Cai Mao away. When that happens, we just need to follow the clues and send someone to keep an eye on him."

Chen Gong smiled and nodded, "I really want to see what kind of expression Liu Biao will have when he sees Cai Mao."

Gan Ning laughed a few times, "Haha, I'm looking forward to it too!"

And so, Liu Biao executed Cai Mao in the prison.

He then announced to the public that killing Cai Mao was for the public good, and that the law would not tolerate any leniency.

However, considering that Cai Mao had followed him for many years and made many military achievements, Liu Biao decided to grant Cai Mao a complete burial and allow him to be buried.

As Liu Biao had hoped, neither Gan Ning nor Chen Gong sent anyone to examine the body. King Chen even praised Liu Biao to his face before leaving.

Meanwhile, Gan Ning began to busy himself with the handover process, preparing to take up his post in Changsha after the New Year.

After another ten days or so, the Cai family saw that the turmoil had temporarily passed, so they sent a group of people pretending to go out of the city to worship their ancestors, and secretly took Cai Mao out with them in the crowd.

The Cai family's ancestral hall was located outside the city. Around noon, Cai Mao quietly separated from his relatives and clansmen.

On the way, Cai Mao changed his clothes, wearing a bamboo hat and black clothes, and tried to mess up his hair to hide his true appearance.

Two people were responsible for tracking them. One returned to the city to deliver a message to Gan Ning, while the other continued to follow, secretly leaving marks along the way.

Gan Ning led a dozen men out of the city on horseback, pretending to be going hunting. Each of them carried a quiver of arrows, so naturally no one suspected anything.

After leaving the city, the group released the reins and chased after Cai Mao in the direction he had gone.

Gradually, Xiangyang City disappeared from sight, and Cai Mao breathed a sigh of relief. Although his family had prepared a lot of travel expenses for him, so that he would not go hungry no matter where he went, Cai Mao became angrier the more he thought about it.

"Damn it, Gan Ning, don't let me run into you again, or I'll definitely kill you!" Cai Mao cursed viciously.

The attendant beside him kindly reminded him, "Master, we should hurry on our way and not make a fuss. This area is still under the jurisdiction of Xiangyang."

Cai Mao scoffed, "What? Does Gan Ning have extraordinary abilities? How could he possibly find his way here? Don't worry, he'd never dream that I'm still alive."

Cai Mao thought the matter was over, while Gan Ning and Chen Gong were still in the dark.

Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves came from behind, getting closer and closer, like the beating of war drums, and soon became dense and intense.

Thump, thump, thump. In the blink of an eye, a cavalry unit appeared in Cai Mao's sight.

As they drew closer, Cai Mao could hear the crisp sound of copper bells ringing back and forth. Hearing the sound of horses' hooves was nothing unusual, but the sound of the copper bells was all too familiar to Cai Mao.

Sure enough, the leader of the cavalry was a man of imposing stature, with a face that was all too familiar to him—it was Gan Ning.

"Run! Gan Ning is coming!" Cai Mao shouted in alarm and took off running.

The others also started running wildly. Gan Ning took out his bow and arrows, spurred his horse to chase closely behind, and fired arrows as he went.

Gan Ning was very excited and shot an arrow. One of Cai Mao's close followers was unable to dodge in time and was hit in the back. With a thud, he fell straight to the ground.

The other Jinfan Battalion members also shouted and fired arrows. The deadly arrows flew out with a whistling sound. Some missed, while others hit their targets. Cai Mao only had a few close followers with him, and in just a short while, they were all shot to death.

Cai Mao watched helplessly as the others fell one after another into pools of blood. Terrified, he used all his strength to run for his life.

However, two legs can't outrun four legs, and Gan Ning quickly caught up with him. Gan Ning picked up an arrow, aimed it, and then put it down. "Killing you like this would be too easy on you. Let's hand you over to Liu Biao."

Gan Ning caught up with Cai Mao, spurred his horse, and brandished his sword, engaging Cai Mao in battle. Cai Mao was no match for him; after only a dozen or so rounds, Gan Ning cleaved him in the left shoulder with a single blow, and his weapon flew out of his hand.

Gan Ning waved his hand, and several soldiers came over, leaped off their horses, and subdued Cai Mao.

Gan Ning had someone tie Cai Mao to the back of his warhorse with a rope, then waved his hand and said, "Brothers, let's go back to the city."

The crowd roared with excitement and turned back to the city, much to Cai Mao's dismay.

Gan Ning increased his speed, so his legs had to run faster, otherwise he would be dragged on the ground and have a long, intimate encounter with the rugged earth.

Gan Ning would occasionally turn around to admire the scene. Cai Mao stumbled and fell several times, each time scraping his skin raw.

The Cai family's ancestral worship procession had barely entered the city when Gan Ning also entered.

Upon entering the city, he was quickly surrounded by the people, all of whom were curious as to how Cai Mao, who had been executed, had miraculously come back to life.

Gan Ning did not go to see Liu Biao first, but slowed down on the street so that the people in the city could have a good look at him.

Upon hearing this, Kuai Yue and Pang Ji also rushed over.

Gan Ning said to the onlookers, "I'm not very clear about this matter either, just like everyone else. I went out of the city to hunt some wild game to have some meat, but unexpectedly, someone told me on the way that they saw someone who looked a lot like Cai Mao. So I took some people to check it out, but when they saw me, they ran away. I never expected that it was really Cai Mao himself."

Gan Ning was very clever; he couldn't tell everyone that he had gone out of the city to chase Cai Mao, otherwise people would become suspicious.

He suspected that he already knew Cai Mao was not dead.

Gan Ning feigned an expression as if he had only just learned that Cai Mao was alive, which puzzled everyone, who all looked at Cai Mao in surprise.

Kuai Yue's heart skipped a beat, and he thought: It's over, it's completely over now.

Pang Ji also spotted Kuai Yue in the crowd and walked over with a worried expression. "Yidu, you're here too. What do you think about this?"

Kuai Yue gave a bitter smile. "How else can we tell? Someone must have secretly switched Cai Mao."

The common people weren't stupid, and soon someone shouted, "It must have been the Cai family who did it. They switched the people, killing the fake Cai Mao and letting the real Cai Mao live."

Gan Ning, riding his horse, watched as more and more people gathered, until the horse's hooves could barely move. Gan Ning wasn't in a hurry, since he wasn't in a rush to leave anyway.

With so many people watching, Gan Ning wanted to see what Liu Biao would do next.

Liu Biao was talking to Lady Cai, who had just breathed a sigh of relief when the Cai family sent someone to tell him that Cai Mao had successfully left the city.

However, their good mood was suddenly interrupted by someone who ran over.

"My lord, something terrible has happened! Gan Ning has captured Cai Mao, and there are many people gathered in the streets talking about it."

"Ouch—" Madam Cai suddenly cried out, her eyelids rolled back, and she immediately fainted.

Liu Biao was completely dumbfounded, muttering to himself, "How could this be? How could this be?"

What you fear most is exactly what happens.

Liu Biao remained motionless, too lazy to even pay attention to the unconscious Lady Cai; he was completely bewildered.

The thought of Cai Mao being surrounded by the people immediately made Liu Biao realize that he must not let anyone suspect that he was involved in the switch.

Liu Biao quickly made up his mind to make people believe that the Cai family was behind the whole thing and that he was unaware of it.

Otherwise, Liu Biao would be in trouble, as this is a serious crime of deceiving the emperor.

After thinking it through, Liu Biao immediately ordered, "Send the lady back to her room right away. Without my order, she is not allowed to leave the room even a step."

"But Madam has already fainted?" a maid asked, mustering her courage.

"Ignore her and quickly send her back to her room."

Although the maid didn't understand why her mistress had suddenly become so frightening, she still followed the instructions and arranged for Madam Cai to be sent back to her room.

Liu Biao then summoned Wang Wei and instructed him, "Quickly take men and surround the Cai family. Remember, do not let a single person escape."

Wang Wei nodded, then asked, "What if someone resists?"

Liu Biao, abandoning his usual gentle demeanor, coldly declared, "If anyone resists, kill them without mercy!"

Afterwards, Liu Biao, accompanied by his eldest son Liu Qi, went to the street to meet Gan Ning.

At this time, Liu Biao could not remain hidden in the background; he had to step forward.

"The governor is here! The governor is here!"

Upon seeing Liu Biao, the people shouted and spontaneously made way for him to come forward.

(End of this chapter)