Tiger Owl

Chapter 290 Three Opportunities
"The third option is risky. The risk is that the general will face the powerful Gan Ning and may lose everything, even his life. But there are also opportunities!"

Sun Ben pondered for a long time, "I know the risks, but I'd like to hear more about the opportunities!"

There are three opportunities!

Wei Jing, with his meticulous thinking, calmly said, "First, Cao Cao arranged for you to participate in the attack on Yuzhang County, but his real purpose was to use Gan Ning to kill you. However, every danger has its opportunity. If Cao Cao wants you to attack Yuzhang County, he must give you a certain number of troops. You can make a request for 40,000 troops. Adding the current 8,000 troops, we will have 50,000 troops. We also need the money, grain, and supplies from Wanling County. The Yue people cannot take everything with them. The rest will be ours. We must ask Cao Cao for these money, grain, and supplies."

"well said!"

Sun Ben praised him repeatedly, then hesitated for a moment, "Will Cao Cao give me 40,000 troops?"

Wei Jing smiled and said, "Forty thousand troops are not many. He Qi's twenty thousand troops originally belonged to you, General. At most, we can give you another twenty thousand surrendered Jiangdong troops. They are insignificant to you. More importantly, if you don't give you enough troops, how will you attack Yuzhang County? How will Cao Cao use you as a tool to kill someone? Cao Cao will never be ambiguous about this!"

Sun Ben nodded slowly, "Therefore, we must take advantage of Cao Cao's intention to use someone else to do his dirty work in order to gain our greatest benefit!"

"Exactly!"

Sun Ben's heart swayed rapidly toward option three, and the position of Marquis of Wu that he had dreamed of lost its luster at this moment.

"What is the second opportunity?" Sun Ben asked in a deep voice.

Wei Jing smiled and said in a calm tone, "The second opportunity lies in the southern part of Yuzhang and even Luling County. Gan Ning's main force is concentrated in Chaisang. Even if there are troops stationed in Yuzhang County, they are in Nanchang County. The counties south of Nanchang County and even Luling County will inevitably be undefended. We can try to attack Nanchang County. If that doesn't work, we can immediately turn south, take the southern part of Yuzhang County and Luling County, and gain our own foothold."

"I understand. What about the third opportunity?"

"The third opportunity is Jiaozhou!"

Sun Ben's eyes lit up. "Jiaozhou!" He was as if waking from a dream, his heart filled with uncontrollable excitement, as if he saw a vast future ahead.

………….
Cao Cao began to withdraw his troops towards Hefei. As soon as the withdrawal began, Gan Ning immediately received intelligence. This time, he did not attack Cao Cao's army, but instead monitored Cao Cao's army as it retreated eastward step by step.

Inside the official residence, Gan Ning stood silently before the sand table, his gaze fixed on Jiangxia County and Lujiang County on it. The vast land resembled an empty hunting ground, alluringly awaiting him, the prey, to venture into it.

Gan Ning was well aware of the enemy's intention in retreating: to lure him to the north bank of the Yangtze River and to move the battlefield on the Yangtze River to the mainland.

Lu Su, standing beside him, said in a deep voice, "Once we head north, we will face a pincer attack from the Cao army in Nan Commandery and Hefei. Cao Cao has set a trap and is ruthless."

“I know!” Gan Ning said calmly, “Our goal for the next two years is Jiangdong, and we’ll put Jiangbei aside for now.”

Lu Su completely agreed. Their current goal was Jiangdong, and diverting too much energy to Jiangbei would be counterproductive and would affect their Jiangdong strategy.

At this moment, Xu Shu hurriedly walked in, bowed, and said, "Reporting to Lord Chu, Liu Bei has sent a special envoy, Sun Qian."

Gan Ning nodded and said to Lu Su, "Treat him well and talk to him first to see what Liu Bei's intentions are."

In the small vegetable garden behind Gan Ning Prefecture, Sun Shangxiang was watering and fertilizing three sturdy watermelon vines. Dozens of small watermelons had grown on the vines and were growing bigger day by day.

Looking at the small watermelons, Sun Shangxiang's gaze softened, and a rare smile appeared on her face.

Since learning of her brother's assassination and the collapse of the Jiangdong regime, Sun Shangxiang has become a completely different person. She has become taciturn, the smile on her face has disappeared, and she is depressed every day. She only shows a slight smile when she waters the watermelons.

"Shangxiang!" Gan Ning appeared not far away and slowly walked over. "I knew you'd be here!"

Upon seeing Gan Ning, Sun Shangxiang lowered her head somewhat shyly. "General, what brings you here?"

Gan Ning stepped forward and gently put his arm around Sun Shangxiang's shoulder. "Let's go back."

Sun Shangxiang washed her hands clean in the basin before following Gan Ning back.

In front of Gan Ning, she no longer had any reason to be proud. On the contrary, she felt more inferior and more dependent. If even Gan Ning didn't want her and kicked her out of the mansion, she would really have nowhere to go.

With her brother dead and the Jiangdong empire collapsing, she went from a high-ranking princess to a homeless wanderer in an instant. All her self-respect and pride were shattered along with the destruction of Jiangdong.

Gan Ning gently took her hand; his palm was warm and strong, giving her a great sense of security.

The two walked slowly along the garden path. "I've found out about your mother's situation."

Sun Shangxiang stopped in her tracks, looking at her nervously. Her mother was the only person she cared about and couldn't let go of.

"Your mother is currently in Ye County!"

"Ye County!"

Sun Shangxiang immediately covered her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes. Her mother had actually been taken to Ye County.

Gan Ning put his arm around her shoulder, and Sun Shangxiang leaned weakly against Gan Ning's chest, tears silently streaming down her face.

How is she now?

Gan Ning said softly, "Don't worry about her life. Although she is being monitored, she is still living a good life with generous treatment. I will find a way to bring her to Chaisang in the future."

Gan Ning's last words were like a ray of light, instantly illuminating Sun Shangxiang's already dim and desperate eyes.

She turned around and grabbed Gan Ning's arm tightly, her beautiful eyes fixed on him, filled with pleading and expectation.

"General, is it really possible to bring my mother back?"

Gan Ning nodded. "It just takes time and opportunity. If I capture Cao Cao's important subordinates, such as Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun, I can use them to exchange for your mother."

Tears welled up in Sun Shangxiang's eyes once again. She grasped Gan Ning's hand, her eyes red and blurry as she gazed at him. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Gan Ning embraced Sun Shangxiang and noticed how thin she had become these past few days, almost skin and bones. A wave of pity washed over him, and he gently stroked her hair with his chin, saying, "Back when I allied with Eastern Wu, you almost became my wife, but you refused. I was very angry, thinking that we would never have anything to do with each other again. I never expected that fate would send you to Chaisang again. I don't know what you think now, but I feel that I am still willing to open a door for you. If you don't want to enter this door, I won't force you, but I will still help you and help bring your mother back. However, this help is only out of a sense of duty and will not have any other meaning."

A huge, complex emotion welled up in Sun Shangxiang's heart: shame for having looked down on Gan Ning in the past, gratitude for his efforts to rescue her mother, but even more so, a ecstatic joy and sweetness at being favored.

She finally mustered her courage, stood on tiptoe, and gently kissed his stubble-covered chin, her eyes filled with gratitude and love. "I was ignorant when I was young, but now I understand what I should cherish. General Gan, thank you for still leaving a door open for me. I am willing! I am very willing to walk through this door."

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[Something came up at home, so I'll be taking a break for one update. Updates will be as scheduled this afternoon.]

(End of this chapter)