Tiger Owl

Chapter 31 An unexpected event
Gan Ning stood on the sampan, gazing at the massive fleet anchored on the north bank in the distance. It was already October, and a northwest wind was blowing across the river. Liu Xun's fleet was sailing against the wind and current, making navigation difficult. They would need to dock and rest at night.

Gan Ning suddenly realized there was a paradox here. If Cao Cao wanted to help him, he could have just had Liu Xun's generals surrender to him. Why did he need to arrest Liu Xun himself?

Similarly, if he captured Liu Xun, wouldn't Liu Xun simply order his entire army to surrender? There would be no need for Cao Cao to lend him a hand, so why would Cao Cao go to all that trouble?
Gan Ning felt uneasy. He had a vague feeling that Cao Cao was not so kind, and there was probably something else going on.

Just then, the lanterns of the opposing fleet suddenly lit up, and Wang Xiaoman immediately spotted the target. He pointed and shouted, "My lord, there it is! That ship is it!"

Gan Ning quickly pulled himself out of his thoughts and looked closely. The large ship, which cost at least five thousand shi, had eight lit lanterns hanging on it.

This is the second ship in the entire fleet.

"Let's move closer to it!"

Gan Ning, as expected of someone who came from a pirate background, was extremely experienced. Of course, the Gan Ning of later generations also inherited the experience of his lineage.

The best way to launch a nighttime raid on a large ship is by using a sampan. Sampans are thin and won't be detected by the large ship on the water. Everyone can hide underwater, holding onto the sampan with one hand, and quickly move towards the large ship.

In just a moment, seven or eight sampans were close to the large ship. An iron hook was thrown up and accurately hooked the stern of the ship. Wang Xiaoman, who was small and agile, climbed up the rope like a monkey.

A moment later, he threw down a rope ladder. Gan Ning secured the other end of the ladder to a sampan, and he and his men climbed up the ladder one by one to quickly board the large ship.

"Who are they?" They were spotted by patrolling soldiers.

Gan Ning acted immediately, drawing his steel whip and charging forward. With one lash, he shattered the skull of the leading squad leader. The squad leader collapsed without even a scream. His men joined in, and the ten patrolling soldiers were quickly dealt with and thrown into the river.

Gan Ning kicked open the cabin door and rushed in, his men following closely behind. Screams filled the cabin, and within moments, dozens of guards were all killed, with no survivors.

Gan Ning kicked open the inner cabin door again, rushed in with a torch in hand, and Liu Xun inside the cabin turned pale with fright, his whole body trembling as he held his sword.

Two bodyguards roared and charged forward with their swords. Gan Ning was faster, and with a 'crack! crack!' he smashed their skulls like eggshells, killing them instantly.

One of his men whispered to Gan Ning, "My lord, that is Liu Xun!"

Gan Ning nodded, pointed at Liu Xun and said, "Put down your sword, and I won't kill you!"

Liu Xun leaned weakly against the ship's wall, his sword falling to the ground as he asked in a trembling voice, "Are you Gan Ning?"

"Exactly!"

"Who told you I was here? Who was it?"

Liu Xun's eyes blazed with fury; his face, no longer pale, was flushed red with rage at the betrayal.

Gan Ning waved his hand lightly, and several soldiers stepped forward, took his sword, pressed him face down on the ground, and tied his hands and feet behind his back.

Gan Ning stepped forward and squatted down in front of him, saying, "What is the signal for the entire army to surrender? Tell me, and I will let you go!"

Liu Xun bit his lip and remained silent. Gan Ning pulled a dagger from his boot, weighed it in his hand, and suddenly swung it. Liu Xun's left ear disappeared, and blood gushed from his cheek. Liu Xun screamed in pain.

"Ah-ah!"

Gan Ning said coldly, "I'll ask you one more time, what was the signal for the flagship to surrender to Chaisang? If you don't answer, I'll cut off your right ear!"

"At dawn, extinguish seven lamps!" Liu Xun cried out in pain.

Gan Ning stood up and ordered, "Stop the bleeding and bandage him!"

He turned and left...

Finally, at dawn, Gan Ning ordered the lights to be extinguished.

Seven lights on the large ship were turned off, leaving only one light on. The ship behind it was the flagship, which would carry out orders from the lord ship.

The flagship used flag signals, which could only be raised after dawn. The surrender signal was a white flag; raising three white flags meant the entire army had surrendered. Gan Ning felt something was amiss. Logically, the flagship should have sent someone to confirm; how could they surrender so easily?
'Perhaps the flagship has already been taken over by Cao Cao's men.' This was the only way Gan Ning could console himself.

As dawn broke, the fleet set sail again. After sailing for about another hundred miles, around noon, the flagship suddenly raised three yellow flags. The three yellow flags meant that the destination had been reached and preparations were made to dock.

Gan Ning stared for a moment, and he was stunned. It was still forty li away from Chaisang, in the territory of Pengze County. What did it mean to dock immediately?
The flagship turned around immediately, raised its sails, and sailed towards the south bank with the help of the north wind. One after another, the warships behind it raised their sails.

Gan Ning turned around and rushed into the cabin, grabbing Liu Xun, who was resting with his eyes closed.

Gan Ning pointed angrily at the fleet behind them and demanded, "What's going on? Why are we docking now?"

"Isn't that Chaisang over there?" Liu Xun asked, his eyes wide.

"The opposite side is Pengze County, which is forty li away from Chaisang. We should walk another forty li to reach the south bank."

Liu Xun was stunned, and after a long while shook his head, "I don't know either, why would they disobey my orders?"

Who is the commander-in-chief?

"Chen Lan and Lei Bo each command half of the army. The ship behind should belong to Chen Lan. Strange, could they have gotten to the wrong place?"

Gan Ning was furious. "Nonsense! They raised a yellow flag, not a white flag!"

"I don't know either. Why don't you try raising three more white flags and see if they follow?"

Gan Ning shouted, "Raise three more white flags!"

Three white flags were raised on the main ship once again. After a short while, the flagship still had three yellow flags, and one by one the large ships followed suit and raised yellow flags.

At this moment, Gan Ning suddenly noticed that the flagship's banner had the character 'Cao' written on it.

In a flash, Gan Ning realized that Chen Lan and Lei Bo had indeed surrendered to Cao Cao, but Cao Cao had no intention of letting them surrender to him.

Gan Ning also figured out the mystery that had puzzled him last night: Cao Cao didn't trust him at all. He used him to take down Liu Xun, while at the same time arranging for his men to swallow up Liu Xun's 12,000 troops and have his men command 12,000 troops to garrison Pengze County.

Having been fooled by Cao Cao, Gan Ning slammed his fist against the ship's side in fury, yelling, "Bastard!"

Wang Xiaoman and her subordinates were all at a loss.

After a while, Gan Ning calmed down a bit and ordered, "Return to Chaisang!"

Left with no other choice, Gan Ning could only lead his lonely main ship toward Chaisang. The ship carried only Liu Xun's personal belongings and no other supplies or provisions.

…………

Gan Ning returned to Chaisang in a rage. As soon as he stepped off the boat, he saw a large banner of Cao Cao's army. He was furious and drew his steel whip, which broke the flagpole. He then tore the banner in half.

Upon hearing the news, Lu Su rushed over and, seeing Gan Ning's furious expression, asked in astonishment, "Why is this? Did the general not encounter Liu Xun?"

"Don't mention it!"

Gan Ning said bitterly, "We were tricked by Cao Cao. He ate up Liu Xun's army and occupied Pengze County. We were like fools."

Gan Ning was in a bad mood, so he mounted his horse and rode back to the city.
Lu Su hurriedly asked Wang Xiaoman, "What exactly happened?"

Wang Xiaoman then recounted the details, and Lu Su couldn't help but chuckle. His lord had never suffered such a loss before; no wonder he was so angry.

However, everything has its advantages and disadvantages. My lord only saw the disadvantages but not the advantages. I need to enlighten him properly.

Lu Su immediately ordered Liu Xun to be imprisoned, and then hurriedly went to find Gan Ning.

(End of this chapter)