Tiger Owl

Chapter 41 The Troublemaker Xu Sheng
Gan Ning led 8,000 soldiers and approached the military camp. Wang Ping, Ding Feng, and Chen Mu each led 2,000 men to ambush the north, south, and west sides of the military camp, about 500 paces away. Gan Ning personally led 2,000 soldiers to kick down the gate in the southeast corner.

It was the second watch of the night. Gan Ning led two soldiers to approach the watchtower about 150 paces away. A soldier was standing on the watchtower, rubbing his hands, breathing on them, and stamping his feet back and forth, trying to suppress his drowsiness and waiting for the third watch to be the time for the shift change so he could go back to sleep.

There are eight such watchtowers, located outside the military camp walls.

Gan Ning knelt on the snow, drew his bow to its fullest extent, and shot an arrow. The arrow flew like lightning, 'Thud!' The arrow struck the sentry in the throat, and the sentry clutched his throat and collapsed limply.

Gan Ning waved his hand, and Shen Mi led two thousand soldiers to rush over.

Just then, an alarm bell rang from the watchtower. It turned out that there was a soldier sitting and sleeping on the watchtower, and the soldier who had been shot fell on top of him, waking him up.

As a result, the other eight watchtowers also sounded the alarm.

"Dong! Dong! Dong!" The alarm bells rang throughout the entire camp.

Gan Ning was shocked and ran towards the camp wall with his long spear. "My lord, warhorse!" His personal guards led Gan Ning's warhorse to him. Gan Ning mounted the horse and galloped away.

A moment later, he rushed to the front of the camp wall and thrust his spear fiercely. "Boom!" A large hole was pierced in the rammed earth wall. He thrust his spear three times in succession, and the camp wall collapsed with a crash, revealing a gap that was two people wide.

Gan Ning spurred his horse and charged into the military camp, heading straight for the armory.

The 12,000 troops were, after all, regular troops. Although the commander was unreliable, the soldiers were well-trained, and Yu Jin established various strict military regulations.

Under the command of Qu Chang, the hundred soldiers guarding the armory immediately formed a battle formation, with thirty archers firing arrows at Gan Ning, while the remaining seventy formed a spear formation.

Arrows rained down, but Gan Ning deflected them with his spear. In a matter of moments, he rushed to the front of the defenders, thrusting his spear and killing more than a dozen men in one go.

He then swung his spear and severed the enemy's long neck, his head flying off. The remaining soldiers finally broke down and fled. Gan Ning did not pursue them, but ordered his men to guard the armory.

At this moment, the sleeping soldiers were awakened and hurriedly put on their uniforms and rushed out of the barracks. They saw that the walls were collapsing one after another, and the army rushed into the camp from all directions like a flood that had burst its banks.

Without weapons and armor, and surrounded by the Chaisang army, the unarmed soldiers had no choice but to kneel down and surrender.

Half an hour later, Gan Ning led three thousand troops to the north gate of Pengze County. The gate opened, the drawbridge was lowered, and Wang Xiaoman led more than a hundred soldiers to greet them.

There were only three hundred soldiers in Pengze County, and only one hundred soldiers were on guard at the North Gate. With the help of the Yao family, Wang Xiaoman, who had infiltrated the city beforehand, obtained weapons and easily captured the North Gate.

"How are Chen Lan and Lei Bo doing?" Gan Ning asked.

"I have sent my men to keep an eye on their residences, but so far nothing has been found."

Gan Ning immediately dispatched two thousand men to surround Chen Lan and Lei Bo's residence and rushed inside. Before long, the soldiers tied up the two men and brought them out, pushing them in front of Gan Ning.

Chen Lan shouted sternly, "Gan Ning, Cao Cao has treated you well, why have you betrayed the alliance?"

Gan Ning said coldly, "You two traitors, how dare you criticize me? Take them away and execute them!"

The soldiers pushed the two men away. Chen Lan and Lei Bo desperately begged for their lives, expressing their willingness to surrender and pledge allegiance to Gan Ning. Gan Ning ignored them completely, and in a short while, their heads were chopped off and brought up. Gan Ning then ordered Chen Mu to lead two thousand men to defend Pengze County, and promoted Yao En to be the magistrate of Pengze County.

They then transported all 12,000 prisoners of war, along with grain and valuables, back to Chaisang.

Liu Xunguang originally brought 300,000 shi of grain, 100,000 guan of Wuzhu coins, and various other supplies, all of which were obtained by Yu Jin. In order to cooperate, Yu Jin gave a small portion to Gan Ning, but most of the money and grain were in his hands. He had no way to transport them back to Xuchang, so they all belonged to Gan Ning.

On the Yangtze River, countless warships towed large, flat-bottomed boats slowly. This was one method; each warship had sixteen soldiers rowing with all their might, but towing large boats laden with money and provisions was still very strenuous and slow.
Gan Ning stood on a large warship, watching the ships on the river. At this moment, Ding Feng stepped forward and whispered, "This subordinate has found that attacking the enemy during the rest period is indeed a very good opportunity. The New Year is coming soon. Can we take advantage of this opportunity to take Nanchang County?"

It is now the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, and there are still twenty days until the New Year. Gan Ning nodded slightly. Sun Ben and Lü Fan are not in Yuzhang County. Only Sun Fu and General Han Dang are stationed in Nanchang County with 10,000 troops. This is indeed a rare opportunity.

..........
Just as Gan Ning captured Pengze County, Xu Sheng, a junior officer from Haihun County, was advising General He Qi, "Gan Ning's main force has all gone to Pengze County, so Chaisang must be vulnerable. Why don't you lead your troops north overnight to launch a surprise attack on Chaisang and eliminate Wu Hou's biggest threat in one battle?"

He Qi was from Kuaiji Commandery and held the official position of General of the Household. He was Sun Ben's right-hand man. After Taishi Ci participated in the Northern Expedition, Sun Ben arranged for He Qi to be stationed in Haihun County and take over the position of Commandant of Jianchang. His main task was to block Liu Xin of Changsha Commandery from infiltrating Yuzhang Commandery.

At this moment, He Qi looked displeased. Chaisang and Pengze were both under Cao Cao's control, and Sun Ben was not allowed to attack them without authorization. This Xu Sheng had gone too far, actually ordering him to attack Chaisang.

"These are matters for those in higher positions to consider. You hold a low-ranking official position and should not speak presumptuously about national affairs. Now, go down!"

"General, please heed my words. Gan Ning's attack on Pengze is our only chance to capture Chaisang with a smaller force. If we don't seize it, we will surely regret it in the future..."

"enough!"

He Qi shouted, "If you dare to spout nonsense again, I'll treat you under military law! Get down here now!"

Xu Sheng had no choice but to sigh and retreat.

Xu Sheng is only seventeen years old this year. He is from Ju County, Langya Commandery, and is a descendant of the Xu family of Langya. At the beginning of last year, he fled to Wu Commandery with his family and sought refuge with the Xu family of Wu Commandery.

Although Xu Sheng came from a humble background, Xu Zhen, the head of the Wu family, saw that Xu Sheng was quite brave and strong, so he recommended him to join the army. He was appointed as a garrison commander by Sun Ce and transferred to Sun Ben's command.

However, Sun Ben had a long-standing feud with the Xu family and was very cold towards Xu Sheng. Despite Xu Sheng's repeated military achievements, he was never promoted. Lü Fan couldn't stand it anymore and said a few good words to Xu Sheng. Only then did Sun Ben reluctantly promote him to the rank of Qu Zhang and increase his troops from two hundred to five hundred, handing him over to He Qi for command.

Xu Sheng returned to his tent in a huff and cursed in front of his men: "A bunch of incompetent fools from Jiangdong, useless idiots, especially that guy surnamed He, who is as cowardly as a mouse, truly a complete rat!"
Xu Sheng was only seventeen years old, and his straightforward personality made him somewhat naive about the unpredictability of people's hearts. One of his troop leaders, Hou Ping, was quite jealous of Xu Sheng.

He immediately ran to He Qi to tell him the truth, and He Qi was furious. "How dare this ignorant brat speak so disrespectfully!"

He Qi immediately summoned his advisor Li Quan and said through gritted teeth, "This Xu Sheng is going too far! I want to kill him!"

Li Quan advised, "This man is, after all, a member of the Xu family, and was recommended for officialdom by Xu Zhen, the uncle of the Marquis of Wu. If we kill him for a single word, it will be difficult to explain to the Marquis of Wu. It would be better to execute him according to military law!"

"What's a good idea?"

Li Quan smiled sinisterly and said, "General, you can order him to attack Liling County. He will be guilty if he fails to take it, and he will also be guilty if he takes it but fails to hold it. At that time, his fate will be in your hands."

(End of this chapter)