"You stay there for now; I’ll have someone test the grain before bringing it in." The Logistics Officer pointed to a small stockade outside the granary, signaling Gan Ning to stay put.
"Sure, sure, get some cooks quickly; all of us brothers are starving to death. Cook it up and bring me a few bowls too." Gan Ning carelessly moved the supplies to the small stockade, and his soldiers also caused a stir.
"It’ll be done very quickly." The Logistics Officer smiled, as everyone had relaxed after the victory up front, so he had no complaints about Gan Ning’s boisterous demands. As long as they didn’t break military regulations, the Logistics Officer wouldn’t mind.
Soon the new grain that Gan Ning had escorted was used to prepare the lunch of dried meat. Gan Ning and his men each loaded up several large bowls and squatted down to eat in a random spot. The soldiers testing the grain felt assured to dig in as well. Three hours later, an overfull Gan Ning was carried into the Handan Granary.
In the afternoon, Gan Ning lay in his camp humming and hawing. Yuan Shao’s soldiers were a mixed bunch and since his grain transport team came from Bohai Sea, no one knew each other.
"Gan Lan, where’s the Tung Oil I had you look for in the other camps?" Gan Ning grunted feigning death.
"Boss, I just took a stroll around, and you won’t believe it, this Handan Granary, while called a granary, is actually a logistics base. Not only does it stockpile a vast amount of grain, it also holds war supplies, horses, and such." Gan Lan’s eyes shone brightly, especially when he mentioned the horses, shining enough to startle anyone.
"What’s with the nonsense?" Gan Ning slapped his head, obviously annoyed. "Did you or did you not get the Tung Oil?"
"Yes, boss, but what I mean is, it won’t be good to just burn the grain. Look, here they have horses, there are strong oxen for pulling carts. Jizhou is truly bountiful; there are indeed over a thousand horses and oxen." Gan Lan kept trying to persuade him.
"Who said we’re only going to burn grain? I’m gathering intelligence right now. Did you find out anything about Gongsun Zan?" Gan Ning asked unceremoniously.
"That’s easy. While having lunch earlier, I got a bunch of guys drunk, and after they toppled over, they spilled everything. Gongsun Zan has gone north, and then there’s a Valiant General who severely injured Yann Liang near the Zhang River." Gan Lan said with a mischievous grin. As a loyal Household General prepared by his father for when Gan Ning left home, Gan Lan was among the best.
"It seems Ziyi isn’t confused; good. Since Ziyi is fine, we’ll keep squatting here, waiting for our turn to guard the camp. How can a victorious Jizhou not allow this lord to take a little advantage?" Gan Ning said with a sneaky grin.
On the third day of Gan Ning’s arrival at the Handan Camp, the Logistics Officer arranged for Gan Ning to guard the camp at night. Gan Ning argued with the Logistics Officer a bit and then went to prepare Tung Oil and torches resentfully—unavoidably, these were essentials for night patrols and guard duty.
"Hey, buddy, hand me a thousand ready-made torches." Gan Ning said irritably to a Military Attendant counting stock in the Rear Camp.
"No ready-made ones." The Military Attendant replied as he took the dried meat Gan Ning handed over. "See those trees outside? Chop at will, come over and grab some Tung Oil-soaked cloth to wrap them up, and that’s it. There’s no enemy now, you just make do however." The Military Attendant pointed towards the large camp about twenty miles away.
"Hey bro, short one man, wanna join in?" Just at that moment, Gan Lan shouted from outside.
"Sure, I’ll be right there," the Military Attendant laughed heartily, having won quite a lot recently. Yet Gan Lan was never satisfied, always itching for another fight, and he certainly wasn’t going to pass up the chance. "Brother, take whatever you want from here. As long as it’s not too outrageous, I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything. Just remember to keep an eye on the door for me, I’m off to score a big win today!"
The Military Attendant slipped away, leaving the entire warehouse at Gan Ning’s disposal. There was no helping it; over the past few days, Gan Ning had made himself familiar with a few key individuals. As for being bold and reckless, Gan Ning felt no pressure at all to keep up the facade in front of the enemy.
Not long after the Military Attendant left, Gan Ning started loading carts with jars of tung oil. As for the Grain Inspector, he was probably still gambling with Pai Gow with the warehouse Military Attendant and Gan Lan. Gan Ning had only heard Chen Xi mention the game a few times, but he had cobbled together the rules, whether they were right or not was irrelevant as long as they hooked people in.
"Buddy, what are you doing?" asked a curious soldier on guard duty exchange, looking at Gan Ning and his men carrying basin after basin of water around.
"Sprinkling some water around makes it harder for a fire to start," Gan Ning replied nonchalantly.
"Man, you’re really smart!" the guard gave Gan Ning a thumbs-up after the exchange. It made sense in the dry autumn conditions to sprinkle water around—the soldier thought he should do the same next time it was his turn.
After exchanging the guard token, the former soldier left calmly, while Gan Ning casually threw the contents of the basin aside and began pouring tung oil mixed with alcohol all over, having discovered through his research that tung oil could burn on water too, and a bit of alcohol would mask the scent completely.
After dumping dozen jars of tung oil, every critical spot in the camp had been taken care of. However, feeling it wasn’t enough, Gan Ning moved another dozen jars. Once those were emptied, a faint smell of alcohol lingered throughout the entire camp. Thankfully, not many were awake at the time, and the few that came out just cursed the patrol for drinking on duty, not including them.
"How did it go with Gan Lan?" Gan Ning asked as he saw Gan Lan approaching with a quick jog.
"Not bad, I took care of those two guys," Gan Lan said with a grin, uttering chilling words with a smile.
"Oh, let’s get moving to the Rear Camp to get ready to ride horses. You’re either from the Gan Family or leaders of the Water Pirates from various places, don’t give me that crap about not knowing how to ride," Gan Ning casually tossed a torch aside, and his men followed suit, throwing their torches into the camp. In no time, flames engulfed the camp from all directions.
"I..." Gan Ning almost let out a snort of frustration. He hadn’t deliberately started it; it had just been an impulsive act, and seeing him do it, his men did the same. And so, the great fire began. Orders were given elsewhere to throw the torches in as well.
"Quickly head to the Rear Camp, take over the horses, and then take a boat to Zhangs River to escort Gongsun Bogui back to camp," Gan Lan immediately grasped the situation from Gan Ning’s expression and quickly took command to cover Gan Ning’s embarrassment.
That night, the Handan Granary was engulfed in flames seen from dozens of miles away. The fire blazed all night long, eventually reducing the entire camp to ash, with almost no one escaping.
Gan Ning rode his horse back at full speed. The intelligence he had gathered recently in the Handan Granary had completely quelled his thoughts of three hundred against tens of thousands. He had learned how Gongsun Zan had been defeated; although there were missteps, it was more about the overwhelming strength of the enemy. The Vanguard Death Squad, who had faced down tens of thousands of White Horse Righteous Followers, was now in Yuan Shao’s camp—three hundred men going there would be a one-way ticket to death!
It was because he had abandoned that idea that Gan Ning had stayed in the Handan Granary for several days. He was devising a way to make amends for his mistakes. Yuan Shao might be untouchable for now, but there were other plans to consider. For example, setting fire to the Handan Granary and cutting off Yuan Shao’s grain supply was also a significant achievement! (To be continued. If you work, please come to to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)