Gan Ning glanced at Gan Lan. He now had a burning desire to set things ablaze. Ever since he’d thrown a torch that sparked a conflagration, which reduced the Handan Granary to ashes, Gan Ning had an epiphany about a tactic—nothing beats the simplicity of fire!
"Gan Lan, I have a task for you," said Gan Ning, tossing aside the beef leg he’d been gnawing on. "It’s a tough mission, not just anyone can complete it."
"I’m not doing it." Gan Lan refused before Gan Ning could finish. He did not share Gan Ning’s foolhardy spirit. Chen Xi had once presented a formidable task that only valorous generals or those with both wisdom and courage could undertake—without a second thought, Gan Ning declared it tailor-made for him!
This was stupidity taken to a whole new level; otherwise, who would accept such a deranged mission? His ship had sunk five times. He had swum from the open sea to the Yangtze River Mouth on five different occasions, even encountering a creature of legend, which Gan Ning then proceeded to hunt down and kill—the mythological Kun! Damn it, Gan Lan thought, following Gan Ning was like playing with heart palpitations!
"..." Gan Ning’s pat on Gan Lan was a bit stiff—he couldn’t go on; it was too much of a slight. "By the authority vested in me as the Naval Chief, I order you to lead a hundred men by boat along the Zhang River downstream to meet Ziyi."
"A hundred men?" Gan Lan felt a headache coming on. Though he did not fear Gan Ning’s status as the legitimate son of the Gan Family, there were state laws and military regulations to consider. In the military, Gan Ning’s word was supreme. Even if his decisions were wrong, subordinates had only the right to suggest, not to veto.
"Yes, a hundred men! You lead a hundred men to meet Ziyi; I’ll lead a hundred men to set fires. With such an opportunity, it would be a disgrace not to seize it as the Naval Chief. I intend to burn them to death!" boasted Gan Ning proudly.
"...Let’s go together," Gan Lan finally conceded, realizing he had no chance of dissuading Gan Ning, who was already ablaze with frenzy.
"You know nothing, with our firepower, a hundred men, three hundred men, there’s no difference, okay? I leading a hundred men might return triumphantly, bringing you along might just cause casualties!" Gan Ning glanced at Gan Lan and spoke, his disdain unmistakable.
"..." Hesitating for a moment, Gan Lan finally nodded. Although it didn’t sound nice, Gan Ning was speaking the truth. Rather than being a trusted aide, Gan Lan was more of a strategist to Gan Ning; his close-combat skills were even worse than the average soldier’s. On the battlefield, it wasn’t clear whether he was there to protect Gan Ning or if it was the other way around.
Even though Gan Lan agreed to Gan Ning’s proposal, he stalled Gan Ning from acting immediately. He urged Gan Ning to take him to higher ground first to scout Yuan Shao’s camp.
By the time Gan Ning returned with Gan Lan, after surveying the camp, the sun was already setting, and night was about to fall.
"Xingba, while I don’t quite agree with your decision, as a friend, I have a suggestion for you. Don’t aim for the supplies or the logistics; aim directly at Yuan Shao’s main camp. The supply and logistics defenses are too strict, but the main camp’s defenses are weaker. Charge straight into the main camp, not with the goal of killing the enemy, but to break their morale. If you’re fast enough, you might really achieve your objective," said Gan Lan.
Though dissatisfied with Gan Ning’s wild proposal, once Gan Ning had decided to go through with it, Gan Lan stopped trying to persuade him and instead began to explain how to achieve the greatest victory in the impending attack.
"Okay, got it. You lead a hundred men to meet Ziyi quickly, the remaining hundred wait here. I’ll take a hundred men and all the horses for the raid!" Gan Ning nodded, indicating he had taken all of Gan Lan’s points to heart without missing a beat.
"Xingba, while there’s still time, get your men to modify the carts on the boat carrying the tung oil barrels. Use sturdy oxen to pull them. If you’re set on burning them out, that tung oil is indispensable, and the power and stamina of oxen far surpass that of horses. If things go awry and you need to retreat, setting the oil drums on fire and having the oxen pull them can create an opportunity for you!" Gan Lan said helplessly, seeing Gan Ning’s excitement. After all, his very existence, raised by the Gan Family since he was a boy, was to ensure Gan Ning’s safety.
At midnight, Gan Ning, with the modified ox cart, led a hundred of his men riding horses, and pulling the carts slowly towards Yuan Shao’s main camp, while Gan Lan had left already at sunset, taking his hundred men along the Zhang River to find Taishi Ci.
Gan Ning’s progress was not fast, hindered by the ox carts. It took some time to reach a few hundred steps outside Yuan Shao’s main camp. The main gate was brightly lit, making it clear that even if Yuan Shao planned to retreat the next day, the night’s defenses were not significantly relaxed. The soldiers were still ordered to patrol the camp. However, this time, Zhou Ang was not guarding the gate, just a dozen or so young soldiers.
"Who goes there!" When Gan Ning approached within fifty steps, a sharp-eyed young soldier saw the silhouette in the darkness.
"I’m searching for that son of a bitch Gongsun Zan! Just came back." Gan Ning replied nonchalantly, showing no pressure with such bluffing.
While speaking, Gan Ning walked forward alone for a dozen steps, and the other side, seeing only Gan Ning approaching, felt considerably relieved. Nevertheless, they still ordered Gan Ning to stand at the edge of the torch’s light.
"Let’s see your token!" the team leader guarding the gate said to Gan Ning.
"Alright." Gan Ning took another two steps, as if reaching for something at his waist, a smile appearing on his face. He had locked onto the positions of everyone present, confident he could take them all out in one strike. "Look, the token~"
"Pfft!" In an instant, a tranquil light, like clear water, flashed by, and all the gatekeepers, including the lookout, fell to the ground.
"Quick, quick, quick!" Gan Ning instructed his men to carefully move the caltrops aside. He thought to himself how useful Gan Lan’s method was. After carefully rearranging the formation, they made a small hole in each of the ox cart’s oil drums, lit them with fire, and then stabbed the oxen’s hindquarters. With a moan, all the oxen pulled the tung oil carts rushing towards Yuan Shao’s main camp.
"Kill!" Gan Ning roared and charged along the trail of flames ignited by the ox carts. He had already memorized the layout of Yuan Shao’s camp. His current goal was to rush in and slaughter Yuan Shao—but of course, that was just a joke...
Gan Ning’s soldiers, one per horse, followed him and charged forward, occasionally grabbing a bag of tung oil from the horse’s back, igniting it, or simply splashing it around!
"Enemy attack!" After the ox carts had collapsed a couple of tents, a piercing scream finally rang out in Yuan Shao’s main camp.
"Kill, kill, kill, kill!" Gan Ning wildly released his inner Qi, which couldn’t kill many, but it was purely to intimidate. However, no matter how fiercely he roared, Gan Ning kept in mind his target—to burn Yuan Shao’s military tent!
"Who dares to launch a night attack!" Yuan Shao bellowed, getting up in his pajamas.
"My lord, have no fear, Yann Liang is here!" Yann Liang, dressed in simple clothes, charged in. Having been severely wounded by Taishi Ci, Yann Liang had now recovered about eighty percent.
"Come, let’s see who dares to attack my main camp!" Yuan Shao, wielding his Precious Sword, walked out of the large tent! (To be continued. If you work, welcome to Qidian ) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)