Chapter 65: First-rate General

  When he heard "wearing brocade clothes and waist bells", Yan Liang suddenly thought of a person in his mind.

  "Could it be that person..."

  Yan Liang paused for a moment, then shouted: "Quickly go and investigate the origin of that group of bandits. I want to see who dares to rob my grain and fodder."

  As soon as the words fell, Yi Jie beside him said: "General, there's no need to investigate further, I know who did it."

  He has lived in Jingzhou for a long time and is very familiar with the northern part of Jingzhou. He claims that he knows the origin of this group of bandits, which is also normal.

  "Who could have done such a thing?" Yan Liang turned his gaze towards Yi Jie.

  "If I'm not mistaken, the one who dares to rob our military supplies should be a wandering knight named Gan Ning."

  At the mention of Gan Ning's name, Yan Liang felt a slight tremble in his heart, and an inexplicable thrill arose.

  In Yan Liang's mind, all sorts of memories quickly emerged.

  Led a hundred cavalrymen to raid the Wei camp, presented a plan to defeat Huang Zu, captured the city of Ruxu, killed Ling Cao, defeated Cao Hong, his martial arts surpassed others, his strategic thinking was exceptional, can be called the number one brave general of Eastern Wu.

  At present, Yan Liang's account is short of a capable general, and Wen Ping, although a good general, is not a top-notch one, and his talent is more inclined towards defense rather than offense.

  As for Zhou Cang and Liu Bi, although they were loyal and brave, and not lacking in martial arts, their ability to command troops was actually quite ordinary.

  Like Gan Ning, a brave and wise general with superior martial arts skills, was exactly what Yan Liang couldn't get.

  Yan Liang's heart was excited, and he continued: "This Gan Ning was originally a native of Ba County. Last year, he led 800 troops to surrender to Liu Biao, but Liu Biao did not use him, so he had to temporarily live near Chaoyang."

  He paused, and then continued: "This Gan Ning is violent and vengeful, brave and fierce. Whenever he encounters someone who looks down on him, he will recklessly rob them of their wealth. The local officials are deeply afraid of him, often bribing him with money and grain to appease him. Because of this, Gan Ning and his followers wear feathers in their caps, carry bells, like to wear brocade clothes, and use brocade to tie up their boats, so the local people all call him 'Brocade Sails Bandit'."

  When he heard the words "Jin Fan Zei", Yan Liang was convinced of his own speculation, and the person who dared to rob him of military rations must be none other than Gan Ning, the fierce general in history.

  He vaguely remembered that in the Romance, Gan Ning first defected to Liu Biao and then turned to defect to Huang Zu. Because he was underestimated by Huang Zu, he finally defected to Sun's clan and helped Sun Quan break through Jiangxia and kill Huang Zu.

  It was at this time that Gan Ning arrived in Jingzhou from Bajun.

  "Gan Ning, interesting..."

  Yan Liang stroked his chin, a hint of a smile playing on the corners of his mouth, and in his heart he was already plotting how to subdue this tiger-like general.

  Xu Shu said, "The general has just obtained Xin Ye and is at the height of his power. Ganning dares to plunder the general's grain and grass, which is a heinous crime that cannot be tolerated. Why doesn't the general take this opportunity to eliminate this bandit and establish his prestige?"

  Xu You was a scholar by birth, and towards Gan Ning, a warrior with a wandering knight identity, he seemed to have an innate hostility.

  Yi Jing hastily said: "This Gan Ning, who has been raiding our military rations this time, may have been slow to respond because the local official in Chaoyang has changed. From what I've seen, this man is exceptionally brave and has some talent for being a general. General, you are currently in need of capable people, so why kill him? Why not recruit him instead?"

  Gan Ning was a general of a higher rank than Wen Pin, how could Yan Liang bear to kill him? What Yi Ji said actually coincided with his own mind.

  "Whether Gan Ning is useful or not, he dares to seize the grain and fodder that are about to be sent. If the general sees it but does nothing, where is his prestige?"

  Yan Liang's tone was filled with murderous intent, his entire body radiating an aura of intense ferocity that caused those around him to tremble slightly.

  Yi Jing cautiously said: "Is General Yi planning to send troops to destroy Gan Ning?"

  Yan Liang stood up and said loudly: "You will write a letter to Gan Ning on my behalf, ordering him to return all the money and grain he has plundered within three days. If even one grain of rice is missing, I will immediately send troops to destroy him."

  Yan Liang's words were like a declaration of war, and Yijie thought that Yan Liang had been enraged, it seemed that Gan Ning's downfall was inevitable.

  "It is beneath me to write such a thing." Yi Jie sighed inwardly and backed away with his hands clasped together.

  At the moment of turning around, Yijue couldn't notice that Yan Liang's knife-like face flashed a sly smile.

  In the south of Chongyang City, on a cliff behind a mountain, a large flag made of Shu brocade with the character "Gan" was proudly waving in the wind.

  In the midst of the wall, a lively atmosphere prevails.

  The vast campus was packed with mule carts, loaded with bags of grain, hundreds of women and children crowded in front of the carts, pushing and shoving to receive the distributed grain.

  Gan Ning, with a bird feather inserted in his helmet, wearing brocade clothes inside and a set of armor outside, stood tall on the mule cart, proudly watching the lively scene of distributing food.

  "Big brother, Yan Liang is quite capable, even Cao Cao and Liu Biao couldn't handle him. Now that we've seized his grain, won't we be asking for trouble?"

  A subordinate next to him said in a low and worried tone.

  Gan Ning snorted coldly and said disdainfully, "I don't care about Yan Liang's abilities, but the county magistrate under him dares to slack off in front of me. I'll seize his grain and fodder to give him a show."

  "What if Yan Liang sends troops to attack our stronghold? How should we respond?" Another subordinate asked with concern.

  Gan Ning's mouth curled up, and he said proudly: "Our stronghold is backed by mountains and water, as solid as gold soup. The grain in the city can last for several years, even if Yuan Liang comes with all his troops, what do I have to fear?"

  His confidence is not unfounded, this wall of his is indeed unshakeable.

  Just as the words fell, a small officer hurried over and claimed that Yan Liang had a letter delivered.

  "It's certain that Yan Liang has seen the might of Big Brother and is taking the initiative to write a letter to make friends." The subordinate beside him said with delight.

  Gan Ning's face also showed a hint of complacency, as if he thought Yan Liang's letter was indeed a token of friendship, and slowly opened the silk book.

  Gan Ning's face suddenly turned iron-green at a glance.

  "Return our grain and fodder within three days. If even a single grain is missing, I will raze the walls of your Gan family to the ground!"

  A brief sentence, stern and commanding in tone.

  This is not a letter of farewell, but a final warning.

  Gan Ning flew into a rage, tearing the silk letter to shreds with a few swift strokes. He cursed, "You dare to look down on me like this, Yan Liang? I will surely take revenge!"

  As soon as this was said, the entire schoolyard fell silent.

  Gan Ning wielded his twin pikes in one move, shouting loudly: "Assemble the entire army! I'm going to attack and break through Chongyang City, giving that scoundrel Yan Liang a crushing defeat!"

  At the sound of the order, the strong and healthy young men in embroidered uniforms on the campus immediately boiled up, waving their fists and weapons, shouting to kill a big battle.

  Gan Ning's mouth curled up in a cold, arrogant smile as he muttered to himself, "Yan Liang, you never expected that I, Gan Ning, would take the initiative and launch a surprise attack on your capital city of Changyang, huh?"

  At dawn, a figure like an iron tower appeared on the city wall of Chao Yang.

  Yan Liang stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the southwest direction, a calm expression with a hint of majesty.

  The sound of footsteps echoed, and Wen Ping hastily climbed up to the top of the city wall, with a hint of surprise on his face.

  "Report to the General, the scouts have returned and reported that Gan Ning has indeed led his troops out of their camp and is heading towards our city to kill." Wen Ping said with a bow.

  Yan Liang nodded slightly, everything was as he had expected.

  Wen Pin couldn't help but ask again: "General, I don't quite understand, how did you determine that Gan Ning would launch a surprise attack on Jiangling?"

  At that time, Yan Liang ordered Yi Ji to write a letter and gave it to Gan Ning when he sent the last letter. He immediately set off with 4,000 infantry and cavalry, rushing overnight, secretly arriving at Chao Yang City.

  At that time, including Wen Pin and other civil and military officials, they did not believe that Gan Ning, a lone hero, would not only plunder the grain but also dare to openly attack the capital city of Chao Yang. Therefore, they were all suspicious of Yan Liang's hasty dispatch of troops.

  Now that he has obtained reliable information, Wen Pin cannot help but be surprised.

  Yan Liang said calmly, "Gan Ning is arrogant and proud. When he sees the threatening letter, he will surely become enraged. This man also has some clever plans, so I expected him to mistakenly think that I have no defenses and launch a surprise attack on Jiangdu City."

  After hearing Yan Liang's explanation, Wen Ping suddenly enlightened, clasped his hands and sighed: "General, you are indeed godlike in your understanding of things, I am really not your match."

  Yan Liang smiled slightly, his gaze turned to the end of the sky, "The city of Chao Yang will be handed over to Zhong Ye now. I'll go and personally teach Gan Xingba a lesson, let him know the power of this general."