Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chapter 453 - 429: Gan Ning’s Wisdom

Hua Xiong instructed Gan Ning and then left with half of his trusted aides, as he himself had said he was essentially abandoning his post. Even if there were reasons, it was better to return early to report back.

"Zijian, be careful on your journey, and don’t worry, Counselor. I will definitely protect him well," Gan Ning waved to Hua Xiong, without showing any intention of asking him to stay.

It’s better to go back early when abandoning one’s post, and although Gan Ning was envious of the cavalry, it was a pity that he still didn’t have any at his disposal. Therefore, Gan Ning felt it was best to send Hua Xiong back to train more cavalry so that he himself might be allocated a few hundred later on.

Watching Hua Xiong leave, Gan Ning made a gesture of invitation to Chen Xi, and the men behind him spread out the caltrops, lit torches in two columns, held Long Spears in hand, and stared sharply at the opposite side, motionless.

"Your soldiers are well-trained," said Chen Xi, who had experienced several battles and could distinguish between seasoned veterans and rookies, noticing the aura emanated by Gan Ning’s troops.

"I appreciate your praise, Counselor. These fellows were specifically selected by me for show," Gan Ning laughed heartily. "Look at their physical quality, look at their gaze, look at their equipment. I have specially chosen each one. Every single one of them has participated in at least a dozen battles, and they all have a special skill," Gan Ning said proudly. "They look pretty good, don’t they?"

"…" Chen Xi was speechless as he looked at the men guarding the gate. The strong man opposite noticed Chen Xi looking and managed to crack a difficult smile at him.

Gan Ning wasn’t just talking big; these men were indeed handpicked by him. Ever since his successful raid with a hundred cavalry, he paid extra attention to the soldiers guarding the camp gates, as he prided himself in raiding others’ camps and would lose face if his own camp were raided – thus he placed great importance on gate defense.

"Counselor, this way please," Gan Ning led his horse towards the side of the main camp gate.

"Alright," Chen Xi nodded with some confusion.

"There are traps over there, at least ten different kinds. About a dozen of the camp gate soldiers are from a hunting background, so I had them set up some traps." Possibly noticing the expressions of Chen Xi and his group, Gan Ning picked up a stone from the ground and tossed it over as he explained.

"Bang." The stone landed at the camp gate, and with a soft noise, first a dozen Crossbow Bolts as thick as fists shot directly towards the gate. Then there was a clatter of arrow rain, followed by a net with a muffled splash and a torch falling down, setting the entire camp gate ablaze. Finally, a huge stone smashed over and rolled into a massive trap.

Chen Xi watched in cold sweat as Gan Ning pulled off such an elaborate setup at the main camp gate; indeed, he was one of a kind. Not to mention the carefully selected gate guards by Gan Ning, the multitude of traps ensured any night raiding vanguard would suffer greatly, and also gave the camp some extra preparation time.

"Xingba, with your gate set up like this, it won’t be easy coming and going, affecting your deployment," sighed Chen Xi as he looked at Gan Ning.

"I’m from the Navy. Taking the land route would be beneath us seafarers, I always take the ship and move via the waterways when I leave the camp," Gan Ning said with an air of it being obvious, leaving Chen Xi to sigh silently to himself; it sounded reasonable enough.

"Alright, you can continue to do this in the future," said Chen Xi, giving the cheerfully grinning Gan Ning a thumbs up. This man was a talented general, and though he might think quite differently from others, his war intelligence was undoubtedly sharp.

Gan Ning brought Chen Xi to the Central Army Tent where Taishi Ci, who had also put on weight, was waiting with his weapon on his back, alongside Mi Fang, Gan Lan, and others who were there waiting for Gan Ning’s arrival.

"Strategist, General Gan," Taishi Ci and Mi Fang, along with their retinue, saluted with clasped hands upon seeing Gan Ning and Chen Xi enter, then took their respective places according to rank.

Chen Xi gestured to Gan Ning. He would not take on the role of commander-in-chief. Not to mention his complete lack of understanding of the Navy, even if he had some slight knowledge of commanding infantry, he would not assume that responsibility.

It’s important to know oneself. Apart from the first battle against the Yellow Turbans where his prestige was necessary to suppress a group of valiant generals, at other times he was only a figurehead, with the actual command falling either to Liu Bei or Guan Yu.

In fact, whether it was Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Liu Ye or Li Youu, they all knew their strengths, and their command abilities were simply no match for the likes of Guan Yu and his cohort.

As for Lub Su, he was capable of commanding troops, but he never had the chance to demonstrate it. The moment Chen Xi shirked responsibility, Lub Su had to work overtime. As someone too nice, he never had the opportunity to truly lead an army into battle. He might not even be aware of his own talent for commanding, a truly tragic situation.

Gan Ning unapologetically took the seat of honor, then had Chen Xi sit at the lead on his left, while the other subordinate generals all found their seats.

"General Mi, how much provisions and supplies do our forces have?" Gan Ning inquired. Just as Chen Xi estimated, Gan Ning naturally placed Mi Fang in charge of overseeing provisions once he knew he was from the Mi Family. In his view, the wealthy Mi Family wouldn’t covet these meager possessions, and besides, it was good to maintain relations with such a ’god of wealth’ for mutually beneficial richness.

"Twelve carts of assorted dried meats, seventy thousand bushels of unprepared grain, thirty thousand of which have already been loaded onto ships, a twenty-day reserve of fresh water, a seven-day reserve of dry rations in the camp which have been loaded onto ships, seventy thousand high-quality arrows, forty thousand arrows that haven’t been nurtured, seven hundred spare stiff bows, one thousand spare great swords, eight hundred spare long spears, and various goods for ballasting, ready to deploy at a moment’s notice," Mi Fang listed off everything at his fingertips as soon as Gan Ning called upon him.

"Good, Taishi Ci, how are the troops in the various camps?" Gan Ning nodded and then turned to ask Taishi Ci.

"General Mi has already pacified the newly surrendered forces. Our morale is high and we can set out at any time," Taishi Ci ambiguously replied, referring to the fact that Mi Fang’s pacification essentially amounted to a monetary strategy...

For the current Mi Fang, there was no need for corruption. After all, he wasn’t like the historical figure who wandered and suffered with Liu Bei, during which the Mi family’s billions had turned into past smoke.

Currently, the Mi Family was still super wealthy. Mi Fang could sell off all the naval supplies, and it still wouldn’t match the amount his brother gave him to use for buying goodwill among the Navy’s generals and soldiers. Therefore, Mi Fang didn’t have much interest in the lucrative position of Logistics Officer. After all, without greed, such a plum job was utterly valueless—this was also why Gan Ning pushed him toward that position.

"Load all private goods for ballasting, and take the prisoners from the Cao Army. We’re setting out!" Gan Ning didn’t hesitate to mention the private goods in front of Chen Xi, knowing full well that these were perks for the Navy!

Chen Xi merely smiled without a word. As for smuggling private goods, he wasn’t concerned. As long as it didn’t affect combat power, a bit of smuggling to improve the soldiers’ welfare was not an issue for anyone.

Seeing the smile on Chen Xi’s face, Gan Ning felt completely at ease. He didn’t like those unspoken rules, and if it could be made clear, it was best to be upfront. If the higher-ups knew about it and didn’t mind, it could even be codified as a rule. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian ) to cast your vote for recommendation, monthly votes are also welcomed, and your support will be my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)