Chapter 48: Gan Ning's Rise to Power
At Xiakou Water Fort, more than 30 warships were divided into two teams, front and back, trying to intercept the Black Bear Fleet.

Behind the fleet, a Jiangxia navy also sailed out from Jukou.

Cooperate with the Xiakou navy to form a pincer attack.

The flags of Sun and Xu had been removed from the ship, and the only Sanya warship raised the battle flag of "Henghai Xiaowei".

The two sides slowed down and gradually approached each other. A nimble boat holding a flag came forward and stopped beside the flagship. The military officer shouted: "Who are you?"

"I am the lieutenant of Henghai sent by Hebei! I have the written certificate and seal issued by the Shogun's Office as proof!"

Black Bear held up the seal and brocade bag and looked down at the military officer: "I am sent by the General's Office to deliver a letter for Envoy Liu!"

After that, Black Bear hung the brocade bag with a thin hemp rope and dropped it overboard. The other party rowed a boat to get it. The military officer looked up and asked, "If you came from Hebei, how did you get here by boat?"

"Cao Cao was unprepared, and I traveled day and night to reach Jingzhou!"

Black Bear responded loudly, lowering his head to watch the military officials checking the seal, letter of appointment, and a silk book with the seal of the Shogun's office.

In addition to these, he also had a handwritten letter from Yuan Shang.

What happened in Hebei would not be transmitted to Jingzhou for a while; even if it was transmitted, it would be difficult to tell what was true and what was false.

"Please wait patiently. I will report this to my governor right away!"

The military officers did not dare to delay and drove the boat back to the Xiakou Navy flagship. This was a real tower warship with three-story flying pavilions on the deck. It was packed with archers, numbering two to three hundred at a glance.

On the flagship, Jiangxia Navy Commander Su Fei carefully read the official documents and letters of appointment from the Shogun's office.

He had no reference for the seal above, so he couldn't tell whether it was real or fake.

But we can also rule out the possibility that the other party is a spy. As long as this fleet sails into Xiakou and enters the Han River Basin, there will be no way of retreat.

Without thinking twice, Su Fei sent someone to inform Huang Zu in Jiangxia City and find Gan Ning.

Gan Ning was also stationed in Xiakou Water Fort, but he was not favored by Liu Biao and Huang Zu, so his headquarters had no warships and mainly relied on transport ships and boats.

Gan Ning boarded the flagship and quickly came to the Queshi Terrace to meet Su Fei. He bowed and asked, "Commander-in-chief?"

"Xingba, this fleet claims to be sent from Hebei by the general, and there is a letter and seal here. Xingba has always been bold and careful, please board the ship to inspect and eliminate hidden dangers. If it is a spy, Xingba will wait for an opportunity to act."

"Here!"

Gan Ning responded loudly. This job was dangerous and required responsibility, but if he was indeed a spy and successfully captured the ship, it would naturally be an indelible achievement.

Not long after, Gan Ning led his team of more than 300 people on more than 20 boats and transport ships to the front.

Gan Ning stood on the deck of the transport ship, seven bells hanging from his waist, and wearing sleeveless rhinoceros lacquered leather armor.

The side door of the Black Bear flagship opened, and Gan Ning led a dozen swordsmen wearing leather armor to board the ship. He saw a dozen armored soldiers holding spears on guard on both sides of the hatch.

Gan Ning was not afraid, but carefully observed the armor styles, weapons, and the color and material of the clothes under the armor of these soldiers. He even analyzed their appearance and height.

"I am Liu Ziyang from Huainan, the Chief of Henghai."

Liu Ye saluted Gan Ning, pointed at the stairs and said, "My captain is waiting in the mahogany room."

"I am Gan Ning Gan Xingba from Ba County, and I am here on board to pay you a visit on the orders of the governor."

Gan Ning had never heard of Liu Ye. Liu Ye was in his early twenties, so it was normal that his fame had not spread to Jingzhou.

Besides, Gan Ning couldn't get into that circle and had little understanding of young talents from all over the country.

"please."

Liu Ye extended his arms to invite him. Gan Ning followed him and walked a dozen steps. Then he saw a compartment filled with women and children. Gan Ning pretended to be surprised: "Why, there are family members accompanying the army?"

"It's a long story."

Liu Ye smiled and said, "When my captain passed Hefei, the governor of Yangzhou, Jiang Ji, came to greet him with an apricot yellow flag. He also hid several painters who wanted to draw the image of my captain. This was exposed, so they had to kidnap Jiang Ji and his men."

"So these are not family members, but singing and dancing girls hired by Jiang Ji?"

"It was his family. We kidnapped Jiang Ji and were able to cross Xiaoyaojin. Envoy Liu of Yangzhou led his men to intercept him. The captain ordered his men to shave Jiang Ji's hair and beard and release him to Huainan. We detained the others, while Envoy Liu released the captives' families."

Liu Ye explained in detail that once you come to Jingzhou, you must abide by the rules of Jingzhou.

This is not the sparsely populated north, and the wars at the end of the Han Dynasty did not severely damage the area south of the Han River, so laws and order still exist here.

Another eight transport ships were also inspected, with seven or eight people on board each.

Black Bear couldn't help squinting his eyes as he stood on the platform of the bird room, feeling very passive.

If the Jiangxia navy turns hostile now and tries to steal the horses, they will be able to break out after some action.

Not to mention horses and tribesmen, even Zhen Mi could not be taken away.

The world is so big that when the time comes, I can only go to Liu Zhang of Yizhou or Shi Xie of Jiaozhou.

Gan Ning came to the Queshi Terrace and looked up and down at the black bear who was wearing a light blue brocade robe under his leather helmet and leather armor. Then he narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at Lu Bu, a Taoist soldier in golden armor, who was standing behind the black bear with his halberd on his waist.

Lu Bu covered his face with a white scarf and wore a bronze mask, standing there like a statue.

Gan Ning bowed to Black Bear and said, "I am Gan Ning from Ba County. I am here to inspect the ships on the orders of the governor."

"So it's Jinfan Gan Xingba. I've heard of your name for a long time."

Black Bear bowed, raised his head and said with a white smile: "I am Black Bear from Liang State. I heard of your great name a long time ago and I want to emulate you."

He motioned Liu Ye to hand Gan Ning the ship's roster and supplies list, and continued, "People in the Central Plains and Hebei call me Baiequ Shuai. I once kidnapped Liang Guoxiang Yuan Huan to Hebei, and briefly kidnapped Yangzhou governor Jiang Ji."

"You know my name?"

Gan Ning was slightly surprised, but then his expression dimmed. He listened to Black Bear's account of his achievements, looked at the light green brocade robe with dark patterns under his leather armor, and then looked at himself.

The brocade robe under the rhinoceros leather armor was already half worn and faded, no longer radiant. Of the seven hundred warriors who followed him to Jingzhou, only three hundred old men remained by his side.

Without the support of Liu Biao and Huang Zu, the Jingzhou army could not reach Jiangdong and could not plunder for money and supplies.

As time went by, their lives became increasingly poor and they saw no hope for the future, and their troops became increasingly dispersed.

I really can't afford it, there's nothing I can do.

Looking at the black bear's handsome and immature face, Gan Ning felt that the other party was full of vigor and vitality. In comparison, he, a senior in the martial arts world, seemed gloomy and old.

I didn't know what to say for a moment.

He looked down at the list and supplies and saw that more than 140 horses were transported. His eyes narrowed in surprise and he asked, "Are these all war horses?"

"Yes, only a few are unusable, the rest are all good horses."

Black Bear said without hesitation: "I came to Jingzhou to cooperate with Liu Yuzhou to counterattack the Central Plains. To accomplish this, we must have strong cavalry."

There are more than a hundred good horses. If more than half of them are mares... and they are bred and raised normally, the foals obtained every year after being sold would be enough to feed two or three of the current Gan Ning teams!

No wonder they had to take the risk of taking the Jianghuai waterway. These hundred-plus cavalry assigned to Liu Bei were enough to give Cao Cao a little surprise!

Although Gan Ning was suppressed, he knew that there was not a single professional cavalry unit in the entire Jingzhou army!
When Gan Ning saw that the fleet still had more than 30 black light armors, he was completely shocked: "Hebei actually has such a large amount of savings?"

It is not difficult to understand why Yuan Shao supported Liu Bei with more than a hundred horses. In his early years, Yuan Shao adopted women from his clan as daughters and married them to famous kings and leaders of Wuhuan, Xianbei, and Southern Xiongnu. Naturally, Yuan Shao had no shortage of horses.

But these more than thirty sets of black light armor are the real big deal!

Armored cavalry is not a secret technology.

Gan Ning immediately felt the wealth of Hebei and the respect that Black Bear enjoyed.

This is already a strategic-level reinforcement between the allies, and this batch of armor and horses is not something Jiang Xia can get his hands on.

Huang Zu's role is to guard the east gate of Jingzhou. It is useless for Jiangxia to have these armors and war horses.

Hand it over to Liu Bei and assign it to Guan Yu. Who knows, the old story of beheading Yan Liang in the midst of thousands of troops could be repeated!
Seeing Gan Ning was shocked again and again, Black Bear just smiled and did not answer Gan Ning's question which seemed like a question, but also seemed like an expression of emotion.

When Gan Ning finished reading, Black Bear said, "What is on the ship is confidential. Now you know it. I am afraid that if the general sends another fleet in the future, it will be hijacked by Jianghuai."

Seeing Gan Ning's gloomy expression, Black Bear immediately said, "This is my first meeting with you, but I have heard of your name for a long time. If I could work with you, I would dare to go deep into Xudu to plunder, not to mention Liang State Prime Minister Yuan Huan."

"If you have no objection, I will mention the secrets of Ma Kai when I meet Liu Jingsheng, hoping to work with you in Wankou and plan for the Central Plains."

Gan Ning listened and looked around, and was surprised to see that the other people agreed with him. He knew that Black Bear's team was already planning something related.

I also feel that Black Bear is too young. Although there is the example of Sun Ce, who started his own business as a teenager, how many Sun Ce's are there in the world?
But thinking about his own situation, once the secret of Ma Kai was leaked, Liu Biao and Huang Zu would suspect him first.

It was because he participated in the uprising when he was in Yizhou and attempted to expel Liu Yan and his son; Liu Yan was a famous scholar in Jiangxia and a relative of the Han royal family. His students, former officials, relatives and followers were spread all over southern and northern Jingzhou, and he had a great influence in Jingzhou.

After his defeat, Gan Ning fled from Yizhou and went to Jingzhou to seek refuge with Liu Biao. However, Liu Biao refused to use him and threw him to Huang Zu, who also refused to use him and even deliberately disintegrated Gan Ning's troops.

Seeing that Gan Ning did not explicitly refuse, Black Bear said, "A man who lives a mediocre life is no different from a rotten tree or a rotten grass. If I can work with you to accomplish great things and leave my name in the history of the world, I will die without regrets!"

"This happened suddenly. Let me think about it carefully."

After Gan Ning finished speaking, he lowered his head and looked at the account book carefully. Suddenly he asked, "Where is Sun Qian, the lieutenant of Henghai?"

"This is my alias. I used this name to impersonate a Jiangdong merchant ship and deceive the Central Plains, so that I could enter Hebei."

Black Bear paused for a moment and said, "Cao Cao was good at digging graves. He was cruel in his administration and often punished people for their crimes. In order to avoid dragging down my ancestors and clan, my name Black Bear is also fake, but my Liang nationality is real."

"I see."

Gan Ning did not think it was strange. When he was a teenager, the Yellow Turban Army had just risen up and many scholars and heroes joined the army, all using fake names.

Gan Ning looked around and saw that his followers were returning to the deck one after another, indicating that there was nothing unusual.

But everyone looked obviously surprised by the horses in the cabin.

A fine horse is hard to come by, and black light armor is even rarer.

In the past two years, Jingzhou has also imitated the Black Light Armor, which can only be owned by middle and senior officers. Except for a few rewards from Liu Biao, all the other armors were made by famous craftsmen sought by the officers themselves.

Black Bear has more than thirty pieces of this kind of armor.

Gan Ning couldn't imagine that if he led more than 30 warriors wearing black light armor to charge into the enemy camp, it would be almost impossible for them to suffer casualties before their physical strength was exhausted!

After the inspection was completed, Black Bear escorted Gan Ning down the cabin and watched him go out the side door and return to the boat.

Gan Ning met up with other soldiers, inquired about the horses carried by each ship, and immediately returned to Su Fei's flagship.

He was a cautious man and had a good relationship with Su Fei. He immediately whispered in Su Fei's ear: "There are 130 fine horses on board, no less than 300 sets of black armor, iron armor, and leather armor, 100 powerful crossbows, more than 300 long bows, and more than 500 swords, spears, and halberds."

"More than a hundred horses?"

Su Fei grasped the point and whispered, "So he is definitely not a spy."

Jiangdong is even worse off than Jingzhou. Jingzhou can still obtain smuggled horses from Guanzhong through Wugu Pass, and can also obtain horses from Liangzhou from Fangling and Hanzhong.

Gan Ning corrected the point: "Among them, there are more than thirty black armors. They are here to help Liu Yuzhou in the battle under the order of the general. This matter should not be made public, so as not to alert Cao's army."

"Black Light Armor?"

Su Fei asked again in a serious tone, and Gan Ning nodded seriously.

In the whole Jiangxia, there are less than ten imitation black light armors. They are used for the protection of officers and soldiers and are difficult to distribute to warriors for centralized use.

Although Su Fei was the admiral of the navy, he had no money to buy the black light armor.

(End of this chapter)