"Lord, you can't." Jia Xu said before Gan Ning could respond.
"My lord, although you have great ambitions, you are still under the influence of Liu Biao's Northern Domain. It is perfectly justifiable for my lord to train infantry and cavalry to resist Cao Cao.”
"Although Liu Biao has no great ambitions, he is meticulous and not a vulgar person. Once the lord trains the navy, Liu Biao will definitely set out to attack. In this way, our army will be attacked from both sides and it will be difficult to achieve great things!”
"This…" Zhang Xiu hesitated. He knew the general direction, but he didn't think too much about these details. The details determine success or failure. If it weren't for Jia Xu, I'm afraid it would be difficult to escape this disaster.
"But Military Advisor, if you want to take Jingxiang, you must have a powerful navy to restrain Cai Mao. Otherwise, how can you talk about great cause?”
Jia Xu's eyes narrowed slightly. After pondering for a moment, he said,"My Lord, Rong Xu will consider this for three days.”
Gan Ning was a straightforward person, and seeing that his chance to make a name for himself had been cut off, he couldn't help but say,"My lord, I have a countermeasure that I don't know if I should tell you.”
"Xing Ba, speak frankly." Zhang Xiu did not mind.
In history, Xing Ba was straightforward, thus he had many disagreements with the Wu Country's generals. However, he was brave and resourceful, only Lu Meng dared to use him.
"My lord, Ning was previously a water bandit, known as Jinfan, and was quite famous on the great rivers and lakes.
And the lord is stationed in Nanyang, I am dissatisfied, it is not impossible to follow the water bandits. In this way, they would rather train the navy for their lord and build ships without anyone being suspicious.
Moreover, the pirates on the river had many friends. If Ning called for them, they would definitely be the first to surrender. This would be twice the result with half the effort.”Gan Ning clasped hands and turned to Zhang Xiu.
Jia Xu's eyes narrowed. He turned to Gan Ning and said,"My lord, you can't. There are no generals in the army now. General Gan Ning is the leader of the three armies. It would be a waste of his talent to train the navy in the lakes and rivers.”
Looking at Jia Xu's burning gaze, Zhang Xiu already understood what he meant.
He belonged to Liu Biao's Northern Domain, and if that was the case, Gan Ning would be a force outside of his domain. There were too many uncontrollable factors. Once Gan Ning grew up, he could either leave Zhang Xiu or bite back at him, which would be fatal.
Gan Ning knew exactly what he meant, so he didn't say anything. He stared at Zhang Xiu, waiting for his reply.
"Xing Ba roams the rivers and lakes and is very familiar with water ripples. He is the most suitable person to train the navy. There's no need to say anything more about this matter." Zhang Xiu raised his hand.
"Xing Ba, I'll give you fifty million in money, a hundred thousand dan of rations, and enough weapons. However, within a year, you must help me gather an elite navy that can rival Cai Mao.”Zhang Xiu shouted.
Gan Ning's eyes widened.
He had thought that Zhang Xiu would reject him, because he had only known Zhang Xiu for a month. No one dared to do this, and even if they did, they would be cautious.
However, Zhang Xiu had asked for 50 million and 100,000 stones of grain. What boldness and trust was this?
Gan Ning was shaking. He was a straightforward person, but he felt a warmth that made his nose sting.
How could Liu Biao be compared to a hero like the stars and the moon?
Gan Ning only had one thought in mind. A wise man would die for his friend. Even if he had to face a million people, he wouldn't be afraid.
"I, Gan Ning, will not disappoint my lord.”
His voice was a little choked, and he even knelt down on one knee.
Gan Ning couldn't repay this trust. He wouldn't even frown even if he had to go through a mountain of blades or a sea of flames.
"Xing Ba, please rise." Zhang Xiu quickly helped her up.
"My lord, I will go down and prepare.”Gan Ning finished his words and left with his subordinates.
Watching Gan Ning leave, Jia Xu sighed."My lord, you're muddle-headed! Gan Ning has the air of a bandit. If he rebels in the future, how can we go south and accomplish our great cause?”
"Wenhe, as a commander, you should know how to use people well, right?”The corners of Zhang Xiu's mouth curled up, revealing a confident smile.
"But…"
"Don't doubt the person you use. If he rebelled against me, wouldn't it be a good thing to spend 100,000 dans of grain to recognize him?”Zhang Xiu laughed heartily.
"Oh, right, arrange for Lei Xu to lead 3,000 infantry and cavalry to enter Wu Pass and Green Mud Pass later."
"My lord, the two passes are broken. What's the use of staying? Wouldn't it be a waste of money and food?" Jia Xu raised his eyebrows and asked.
"No, there are few good horses in Xiliang. Now that Li Wei, Guo Si, and several others in Guanzhong have annexed each other, our rations have long been exhausted. If Wu Pass can exchange horses for rations, there will definitely be deserters.”
"Both are true. Wouldn't it be easy to capture thousands of good horses? Moreover, they know my name, Zhang Xiu. I'm afraid it's not impossible for these warriors to become my subordinates.”Zhang Xiu chuckled.
"My lord is meticulous, I am ashamed.”Jia Xu swallowed his saliva. He discovered that apart from some details, Zhang Xiu had really exquisite control over the rest of the general direction.
At the same time, a hundred steps away from the General's Mansion.
"Big brother, Zhang Xiu gave us 50 million and 100,000 dan of rations. Why don't we take advantage of the situation and wander on the river, not listening to his orders, expecting him to be difficult to catch up with, so that our brothers can live freely, how about it?”The general said excitedly.
Gan Ning stopped in his tracks and looked back with killing intent, causing his subordinate to shiver.
"Today, I won't kill you since you're my brother. If you dare to be disrespectful to my lord in the future, don't blame me for being merciless.”Gan Ning snorted and left.
The general swallowed hard, his forehead drenched in sweat.
The next day, outside Xinye City.
There were two people and two riders. One of them was burly and carried a sword. He was in his early twenties. The other was in his thirties or forties. He carried a carved bow on his back and a machete in his hand. He had a broad face and was in high spirits.
At this moment, Huang Zhong stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes."I've been walking with a lot of people. I didn't expect this small city to have such vitality. It seems that Zhang Xiu isn't a boorish man.”
Wen Pin nodded in agreement." General Huang, you may not know this, but Nanyang has been through war for a long time and has been plagued by plagues. It has long been empty, but this small city has such vitality. It is not inferior to Wan City in the past. It is indeed a great talent.”
His ancestral home was Wancheng. In his early years, he had witnessed the decline of Nanyang. Therefore, he had joined Liu Biao in the south. However, he had no merit and was not put in an important position. He only relied on his bravery to become a centurion.
"Let's go. Let's enter the city and meet this person." Huang Zhong said with an indifferent expression.
The two rode forward,
"Stop, where did you two come from? Do you have a pass?”the centurion said coldly.
"I'm General Huang Zhong. He's a hundred-man general and is under the command of Liu Biao, the Prefecture Overseer. He's under the command of General Poqiang.”Huang Zhong took out the seal from his chest and said in a deep voice.
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