Ji Han Liu Zhang

Lueyang.

Shortly after the appearance of scouts from Ma Teng and Han Sui, a team of more than a hundred cavalrymen from Liangzhou arrived at the foot of Lueyang City. Led by a handsome young man, the cavalrymen galloped around Lueyang City in a slightly arrogant manner.

Although this team of cavalry was so brave, they were always within an arrow's distance from Lueyang City, ensuring that they would not be hit by the powerful bows and crossbows on the city walls when they galloped around the city.

However, the handsome young man leading the team of cavalry rode his horse fearlessly into the range of an arrow from the top of the city wall. From time to time, he straightened up on the horse's back and made provocative gestures towards the top of the city wall.

It can be said to be extremely arrogant.

"How dare you." Gan Jiu looked down from the top of the city wall. He sneered and then asked Gan Ning for permission: "General Qu, I would like to lead a team of troops to meet this thief and teach this arrogant thief a lesson."

Gan Ning shook his head and rejected Gan Jiu's request. He glanced at the mountains on the west side of Lueyang City, and at the sight of a bird suddenly flying up, he had already made up his mind.

"Huh?" Gan Jiu looked puzzled. He couldn't believe that Gan Ning actually refused his request to go out of the city to chase the enemy. This was not like Gan Ning's style.

Gan Jiu has been following Gan Ning for a long time, even when Gan Ning was still in Ba County. He knew that Gan Ning could not tolerate others being arrogant in front of him. In the past, Gan Ning would always say, "Ba County cannot have such an arrogant person," and then step forward to kill the other party.

But Gan Jiu never thought that his commander had changed his temper today. He actually asked him to suppress his anger, watch the enemies running back and forth under the city, shout loudly, utter vulgar words, and humiliate them personally.

"General Qu?" Although Gan Jiu obeyed Gan Ning's orders, he found it hard to swallow this humiliation. He asked Gan Ning a question, hoping to get a reasonable explanation from him.

Gan Ning had a faint smile on his face, and he didn't seem to care at all about the arrogant enemy cavalry under the city. He did not explain anything to Gan Jiu, but pointed at the handsome young man who was leading the cavalry under the city with interest.

"I heard that Ma Chao, the eldest son of Ma Teng, is known to be strong and brave, and can fight one hundred people alone. He is also handsome and has a good appearance. The army calls him Jin Ma Chao. Could he be this person?"

Hearing this, Gan Jiu stopped questioning Gan Ning. He knew that Gan Ning would definitely explain to him, but not now.

Gan Jiu shouted towards the city, expressing Gan Ning's doubts about the enemy's identity: "General, please leave your name."

The enemy responded.

"I am Fufeng Ma Mengqi. The Shu troops in the city should quickly open the gates and surrender. Otherwise, the Liangzhou cavalry will come to the city and trample you into powder. It will be too late to regret then."

Ma Chao, who had a handsome and dignified appearance, spoke in an extremely arrogant manner. As soon as he opened his mouth, he spoke threatening words and asked Gan Ning to open the gate and surrender.

"It is indeed Jin Ma Chao." Gan Ning turned a deaf ear to Ma Chao's words of persuasion to surrender. He praised his own intelligence. He recognized that the person in front of him was Ma Chao based on only a few pieces of information collected by the spies from Liangzhou.

However, Gan Ning did not take Ma Chao's words seriously. Gan Jiu became furious when he heard them: "General, this man dares to treat us so disrespectfully. If we don't lead the army to fight, I'm afraid the morale of the army will be unstable." "Be calm." Gan Ning's words were spoken in a soothing tone, as if there was a peaceful magic that made Gan Jiu's anger disappear.

The sun gradually moved. One hour passed, then two hours passed. Ma Chao, who was originally riding a horse at galloping, led his cavalrymen to dismount, sit on the ground and play around, hoping to anger the Shu army on the city wall.

However, Ma Chao's actions failed to provoke the Shu army in the city to dispatch a single soldier. The gates of Lueyang City were closed tightly, with no signs of opening. The Shu army seemed to have no courage and remained unmoved, and timidly defended the city.

Gradually, the sun moved westward and dusk was approaching.

Ma Chao, who was sitting cross-legged at the foot of Lueyang City, stood up. He saw that the Shu army had not shown any signs of leaving the city to fight, and said with disdain, "I heard that the Shu soldiers were mediocre and cowardly, and it turns out to be true."

Ma Chao was very unhappy although he was angry. He glanced at the sky and saw the setting sun going down towards the hills west of Lueyang City. He gave up the idea of ​​staying in front of Lueyang City and called on his cavalrymen to mount their horses. He also mounted his horse and led his cavalrymen away.

When Ma Chao led his troops away, a group of soldiers and horses came out from the south side of the mountain range west of Lueyang City to pick up Ma Chao. However, this place was hidden by the mountain range and could not be seen from the top of Lueyang City. Only when the soldiers and horses rushed out were they seen by Gan Ning and Gan Jiu on the top of Lueyang City.

"General Qu, how did you know..." When Gan Jiu saw a group of troops coming out from the mountain on the west side, he was not stupid, so he naturally realized that it was an ambush. If he led the troops out in front to drive away Ma Chao who was chasing under the city, he would most likely be led into an ambush. So Gan Jiu asked Gan Ning in surprise.

Gan Ning explained at this time: "Earlier, there were birds flying up from the hills west of the city. I think there is an ambush army hiding there. If you lead your troops out, you will be lured by the enemy and fall into the ambush."

"Uh..." Gan Jiu showed an embarrassed look. His eyes were completely on Ma Chao and his group under the city, but he did not observe the situation around Lueyang City.

"But even if there were no bird warnings, I would not agree to your sending troops." Gan Ning saw Gan Jiu's embarrassment, but he did not feel complacent about it. Instead, he taught Gan Jiu a lesson.

"Ma Chao has just arrived, and he is in high spirits. There is no need to confront him head-on. Even if we win, we will lose too many men. Our first priority is to hold on to Lueyang. We will be unable to defend it if we don't have enough men."

Gan Ning's tone was calm, but his words were powerful: "If we are unable to defend it, we will most likely lose Lueyang. Losing Lueyang, a key place, will be detrimental to your future expedition to Liangzhou, and that would be a grave sin."

When Gan Ning said "there is no greater crime than this", he skipped the word "焉" and used "之" instead to avoid the taboo and express his respect for you.

"Things have priorities, importance, and urgency. A general should know when to do something and when not to do it...If you act only on your own courage, defeat is inevitable."

"In addition, the Art of War says 'A general should not lead a war out of anger, and a lord should not raise an army out of rage'. This is also the truth. A general should not raise an army out of anger, otherwise he will only harm himself and his soldiers."

"My Lord, you have given me thirteen chapters of the Art of War. I have read through them and have gained a lot of insights. When the war is over, you can read them more often when you have time. It would be great if you can make some progress."

"I will keep in mind what Commander Qu said and think deeply about it." Gan Jiu straightened his expression and accepted Gan Ning's teaching calmly. (End of this chapter)