Lan Ji rode ahead to clear the way. Sensing vaguely that someone was calling him, he spurred his horse back and asked, "Father, were you calling for me?"
Lan Tian shook his head with a faint smile and waved him off. "Go about your business. I'll call if I need you."
"Oh." Lan Ji gave everyone a suspicious glance, then squeezed his legs against the horse's flanks and charged back to the very front.
Yi Ji asked in astonishment, "Prefect, the Second Young Master heard you from that far away?"
"Surely not? It was probably just a coincidence." Lan Tian thought to himself, We're all ordinary people—don't drag this into wuxia territory.
Gan Ning solemnly explained, "Those highly skilled in martial arts possess keen ears and sharp eyes. Zhongling is already outstanding among men, so it is only natural that his hearing differs from ordinary people's. Still, that is indeed quite a distance. I agree with you, sir."
"I once heard Boyang mention that Wu general Xu Sheng had originally held Chaisang. Xingba, how did you deal with him in the end? Did you storm the city, or persuade him to surrender?" Lan Tian hurriedly changed the subject.
Gan Ning frowned and shook his head. "Neither. It is a winding tale. Listen while I explain it in detail."
Back when Gan Ning took over Chaisang from Lan Yuan, he thought there was no need to launch a direct assault if they could persuade the enemy to surrender. On top of that, they had the two captives, Zhang Cheng and Sun Lin, so they ultimately surrounded the city without attacking.
Chaisang was an important military stronghold. Apart from a small number of settled civilians, most of those in the city were troops stationed there. The city's supplies depended heavily on Nanchang