Everything is ready; all that remains is to open the city gates.

Cao Cao stroked his beard, furrowed his brows, and spoke in a deep voice, “Cao Ren is one of my chief generals. He must accompany me to the front lines to arrange our battle positions—I cannot lend him to you.”

“Fengxiao is the strategist who travels with the army; he’s even less available. Cao Hong, however, I can spare for a few days, and Xu Chu as well.”

“As for the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, I’ll lend you two thousand Leopard Riders. But at most, you may have them for half a month. After that, Cao Hong will lead the two thousand Leopard Riders back.”

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were Cao Cao’s elite mounted troops, totaling only five thousand, all under the command of Cao Hong. Within them, there were Tiger Riders and Leopard Riders: three thousand Tiger Riders were heavy cavalry, and the two thousand Leopard Riders were light cavalry.

With these words, Cao Cao made his terms clear and final. As a grand chancellor, he would not haggle like a vendor at a market stall.

Su Ming considered the situation: Qin Qi’s five thousand soldiers would be tasked with cutting off the crossing, preventing Huang Zu’s navy from landing. He himself would lead two thousand Leopard Riders straight into Huang Zu’s camp, aiming to capture the leader first.

Yet, a crucial problem remained: how to open the gates of Xiling. The Leopard Riders, though elite, were not adept at storming fortifications, and Qin Qi’s five thousand new recruits were even less suited for siege warfare.

If brute force would not prevail, then subtlety was needed. He must find a way to bribe one of Huang Zu’s trusted aides, so that at the critical moment, the gates would be opened and allow them entry.

With the outline of his plan settled, Su Ming turned to Cao Cao and said, “I need ten thousand taels of gold. I’ll have to find a way to buy open the gates.”

Cao Cao pondered briefly, then decided that ten thousand taels was not a significant sum.

“Very well, I’ll give it to you,” Cao Cao agreed.

...

...

Jiangxia Commandery.

Xiling County.

Within a certain residence.

Cao Hong and Qin Qi were leading the army toward Jiangxia, while Su Ming had already quietly infiltrated Xiling County with Xu Chu, Sun Shangxiang, and a dozen of his most trusted men.

This residence had been purchased by Su Ming just the day before, to serve as their operational base.

“General Su, all the information has been gathered.”

“The navy at the Xiling crossing is commanded by Huang She, son of Huang Zu, with Gan Ning the Dandy Pirate and Su Fei as his chief generals. The four city gates of Xiling are guarded by Zhang Hu, Chen Sheng, Chen Jiu, and Deng Long.” The scout reported to Su Ming.

...

Su Ming’s plan for the crossing outside the city was to have Xu Chu and Qin Qi command five thousand troops, forming a phalanx to seize the crossing by surprise.

Once the crossing was secured, Huang Zu’s navy would be unable to land. Then, Su Ming himself could capture the leader first, deal with Huang Zu inside Xiling, and afterward turn his attention to the navy.

The critical challenge now was how to break into Xiling itself. If he could get inside, his own martial prowess and the two thousand Leopard Riders would be sufficient to accomplish his mission.

The four gate captains—Zhang Hu, Chen Sheng, Chen Jiu, and Deng Long—each guarded one of the city gates.

Su Ming carefully studied the dossiers on these four.

Zhang Hu had no vices. His routine was the military camp and his home, nothing more. He had a wife and a son.

Chen Sheng and Chen Jiu were brothers, both young and on good terms with Huang She, Huang Zu’s son. They seemed unlikely to be swayed.

Deng Long was an old general, unmarried, and spent his days frequenting the city’s brothels, indulging in women.

“Brother Su Ming, whom will you target?” Xu Chu asked, his large head leaning towards Su Ming.

The two brothers, Chen Sheng and Chen Jiu, could be ruled out. Young, unattached, unlikely to be tempted by money or women, and at their age, prone to rashness and hard to threaten.

Zhang Hu’s weakness was his wife and son.

As for Deng Long, he could be tempted with women, but female allure was only a lure—and Deng Long might not cooperate for mere pleasure.

After careful thought, Su Ming decided to focus on Zhang Hu. His wife and son were a fatal leverage.

If they were kidnapped, Zhang Hu would have no choice but to comply.

Though the method was somewhat unsavory, Su Ming had only this one chance. He could not afford to gamble and so was forced to resort to such measures.

History rememb