Chapter 1: Brocade Sail Bandit
Jian’an fourth year, spring, Xiangyang.
Liu Biao stood before a tall bronze mirror, examining himself in it. Although he was already fifty-eight years old, he was exceptionally well-preserved. His eight-chi frame stood tall and straight like a green pine, his thick black beard trimmed impeccably, and he wore a perfectly fitted purple robe.
Though nearing sixty, Liu Biao still looked like a man in his forties, full of mature charm. Two years ago, he had just married the alluring Cai Shi as his successor wife, and his prowess in bed remained undiminished.
After forming a marriage alliance with the Cai Family, he began to fully control Jingxiang, and his career gradually reached its peak. The world recognized him as the third greatest power after Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.
All of this greatly satisfied Liu Biao.
At this moment, Assistant Administrator Liu Xian entered the official residence carrying a bronze plate. “Governor, everything has been brought!”
On the plate was a thick stack of job resumes. Liu Biao walked back to the bed and sat upright. Liu Xian placed the plate on the desk before him.
“Are all the job resumes here?”
“Of course not. As per the Governor’s instructions, those from poor families have been removed. These are all from the aristocracy, most of whom have been recommended as filial and incorrupt.”
Liu Biao lightly stroked his long beard and nodded. The resumes of those from poor families would only waste his time.
At this moment, he suddenly noticed one resume on the plate placed separately to the side, and he couldn’t help but feel puzzled. “Why is this one separate?”
“This is the job resume of Gan Ning from Ba Commandery!”
Liu Biao frowned. “Didn’t I say not to include this man?”
“The eldest son asked me to present it. He said talent is rare and asked the Governor to reconsider.”
“Nonsense!”
Liu Biao’s face darkened. “Doesn’t he know Liu Zhang has already sent a letter? A river bandit who became a troublemaker in official circles, and he even has a nickname Brocade Sail Bandit—this title offends my ears!”
The three words “Brocade Sail Bandit” raised Liu Biao’s tone even higher, indicating his extreme displeasure.
“If I take him in, offending Liu Zhang is a small matter. It would ruin my reputation and make the world’s aristocracy mock me, Liu Jingsheng, for being so desperate that I even recruit river bandits. Hurry and drive this man away—I won’t use him!”
“Should we at least inform the eldest son first?”
Liu Biao angrily flicked his sleeve. “No need. I’ll give that ignorant bastard a good scolding myself. Use whatever means you want—this Gan Ning must leave Xiangyang today.”
Liu Xian smiled obsequiously. “Please rest assured, Governor. This subordinate knows what to do. I will force him to leave on his own, without damaging the Lord’s reputation for employing the worthy.”
“Very good!”
Liu Biao’s anger quickly subsided, returning to normal. It was said this was the mark of cultivation.
……….
Inside the Longsheng Inn in Xiangyang, Gan Ning had unexpectedly fallen ill a few days ago and lay unconscious. His subordinates were in a panic, calling physicians to treat him, but several physicians were helpless. They had never seen such a strange illness—a perfectly healthy person simply unconscious.
Three days later, Gan Ning finally awoke, letting his subordinates breathe a long sigh of relief. But along with the relief, all his subordinates had an indescribable feeling.
They all felt that their Lord seemed like a different person.
He had become unusually silent. His former explosive temper, which ignited at the slightest spark, had suddenly vanished, and his gaze was as calm as a bottomless night sky.
But having just recovered from a serious illness, his mental fatigue and reluctance to speak were normal. His subordinates didn’t mind his silence; it was another feeling. In temperament and expression, their Lord was different from before.
The subordinates couldn’t figure out the reason and could only explain it to each other: it must be because their Lord was ill, leading to this change in emotion.
In the room, Gan Ning muttered to himself before the bronze mirror. “Am I really Gan Ning? Gan Ning of the Three Kingdoms era?”
The person in the bronze mirror was obviously someone he had seen—wild hair like a kill-matt style, a face he thought handsome but worthless in the marriage market, half-open collar, a dissolute and unrestrained poor loser. He really did resemble his former self from later times.
Images kept flashing in his mind of himself collapsing in front of the computer, like a frozen photo. A month of high-intensity overtime had ended his coder career.
Gan Ning sighed. The him from later times had vanished like a fart, but the current him was indeed Gan Ning, the genuine Gan Ning, Gan Xingba, known as the Tiger Minister of Jiangbiao.
That word “minister” stung his heart. He had rendered so much merit for Eastern Wu, but after the Battle of Xiaoyao Ford, he vanished from history without even earning a nobility title. In the end, he was just another failed wage worker.
Gan Ning had thoroughly studied the Three Kingdoms in his later life and had his own understanding of it.
For example, was Sun Ce really killed by Xu Gong’s retainer?
Not necessarily. Some say he was assassinated by someone sent by Cao Cao, but Gan Ning didn’t agree. He believed Sun Ce was assassinated by the Jiangdong Group in alliance, even including the Sun Family.
The trigger was Sun Ce’s decision to launch the Northern Expedition to Xuchang during the Battle of Guandu to rescue the Son of Heaven. The Northern Expedition clearly went against the interests of Jiangdong’s major powers. Plus, Sun Ce’s forceful purge of the Jiangdong Group after Prefect of Wu Commandery Chen Yu’s betrayal made the Jiangdong aristocracy and local strongmen extremely dissatisfied, making Sun Ce’s death inevitable.
Essentially, it was a coup.
Upon Sun Quan’s succession, he immediately canceled the Northern Expedition plan, and the Jiangdong aristocracy began flocking to him, including Lu Su, who had previously left due to differing political ambitions.
Sun Ce’s death was a huge regret. If Sun Ce hadn’t died, the world might have been entirely different. There might have been no Western Jin, and thus no War of the Eight Princes or Uprising of the Five Barbarians that nearly exterminated the Han people.
Next year, Sun Ce would die—it was almost inevitable. Even if not by Xu Gong’s retainer, it would be by Zhang Gong’s or Li Gong’s.
Gan Ning had emerged from his initial panic and confusion, inevitably beginning to consider his own future and prospects.
Everyone has dreams. Without dreams, what difference is there from a salted fish?
Could it be that Heaven made him transmigrate to take up Sun Ce’s banner?
To unify the world himself, not the Sima Family.
Thinking of the Sima Family, Gan Ning thought of the Uprising of the Five Barbarians and the most tragic “two-legged sheep” in history. The root of all evil was the Sima Family.
Even if not for himself, he had to do something for this era, to prevent the Han people’s most tragic moment in history from happening again.
As Gan Ning was lost in thought, a subordinate reported from the courtyard, “Lord, Assistant Administrator Liu is here!”
Gan Ning pressed his forehead. He remembered: his predecessor had led his men from Ba Commandery to defect to Jingzhou’s Liu Biao. He was now in Xiangyang seeking employment, awaiting Liu Biao’s reply.
At this point, the phoenix-like reborn Gan Ning no longer wanted to serve Liu Biao, but out of courtesy, he still needed to make a statement.
“Invite him in!”
“Lord, he’s the Assistant Administrator. Perhaps you should go greet him?”
“I’m just recovering from a serious illness!”
Gan Ning’s signature low-EQ loser syndrome from his previous life was acting up.
………
Jingzhou’s Assistant Administrator Liu Xian sat dryly for a moment. Feeling thirsty, he smacked his lips, hinting to Gan Ning sitting opposite him. Shockingly, there wasn’t even a cup of tea on the desk.
“Oh! Got it.”
Gan Ning immediately ordered, “Bring Assistant Administrator Liu a bowl of water!”
An attendant brought in a large bowl of well water.
Sigh! Liu Xian sighed inwardly. A boor is a boor!
“The Governor greatly admires General Gan’s valor and is willing to arrange a military position for the General, but….”
Anything is ruined by a “but.” Liu Xian took a folded sheet of yellow hemp paper from his bag and pushed it across the desk to Gan Ning.
“This is the resume General Gan previously submitted to the Governor. There’s one part the Governor dislikes—change it.”
Liu Xian poked the yellow hemp paper with his stubby finger like a small radish. “Remove the three words ‘Brocade Sail Bandit’—too glaring!”
Gan Ning didn’t know how the historical Gan Ning passed the interview, but Liu Xian’s words pierced his heart like a needle.
The three words “Brocade Sail Bandit” offended Liu Biao’s noble eyes. He really ought to kneel and apologize.
Gan Ning’s gaze blurred. He suddenly recalled his boss from his previous life. During his interview, the word “rural” on his resume had similarly offended the boss’s eyes.
Why had the boss hired him? Oh, right—six days a week, twelve hours a day, three thousand monthly salary. No one but this fool would take that job.
“General Gan!”
Liu Xian noticed he was distracted and knocked the desk again with his stubby finger, pulling Gan Ning’s thoughts back to the present.
“Change the resume?”
Gan Ning glanced at the resume and said indifferently, “Does Governor Liu mean I should start my resume from age eighteen?”
At eighteen, Gan Ning began to study, bidding farewell to his river bandit life.
“Exactly right!”
Liu Xian greatly appreciated how perceptive the other was, understanding the unspoken implication.
Gan Ning was silent for a moment, then raised his eyes, staring at Liu Xian with a knife-like gaze. “The ‘Brocade Sail Bandit’ on paper can be erased, but can the ‘Brocade Sail Bandit’ in Governor Liu’s heart be erased?”
Liu Xian couldn’t withstand the other’s sharp gaze. Feeling guilty, he lowered his eyes, glancing at the large bowl of well water on the desk. Dissatisfaction began to boil in his heart. A mere river bandit daring to disrespect him? His face slowly hardened.
“I’ll be direct! Liu Zhang wrote a letter to the Governor praising your ‘exploits.’ The title Brocade Sail Bandit is indeed jarring.
But the Governor doesn’t want to lose his reputation for employing the worthy and is willing to give you a chance. Just don’t aim too high on the military position—start from a lower one, like military officer or battalion commander. Does the General understand? A lower position makes your background less important.”
“Lower salary, and rural background becomes less important.”
This was also what his previous-life boss had said. He had humiliatingly accepted it then, but this life he absolutely would not!
Gan Ning stood up and calmly asked, “So, there’s no room for negotiation?”
“Negotiation?”
Liu Xian dropped the pretense, sneering coldly. “What qualification do you have to negotiate with the Governor? His attitude is clear: stay as a dog or get out!”
Gan Ning picked up the large bowl from the desk and splashed the water in Liu Xian’s face.
“That’s my attitude!”
……….
Half a shichen later, Gan Ning led his three hundred subordinates aboard ships and left Xiangyang, heading toward distant Jiangdong.
The next day at noon, a county town appeared on the west bank of the Han River. Gan Ning checked the map—it should be Yicheng County.
“Wang Ping, take a few brothers to the county town to buy some dry rations, and check the wanted posters at the city gate!”
“Right away!”
Subordinate general Wang Ping waved his hand. “Follow me!”
He led a few subordinates by boat toward the county town dock.
Gan Ning had his men slow down and wait on the river surface. He had left in too much haste without restocking dry rations, and more importantly, he wanted to know if Liu Biao had posted a wanted poster for him.
After all, Liu Xian was the Assistant Administrator, a high official of Jingzhou, humiliated by him—how could Liu Biao let it slide?
Gan Ning certainly didn’t regret it. Liu Biao wanted to have his cake and eat it too, forcing him out—that bowl of water was his attitude. He flipped the table before leaving.
If Liu Biao had posted a wanted poster, he would have to fight his way out of Jiangxia.
Soon, Wang Ping returned from procurement, having bought several thousand flatbreads, filling an entire boat.
“Report to the Lord: no wanted posters at the city gate, only a notice urging Jianghuai refugees to return home quickly!”
Gan Ning breathed a slight sigh of relief and asked, “What’s going on in Jianghuai?”
“The notice says Yuan Shu has already left Jiujiang Commandery and headed north!”
Gan Ning was stunned. What was Yuan Shu heading north for?
Gan Ning thought carefully. Right, Jian’an fourth year—Yuan Shu at the end of his rope, trying to flee to Hebei to join Yuan Shao, only to be blocked by Cao Cao’s men Liu Bei and Zhu Ling.
Unable to pass, Yuan Shu retreated to Shouchun. North of Shouchun, his grain was robbed by bandits, leaving only thirty dou of wheat. Yuan Shu vomited blood and died, unable even to drink honeyed water at the end.
But that wasn’t important. What mattered was the Imperial Seal in Yuan Shu’s hands and the property he carried—this was surely a heaven-sent opportunity!
At this thought, Gan Ning’s eyes lit up.
Heaven had closed a door but quietly opened a window.
Note: Gan Ning defected to Liu Biao in the first year of Xingping. This book delays it by five years and reduces Gan Ning’s age somewhat. When Liu Biao first arrived in Jingzhou, he urgently needed to build his own forces, so he could accept Gan Ning. Later, once settled, Gan Ning was driven away.
