Chapter 84: Sincerity Moves Mountains
Taimo County is located in the western mountainous region of Kuaiji Commandery, roughly in the area of today’s Zhejiang Quzhou. In the Three Kingdoms Period, this was an extremely remote small county, with poor and barren land, impoverished citizens, and most of them being Shanyue People.
Outside the city in a scenic spot with mountains and clear waters, Taishi Ci knelt before a small grave, his eyes filled with despair and grief.
Having been appointed to Taimo County for only three months, his young son Taishi Lai had unfortunately fallen ill and died young, dealing Taishi Ci a heavy blow.
He placed a bunch of wildflowers on the grave and said in a low voice, “Father was incompetent and failed to take good care of you. Forgive Father!”
Tears welled up in Taishi Ci’s eyes, and he suddenly covered his face and burst into uncontrollable sobs…
It was not until dusk that Taishi Ci dragged his heavy steps back home. The small county had hardly any major issues; as county commandant, he was responsible for maintaining public order and mediating disputes—nothing more than countryside folk quarreling over vegetable stalls or fighting over the height of a shared wall between neighbors, and so on. Even local ruffians and hoodlums were rare here; it was too poor for them to stay.
As soon as he got home, his wife Wang Shi came forward and said, “Husband, Mr. Qiao has come again, and he’s brought a young man with him.”
Mr. Qiao was Qiao An. He was now serving as military advisor in the advisory office, in charge of external negotiations. Previously, he had come on Gan Ning’s order to invite Taishi Ci, but Taishi Ci had politely declined. This was his second visit.
Taishi Ci nodded and went to the guest hall. Although Taishi Ci’s mansion was an official residence, it was a very old wooden house infested with rats and cockroaches, with snakes occasionally appearing, and it was very damp. His eldest son often had leg pains, and his young son had fallen seriously ill here, passing away a month later.
Qiao An stood up, cupped his fists, and smiled, “Very sorry to disturb General Taishi again!”
Taishi Ci was suddenly stunned. The young man standing behind Qiao An was none other than Gan Ning, who was grinning at him.
Taishi Ci’s nose tingled; Gan Ning had actually come in person. He hurried forward to salute, “This subordinate pays respects to General Gan!”
Wang Shi happened to come in with tea and was also stunned. She asked softly, “Husband, this is…”
Taishi Ci sighed, “He is the Prefect of Three Commanderies, General Gan, whom I told you about, madam.”
Wang Shi was startled and quickly apologized, “Ah! It was my ignorance; I have been rude to the general.”
Gan Ning waved his hand, “Elder sister-in-law need not blame herself; it is Gan Ning who came unannounced.”
Taishi Ci hurriedly invited Gan Ning to sit. Gan Ning took out two boxes containing fine sets of writing brushes, ink sticks, ink stones, and paper, and said apologetically, “These were originally small gifts I brought for my two nephews, but I just learned of what happened to your young nephew. Please accept my condolences, Brother Taishi!”
Taishi Ci nodded, “Life is unpredictable. Though I have painfully lost my beloved son, in the end I can only bear it. Has General Gan come to persuade me to go to Yuzhang Commandery?”
Gan Ning said with utmost sincerity, “Gan Ning aspires to the world and needs the aid of fine generals and fierce warriors. General Taishi is a fierce general of the world and should lead armies to roam freely across the land. How can he be constrained by a small county? I earnestly beg General Taishi to assist me.”
At this moment, Wang Shi choked up at the doorway, “Husband, agree! We have already lost Lai’er; we cannot lose Heng’er too.”
The eldest son always complained of leg pain, and medicine did no good, which tore at Wang Shi’s heart like a knife. The conditions here were too poor; she feared losing her eldest son as well.
Taishi Ci had previously declined Qiao An out of gratitude for Sun Ce’s recognition of his talent, but the death of his young son completely changed Taishi Ci’s mindset. He felt he had already fulfilled all righteousness and owed no one anything.
Taishi Ci stood up, knelt on one knee, cupped his fists, and said, “I am deeply moved by the general’s sincerity and have no way to repay it. I am willing to serve the general with utmost effort!”
Gan Ning was overjoyed; this trip had not been in vain. He had finally persuaded Taishi Ci.
Gan Ning helped Taishi Ci up and said, “When Brother Taishi came to Chaisang to persuade me back then, I knew we were fellow travelers. With Brother Taishi’s assistance, how could Gan Ning worry about not achieving the great cause?”
Taishi Ci nodded and said, “There is one more thing: I want to move my young son’s coffin to Nanchang!”
“Of course. I will have the military advisor Qiao handle this matter.”
Qiao An hurriedly said, “General Taishi, rest assured; I will properly escort your son back to Nanchang.”
The next day, Taishi Ci wrote a letter of resignation, along with the county commandant seal, and handed them to the county chief to forward to the Marquis of Wu. He packed his luggage, took his wife and children, and set off following Gan Ning. The relocation of his young son’s coffin was entrusted to Qiao An.
Qiao An immediately spent a large sum to hire Daoist priests to relocate the tomb. After performing rituals for seven days, Qiao An and more than a dozen Daoist priests set off escorting the coffin.
The journey from Taimo County to Nanchang was not far; there was no need to take a boat on the Yangtze River. They went directly by land route along the official road westward, entering Yuzhang Commandery territory after two days, and arrived at Nanchang County after a few more days.
Gan Ning then appointed Taishi Ci as Fifth Army Commandant, in command of 15,000 troops stationed in Xunyang County, and granted him 1,000 retainer troops. These were Taishi Ci’s own army; no matter where Taishi Ci was transferred, these 1,000 troops would follow. This was also the first time Taishi Ci had his own retainer troops since raising an army in Donglai Commandery.
Of course, commandant-level generals all had 1,000 retainer troops, commandants had 300 retainer troops, and those below had none.
Currently, Gan Ning’s troop strength had increased to 65,000, divided into five armies altogether. The Second Army commandant was Ding Feng, commanding 15,000 troops stationed in Wuchang County.
The Third Army commandant was Xu Sheng, commanding 15,000 troops stationed in Pengze County.
The Fourth Army had slightly fewer troops, only 5,000, commanded by commandant Shen Mi, stationed in Luling County.
The Fifth Army commandant was Taishi Ci, while the First Army commandant was Wang Ping, commanding 10,000 troops stationed in Nanchang County.
The 60,000 troops of the five army commandants all swore direct loyalty to Gan Ning and were mobilized by Gan Ning’s personal orders and tiger tallies.
Although the 60,000 army swore loyalty to Gan Ning, legally speaking, it was not his private army but belonged to the political power of Yuzhang Commandery.
Therefore, Gan Ning also had a force entirely his own retainer troops, totaling 5,000, commanded by Zhang Xi and Wang Xiaoman.
That morning, Wang Xiaoman returned to report. He also brought the latest news from Jiangdong.
After completing the Xuchang mission, Wang Xiaoman had not returned directly to Chaisang but disguised himself as a merchant and stayed in Wu County for a while to gather intelligence on Jiangdong.
“Tell me first about the Xuchang matter!” Gan Ning laughed.
“Reporting to my lord, assassinating Sun Yi was not difficult. Cao Cao had not assigned anyone to surveil Sun Yi, and Sun Yi himself was very high-profile, going out every day and appearing publicly. But to kill him without leaving a trace or any clues for the enemy required considerable effort.
The key was observation, understanding his habits and details. For example, when he hosted guests for banquets, the moment he saw them off was the best opportunity. He would have drunk too much, his reactions slowed, and his personal guards could not stay too close, needing to maintain a certain distance.
We chose the day Xuchang was celebrating the victory at the Battle of Guandu. The restaurants were packed with guests. When Sun Yi saw off his guests, there were many people at the door, impossible to guard against. The opportunity arose, and we struck true, piercing his skull with a poisoned arrow.”
“You weren’t discovered during your withdrawal?”
“Reporting to my lord, we were very careful and considered everything thoroughly. All our subordinates could speak the Eastern Wu dialect of Jiangdong, so even if overheard, it would sound like an accent from Jiangdong. No one would suspect us.”
Gan Ning nodded, “What about the situation in Wu Commandery?”
Wang Xiaoman smiled, “The situation in Wu Commandery is quite interesting. Sun Quan has actually suppressed the news of Sun Yi’s assassination; only a very few insiders know. The Old Madam Wu probably knows; it’s said she has fallen seriously ill and may not recover. High officials like Zhang Zhao probably know too.”
“What about the Xu Family?”
“It’s said Miss Xu fled her marriage and ran off to Kuaiji Commandery. She probably doesn’t know yet about Sun Yi’s assassination. Then, another granddaughter of the Xu Family is preparing to marry Sun Quan; apparently she’s a widow. The whole of Wu County is talking about it.”
At this point, Wang Xiaoman added, “It’s said Jiangdong is moving its capital to Dantu County. They’ve already started expanding the city there; it seems real. This news is common knowledge everywhere.”
“Any news on Sun Ben?”
Wang Xiaoman shook his head, “This subordinate only knows that Sun Ben has been very low-key lately, spending most of his time in Jiujiang Commandery with little contact with Wu County, and no one mentions him.”
Gan Ning suddenly remembered something and said, “I told you to inquire about Zhao Yun. Do you have any news on him?”
