My name is Ma Su, Ma Youchang.
I have spent my youth buried in military scrolls, dreaming of becoming a God of War on par with Han Xin.
I was already a military advisor, and I figured that with just a bit more effort, my next step would be managing the cavalry, then a colonel, then a Zhonglang Jiang, General of the Household, and finally, the Grand General. Just thinking about it gave me a little thrill.
What I never expected was that I would end up as a lowly private soldier under the command of Zhang Fei, the Zhengbei Jiangjun, General Who Conquers Rebels.
I am so dead.
Zhang Fei had politely declined his brother Guan Yu's invitation to stay the night in Jiangling. Instead, he took Ma Su and rode straight back to Linju.
As the sun dipped toward the horizon, the two riders passed through the city gates.
"General, everything in Linju is normal!" Fan Jiang rushed forward with uncharacteristic eagerness to take the reins of Zhang Fei's horse.
Zhang Fei hopped down lightly from the saddle, stretching his powerful frame. He watched with a smirk as Fan Jiang had to call over two other soldiers just to pry Ma Su off his horse.
"Can't even stay in a saddle, yet you want to lead an army?" Zhang Fei mocked loudly.
Ma Su did not even have the energy to argue. His inner thighs felt like they were on fire, and he was fairly certain his backside had split into four pieces.
He knew how to ride, of course, but only at a dignified, scholarly pace. Riding over 100 li in a single day at a breakneck gallop was a first for him.
"This kid's name is Ma Su," Zhang Fei barked his orders. "Fan Jiang, take him to the barracks. Is there not an empty cot in that Mi clan brat's room? Toss him in there so he can rest up."
Fan Jiang gave a grunt of affirmation, hoisted Ma Su over his shoulder, and marched off.
Ma Su felt himself being dumped onto a bed of rough straw. In his semi-conscious state, he was hit by a wave of pungent smells. Horse manure. Stale sweat. A few other scents that defied description. Oddly enough, the stench acted like smelling salts, sharpening his senses.
He felt someone flip him over, and then a vaguely familiar voice called out his name.
"Ma Su?"
Ma Su squinted, trying to focus on the somewhat noble-looking face before him. "And you are?" he asked weakly.
The noble face immediately soured, and two words were spat through gritted teeth. "Mi Fang."
Ma Su managed a sincere, albeit shaky, bow from his prone position. "Ah, the last time I saw you, you were wearing so much face powder that I did not recognize you."
A flash of humiliated rage crossed Mi Fang's face, but he eventually suppressed it, replacing it with a sneer. "I never thought I would see the great Advisor Ma Youchang thrown into this pit."
Ma Su let out a dry huff. "I spent the last year in Gong'an doing nothing but being diligent. I was only sent here after defying a direct order during our lord's campaign for Yizhou. What about you, you coattail rider? Are you here because you finally managed to trip your brother up?"
Mi Fang's face turned a deep shade of crimson, looking as if he were about to explode. Suddenly, a cold, detached voice rang out from the shadows of the room.
"The campaign for Yizhou has already begun?"
Ma Su realized for the first time that there was a third person in the room, their body nearly swallowed by the darkness.
"Our lord's army is unstoppable," Ma Su replied. "Six cities in Yizhou have already opened their gates. It is a victory won without shedding a drop of blood."
The shadow was still for a long moment before asking, "And yet, in the middle of such a grand victory, you were sent here? Were you a coward on the battlefield?"
The insult stung. Ma Su's voice went shrill with indignation. "How dare a mere soldier presume to judge his superior!"
The figure stepped out of the shadows, revealing a face of considerable dignity and authority. He stood tall before Ma Su and said simply, "My father is Liu Bei. My name is Liu Feng."
Beside them, Mi Fang began to laugh so hard that tears actually started to roll down his face.
He felt as though the two months of constant berating he had endured in this camp were suddenly worth it just to see this moment.
Ma Su spent a night he would never forget, marked by a rock-hard bed, bizarre smells, and roommates he did not particularly like. The next morning, he was shaken awake by Mi Fang.
"Get up, Ma Coward! Morning drills!"
The sky was barely gray. Ma Su could not remember the last time he had been awake at such an hour.
But seeing Liu Feng already standing there in full armor, watching him with a piercing gaze, Ma Su wisely kept his mouth shut and crawled out of bed.
The morning was spent reclaiming wasteland for farming and patrolling the city walls.
In the afternoon, the three of them were ushered into a prearranged room to teach the soldiers how to read.
This was a direct order from Zhang Fei. He did not expect his men to become scholars, but he wanted them to recognize enough characters to understand the Military Medical Manual that Ma Su was carrying.
The idea of teaching medicine to a bunch of illiterate grunts seemed utterly absurd to Ma Su, but Liu Feng and Mi Fang took the task seriously, so he had no choice but to follow suit.
By evening, they were sent into Linju to help the local commoners with their chores.
Under the watchful eye of a sergeant, Ma Su hauled water for two households, filling their vats to the brim.
Only then was he allowed to head back for dinner.
The reality of camp life was light years away from the heroic fantasies he had harbored.
---
After resting in Gong'an for a single night, Liu Bei headed straight for Jiangling.
The Twin Cities of Jiangling were already beginning to take shape, but what caught Liu Bei's eye was a group of naval soldiers gathered near the docks, moving with the easy confidence of men who considered the river their own backyard.
They had arrived from Dantu just yesterday and had immediately requested an audience with him.
Their faces bore the raw, wind-scoured edge of men who had spent their lives on the water, sharp and fierce, yet there was no wild, messy chaos about them like common bandits. Every shift of weight, every glance over a shoulder spoke of deep, unspoken discipline, as if they were always ready to cover each other's backs without a single word. It was that rare kind of force that looked scattered at a glance, but remained bound tight by something stronger than orders.
And at the center of that storm stood Gan Gui.
He was dressed like a man who had robbed three different merchants and could not decide which style suited him best.
A silver bell hung at his waist, ringing faintly with every lazy shift of his weight. He spun a small silver dagger over his knuckles without even looking, his movements loose and fluid, like he was half dancing to a tune only he could hear. Behind him, the brocade sail of his flagship rippled in the river breeze, gold and crimson against the pale sky. It was excessive. And somehow, it suited him perfectly.
Liu Bei realized instantly that these were Gan Ning's personal elite guards. But the young man standing before him was not merely a shadow of his father. He was something else entirely.
"Truly worthy of being Gan Xingba's men. Every single one of you is a fine warrior!" Liu Bei praised loudly.
The compliment dissolved some of the underlying tension in the air.
An old man stepped forward from the crowd, his face lined and weathered, one eye clouded over with age. Old Man Liu, the navigator. He spat over the side of the dock first, as if custom demanded it, before speaking. "May I ask the Zuo General, if you intend for us to strike Zigui or Wu County?"
Liu Bei shook his head. "Zigui and Wu County have already surrendered without a fight."
Relief washed over the old man's face. The waters around those two areas were treacherous and fast, the last places any sane sailor wanted to launch an assault. He quickly followed up, "Then we request that Gan Gui be appointed our general. All 800 of us will serve as your vanguard when you strike Quren."
Before Liu Bei could answer, a loud voice boomed from the back of the crowd.
"Strike Quren? Finally! I will be the first through the gate!" Big Nose Zhang waved his axe in the air so wildly he nearly took off the ear of the man standing beside him.
"You? First through the gate?" A scarred veteran stepped forward, shoving Big Nose Zhang aside with practiced ease. Lao Zheng. "I fought beside General Gan when you were still learning which end of the axe to hold. If anyone claims first blood, it will be me."
"Old men should stay on the ship and guard the soup pot!" Big Nose Zhang shot back, chest puffed out.
"Say that again and I will use that ridiculous big nose of yours as a mooring hook!" Lao Zheng snarled, leaning in close.
The two of them squared off, chest to chest, while the rest of the crew watched with the tired familiarity of men who had seen this exact argument play out a hundred times before.
Gan Gui did not even glance at them. He just kept spinning his dagger, a faint, amused smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, as if his men brawling was just background music he rather enjoyed.
Liu Bei gave a strange, amused smile and shook his head. "In February, I executed the rebel leader Li Yi in Zigui. From Zigui all the way to Jiangzhou, every city has yielded. No soldiers died, and no civilians were harmed. My friends, you can all go home now."
The grizzled veterans froze, then looked at one another, their faces masks of utter confusion. Wait, go home? Everything from Zigui to Jiangzhou was already under Liu Huangshu's rule? Just like that?
"What about Yufu, my lord? My home is in Yufu," one old soldier blurted out, voice thick with disbelief.
Liu Bei raised his voice so every last man could hear. "Yufu is the same. No one was hurt, and the army did not disturb the peace. If you no longer wish to serve, you only need to spend one year here in Jiangling as naval instructors. After that, you are free to return to your homes. I will not stand in your way."
The Jinfan pirate veterans immediately erupted into a cacophony of hushed, urgent arguments.
"Hell no, I want to go home now! I didn't even say a proper goodbye to my mother when we left!"
"Wait, me too! My wife was pregnant with child when I followed General Gan out of the river! My son is probably so big now he's already beating up the neighbor's children!"
"Hey, guys... General Gan is still stuck in Jiangdong, rotting away in that boring court!"
"Yeah, right! General Gan is the one who led us out. If we go back, shouldn't we take him with us?"
The mention of Gan Ning caused the crowd to fall still all at once. They all turned their eyes toward Liu Bei, burning with the same sudden, reckless idea.
"Hehe, Lord Liu, let us go and bring General Gan back! You know he's miserable in Jiangdong!" One man shouted, and the whole crowd roared in agreement.
Big Nose Zhang slammed his axe down hard enough to crack a dock plank. "Just give us one fast ship! I'll kick his door in and carry him out over my shoulder if I have to!"
Old Man Liu spat over the side, already mentally mapping the route. "Downstream we can catch up to any vessel before sundown. Easy. Even a blind man could sail it."
Another soldier leaned forward, eyes bright with greed for merit. "Lord, if we catch General Gan and bring him to you, that counts as proper merit, right? Can we get extra wine and rations for it?"
Liu Bei rubbed his temples, a familiar headache coming on. This chaotic, enthusiastic, reckless energy... it reminded him far too much of his third brother Zhang Fei. Did Zhang Fei actually have a hidden talent for naval warfare?
"Lord..."
Gan Gui had squeezed through the crowd to stand right at Liu Bei's side, moving with the fast, easy grace of a cat that knew exactly how to avoid being stepped on. His dagger had vanished somewhere up his sleeve, and his face, for once, was thoroughly dejected. The silver bell at his waist hung perfectly still, as if even it knew better than to make noise right now.
Liu Bei felt a sudden, inexplicable wave of guilt. This boy had come all this way ready for glory, and all the fighting was already done.
"Gan Gui, no worry, The next time we need the navy for a real battle, I promise you will lead the vanguard," Liu Bei assured him firmly.
Gan Gui's face lit up instantly. The silver bell jingled as he straightened, all traces of dejection vanishing in a blink.
"The vanguard, you say? Splendid. Absolutely splendid. I will have the men polish the ballista immediately. A'Shan!"
A wiry young man with ink-stained fingers jolted upright from the crowd, sweat already beading on his forehead. "Y-yes, Captain?"
"Triple check the harpoon mechanism. No, quadruple check it. If it jams while we are ripping open some poor fool's city gate, I will personally feed you to the river gods. And not the nice ones either."
A'Shan swallowed hard and nodded so fast his head bobbled. "Understood, Captain!"
A skinny young man beside him clutched a bundle of bamboo slips so tight his knuckles turned white, trembling like a leaf in a gale. A'Hei. "S-s-should I record that order, Captain? For the official log?"
Gan Gui considered it for a long, dramatic moment, tapping his chin. "No. But do write this down. The next enemy commander who shows up wearing armor that ugly deserves to lose his city out of pure fashion sense. It is a matter of principle."
A'Hei nodded furiously and began scribbling so fast his brush nearly snapped.
Liu Bei stared at the scene unfolding before him and felt his headache sharpen. Heavens, what kind of unit is this? These men are not like any military unit I have ever seen. They are pirates through and through, except they happen to be very skilled at sinking ships and killing people efficiently.
The surrounding area went still for a beat. Liu Bei looked out at the 800 naval veterans, their eyes burning with desperate hope. They wanted to go home, yes, but they did not want to go home as failures. Who did not want to return in a blaze of glory, with stories to tell their families?
Liu Bei took a deep breath and shouted loud enough for every last man to hear over the wind and water. "If you are unwilling to lay down your armor and go home just yet, I, Liu Bei, can only promise you this. In the future, the navy will have more work than you can handle! More battles, more rivers to cross, more glory to win!"
The dock erupted.
"GLORY ON THE WATER!"
"WE FOLLOW LORD LIU!"
"FOR GENERAL GAN!"
That was all they needed to hear. These 800 men had followed Gan Ning through the waning years of Liu Biao, the cruelty and desperation of Huang Zu, and the stagnant boredom of Sun Quan's court.
They were tired of being forgotten, tired of sitting around doing nothing while glory passed them by.
"WE FOLLOW Gan Gui! WE FOLLOW Lord Liul!"
Eight hundred men dropped to one knee, their collective roar rolling across the water and shaking the very air above the docks.
Liu Bei patted Gan Gui's shoulder, a wide smile on his face. But he did not forget to add one final warning, his voice firm and clear.
"For now, you absolutely cannot go and ambush General Gan. No kidnapping plots. Understood?"
Looking at the eager faces of these Ba Shu warriors, Liu Bei had a sudden impulse to drag his third brother over and let him be their commander. It would be a match made in heaven, right? Two chaotic, loud forces of nature leading the navy together. What could possibly go wrong?
Gan Gui leaned in close, his voice dropping to a soft, conspiratorial whisper, eyes dancing with unrepentant mischief, as if they were discussing a particularly clever smuggling deal instead of kidnapping a famous admiral.
"Understood, my lord. Perfectly clear. But... purely for the sake of future planning, of course... later is not entirely out of the question?"
Liu Bei simply smirked and turned to leave, already mentally preparing to have a talk with his second brother Guan Yu about how to handle this wild new naval force.
---
In mid-May, in the city of Jiangzhou, Pang Tong received a reply from Liu Zhang, the Yizhou Mu, Governor of Yizhou.
He scanned the letter and tossed it to Zhao Yun with a mocking laugh. "Liu Zhang has no spine at all."
Zhao Yun took the letter, his curiosity piqued. He saw that Liu Zhang did not seem particularly bothered by the death of Li Yi. In fact, he praised Liu Bei for ridding the nation of a pest.
Then, the tone of the letter shifted, mentioning that Li Yi might have been conspiring with Pang Xi.
The subtext was painfully clear. Since you have already dealt with Li Yi, why do you not go ahead and take out Pang Xi for me too?
Zhao Yun, ever the gentleman, did not speak ill of others. He simply let out a sigh and shook his head.
He remembered Pang Tong telling him once that Liu Zhang was the Yizhou Mu in name only. In reality, he was just the Governor of Chengdu. Now, the truth was plain to see.
Liu Zhang sat upon the riches of Chengdu, yet he could not pacify Li Yi, he could not command Pang Xi, and he had even inadvertently helped Zhang Lu's rebellion years ago.
Now that Liu Bei was here, Liu Zhang's first instinct was not to maintain his dignity as a governor, but to try and play the drive the tiger to swallow the wolf game.
Zhao Yun kept these thoughts to himself and handed the letter back.
Pang Tong flicked the paper, ideas dancing in his mind. "We will not get involved in their internal squabbles just yet," he mused. "But this letter... we should send it to Pang Xi via express courier immediately."