The Shanyue were rubbing their hands together, brimming with excitement. At long last, it felt as though they had a chance to wash away years of humiliation.
If one were to count carefully, the very first military achievements of the Sun clan of Jiangdong had been built atop Shanyue blood.
Back then, when Sun Ce had yet to break free from Yuan Shu's command, he had been sent off to Danyang to seek refuge with his uncle and recruit local militias. During that period, the Shanyue chieftain Zu Lang had launched repeated attacks against Sun Ce—twice pushing the Little Conqueror to the brink of disaster.
Sun Ce flew into a rage, went to Yuan Shu to demand his father's old subordinates—Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and the rest—and from that point onward began the long history of Jiangdong grinding the Shanyue into the dirt.
Zu Lang, who had nearly slain Sun Ce with his own hands, was swiftly defeated once Sun Ce reorganized his forces and was forced to surrender.
Later, although the Little Conqueror himself met an untimely end, news soon spread of Zhou Gongjin burning Cao Cao's army at Red Cliffs, sending them fleeing in panic beneath a sky of fire.
That alone was enough to terrify the Shanyue.
And though Zhou Gongjin, too, later met an unexpected end, Jiangdong had by then grown into a power the Shanyue no longer dared to provoke.
But now, when the chieftains gathered to confer, a thought inevitably surfaced.
"Sun Hou's father and elder brother, and that Zhou Lang as well… all died unexpectedly."
"So now Sun Hou himself—could it be that he…"
The chieftains exchanged looks. Their eyes carried thoughts that dared not be spoken aloud.
All of it, however, was firmly pressed down by Ma Liang.
"If we are to plot against Jiangdong," he said calmly, "we must wait for the right moment."
He spoke with steady composure, offering no elaboration—only that this was not yet the proper time to strike Jiangdong.
The decision had been made, yet they were still being told to wait.
Fei Zhan, already unable to contain himself, burst out:
"Master Ma! Jiangdong has two generals whose whereabouts are unknown. The troops are unsettled, the people are anxious. How is this not an opportunity?"
Of course it wasn't.
Jiangdong's army had only just begun its march. Some of the follow-up forces had not even departed yet. If the Shanyue rose up now, Jiangdong could simply turn back and wipe out those who descended from the mountains—something Ma Liang had no intention of allowing.
The true moment would be when Jiangdong's army was bogged down in Jing Province, unable to advance or retreat. Only then would a sudden strike hit home.
These things could be explained in detail later.
For now, hearing Fei Zhan's words, Ma Liang showed no impatience at all. Instead, he grew curious.
"Two generals missing?"
"Tell me about it."
Fei Zhan dared not delay. He wracked his brain and poured out everything he knew, like beans tumbling from a bamboo tube.
"The day before yesterday, two of my men went to Guling with money to buy salt."
Ma Liang nodded. He knew this well.
Aside from mountain goods, the Shanyue lacked almost everything. Other items could be managed—but salt was a true necessity of life.
Fortunately, buying salt wasn't too difficult. Northeast of Kuaiji lay the sea, and several nearby counties produced salt. There was also no shortage of private salt. Trade was convenient.
When Ma Liang himself lacked certain supplies, he would sometimes ask the Shanyue to purchase them in these county towns.
Places like these were also hubs of information. Fei Zhan's men heard that Sun Hou was flying into a rage in Jianye, that the entire new city was on edge, and that soldiers were coming and going at an unusually frequent pace.
In the end, though no official announcement was made, a rumor quickly spread from Jianye:
Two generals had betrayed their lord and fled—suspected of defecting to Lord Xuande in the west.
Fei Zhan's account was disordered, but Ma Liang quickly grasped the gist.
If this were true, and Sun Quan refused to issue a public edict to hunt them down, then these two men had to be of considerable status—certainly not mere colonels or junior officers.
Sun Quan's silence, coupled with how easily the news spread all the way here, suggested that great clans were quietly fanning the flames.
To disappear just as war began meant they opposed Sun Quan's move against Jing Province.
Ma Liang's first thought was Lu Su.
But he immediately shook his head and laughed at himself.
Lu Zijing was a man of great wisdom. How could he act so rashly?
At the same moment, on a small boat, Lu Su stood at the bow, staring out at the boundless sea, his heart in turmoil.
Since Zhou Gongjin's death, he had never felt such helplessness.
Two years ago, his vision for Jiangdong's future had been crystal clear.
Ally with Liu, resist Cao.
Recover the Central Plains.
Carry on Gongjin's legacy and forge a great enterprise for the realm.
Yet slowly, that carefully reasoned plan slipped beyond his control.
First came Liu Bei's meteoric rise—quietly taking Yi Province, then seizing Hanzhong as well.
When Lu Su heard the news, his feelings were indescribable.
He admired Kongming's brilliance, felt hope for defeating Cao, and yet worried that Jiangdong was falling behind Lord Liu.
That was why, at the Jianye banquet, he had risked everything to remonstrate with his lord, urging a northern probe with troops stationed at Hefei.
But the result at Hefei shook him to the core—and forced him to confront his greatest shortcoming.
Zhou Gongjin, with thirty thousand troops, shattered Cao's hundred-thousand-strong army at Red Cliffs.
Guan Yu, with thirty thousand, smashed nearly a hundred thousand of Cao's forces in Jing and Xiang.
Their lord, with a hundred thousand, was routed at Hefei by eight thousand Cao cavalry.
While Gongjin lived, Lu Su hadn't fully grasped how weak the Jianghuai troops truly were. Hefei laid bare the difference between the three armies.
Jiangdong ranked dead last.
To Lu Su, none of this was insurmountable.
Weak soldiers could learn Guan Yu's training methods.
Weak generals could hone themselves by campaigning against the Shanyue.
Jiangdong had its own strengths: abundant grain, archers famed throughout the realm.
What Lu Su never expected was that after Hefei, Lü Meng would replace him at Jiangxia—while he himself was kept in Jianye, given an idle post.
Idle, so be it.
Lu Su carefully summarized the gains and losses, writing a lengthy memorial diagnosing Jiangdong's flaws and laying out a plan to strengthen the army. He waited only for Sun Hou to summon him—certain it would help secure the realm.
Then, on New Year's Eve, Gan Xingba's visit shattered everything.
Hefei's defeat had shaken their lord as well—but the response he chose diverged completely from Lu Su's vision.
Ally with Cao to restrain Liu?
Lu Su scoffed bitterly.
Cao Cao held the Central Plains and Ji Province—rich, fertile lands. To ally with Cao to destroy Liu—once Liu fell, what would Cao do next?
It was like asking a fox how best to acquire a fox's pelt.
Steady footsteps sounded behind him. A robust figure wrapped in a fox-fur cloak came to stand beside Lu Su.
After a long silence, the man spoke slowly.
"Only after living long in Jiangdong does one realize how vast the sea truly is."
Those simple words sent Lu Su's anger surging.
"Gan Xingba!"
Gan Ning lifted his eyelids lazily and dug at his ear.
"I'm not that old yet, Zijing. No need to shout."
Lu Su nearly drew his sword.
"Do you feel no shame?!"
Gan Ning gazed at the sea. In his mind surfaced the few letters he'd received from his son, Gan Gui.
That boy, so much like him in temperament, had mocked him openly in his last letter:
"Fish and turtles are trapped in rivers. Flood dragons roam the seas."
And declared that one day, Gan Gui would "rule the seas."
Now, facing the ocean and recalling those words, Gan Ning felt restless.
So even when Lu Su angrily demanded whether he felt shame, Gan Ning felt not the slightest anger.
"I am no slave of Sun Hou."
His tone carried a matter-of-fact certainty.
"If Sun Hou does not trust me, if his favored generals suspect me, then I, Gan Ning, take nothing of Jiangdong and return to my homeland. What shame is there in that?"
Lu Su sneered.
"Return home? Are you not defecting to Liu Bei?"
Gan Ning sneered right back.
"Where I go after returning home is my own affair."
He turned his gaze back to the sea, already pondering how ships might need to be altered for true ocean travel.
Like this small vessel—they could only hug the coastline, never daring to venture too far from shore.
"You say going or staying is your own affair—then what wrong have I done to you?!"
Lu Su's voice cracked, tinged with grievance.
From Sun Hou's perspective, willing or not made no difference. Years of reputation were ruined in a single stroke. How could he ever stand again in Jiangdong?
"Foolish child!"
A powerful voice rang out from the cabin, cutting off the confrontation.
Lu Su's anger vanished instantly. He turned and entered the cabin to speak with his mother.
Gan Ning had never imagined an elderly woman could be so decisive.
After the New Year, Lu Su's mother sent him a secret letter through an intermediary, earnestly requesting that he take Lu Su away from this mire of right and wrong.
She had seen her son's suffering with her own eyes. She felt the treacherous currents of Jianye's court.
She knew little of grand affairs of state—but she knew she did not want her son to be ground down by them.
Leave Jiangdong. Find a peaceful land. Whether living incognito to teach, or starting anew elsewhere—anything was better than seeing all his efforts ruined by Sun Hou's whims.
For Gan Ning, returning home had always been a long-held wish. If he could pull Zijing along with him—why wouldn't he?
As for how to bring Lu Su along—it was simple.
Take his mother.
Lu Su was a paragon of filial piety. Wherever his mother was, he would follow.
Rather like that Xu strategist his son had mentioned.
As for his own reputation?
Gan Ning scoffed.
Did he care about that?
Besides—if his son someday sailed back to conquer Jiangdong, and Gan Ning remained behind as a shackle on him—that would be truly foolish.
Thus, Gan Ning acted with ruthless decisiveness.
Taking advantage of the old lady's ancestral rites outside the city, he seized her and fled.
The escape plan had been prepared long in advance: heavy bribes, over a dozen boats sailing upriver to draw attention, while Gan Ning hid at Zhenze. After evading two searches, he slipped through the Song River into the sea and headed south.
Staring at the vast ocean now, Gan Ning felt the gloom in his heart lift.
He even found the leisure to deliberately provoke Lu Su's anger, finding it rather amusing.
"Xingba," came the old lady's voice from the cabin, "how much farther to the Southern Sea?"
Gan Ning straightened, his usual nonchalance gone.
"Madam, at our current speed, we should reach Panyu in six or seven days."
Jiaozhou comprised several commanderies. Panyu lay at the border between Nanhai and Cangwu.
The Cangwu Administrator Wu Ju and the Jiaozhou Inspector Lai Gong were both close to Liu Bei.
This wasn't secret intelligence within Jiangdong, and it explained why Shi Xie's stance had always been ambiguous.
To Gan Ning, Jiaozhou was a stable refuge—a place to wait out the storm.
As for invoking his son Gan Gui's name?
He'd rather be dragged back by Sun Hou than suffer that humiliation.
"That is good…" the voice in the cabin softened.
Soon after, Gan Ning heard Lu Su's mother speaking quietly with her son.
To avoid impropriety, Gan Ning moved farther away, picked up a fishing rod, and began fishing.
The boat had been well-prepared—bows and crossbows for pursuers, rods and nets for food.
As they traveled farther south, the sun grew harsher. Gan Ning felt drowsy.
Then slow footsteps stopped beside him.
"Care for a rod?"
Lu Su silently took one, plucked a small shrimp from the net, deftly threaded it onto the hook, and cast the line.
"Fine technique!" Gan Ning praised.
Lu Su smiled stiffly.
After a while, he spoke.
"My father died when I was young. My mother raised me alone. Villagers would fish in the creek to stave off hunger."
"I joined them for amusement, complaining of studies."
"I discovered I had talent—caught four fish in one afternoon. They praised me. I was pleased."
"And then—"
"And then your backside got split open, right?" Gan Ning said gleefully.
Lu Su choked.
"That was because Mother cared for my studies."
Then he sighed softly.
"I know what worries her. It's just…"
Gan Ning shook his head.
"Fish on!"
Lu Su hurried to reel it in. The sea fish fought hard.
Gan Ning helped, speaking casually.
"Zijing hates that he cannot be like Gongjin, securing Jiangdong so his mother may live in peace. I understand."
"The old lady fears you'll be consumed by frustration. I understand that too."
Gan Ning grew uncharacteristically wistful.
"The bond between you and your mother… enviable."
He meant it. Thinking of his own parents, long gone, he wondered if Gan Gui had repaired their ancestral graves.
Thinking of his son, a smile crept onto his face.
Compared to Lu Su, unmarried still—he had done better, at least here.
"What do you plan to do after reaching Panyu?" Lu Su asked.
Gan Ning blinked.
"So Zijing has finally let go?"
Lu Su stared at him, then punched his shoulder.
"Let this matter end here."
The blow was light, but Gan Ning clutched his shoulder dramatically and cried out.
Seeing Lu Su's helpless expression, Gan Ning burst into laughter. Soon, Lu Su laughed too.
The fish, freed from the hook, flipped and splashed back into the sea.
No one cared.
Inside the cabin, Lu Su's mother heard her son's laughter and finally smiled.