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 a hundred 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 not there 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 Province.
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 Province 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 Yi Province have already opened their gates. It is a victory won without shedding a drop of blood."
The shadow was silent 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 Cowards! 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.
They had arrived from Dantu just yesterday and had immediately requested an audience with him.
Their faces were etched with a raw, fierce energy that screamed river pirate, yet they did not possess the chaotic air of common bandits.
Every movement they made suggested a deep-seated discipline, as if they were always ready to cover and protect one another. It was a rare display of a force that looked scattered but remained spiritually unified.
Gan Gui was surrounded by them. Liu Bei realized instantly that these were Gan Ning's personal elite guards.
"Truly worthy of being Gan Xingba's men. Every single one of you is a fine warrior!" Liu Bei praised.
The compliment managed to dissolve some of the underlying hostility.
A leader among the guards stepped forward to address Liu Bei. "May I ask the Zuo Jiangjun, General of the Left if he intends for us to attack Zigui or Wu County?"
Liu Bei shook his head. "Zigui and Wu County have already surrendered."
A look of relief washed over the man's face. The waters around those two areas were treacherous and fast.
They were the last places they wanted to launch a naval assault. He quickly followed up, "Then we request that Gan Gui be appointed our general.
The eight hundred of us will serve as the vanguard for our lord's attack on Quren."
Liu Bei gave a strange smile and shook his head again. "In February, I executed the rebel leader Li Yi in Zigui.
From Zigui all the way to Jiangzhou, every city has surrendered. No soldiers died, and no civilians were harmed. My friends, you can all go home now."
The grizzled veterans looked at one another, their faces masks of utter confusion. Go home?
Everything from Zigui to Jiangzhou was already under the rule of the Imperial Uncle?
"My home is in Yufu," one old soldier blurted out.
Liu Bei raised his voice so they could all 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 a 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 veterans immediately erupted into a cacophony of hushed arguments.
"No way, I want to go home now!
I did not even say a proper goodbye to my mother when we left!"
"My wife was pregnant when I followed General Gan out of the river!"
"But General Gan is still in Jiangdong."
"General Gan is the one who led us out. If we go back, should not we take him with us?"
The mention of Gan Ning caused the crowd to fall silent. They all turned their eyes toward Liu Bei. "Lord, let us go and kidnap General Gan back!
He is miserable in Jiangdong!"
One man even started drafting a plan on the spot. "Lord, you just need to lend us a ship. We can catch up to him quickly going downstream.
We will lure him out, swarm him, knock him out, and bring him right back here."
Another soldier was even bolder. "Lord, if we catch General Gan and bring him to you, does that count as a merit?"
Liu Bei felt a familiar headache coming on. This chaotic, enthusiastic energy...
it reminded him far too much of his third brother.
Did Zhang Fei actually have a hidden talent for naval warfare?
"Lord..."
Gan Gui had somehow managed to squeeze through the crowd to Liu Bei's side, looking thoroughly dejected.
He did not say a word, but Liu Bei felt a sudden, inexplicable wave of guilt.
"The next time we need the navy for a battle, I promise you will lead the vanguard," Liu Bei assured him.
Only then did Gan Gui's face light up with a grin.
The surrounding area went quiet. Liu Bei looked out at the eight hundred naval veterans, their eyes burning with a desperate hope.
We wanted to go home, yes, but we did not want to go home as failures. Who did not want to return in a blaze of glory?
Liu Bei took a deep breath and shouted, "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!"
That was all they needed to hear. These eight hundred men had followed Gan Ning through the waning years of Liu Biao, the desperation of Huang Zu, and the stagnation of Sun Quan. They were tired of being forgotten.
"We are willing to die for the General!"
Eight hundred men dropped to one knee, their collective roar shaking the very air. Liu Bei patted Gan Gui's shoulder, a wide smile on his face. But he did not forget to add one final warning.
"For now, you absolutely cannot go and ambush General Gan."
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 ?
Gan Gui whispered, "Lord, if it is not okay now, does that mean I can go and kidnap my old man later?"
Liu Bei simply smirked and turned to leave. He needed to have a talk with his second brother about how to handle this new naval force.
At least Yunchang is easy to manage, he thought with a sigh.
---
In mid-May, in the city of Jiangzhou, Pang Tong received a reply from Liu Zhang, the Yizhou Mu, Governor of Yizhou Province.
He scanned the letter and tossed it to Zhao Yun with a mocking laugh. "Liu Jiyu has no spine."
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 not you 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."