Chapter Thirty-Four: Sun Ce Battles Gan Ning

Sparring between generals often became the stuff of legend, passed down by word of mouth and eventually inscribed in the annals of history, destined to become a favorite topic of conversation over meals. When Cao Cao and Liu Bei discussed heroes over wine, Cao Cao attributed Sun Ce’s fame only to his father, dismissing the young man himself. Yet in truth, Sun Ce was a first-rate warrior, a true tiger on the battlefield.

The two men now faced each other, each recognizing the competitive fire in the other's gaze. The air was thick with tension, as if swords were about to be drawn. The surrounding soldiers held their breath, waiting in silence for the duel to commence.

With a heavy stomp, Sun Ce moved first, sand and dust swirling at his feet as he gripped the Overlord’s Spear. The weapon traced a perfect arc through the air; his arms were powerful, and after gathering his strength, he swung from left to right in a furious strike. The spear, sturdy and unyielding, whipped up a blast of wind, whistling past as it aimed for Gan Xingba’s waist. The attack was fierce and unstoppable, leaving no room for mercy.

Gan Ning’s eyes narrowed, for among warriors, true skill was revealed in action—a single move could expose real talent or reveal empty bluster.

With a roar, Gan Ning raised his twin halberds to block the blow. The spear crashed against the halberds with a sharp clang, bending under the force, but at that instant, Sun Ce’s left hand released abruptly, allowing the spear to snap back to form. His right hand lifted it high, bringing it down in a powerful chop.

Gan Xingba met the attack head-on, halberds clashing with the spear tip, sparks flying under the ringing collision of metal. The shock rippled through their hands, and for a moment, both men locked eyes, seeing the gravity in each other’s gaze. Sun Ce marveled inwardly, “This man’s strength is truly formidable!” Gan Xingba, with a bellow, forced the spear back and then, like a coiled serpent, his halberds shot out with lightning speed, slashing at Sun Ce’s waist.

Sun Ce’s spearwork was relentless in its assault and impenetrable in defense, while Gan Ning’s twin halberds were as unpredictable as a phantom, striking from left and right in a bewildering flurry. Dust rose and fell as the two battled fiercely in the open field, their weapons sparking and thundering as they exchanged blow after blow—a full fifty rounds passed without either giving ground.

The soldiers’ blood ran hot with excitement, their cheers echoing across the field. Sun Ce wielded his spear with increasing ease, several times nearly forcing Gan Ning into peril, but Gan Xingba’s mastery with his chained halberds kept him narrowly out of danger each time.

As the duel raged on, the soldiers widened the circle around the combatants, for anyone who strayed too close would surely lose their life. At the seventieth exchange, Sun Ce roared, “Break!” and struck the iron chain of the halberds with the tip of his spear. With a resonant clang, the chain snapped aside, and the Overlord’s Spear thrust straight for Gan Ning’s face, poised to pierce his skull—only to halt abruptly at the last moment.

Sweat drenched Gan Ning’s form, and a few cold drops trickled down his brow. He forced a bitter smile and said, “The Little Overlord’s reputation is well deserved. I, Gan Xingba, am convinced—henceforth, I will serve as Colonel with all my heart!”

“Excellent!” Jiang Wen called out, and the soldiers around them shouted in unison, “Victory to the General! Victory to the General! Victory to the General!”

Lu Meng and Gan Ning took five hundred men to Xiakou, where Huang Gai’s twenty thousand bushels of provisions awaited their arrival.

Jiang Wen gazed absently at the rolling river. “A hundred miles downstream of Xiakou lies Red Cliffs,” he murmured.

Zhou Yu and Sun Ce reclined on the grass, stretching out with relaxed expressions. Zhou Yu remarked, “There is little beauty at Red Cliffs. Are you truly interested in that place, Changsu?”

Jiang Wen smiled at Zhou Yu without replying—after all, this was the site of Zhou Yu’s immortal fame, where eighty thousand of Cao Cao’s troops were routed in defeat, not daring to invade the southeast for years, and where the battle itself became one of the three most famous in history. Jiang Wen lay back as well, the three of them resting in the shade beneath a tree. Sun Ce crossed his legs and swung his foot idly. “Order the men to rest for a day. We march tomorrow.”

“Bofu, what is your ambition?” someone asked.

“To become a great general renowned across the land,” Sun Ce replied. “Not like my father, but one who inspires true awe in all under heaven!”

“And you, Changsu?”

“Peace for all under heaven.”

Zhou Yu smiled. “That is even more difficult than Bofu’s ambition. As for me—nothing so grand. I wish only to guard my own corner, marry a lovely wife, and raise sons and daughters.”

“No ambition at all!” Lu Meng came over, squeezing in beside Jiang Wen. “I want to pacify the mountain tribes and the Xiongnu, to make all foreigners fear China!”

“Have the supplies been delivered?” Jiang Wen asked.

“They have. The provisions are in place, and yet here you three are, talking about lofty ambitions instead of planning how to take Wu Commandery!”

Jiang Wen sat up, brushing the grass from his clothes. “Taking Wu Commandery will be easy enough. Yan Baihu, for all his airs as a local noble, is nothing more than a mountain bandit. What we should be concerned about is Liu Yao, the Prefect of Moling. That region is far from poor—it includes Dantu, Juchao, Qu’a, and other prosperous places. Liu Yao may lack capable officers, but in terms of defending a city, it would take us months to conquer Moling.”

“In war, impatience is fatal,” Zhou Yu said. “If we are forced into a prolonged campaign, the advantage remains ours. Changsu’s system of military farming has already shown great results. Zijing once told me that with the official share at sixty percent and the people’s at forty, we could harvest a million bushels of grain per year.”

“The Southeast is not so rich as the Central Plains, and the lords do not contend for it as fiercely. This gives us the chance to win the people’s hearts, to recruit both soldiers and talent.”

The army rested at Xiakou for a day, then marched onward through Wuchang, Huangzhou, Qichun, and other places. No mishaps occurred along the route, and indeed they encountered the generals Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin. After Gan Xingba’s valiant duel with them, Sun Ce brought him into his ranks.

At Qichun, the army abandoned their warships and continued overland. Jiang Wen accepted a bamboo tube from a soldier. After glancing at its contents, he said to Sun Ce, “Our twenty thousand troops have made camp at Shiting. From there, we can cross Chaohu by warship, and after a hundred miles, we’ll reach Niuzhu. Liu Yao’s forces are likely to be stationed there.”

Sun Ce replied with confidence, “If Liu Yao’s troops are there, we’ll drive them out! With you, Gongjin, Ziming, and Xingba at my side, if we can’t defeat Liu Yao, we might as well lay down our arms and go home to farm!”

“Inform the whole army—we must reach Shiting at full speed within ten days!”