Tiger Owl

Chapter 1 Jinfan Thief

In the spring of the fourth year of Jian'an (200 AD), in Xiangyang.

Liu Biao stood in front of the long bronze mirror, examining his reflection. Although he was fifty-eight years old, he was very well-preserved. His eight-foot frame was as tall and upright as a pine tree, and his thick, black beard was neatly trimmed. He was wearing a well-fitting purple robe.

Although he was nearly sixty, Liu Biao still looked like a middle-aged man in his forties, full of mature charm. Two years ago, Liu Biao had just married the charming Lady Cai as his second wife, and he was still as virile as ever in bed.

After marrying into the Cai family, he began to take full control of Jingzhou and Xiangyang, and his career gradually reached its peak. He was recognized by the world as the third most powerful force after Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.

All of this pleased Liu Biao greatly.

At this moment, Prefect Liu Xian entered the office carrying a bronze tray, saying, "Governor, I've brought it all!"

The plate contained a thick stack of job application resumes. Liu Biao walked back to his couch and sat up straight. Liu Xian placed the plate on the table in front of him.

Are all the job applications here?

"Of course not. As instructed by the governor, those from humble backgrounds have been removed. This place is full of people from aristocratic families, most of whom have been recommended for the civil service examination."

Liu Biao stroked his long beard and nodded; the resumes of those poor scholars would only waste his time.

Then he suddenly noticed a resume sitting alone on the plate, and wondered, "Why is it sitting alone?"

"This is Bavarian County Ganning's job application!"

Liu Biao frowned. "Didn't I say I didn't want this person?"

"This was sent to me by the eldest son. He said that such talent is rare and asked the governor to reconsider."

"Nonsense!"

Liu Biao's face darkened. "Doesn't he know that Liu Zhang has already written a letter? A former river pirate and troublemaker in officialdom, he even has a nickname, 'Brocade Sail Pirate'! That title is an insult to my ears!"

The words "Jin Fan Thieves" made Liu Biao's voice rise several octaves, indicating that he was extremely dissatisfied.

"If I take him in, offending Liu Zhang is a minor matter; it will ruin my reputation and make all the gentry in the world laugh at me, Liu Jing Sheng, for being so desperate as to hire even river bandits. You should go and get rid of this man immediately; I don't need him!"

"Should we inform the eldest son first?"

Liu Biao angrily waved his sleeve, "No need, I will give that ignorant bastard a good scolding. I don't care what means you use, Gan Ning must leave Xiangyang today."

Liu Xian smiled obsequiously and said, "Please rest assured, Governor, I have a plan. I will force him to leave on his own, and at the same time, I will not damage the reputation of our lord in recruiting talented people."

"So good!"

Liu Biao's anger quickly subsided, and he returned to normal, which is said to be a sign of good manners.

..........
Inside the Longsheng Inn in Xiangyang, Gan Ning had unexpectedly fallen ill a few days ago and remained unconscious. His men were in a panic, calling for doctors to treat him, but even the doctors were helpless. They had never seen such a strange illness before; the person was perfectly fine, but remained unconscious.

Three days later, Gan Ning finally woke up, which made his men breathe a sigh of relief. But at the same time, all of them had an indescribable feeling.

They all felt that their lord seemed to have become a different person.

He became unusually silent, his fiery temper, which used to ignite at the slightest provocation, suddenly vanished, and his gaze became as calm as the unfathomable night sky.

But having just recovered from a serious illness, he was exhausted and unwilling to speak, which was quite normal. His subordinates didn't mind their lord's silence, but rather felt that his demeanor and expression were different from before.

The subordinates couldn't figure out the reason and could only explain to each other that it must be because their lord was sick that caused the change in their emotions.

Inside the room, Gan Ning looked at the bronze mirror and muttered to himself, "Am I really Gan Ning? Gan Ning from the Three Kingdoms period?"

He had clearly seen the person in the bronze mirror before. His hair was wild and unruly, like a punk rocker. He had a face that he thought was handsome but was worthless in the dating market. His clothes were half-undone. He was a dissolute and poor loser. He really looked a bit like himself in his future life.

The image of himself collapsing in front of his computer kept flashing through his mind, like a frozen photograph. A month of intense overtime work marked the end of his coding career.

Gan Ning sighed. The person he was in later generations had vanished like a fart, but the person he was now was indeed Gan Ning, the real Gan Ning Gan Xingba, hailed as the Tiger General of Jiangdong.

The word "臣" (chen, meaning subject or minister) caused him a pang of pain. He had made so many contributions to Eastern Wu, but after the Battle of Xiaoyao Ford, he disappeared from history and never even received a noble title. In the end, he was just a failed employee.

Gan Ning was well-versed in the Three Kingdoms period in later generations, and he also had his own understanding of the Three Kingdoms.

For example, was Sun Ce really killed by Xu Gong's retainers?

Not necessarily. Some say he was assassinated by Cao Cao's men, but Gan Ning disagrees. He believes Sun Ce was assassinated by a coalition of the Jiangdong group, including the Sun family.

The impetus was that Sun Ce decided to take advantage of the Battle of Guandu to launch a northern expedition against Xuchang to save the emperor. The northern expedition was obviously not in the interests of the major powers in Jiangdong. In addition, Sun Ce vigorously purged the Jiangdong group because of the betrayal by Chen Yu, the governor of Wu Commandery, which caused great dissatisfaction among the Jiangdong gentry and powerful families. Therefore, Sun Ce's death became inevitable.

Essentially, this was a coup d'état.

Upon assuming the throne, Sun Quan immediately cancelled the Northern Expedition plan, and the Jiangdong gentry began to flock to him, including Lu Su, who had previously left due to political differences, and returned.

Sun Ce's death was a great regret. If Sun Ce had not died, the world would probably be in a different situation. The Western Jin Dynasty might not have existed again, and the War of the Eight Princes and the Five Barbarian Invasions that nearly wiped out the Han people would not have happened again.

It's almost certain that Sun Ce will die next year. Even if he's not Xu Gong's retainer, he'll be a retainer of Zhang Gong or Li Gong.

Gan Ning has emerged from his initial fear and confusion, and he has inevitably begun to consider his future.

Everyone has dreams. What's the difference between a person without dreams and a salted fish?
Did Heaven send me through time to take over Sun Ce's mantle?
He wanted to unify the world himself, not through the Sima family.

When Gan Ning thought of the Sima family, he thought of the Five Barbarian Invasions and the most tragic two-legged sheep in history. The root of all the trouble was the Sima family.

Even if not for himself, he was determined to do something for this era so that the most tragic scene in Han history would never happen again.

As Gan Ning was lost in thought, a subordinate announced from the courtyard, "My lord, Prefect Liu has arrived!"

Gan Ning rubbed his forehead. He remembered that his predecessor had led his followers to escape from Ba County and seek refuge with Liu Biao in Jingzhou. He was now seeking employment in Xiangyang and waiting for Liu Biao's reply.

At this point, Gan Ning, who had been reborn, no longer wanted to serve Liu Biao, but out of courtesy, he still had to express his stance.

"Invite him in!"

"My lord, the other party is the Prefect, we should go and greet him!"

"I'm just recovering from a serious illness!"

Gan Ning's quintessential low-EQ, loser-like syndrome from his past life kicked in.

Liu Xiangan, the Prefect of Jingzhou, sat for a while. Feeling thirsty, he smacked his lips and gestured to Gan Ning, who was sitting opposite him. Surprisingly, there wasn't a single cup of tea on the table.

"Oh! I understand."

Gan Ning immediately ordered, "Bring a bowl of water to Prefect Liu!"

An attendant brought in a large bowl of well water.

Sigh! Liu sighed inwardly, "A boorish man is a boorish man indeed!"
"The governor greatly admires General Gan's bravery and strength, and is willing to assign him a military position, but..."

There's always a "but" in everything. Liu took a folded piece of hemp paper from his bag, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards Gan Ning.

"This is General Gan's resume, which he previously submitted to the governor. One governor disliked it, so he changed it."

Liu Xian poked at the yellow hemp paper with his radish-like fingers and said, "Remove the three words 'Jin Fan Thieves' from it, they're too glaring!"

Gan Ning didn't know how the historical Gan Ning passed the interview, but Liu Xian's words pierced Gan Ning's heart like a needle.

The words "Jin Fan Thieves" offended Liu Biao's noble eyes; he should really kneel down and apologize.

Gan Ning's gaze was somewhat unfocused. He suddenly remembered his boss from his previous life. During his job interview, the word "rural" in his resume had also offended his boss.

Why did my boss hire me? Oh! I remember now, six days a week, twelve hours a day, three thousand a month salary, no one but a fool like me would take that position.

"General Gan!"

Liu noticed that Gan Ning was lost in thought, so he tapped the table with his small, radish-like fingers, bringing Gan Ning's thoughts back to the present.

"Should I revise my resume?"

Gan Ning glanced at his resume and said calmly, "Does Governor Liu mean that my resume should start from when I was eighteen?"

At eighteen, Gan Ning began his studies, bidding farewell to his life as a river pirate.

"Exactly!"

Liu Xian appreciated the other party's tact and understanding of his unspoken meaning.

Gan Ning remained silent for a moment, then raised an eyebrow and stared at Liu Xian with a gaze as sharp as a knife. "The Jin Fan bandits on paper can be deleted, but can the Jin Fan bandits in Governor Liu's heart be deleted?"

Unable to bear the other man's sharp gaze, Liu Xian lowered his eyes somewhat guiltily, glancing at the large bowl of well water on the table. His dissatisfaction began to boil within him. How dare a Jiang bandit disrespect him? He slowly stretched his face.

"Let me be frank! Liu Zhang wrote a letter to the governor praising your 'deeds,' and the name 'Jin Fan Bandit' is indeed very offensive."

But the governor doesn't want to lose his reputation for recruiting talented people, and he's willing to give you a chance. Just don't think too much about military rank. You can start with a lower-ranking position, like a military officer or a platoon leader. General, do you understand what I mean? A lower rank means your background isn't so important.”

'If the salary is lower, then being from a rural background is less important.'

These were the words of his former boss, which he had accepted in his past life with humiliation, but he would never accept them again in this life!
Gan Ning stood up and calmly asked, "So, there's no room for negotiation?"

"discuss?"

Liu Xian simply stopped pretending and sneered, "What right do you have to discuss things with the governor? The governor's attitude is very clear: either stay and be his dog, or get out!"

Gan Ning picked up the large bowl on the table and splashed a bowl of water on Liu Xian's face.

"This is my stance!"

..........
Half an hour later, Gan Ning led three hundred men away from Xiangyang by boat, heading towards the distant Jiangdong.

The next day at noon, a county town appeared on the west bank of the Han River. Gan Ning looked at the map and thought it should be Yicheng County.

"Wang Ping, take a few brothers to the county town to buy some dry rations, and also check the wanted posters at the city gate!"

"I'm going right now!"

General Wang Ping waved his hand, "Follow me!"

He led a few of his men and sailed towards the county town's dock.

Gan Ning ordered his men to slow down and wait on the river. He had been in such a hurry that he hadn't had time to replenish his rations. More importantly, he wanted to know if Liu Biao had issued a warrant for his arrest.

After all, Liu Xian was the Prefectural Governor, a high-ranking official in Jingzhou. How could Liu Biao let it go after being humiliated by him?

Gan Ning certainly didn't regret it. Liu Biao had both taken the throne and established a new regime, forcing him to leave. That bowl of water was his way of showing his stance: he would overturn the table before leaving.

If Liu Biao issues a warrant for his arrest, then he will have no choice but to fight his way out of Jiangxia.

Before long, Wang Ping returned with several thousand flatbreads, enough to fill an entire boat.

"Reporting to my lord, there were no wanted notices at the city gate, only a notice urging the refugees from Jianghuai to return home as soon as possible!"

Gan Ning breathed a slight sigh of relief, then asked, "What's going on in Jianghuai?"

"The report says that Yuan Shu has left Jiujiang Commandery and headed north!"

Gan Ning was taken aback. What was Yuan Shu doing heading north?
Gan Ning thought about it carefully and realized that Yuan Shu was in dire straits. He wanted to flee to Hebei to join Yuan Shao, but was intercepted by Liu Bei and Zhu Ling sent by Cao Cao.

Unable to cross the border, Yuan Shu was forced to retreat to Shouchun. North of Shouchun, his grain was looted by bandits, leaving him with only thirty bushels of wheat. Yuan Shu died vomiting blood, unable even to drink honey water before his death.

But none of that matters. What matters is the Imperial Seal of the State in Yuan Shu's possession, as well as the wealth he carries. Isn't this an opportunity bestowed upon him by Heaven?

Thinking of this, Gan Ning's eyes lit up.

When God closed one door for him, He quietly opened another window.

　Note: Gan Ning joined Liu Biao in the first year of Xingping (190 AD), but this book is set five years later, and Gan Ning's age has been reduced somewhat. Liu Biao had just arrived in Jingzhou and urgently needed to build up his own power, so he accepted Gan Ning. Later, once he had secured his position, Gan Ning was driven away.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)