Spiteful Nunchucks
The Story of Ling Tong
Chapter 11: Calm Before the Blaze
After the Battle of He Fei, it was really silent between Wei and Wu. Apparently, while we held Cao Cao's attention at He Fei, Liu Bei and his boys began striking into Han Zhong, and that was keeping Cao Cao's attention fully on him and off of us. I continued to wonder why we didn't make another move against Wei, but after how the Battle of He Fei turned out, and with Zhang Liao still in command there, I guess it's not entirely surprising.
What was entirely surprising was that, after I quit thinking of Gan Ning solely as the guy I wanted to kill, we actually wound up having more in common than I thought. Poor Lu Xun began to find himself very often caught in the middle of "keep-away" Ning and I would play with his hat. Don't get me wrong, Lu Xun's pretty cool, but he's just so easy to rile up, when he's not busy strategizing. The poor guy also doesn't have a lot to do with Zhou Yu gone and Lu Meng busy running our portion of Jingzhou.
Gan Ning also had a good eye for ladies. He found himself a nice wife. So far, though, all he's had is a daughter. Regardless, she's growing up to be as much a terror as Ning himself. I can see almost see her as the most feared female pirate in the land when she grows up. It is kind of cute how she refers to me as "Uncle Tong," though.
Of course, being the "nice guy" that he is, Gan Ning also hooked me up with a beautiful wife. I was a bit luckier than Ning...I ended up with two sons. And, just like most of the other parents in Wu, if they ever stepped out of line, I just told them about Zhang Liao. They'd immediately be obedient for about a month after hearing that boogeyman story.
Of course, when we weren't pranking other Wu Officers, or fishing on one of the many rivers of Wu, we would most likely be fighting one another to keep ourselves in top form. As far as battling is concerned, we maintained a friendly rivalry that actually served as an inspiration to the other Wu soldiers. There wasn't any true spite between us, anymore. But that didn't stop us from striving to outperform each other.
On one particular day, I wasn't fighting up to snuff, and Gan Ning wound up beating me soundly on the practice field.
"What's the matter, Tong? You're not yourself today."
"Meh, don't worry about it. It's just a bad feeling that something big's coming up."
"Heh. Fancy way of saying you've been slacking off!"
I scowled internally, but immediately came up with a payback plan.
That night, I waited outside Gan Ning's room in the palace. I didn't have to wait very long, as the jangling of bells he always wore soon announced his arrival. He turned the corner, then stopped short when he saw me. I threw him a smile.
"Heh...you still haven't had enough yet?"
I shook my head. "No, sorry, but I can't rest until I've destroyed you completely." I then held out the Go board I had behind my back. Gan Ning looked totally stunned. I just calmly walked over to a nearby table, set the board down, and gave a soft clap. "So, you still think you can take me?"
"Whoa-hoh-ho. I think...you just...might have me this time!" was Gan Ning's response. Of course, he was never one to back down from a challenge, so he took a seat and we played for a while. As is to be expected, I totally thrashed him. My first true victory over Gan Ning.
Quite a bit of time passed, and the reports began coming. Guan Yu, who was holding Shu's half of Jingzhou, had begun to strike north at Xiangyang. Lu Meng began feigning illness and resigned from his post, which Lu Xun wound up taking over. We then allied with Wei and attacked Jingzhou from behind Guan Yu. This ultimately culminated with our forces capturing Guan Yu and his adopted son.
Guan Yu obstinately refused to surrender to us, so Sun Quan was forced to put him to death. Lu Meng then fell ill for real and died. To throw Shu off our trail, we send Guan Yu's head to Cao Cao, who would also mysteriously fall ill and die. Seems Guan Yu's spirit is a bit upset.
Worse news, however, was soon to follow. Cao Cao's successor, Cao Pi, pressured the Han Emperor to abdicate, and the Wei Empire was founded in the north. Meanwhile, in Shu, Liu Bei stepped up as Emperor of Shu-Han. The news then became really sour when Liu Bei himself began to lead a massive vengeance army against Wu. Sun Quan made every possible effort to arrange peace, but Liu Bei was having none of it. With no other choice, we prepared for war...