Gan Ning
Gan Ning , courtesy name Xingba, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Sun Quan in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Originally a notorious pirate, he gave up the life of a marauder in the late 190s and became a subordinate of Huang Zu, the Administrator of a commandery in present-day east-central Hubei. Disheartened by Huang Zu's indifferent attitude towards him, Gan Ning eventually left Huang and made his way into Wu territory, where he found his calling and became a military officer under the warlord Sun Quan. Throughout his years of service under Sun Quan until his death, Gan Ning fought in numerous battles for his lord, including the battles of Jiangxia, Red Cliffs, Xiaoyao Ford and Ruxu.
Early life
Gan Ning was from Linjiang County, Ba Commandery, which is in present-day Zhong County, Chongqing. His ancestral home was actually in Nanyang, Henan; his ancestors migrated to Ba Commandery and settled there. When he was still a youth, he accepted an offer to serve as an accounting assistant in the local commandery office. He resigned and went home after serving for a short period of time.In his younger days, Gan Ning was known to be very energetic and eager to behave like a youxia or vigilante. He gathered a group of wayward young men under his leadership to rob and plunder for a living. They armed themselves with bows and crossbows, wore feathers in their hats and tied bells on their bodies. The ringing of the bells alerted people to the presence of Gan Ning and his gang. Gan Ning's plundering and murderous ways made him infamous throughout Ba Commandery. On land, he and his gang travelled by riding on horses or in chariots in a certain formation; on water, they sailed on light vessels linked together. They also wore elaborate and flamboyant garments to attract attention. When they stopped at a certain location, they used silk to tie their boats to the jetties; when they were departing, they cut the silk and abandoned it as a display of their extravagance.
Among those who had dealings with Gan Ning were some local officials. They treated Gan Ning generously. In return, he befriended them and showed genuine feelings towards them. On the other hand, those who treated him badly suffered the fate of being robbed of their possessions by him and his gang. Even government officials were not spared. Gan Ning led the life of a marauder until he was over 20 years old.
After Liu Yan, the governor of Yi Province, died in 194, Gan Ning rebelled against his son and successor, Liu Zhang. He received support from Liu He, an official from the neighbouring Jing Province, and Liu Zhang's subordinates Shen Mi and Lou Fa. However, they failed and were forced to flee to Jing Province.
Service under Liu Biao and Huang Zu
Gan Ning eventually decided to stop plundering and pillaging. He read some books and picked up ideas from the Hundred Schools of Thought. Later, he brought along 800 men to join Liu Biao, the Governor of Jing Province, and was stationed in Nanyang Commandery. Liu Biao had a scholarly background and was not proficient in military affairs. Around the time, chaos had broken out all around China as contending warlords fought each other for territorial gains and hegemony over the empire. Gan Ning observed that Liu Biao was doomed to failure and was worried that he would be affected, so he and his followers planned to head east towards the Wu region, which was under the control of the warlord Sun Ce and later Sun Quan. When they reached Jiangxia Commandery in eastern Jing Province, they could not cross the border into Wu territory as Sun Quan was at war with Liu Biao at the time. Gan Ning thus remained at Jiangxia and became a subordinate of the commandery administrator, Huang Zu, who did not recognise his talent and treated him coldly for three years.In 203, Sun Quan led his forces to attack Huang Zu and defeated him at the Battle of Xiakou. Gan Ning, a skilled archer, led a detachment of troops as backup and came to Huang Zu's rescue. He fired an arrow which killed Ling Cao, a colonel under Sun Quan, thus saving Huang Zu's life. Huang Zu did not change his attitude towards Gan Ning after the incident. Su Fei, an area commander under Huang Zu, recommended Gan Ning as a talent but Huang Zu ignored him. Huang Zu even attempted to induce Gan Ning's followers to abandon their leader and join him instead; some of them agreed.
Gan Ning was very unhappy with Huang Zu and wanted to leave him, but was worried that Huang Zu would not allow it so he felt very frustrated. Su Fei understood Gan Ning's frustration so he invited him for drinks and said: "I recommended you to Huang Zu many times, but he doesn't want to make good use of your talents. As days pass, people grow older. You should make plans for your future and find someone who truly appreciates your talents." Gan Ning paused for a moment before replying: "That's what I have in mind, but I can't find an excuse to leave." Su Fei then said: "I will suggest to Huang Zu to appoint you as the chief of Zhu County. Although it may be a difficult start, it will eventually become easier for you to decide where to go from there." After Huang Zu approved Su Fei's suggestion, Gan Ning gathered a few hundred men who were willing to follow him and headed towards Zhu County. From there, they crossed the border into the Jiangdong territories.
Battle of Jiangxia
When Gan Ning brought his followers to Jiangdong, Zhou Yu and Lü Meng recommended him as a talent to their lord, Sun Quan. Sun Quan felt that Gan Ning was an extraordinary man and treated him like an old friend. Gan Ning proposed:Sun Quan wanted to follow Gan Ning's plan, but his adviser Zhang Zhao strongly objected: "The territories in Wu have not been completely pacified yet. If we proceed with this campaign, I am afraid there will be chaos." Gan Ning rebuked Zhang Zhao: "Our lord has entrusted responsibilities to you as if you were Xiao He. If you can't even be confident that there won't be chaos under your watch, how can you expect to be like Xiao He?" Sun Quan then raised his glass to Gan Ning and said: "Xingba, I have decided to put you in charge of the campaign this year just as I offer this drink to you. You should strive your best to come up with a strategy to defeat Huang Zu. Once you have proven yourself, you won't need to take Zhang Zhao's words to heart."
In the spring of 208, Sun Quan led his forces west to attack Huang Zu at Jiangxia Commandery and succeeded in defeating and capturing Huang Zu alive, as well as taking control over his troops. Gan Ning was placed in command of some soldiers and ordered to garrison at Dangkou.
Sometime in the late 200s to early 210s, Gan Ning were involved in a revolt orchestrated by some officials against the newly ascended Liu Zhang, whose father who had just died. Liu Zhang sent Zhao Wei, a key ally of his late father, to march on the rebels and managed to suppress the rebels and forced them to flee into Jingzhou in the east.
Saving Su Fei
Before the campaign, Sun Quan had prepared two boxes for containing the heads of Huang Zu and Su Fei. After the battle, Su Fei, who had become a prisoner-of-war, immediately asked someone to inform Gan Ning. Gan Ning said: "If Su Fei didn't say anything, I would have forgotten about him." Later, when Sun Quan and his officers were celebrating the victory, Gan Ning left his seat and knelt down before Sun Quan. He kowtowed until his face was covered in blood and, with tears in his eyes, he pleaded with Sun Quan: "I owe Su Fei a favour. If not for him, I'd have been dead and my body abandoned in a ravine. I'd not have been able to serve under you. Now, even though Su Fei's actions warrant death, I still hope you can spare him." Sun Quan was moved and he asked: "What if he leaves after I spare his life?" Gan Ning replied: "Su Fei will be grateful if he is spared from death. He won't leave even if you try to chase him away. Why would he still court his own doom? If he really does that, I am willing to use my head to replace his in the box." Sun Quan then pardoned Su Fei.Red Cliffs campaign
In the winter of 208–209, Gan Ning fought in the Battle of Red Cliffs under Zhou Yu's command against the forces of Cao Cao, and defeated the enemy at Wulin. He also participated in the subsequent Battle of Jiangling. Sun Quan's forces, led by Zhou Yu, attacked Cao Cao's general Cao Ren at Nan Commandery but were unable to conquer the city. Gan Ning suggested that he lead a separate force to capture Yiling. He had only a few hundred soldiers with him when he reached Yiling but the strength of his army increased to around 1,000 after he recruited some men in the area. Cao Ren sent 5,000 to 6,000 troops to besiege Gan Ning at Yiling. Cao Ren's men built high towers, from which they rained arrows upon Yiling. Gan Ning's men were terrified but their commander remained calm. He sent a messenger to request aid from Zhou Yu, who heeded Lü Meng's plan and led reinforcements to help Gan Ning while leaving behind Ling Tong to defend their position. Zhou Yu, Lü Meng and the others succeeded in lifting the siege at Yiling, while Ling Tong managed to hold his ground well for that period of time. Eventually, Cao Ren was ordered to abandon Nan Commandery because the prolonged war had drained much manpower and resources on Cao Cao's side, and this resulted in the capture of the commandery by Sun Quan's forces.Guan Yu's shallows
In 215, Sun Quan had disputes with his ally Liu Bei over the division of southern Jing Province between their respective domains. Sun Quan sent Lü Meng and Ling Tong to seize the three commanderies of Changsha, Lingling and Guiyang from Liu Bei, and then ordered Lu Su to station at Yiyang as a precaution against any retaliation by Liu Bei's general Guan Yu, who was in charge of his lord's territories in southern Jing Province. Gan Ning joined Lu Su at Yiyang. Guan Yu claimed he had 30,000 troops as he selected 5,000 elite troopers to the upstream shallows located some 10 li away from Yiyang, and planned to cross the shallows at night. Lu Su held a discussion with his subordinates on how to deal with Guan Yu. At the time, Gan Ning had only 300 men under him and he told Lu Su,"If you give me another 500 troops, I will go to confront Guan Yu. I assure you that Guan Yu won't dare to cross the waters when he hears of my approach. But if he does, I will capture him."
Lu Su then chose 1,000 troops and put them under Gan Ning's command. Gan Ning headed towards Guan Yu's position at night. As Gan Ning expected, Guan Yu did not cross the shallows and instead set up camps there. That place was thus named 'Guan Yu's Shallows'.
Sun Quan was so pleased with Gan Ning's achievement that he appointed him as the Administrator of Xiling Commandery and let him oversee the counties of Yangxin and Xiazhi.