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WARNING! TYPING IN ALL CAPS IS REALLY ANNOYING. I should stop it. Maybe............NAH!!!!
Chapter 39 opens, as most chapters tend to, where the last one left off. The navy of the Southland, led by Gan Ning, has taken the battle to Huang Zu, who naturally is no fitting match for Gan Ning. So it is that Huang Zu, who slew Mi Heng in a drunken rage, himself meets his demise, at the hands of a disgruntled ex-subordinate. I don't know, maybe Gan Ning was the first postal employee...
Gan Ning certainly makes a good showing for himself at Jiangxia, and shows strength of character in his efforts to get Su Fei freed and recruited. Gan Ning is one of my favorite heroes of the Three Kingdoms era because he in an outstanding example of what I consider a great Hero to be. A charismatic, intelligent, stalwart swashbuckler, an outlaw who uses his talents towards a higher purpose, in this case, the cause of the Southland and all its people. Gan Ning was the Robin Hood of his day, and I've always believed that if anyone's going to bother to be a Hero, they might as well do it with some flair. Like Gan Ning. :p
Unfortunately, Gan Ning is not exactly universally loved over in Wu. Ling Tong, son of Ling Cao, who had been slain by an arrow of Gan Ning during the First Battle of Xia Kou, doesn't have a whole lot of love for Gan NIng. In fact, he intends to kill him.
Sun Quan can't have that though, so Gan Ning is sent away to a distant post, away from Ling Tong. Probably a good thing. Sun Quan's going to need both of them later on.
And in the Jing Province, the eldest Son of Liu Biao, Liu Qi, is growing desperate, because he is certain of his Stepmother's intention to kill him in order to clear the way for her own son, Liu Zong, to succeed. After much badgering, he finally manages to obtain a solution to his problem from Zhuge Liang. He goes to Jiang Xia to oversee the defenses there, which, as it turns out, is a very smart decision, though at times it might not seem it.
Meanwhile, Cao Cao's army, led by Xiahou Dun, moves south to attack Xinye, and put an end to Liu Bei. And it's time for Zhuge Liang's first battle.
Now, I'm a big fan of Zhuge Kongming, and here's one reason why. Bo Wang Po is his first battle, and he defeats Xiahou Dun soundly, sets fire to his army, and completely routs their far superior numbers with virtually no casualties. I could be wrong, but I don't think there's a single person alive now that is capable of such a feat in their first Battle. Zhuge Liang had never before directed a battle, but had been a simple farmer out in the sticks. Now he has utterly defeated Xiahou Dun, a man well versed in war who has been a fighting officer of Cao Cao's army for probably a good fifteen or twenty years at this point. A man who fearlessly stood up to Lu Bu, a man who ripped out his own eye and ate it rather than waste it after it had been struck by an arrow. This man was no slouch at his job. And yet he appears to have been powerless against the immaculate precision of Zhuge Liang's attacks. Truly, Zhuge Liang's capacity as a military commander was without peer in his age and in almost every other.
And Cao Cao has no idea who this guy is.
But he will. Oh yes. He will. Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!
Ahem...yes, anyways, enjoy this, Chapter 39 of the Sanguo Yanyi audiobook, courtesy of brookhavenchronicles.com, and thanks for listening!