Gan Ning (pronunciationⓘ) (c.early 170s[1] - c. 220[a]), 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.

Later, he brought along 800 men to join Liu Biao, the Governor of Jing Province (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan), and was stationed in Nanyang Commandery.

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.

He fired an arrow which killed Ling Cao, a colonel under Sun Quan, thus saving Huang Zu's life.

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.

Su Fei then said: "I will suggest to Huang Zu to appoint you as the chief of Zhu County (邾縣; northwest of present-day Huanggang, Hubei).

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.

When Gan Ning brought his followers to Jiangdong, Zhou Yu and Lü Meng recommended him as a talent to their lord, Sun Quan.

[c]"[Sanguozhi 5]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.

"[Sanguozhi 7] 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.

[Sanguozhi 9] Sometime in the late 200s to early 210s, Gan Ning were involved in a revolt orchestrased by some officials against the newly ascended Liu Zhang, whose father who had just passed away.

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.

Gan Ning suggested that he lead a separate force to capture Yiling (夷陵; around present-day Yichang, Hubei).

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.

[Sanguozhi 10] 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.

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 (長沙), Lingling (零陵; around present-day Yongzhou, Hunan) and Guiyang (桂陽; around present-day Chenzhou, Hunan) 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.

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.

Armed with a chain, he was the first to climb up the walls and his men captured Wan County's defending commander, Zhu Guang (朱光).

Sun Quan was unable to capture Hefei after besieging the city for days and suffering defeats in the initial skirmishes, and he eventually withdrew his forces when a plague broke out in his army.

Gan Ning led a group of archers to fire arrows at the enemy while Ling Tong and the others fought fiercely to protect their lord.

Gan Ning shouted at the men to beat the war drums and blow the horns loudly to raise the army's morale.

The officer knelt down and did not dare to take the bowl, so Gan Ning drew his sword, placed it on his lap and said: "You respect our lord but not me?

By then, Gan Ning and his men had already returned safely to their own camp, where they beat their drums, blew their horns, and shouted "wansui!

Gan Zhuo served as Senior General Who Guards the South (鎮南大將軍) and Governor of Jing Province (荊州牧) during the Jin dynasty.

[Sanguozhi zhu 12] One of Gan Ning's servants committed an offence and was afraid of being punished so he sought shelter under Lü Meng.

Lü Meng's mother came out of the house barefooted and chided her son: "The lord (Sun Quan) treats you like his family and entrusts you with important responsibilities.

Before the raid, Ling Tong leads 3,000 troops to engage the enemy and duels with Zhang Liao before he receives orders to retreat.

Gan Ning is featured as a playable character in Total War: Three Kingdoms, serving under Liu Biao's faction.