Warlords in Troubled Times

How did a bandit leader become a dominating warlord? What kind of married young woman would a man who is full of ruthlessness and iron bones be willing to turn into a soft-spoken woman? What kind of person is Zhang Si Mazi, so that when he was young and struggling, he met such a group of brothers who were willing to risk life and death for him? This story is purely fictitious and any similarity is purely coincidental!