I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 537: The Heroes Rise at the Right Time (Part )
Sun Jian, Marquis of Wucheng, was a native of Jiangdong and the father of the Little Overlord Sun Ce. His family had been thriving in Wu for generations and was a local wealthy family.

However, the wealthy families in Wu were naturally nothing in the eyes of the nobles in the Central Plains.

Therefore, the pinnacle of the Sun family for several generations was the local officials.

Sun Jian was already a leader among them, and served as the county magistrate of Zhou County for three consecutive terms.

If he had not met Zhu Jun during the Yellow Turban Rebellion and been promoted by him, he would probably have been suppressed and died in a small local county all his life.

However, the reason why Zhu Jun promoted Sun Jian was simply because he himself was a man from a humble family who had risen to power in a special era, and they sympathized with each other.

Helping Sun Jian rise all the way to become the governor of Changsha was the limit of what Zhu Jun could do.

However, if a poor person rises to a high position, it is bound to arouse envy.

His immediate superior, Wang Rui, the governor of Jingzhou, had been causing trouble for him.

When Yuan Shu heard about this, he immediately laughed:

"It's not a big deal."

"Go and tell him that as long as he is willing to follow me and fight for me, the Yuan family, which has been a family of three officials for four generations, will be his backer."

"He is just the governor of Jingzhou, so he can handle it as he pleases!"

"As long as he does a good job and takes over the capital, I will recommend him as the governor of Yuzhou!"

As soon as Yuan Shu finished speaking, the chief clerk Yan Xiang immediately understood what he meant and immediately sent an envoy to Changsha at full speed to convey Yuan Shu's wishes to Sun Jian.

A few days later, Changsha Prefect Sun Jian responded to the call to attack Dong Zhuo and became the farthest prince to attend the alliance.

The first thing he did was not to fight against Dong Zhuo, but to take advantage of the opportunity when the army marched north and entered Jingzhou to force the governor of Jingzhou, Wang Rui, to death.
Compared with the decisiveness of Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Cao Cao, Sun Jian and others, the performance of Youzhou Mu Liu Yu and Nanyang Prefect Zhang Zi was very subtle.

For example, Liu Yu calmly accepted the orders from Dong Zhuo to be the Grand Marshal and Marquis of Xiangben, but ignored the request to attack Su Yao's base in Liaodong. He also did not send troops to participate in Su Yao and Lu Zhi's call to attack Dong Zhuo. He just expressed his support verbally and then quietly continued to farm in Youzhou, as if he was staying out of the matter.

Compared to Liu Yu, who was far away in Youzhou and chose not to work for the benefits, Zhang Zi, who was nearby, was in a dilemma.

He stood in the study of his mansion, holding tightly in his hands two completely different imperial edicts - one was from Dong Zhuo, ordering him to send troops to attack Su Yao; the other was a joint manifesto signed by Su Yao and Lu Zhi to attack Dong, inviting him to join the cause.

"Governor, time is running out, we must make a choice as soon as possible!" Chief Clerk Gangji reminded again.

Zhang Zi sighed and slowly put down the imperial edict in his hand:

"Gui Zheng, I really can't make a decision."

"Dong Zhuo has great power in the court. He has helped me and represents the court. It is reasonable for me to respond to the court's call."

"However, Dong Zhuo took advantage of the chaos to force his way into the palace and seized power. He came to power illegitimately, causing nearly half of the officials in the capital to resign and leave. He is definitely not someone who can accomplish anything."

"Even a fair and honest man like Lord Lu was persecuted by him, how can I help him to commit atrocities and alienate the people of the world?"

"Since the governor sees it so clearly, why are you still hesitating?"

Tsunaji was speechless:

"It has been several days since the letters were sent from both sides. You are very close to the capital. If you just stand by and watch, I am afraid that if either side wins, they will not let you down."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zi frowned and looked worried.

He had not expected that the position of Nanyang governor would be so hot. He was immediately at the center of this political storm when he first arrived. Any choice he made could determine his fate:

"Guizheng, I know what you are saying."

Zhang Zi sighed and continued:
"But Dong Zhuo is a powerful force with strong soldiers and horses. He controls the two regions of Yong and Liang, and has the Xiliang Iron Cavalry as his backing. He is really difficult to shake."

"Although the Champion Marquis is extremely brave, he is outnumbered after all. He only has a few thousand men. How can he defeat Dong Zhuo's army?"

"You are wrong, sir." Gang Ji shook his head and retorted:
"Although the Champion Marquis has few troops, he has always been able to defeat the enemy with a small force and win every battle."

"Although Dong Zhuo is strong, he has few supporters because of his lack of morality. Many princes and scholars in the world are dissatisfied with him. In addition, Lu Gong has great prestige among scholars. Su Yao's appeal is far from comparable to Dong Zhuo's."

"Nanyang is the largest county in the world. Responding to the call to fight against Dong Zhuo at this time is like sending timely help. After the mission is accomplished, it is just around the corner for you to be made a marquis and appointed as prime minister!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zi fell into deep thought.

This prospect is very tempting, but Zhang Zi has already conducted many investigations in recent days.

Although Nanyang is known as the largest county in the world with a large population, its soldiers have long been ignorant of warfare and suffered heavy losses during the Yellow Turban Rebellion a few years ago. The previous county governor was killed by the bandit leader Zhang Mancheng.

If Zhu Jun and others had not led the imperial reinforcements to the rescue, Wancheng, the capital of Nanyang County, would have been captured at that time.

Therefore, Nanyang is still in the post-war recovery stage, and he has just been transferred here. He hasn't even warmed up his position yet and hasn't even learned the names of all the local officers. It is questionable how much of a role he can play if he rashly responds to the call to fight against Dong Zhuo and sends troops to rescue him.

And Su Yao happened to be in a critical position so close to the capital. If he angered Dong Zhuo and was defeated by a sudden attack, he would not only lose more than he gained, but would also suffer a great loss.

"Governor, if you don't make a decision when you should, you will suffer the consequences."

Gang Ji stamped his feet anxiously:

"The situation is urgent now and we can no longer hesitate."

However, the prefect Zhang Zi was still hesitant.

At this time, a middle-aged celebrity stood up:
"Since the governor has so many concerns, in my opinion, we should remain neutral for the time being, wait and see, and make a decision when the situation becomes clear."

Zhang Zi saw that this person was none other than Lou Gui and Lou Zibo, the retainers who had recently joined his staff. He nodded and said with a slight headache:

"I have this plan, but I am worried about offending both of them and it will be difficult to explain when the time comes."

"It's not difficult at all."

Lou Gui planned:
"Yique is a strategic point in the south of the capital. Dong Zhuo will never sit idly by and watch Su Yao occupy this place for long."

"We just need to send troops to Yique as soon as possible and make a big show of it, but we won't make it public for now. We will just contact the two parties secretly."

"In response to the imperial court's order, we only spoke of the great cause, obscuring the purpose, neither admitting nor denying it, giving him the illusion that we were on the side of the imperial court, so that he could attack Yique without any worries."

"As for Marquis Guanjun and Lord Lu, we should clearly express our goodwill and support, but at the same time slow down our march and move cautiously. We should not rush to join the battle."

"When the battle of Yique has a clear outcome, if Guanjun Hou and his men can resist Dong Zhuo's attack and dampen the enemy's morale, we can speed up our advance, raise the banner of fighting against Dong Zhuo, and help him in his time of need."

"If Su Yao cannot withstand Dong Zhuo's attack, loses Yique, and flees southward, we can either capture him and hand him over to the court, or collect his remaining troops and let the governor take over the overall situation of defeating Dong Zhuo. No matter what choice is made, the initiative will be in the governor's hands."

Zhang Zi's eyes lit up when he heard this. He had never expected that Lou Zibo, who had just joined the army a month ago, would have such insight:

"Zi Bo's brilliant plan, let's do it accordingly."

"However, this plan requires the commanders on the front lines to react to the situation. I wonder who in Nanyang can take on this important task?"

That’s right, Zhang Zi did not intend to lead the troops himself.

Although as a local lord, such an important matter should not be delegated to others.

However, Zhang Zi still had some self-awareness. As a scholar, he did not know much about military affairs.

He had not yet figured out the local situation in Nanyang, so it was not the right time to lead his troops into battle.

Therefore, this requires a reliable person who can stand on his own to lead the troops.

At this point, Gang Ji and Lou Gui almost said a name in unison:
"Military Sima Wenpin can take on this important task."

(End of this chapter)