I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 656: Sun Wentai gives in?
Nanyang County, Wancheng, outside the east gate, tens of thousands of troops gathered.

That’s right, tens of thousands!
These people were the warriors brought by Sun Jian from Jiangdong and Jingzhou.

In fact, there weren't so many people when he came from Changsha.

However, after conspiring with Cao Yin to kill Jingzhou Governor Wang Rui, he took the opportunity to annex Wang Rui's Jingzhou troops in Jiangling (the capital of Jingzhou).

Then along the way, he spent money and food to recruit soldiers in the name of fighting Dong, so by the time he went north to Nanyang, he had expanded his troops to tens of thousands.

There were about 20,000 skilled soldiers alone.

After receiving the order from Yuan Shu brought by the chief clerk Yan Xiang, Sun Jian immediately led his troops to Wancheng, the capital of Nanyang.

That guy, and the crowd of people, scared the former prefect Zhang Zi, who was waiting for Yuan Shao's people to come and take over.

Nanyang County is located in the heart of the Central Plains. It is rich in resources and has a large population. It has always been a battleground for military strategists. As the former prefect of Nanyang, Zhang Zi naturally understands the importance of Nanyang.

If it were normal times, when Sun Jian sent troops, Zhang Zi would not panic at all because of the high walls of Nanyang City, even if Sun Jian had tens of thousands of elite soldiers.

But unfortunately, now is a special time.

Not to mention that most of the elite troops in his city were taken away by Wen Pin, leaving Su Yao with no way to return them, he had just received the good news that Duke Lu, the champion marquis, and Yuan Benchu ​​had summoned him to the capital to temporarily take over the functions of the Nine Ministers and assist in the government affairs.

Now, if a fight breaks out with Sun Jian suddenly, it would be simply a brain hemorrhage.

So Zhang Zi quickly sent someone to inquire about the situation.

However, the result was much better than he expected. Sun Jian did not come here to fight him, but
hiss--

"He, Sun Wentai, went to fight against Dong Zhuo, and actually asked me, Nanyang, to provide him with food?"

Zhang Zi suddenly felt that the situation was a bit difficult and asked everyone:
"How do you think I should deal with this?"

As soon as Zhang Zi finished speaking, there was a burst of discussion in the tent, and everyone expressed their opinions.

"Zhang Taishou, Sun Wentai has become very powerful after annexing the governor of Jingzhou, and the warriors of Huaisi under his command are all good at fighting. This time they are coming with great momentum and should not be underestimated."

Gong Cao Xue Hong said worriedly:
"In my opinion, we might as well give him some food and send him away as soon as possible."

"When Lord Yuan's men arrive, this matter will have nothing to do with you, the governor."

After listening to this, Zhang Zi nodded slightly.

Logically speaking, as a governor staying behind, there is really no need for him to get involved in this mess now. It seems that it may not be a bad idea to spend some money to avoid disaster.

Just like what his Gongcao said, when Yuan Shao's people come, if Sun Jian still refuses to leave, it will have nothing to do with me, and I will just go to the capital.

So he wanted to agree.

This is also understandable.

Zhang Zi was a scholar who had just taken office. He lacked both ability and ambition, and had no attachment to Nanyang.

On the contrary, he was quite tempted by the proposal of Su Yao, Lu Zhi and others to invite him to Beijing to temporarily replace the Nine Ministers to assist in handling state affairs and pacify the chaos, and was eager to get rid of the hot potato of Nanyang.

However, when Zhang Zi was arranging people to send food out of the city, Gang Ji stepped forward to stop him and said:

"Sun Jian is the governor of Changsha, and he is a 2,000-stone official from a neighboring county. What qualifications does he have to ask the Lord to transfer grain and grass?"

"What's more, the Marquis of Guanjun's order to become the General of Cavalry has been issued to the whole country. Now that Dong Zhuo has fled westward, the princes should return to their respective positions. Sun Jian had previously annexed the envoy Wang Rui (the governor of Jingzhou), which was already a great act of treason. Now he is determined to go north, which is a wolfish ambition. How can you help the tyrant to commit atrocities?"

"When you arrive in the capital, how are you going to explain this to Marquis Guanjun and Lord Lu?"

Gang Ji's words made Zhang Zi fall into deep thought. He really hadn't thought about what kind of consequences might come to him if he agreed to Sun Jian's request.

He was now very clear about the abilities of Marquis Guanjun, and Lu Zhi was a celebrity whom he had admired for a long time.

Moreover, his current promotion was entirely due to the petition submitted by these two people.

If he supplies food to Sun Jian now, and that guy goes north to harass the capital in a blink of an eye, then he will offend Marquis Guanjun and Lord Lu.

He cannot clear himself of the charge of being weak and incompetent. Let alone getting promoted in Beijing, he might even be thrown into prison and interrogated.

"Master Gang's reminder is reasonable. I will never agree to Sun Jian's request!"

Zhang Zi hesitated for a moment and said:

"But now he has a strong army and is stationed outside the city. How should we deal with him?"

Tsunagi smiled slightly and said calmly:
"Don't worry, Governor. Although Sun Jian has many soldiers and generals, he has no reason to fight and has come from a long distance, so he must be short of food and grass."

"We just need to hold our ground and wait for them to run out of food and supplies, and then they will naturally fall without a fight."

"Also, Governor, don't forget that the army of Marquis Guanjun is heading west to attack Dong Zhuo. Once they learn of Sun Jian's unusual movements, they will rush back to support him. By then, Sun Wentai will be unable to escape even if he has wings."

"Of course, we don't really have to wait that long."

"In my opinion, Sun Wentai is so arrogant, perhaps he doesn't know that Su Cheqi and Yuan Piaoqi have joined hands."

"Your Excellency can reject his request with righteous words later, and then bring up the names of those two people, and Sun Wentai will retreat knowing what to do."

Tsunaji looked confident, this was simply a matter of course.

Although Sun Wentai was brave and daring in battle, he was nothing compared to the two generals Su Yao and Yuan Shao.

Before, he was able to take advantage of the chaos in the alliance and fish in troubled waters.

Now Su Yao and Yuan Shao have made peace, and the more than 100,000 coalition forces of the princes in Guandong have disbanded and returned home. How could Sun Wentai, a mere governor of Changsha, eat so few dishes and drink so much, and dare to act so ignorantly?

When Zhang Zi heard this, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes, and he felt that what Gang Ji said was not wrong.

He quickly weighed the pros and cons and decided to adopt Gangji's suggestion.

"What Chief Gang said makes sense. I will go meet Sun Wentai right now to see what gives him the confidence to be so arrogant."

After Zhang Zi finished speaking, he straightened his clothes and strode towards the city gate with a few trusted followers.

At the foot of the city gate, Sun Jian, wearing armor and riding on a warhorse, stared at the closed city gate with a majestic look.

Beside him, tens of thousands of soldiers were lined up in neat rows, with great momentum, as if they were ready to attack the city at any time.

Seeing Zhang Zi appear on the top of the city wall and asking him to speak, Sun Jian raised his eyebrows, rode his horse forward a few steps, and shouted loudly:
"Zhang Taishou, I, Sun Wentai, have been ordered to fight Dong Zhuo. I am passing through your land and am short of food and grass. I hope you can be generous and lend me a helping hand!"

Zhang Zi heard this and bowed in return, saying:
"Grandmaster Sun, Nanyang County is an important place for the Han Dynasty. Food and fodder are related to people's livelihood. How can we easily transfer them?"

"What's more, the Champion Marquis Su Cheqi and Yuan Piaoqi have joined hands to fight Dong, and all the princes in the world should return to their positions and defend the territory together. Why do you, Grand Administrator Sun, insist on going your own way and going north to cause chaos?"

"Aren't you afraid that the two generals will join forces to blame you and send a large army to wipe you out?"

Sun Jian's face changed slightly when he heard that. He didn't expect that Zhang Zi would actually use the names of Su Yao and Yuan Shao to pressure him, and he didn't expect that the two of them had actually joined forces.

Was this Zhang Zi bluffing, or was this intentional on Yuan Shu's part?
Sun Jian was unsure of what to do. With a gloomy face, he turned around and exchanged glances with his nephew Sun Ben, his younger brother Sun Jing, his brother-in-law Wu Jing, and the general Cheng Pu, and held urgent consultations.

Zhang Zi on the top of the city wall didn't know what Sun Jian and his men were talking about. He was a little anxious. He was considering whether to send a fast horse to report to Luozhong before Sun Jian surrounded the city. But Sun Jian was scared and stepped forward to apologize loudly to the top of the city wall.
(End of this chapter)