I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 657: Nanyang City Changes

"You, you know you're wrong?"

In Wancheng, Nanyang, Zhang Zi, standing on the city wall, was surprised and relieved when he heard Sun Jian's apology.

What is surprising is that since his debut, Sun Wentai has been similar to the champion Hou Suyao, both of whom are difficult to control, arrogant and reckless young men.

This time, he wantonly killed the governor of Jingzhou, which made Zhang Zi extremely vigilant.

Although he sounded aggressive when he scolded, Zhang Zi was actually not completely sure in his heart.

However, it seems that the reputation of Guanjun Hou and Yuan Benchu ​​is still effective, and even the usually unruly Sun Wentai has to bow his head.

Sun Jian stood at the foot of the city with a complicated look in his eyes. Seeing that Zhang Zi didn't seem to believe him, he quickly explained:
"Changsha is a long way away, and I am not aware of the events in the capital. This is an abrupt response, and I am truly offended. I hope the governor will forgive me."

Sun Jian said sincerely:
"I am willing to go to the city in person with cattle and wine as gifts to apologize to the governor and discuss a solution. I hope the governor can put aside the past grudges and forgive my disrespect."

Beef and wine, beef and wine, were the items and etiquette for people to give as gifts at that time, just like people give gifts at banquets today.

Zhang Zi thought Sun Jian was sincere and was willing to enter the city alone, which did not seem to be a pretense. Taking into account the reputation of Su Yao and Yuan Shao, he nodded.

"We are officials in the same dynasty, and you are too polite, Lord Sun."

"In that case, I will prepare some light wine and a feast to welcome you, Grand Administrator Sun."

Sun Jian was overjoyed when he heard this, and immediately bowed his hands to express his gratitude: "Thank you for your generosity, Governor. I will definitely keep it in mind."

So Sun Jian personally led a team of personal soldiers, carrying gifts such as cattle and wine, to visit Zhang Zi in the city. The two met in the governor's mansion, and after some greetings, the atmosphere gradually eased. The two no longer addressed each other as governor, but called each other brothers and by their given names.

Seeing Sun Jian's humble attitude, Zhang Zi let down his guard and discussed with him the issue of food and fodder in Nanyang County.

Sun Jian responded by saying that he had consumed a lot of resources all the way north, and if he disbanded the team now, he was afraid that he would not have enough food and fodder to return.

Sun Jian hoped that Zhang Zi could provide some supplies to prevent the soldiers from being out of food and disrupting the order in Nanyang.

Although Zhang Zi had some concerns in his heart, he couldn't refuse directly due to emotional considerations, so he promised to do his best to help.

So, after some discussion, the two finally reached a preliminary agreement.

The next day, Zhang Zi followed official etiquette and personally led a team of personal soldiers to Sun Jian's camp to express his gratitude. He also went to see the situation in Sun Jian's camp and discussed the final appropriate amount of food and fodder.

When Sun Jian saw Zhang Zi arriving as promised, he was overjoyed and also hosted a splendid banquet, during which both the host and the guests had a great time.

Seeing that Sun Jian had a strong army, Zhang Zi finally made up his mind. He would pay a little price to send Sun Jian away. This way, everyone would live in harmony, and he could also work with Su Yao and Lu Gong.

However, just as they were enjoying the wine and preparing to surprise Sun Jian and tell him that he had made a decision and asked his brothers not to worry, suddenly...
Ding Deng Deng.

A soldier dressed as a scout hurried into the tent, whispered a few words to Sun Jian, and handed him a document.

After hearing this, Sun Jian's face suddenly changed. He slammed the table and stood up.

This sudden action shocked everyone present in Nanyang.

"What does this mean, Mr. Wen? What happened?" Zhang Zi asked.

Sun Jian did not answer, but waved his hand, signaling his soldiers to retreat.

Then, he turned to Zhang Zi and said, "Grandmaster Zhang, I'm afraid there are some things that require your cooperation."

Zhang Zi had a bad feeling when he heard this. He tried to remain calm and asked, "What do you need my cooperation with?"

Sun Jian did not answer directly, but winked at the chief clerk beside him. The man stepped forward, took the document, unfolded it, and read aloud.

It turned out that the document was sent in the name of the future general Yuan Shu, claiming that Nanyang Prefect Zhang Zi was secretly colluding with Dong Zhuo's remnants and obstructing the righteous army from marching north to fight Dong, and demanded that Sun Jian arrest him and punish him.

"what?!"

When Zhang Zi heard this, he was struck by lightning. His face turned pale and his whole body was shaking.

"This, this is slander! This is a frame-up!"

Zhang Zi shouted angrily:

"I, Zhang Zi, am loyal to the Han Dynasty. Marquis Guanjun, Lord Lu, and Lord Yuan jointly submitted a petition to commend me. How could I collude with the remnants of Dong Zhuo?!"

Sun Jian sneered:
"I didn't want to believe it, but here is the seal of the rear general and the testimonies of the officials, so I, Sun, have no choice but to act impartially."

"Zhang Taishou, I'm sorry."

Zhang Zi felt despair when he heard this.

At this time, he didn't know that he had fallen into Sun Jian's trap.

This is really weird. Zhang Zi never expected that Sun Jian would dare to risk the world's condemnation and frame him in this way.

"Sun Wentai, you, you are so brave!"

"Aren't you afraid that Marquis Guanjun and Lord Yuan will come to question you?!"

However, Sun Jian was no longer willing to waste time talking to Zhang Zi. He simply waved his hand and shouted:

"Someone! Take down the traitor Zhang Zi!"

All of a sudden, the soldiers in Sun Jian's tent rushed forward and surrounded Zhang Zi and his cronies. It was not as if Zhang Zi was completely unprepared, as he brought several hundred men with him, so he was not at an absolute disadvantage in terms of numbers in this large tent.

Although they were caught off guard, they would never surrender.

The officers who were sitting with them immediately drew their weapons, ready to fight to the death to break out.

However, having no disadvantage in numbers does not mean that one can compete in terms of quality.

How could Sun Jian's elite troops, who had fought in many battles, be easily defeated?

The two parties had just started fighting at the table when two loud shouts were heard.

At that time, there were two Sima Cheng Pu and Huang Gai under Sun Jian's command.

In this chaotic crowd, they were like two dazzling stars, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

Cheng Pu held an iron spear in his hand and was agile. Each of his spears accurately hit the vital points of Zhang Zi's personal soldiers. Huang Gai, on the other hand, wielded a broadsword with unstoppable force, chopping down the enemies one after another.

In the chaos of the battle, the military guards brought by Zhang Zi were almost hacked to death at the first moment.

Under the leadership of Cheng Pu and Huang Gai, the morale of Sun Jian's personal soldiers was boosted and their offensive became more fierce. Although Zhang Zi's personal soldiers fought bravely, they were quickly defeated under their fierce attack.

Zhang Zi was extremely anxious when he saw this.

He knew very well that if he fell into Sun Jian's hands, the consequences would be disastrous.

Therefore, even though he was born a scholar, he swung his sword vigorously, trying to break through the chaos with a few personal soldiers and tear open the tent to escape outside.

As long as he gets outside, he will have hundreds of guards to protect him.

Of course, these people could not defeat Sun Jian's tens of thousands of troops.

However, if the situation gets serious, the city guards will come out to rescue.
Zhang Zi’s imagination stopped here.

Suddenly, his eyes went dark, and then he felt dizzy and lost consciousness.

It turned out that during the melee, Sun Jian's nephew Sun Ben took advantage of the chaos to launch a sneak attack and hit Zhang Zi hard on the back of the head with the handle of his knife, knocking him unconscious.

When Zhang Zi woke up again, he found himself tied up and lying in front of Sun Jian's tent.

All around were cold weapons and the stern faces of Sun Jian's soldiers.

Obviously, because his commander was captured, the soldiers he brought with him were afraid to act rashly and surrendered one after another, and the entire army was wiped out.

"Zhang Zi, do you admit your guilt?" Sun Jian's cold and stern voice came from inside the tent.

Zhang Zi tried hard to raise his head and looked at Sun Jian with a firm gaze. Although his body could not move, his eyes still revealed an unyielding light.

"Sun Wentai, I, Zhang Zi, have always acted uprightly and honestly throughout my life. I have never done anything to offend the Han Dynasty. You are framing me for your own selfish interests today. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at by the world?"

Sun Jian sneered, walked out slowly from the tent and stood in front of Zhang Zi.

"The people of the world? Humph, the people of the world only know that the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. Zhang Zi, you have fallen into my hands today, and this is your fate."

"You, did you kill our superior, Envoy Wang, in the same way that day?"

"Shut up!"

Sun Jian drew his sword and pointed it at Zhang Zi's throat:

"As we are officials in the same court, if you just cooperate honestly and have your men open the gate for my army, I will spare your life. Otherwise..."

Sun Jian's threat was obvious, but it did not work.

At this critical moment, Zhang Zi showed a shocking sense of integrity. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and showed a fearless expression on his face:

"Come on, Sun Wentai, I, Zhang Zi, will die with honor, but you will eventually receive retribution!"

Sun Jian snorted coldly, raised his sword without hesitation, a cold light flashed, and Zhang Zi's life came to an abrupt end.

Sun Jian put away his sword, glanced coldly at Zhang Zi who was lying on the ground, and ordered Cheng Pu beside him:
"Cut off his head and send it to Wancheng along with the document of his rebellion as a warning to others."

Cheng Pu immediately took the order and left.

However, he did not use the head to show off his power.

Instead, he secretly had someone replace the clothes and armor of Zhang Zi's personal soldiers, and then searched for Zhang Zi's personal seal and went to trick the city gate open.

Immediately afterwards, Sun Jian's army took advantage of the situation and occupied Nanyang.

Sun Jian's move quickly caused an uproar in Nanyang County.

Gang Ji felt filled with remorse when he looked at Zhang Zi's head, and the people and county officials were even more angry at Sun Jian's brutal behavior.

However, under the powerful military pressure of Sun Jian, they were leaderless and could only choose silence and obedience.

But they didn't do nothing.

Before Sun Jian completed his control of the gates of Wancheng, a team of scouts quietly went out and hurried to Luoyang to report the sudden change in Nanyang.

(End of this chapter)