dognovel Chapter 459 Guan Xing and Sun Quan, father-in-law and son-in-law meet
Chapter 459 Guan Xing and Sun Quan, father-in-law and son-in-law meet
Guan Xing led a hastily assembled ragtag army, many of whom were wounded, so they couldn't move fast at all. They dawdled and didn't arrive in Jiangling City until evening.
Upon arrival, they found Zhang Zhao standing by the moat to greet them. Beside Zhang Zhao was an old man, who turned out to be Sun Shao, the man Guan Xing had personally led troops to invite out of Jianye when Guan Xing first entered the city.
Sun Shao originally intended to remain neutral and wait for Zhang Zhao and Gu Yong to settle their differences before siding with the winner. However, the situation changed too quickly. Gu Yong was killed before he could rebel, and then Zhu Yi joined forces with the gentry of Jingzhou to rebel. Naturally, his plan failed, and he had no choice but to slink away to Sun Quan to apologize.
As for why he came to apologize instead of surrendering to Zhu Yi, the reason is simple. First, as an old man, he didn't want to humble himself before Zhu Yi, a junior. Second, even if he wanted to surrender, Zhu Yi might not accept him. After all, he was from Qingzhou Beihai, and he couldn't get along with Zhu Yi, Huang Zhe, and other Jiangnan gentry. Why would he force his way into their circle? Wouldn't that just be asking for trouble?
So Sun Shao returned and is currently managing logistics for Sun Quan. Zhang Zhao saw that Sun Quan was unwilling to welcome Guan Xing because of his status, so he brought Sun Shao to fill in.
Guan Xing was unaware of Sun Shao's inner thoughts and dared not presume before the two old men. Upon seeing them, he hurriedly ordered the army to wait where they were, and led Bu Zhi, Zhu Yi, and other generals to jog forward and bow, saying, "Junior Guan Anguo greets the military advisor and Chief Secretary Sun."
Zhang Zhao resisted the urge to kick him into the moat, reached out to help him up, and forced a smile, saying, "Young General, you've arrived just in time. If you had come any later, Jiangling might have fallen."
Guan Xing quickly laughed and said, "Strategist, you're too kind. With you and Lord Wu as our pillars of strength, Jiang Ji and Yu Jin won't be able to break through Jiangling City next year."
What exactly is the "Sea-Stabilizing Needle"?
Although Zhang Zhao wanted to ask, he wisely refrained from speaking and instead feigned understanding, smiling and saying, "Young General, you flatter me. I dare not accept such praise. Marquis Wu is still waiting for you in the East City, as you see..."
This matter is a bit complicated now. Although Sun Quan has surrendered, he surrendered to Liu Bei, not Guan Xing. There is really no need for him to come and welcome Guan Xing.
If Sun Quan didn't come to greet him, Guan Xing would have to take the initiative to pay his respects. After all, Sun Quan was both a leader and an elder, so it wouldn't be right not to pay his respects. But the problem was that the city walls were full of Sun Quan's men. Would Guan Xing dare to go?
Even if Guan Xing dared to go to Sun Quan, would Sun Quan greet him with a smile or draw his sword against him?
It's important to know that the Sun family's entire foundation in Jiangdong was destroyed by Guan Xing. Sun Quan harbored deep resentment towards Guan Xing. Even if he did countless mental exercises to convince himself, it was very possible that he would immediately change his mind after meeting him.
After all, the imagined scenario and the actual scenario are different. It is normal for people's thoughts to change drastically or even reverse dramatically the moment they meet.
Therefore, Zhang Zhao's biggest challenge right now is how to manage the relationship between his father-in-law and son-in-law and ensure that their first meeting goes smoothly. As long as they don't start fighting at the first meeting, things will be much easier afterward.
Guan Xing was in a dilemma upon hearing this. He was somewhat afraid to meet Sun Quan, after all, he felt guilty. He had seized someone else's property and forcibly married his daughter. In later generations, he would be sentenced.
But even an ugly daughter-in-law has to meet her in-laws eventually; she can't keep hiding from them forever. Besides, they're facing a fierce attack from the Wei army right now, and if internal strife breaks out again, things could easily go wrong.
After struggling for a moment, Guan Xing gritted his teeth and said, "Please lead the way, strategist. I will go with you to see Lord Wu."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, bent down, pointed to the city gate, and said with a smile, "Young General, please."
As long as Guan Xing is willing to meet him, the matter is half settled. Then, I can mediate from the sidelines and ensure the meeting goes smoothly.
Guan Xing led thirty personal guards into the city with Zhang Zhao. He could go see Sun Quan, but he still had to be on guard. If Sun Quan turned against him, these thirty personal guards could at least ensure his safe retreat, or at the very least, cover his leap into the moat.
Zhang Zhao understood Guan Xing's concerns, so he did not stop him but led Guan Xing into the barbican, preparing to climb the city wall using the cloud ladder.
Jiangling City has now fallen, and the barbican surrounded by the city walls has become the Wu army's main camp. Tents and wounded soldiers are everywhere in the city, with only a dozen or so siege ladders standing on both sides near the city gate for passage.
Guan Xing glanced at the devastation of the barbican and got a general idea of the battle situation inside the city. He then followed Zhang Zhao up the ladder to the city wall and headed straight for the east gate.
At the East Gate tower, Sun Quan seemed to know that Guan Xing was coming. He had already cleared a two-meter-wide passage and stood in the middle of the tower, patiently waiting.
Upon seeing Sun Quan, Zhang Zhao immediately nudged Guan Xing with his elbow. Guan Xing instantly understood and jogged forward, stopping about a meter away from Sun Quan. He bowed deeply and said with utmost sincerity, "Your son-in-law Guan Xing greets your father-in-law."
Sun Quan neither helped him up nor made him stand up. Instead, he looked down at him with a very complicated expression, struggling violently between welcoming him and turning his back on him.
He truly hated Guan Xing.
If it weren't for Guan Xing, he might have already captured Guan Yu and secured Jingzhou, and might even have gone to Wuchang to build a city as originally planned.
As a result, because of this kid's sudden inspiration to come up with a base-swapping tactic, he not only lost Jiangdong, but was also beaten down by those two bastards, Jiang Ji and Yu Jin. How frustrating!
When has Sun Quan, the Marquis of Wu of the Han Dynasty, ever felt so humiliated?
Thinking of how this kid had so easily destroyed the Sun family's three-generation legacy, Sun Quan wished he could immediately draw his sword, cut off the kid's head, and use it as a football.
but……
Sun Quan was caught in an unprecedented internal struggle, making Zhang Zhao and Sun Shao's hearts leap into their throats. They were genuinely afraid that Sun Quan would turn on them on the spot, as that would lead to too many unpredictable and uncontrollable changes.
Fortunately, Sun Quan remained rational. After struggling for several breaths, he finally forced a smile and reached out to help him up, saying, "My dear son-in-law, please get up. You must be exhausted from the journey."
Guan Xing breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Although he had been bending over, he had remained vigilant and was prepared to prevent Sun Quan from drawing his sword. If Sun Quan dared to draw his sword, he would immediately let Sun Quan taste the Black Dragon Eighteen Hands.
If he didn't have that confidence, how could he have dared to get so close to Sun Quan?
But now...
Since Sun Quan had chosen to cooperate, he naturally took the opportunity to stand up and said with a warm smile, "The journey is nothing, it is you, Father-in-law, who has to use one-third of your troops to resist the fierce attack of Jiang Ji and Yu Jin, that is truly hard work."
The plot progressed smoothly to the stage of mutual flattery, with the father-in-law and son-in-law both spouting nonsense that even they themselves didn't believe, in order to quickly bring them closer together.
Seeing that things had gone on for a while, Zhang Zhao decisively interjected, "Young Master Anguo, how are the ladies and the two young masters Denglu?"
Upon hearing this, Sun Quan immediately perked up his ears. He was a normal man, and it would be a lie to say that he didn't care about his wife and children.
Guan Xing smiled and said, "Everything is fine at home, but the two young masters often think of their father and long for a family reunion."
"That's well said," Zhang Zhao silently gave him a thumbs up. Then he continued the casual conversation, subtly and effortlessly shifting the topic to the current battle. He stroked his beard and smiled, "With the young general's tens of thousands of reinforcements, we are much more confident in holding Jiangling. Once Yu Fan and Shen Yi arrive with their troops, Jiang Ji and Yu Jin's doom will be nigh."
On the way to see Sun Quan, Zhang Zhao informed Guan Xing that Sun Quan had sent someone to order Yu Fan to surrender and inquired about the situation of the Han army attacking Nanchang. Upon learning that Shen Yi's western expeditionary Han army numbered 60,000, he was immediately relieved.
Sun Quan had also learned about the situation in Nanchang from the casual conversation earlier, and said with concern, "Nanchang is over a thousand miles from Jiangling. Even if Yu Fan and Shen Yi arrive, it will take at least ten days. I'm afraid our supplies won't last that long."