Sun Jian

  Zhou Shen's face changed, and he hastily asked: "Younger brother Zi Yu, where did this come from? As brothers, we are both from Liangzhou, and as sons of good families in the six counties, we were both selected as Lang of the Feathered Forest. Moreover, we shared hardships together during the pacification of Hebei's Yellow Turbans. How could Zhou Botong possibly harm younger brother Zi Yu?"

  Gao Fei sneered, his eyes filled with hostile anger. The more Zhou Shen tried to get close to him, the more he felt disgusted. People's hearts are separated by a layer of skin. He had mistakenly taken Zhou Shen as a friend in the past, but didn't expect that Zhou Shen would secretly plot against him behind his back. Such a friend was not worth having. He wasn't afraid of falling out with Zhou Shen either. They were both officials of the imperial court, one being the General of Suppressing Bandits and the other the General of Vanquishing Rebels, both holding the same rank as irregular generals. Moreover, he had in his hands an elite flying feather corps, and with troops came confidence; he feared nothing.

  "Bo Tong's words are indeed light and easy, but can he really expect to use these words to block the mouths of the crowd? Don't you forget, if you want others not to know, unless you yourself don't do it. Zuo Feng has already told me everything, you secretly set obstacles for me, what is your intention?"

  Zhou Shen suddenly realized, he had thought Gao Fei was angry about the soldier blocking his way into the camp earlier. Seeing Gao Fei's furious expression, Zhou Shen smiled slyly and reached out to pat Gao Fei's shoulder, but Gao Fei took a step back, leaving Zhou Shen's hand hovering in mid-air, looking rather awkward. He withdrew his hand, cleared his throat, straightened his posture, and called out: "Zi Yu younger brother, this matter... actually I was just trying to be kind..."

  "What kindness? You're just trying to screw me over! You're secretly sabotaging me and you say it's out of kindness? I spent 600 million just to buy the position of Governor of Liaodong, and you're still trying to trap me? Do I have a grudge against you?" Gao Fei immediately cut off Zhou Shen's words, shouting loudly.

  The sound fell, and the swordsmen inside and outside the camp all stirred, their eyes filled with murderous intent. It seemed that as long as Zhou Shen gave the order, they would rush out without hesitation. The nine attendants including Zhao Yun in the camp were also secretly on guard, their eyes constantly scanning the swordsmen around them, and further determining their positions. If anything unexpected happened, they would definitely take action before those swordsmen did.

  The atmosphere was extremely tense, filled with a strong smell of gunpowder. Gao Fei and Zhou Shen were at odds with each other, their eyes revealing hostility as they stared at each other in silence for a long time.

  Gao Fei understood in his heart that even if they had a falling out, it was no big deal. He and the nine attendants behind him were not people to be trifled with. Moreover, in his estimation, Zhou Shen would not dare to lay hands on him, after all, killing an official of the imperial court was a capital offense, and Zhou Shen was not stupid enough to do something like that.

  Suddenly, Zhou Shen burst out laughing and said to Gao Fei while laughing: "Zi Yu younger brother, listen to me, the place of Liaodong is really too remote. After I learned from Zuo Feng that you wanted to go to Liaodong, I felt that this was an obstacle to your future prospects. So, for the sake of brotherhood, I secretly asked someone to arrange for you to come to Chen Cang. Think about it, if not for my help in getting you to Chen Cang, how would you have made a name for yourself in Liangzhou?"

  Gao Fei sneered and said, "I didn't expect my actions to provoke such jealousy from General Zhou. I won't bother you anymore, General Zhou is busy with military affairs. From now on, we have no more ties, past events are in the past, I won't hold any grudges against you, farewell!"

  Before Zhou Zhen could respond, Gao Fei turned around and left the tent with Zhao Yun and nine other attendants. They led their horses and galloped towards the outside of the camp.

  Zhou Zhen lifted the curtain of his tent and saw a figure flying high in the distance. He hummed coldly and shouted loudly, "What's so arrogant about you? Once the rebellion in Liangzhou is put down, I'll be promoted to a higher rank, and then let's see what you have to be arrogant about! In the past when we were attacking the Yellow Turbans, if you hadn't competed with me for credit, I would have become a marquis long ago. If you hadn't rushed to compete with me for merit back then, why would I be treating you like this now?"

  Gao Fei and others left Zhou Shen's camp, immediately turned south, since he came, should go to visit Cao Cao, also take a look at the battle situation in recent days, and explore the wind, see if the whole army is like what Ge Xun said.

  Gao Fei led Zhao Yun and others to gallop south for a short distance, when they saw several light cavalry rushing out of a camp with a large flag bearing the character "Sun", one of whom was still wearing a helmet and armor, looking extremely spirited.

  "Is it Sun Jian?" Gao Fei secretly wondered in his heart.

  Two groups of people walked towards each other, Gaofei took a look at the knight on the horse opposite him, and saw that the man on the horse had a thin and long face, a broad forehead, a downward-pointing nose, big and deep eyes, and a slightly yellowish drooping mustache. He was physically strong and powerful, with both hands holding the reins while also silently staring at him.

  In a flash, Gao Fei and the knight who was leading the horse rushed past each other, but suddenly heard a long neigh from behind, followed by a loud voice entering his ears: "Could it be that you are Gao Zi Yu?"

  Gao Fei reined in his horse and turned around, only to see the knight who had just brushed past him sitting upright on his horse, with his four attendants also turning their horses around. Out of politeness, Gao Fei turned his horse around and bowed to the knight, saying: "I am Gao Fei, may I ask how you are called?"

  The knight opposite him burst out laughing and rode up to Gao's side, cupping his hands in greeting: "I am Sun Jian, also known as Wentai, from Fuchun, Wu Prefecture. I have long heard of General Gao's great name, but never had the chance to meet you before. It is truly a pleasure to run into you here today."

  "It's really Sun Jian!" Gao Feng secretly exclaimed in his heart, but his eyes were still carefully sizing up Sun Jian. He saw that Sun Jian was 27 or 28 years old, wearing armor and looking extremely majestic and extraordinary. This fierce tiger from Jiangdong was indeed exceptional. Whether it was his appearance or temperament, he looked very pleasing to the eye, and compared to Liu Bei and Cao Cao, he seemed even more handsome.

  Liu Bei, Cao Cao and Sun Jian can be called the three giants of the Three Kingdoms. Although the foundation of the Wu state was laid by Sun Ce, without Sun Jian's early reputation and old troops, Sun Ce would not have been able to establish himself in Jiangdong. Among the three giants, Liu Bei has a somewhat unformed appearance like an orangutan; Cao Cao is short and stout with an unpleasant face. If one does not look closely at Liu and Cao, it is hard to detect that special aura of royalty on their bodies. But Sun Jian was different - his body radiated an aura everywhere, coupled with his good looks, making him easily gain people's respect.

  "So General Sun is the one, I've long heard of your name. Today, seeing you in person, it's indeed true that hearing about someone is not as good as meeting them!" Gao Fei hastily flattered after sizing up Sun Jian.

  Sun Jian chuckled and said, "Let's skip the pleasantries. General Cao isn't stationed in Shouchun, is he? Is it that you're worried about the war situation here and came to take a look?"

  Gao Fei didn't hide it either, after all, he thought Sun Jian was pleasing to the eye, so he wanted to chat with him a bit more. Isn't that how people are? If someone doesn't take a liking to you, they'll develop an opposing psychology and definitely won't want to bother with others. All he heard was his loud voice saying: "General Sun's guess wasn't wrong, as a martial artist, not having any battles is a very boring thing, so I ran over from Shanggui to the front lines to take a look, see if there's anything that needs help!"

  "Yes!" Sun Jian said resolutely, "There is a big matter that needs General Gao's help right now. I wonder if General Gao can go with me to General Huangfu's camp?"

  Gao Fei saw Sun Jian being so straightforward, not at all like Dong Zhuo's arrogance, nor Zhou Shen's cunning, nor Liu Bei's reserve, nor Cao Cao's sharpness. He was delighted in his heart and didn't expect to hit it off with him at their first meeting. He immediately cupped his hands and said: "Since General Sun has invited me, I will not decline!"

  Sun Jian's face lit up with a smile, and he said to Gao Shun, "General Gao, then please follow me. If this matter is not resolved, it will be extremely disadvantageous for our army."

  Gao Feng listened to Sun Jian's words and nodded heavily, leading Zhao Yun and others to follow Sun Jian to rush towards the camp where Huangfu Song was. The crowd arrived at the camp where Huangfu Song was, Gao Feng and Sun Jian entered the camp, while the followers all stayed outside the camp.

  As soon as they entered the camp, Sun Jian said to Gao Fei while walking: "General Gao, now that General Huangfu has surrounded all the rebels in Jizhou, he wants to starve them to death inside. However, if time goes on, the rebels will be desperate and easy to fight with a determined mind. The Qianghu people are mostly brave and good at fighting, if they really fight hard, I'm afraid both our army and the rebels will suffer heavy losses. Therefore, I plan to suggest to General Huangfu to surround three and leave one, which can greatly reduce the pressure on our army's direct confrontation. Now that we have entered the camp, please help me with this matter, General Gao."

  Gao Feng felt that Sun Jian's words were very reasonable, and if he were in command, he would have done the same. However, what he couldn't understand was that Cao Cao was also present, and logically speaking, a brilliant military strategist like Cao Cao should have seen the danger in this situation. So why didn't Cao Cao advise Huangfu Song?

  Gao Feng and Sun Jian walked into the main tent of the central army, where they were stopped by the guards at the entrance. After being announced, they were allowed to enter. As soon as they entered the tent, Gao Feng saw Huangfu Song, Cao Cao, Dong Zhuo, and Bao Hong, among others. There were also two people he had not met before: an older man wearing a long robe with a refined face, and a younger man wearing shiny silver armor and a steel helmet on his head. Even Huangfu Song, the General of Chariots and Cavalry, did not have armor as resplendent as that of the young man. Judging from their attire and age, they should be Liu Biao and Yuan Shu.

  "Gong Sun Zan will see General!" Gao Shun and Sun Jian bowed down.