Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 220 Sun Ce's envoy Zhang Hong pays homage.
October of the first year of Jian'an.

It is now late autumn and the weather is starting to get cooler.

The supplies for Cao Cao's army have already begun to arrive.
Inside the main tent of Cao Cao's army, Cao Cao stood in front of a huge map, his gaze lingering on the area of ​​Jiujiang Commandery, Lujiang Commandery, and Guangling Commandery, scrutinizing it repeatedly.

Inside the main tent sat Cao Yan, Xun You, and Jia Xu, who were patiently waiting for Cao Cao to wake up from his reverie.

Just then, the sound of armor plates clashing came from outside the tent.

Xu Chu lifted the tent flap, poked his enormous head inside, and loudly reported, "Reporting to the Minister of Works, Sun Ce of Jiangdong has sent an envoy to pay homage!"

"Sun Ce sent an envoy?" Upon hearing this, Cao Cao's eyes flashed with curiosity. He then turned to Xu Chu and said, "Bring him in."

"Look!" Xu Chu pulled his head back, and then the sound of the armor plates clashing gradually faded away.

The candlelight inside the tent began to flicker with the rise and fall of the tent curtains.

Cao Cao returned to his seat, sat down, and asked the three men in the tent, "What do you think is the purpose of Sun Ce sending this envoy?"

Xun You and Jia Xu were two contrasting individuals: one was naturally low-key, and the other was deep and thoughtful.

Faced with Lao Cao's question, they all turned their gaze to Cao Yan, indicating that he should take the lead.

Cao Yan rolled his eyes at the two of them and said to Cao Cao, "According to the intelligence that Fengxiao has recently compiled, most of Jiangdong has been pacified by Sun Ce."

Sun Ce's arrival in Shouchun, and his subsequent dispatch of an envoy to our camp, must be aimed at securing a legitimate identity so he can establish himself in Jiangdong.

Cao Cao nodded slightly and smiled, "Great minds think alike, Zian. You and I are on the same page. But how should we deal with Sun Ce next?"

Cao Yan then replied, "Brother, there's no need to rush. Let's listen to what the envoy has to say first, and then make a decision."

Cao Cao nodded and then ordered the messenger to be invited into his tent.

A moment later, Zhang Hong, led by Xu Chu, arrived at the central command tent.

Upon entering the tent, Zhang Hong bowed deeply to Cao Cao and said, "Zhang Hong, Zhang Zigang of Guangling, the envoy from Jiangdong, pays his respects to Minister Cao."

Cao Cao raised his eyes and sized up Zhang Hong.

He appeared to be around forty years old, with a long beard reaching his chest, and an air of scholarly refinement about him.

Upon seeing Zhang Hong's demeanor, Lao Cao couldn't help but secretly praise him, "Zhang Hong certainly has an extraordinary bearing; he must be a man of great talent."

Meanwhile, Cao Yan had already cast a [Insight] spell first.
Name: Zhang Hong (courtesy name: Zigang)

Sex: Male
Hobbies: Literature, chess, and political discussion

Favorability: 7%
Entry: Governing the country and managing state affairs (gold), forming alliances and maneuvering (purple), possessing outstanding literary talent (purple), being diligent (blue), being too rigid and easily broken (gray)

【Ching Kuo Wei Po (Gold)】:
Passive: Increases personal political attribute by 20%. When presiding over domestic affairs, increases territory resource production efficiency by 25% and technology research speed by 10%.

Passive: Increases the success rate of negotiations with other factions by 40%. If negotiations fail, the rate at which the other party's favorability decreases will be slowed by 50%.

Zhang Hong, one of the two Zhangs of Jiangdong, was a typical domestic and foreign affairs expert.

Cao Cao raised his hand to indicate that he should dispense with the formalities and asked directly, "What brings you here, sir, sir, Sun Ce?"

Zhang Hong straightened up and replied directly, "My lord is willing to offer 100,000 shi of grain to help Minister Cao attack Shouchun."

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao, Xun You, and Jia Xu raised an eyebrow, thinking to themselves:

"Unsolicited kindness is always suspicious!" "Just as I suspected, Cao Zian was right again!"

"It seems Cao Zian was right. Zhang Hong has come to help Sun Ce get an official position!"

Cao Cao was wary, but outwardly remained calm as he asked, "Our army is not short of supplies... but Zigang, why don't you tell me what Sun Bofu wants?"

Seeing the calm expressions of the people in the tent, Zhang Hong knew that they were all old hands.

Trying to outsmart them would likely be counterproductive.

So Zhang Hong stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "Although my lord occupies Jiangdong, he has not received a formal appointment from the court."

When Cao Cao welcomed the emperor to Xuchang, he was honored as the Grand Minister of Works of the Han Dynasty.

Therefore, my lord has specially ordered me to come and pay my respects to the Minister, and to earnestly request that the Minister grant my lord two requests.”

Cao Cao raised his chin and said, "Speak, I'm listening."

Zhang Hong cupped his hands again and said, "Firstly, my lord wishes to inherit the title of 'Marquis of Wucheng' from my late father; secondly, I humbly request that Minister Situ submit a memorial to the court requesting that my lord be granted the position of Governor of Yangzhou."

"Governor of Yangzhou?" Before Zhang Hong could finish speaking, Jia Xu said in a somewhat sarcastic tone, "Does Master Zigang know that Liu Yao, the governor of Yangzhou, is currently in Yuzhang Commandery?"

Zhang Hong turned and bowed to Jia Xu, saying, "Liu Yao has colluded with Yuan Shu and secretly communicated with Zuo Rong, and has long harbored the ambition to establish himself as an independent ruler."

My lord defeated Liu Yao and pacified the separatist regimes of Yan Baihu and others, thus sweeping away the six counties of Jiangdong for the imperial court, achieving numerous military exploits.

If I could obtain the position of Governor of Yangzhou, I would certainly devote all the troops of Jiangdong to serve as Cao Cao's vanguard, sweeping away all the treacherous officials in the land!

What a loud tone!
The only question is whether Sun Ce will turn his back on him after he becomes the governor of Yangzhou.
Xun You then spoke up and asked, "Jiujiang Commandery is also under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou. Does Sun Bofu intend for our army to withdraw from Jiujiang?"

When Zhang Hong saw Xun You speak, he immediately said solemnly, "Although Jiujiang County is under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou, since the Minister of Works is willing to govern it, I will do my best to explain the situation to my lord and persuade him to give up Jiujiang."

Cao Yan finally couldn't hold back any longer. He coughed lightly and said, "Yuan Shu is still alive, and Liu Yao is still alive. Both publicly and privately, Sun Bofu has not yet met the standards for being appointed as the governor of Yangzhou."

Cao Cao nodded, sat down, and made his final decision, saying, "I will submit a memorial to the Emperor, recommending that Bo Fu be appointed Cavalry Commandant, concurrently serving as Governor of Kuaiji, and inheriting the title of 'Marquis of Wucheng'."

Zhang Hong was taken aback upon hearing this. Whether it was the Cavalry Commandant or the Governor of Kuaiji, they were both more than one rank below the Governor of a province.

He was about to argue when Cao Cao preemptively said, "Zian is right. If Sun Bofu wants to be promoted, he must produce merits that match his abilities."

The atmosphere inside the tent suddenly turned cold.

Zhang Hong knew that Cao Cao was known for his political acumen, and that if he confronted him head-on at this moment, it might backfire.

So, he forced himself to calm down and changed his tone, saying, "My lord is deeply filial and wholeheartedly hopes to inherit his late father's will and guard this region for the Han Dynasty..."

However, Cao Cao remained firm in his stance and showed no intention of backing down.

Knowing that he could not achieve his goal today, and that further words would be of no use, Zhang Hong cupped his hands and said, "In that case, I will report the truth to my lord. However, regarding the matter of provisions..."

To everyone's surprise, Cao Cao waved his hand and said, "I will reluctantly accept the provisions for now, and we can discuss the official position later."

After saying this, Cao Cao ordered Xu Chu to lead Zhang Hong to a side tent to rest, clearly having lost interest in continuing the conversation.

Zhang Hong was astonished by Cao Cao's shamelessness.
He could only sigh inwardly.
He followed Xu Chu and left the main tent.

(End of this chapter)