Three Kingdoms, I'm really not a general!

Chapter 517 Internal Conflict

Sima Zhi soon received a letter from Tongguan.

But as soon as he received the letter, he became angry.

Que Hu said: "It's fine if the court wants food, but now the army also needs food and fodder. Where can we find it for them?"

"One by one, don't you treat the people as human beings?"

No wonder Sima Zhi was so angry.

The imperial court had already collected grain and fodder, but now Hangu Pass came again. How could they not be angry!

Besides, this matter does not conform to the usual rules.

According to the rules, the imperial court should have collected grain and then distributed it to the front lines, but there was no precedent for the army to directly collect grain locally.

It was also because the letter from Yecheng was only sent back to Hangu Pass without even notifying the Yin of Henan.

Since he had not received the order, Sima Zhi naturally did not respond and just yelled at the visitor: "Absurd!"

"The imperial court has already collected grain and fodder. You in Guanzhong only need to ask the imperial court for grain. Why are you asking me for help?"

"Tell your general that if he comes to ask me, Sima Zhi, about the food and grass issue, then he doesn't need to come. I will never send him off."

This messenger was just an errand boy. He was not someone who was always engaged in diplomatic communication like Sun Qian, and he did not have the power to make decisions of his own.

Whatever he heard, he would report it word for word without missing a single detail.

However, Cao Xiu misunderstood what he heard, thinking that Sima Zhi was withholding food, and immediately became furious and shouted, "What do you mean you must not send me off?"

"What do we want with his food? Sell it and get money?"

"All this food and grass needs to be eaten. Are we going to ask our brothers to fight on an empty stomach and our horses to run on an empty stomach?"

Then he turned around and said to Xu Huang, "Gongming, come with me and ask Sima Zhi in person whether he will give us food or not."

When Xu Huang heard that Sima Zhi was unwilling to give a single cent, he became a little anxious.

It’s not that he was also confused, it’s true that the food inside the pass had to be eaten up.

Without supplies, I would starve to death before Xing Daorong could attack me. How could I do that?

It is very likely that there will be a mutiny in the army and they will simply open the gate and surrender.

However, no matter how anxious we are, it is still inappropriate to do as Cao Xiu said.

After all, this war is fought with Luoyang at our back. If there is a complete falling out, it will naturally be bad for us to guard the pass.

He consoled her, "General Cao, don't be anxious. Let's talk to the governor of Henan first."

"Now that the interests are clear, I think they can no longer remain indifferent."

Cao Xiu's violent temper was finally calmed down by Xu Huang.

After being silent for a long while, he finally nodded angrily: "Just listen to Gong Ming for once, and see what the Henan Yin can say!"

So the two of them led their troops to Luoyang to get to the bottom of the matter.

Who would have thought that Sima Zhi had received the news in advance and actually ordered the city gates to be closed, not allowing Cao Xiu and Xu Huang to lead their troops in!
This has really stirred up a hornet's nest!

It would be fine if they didn't provide us with food and fodder, but now they don't even let people in.

In addition, Sima Zhi's surname itself carries a bit of the "rebel" vibe, which makes it even easier for people to be suspicious.

Cao Xiu immediately flew into a rage at the foot of the city: "Sima Zhi, let us in immediately!"

"What do you mean by closing this city gate?"

"Open the city gates quickly! If you don't, I'll tear your head off!"

It seemed a bit awkward to hear these words coming from Cao Xiu's mouth; it sounded more like something Zhang Fei would say.

But... this was just because Cao Xiu was too impatient, and Xu Huang didn't think much of it.

...

Sima Zhi was not very angry when he saw this from the city wall. He was not moved at all even when Cao Xiu threatened to tear his head off. He asked, "General Cao Xiu, General Xu Huang, is Hangu Pass lost?"

Cao Xiu was furious when he heard this: "Bah! Even if your head falls off, Hangu Pass will not fall!"

Sima Zhi nodded slightly, but then asked, "Then... is there a military order from His Majesty?"

Cao Xiu continued to curse: "What military orders do you need? Your Majesty is in Hexi today, fighting Sima Yi, a rebel from your clan. How can there be any military orders?"

Cao Xiu really hated the surname "Sima". Even while speaking at this moment, he wanted to poke at Sima Zhi's discomfort.

Sima Zhi's face turned a little colder, but he still said in his lukewarm tone: "Since there is nothing wrong with Hangu Pass and there is no military order from His Majesty, why did you two bring the troops here?"

Xu Huang was about to explain when Cao Xiu next to him interrupted him.

"how?"

"You bastard, do you think I can rebel?"

"Your Majesty and I are of the same clan, how could I rebel?"

"It's you, Sima Zhi, who doesn't allow us to enter the city. What's your intention?"

Sima Zhi actually knew very well what these two people were here for.

The previous people sent people to ask for food but failed, so this person comes in person.

But Sima Zhi really had no food left.

If these two were allowed in, the people would be left with no chance of survival!
These fanatics in the army will definitely loot all the food if they see even a little bit of it.

The most important point is that these two people did come privately, without any order from His Majesty.

Cao Xiu is indeed from the same clan as Cao Pi, and to put it bluntly, he is now a royal relative, but...

This is different from whether there is a will or not.

It is not possible that someone with the surname Cao can be the "king of heaven" now. That would be too disrespectful!
From the perspective of these two parties, Sima Zhi simply refused to open the city gate.

He replied: "I have a clear conscience!"

"If His Majesty has the order, I will open the city immediately. If not... General, please withdraw!"

Cao Xiu was furious: "Sima Zhi! Do you think you can stop me? Do you want me to break the city first?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Sima Zhi's expression suddenly changed.

Immediately, his face turned red, his neck raised, and he shouted back: "Cao Xiu, you can't defeat the Han army, so you can only attack your own army?"

Cao Xiu's eyes turned red after hearing what he said.

That Sima Zhi... actually dared to laugh at me!
hateful! hateful!
Cao Xiu was about to curse again, but Xu Huang stopped him and said, "General Cao, we are here for food and fodder. Are you really going to attack Luoyang?"

Cao Xiu heard this and said angrily, "Even if we fight and chop off Sima Zhi, what will happen?"

"Look at his expression. He is clearly sure that I won't attack him. How can I expect him to be so sure? I must kill him!"

How can this be done?
Seeing Cao Xiu's flushed face, Xu Huang pulled him aside and said, "If this happened, wouldn't Xing Daorong be laughing out loud?"

"Because we don't dare to deal with him, we can only fight with our own family."

When Xing Daorong was mentioned, Cao Xiu finally calmed down a little.

However, the Sima Zhi in front of him was not much less hateful than Xing Daorong.

Besides, the issue of food and fodder must be resolved!

Then he said, "General Xu, what do you think we should do?"

Xu Huang said: "Since Sima Zhi wants an imperial decree, we should ask His Majesty to send one as soon as possible."

"If he still doesn't comply after receiving the order, we will take his head!"

(End of this chapter)