Yuan Shu
In 194, Sun Ce went to meet the warlord Yuan Shu, to whom his father was previously subordinate to. Yuan Shu was surprised to see Sun Ce, but he refused to return the command of Sun Jian's troops to Sun Ce. At the time, Sun Ce's maternal uncle Wu Jing, the Administrator of Danyang Commandery, was also a subordinate of Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu then ordered Sun Ce to travel to Danyang Commandery and rally his own troops there. Although he managed to muster about a few hundred men, Sun Ce came under attack by Zu Lang (祖郎), a bandit leader in Jing County, and almost lost his life. Sun Ce met Yuan Shu again later. This time, Yuan Shu agreed to return about 1,000 of Sun Jian's troops to Sun Ce. Yuan Shu also initially promised to let Sun Ce be the Administrator of Jiujiang Commandery, but he went back on his word and appointed Chen Ji instead.