I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 104 Surrounded by Benefactors!

After confirming that the person behind him was indeed Liu Miao, Zu Lang's fragile little heart seemed to have been crushed in an instant!
A desperate gamble turned into a joke, and even the direction of advance was wrong, resulting in the needless sacrifice of a large number of troops...

Mocking!

No, it's downright toying with them!
Zu Lang recalled the humiliation Liu Miao had inflicted on him during their first encounter.

twice!

In both encounters, I was completely at a disadvantage!

Zu Lang's eyes were brimming with tears of resentment, but he knew that now was not the time to fight Liu Miao to the death.

We don't know exactly how many troops Liu Miao has. If we rashly turn around and attack the rear again, the army's movements will inevitably come to a standstill and become chaotic for a moment!

This moment of stagnation and chaos would be fatal on a battlefield where we are attacked from both sides!
So Zulang didn't care about what would happen next and immediately ordered, "Retreat west! Retreat west!"

But Zulang forgot one thing.

The reason why Liu Miao, Gu Yong, Zhang Zhao and others chose to build a city in Jinling was because of Jinling's natural geographical barrier.

The mountains and rivers are connected, making it as solid as a rock!
Originally built to defend against foreign enemies, the city of Jinling now resembles a cage, trapping the mountain people who had finally made it across the mountains in this tiny place!

Seeing that the Huai River blocked their way, Zu Lang, who had retreated from the main city, had no choice but to send people to find shallow waters to float across.

However, the figures gradually approaching from behind did not give Zu Lang even that much time.

Zhou Tai and Chen Wu each led several riders, sweeping through the enemy ranks like plowing a field, as if entering an empty land. They managed to drive the disoriented and defeated soldiers into the Huai River with just a few cavalrymen.

The fleeing soldiers behind them came in a fierce and chaotic manner, completely losing their order. They pushed all the soldiers in front into the Huai River, causing countless deaths and almost drying up the Huai River!

Zulang was also pushed into the water by the soldiers behind him, but fortunately, after struggling, he managed to float to the surface of the river, which was full of corpses.

The weather was cold, and with his armor on, Zulang's hands and feet were already weak. He couldn't tell which side was east of the river and which side was west. He could only try his best to avoid the fleeing soldiers who were still falling into the river and struggled to swim to the shore.

Just as Zulang was running out of strength, a large hand suddenly reached out in front of him. Before Zulang could even take a closer look, he grabbed the hand with joy and pushed upwards with all his might, freeing his body from the water!

"Thank you... huh?"

Zulang then realized that the arm that had pulled him up was not the tattooed arm commonly seen among the Yue people, but rather a Han Chinese general's armor made of small fish scales!

Startled, Zu Lang looked up abruptly, only to see Zhou Tai's face, which seemed to be smiling but not smiling.

"Is General Hao so eager to see my lord?"

Zu Lang's face turned ashen as he realized that because of the chaos, he had swum in the wrong direction and ended up back on the east bank of the river!
"Hahaha! Tied up!"

Zhou Tai ordered his men to remove Zu Lang's armor, tie it up in a ball, and then throw it onto the horse like a little chick. He then spurred his horse toward Liu Miao's direction!

Liu Miao then rode into the main city and joined Zhang Zhao and the others.

When Liu Miao saw Zhang Zhao, he clearly tried to avoid him, fearing that Zhang Zhao would scold him.

Upon seeing him, Zhang Zhao immediately stepped forward, grabbed the saddle, and personally led Liu Miao's horse into the city, ensuring that the people along the way could see Liu Miao.

Seeing Zhang Zhao's reaction, Liu Miao knew he had escaped another severe scolding. He happily leaned down, pressed himself against the horse's back, and asked Zhang Zhao, "Will Lord Zhang still say that I lack the demeanor of a ruler?"

Zhang Zhao knew that Liu Miao was trying to save face after what happened that morning, but he was powerless to refute him.

After all, given tonight's situation, if Liu Miao were still in the main city of Jinling and hadn't launched the "Fire Ignites Zhongshan" attack, Zu Lang might have actually succeeded.

If judged by the outcome, Liu Miao was naturally without fault.

However, Zhang Zhao was not one to compromise so easily: "Your lord is like a ruler, but your subjects are not! Your lord went to Yecheng, and Zhou Tai did not stop you but informed us of the news. This is not the way of a subject! I request that Zhou Tai be executed!"

"Row!"

To Zhang Zhao's astonishment, Liu Miao actually agreed readily this time!

"But if you want to kill him, you'll have to do it yourself, Zhang Gong! I'll give you and him each a short blade and throw them into the house. Let's see if you can kill him! How about it? Hahahaha!"

Zhang Zhao then realized that Liu Miao was teasing him, and immediately glared at him, saying, "Fine! My lord, give me a knife in a moment, and let's see if I can kill Zhou Youping!"

Liu Miao's laughter stopped abruptly, and he looked somewhat sullen.

This Zhang Zhao is so clueless about humor... How boring!
Liu Miao returned to his residence, comforted the officials and their wives, and then ordered Lu Kang, Chen Yu, Gu Yong, and Zhang Zhao to take their imperial insignia to the area around Jinling to appease the people and gather the defeated soldiers.

"If we can capture Zulang, that would be best. But if we can't, we shouldn't force it. The most important thing right now is to calm down the people who were frightened last night and not let them panic."

Before Liu Miao could finish speaking, Zhou Tai rushed in excitedly, slamming the spoils he was carrying on his shoulder onto the ground: "My lord! Look who this is!"

"Yo~~~" Liu Miao was also quite surprised to see Zu Lang!

"Isn't this Commander Hao? I was in such a hurry last time that I didn't have a chance to greet him. Now we can finally have a proper chat!"

Liu Miao squatted down, looked at Zu Lang who was struggling on the ground, and asked as if exchanging pleasantries with an old friend, "Has Hao Shuai eaten?"

"Liu Miao! Don't you dare insult me!!!"

Although Zulang was unwilling to lie on the ground and look up at Liu Miao, he still tried his best to lift his neck—

"Liu Miao! If you're a man, give me a quick death! I, Zu Lang, am a figure of some importance! I command tens of thousands of men, why should I be insulted by you?"

"Who insulted you? I remember you were the one who initiated the conversation with me last time. Today I'm having a nice chat with you, why are you still unhappy?"

Liu Miao shook his head speechlessly, got up and circled around Zu Lang. This action, which resembled examining livestock, once again enraged Zu Lang!
"Liu Miao! Kill me!"

"Don't worry, the General asked me for your head, and I will definitely send it to him."

Liu Miao was simply curious: "How did you come up with the plan to lure Zhou Xin into rebellion and then launch a surprise attack on Jinling?"

"Liu Miao! Don't you even understand the principles of deception and reality in military strategy?"

"don't know."

Liu Miao was very honest.

"To tell you the truth, I have basically never led troops into battle, so I can't be considered a person who knows about military affairs, let alone understand the principles of deception and reality."

Zu Lang raised his head indignantly, thinking that Liu Miao was humiliating him again!
But when he saw Liu Miao's clear eyes, Zu Lang's curses stuck in his throat again.

Liu Miao... could he really be ignorant of military matters?
How could someone who knows nothing about warfare possibly defeat himself by giving haphazard orders?
Zulang felt a tightness in his chest, a sweet taste in his throat, and his blood surged.

What a shame!
Liu Miao never humiliated Zu Lang, but his actions were a hundred times more disgusting to Zu Lang than any deliberate humiliation!
"You... damn heavens!"

After Zulang finished cursing, he spat out a mouthful of blood, then stared wide-eyed and crashed to the ground.

no……

Liu Miao initially thought Zu Lang was acting, but when he saw blood flowing from Zu Lang's eyes and nose, he realized what had happened.

"No way, you're already furious? I haven't even done anything yet!"

Liu Miao shook his head regretfully. He had genuinely wanted to exchange opinions with Zu Lang on the issue of the Yue people, but this was the end of it.

“Youping, cut off his head and send it to the General of the Rear, along with the two Su Tie swords that were first forged in Yecheng.”

Liu Miao then instructed Zhou Tai: "I will write the letter myself. There's no need for someone else to write it for you. After all, others probably can't capture my style!"

"Here!"

After a tumultuous night, Lu Kang, Chen Yu, Gu Yong, and Zhang Zhao finally managed to calm the people down and return to report.

Last night, the Zulang tribe led their people here and indeed damaged a lot of newly cultivated fields and newly dug irrigation ditches. Some houses were also damaged to varying degrees. Fortunately, these are not major problems. There is still some time before spring planting, and they can be completely repaired.

Because the scene was too chaotic last night, many of the Yue people who came with Zulang fell into the Huai River and were drowned or trampled to death. As a result, some shallow parts of the Huai River were blocked, and people had to be specially dispatched to dredge it.

In addition, a large number of corpses were left near residential areas in the main city, which needed to be buried in time to prevent the spread of diseases.

In the end, after a large-scale reduction in numbers, the number of captured Yue people was still more than 10,000!
These more than 10,000 people were not ordinary Yue people, but the young and strong of the Yue!
In other words, behind this are likely 30,000 or even more mountain families!

Adding to the young men who died in battle, drowned, burned, or trampled to death, this battle left as many as 50,000 mountain Yue families without the means to make a living!
If they can't make a living, will the 50,000 women, children, and elderly in those households starve to death in the mountains?
What awaits them is leaving the mountains and returning to farming!

Therefore, the greatest gain from this battle was not defeating Zulang, the powerful leader who occupied half of Danyang, but the Yue families who lost their young men!

"After this battle, Danyang will be free from the invasion of the Shanyue people!"

How could these mountain tribes possibly concentrate their forces like this under normal circumstances?

They ran faster than rabbits when they saw the Han army, disappearing into the mountains in a flash. When will we be able to fight such a decisive battle?
If Zu Lang hadn't wanted to go all out, it would have taken Liu Miao at least three years to completely resolve the Yue people's problem within Danyang!

By making a single wrong decision, Liu Miao saved three years of his work and a great deal of manpower and resources. How could Liu Miao not be moved?

So when Liu Miao saw Zu Lang's pickled head, he exclaimed, "I, Liu Miao, have traveled this far without any enemies, only benefactors!"

"Someone! Prepare ink! I need to write a letter to the General of the Rear! I, Liu Miao, am not the kind of person who forgets his roots! I will not forget my great benefactor just because I have a small benefactor!"

(End of this chapter)