I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 105: A Mighty Force Shakes Jiangdong!

the other side.

When Zhou Yu, who was leading his army on the expedition, learned of the attack on Jinling, it was already noon.

Zhou Yu was greatly alarmed and intended to lead his troops back to provide reinforcements, but Liu Miao's letter had already arrived first, along with Zu Lang's armor.

"Jinling is now secured, Gongjin, have no worries. Defeat Zhou Xin and take Danyang!"

With a sense of peace, Zhou Yu stopped thinking about what would happen after him and focused all his efforts on attacking Wanling!

On the first day, they captured Wuhu.

The next day, they broke through Jing County.

On the third day, they captured Shexian County.

On the fourth day, a total of 20,000 troops from the north, west and south surrounded Wanling, the seat of Danyang County!

Upon hearing that his stronghold was besieged, Zhou Xin was terrified and immediately retreated from Liyang to go to its rescue.

However, when they reached the north bank of Nanyi Lake, an army suddenly emerged from the lake! It was an ambush set up by Jiang Qin by Zhou Yu, who had guessed that Zhou Xin would lead troops back to reinforce.

Jiang Qin's sudden attack threw Zhou Xin's forces into chaos, causing them to abandon many flags and supplies, all of which were captured by Jiang Qin.

Seeing Zhou Xin flee eastward, Jiang Qin did not pursue him. Instead, he took the flags and headed west to meet up with Zhou Yu and the others, and then showed the flags to the garrison at Wanling.

When the garrison commander of Wanling saw that the city was surrounded on all sides and that Jiang Qin had the military flag of Zhou Xin, he knew that he was powerless to resist and surrendered with his troops.

Thus, except for the southernmost two counties of Yuqian and Guzhang, Danyang had fallen entirely into Liu Miao's hands!
Zhou Yu had already made arrangements for these two counties.

When Zhou Xin was defeated and fled eastward to Yuqian, he discovered that the nearby Guzhang had already been occupied by Zhu Zhi, who had been sent by Zhou Yu in advance!

When Zhu Zhi saw Zhou Xin retreat into Yuqian, he immediately knew that Zhou Yu's previous plan had been fully effective, and now all that was missing was his own part!
Zhu Zhi led his more than two thousand soldiers to the walls of Yuqian City and shouted into the city: "Da Ming (Zhou Xin's courtesy name), you are a renowned scholar respected by everyone in Jiangdong. Why do you have to make yourself look so pathetic?"

"Now that our lord has been ordered to take charge of Yangzhou and allow the people to recuperate, why are you going against the will of the people and defying the will of Heaven?"

"If you surrender now, our lord will surely treat you with courtesy!"

Zhou Xin simply rebuked, "Liu Miao, a member of the Han imperial family, has stooped to serve a traitor like Yuan Shu! Why should I serve him?"

Seeing that Zhou Xin still wanted to put up a fight, Zhu Zhi immediately retorted: "If Yuan Shu is a traitor to the Han, then what about his brother Yuan Shao, who arbitrarily seized Ji Province and forced Han Fu, the governor of Ji Province, to his death?"

Zhou Xin was speechless for a moment, and Zhu Zhi, seeing that he had no intention of surrendering, stopped talking and, with the decisiveness of the older generation of soldiers, directly ordered an attack on the city!
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Zhou Xin immediately abandoned his troops and rode south to Kuaiji County, disappearing into the river.

When news of Zu Lang and Zhou Xin's defeat spread, Jiangdong was shaken!
Zhou Xin, a student of the great Confucian scholar Chen Fan, had served as the governor of Danyang for several years, yet he was defeated so quickly.

It should be noted that only one winter, or three months, had passed since Liu Miao officially crossed the river!
Within those three months, Liu Miao actually swept through Zhou Xin, forcing him to seek refuge in Kuaiji.

If defeating Zhou Xin was merely shocking, then the news of Liu Miao defeating Zu Lang already raised suspicions.

Compared to Zhou Xin, Zu Lang was an even more renowned and powerful general in Jiangdong! He commanded tens of thousands of soldiers and roamed freely throughout the Wu region. Even the prefects of the surrounding counties with salaries of two thousand shi (a unit of grain) could only treat him with courtesy and dared not show the slightest disrespect.

Zu Lang was especially skilled in warfare and cunning, like a venomous snake hiding among the mountains, impossible for ordinary people to find... Yet such a powerful general died at the hands of Liu Miao.

The renowned scholars of Jiangdong were unwilling to believe it.

Everyone had heard of Liu Miao's reputation before, but he was just a lecherous magistrate who loved beautiful women and was greedy for money. How come he has become so fierce in just a few days?

If Yuan Shu could achieve such a record, most people would be convinced. But for Liu Miao to achieve such a record inevitably raises doubts. Therefore, some people believe—

"The victory over Zhou Xin was the achievement of generals like Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu. The killing of Zu Lang was the result of the strategies of capable officials like Zhang Zhao and Gu Yong! How can all of this be attributed to Liu Miao?"

Liu Miao was nothing more than a spoiled member of the imperial clan who "loved beautiful women" and couldn't even dance, but Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, Zhang Zhao, Gu Yong, and others were already well-known! Liu Miao's achievements were actually due to the influence of his subordinates!

This idea immediately became popular in the Wu region and quickly gained widespread acceptance!

Despite their gossip, these people still sent Liu Miao gifts as the year drew to a close.

Xu Gong, the prefect of Wu Commandery, and Yan Baihu, a local strongman, were the first to be affected, sending countless amounts of gold and silver to show their submission.

Liu Miao didn't question these gifts. He simply had Chen Yu sort them out and send them to Yuan Shu untouched, only changing the signature to his own, using other people's things to do his own thing.

Chen Yu asked with some reluctance, "Zhongshan, you've given it all away?"

"Oh! Feeling sorry for yourself now? I didn't see you showing this much distress when you handed over the entire Shouchun treasury to Yuan Shu!"

After glancing at the gift list and confirming that it was quite abundant and luxurious, Liu Miao instructed Chen Yu to deliver Zu Lang's head and two original iron swords to Yuan Shu as soon as possible.

Seeing Liu Miao speak so bluntly, Chen Yu quickly pretended to be a tapeworm in Liu Miao's stomach: "Zhongshan, are you a little angry because you heard someone attribute the credit for pacifying Danyang to Gongjin?"

"Of course!"

Liu Miao gritted his teeth at the thought of those rumors!

Chen Yu comforted him, "These are just the foolish opinions of ordinary people, Zhongshan, you don't need to take them to heart! We all know that you have many merits, for example, for example..."

Chen Yu thought for a long time but couldn't come up with anything. In the end, he could only say, "For example, Zhongshan, your health is quite good. You can still win battles while you're sick. That's impressive!"

"Get lost! Who's angry about this! Besides, it sounds perfectly fine when my wives say I'm in good health, but it sounds disgusting coming from you?"

Liu Miao slammed his fist on the table: "It's all thanks to Gongjin and Zhang Gong! Damn it! Which bastard said that?!"

Chen Yu asked curiously, "Didn't Zhongshan say he wasn't angry about this? Could it be that Zhongshan really wants to steal credit from Gongjin and the others?"

"What credit are you trying to claim!"

Liu Miao finally revealed what angered him—

"Wasn't my ability to pacify Danyang, drive out Zhou Xin, and kill Zu Lang in such a short time all thanks to General Hou? Do they even respect General Hou when they spread these rumors? Hmm?"

Chen Yu stared at Liu Miao, then suddenly let out a disdainful "humph".

What did you hum about?

"Zhongshan, it's just the two of us now. Yuan Shu isn't here, so no one will watch your act, no matter how convincing it is!"

"Oh."

Liu Miao's expression softened, but he still grumbled under his breath: "I had already come up with reasons for the war going so smoothly, and now this rumor has suddenly appeared. Does that mean my letter to Yuan Shu is invalid and I have to rewrite it?"

Chen Yu was immediately puzzled: "Why rewrite it?" "Nonsense! If the General knew how powerful Gongjin and Zhang Gong were, and asked me for the people, do you think I would hand them over or not?"

Even if the trees are beautiful in the forest, the wind will destroy them!
The first peach to be picked is often the biggest one! If we really exaggerate Zhou Yu and his men to the point of being miraculous, what if Yuan Shu wants to summon them back to Huainan?
Chen Yu suddenly realized what was going on, but instead of understanding Liu Miao, he laughed and said, "Don't worry, Yuan Shu isn't the kind of person who would take what belongs to others! Look, I've been here for so long, has Yuan Shu ever mentioned asking you to hand me over?"

"You are different."

"What's different?"

You're useless!

"..."

Chen Yu left, taking half of Liu Miao's depression with him.
Sure enough, as long as you make others feel bad, you'll feel much better yourself!
Liu Miao picked up his pen again, found a piece of white silk, organized his thoughts, and wrote a letter to Yuan Shu.

[General Liu Miao, whose name is as great as the sun, how have you been lately? Are you eating well? Sleeping well? Is your life peaceful? With the Spring Festival approaching again, Liu Miao, who thinks of you every day, sincerely wishes you good health!]

On such a grand festival, I should have personally gone to Shouchun to stand before you and serve you as Dong Xian served the Emperor. However, due to some events that occurred in Jiangdong, I am now seriously injured and unable to be by your side to listen to your teachings.

[When Zulang insulted you, I was so angry I couldn't eat, and I pondered day and night how to punish this bandit who had insulted you. I even mobilized a large army to besiege him, but he secretly attacked from the mountain, and I nearly died! Zulang's sword had already killed my horse, and I knew I had no hope of defeating him, so I bowed in your direction to bid farewell. Unexpectedly, a ball of heavenly fire descended from your direction, igniting Zhongshan Mountain and shocking the bandits! Then the water god of the Huai River appeared, and I asked him why you were here. He said that Emperor Shun had sent him to assist his descendants. Afterwards, a great flood engulfed the bandits, which allowed me to defeat and kill Zulang!]

Later, I discovered a large piece of divine iron I had never seen before at the site where the heavenly fire fell. I forged it into two divine weapons and presented them to the General. Zhou Xin, the Prefect of Danyang, upon hearing of this, used the art of wind divination to observe the cloud formations and said that dragon-like clouds were approaching from the north. Unable to resist, he proceeded to Kuaiji.

【…】

When Han Yin read the letter aloud in the Shouchun Palace, the court officials were completely silent...

Chief Secretary Yang Hong and Registrar Yan Xiang looked at each other in bewilderment.

Generals like Ji Ling, Zhang Xun, and Qiao Rui were dumbfounded.

Even experienced musicians who were playing music panicked briefly after hearing the contents of the letter and played a few wrong notes.

Yuan Shu's Adam's apple bobbed even more: "This...is it really a letter written by Zhongshan?"

"It's true."

different from others.

Having already seen Liu Miao's letter twice, Han Yin immediately congratulated Yuan Shu at the New Year's gathering.

"Zhongshan was able to kill Zulang, drive out Zhou Xin, and occupy Danyang in such a short time, all thanks to General Hou!"

Heavenly fire, water god, and divine weapon!

Are these things that can be obtained by human effort?

Han Yin also presented Yuan Shu with the two iron swords that Liu Miao had sent.

When Yuan Shu was young, he admired chivalrous knights and was very familiar with swords and the like. So the moment he took the swords, Yuan Shu was sure that the two swords were indeed rare and divine weapons!

Yuan Shu placed it on his arm and gently stroked it; surprisingly, hairs fell off his arm!

Moreover, its light and delicate feel, along with the fact that Liu Miao had inlaid the hilt with precious gems beforehand, made it even more appealing to Yuan Shu!

"What a magic weapon!"

For some reason, Yuan Shu could always smell a faint, wonderful fragrance emanating from these two swords, which was refreshing and delightful!
"Zhongshan, did you actually experience something so dangerous?"

Yuan Shu reluctantly put down Su Tiedao, finally remembering to care for Liu Miao.

"Yes!"

Especially when Han Yin saw Zu Lang's head, he felt even more delighted and became even more protective of Liu Miao!

"Zhongshan almost lost his life this time because of General Hou, and now he can only rest at home!"

Yuan Shu nodded slightly, a look of worry on his face: "Zhongshan is indeed in grave danger this time!"

"He helped me recapture Danyang, eliminated Zulang, drove away Zhou Xin, and was seriously injured in the process. How can I be at peace with that?"

"Han Qing, please go to Jiangdong tomorrow and visit Zhongshan on my behalf."

"Here!"

Yuan Shu seemed to have thought of something again, so he took the letter that Han Yin had given Liu Miao and looked at it in his palm.

"Sure enough, Zhongshan said in his letter that even his own warhorse was killed by Zulang. His loyalty is so great that even Shen Baoxu of Chu is far inferior to him."

"Han Qing, send some more warhorses to Zhong Shan... Oh, right, someone presented a divine steed named Kuai Hang before, send that to Zhong Shan as well."

"Here!"

"My lord, please wait!"

Registrar Yan Xiang stepped forward again to stop him, and even seemed somewhat anxious.

"Warhorses are of utmost importance to the army! Especially since Huainan is already short of horses, how can our lord so easily give away warhorses to others?"

When Han Yin saw that Yan Xiang was once again trying to stop him from giving a gift to his good brother Liu Miao, he couldn't help but get angry and said, "What do you mean by giving gifts to people at will? Does Zhongshan almost died for the General of the Rear, but he can't get any reward? If this gets out, what will people think of the General of the Rear?"

"Furthermore, can Zhongshan's loyalty to General Hou be questioned? The Huai River God claims to be acting on the orders of Emperor Shun to help his descendants. It is common knowledge that the Liu surname originated with Emperor Yao, not Emperor Shun! So isn't it obvious who this water god is truly here to help?"

The Yuan family originated from the State of Chen, and the State of Chen originated from Emperor Shun!
Now that we've come this far, the descendant of Emperor Shun naturally refers to Yuan Shu!
And for some reason, Yuan Shu also blurted out something—

“A few days ago, when I was sleeping, I did dream of a ball of heavenly fire heading south, and I also dreamed of a person with double pupils and gorgeous clothes talking to me.”

Double pupils!

Throughout history, there have only been four such figures: Cangjie, Yu Shun, Chong'er, and Xiang Yu!

Yuan Shu's words now clearly did not imply that Cangjie or Xiang Yu wanted to chat with him.

What Yuan Shu really wanted to express through this incident was—

I, Yuan Shu, truly have the mandate of heaven!

(End of this chapter)