I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 145 Anti-Yuan Alliance

The news of Yuan Shu's declaration of himself as emperor quickly reached the court.

After Lu Su left that day, the court's situation not only did not improve, but worsened.

Originally, Liu Miao funded the construction of the palace for the emperor, but Zhang Yang, the governor of Henan, named it "Yang'an Palace" to praise his own achievements.

Yang Feng, Han Xian, and others, relying on their merits in protecting the emperor, acted recklessly and interfered in court affairs. Dong Cheng, the nephew of Empress Dowager Dong, the mother of Emperor Ling of Han, was deeply troubled by this and secretly summoned Cao Cao, the governor of Yan Province, to Luoyang to rescue the emperor.

Cao Cao went to Luoyang to pay tribute and took the opportunity to impeach Han Xian and Zhang Yang for their crimes. The emperor, mindful of Han Xian's service as a guard, did not pursue the matter further. Cao Cao then executed Hou Qi, Feng Shuo, and Tai Chong to punish the guilty officials and establish his authority. The emperor also appointed Cao Cao as the Commandant of the Capital Region and concurrently in charge of the affairs of the Secretariat.

Cao Cao, citing the devastation of Luoyang, requested the emperor to move the capital to Xuchang. The emperor ultimately agreed.

During this time, Yang Feng and Han Xian attempted to take advantage of the situation to attack Cao Cao, but were defeated by Cao Cao and had no choice but to head east.

Just as the emperor's entourage arrived in Xuchang, news of Yuan Shu's declaration of himself as emperor spread, causing panic among the officials!

"The Yuan family has held high office for four generations, enjoying the emperor's favor. How could they commit such a treasonous act?"

In an instant, all the officials condemned Yuan Shu.

Those who previously considered themselves "disciples of Yuan" were severely criticized in this denunciation!

Among them was Liu Miao, who was "entrusted with important responsibilities" by Yuan Shu.

"Liu Miao accepted Yuan Shu's invitation to become the governor of Yangzhou, married a woman from the Yuan family as his principal wife, and even presented Yuan Shu with the Imperial Seal of the State, a sacred artifact. He was truly aiding and abetting evil!"

But when these words reached the emperor's ears, he was immediately enraged!
"Liu Bei is loyal and patriotic. How could he be a follower of Yuan Shu? The reason he handed over the Imperial Seal to Yuan Shu was because his army was weak at the time, and he was afraid of losing the sacred artifact! How can you speak of Liu Bei in such a way?"

Lu Su had already explained this matter when he came last time, so the emperor did not blame Liu Miao for it.

At this time, Cao Cao also advised the emperor: "I do not believe that Liu Zhongshan would be that kind of person!"

Following the news of Yuan Shu's declaration of himself as emperor was Liu Miao's "Proclamation Against Yuan Shu".

"A Proclamation Against Yuan Shu" was written by Zhang Zhao. The entire text is elaborate and forceful, with many parallel sentences. It is vigorous yet not clumsy, and has a strong sense of integrity while being elegant in writing. It can be called a masterpiece!
Could Liu Miao, who wrote such a proclamation, be considered a traitor to the Han dynasty?
Then another messenger from Liu Miao arrived, explaining in detail how Liu Miao immediately executed Yuan Shu's messenger and threw the edict and the golden seal from Yuan Shu appointing Liu Miao as Grand General into the Yangtze River.

"Such is the Imperial Uncle! He is truly loyal and righteous!"

From the distant past, there was the decisive act of issuing the "Proclamation Against Yuan Shu," executing Yuan Shu's envoy, and throwing the imperial edict and the golden seal into the Yangtze River. More recently, there were the joint guarantees from the emperor and Cao Cao, which finally silenced some people, who dared not forcibly link Liu Miao with Yuan Shu anymore.

The imperial court quickly reprimanded Yuan Shu for this matter and appointed Liu Miao as General of the Cavalry, who, together with Liu Bei, the governor of Xu Province, Lü Bu, the General Who Pacifies the East, and Cao Cao, the governor of Yan Province, launched a campaign against Yuan Shu!
……

Upon receiving the imperial edict, Liu Miao immediately cursed, "That bastard Cao Cao is messing with me!"

He didn't bestow titles upon anyone else, but instead promoted Liu Miao to General of the Cavalry. Wasn't this clearly a way to make himself the target of Yuan Shu's attacks?

Moreover, Liu Miao was previously considered to be of the same rank as Liu Bei and Lü Bu, but now he has suddenly been promoted to General of the Cavalry. Isn't this just creating conflict between himself and Liu Bei and Lü Bu?

"No wonder I heard that old bastard spoke up for me before the Emperor; so this was what he was waiting for!"

Liu Miao was speechless.

Unlike Dong Zhuo and Li Jue, Cao Cao truly knew how to make the most of the support he received from the emperor and the court!

With just one imperial edict, Cao Cao not only made Liu Miao owe him a favor, but also made him a target for Yuan Shu, and further sowed discord between Liu Miao and the eastern warlords...

"Cao Mengde is no good person!"

Compared to him, Yuan Shu is much more lovable!

However, since the imperial edict had already been issued, Liu Miao decided to make the best of it.

Besides...

The title of General of the Flying Cavalry of the Great Han Dynasty sounds pretty good!
Liu Miao ordered Zhou Tai to gather everyone together for a meeting, but Zhou Tai turned back as soon as he left.

"My lord, someone is requesting an audience at the gate."

"Who?"

"It's ma'am."

"Yo?"

Given Yuan's carefree personality, she usually pushes the door open without saying a word. Let alone Zhou Tai, she would have plenty of strength and means to easily break down the door even if there was a mountain blocking the entrance. Why is she acting so unusually today and even knows to use the word "beg"?
However, Liu Miao quickly realized the reason for Yuan's obedience and said to Zhou Tai with a smile, "This woman isn't stupid! Just let her in!"

Yuan finally walked in.

Unlike her previous arrogant and boastful behavior, which included criticizing the cook after a full meal, Yuan was now extremely cautious and timid. She didn't even dare to look Liu Miao in the eye, and instead kept her head down to look at her toes.

Liu Miao stepped forward with a grin, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Your Highness!"

Upon hearing this, Madam Yuan turned even paler: "Why does my husband address me?"

"Of course it's Her Highness the Princess!"

Liu Miao was not wrong.

"Now that Yuan Shu has declared himself emperor, he is your own uncle, and you are Yuan Ji's only bloodline, so aren't you a princess? No! You should be the eldest princess!"

Liu Miao seemed oblivious to Madam Yuan's trembling wrists: "I, Liu Miao, never dreamed that as a member of the Liu clan, I would one day marry a princess... Eh? Madam, why are you kneeling?"

Although Lady Yuan had knelt before Liu Miao before, it was only when Liu Miao forced her to kneel on the bed.

This is truly the first time I've ever knelt on the ground so willingly!
At this moment, Yuan was truly frightened.

Even if she was dull-witted, she knew what Yuan Shu's declaration of himself as emperor meant.

Especially now that news has spread that Liu Miao killed Yuan Shu's envoy and threw the imperial edict and the golden seal into the Yangtze River, the Yuan family is extremely afraid, fearing that Liu Miao will...

"Husband."

Before Yuan could utter two words, tears streamed down her face, her voice choked with sobs, her face streaked with tears like a pear blossom in the rain, swaying like a crabapple in the breeze.

"Woo~"

But as she cried, Madam Yuan suddenly froze, looking at Liu Miao with a puzzled expression: "Why are you untying your belt, husband?"

"Then why are you kneeling?"

Liu Miao was baffled: "You're kneeling because you want to do *that*? Am I wrong?"

At this moment, Madam Yuan was both ashamed and angry, and she couldn't even be afraid: "Why is my husband thinking about this all the time?"

"Otherwise what? Then tell me why you knelt down before me?"

Madam Yuan lowered her head: "It's because of my uncle..."

"What? Just because your uncle became emperor and you're now a princess, you think you're so great? You can't expect me to kneel down before you, can you?"

Yuan finally broke down: "Husband! Are you still going to tease me now?"

"what."

Liu Miao squatted down, pinched Yuan's chin, and lifted her incomparably beautiful face.

"Do you remember what I told you when I first came to Jiangdong?"

Yuan looked bewildered.

At that time, Liu Miao barged into her boudoir and, without saying a word, insisted on taking a bath together. The ensuing storm left this innocent young woman's mind completely blank, and she couldn't remember what Liu Miao had said.
"My husband said... I'm very beautiful?"

"That's not it."

"My husband said... I'm very fair-skinned?"

"That's not it!"

Seeing that Madam Yuan was about to utter even more outrageous words, Liu Miao finally helped her recall—

“I said at the time: Since you have married me, Liu Miao, I will naturally protect you for the rest of your life! No matter what happens outside, you will always be my legal wife.”

Liu Miao lightly pecked Yuan Shi on the lips, then stood up and kicked her full, round buttocks.

"It's cold on the ground, get up quickly! Otherwise you might get sick!"

"Instead of thinking about all this nonsense, let's quickly figure out how to keep the child from going hungry!"

Upon seeing the flatness in Yuan Shi's chest, Liu Miao became genuinely worried about his son's future development... At first, Yuan Shi didn't react, but soon she jumped up, ran to Liu Miao's side, hugged his neck, and kissed him on the cheek.

"We're an old married couple, why are you doing this!"

Despite saying these things, Liu Miao smiled knowingly as he watched Yuan leave, jumping and skipping, before heading to the main hall.

Zhou Yu, Sun Ce, Lu Su, Gu Yong, Zhang Zhao, Wu Jing, Sun Ben, and others were already waiting there.

Liu Miao went to the head of the table, sat down, and observed the expressions on everyone's faces.

Zhou Yu and Lu Su had anticipated this, so they were not surprised.

But Cheng Pu, Wu Jing, Sun Ben, and other former subordinates of Sun Jian all had expressions of relief on their faces!

If they hadn't chosen to join Liu Miao but instead went to Yuan Shu, they probably would have been tricked and killed by Yuan Shu!

Wu Jing was the first to speak out: "We were unaware that Yuan Shu could commit such a treasonous act! The thought of having once served under the Yuan family keeps us awake at night!"

Liu Miao quickly reassured him, "Yuan Shu's actions were unexpected by everyone. Please don't blame yourself for this in the future, General."

Since Liu Miao wanted to divide things up with Yuan Shu, he naturally wanted to do so completely and cleanly, even separating himself from Sun Jian's former subordinates.

Wu Jing clearly understood this, and at this moment he also asked Liu Miao for permission to fight: "Yuan Shu does not cherish his own reputation, and has also brought shame to the Marquis of Wucheng and his men! I hope that my lord will order me to personally go and punish Yuan Shu, so as to comfort the spirit of the Marquis of Wucheng in heaven!"

At Wu Jing's shout, all the generals who were former subordinates of Sun Jian stood up and volunteered to fight for Liu Miao!
Whether they fight or not is irrelevant, but they do want to take this opportunity to completely break with Yuan Shu, so as not to cause trouble for themselves or Liu Miao.

"Yuan Shu has defied Heaven's will, and everyone in the world has the right to kill him! I am no exception!"

Liu Miao granted the generals' requests and then inquired of Zhou Yu—

"I know nothing about military affairs and dare not attack recklessly, for fear of needlessly sacrificing the lives of my soldiers. Gongjin, do you think it is feasible to start a war with Yuan Shu now?"

With a sense of righteousness on their shoulders and high morale, they are full of fighting spirit!
At this point, no one could think of a reason not to send troops!
After pondering for a while, Zhou Yu shook his head at Liu Miao: "Now is not a good time to attack Yuan Shu!"

"Why?"

The voice wasn't Liu Miao's, but Cheng Pu's.

These former subordinates of Sun Jian were eager for Liu Miao to immediately start a war with Yuan Shu, and then fight a bloody battle to sever their previous relationship with Yuan Shu and regain Liu Miao's trust.

Moreover, no matter how you look at it, the advantage is in our hands. How could Zhou Yu, the commander-in-chief of the three armies, admit defeat at this moment?

Zhou Yu turned to look at the generals and asked them, "Now that Yuan Shu has declared himself emperor, although it has angered the court and prompted attacks from all sides, it has also driven the generals who continue to obey Yuan Shu to a dead end."

"Yuan Shu's soldiers also knew that if Yuan Shu were to lose, the imperial court would surely exterminate his entire clan! Under such circumstances, how could they not fight with their lives on the line?"

"Although Chen Lan and Lei Bo had previously broken away from Yuan Shu, Yuan Shu truly relied on generals like Zhang Xun, Qiao Rui, and Ji Ling! He already had tens of thousands of infantry and soldiers under his command, so how could he rashly head north at this time?"

Yuan Shu's declaration of himself as emperor weakened him, but also strengthened him.

Although declaring himself emperor made Yuan Shu a target of public criticism and caused many scholars who originally admired him to abandon him, it also drove Yuan Shu's generals and soldiers to the brink of despair.

The morale of Yuan's soldiers has now reached its peak!
If Yuan Shu were truly weak and easily bullied, would Cao Cao be a fool to leave such a large piece of meat uneaten and instead appoint Liu Miao as the main general to resist Yuan Shu?

What Cao Cao really wanted to do was probably to make Yuan Shu and Liu Miao break off relations and concentrate their forces along the Yangtze River, so that he could seize the opportunity to take Shouchun!
Zhou Yu bowed to Liu Miao and said, "Therefore, this humble general does not believe that we should send troops now, or rather, send troops first!"

Even a centipede with a hundred legs doesn't die easily!
At present, Yuan Shu still has the ability to fight against anyone!
If Yuan Shu were to truly be driven to desperation, he might actually be able to seize the opportunity to plunder land and people, thus prolonging his own demise!

Liu Miao nodded, then asked Lu Su, "What does Zijing think?"

Lu Su also agreed with Zhou Yu's strategy.

"The right thing to do now is to hold Jiangdong, rather than send troops to Huainan to provoke Yuan Shu."

Seeing that neither Zhou Yu nor Lu Su supported sending troops, Liu Miao then asked Gu Yong, "Yuan Tan, do you think it is feasible to send troops now?"

Gu Yong said, “Jiangdong has ample supplies now, enough to advance or retreat as needed. I am not knowledgeable in military affairs and dare not speak rashly.”

Liu Miao then looked at Zhang Zhao.

Zhang Zhao then glanced coldly at Zhou Yu and Lu Su—

"Now that the Emperor has been ordered by the Lord to punish the traitors, he should immediately dispatch troops as ordered. Why are you discussing gains and losses here instead?"

"Should we avoid Yuan Shu's advance just because his army is strong? If so, the Han Dynasty would have perished when Zhang Jiao raised his army!"

Zhang Zhao angrily rebuked Zhou Yu and Lu Su: "How can a subject be concerned with his own gains and losses when he is loyal to his sovereign? Do you want to put our lord in a position of disloyalty and injustice?"

Zhou Yu respected Zhang Zhao, so even though Zhang Zhao rebuked him, he calmly explained to Zhang Zhao, "Temporarily avoiding direct confrontation is also a military strategy. We are discussing military matters now, and I hope you understand, Lord Zhang."

Lu Su was extremely dissatisfied and directly retorted to Zhang Zhao—

"It is precisely because loyal ministers rushed to their deaths one after another during the Yellow Turban Rebellion that the Han Dynasty is now filled with nothing but treacherous ministers!"

"you……"

Enraged, Zhang Zhao grabbed his cane and tried to strike Lu Su, but Lu Su dodged, and the two ended up chasing each other in the main hall!
"stop!"

Liu Miao couldn't stand it any longer and reprimanded them sternly, which finally made the two stop.

“Zijing! Master Zhang is an elder! His words are all loyal and honest. How can you be disrespectful to him?”

“Master Zhang! Zijing was only talking about the gains and losses in military matters. How can you punish him with a cane just because you disagree?”

Liu Miao gave them both equal punishment, and had Chen Wu kick them both out!
As the two left, the main hall became noticeably quieter, giving Liu Miao time to ponder the words of the others.

Wu Jing, Sun Ben, and Cheng Pu, these former generals of Sun Jian, clearly supported sending troops at this time because they wanted to vindicate themselves and Sun Jian.

Ministers like Zhou Yu and Lu Su, who were wholeheartedly committed to the development of Liu Miao's power, did not want to send troops at this time, thus falling into Cao Cao's trap and causing Yuan Shu to weaken his own forces.

Traditional scholars like Zhang Zhao still upheld the principle of "a subject should die for his ruler," urging Liu Miao to immediately send troops to punish the traitors for the Han dynasty!
It's hard to say who was wrong among the parties involved. Apart from the generals who were Sun Jian's former subordinates, none of them could even be said to have their own selfish motives.

Zhou Yu and Lu Su wanted to preserve Liu Miao's power and win the battle at the lowest possible cost; while Zhang Zhao, still adhering to the righteous path, advised Liu Miao to disregard personal gain and loss and fight against Yuan Shu for the sake of the Han Dynasty.

Both sides have their own reasons, and it's impossible to say who is right and who is wrong.

After careful consideration, Liu Miao finally made a decision: "What Zhang Gong said makes sense."

Seeing this, Zhou Yu was about to say something when Liu Miao stopped him with a gesture.

"The court is currently in a state of moral decay. If even I, a member of the Han imperial family, do not go to punish the traitors, how can we expect all those with aspirations in the world to believe that there is still hope for the Han dynasty?"

"However, Gongjin's words are not without reason. To rashly engage in a deadly battle with Yuan Shu's main force is not the act of a good general. We cannot treat the lives of our soldiers as worthless just because of our emotions."

Liu Miao asked Zhou Tai to bring a map of Huainan and lay it flat on the table.

"In war, courage is paramount. One must strike with full force at the first drumbeat, for the second will be weaker, and the third will be exhausted. When the enemy is exhausted and we are still strong, we can defeat them."

"Since Gongjin is worried that Yuan Shu's morale is currently high, why not try to weaken it?"

Zhou Yu stared at the map and instantly understood Liu Miao's meaning.

"Does the lord intend to keep him constantly on the move?"

"Of course!"

It's not that we won't fight, but rather that we will fight lightly, slowly, and in a planned manner.

As long as the morale boost from Yuan Shu's declaration of himself as emperor is gradually worn down, victory will undoubtedly tilt in Liu Miao's favor!

Zhou Yu quickly presented his plan—

"There are several strategic locations north of the Yangtze River, the most important of which are Wan County to the west of Lushan and Chao County to the east!"

“Wan County is strategically located in the southwest, with Qianshan Mountain to the north serving as a natural barrier, and Shiting to the east is also a narrow and easily defensible location.”

"Chaoxian controls the southern passage into and out of Chaohu Lake. If it is lost, the navy can go upstream and reach Hefei and Shouchun!"

"Both of these places must be absolutely secure. As long as we keep sending troops to harass them, Yuan Shu's forces will inevitably be exhausted!"

"Gongjin's plan is brilliant!"

Liu Miao spared no praise for Zhou Yu!

Although Liu Miao claimed to know nothing about military affairs, he certainly understood what sexual matters were all about!
Since it's all about combat, the principles are naturally the same!
If both sides are holding firm, they will inevitably suffer losses in the end.

Conversely, if the defender can be weakened, the attacker will naturally be able to achieve victory in every endeavor!
(End of this chapter)