I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 154 Where did Liu Miao go?
From the time Sun Ben and Sun Fu began to blockade Jinling until Zhu Huan led his troops to arrive, and the two hurriedly tried to escape Jiangdong, the entire process took no more than half a month.

Furthermore, Huang Zhong and Xu Huang's defense of Baishilei and Xizhou City prevented their influence from extending beyond Jinling City, so the damage they caused to Jiangdong was negligible.

With Zhang Zhao and Gu Yong appearing day and night to appease the people, Jiangdong was quickly pacified and restored to its former order.

Lu Kang and Chen Yu reassured the relatives of the many civil and military officials in the inner city, telling them not to worry.

"Lu Zhongyi, have you found Boyang and Guoyi?"

The one who took the initiative to seek out Lu Kang was none other than Madam Wu.

Lady Wu's complexion was no longer as pale as when she was in mourning. With the help of Liu Miao, she even had an apricot-shaped face and peach-like cheeks, and looked more vibrant and beautiful.

However, when Lu Kang saw Madam Wu greeting him, he clutched his stomach tightly and asked with a headache, "What are you doing out at this time?"

But Lu Kang knew why Madam Wu had come looking for him, so he casually mentioned, "Sun Ben and Sun Fu have been captured and imprisoned in the water dungeon."

"I hope Lu Zhongyi will grant me permission to meet them."

Lu Kang immediately frowned: "The water prison is cold and damp; it's not a place you can go right now."

"Besides, seeing them now wouldn't be good for you either!"

Mrs. Wu did not refute, but simply nodded calmly.

"In that case, please convey a message to them, Lu Zhongyi."

"But it doesn't matter."

"I hope Lu Zhongyi will tell them that if they are to act like elders, they should do so and not involve others."

There was a hint of melancholy in Mrs. Wu's eyes.

"Their rebellion has far-reaching consequences."

“My brothers Wu Jing, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang, Zhu Zhi… and Bo Fu may all be implicated in this matter.”

"I hope they will each be decisive, so that more people will not suffer as a result."

After hearing this, Lu Kang sighed heavily, which was considered as tacitly agreeing with Madam Wu's words.

"It's kind of you to have this thought. However, this matter should ultimately be left to Zhongshan to handle after he returns."

Although Madam Wu's eyes were dim, she had already expected this, so she pressed Lu Kang for an answer: "Where is my husband now? When will he be able to return to Jiangdong?"

Lu Kang suddenly froze on the spot...

Yup!

Jiangdong has been pacified, but what about Liu Miao?

Especially after Lu Kang sent people to Wan County to inquire about the situation and heard that Liu Miao was missing, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Where is Liu Miao?
It's not just Jiangdong who wants to know the answer to this question.

Yuan Shu also wanted to know!

After Liu Miao disappeared and went into the mountains, Yuan Shu immediately ordered Ji Ling to search the mountains and seas to find him!

But ever since Liu Miao entered Qianshan, he has become completely elusive!

Sometimes, after a scout finally manages to find traces of Liu Miao, by the time Ji Ling leads the army there, there is no sign of him at all.

It's one or two times, but the most important thing is that it has happened several times now!
It's one thing if he appears in front, to the left, or to the right, but sometimes Liu Miao even manages to get behind Ji Ling!

"Damn it! Is Liu Miao born in the Year of the Rabbit or something?"

Ji Ling intensified the search efforts, but still failed to find Liu Miao, which terrified another group of neighbors in Qianshan!
When Chen Lanlei, who had defected from Yuan Shu, heard that Yuan Shu had suddenly led an army to Wan County, he began to tremble with fear.

When they heard that even a general like Ji Ling had begun searching the mountains, they became even more panicked!

"We can't stay in Qianshan any longer!"

Staying here any longer will kill people!

After discussing it, Chen Lan and Lei Bo both agreed that Liu Bei's place in Xuzhou was a good place to go!

Firstly, unlike Cao Cao, Liu Bei had no prior grudges against them.

Secondly, Liu Bei is currently weak, so if they go to him now, they will surely be given important positions and will not have to worry about Liu Bei harming their lives.

Lei Bo stayed behind to guard Qianshan, while Chen Lan led troops to Xuzhou to test Liu Bei.

Having traveled along mountain roads out of Yuzhou and just arrived in Qiao County, Chen Lan heard news of Xuzhou from passersby—

"Xuzhou is in chaos!"

"Cao Bao, a general under Tao Qian, was originally stationed in Xiapi together with Zhang Fei, a general under Liu Bei. However, for some reason, Zhang Fei wanted to kill Cao Bao, which caused Cao Bao to hold a grudge. He then colluded with Lü Bu and took advantage of the chaos to seize Xiapi!"

Chen Lan: ...

Why does this seem so familiar?

Is Lü Bu going to take over Xu Province right after he just seized Yan Province?

Chen Lan was suddenly caught in a dilemma.

With the loss of Xiapi, Xuzhou had already changed hands.

As a former general under Yuan Shu, Chen Lan naturally knew that Lü Bu and Yuan Shu had always been in cahoots, which was completely different from Liu Bei's resolute refusal! If he were to join Lü Bu, he might be sold to Yuan Shu by Lü Bu! Let whoever wants to do this under such a precarious situation do it; he certainly wouldn't!

Helpless, Chen Lan had no choice but to return home.

However, Chen Lan's soldiers were perhaps used to being bandits, and they looted wherever they went, and incidentally plundered the area around Qiao County as well.

Chen Lan had no intention of stopping them, but urged everyone to speed up their actions so as not to be targeted by Cao Cao and Lü Bu, those two hungry wolves.

His soldiers quickly returned laden with spoils, even bringing gifts for Chen Lan.

"General! We found this woman on the mountain! She's exceptionally beautiful! Would you like to take a look?"

The soldiers laughed and shoved each other, and soon a young girl was pushed out.

This woman was no more than ten years old. Though she wore only a coarse linen garment, the hem of which was faded, and even the elbows were patched with several fine stitches, it could not conceal her elegant and dignified bearing, as upright as a pine or bamboo. A slightly worn wooden hairpin held her hair in place, and a few strands of hair gently brushed against her smooth, white forehead in the wind, revealing eyebrows that resembled distant, misty mountains, clearly setting her apart from ordinary women.

"She seems to be a lady from a noble family!"

Chen Lan told the girl to raise her head.

Although the girl's face was still a little immature, her features had a heroic air about them, which gave her a unique charm.

But when Chen Lan looked at this face, she couldn't muster any evil thoughts at all; instead, she felt a sense of déjà vu.

"Whose daughter are you?"

"The Xiahou clan of Qiao County."

Chen Lan was stunned for a moment, then slapped his thigh hard: "I was wondering why this girl looked so familiar! Doesn't she look exactly like Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun, those two fierce generals under Cao Cao?"

Chen Lan immediately started yelling at those around her: "Which of you plague gods brought this woman here? Huh? You want me dead?!"

The soldiers on either side were also helpless: "General! It's really not our fault! Who would have thought that the noblewoman of the Xiahou family would personally go up the mountain to collect firewood?!"

Gathering firewood?

Chen Lan's head was about to split open. He wanted nothing more than to grab Xiahou Shi by the collar and ask her, "You're Xiahou Shi's daughter, you expect to be waited on hand and foot! Why are you gathering firewood on the mountain?!"

Chen Lan immediately felt melancholy.

Betraying Yuan Shu meant that Yuan Shu had been thoroughly offended.

It's likely that Lü Bu was also in league with Yuan Shu.

If we capture Xiahou's women now, wouldn't that make Cao Cao hold a grudge against us?

He only had a few powerful lords around him, and he had offended them all. What was he going to do in the future?
Chen Lan had no appreciation for Xiahou's beauty at all; he only felt that he must have picked up something unclean while on Qianshan Mountain, which was why he was so unlucky!

"Take this woman back to where she came from!"

Chen Lan didn't want to provoke Xiahou Shi, but she immediately regretted her words: "Wait! We can't send her!"

After hesitating for a long time, Chen Lan finally made a decision—

"Take her back first, then we'll talk!"

When Chen Lan returned to Qianshan, Lei Bo was deeply saddened to hear of the terrible events that had occurred in Xuzhou.

Upon hearing that Chen Lan had actually kidnapped Xiahou's daughter, Lei Bo jumped up in shock: "What are you doing?"

"Is offending Yuan Shu not enough? Now you want to provoke Cao Cao as well?"

"What can we do? Of all the people we could arrest, we had to arrest this scourge!"

However, Chen Lan had her own ideas: "I asked around, and she is not Xiahou Dun's or Xiahou Yuan's biological daughter, but Xiahou Yuan's niece."

"No matter how close Cao Cao is to the Xiahou family, it's impossible for him to directly send troops to attack us for the sake of such a person... On the contrary, Yuan Shu is now searching for Liu Miao so thoroughly that he has practically turned Qianshan upside down, and sooner or later he will be caught in the crossfire!"

"Now Xuzhou has been taken by Lü Bu, and Cao Cao has a grudge against us. In this vast world, we have nowhere to go!"

Chen Lan gestured with her chin, "If Yuan Shu really finds us, why not offer Xiahou's daughter to him? Everyone knows Yuan Shu hates Cao Cao the most! If we give this woman to him, maybe Yuan Shu will let us go!"

Lei Bo then realized: "So you were leaving us a way out."

Lei Bo no longer objected and temporarily kept Xiahou Shi in the camp under his supervision. At the same time, he repeatedly warned his soldiers: "You must not touch this woman! Otherwise, I will cut off your claws!"

The generals under Chen Lan and Lei Bo had all fought against Cao Cao and suffered his punishment. They knew the prestige of Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun, so how could they dare to set their sights on the Xiahou family? Therefore, everyone promised to take good care of the Xiahou family!
Just as Chen Lan and Lei Bo were discussing how to deal with Yuan Shu, the sound of arrows suddenly rang out outside the camp!
"Enemy attack!!!"

"Could it be Ji Ling? He actually came knocking on our door so quickly?"

Chen Lan and Lei Bo climbed to a high place and looked into the distance, only to find that the banner was not that of their old acquaintances Ji Ling or Yuan Shu, but a black banner with red patterns and the character "Liu" that they had never seen before!

After more than ten days of hardship and danger, Liu Miao, who had been sought by everyone, finally sneaked through the mountain path to Tianzhu Mountain and found Chen Lan and Lei Bo's camp.

"Gugu~~~"

Liu Miao touched his abdomen, which was noticeably smaller than before, under his armor, licked his lower lip to relieve his hunger, and looked with satisfaction at the camp not far away: "Finally arrived!"

Meanwhile, Lu Su, Cheng Pu, and the others behind him had a green glint in their eyes—

"Take this place!"

"Once we capture it, we'll have food to eat!"

　Two more chapters tonight, let's make it four chapters today!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)