I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 170: Does Restoring the Han Dynasty Require More Money?

as predicted!

Just as Liu Miao's army was about to retreat, another messenger arrived from Cao Cao's camp—

"Guo Jia, Guo Fengxiao, an official of the Sikong Mansion, has met with Liu Biaoqi."

Outside Liu Miao's tent stood Guo Jia, his face filled with resentment.

Upon meeting Liu Miao, Guo Jia disregarded etiquette and directly asked, "We are about to capture Shouchun and quell the Han traitors. Why is General Liu suddenly withdrawing his troops?"

"Oh~~~"

After much deliberation, Liu Miao offered Guo Jia a reason.

"I just took a concubine, and now I have to go back to Jinling to take care of her."

Guo Jia also fell silent.

He thought Liu Miao would try to fob him off with some excuse about supplies or something else, but he never expected Liu Miao to be able to give such a reason so openly and honestly...

Guo Jia boasted that he had seen many strange and unusual people in his life and could deal with them all with ease, but Liu Miao's words, "I need to go home to take care of my concubine," left Guo Jia speechless for a moment, standing there without saying a word.

Liu Miao looked Guo Jia up and down, then suddenly asked, "Does Fengxiao usually enjoy visiting brothels?"

I don't go there often.

"Then how come you're so weak?"

"I have been in poor health since childhood and can only rely on medicinal herbs to replenish my health."

"I see."

Liu Miao, looking worried, suggested to Guo Jia, "The Prefect of Kuaiji, Wang Lang, has a clerk named Yu Fan who is skilled in divination and medicine. If you, Fengxiao, are willing, why don't you come with me to him for treatment?"

"A man can be bad at everything, but he can't be weak. Fengxiao, don't you agree?"

"Yes……"

Liu Miao added, “Moreover, I have heard that someone in Jiangdong has seen traces of Hua Tuo and Dong Feng. They are both famous doctors of our time. After Fengxiao and I return to Jiangdong, I can go and find them for Fengxiao and have them treat Fengxiao’s health.”

"it is good……"

"In that case, let's return to Jiangdong together!"

Only then did Guo Jia suddenly become alert!

He was clearly there to talk to Liu Miao as an envoy, so why was he inexplicably tricked by Liu Miao into going to Jiangdong?
Guo Jia quickly got back to the main topic: "I am here on the orders of the Minister of Works to discuss with Liu Biaoji the matter of jointly attacking Yuan Shu!"

"What about Fengxiao's health?"

"It's out of the way."

"Is being weak not a problem?"

Guo Jia could no longer tolerate Liu Miao's unreasonable nagging: "General Liu, I have come here to discuss an important matter with you!"

"is it?"

Liu Miao asked Guo Jia, "What could be more important than your life, Guo Fengxiao?"

Seeing that the matter was back to the main topic, Guo Jia finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Naturally, it's about quelling the traitors of Han and restoring the Han dynasty!"

Liu Miao nodded: "In that case, Fengxiao, go and quell the Han traitors. What are you talking to me about here?"

Seeing that Liu Miao was still pretending to be confused, Guo Jia finally couldn't help but say, "General Liu! The Minister of Works sent me here to invite you to join us in attacking Shouchun and punishing the traitors of Han."

"But I recently took a concubine, and I need to go back to take care of her..."

After going around in circles, we've returned to where we started.

Immediately afterwards, Liu Miao asked, "How many concubines does Fengxiao have? How about I give you a few? But you're so weak, I'm afraid something might happen. How about we go back to Jiangdong together? I'll find someone to take a look at you."

Liu Miao seemed to care nothing for Yuan Shu or the traitors of Han. His only concerns appeared to be Lady Mi, whom he hadn't yet touched since marrying into the family, and Guo Jia, whom he saw as utterly insignificant. He was also trying every possible means to bring Guo Jia to Jiangdong…

Guo Jia was exhausted, so he simply said, "You say yours, I say mine."

"Liu, you have just defeated Yuan Shu. Why don't you immediately send troops to besiege Shouchun? If you let Yuan Shu go now, he will surely become a great threat in the future!"

Guo Jia spoke earnestly.

"General Liu, you are acting on the Emperor's orders to punish the traitors of Han, which is your duty! Now you want to withdraw your troops because of a woman? How can you face the Emperor and the people of Huainan?"

Liu Miao smiled and said, "If that's the case, why doesn't Minister Cao cross the river and attack Shouchun?"

"The Minister of Works is in the north, suffering from the lack of a boat..."

"I'll give you the boat."

"If we cross the river from the north, we fear we might attack Yuan Shu while he's halfway across..."

"I'll help you wrap around Shouchun!"

"..."

Liu Miao looked at Guo Jia with great interest: "Why did you advise me to send troops, but instead told Mengde to stay in Jiangbei?"

Guo Jia was still pondering a reason when Liu Miao asked, "It can't be that Yuan Shao ordered Yuan Shu to be spared, and then you didn't dare to act, so you want me to kill Yuan Shu, right?"

Guo Jia paused for a moment, and then a strange fear shot up from his heels to the back of his head!

Liu Miao knew!

Liu Miao knows everything!

Guo Jia finally showed a rare moment of panic.

At the same time, he suddenly understood why Cao Cao was so wary of Liu Miao, and even instead of attacking Zhang Xiu in Nanyang, he personally came to Lianghuai to compete with Liu Miao for Huainan!

Fortunately, Guo Jia was quick-witted. After a quick mental search, he actually accepted the matter.

"General Liu is indeed formidable!"

"Indeed, Yuan Shao, mindful of his brotherhood with Yuan Shu, pleaded with the Minister of Works to spare Yuan Shu's life... But!"

Guo Jia said righteously, "Yuan Shu has already declared himself emperor! His crimes are too numerous to count! Although the Minister of Works is as close as a brother to Yuan Shao, the law of the land is merciless and cannot tolerate such a request! We only hope that General Liu can kill Yuan Shu on behalf of the Minister of Works, wipe out the traitor of Han, and pacify the south!"

"...Pfft!"

Liu Miao looked at Guo Jia, and although he tried his best to hold back, he still burst out laughing.

Why is General Liu acting this way?

"Fengxiao, when you said that Yuan Shao pleaded for Yuan Shu because of his brotherhood with him, didn't you secretly want to laugh?"

"And when you said that Mengde and Yuan Shao are still like brothers, don't you want to laugh?"

Liu Miao observed Guo Jia's lips and watched as a strained smile appeared on them.

"what!"

Although it was a wry smile, Guo Jia was clearly unable to hold back his emotions.

"Hahahahahaha!"

Upon seeing this, Liu Miao simply laughed and did not hold it against Guo Jia.

"I lied to you once just now! Now you've lied to me once, so we're even! If you lie to me again, Fengxiao, then I'll have to ask you to go back!"

A bead of cold sweat trickled down Guo Jia's forehead.

From the moment he entered Liu Miao's tent, Liu Miao controlled the pace of the game, leaving him completely immobilized and without any room to maneuver.

Now that Liu Miao has returned to the main topic, it is clear that he is about to formally discuss the important matter of besieging Yuan Shu.

However, Guo Jia was also curious.

Liu Miao said he had lied to himself once.

Since he came in, Liu Miao only said two things: one was that he was worried about his concubine at home and was in a hurry to withdraw his troops; the other was that he wanted to help Guo Jia to recuperate and treat his illness.

Which of these two things is true? Which is false?

Guo Jia shook his head, temporarily setting aside these trivial matters, and finally spoke frankly with Liu Miao—

"Yuan Shao did indeed order Sikong to release Yuan Shu back to Hebei, but Sikong would absolutely not allow such a traitor to return!"

"Sikong believes that General Liu is also a like-minded person who is devoted to the Han Dynasty and aspires to rule the world! Therefore, he specifically requests that General Liu be able to kill Yuan Shu and cleanse the world!"

Eliminating Yuan Shu, this false emperor, is a righteous cause!

Guo Jia pointed out Cao Cao's predicament: he wanted to kidnap Liu Miao and make him take the blame.

Suppressing the traitors of the Han dynasty is the glory of Han officials!

Since you, Liu Miao, have always touted yourself as a loyal subject of the Han Dynasty and an imperial uncle of the emperor, wouldn't it be your duty to quell the rebellion against Yuan Shu?
Liu Miao also remained silent.

After a long while, Liu Miao began to ramble on to Guo Jia, recounting how good Yuan Shu had been to him—

"Before General Hou became emperor, he was actually a decent person."

"He was the one who first petitioned the emperor on my behalf when I was the governor of Yangzhou. After that, not only did he marry the eldest daughter of the Yuan family to me as my principal wife, but he also frequently sent me gold, silver, craftsmen, and oxen..."

"If it weren't for General Hou, I'm afraid I, Liu Miao, would not have reached this point!"

Guo Jia immediately sensed something was wrong!

"What does Liu Biaoqi mean by this? Does he still harbor feelings for that traitor Yuan Shu?"

"Fengxiao has misunderstood me."

Liu Miao interrupted Guo Jia, then looked at Guo Jia with burning eyes—

"What I mean is, General Hou is my mentor, close friend, and even a blood relative by marriage!"

"So...you have to pay more!"

Guo Jia initially did not understand what Liu Miao meant by "adding money".

But Guo Jia immediately jumped up: "General Liu! This is about punishing traitors for the Han Dynasty! How can you possibly ask for money???"

To quell the traitors of the Han Dynasty is the glory that countless people dream of!

Obviously, the court doesn't ask you to pay more taxes and revenue, yet you still expect the court to give you money?

Beast!
What a beast! ! !
Guo Jia really wanted to grab Liu Miao by the collar and ask him where his conscience was!

To punish the traitors of the Han Dynasty, they even demand bribes?

The traditional social order has collapsed! People's hearts have lost their traditional values!

Seeing Guo Jia's cowardly behavior of wanting to get angry but not daring to, Liu Miao smiled slightly again.

"Bong-hyo, don't look at me like that."

“If I kill Yuan Shu, I will completely offend Yuan Shao and all of Yuan’s followers.”

"You should know just how powerful these people are."

“Yuan Shao was able to secure the vast province of Ji as his base with just a few words.”

Even in his decline, Yuan Shu was still able to mobilize his retainers to assassinate Chen Wen and Liu Chong, and secretly instigate people like Sun Fu and Hao Meng to rebel. His power was not to be underestimated.

"If I really kill Yuan Shu, there will probably be wave after wave of assassins like Yu Rang and Jing Ke, and I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep peacefully."

Liu Miao stroked his chin: "Therefore, why did I kill Yuan Shu?"

"Since he's about to head to Hebei, and the Huainan region will soon be entirely in my hands, why should I create unnecessary trouble at this time?"

Liu Miao had Guo Jia completely under his control at this point, causing Guo Jia to become furious and have no choice but to ask Liu Miao for his request.

"What does General Liu want?"

"Warhorse!"

Liu Miao's eyes lit up.

"Five thousand warhorses! I'm off to besiege Yuan Shu!"

"Is General Liu playing a trick on me?"

Guo Jia was also somewhat annoyed!
Cao Cao's control of the Central Plains was far superior to Yuan Shao's Hebei or Gongsun Zan's Youzhou!
For Cao Cao, warhorses were an extremely scarce war resource. How could he possibly gather five thousand to give to Liu Miao?

"possible."

Liu Miao helped Guo Jia build confidence and encouraged him not to underestimate Cao Cao!

"I heard that Mengde has already sent people to Guanzhong. Once he establishes good relations with Ma Teng and his men in Xiliang, there will surely be no shortage of excellent warhorses!"

"Besides, isn't Mengde about to attack Zhang Xiu of Nanyang? Once Zhang Xiu is defeated, will Mengde lack warhorses?"

Guo Jia's previous statement was somewhat normal.

But the next sentence immediately provoked Guo Jia: "Why does General Liu say such a thing?"

"Everyone knows what Yuan Benchu ​​is thinking."

"When Mengde brought the Emperor back, preventing the Han court from fending for itself in Luoyang, it was destined that a war would break out between you. It's just that Yuan Shao is currently busy dealing with Gongsun Zan, which is why he hasn't had time to march south. If you don't take advantage of this gap to quickly eliminate the threats around you, what do you think you'll do when the war really breaks out?"

"Oh, right!"

Liu Miao seemed to have thought of something—

"If Mengde agrees, I will definitely lend him a hand when he fights Yuan Shao in the future!"

"Does Fengxiao think that defeating Yuan Shu, along with this promise, is not enough to exchange for five thousand warhorses?"

At this moment, Guo Jia could not reconcile the "cunning and shrewd" Liu Miao he knew with the Liu Miao who, upon entering the camp, had been clamoring to go home and play with his concubines!
Liu Miao was able to see and guess so many things!
Guo Jia originally intended to deceive Liu Miao, but he did not expect that Liu Miao would completely threaten him and Cao Cao!
Five thousand warhorses!
It's a deal, but also a threat!

Although Cao Cao is still stronger than Liu Miao in terms of strength now.

In terms of geopolitics, Liu Miao was undoubtedly far superior to Cao Cao.

The biggest advantage was that the distance between Liu Miao and Yuan Shao was much greater than the distance between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao will not be able to bypass Cao Cao to attack Liu Miao in the future, but Yuan Shao can indeed ignore Liu Miao and launch a strong attack on Cao Cao!
If Liu Miao had suddenly led the Jiangdong troops to attack Cao Cao's rear while Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were locked in a stalemate, it would have been a catastrophic disaster for Cao Cao!
"..."

Guo Jia was already a little thirsty: "Since General Liu was able to see Yuan Shao's disloyal intentions, he must also know the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold'."

"If we were to hand over all five thousand warhorses to Liu Biaoqi, the Central Plains would likely be left without any horses... And if Yuan's iron cavalry were to march south, who would be able to resist them?"

"So, could we deliver these five thousand warhorses in batches and send them to Jiangdong gradually?"

Trading five thousand warhorses for Liu Miao to attack Yuan Shu is clearly not a good deal.

But if it were a deal to exchange five thousand warhorses for Liu Miao's allegiance to Cao Cao in the Yuan-Cao war, then that deal would be incredibly worthwhile!

After much deliberation, Guo Jia agreed to Liu Miao's conditions, with the only request being that the goods be delivered in installments.

"make a deal!"

Guo Jia thought Liu Miao would try to pull him back, but to his surprise, Liu Miao immediately nodded in agreement!

"Send over two thousand warhorses first, and then send over three thousand more one thousand a year later."

Liu Miao was exceptionally lenient towards Guo Jia.

The battle was to be fought in three years, with the Battle of Guandu taking place four years later. Therefore, Liu Miao was not afraid that Cao Cao would not pay the final installment.

Liu Miao was overjoyed to have extorted five thousand warhorses from Cao Cao so easily!
The only slight regret is...

"Fengxiao? You really won't come back to Jiangdong with me? I promise I'll find someone to cure you and give you a few concubines, okay?"

Guo Jia cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you for your kindness, General Liu."

"If the world is at peace in the future, I am willing to go to Jiangdong with Liu Biaoqi and stay there for a long time."

Liu Miao returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "I also hope that Fengxiao will take good care of himself and really be able to hold on until that day."

"must!"

(End of this chapter)