I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 177 Starting today, I will abstain from alcohol!

"..."

"..."

When Liu Miao woke up again, he had already returned to Huainan.

"What? We were all drunk last night?"

"What? Cao Cao wants to compete with me in poetry?"

"What? I won?"

"What? The three of us ended up sleeping together?"

Liu Miao's memory of last night gradually changed from vague to bizarre.

Lu Su, standing to the side, looked on with a resentful expression: "Wasn't our lord afraid of Cao Cao's Feast at Hongmen? How come he was the one who got drunk by Cao Cao first?"

"What if we wake up today and find that our lord is not in Huainan, but in Xuchang?"

"During the Chu-Han Contention, Emperor Gaozu led a coalition of 560,000 troops to capture Pengcheng, the capital of Western Chu. He then celebrated with the other lords all night. Upon hearing this, Xiang Yu personally led 30,000 elite troops in a surprise attack on Pengcheng from Xiao County at dawn, inflicting a crushing defeat on the Han army. Over 100,000 soldiers were killed, and another 100,000 fell into the water, blocking the Sui River. This defeat led to the capture of Liu Taigong and Empress Lü by Xiang Yu. This resulted in the defection of lords such as Sima Xin, King of Sai, and Dong Yi, King of Zhai, to Chu, causing the collapse of the coalition of hundreds of thousands of lords against Chu!"

Lu Su was clearly genuinely angry this time, so he used the example of Emperor Gaozu's previous major defeat to advise Liu Miao.

Upon careful reflection, Liu Miao was also filled with lingering fear!
"The ancients were right! Wine and women are indeed the greatest poisons of mankind! From this day forward, I, Liu Miao, will abstain from alcohol!"

Lu Su asked suspiciously, "Really?"

"Of course it's true! If Zijing sees me drinking again, he should come over and slap me twice!"

Lu Su's complexion improved, but he looked at Liu Miao with some doubt: "Since wine and women are harmful to health, why doesn't the lord mention anything about them?"

"Look at what you're saying! Everyone in the world can be averse to lust! But I, Liu Miao, cannot be averse to lust!"

Liu Miao ruined his body for the sake of the Han Dynasty's continuation! Do you know the pain, joy, toil, and hardship he endured?
Liu Miao wanted to show off his results, but after counting on his fingers for a long time, he still couldn't figure it out—

"Zijing, how many children do I have now?"

"..."

Lu Su sighed: "Our lord currently has seven sons."

"Seven people... huh? Seven people?"

Liu Miao immediately realized something was wrong!

He has only seven wives and concubines in total: Lu, Lü, Yuan, Wang, Yan, Wu, and Mi. One of them is not yet married into the family. Where would he get seven children?
"Has my lord forgotten that Lady Yan is pregnant with twins?"

Furthermore, Lu Su reminded Liu Miao, "Now our lord has eight wives and concubines, not seven."

"Last night, my lord was drunk and mentioned the experience of rescuing Lady Xiahou. Cao Cao originally wanted to take Lady Xiahou back, but..."

Lu Su looked at Liu Miao with an inscrutable expression: "It's probably because Cao Cao considered our lord's reputation that he ultimately didn't bring Xiahou Yuan's niece back, but instead agreed on Xiahou Yuan's behalf to marry our lord..."

Liu Miao was immediately displeased upon hearing this!
What do you mean by "hearing about my reputation"?

Is my reputation, Liu Miao, not good?
Besides, who in the world doesn't know that I, Liu Miao, am attracted to beautiful women? How could I possibly lay a hand on a mere oil-slicker?
"Cao Mengde! You've ruined my reputation!"

"Then... shall I contact Cao Cao and have him bring the person back?"

"Why should we take him back! If the world finds out, they'll think I, Liu Miao, am incompetent!"

Lu Su shrugged, shook his head, and placed the bowl of hangover soup in front of Liu Miao.

This hangover soup contains ginger slices, red dates, and goji berries. It's cooked until warm, and after taking a sip, it truly feels refreshing and relieves headaches and thirst quite a bit.

Liu Miao took a spoon and put some hangover soup in his mouth, while asking Lu Su, "Did anything else happen last night?"

"There is nothing more between him and his lord. However, in order to win over Liu Bei, and probably also to appease Lü Bu, Cao Cao appointed Liu Bei as Governor of Yu Province, General Who Guards the East, and Marquis of Yicheng."

Liu Miao was relieved, knowing that he had not made a fool of himself yesterday.

Lu Su sat in front of Liu Miao's bed: "My lord, at yesterday's banquet, since we had already agreed with Cao Cao to jointly plan for Jingzhou, it seems we should now consider making further plans."

Liu Miao casually spat a jujube pit on the ground: "Zijing, do you perhaps have a solution?"

Jingzhou is undoubtedly a tough nut to crack.

Liu Biao's lack of offensive capabilities also reflects his superior ability to maintain the status quo.

Therefore, even if we were to ally with Cao Cao now and obtain the moral high ground from the court to attack Liu Biao, it would be impossible for a war like the one in Wu Commandery to be so swift and decisive.

"Righteousness" can sometimes be worth a fortune, but sometimes it can be worthless.

Ultimately, success will depend on the strength of the troops on the battlefield!
Lu Su stated frankly, "I have been to Jingzhou and witnessed its peace and tranquility."

"If we launch a direct attack, even with the moral high ground at our disposal, we may find it difficult to gain the upper hand."

"Moreover, given the terrain of Jing and Yang provinces, it is already extremely difficult for the downstream to conquer the upstream. In addition, with a general like Huang Zu guarding the important town of Jiangxia, victory will probably be even more difficult!"

Huang Zu can be said to have risen to prominence by riding on the coattails of Sun Jian's fame.

It wasn't that Huang Zu was too strong, but rather that Sun Jian was too fierce.

During the campaign against Dong Zhuo, if Sun Jian hadn't fought his way from Nanyang to Luoyang, it would have been uncertain whether the anti-Dong Zhuo alliance could have forced Dong Zhuo to Chang'an.

Now that Huang Zu has killed Sun Jian, it's difficult for anyone to judge Huang Zu's strength.

Huang Zu was said to be unknown, yet he was able to kill Sun Jian.

Huang Zu was said to be a famous general of his time, but he had no other achievements, so his strength was hard to fathom.

Now that Lu Su is plotting to seize Jingzhou, he has no choice but to take Huang Zu, an unknown variable, into consideration. "Furthermore, the scholars of Jingzhou will probably not easily accept our lord."

This was also what Lu Su was most worried about.

"When our lord crossed the Yangtze River, the scholars of Jiangdong were not impressed and even went their own way."

"But now that our lord has successively promulgated the Three Chiefs and Equal Field System, and forcibly investigated the land and slaves of those powerful families, taking all their military estates and fortified villages into the hands of the government, the scholars of the world must have already become alert!"

"Liu Biao himself relies on the powerful families of Jingzhou for his position. Therefore, my lord, this battle... will be difficult!"

Today, Jingzhou, Nanyang, Jiangxia, and Jingnan may seem scattered, but when it comes to truly resisting Liu Miao, they will surely unite as one, sparing no expense!
This was to be expected.

It was also an essential step for Liu Miao to suppress and consolidate power among powerful families.

These powerful families aren't all pushovers. Why should they just stand by and watch Liu Miao drink their blood, eat their flesh, and turn them into red mud to protect the flowers?

No one wants to become a corpse, and no one wants to become nourishment.

Although Liu Miao's campaign to attack Jingzhou has not yet begun, the difficulties are already foreseeable!

Liu Miao silently finished a bowl of hangover soup, and upon seeing this, Lu Su immediately took the earthenware bowl from Liu Miao's hand.

"So, Zijing, are you going to raise your hands and surrender now?"

"it's not true……"

"That's it!"

Liu Miao was already able to walk at this time.

He patted Lu Su on the shoulder: "It's just a mere Jingzhou! In the future, there will be the Central Plains, Hebei, and the whole world! Do you think Zijing can be intimidated by them?"

"Besides, I am never alone on my path!"

Lu Su looked out of the tent and saw Liu, Guan, and Zhang, who had obviously come to ask Liu Miao for his leave.

Liu Bei approached Liu Miao and bowed to him again, saying, "I am deeply grateful for Zhongshan's kindness!"

From the very beginning, he was a pitiful man who stole a home and became a homeless dog, even his family and wife were captured. But in a flash, he became the Governor of Yuzhou, who was officially awarded by the imperial court!

Such a tortuous experience truly made Liu Bei ashamed!

If it weren't for Liu Miao's help, from the moment Lü Bu raided Xuzhou, Liu Bei truly wouldn't know where he could go from here!
Guan Yu, who was behind him, and Zhang Fei, who was usually the most talkative, all bowed to Liu Miao.

"Thank you very much, General Liu!"

"No, it's all for the sake of restoring the Han Dynasty. Why are there so many formalities of gratitude?"

Liu Miao helped Liu Bei straighten his clothes and asked, "Will Xuande be able to move around today? If not, staying in Huainan for a while is not out of the question!"

"No need!"

Liu Bei was clearly someone who had been bitten by a snake once and was afraid of ropes for ten years.

"It's best to return to Xiaopei as soon as possible, to avoid any unforeseen circumstances!"

"Alright!"

Liu Bei bowed to Liu Miao once again.

"I heard Zhongshan's heartfelt words last night very clearly!"

"Although I am still filled with fear, I ultimately believe that Zhongshan's words are the truth!"

"Suppressing land annexation, suppressing powerful clans, distributing land equally, and loving the people—these are the natural order of things! How can we not act in accordance with the natural order?"

"Xiaopei has suffered from repeated wars and has a small population. It is actually easier for us to put our skills to use than we were in Xiapi. Zhongshan is waiting for his brother to return and give it his all!"

"That would be perfect!"

Liu Miao was pleased that Liu Bei recognized his abilities, but at the same time, he was somewhat worried about Liu Bei's capacity to mess things up...

"Xuande, be extra careful on your journey. In particular, maintain close contact with Zang Ba of Mount Tai to guard against Lü Bu."

Liu Bei was deeply grateful to Liu Miao for still caring about his safety and offering him advice.

"How can I repay Zhongshan for this?"

"..."

Although Liu Miao really wanted to say that since there was really nothing to repay them with, he might as well leave Guan Yu and Zhang Fei behind to help him conquer Jingzhou!

But when Liu Miao thought that Liu Bei would have even less of a chance to establish himself without them, he gave up the idea.

"Xuande, do you still remember the scene last night on the high platform where you saw the people on both sides of the Huai River celebrating their victory in peace?"

"Such a sight is rare in this world; how could I possibly forget it?"

Liu Miao put his hands behind his back and said, "If Xuande really wants to repay me, he might as well let such a scene spread throughout the world."

"If such a scene could truly spread throughout the world, would our great ambition to restore the Han Dynasty and pacify the world be far off?"

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were all shocked!
If it weren't for the lack of such a custom, the three of them would have been eager to bow down and pay their respects!
Liu Bei murmured, "No wonder Mengde said last night that he admired Zhongshan..."

"Huh? Cao Cao said that? How come I didn't know that!"

"Zhongshan was drunk at the time and insisted on hugging Guo Jia, saying he wanted to take him back to Jiangdong..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Miao slapped his forehead again!
From this day forward, I, Liu Miao, will abstain from alcohol!
(End of this chapter)