I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 204 Liu Miao: I Want to See My Brother-in-Law

Xiao Pei.

Liu Bei continued to feign compliance with Yuan Shao's envoy, thinking that this would delay the attack, but suddenly he heard the news that Lü Bu had launched an attack on him.

How could Lü Bu break his promise like this?

"My lord is confused! If Lü Bu were truly a man of his word, why would he have ambushed me before?"

If you were to ask who in Liu Bei's camp harbored the most resentment towards Lü Bu, the answer would undoubtedly be Zhang Fei, who lost Xuzhou.

Upon hearing that Lü Bu was coming, Zhang Fei immediately volunteered to fight!

"This time, we must kill every last one of those traitors!"

Mi Zhu, Mi Fang, Jian Yong, and Sun Qian were all worried: "Lu Bu's forces are formidable, and we are afraid that they will not be able to defeat him easily."

Although Liu Bei had gained some advantages in trade between Jiangdong and Hebei, barely managing to build an army of ten thousand... he knew his own limitations. These newly recruited soldiers were far less capable than ordinary Xuzhou soldiers, let alone comparable to Lü Bu's Bingzhou wolf cavalry. Furthermore, Xuzhou was flat and lacked natural defenses, making it even more advantageous for cavalry warfare. Therefore, few believed Liu Bei could win.

Zhang Fei glared at him with his round eyes: "The fight hasn't even started yet, how can we boost the morale of others while diminishing our own?"

"Please, my lord, grant me three thousand soldiers first, and I will surely bring you Lü Bu's head!"

……

Reason told Liu Bei that he was no match for Lü Bu at the moment.

But Liu Bei still harbored resentment towards Lü Bu.

When Lü Bu was defeated by Cao Cao, if Liu Bei hadn't taken him in to Xiaopei, Lü Bu would probably have been killed by hungry soldiers in some unknown wilderness!

If Liu Bei hadn't taken in Lü Bu back then, how could Lü Bu have seized Xuzhou and caused him to lose his family? He would have been forced to rely on others.
Therefore, when making crucial decisions, Liu Bei's emotions once again outweighed his rationality.

"How magnificent is Yide!"

"Why should you lead the troops? Watch me personally lead the troops and together with you defeat Lü Bu!"

Done! ! !

Mi Zhu and Mi Fang both felt a jolt in their hearts!
Mi Fang quickly urged again, "My lord, why don't you go and seek help from Jiangdong first?"

"No need!"

Liu Bei shook his head and said, "I owe Zhongshan too much! How can I trouble him now?"

"Besides, Zhongshan is currently far away in Jingzhou. How could he possibly return so easily?"

Liu Bei, brimming with ambition, declared: "Watch how I defeat Lü Bu and reclaim Xuzhou!!!"

------

Liu Bei was defeated.

It was a complete defeat.

Lu Bu's soldiers were already brave and skilled in battle, and with the money brought by Xuzhou and Yuan Tan, their morale was even higher!

There were no fancy tactics involved; it was simply that Lü Bu personally led Zhang Liao, Wei Yue, and other generals in a three-pronged attack, and Liu Bei's greenhorn soldiers retreated in terror, howling and screaming.

Even though Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were both known as "enemies of ten thousand men," they were ultimately outnumbered and outmatched. In just one exchange, Lü Bu broke their formation, forcing them to retreat.

Upon seeing this, Mi Zhu and Mi Fang quickly escorted Liu Bei's family out of the city, all the way to Suiyang, where they gradually reunited with Liu Bei.

"Oh~~~"

The little bit of wealth they had painstakingly accumulated was once again blown away by a raging storm.

Mi Fang sat there, looking dejected and ashamed, observing the routed soldiers around him. Finally, he couldn't help but complain, "My lord, this is the consequence of going into battle so easily!"

The already demoralized Liu Bei's army was in even greater distress, with many soldiers weeping bitterly out of concern for their families, their sorrowful cries echoing throughout the land.

"Mi Fang, how could you say such a thing?"

Guan Yu, who was in charge of commanding the army, was immediately dissatisfied when he saw the low morale!
"Is it wrong to go into battle and meet the enemy? How can we be so dejected because of a temporary setback?"

Normally, Mi Fang would not dare to argue with Guan Yu.

At this moment, Mi Fang was clearly getting impatient: "Guan Yu! You are only responsible for leading troops, so it's natural for you to say such things clearly and concisely! But I've always been the one handling the money, provisions, and supplies! You have no idea how difficult it is!"

"We finally managed to make some profit and recruit some troops. Now look what's happened, a single defeat has wiped everything out! Let me ask you, how are you going to support the army now? Are you suggesting we let the soldiers starve? Do you know what happens to soldiers who go hungry? Throughout history, how many examples have there been of mutinies caused by the inability to support soldiers? What are your true intentions? Do you want to kill our lord?"

A sharp glint appeared in Guan Yu's phoenix eyes: "What did you say?"

"enough!"

Just as the two were about to start arguing, Liu Bei stepped in to take charge.

"It's pointless to say all this now. Let's think about where we're headed next."

Many of Liu Bei's officials and generals had a good impression of Liu Miao and unanimously suggested that Liu Bei go to Jiangdong to avoid trouble.

But Liu Bei shook his head and said, "I only gained a foothold because of Zhongshan in the past. Now that I have lost Xiaopei, how can I have the face to see him?"

"Although I often receive the Emperor's favor, I have never had the opportunity to pay homage to him. I would like to go to Xuchang to meet the Emperor!"

Upon hearing Liu Bei's words, Mi Fang and Guan Yu stopped arguing. After exchanging cold glances for a while, they packed their bags and headed to Xuchang.

Xun Yu, who was stationed in Xuchang, frowned upon hearing that Liu Bei had been defeated by Lü Bu: "Lü Bu actually attacked Xiaopei at this time?"

Xun Yu dared not delay and quickly sent a letter to Cao Cao, who was still in Nanyang, requesting Cao Cao to return to his aid immediately! Cao Cao had actually been fighting fiercely in Nanyang for several months.

Especially after hearing that Liu Miao had captured Jiangxia, they launched a fierce attack on Nanyang, hoping to join forces with Liu Miao from the north and south to seize Jingzhou as soon as possible.

pity……

"Why does this guy across from me look like an iron turtle!"

Cao Cao spent half his life on the battlefield and saw too many famous generals.

Among these famous generals, there were those as fierce as Lü Bu, as cunning as Xu Rong, and as resolute as Yu Jin, but none were as good at defense as Wen Ping, who was now facing them!

Since Wen Ping came to support Nanyang, he has been digging deep ditches, building city walls, constructing fortifications, and implementing a scorched earth policy... In short, he has shown absolutely no intention of launching an attack!

Even when Cao Cao exposed Wen Ping's weaknesses, Wen Ping remained unmoved, as if his only mission was to defend Nanyang until the end of time!
Such an enemy was beyond just a headache for Cao Cao.

Even when facing Lü Bu, Cao Cao was confident that he could find a weakness in Lü Bu's seemingly fierce attacks, then gradually expand his advantage and eventually turn the tide of the battle.

But Wenping didn't give him any chance at all!

Cao Cao even suspected that even if he walked to the walls of Wancheng without armor, Wen Ping would not take the risk of easily sending troops.

What's even worse is...

It's unclear which scoundrel in Wancheng came up with the idea of ​​releasing diseased livestock upstream, polluting the water source and forcing Cao Cao to transport water from afar, undoubtedly increasing his burden once again.

Now that Xun Yu had reported that Lü Bu had captured Xiaopei, Cao Cao had completely given up on dealing with Wen Ping: "Withdraw the troops!"

Seeing Cao Cao retreat, Wen Ping, like an emotionless wooden puppet, rushed back to Jingzhou to guard against Liu Miao.

Liu Miao actually learned of Lü Bu's attack on Liu Bei a few days earlier than Cao Cao.

However, Liu Miao did not inform the generals, but only summoned Lu Su and told him the matter alone.

"Yuan Shao has made his move?"

Upon realizing this, Lu Su immediately sensed something was wrong.

"In that case, please, my lord, return to our aid immediately!"

"I won't go back."

Liu Miao lay on the couch, his clothes disheveled.

"If we go back now, the battle with Huang Zu will have been fought for nothing."

"It wasn't for nothing!"

Lu Su proposed: "We can temporarily abandon the rest of Jingzhou and only use heavy troops to guard Jiangxia, thus controlling the gateway to Jingzhou. Then this battle will not have been fought in vain!"

Liu Miao, however, did not think so.

“Zijing, in war, sometimes it’s not just about the strength of the troops.”

"I've heard that Gan Ning and Jiang Qin have incited people from all over Jingbei to gather together and plunder the fortified villages, money, and grain of the powerful families in Jingzhou. Now, they are just waiting for me to take Jingzhou, distribute the land to them, and tell them that rebellion is justified, so that they can live peacefully in Jingzhou."

"If I were to simply walk away now, these people who have a legitimate reason to rebel would truly become the 'thieves' that Huang Zu and those scholars are talking about, understand?"

Liu Miao knew that he had brought something new to Jingzhou.

But right now, it's just a spark. If Liu Miao's army doesn't shelter them from the storm in Jingzhou, that flame will soon be extinguished by the raging wind and rain.

Once this flood is done and the area is thoroughly soaked, it will be difficult to light a fire again next time!
"Therefore, I cannot retreat."

Sometimes, Liu Miao could confidently entrust battles to Zhou Yu or Lu Su.

But sometimes, the only one who can stand there is Liu Miao himself, not anyone else!
Lu Su asked worriedly, "What about Jiangdong?"

Why is Zijing so worried about Jiangdong?

Everyone was terrified by Lü Bu's defeat of Liu Bei and Yuan Tan's attack on Jiangdong, but Liu Miao felt that it was no big deal at all!

"Zijing...how did you feel about that pointed-bottom boat from last time? Was it any good?"

Lu Su didn't understand why Liu Miao brought this up, but he still replied, "It is naturally useful... but it is not suitable for naval warfare. Although we won a great victory against Huang Zu last time, many ships ran aground in the sand afterward, and it took a lot of effort to pull them out of the river."

"Zijing, let me correct you on one point. It's not that you're not suited for naval warfare, but rather that you're not suited for river warfare."

These words left Lu Su speechless.

Naval warfare is just river warfare, why is my lord correcting these trivial details at this time?
……

……

wrong!

Lu Su suddenly realized what was happening, and his eyes widened in disbelief!
"Does my lord intend to..."

"Haha! That's right!"

Liu Miao turned around, his back to Lu Su, and put his arm around Huang Zu's daughter beside him: "If Yuan Tan is willing to come, then he can come."

"I'd like to see what happens if his escape route is cut off... Hehe, in a way, I'm his brother-in-law! Zijing, guess what price Yuan Shao will offer to exchange for his foolish brother-in-law?"

(End of this chapter)