I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 214 Why is our lord plotting a rebellion?

Liu Qi had lost all interest in distinguishing right from wrong.

Changing direction, Liu Qi headed back towards Liu Biao's residence.

"Registrar Kuai and General Cai are discussing military affairs inside. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter!"

But even after they reached the door, Liu Qi was still stopped.

The soldier stepped forward to block Liu Qi.

"A nobody? Don't you know who I am?"

"Although the eldest son is Liu Jingzhou's son, he does not hold any official position, so he is not allowed to enter."

Liu Qi was almost laughing out of anger.

Even at this point, why are these people still so wary of me?

They're almost losing Jingzhou, yet they're still fixated on the right to inherit it?

Liu Qi drew his sword from his waist, clearly wanting to show his opponent what it meant to have "a sword that is never ineffective"!
Just as things were about to turn dangerous, someone suddenly called out, "Young Master, wait! Come with me!"

He is of Iranian nationality.

Liu Qi snorted and headed toward Yi Ji, but just as he was about to ask a question, Yi Ji stopped him.

“I know that the eldest son has a thousand questions he wants to ask the lord, but now is not the time.”

Yi Ji secretly took out something and handed it to Liu Qi, then whispered something to him.

Upon hearing this, Liu Qi exclaimed in shock, "Is this really what my father said?"

"What I have entrusted to the eldest son, besides my lord, who else could possess it?"

Liu Qi took a deep breath and nodded to Yi Ji: "I understand!"

Remounting his horse, Liu Qi galloped out of Xiangyang City before daring to look into his robes.

Lying there was none other than half of a silver-inlaid bronze tiger tally!

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Sun Ce pursued them to the foot of Mount Xian but failed to capture Wen Ping. Later, Liu Miao led his army to slowly gather the routed soldiers from Jingzhou and caught up with them.

Upon seeing Wen Ping's well-organized camp and the terrain nestled against the mountains and beside the water, Zhou Yu couldn't help but feel annoyed: "We're still a step too late!"

"Wen Ping reacted far too quickly, already building a camp at the foot of Mount Xian!"

At this point, Zhou Yu was already considering whether to send his navy upstream to cut off the connection between Xiangyang and Fancheng, turning Xiangyang into an isolated city and forcing Wen Ping to surrender.

Liu Miao then observed the terrain and then asked Cheng Pu for advice.

"Was it Sun Jian who crossed the river from the other side and was ambushed by Huang Zu when he was attacking Xian Mountain?"

"Exactly."

"Tsk!"

Whether attacking from the south or the north, they cannot bypass Xian Mountain, a natural defensive line for Xiangyang.

No wonder Xiangyang has become the most impregnable defensive line between the north and the south. Not only did it lose Sun Jian before, but now it has even left Zhou Yu somewhat helpless.

Liu Miao surveyed the Xian Mountain before him, while Zhou Yu, Sun Ce, Taishi Ci, and others watched him.

Upon noticing this, Liu Miao glared at everyone and said, "Why aren't you thinking about how to defeat the enemy? What are you looking at me for?"

The group was somewhat disgruntled.

Normally, if such a thing happened, everyone would assume that Liu Miao could handle it.

But now it seems that if Wen Ping really defends Xian Mountain to the death, probably no one will be able to break through Xiangyang.

Lu Meng suggested, "Would it be feasible to use a trebuchet?"

Back in Huainan, Liu Ye invented the Thunder Chariot, which forcefully shattered the city walls of Shouchun.

Xiangyang is far less fortified than Shouchun, which Yuan Shu built with the aim of "building a capital city". Therefore, if trebuchets are used to attack, Xiangyang should be able to be breached.

Lu Yi shook his head: "The Thunder Chariot can't be used effectively here."

"Although Shouchun is backed by Bagong Mountain and has the Huai River and Fei River as barriers, it is mainly able to defend against enemy troops from the north."

"Xiangyang's terrain resembles a convex point, surrounded by the Han River and Mount Xian, forming a protective barrier. Heavy weapons like trebuchets are unlikely to be transported across the river, so how could they possibly attack Xiangyang?"

The Thunderbolt Cart is useless.

Gan Ning immediately asked, eager to try: "What if we attack by water?"

"That won't work either."

Huang Zhong had previously been stationed in Xiangyang for a period of time and was most familiar with the entire Xiangyang defense system.

“Among the city gates surrounding Xiangyang, except for the north gate, all the others have barbicans that can be used to hide soldiers.”

"The reason why the north gate doesn't have a barbican is because there's a wing-shaped fortress on each side of it, used to protect the naval docks outside to the north." "Connected to the naval docks are two lakes, Ya Lake and Hui Lake, to the west and east of the city. These two are connected by the Tanxi River, forming a single expanse, allowing the Jingzhou navy free movement. If you attack with the navy, and there's no defense, you'll be surrounded and killed by the Jingzhou ships emerging from these two lakes… Even with defenses, the archers on those wing-shaped fortresses can easily pick off any naval forces, so unless absolutely necessary, it's best not to attempt it with the navy."

Got it!
Huang Zhong explained it clearly and in detail. The generals were all more or less proficient in naval warfare, so they quickly realized that what Huang Zhong said was true.

"So what do we do now? Are we going to continue being blocked here by Wen Ping?"

Because Liu Miao was waiting for the outcome in Jiangdong, the soldiers had been in Jingzhou for too long and were inevitably homesick.

If we continue to wait here, the soldiers will probably become somewhat dissatisfied!
Liu Miao glanced back at his generals and saw that they all looked like shy young wives, so he chuckled a few times.

"I told you before, don't always think about fighting and killing."

"Go and send a letter to Liu Biao in the city, and try to persuade him. Maybe he will agree!"

Even Zhou Yu, who always believed in Liu Miao, was speechless at Liu Miao's naive plan.

Unless Liu Miao agrees not to take action against those powerful clans in Jingzhou, how could they possibly surrender with their people?

There is a fundamental contradiction between the two, which cannot be resolved by taking shortcuts.

Especially since Liu Miao showed no mercy to the powerful clans of Jiangdong before, his credibility with them is now practically zero. How could those powerful clans of Jingzhou possibly surrender to Liu Miao and let his butcher's knife be placed on their necks?
But since Liu Miao has spoken, what can be done?

Lu Yi wrote a letter of persuasion to Wen Ping and sent it over, but no one had any hope for the letter.

Xiangyang surrendered? There's no such thing as a free lunch.
The generals all silently began to ponder countermeasures, thinking about how to exploit the loopholes in Xiangyang and break into the city...

That night.

Liu Miao was already fast asleep when Zhou Tai woke him up, saying that someone had come from the other side of the river and wanted to meet Liu Miao.

Liu Miao immediately perked up and, without even putting on his shoes, ran outside to meet the visitor.

Not someone else.

It is Liu Qi who has been traveling to various places all day!
Upon seeing Liu Miao, Liu Qi immediately knelt down and presented a complete military tally with both hands.

"This guilty subject Liu Qi greets General Liu!"

Upon hearing the news, Zhou Yu, Sun Ce, and the others who arrived were also greatly shocked when they saw the complete tiger tally in Liu Qi's hand!
What Liu Qi was holding was not a tiger tally at all.
This is clearly the heavy and imposing city of Xiangyang!
Liu Miao did not immediately take the tiger tally, but instead helped Liu Qi up, saying, "We are all of the same clan, why perform such a grand ceremony?"

Liu Miao ordered Chen Wu to prepare some hot water and towels so that Liu Qi could clean his dusty face. He also ordered Zhou Tai to fetch roasted meat and fine wine that he himself usually wouldn't drink to entertain Liu Qi.

Liu Qi wiped his face with a warm towel, but as he wiped, he found that he couldn't get it clean no matter what he did. So he put down the towel and pleaded with Liu Miao: "Please, General Liu, for the sake of our shared kinship, save my father!"

When Liu Miao saw the complete tiger tally, he realized what had happened in the city and what decision Liu Biao had made.

"Liu Biao is indeed a kind and benevolent elder."

Liu Biao was indeed a bit cowardly.

But if one were truly just an ordinary person without power, influence, talent, or ability, one would probably still seek refuge with someone like Liu Biao.
With a sigh, Liu Miao accepted the tiger tally. Looking back, he saw Zhou Yu and Sun Ce still standing there dumbfounded. He immediately burst into a tirade: "You're usually so clever, why are you so dull-witted today? What are you doing here? Enter the city!!!"

The generals were then alarmed! They quickly led their troops to cross the river under the cover of night.

Upon seeing that Wen Pingjun on Mount Xian was indeed unmoved by the actions of the crowd, the generals rushed to Xiangyang City!

At this time, in the city.

Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue, Cai Mao, and others were still discussing countermeasures.

"With General Wenping stationed at Xian Mountain, Liu Miao will not be able to capture Xiangyang in the short term."

Kuai Liang suggested that Liu Biao recall Zhang Xiu to resist Liu Miao, and Liu Biao readily agreed.

When they discussed defense deployment and troop deployment, Liu Biao readily agreed to all their requests.

It wasn't until late at night that Cai Mao, still shaken, finally breathed a sigh of relief: "With this arrangement, we should be able to hold Xiangyang!"

In an instant, it was as if the sky had collapsed!

The deafening roar outside reached Cai Mao and his companions' ears, and Cai Mao immediately exclaimed in alarm, "What's going on?"

Immediately, soldiers reported that Liu Miao's army had stormed into Xiangyang, causing Cai Mao, Zhang Yun, and other generals who had just suffered a crushing defeat to fall into panic.

Kuai Liang seemed to have realized something.

Unlike everyone else who were concerned about the outside world, Kuai Liang looked into the room and at Liu Biao, who remained calm and composed, sitting at the head of the table.

Liu Biao's expression was calm at this moment, just like an old Confucian scholar who had just finished teaching and was sitting upright on the couch, holding a book to review the old and learn the new.

Noticing Kuai Liang's gaze, Liu Biao finally opened his eyes, which had seemed to be dozing all along.

Seeing that Liu Biao's eyes were still clear and had not become as cloudy as theirs, Kuai Liang sighed, "My lord's eyes are still as bright as when we first met."

"Back then, when I advised my lord on how to pacify Jingzhou, my lord praised me for having the same kind of eloquence as Yong Ji. I truly wished to assist you as Yong Ji assisted Duke Wen of Jin, so that you could achieve hegemony. But why did you choose to do such a thing?"

Kuai Yue, Cai Mao, and the others were still in the dark and asked Kuai Yue in confusion, "What has our lord done?"

Kuai Liang, his hand on his sword, questioned Liu Biao—

"Why does my lord intend to rebel? My brothers and I have rendered meritorious service in Jingzhou; how have we failed our lord?"

(End of this chapter)