I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 221 Cao Cao: Miao~ Are you there?

Cao Cao was heartbroken.
Upon hearing that Lü Bu had attacked Liu Bei, Cao Cao immediately abandoned Nanyang and chose to return to Xuchang.

In Xuchang, Cao Cao was delighted by Liu Bei's defection, but what happened next was clearly beyond his expectations.

Contrary to Cao Cao's expectations, Lü Bu did not lead his troops westward after capturing Xiaopei and advance into the Central Plains. Instead, he suddenly attacked Yuan Tan and led a large army to seize Qingzhou.

Therefore, Cao Cao's return to aid Cao Cao was meaningless.

Just as Cao Cao was pondering what to do next, news came from the west that Liu Miao had captured Jingzhou, and Zhang Xiu, who had been locked in a stalemate with him for months, had surrendered to Liu Miao without batting an eye.

In the end, Cao Cao worked himself to the bone for months, but gained nothing and even lost Nanyang.

"Is fate not on my side, O E?"

But when Cao Cao heard Liu Miao swear an oath by the Han River and make a three-point agreement with the elders of Jingzhou, he was speechless again.

On that day by the Huai River, when Liu Miao met with Cao Cao and Liu Bei, he had spoken so freely, urging them to be resolute and dare to change the world.

Cao Cao assumed it was just Liu Miao talking in a drunken stupor.

But now, hearing that Liu Miao had actually made such a promise to the elders of Jingzhou, he was shocked and felt a little ashamed.

"It's just bad luck."

Cao Cao knew that Liu Miao's willingness to say such a thing meant that Liu Miao had completely given up the possibility of peaceful coexistence with the powerful clans of the land.

However, Liu Miao was also very tempting to people like Zhang Xiu.

Making such a choice always requires immense determination, which is why Cao Cao only admired Liu Miao for obtaining Nanyang, but did not envy him.

For the sake of Nanyang, they lost almost half of the country. If Cao Cao were to do this, he certainly wouldn't have been able to.

However, this also made things difficult for Cao Cao.

Cao Cao really wanted Nanyang!

Gaining Nanyang would not only protect Xuchang from direct military attack, but would also completely connect the Central Plains and Guanzhong, instead of relying on the narrow Xiaohan Ancient Road to link the two places like a rope carrying a heavy load.

Now that Nanyang has fallen into Liu Miao's hands, and recalling Liu Miao's extortionate behavior in Huainan, Cao Cao felt his old headache returning!

Cao Cao was ultimately unwilling to suffer a blow from Liu Miao for nothing, so he personally led his troops to Nanyang to see if he could trick Nanyang into taking control of it.

Taishi Ci was the one left in Nanyang by Liu Miao.

When Taishi Ci heard that Cao Cao had suddenly led a large army to the city, he immediately ordered all city gates to be closed to prevent Cao Cao from taking the cities by trickery.

When Cao Cao saw that Taishi Ci wouldn't open the door, he had no choice but to send someone to Taishi Ci and show him the imperial edict ordering his departure.

"The Emperor has ordered the Minister of Works to garrison Nanyang! We request your cooperation, General, to open the city gates!"

"There are too many bandits in Nanyang now, and too many people covet it, so we dare not open the door."

"With the Grand Commander's army here, what are you afraid of?"

Taishi Ci glanced sideways at Cao Cao's envoy.

What I fear most is Cao Cao, don't you know that?

"Anyway, I can't open this city gate."

"How dare you! Do you intend to defy the imperial decree?"

bass! ! !
Taishi Ci drew his sword and glared at the other man: "Don't try to intimidate me with the court and the emperor! If you push me too far, I'll just kill you and then apologize to Liu Biaoqi!"

Seeing how fierce Taishi Ci was, Cao Cao's messenger dared not press him and slunk back to report to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was even more disappointed when he realized that he had failed to trick Nanyang into handing it over: "It seems that I must go to Liu Miao no matter what."

Cao Cao ordered Guo Jia, who had met Liu Miao once before, to go to Xiangyang, while Cao Cao himself led his troops to temporarily withdraw from Nanyang to avoid angering Taishi Ci and causing Taishi Ci to lead his troops to attack.

------

Guo Jia was ordered to visit Liu Miao, but instead of going directly to his door, he sneaked into Xiangyang City to observe the scholars and common people of Jingzhou.

Seeing that Xiangyang was bustling with activity and showed no signs of having just experienced war, Guo Jia knew that Liu Miao's "three-point agreement" with the elders of Jingzhou had been effective.

Guo Jia was puzzled by the occasional appearance of minor officials dressed in short brown robes and wearing a xiezhi (a mythical beast) hat on the street, who frequently questioned the people.

"People in other places would avoid these officials in fear, so why are the people of Xiangyang not afraid of them?"

Guo Jia's voice was overheard by those around him, and they immediately laughed at him, saying, "You're not a local from Xiangyang, are you?"

"Indeed not, I am from Yangdi."

"That's right! Many northerners have come to Jingzhou these past few days, so they don't know many things."

Several kind-hearted people explained to Guo Jia—

“These officials used to come to collect taxes and debts, so naturally everyone was afraid of them.”

"Now they're counting the population and measuring the land, giving everyone money. Why would anyone reject them?"

"Moreover, General Liu appointed Liu Qi, the eldest son of Liu Jingzhou, as the magistrate of Xiangyang to reorganize the bureaucracy, and the problem of these petty officials soliciting bribes has been eliminated. Since that's the case, there's no need to avoid them."

Guo Jia was surprised that Liu Miao would give Liu Qi such an important position, entrusting him with the important task of equal land distribution, and he was immediately impressed.

"Liu Biaoqi really doesn't stick to any particular style when it comes to employing people."

Liu Miao came from Jiangdong, yet he did not discriminate against scholars from Jingzhou. Thus, after the household registration was re-established, land was redistributed, and the three chieftains were appointed, Liu Miao truly had a foothold in Jingzhou!

If Liu Miao had done the same thing in Nanyang, Cao Cao would probably have never been able to take Nanyang back!

Guo Jia went outside the city and saw the high platform standing beside the Han River.

Although the grandeur of the banquet was gone, Guo Jia could almost see Liu Miao pointing to the Han River, making a pact with the elders of Jingzhou. "If General Liu can truly realize his ambitions, this place will surely be remembered for generations to come," he thought.

After expressing his feelings, Guo Jia realized that he was not the only one who had come to admire the view from the high platform.

Five other scholars, each carrying a long sword and wearing a traveler's hat, also stood nearby.

While Guo Jia could only guess at the scene of that day in his mind, things were much more lively here.

Four of them had clearly witnessed the magnificent view from the high platform that day, and one of them was describing it vividly.

"Kongming, on that day, Liu Biaoqi stood there, pointing one finger to the sky and the other to the Han River, making an oath!"

"Wrong! Wrong! At that time, General Liu was holding a wine cup in one hand!"

"No! I saw it clearly! It was pointing to the sky!"

"You can see me from that far away?"

"You talk as if you can see it yourself!"

"I'm different, I was a wandering knight..."

"..."

Looking at the noisy scholars, Guo Jia understood that Liu Miao's three oaths were gradually taking effect.

When Cao Cao welcomed the emperor, many famous scholars from all over the country flocked to him, such as Xun You, Hua Xin, and Kong Rong.

The three-point agreement that Liu Miao has now made with the elders of Jingzhou is probably no less significant than Cao Cao's act of welcoming the emperor to the throne!

In the future, even more landless people who have been exploited and poor scholars who are unable to pursue official careers will come to seek refuge with Liu Miao.

"Oh~~~"

Guo Jia was also envious.

But all we can do is envy them.

Just as there is only one emperor, so the task of welcoming and establishing an emperor could only belong to Cao Cao alone.

Liu Miao was the only person who had the resolve to break ties with powerful families and clans by making a three-point agreement with the elders of Jingzhou. Therefore, only Liu Miao could say such a thing.

Even when learning from Liu Miao's "equal land distribution system," Cao Cao didn't dare to fully adopt it. He could only implement it in some border areas under the guise of "military agricultural colonies." If he had truly proclaimed something like "land to the tiller, harvest to the laborer, and care for the elderly" like Liu Miao did, then the powerful families who had already sold Cao Cao out once would certainly not have minded selling him out again for a good price.

"Liu Biaoqi is like a blazing fire in the long night of eternity."

Fortunately, the fiery blaze was destined to be fleeting.

Guo Jia suppressed his envy and reaffirmed his determination to assist Cao Cao. He formally presented Liu Miao with a formal letter of invitation and went to request an audience with him.

Liu Miao accepted the visiting card, but did not meet with Guo Jia directly. Instead, they agreed to meet three days later.

Guo Jia was puzzled and inquired around before learning that Liu Miao was actually planning to secretly marry Zhang Xiu's aunt, Zou, as a concubine in three days...

Guo Jia was both amused and exasperated: "How carefree Liu Biaoqi is!"

……

In fact, after Liu Miao inexplicably slept with Zou Shi that day, he discovered that Zou Shi seemed to have some kind of superpower!

No matter when or where, as long as Liu Miao was sleeping, Zou Shi could always accurately slip into her bed!

If Liu Miao hadn't personally tested the fairly hot temperature inside Zou's body, he probably would have thought it was haunted!

Only after Lady Cai admitted that she had brought Zou Shi into Liu Miao's bed did Liu Miao roll his eyes: "Why not just do it openly and honestly? Why do you have to do it secretly?"

Although Zou was beautiful, Liu Miao always felt inexplicably afraid of her because of the story of how one cannon killed three virtuous men.

But since we've already slept together, is there any reason to return it?

Liu Miao mustered his courage and went to Zhang Xiu. Upon seeing Zhang Xiu, he burst into tears: "I've been drunk these past few days, and I didn't realize that I had fallen for the general's uncle and aunt."

"It is I who have done such a thing. If the general is angry, please draw your sword and kill me, Liu Miao!"

Zhang Xiu was startled upon hearing this, and then flew into a rage!

But when Zhang Xiu realized that the person in front of him was Liu Miao, he was helpless.

"How could General Liu say such a thing? How could I, an inferior, disobey my superior?"

Liu Miao immediately wiped away his tears, his expression becoming fluid and composed!
"Don't worry, General! I will definitely treat your uncle and aunt well!"

"From now on, we are one family, and we will never be apart again!"

Zhang Xiu sighed again.

Now that Liu Miao has openly come before me and brought this up, what can I do? Of course, I'll forgive him!
Are you really going to draw your sword and kill Liu Miao?

Zhang Xiu grasped Liu Miao's hand: "My uncle treats me like his own son! So I often treat my uncle and aunt with the same attitude I would have towards my mother. I hope that General Liu will not mistreat her."

"Absolutely not!"

Liu Miao assured Zhang Xiu—

"From now on, I will treat Lady Zou as I would my principal wife! And together with her, I will treat the General as I would my son! General, do not worry!"

Although Zhang Xiu sensed something was amiss, since Liu Miao, as the lord, was acting this way, Zhang Xiu naturally dared not push his luck.

"In that case, I entrust everything to my lord!"

(End of this chapter)