I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 255 Yuan Shao Draws His Sword
Nanyang.

Cao Hong suddenly received a report from a scout that Zhang Xiu, who was originally stationed in Xinye, had suddenly headed towards Wancheng.

In his panic, Cao Hong sent someone to ask Zhang Xiu, but only received the reply, "This is Liu Biaoji's order."

Unable to make up his mind, Cao Hong had no choice but to quickly send someone to Xuchang to inquire of Cao Cao.

After receiving Cao Cao's affirmative answer, Cao Hong then sent Zhang Xiu to support Liu Miao.

At the same time, Cao Hong sent people south to inquire, only to learn that Liu Miao had gathered all the troops from Jing and Yang provinces and was confronting Yuan's army in Langya!
"What are they doing? Are they really going to start a fight?"

Cao Hong's question became the question of everyone in the world who was concerned about Langya at this time.

Why is Liu Miao suddenly so stubborn?

Even if Langya is the gateway between Qingzhou and Xuzhou, if Xuzhou were to be lost, it would be a headache for Lü Bu and Cao Cao. Why would Liu Miao, who has the natural barriers of the Huai River and the Yangtze River, insist on fighting Yuan Shao to the death?

The few who can see this clearly cannot easily reveal the truth to others.

Cao Cao had just returned to Xuchang after ceding Xiaopei to Liu Miao. He was weighing the pros and cons of the Xuzhou situation when he heard the news that Liu Miao had mobilized all his troops and was confronting Yuan Shao's army at Langya.

"Zhongshan, this is a direct confrontation with Yuan Shao!"

The world has suffered under the rule of the two Yuans for too long.

For far too long, no one has dared to challenge the prestige of the Yuan family of Runan.

Apart from Gongsun Zan, who was utterly terrified by Yuan Shao and cowered in the Baichi Tower in Yijing, there is only one and a half people who dare to do this now.

One of them is Liu Miao, who is currently stationed in Langya and confronting Yuan Shao.

The other was Cao Cao, who knew Yuan Shao's intentions but still tried every means to oppose him.

Yuan Shao wanted Cao Cao to spare Yuan Shu in exchange for bringing the Yuan family's imperial title and the Imperial Seal to Hebei, but Cao Cao secretly promised Liu Miao a great deal of profit, thus thwarting the plan.

Yuan Shao disliked Emperor Liu Xie and wanted to leave the emperor and all the officials of the Han Dynasty to fend for themselves in Luoyang. Cao Cao insisted on bringing the emperor back to Xuchang to re-stabilize the Han Dynasty.

Unfortunately, Cao Cao never did it thoroughly enough, so he can only be considered half a successor.

He was hesitant and timid in killing Yuan Shu, and instead used someone else's hand to do it.

When welcoming the emperor, Cao Cao appointed himself Grand General, while appointing Yuan Shao as Grand Commandant and enfeoffing him as Marquis of Ye. Although the Grand Commandant was one of the Three Dukes, his position was below that of the Grand General. Yuan Shao then refused the appointment and asked Cao Cao, "If it weren't for me, you would have died several times over! Now you want to be ungrateful and hold the emperor hostage to order me around?" Cao Cao dared not offend Yuan Shao, so he gave up the position of Grand General to Yuan Shao and changed his own title to Minister of Works.

Cao Cao also wanted to challenge Yuan Shao.

But each time the sword was drawn, it was still in its scabbard, never revealing its sharpness.

This time, however, Liu Miao drew his sword and pointed it straight at Yuan Shao's throat!
To say I'm not envious would be self-deception.

Cao Cao then stopped worrying about giving Liu Miao Xiaopei and instead sent a letter asking if Liu Miao needed his troops to go to Langya to help him.

When the messenger returned, he only needed to give Liu Miao a message: "If Mengde can disregard what I said to Fengxiao in the past, then please bring your troops!"

Liu Miao had previously discussed with Guo Jia how to deal with Yuan Shao.

The conclusion is that everyone should do their own thing, and there should be no arbitrary commands.

If a merger is to be forced, then one side must completely obey the other, relinquishing its autonomy and military power! But neither Liu Miao nor Cao Cao could accept such a thing, so Cao Cao understood Liu Miao's meaning.

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao merely laughed and retorted, "Does Zhongshan think that I would greedily eat a few mouthfuls of his grain if I went to Langya?"

Cao Cao abandoned the idea of ​​joining forces with Liu Miao, but he clearly did not want to remain completely indifferent!

To stand by and watch others bask in their glory and ambition, while he himself could only remain a spectator, was a humiliation for Cao Cao!

"Head towards Zhencheng! Station troops there!"

Zhencheng is almost the northernmost city in Yanzhou.

Further north, one would cross the great river and approach Qinghe in Hebei, where Yuan Shao had already transferred his troops!

As Liu Miao remained unrepentant and continued to mobilize troops from Jingzhou in response, and Cao Cao aided and abetted the tyrant by leading his Central Plains army to Zhencheng, Zhang He and Gao Lan, who were initially full of confidence but were also the instigators, finally felt their scalps tingle!

"How did things turn out like this?"

The situation has now completely exceeded everyone's expectations!
The standoff within Langya territory is not merely about the gains and losses of Langya or Xuzhou; it could also trigger a chaotic and decisive battle if handled carelessly.
Yuan Shao has now mobilized his entire eastern army to confront Liu Miao, leaving Hebei's military forces vulnerable.

At the same time, Liu Miao's mobilization of large armies from Jing and Yang provinces may also unleash all sorts of evil spirits and monsters from these areas, attempting to "restore" the previous situation where powerful families controlled and dominated everything.

Gongsun Zan of Youzhou, Zhang Lu of Hanzhong, Liu Zhang of Yizhou, Shi Xie of Jiaozhou, Ma Teng and Han Sui of Guanzhong.

These peripheral lords, if they create even the slightest spark, could completely ignite this great war! Dragging everyone into this unexpected and unprepared all-out war!
This situation is beneficial to everyone except Yuan Shao.

If Yuan Shao could simply starve Gongsun Zan to death and seize all of Hebei, he would achieve the same situation that Emperor Guangwu had secured in his time.

However, if a chaotic battle were to break out at this time, Yuan Shao would have to face Liu Miao, Cao Cao, and Gongsun Zan simultaneously.

In this way, Yuan Shao's chances of winning would probably drop from 100% to 70% or 60%.

The hand may seem strong enough to win, but this is a battle for supremacy, not a game of child's play!
Even a 10% chance of winning is something everyone has risked their lives to achieve; how can we give up so easily?
Would Yuan Shao really give up the advantage he had painstakingly fought for over the years for Langya, a piece of land that was neither here nor there?

If Yuan Shao were still the same Yuan Shao who dared to confront Dong Zhuo, he probably would have.

Draw your sword!
It's just going from having nothing to having nothing at all!
Once you have a foundation, you also have concerns.

Therefore, people around the world were astonished that Liu Miao, who already controlled the two provinces of Jing and Yang, was still fearless and dared to challenge Yuan Shao.

Even in his surprise, Liu Miao had already drawn his sword!
Will Yuan Shao also draw his sword and once again display his prowess?
……

Yuan Shao did not leave this answer unanswered for long.

Just half a month after Zhang Xiu arrived in Langya, scouts suddenly broke into Liu Miao's camp at dawn—

"Lord!"

"A black and yellow banner with the character 'Yuan' and thunder patterns has been discovered in the enemy camp!"

Liu Miao, along with Lu Su, Taishi Ci, and others who were in the middle of a discussion, all stood up, their eyes showing solemn expressions.

Yuan Shao is here!
(End of this chapter)