I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 285 The meaning of the scriptures is good, the meaning of the scriptures must be studied!
If you were to ask Liu Miao why he impulsively brought Cai Yan from the Xiongnu, you would know...

Perhaps it was because the atmosphere was right, and he couldn't bear to see Gu Yong so heartbroken; or perhaps Liu Miao also had a strong interest in this talented woman. But whatever the reason, Liu Miao always recognized Cai Yan, not Cai Yan's identity as Cai Yong's daughter.

Cai Yan also understood Liu Miao's implied meaning.

I thought that during my time training in the Alakazam, I would no longer be able to let myself panic.

But Cai Yan's expression was somewhat unnatural at this moment: "Liu, General Liu still hasn't said why he was willing to bring me back from the Hu lands."

"I wanted to do it, so I did. As for the reason... perhaps it's simply because you are Cai Yan."

Liu Miao's words were crude, arrogant, and conceited...

But these words were like a heavy punch to Cai Yan, leaving her completely defenseless.

After a long, long time, Cai Yan finally woke up and looked at Liu Miao somewhat embarrassedly: "I have remembered what General Liu said."

"If General Liu doesn't mind, I can lecture him on the scriptures every day..."

Cai Yan's face was already flushed when she said this.

Liu Miao, however, was somewhat reluctant: "Classical studies? I have no interest in that."

"There are also works from the various schools of thought, such as the *Huangdi Neijing*, *Wenyan*, and *Tuanzhuan*..."

Seeing Cai Yan's earnest expression as she recounted the details with such familiarity, Liu Miao suddenly became interested!
"Since that's the case, it seems I have no choice but to learn it!"

"The scriptures are wonderful! We must learn the scriptures!"

"I've mastered everything I taught you yesterday. If you don't believe me, I'll write it on your body, and you can check carefully to see if it's correct."

……

Subsequently, Liu Miao began to visit Cai Yan's house more and more frequently.

Just half a month later, Liu Miao dropped the pretense! He immediately moved Cai Yan into his inner courtyard, clearly having fallen completely in love with her, just like the other ladies.

Another half month passed before the envoy from Xuchang finally arrived.

Guo Jia was also an old acquaintance of Liu Miao.

Whether it was because Guo Jia had taken Liu Miao's earlier reminder to heart, Guo Jia's complexion was now completely rosy.

Liu Miao, however, looked somewhat haggard for some reason.

Guo Jia, who was always carefree, didn't pay much attention to etiquette in front of Liu Miao and directly teased Liu Miao: "You've taken in two beauties in such a short time, Zhongshan, you should take care of your health!"

"No!"

Liu Miao sternly corrected Guo Jia's words—

"Not two, but four."

"There's also Lü Bu's daughter, and Xiahou's daughter... Xiahou was originally a bit young, but she's matured now, so we took her in as well!"

"..."

Guo Jia looked at Liu Miao helplessly: "Are you really a descendant of the Prince Xiao of Langya? Why do I feel like you're a descendant of the Prince Jing of Zhongshan? Just how many wives and concubines have you married? How many children do you have now?"

"There's no way around it, the Liu family is just too fierce!"

Liu Miao boasted without hesitation.

"As for offspring... who knows? I think it's twelve? Or thirteen?"

Guo Jia was both amused and exasperated: "You even forgot this?"

Why bother memorizing this stuff?

"..."

Guo Jia, on the contrary, envied Liu Miao: "Zhongshan is truly so dashing."

"You talk as if you're some kind of bad person!"

"Too!"

"Hahahahaha!"

The two laughed in unison, and Liu Miao said again, half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Fengxiao, why are you following Cao Cao and suffering the wrath of that emperor and his ministers every day? Why not come to Jiangdong and have some fun!"

Guo Jia's laughter gradually subsided.

"A loyal minister never serves two masters!"

"Nonsense! You went to Hebei before and sought out Yuan Shao, do you think I didn't know?"

"That's because he didn't think much of Yuan Shao!"

"That's true. If it were me, I definitely wouldn't look down on Yuan Shao either!"

The two laughed again. Liu Miao poured himself a cup of milk tea and also poured one for Guo Jia, which made Guo Jia's eyes light up!
Liu Miao held up the porcelain cup in his hand: "It's one thing to look down on Yuan Shao, but if we were to despise him, then we'd both be the fools!"

“Zhongshan is right.” Guo Jia said seriously, “Liu Qubei has escaped!”

"Liu Qubei? Who is that? What Han imperial relative did he come from?"

"It's not wrong to say they are Han imperial relatives, after all, the Xiongnu Chanyu lineage itself has half Liu blood."

Guo Jia waved his hand, indicating that people should not talk such nonsense.

"The Right Wise King of the Southern Xiongnu has fled!"

"You locked him in a pigsty, and then he rode off on a pig?"

"Zhongshan, I'm not joking with you!"

"I'm not kidding you either."

Liu Miao frowned and said, "That's Xuchang! It's your stronghold!"

"A living person ran away right under your noses? What are you if not pigs!"

Guo Jia was inexplicably scolded, yet he dared not refute it.

"It's Xu You."

"what?"

Liu Miao was even more puzzled.

"Xu You only went to Cao Cao's side a short time ago, so where did he get such a large force?"

“Xu You was originally from the Central Plains, and the aristocratic families were closely related, so…”

Guo Jia rubbed his face in frustration as he spoke, and at the same time, he was even more envious of the reforms that Liu Miao had completed in the south.

"Although Xu You did not admit to this, he offered some warhorses and valuables to you under other pretexts, so you could not pursue the matter."

Liu Miao sneered, "Stop trying to make yourself look good! What do you mean 'it's hard to investigate'? That's clearly because you're afraid to investigate!"

"Right now, countless people in Xuchang are waiting to welcome Yuan Shao's royal army! Back then, Mengde killed Bian Rang, which led to a rebellion among the gentry of Yanzhou, who welcomed Lü Bu into Yanzhou. If he were to kill Xu You now, who knows if another wave of chaos would break out!"

Liu Miao had already guessed Cao Cao's fate regarding Xu You—

"Even if we are to kill, we must wait until we defeat Yuan Shao!"

Rough words are not rough.

Guo Jia did not argue with Liu Miao about this pointless matter.

"I have come today to ask you a favor on behalf of you."

"What's the matter?"

"Now that Liu Qubei has fled back to the Southern Xiongnu, the Southern Xiongnu may attack Guanzhong from Hedong in the future."

Guo Jia said, "Your Excellency hopes that Zhongshan can send reinforcements to be stationed in Guanzhong."

"impossible!"

Liu Miao directly refused the offer.

"We agreed before that we would never merge into one place unless you completely hand over military power."

"Fengxiao should know that neither Mengde nor I are the kind of people who would entrust our lives to others, so I'm afraid we cannot comply!"

Guo Jia nodded: "I know!"

"Therefore, the condition is that if the Southern Xiongnu really send troops from Hedong, Zhongshan can freely mobilize the troops in Guanzhong!"

Liu Miao stared wide-eyed in disbelief: "Has Mengde lost his mind? Isn't he afraid that I'll stay in Guanzhong and refuse to leave, and he'll just take over Guanzhong?"

"If we are defeated by Yuan Shao, it doesn't matter who controls Guanzhong."

Guo Jia explained the reason.

"And I believe that Zhongshan would not do such a thing!"

Liu Miao's eyes darted around: "Perhaps."

But Guo Jia suddenly changed the subject—

"If Yuan Shao is truly defeated, how will Zhongshan conduct himself?"

Given Liu Miao's current status, it is clearly impossible for him to submit to Cao Cao.

Given this, if both sides could truly defeat Yuan Shao, then it's almost foreseeable that—

Liu Miao and Cao Cao will eventually have a battle!
However, on ordinary days, everyone deliberately tries to forget about this matter.

But since Guo Jia has spoken out, things have become a little different!

(End of this chapter)