I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 292 That was so careless!
The Xiaoshan Mountains are so steep that they seem as if the mountain range has been cut apart, so the character "肴" (yáo) was used to describe them, and the name "Xiaoshan" was chosen.

It is divided by the Hongnongjian River Valley to the northwest and cut off by the Luohe River Valley to the southeast.

Now, Liu Miao is heading towards the Hongnongjian River Valley in the northwest.

But before reaching the valley, one must first traverse the "North Mountain High Road" to cross the natural barrier in the southern part of the Xiaoshan Mountains.

Liu Miao and his group set off from Xi County and traveled north along the Xi River, soon arriving at Jiaokou.

"After that, we will have to pass through places like Zhangmao, Xiashi, Chehao, and Ganhao to reach the Hongnongjian River Valley!"

Zhang Xiu and Xu Huang, acting as guides, quickly provided a general route.

But when Liu Miao looked in the direction they pointed out, his lips twitched involuntarily: "You call this a road?"

The Xiaoshan Mountains are nourished by river valleys, with abundant water and moisture, resulting in lush vegetation.

The path the two pointed to was completely swallowed up by the trees and jungle. Further on, smooth, pristine stone walls could be seen, which were clearly obstacles that everyone had to find a way to overcome.

After receiving affirmative glances from Zhang Xiu and Xu Huang, Liu Miao took a deep breath: "Thinking about it carefully, no matter how difficult this road is, it's not as difficult as the Shu region. Let's go for it!"

When Liu Miao was in the south, even if there were no roads, there were waterways connecting the areas, so he didn't find the mountain particularly difficult to climb.

It wasn't until he arrived in the north, at the foot of Mount Xiao, that Liu Miao realized how difficult it was to build a road when there was none!
"Tsk! No wonder the morale of Shu Han collapsed after Deng Ai appeared in Jiangyou!"

Those who can cross mountains and descend from the sky with divine soldiers are not human, they are gods!
Liu Miao trudged along the mountain path, sometimes sinking deep, sometimes sinking shallow.

Although it looked terrible, Liu Miao was full of fighting spirit!

"What do you think Yuan Tan will do when he sees us in Hongnong?"

"That must have scared them so much they peed themselves!"

"Hahahahaha!"

Liu Miao and the others also found joy amidst hardship.

There were no supplies available for this crossing of the Xiaoshan Mountains.

All the soldiers carried their own month's rations and followed Liu Miao into the mountains.

Even Liu Miao was no exception; he carried a bag of grain on his own as his rations.

Now that we've entered the North Mountain Highway, there's no water source left, and we can only rely on the water we filled our water bags to survive.

When it was time to rest, Liu Miao, like the other soldiers, sat around chatting with them, holding a hard, dry soup dumpling in one hand and a water bag in the other.

"I remember you!"

Liu Miao pointed to a soldier.

"When Gan Ning and Jiang Qin arrived in Jingzhou, wasn't it you who led all the able-bodied men from a village to join them in raiding those fortified villages?"

The other party was clearly very surprised: "My lord actually remembers me?"

"Remember!"

Liu Miao chewed on the dried meat soup noodles, but soon his saliva ran out, and he felt like a big lump of something was stuck in his throat.

The soldier was quick-witted; he immediately handed his water pouch to Liu Miao, who took two large gulps to swallow the little bit of water that had accumulated in his throat.

"Hahahaha!"

The soldier suddenly laughed.

"We always thought that our lord lived a life of luxury, but we never imagined that he would eat soup dumplings and drink cold water just like us, hahaha!"

Liu Miao shook his neck; the mouthful he had just swallowed was so large that it still hurt his throat.

"Nonsense, how can I live without food and water?"

Liu Miao returned the water pouch to the soldier, and carefully broke open an extra piece of dried meat he had brought, handing the smaller piece to the soldier: "Here! Half for each of us!"

The soldier didn't stand on ceremony. After all, Liu Miao was too far away from him, and he didn't understand Liu Miao's power. After taking the dried meat, he used his fingernail to cut it into small strips and then happily put it into his mouth, enjoying the aroma and saltiness of the meat.

"It's not that our lord doesn't need to eat, it's just that we always feel that our lord should eat good food, and shouldn't eat the same things as us."

Liu Miao followed suit, tearing the tough jerky into small strips with his fingernails: "What do you think I should eat?"

The other party immediately became interested: "I've heard that there are fish in Jiangdong that are taller than a person. Has my lord ever eaten them?"

"I've eaten!"

"Is it tasty?"

"Not as good as pork."

"Has my lord ever eaten beef?"

"Eat."

"Is it tasty?"

"They're incredibly tough! They're all exhausted workhorses..."

However, Liu Miao chuckled and said, "Actually, I have eaten calves before. I heard that the calf was walking without looking where it was going and ran headfirst into a tree and died!"

"Is it tasty?"

"Delicious! So tender! Especially when it's cooked until it's half-cooked, it's so soft in your mouth~~~"

The soldiers around him couldn't help but drool as they listened to Liu Miao's words, quickly swallowing their tongues as if they were tender veal that they could swallow at any moment.

"hey-hey!"

Seeing the state of the soldiers around him, Liu Miao immediately shouted, "After we cross this Xiaoshan Mountain, I'll treat you guys to beef!" "Really?"

"Nonsense! When have I ever gone back on my word?"

Liu Miao stood up, patted the dust off his backside, and said, "When the time comes, everyone eat to their heart's content! Only meat! No grain allowed! Do you understand?"

"Here!"

The soldiers cheered!
The thought of beef made my legs stop aching and my feet stop hurting. I swung my arms and kept charging forward!
The North Mountain Trail, which was originally planned to take ten days to traverse, was completed in just seven days, leading us to the starting point of the Hongnongjian River Valley – Lushi.

After arriving at the Hongnongjian Valley, supplies were finally less scarce, with water available and birds and beasts appearing.

While Huang Zhong was leading the way, he caught a glimpse of something in the forest out of the corner of his eye. He immediately raised his bow and shot an arrow, hitting the object!
When the soldiers went forward to check, they discovered that it was actually a mountain tiger with a strong physique!

"Han Sheng is mighty!"

Liu Miao never expected that instead of seeing the ox, he would see a tiger first!

"Alright, alright! Let's start a fire!"

The enormous tiger was no match for the three thousand soldiers, but at least everyone got a sip of tiger bone soup, which completely dispelled the chill brought from the mountain.

Moreover, the meat was so tempting that the soldiers quickened their pace and continued to advance along the stream, all for the sake of getting that bite of beef they had been longing for!

The valley was mostly flat land, and most of it had been developed into farmland, so the soldiers quickly spotted human tracks... and cattle tracks!

"What are you standing there for? Go!"

Several oxen soon accidentally crashed into a tree and died, and then accidentally fell into the pot, slowly emitting an enticing aroma.

Before long, local officials arrived upon hearing the news.

But the officials were dumbfounded when they saw the size of the army.

When he received the report, it only said that someone was killing and stealing cattle, but it didn't say that it was an army!

The other party cautiously stepped forward to negotiate, and Liu Miao directly beckoned him over.

"Don't worry, I won't take your things for nothing! I'll bring you the cow in a few days!"

Delivered?

The other person looked at the beef in the pot, somewhat bewildered.

How should we deliver this cow? Should we bring it back cooked?
Seeing the official's shifty eyes, Liu Miao assumed he didn't believe him and immediately patted his chest, saying, "Don't worry! Do you think I, Liu Miao, would covet a few oxen from you?"

"Liu Miao?"

The other party looked shocked.

"Could you be Liu Miao, the General of Chariots and Cavalry, a descendant of the Prince of Langya, who controls the two provinces of Jing and Yang?"

"it's me."

"Could you be Liu Miao, the one who made a vow with the elders of Jingzhou in Xiangyang, promising that 'the tiller will have land, the laborer will have a reward, and the elderly will be cared for'?"

"it's me!"

"Could you be Liu Miao, the one who led 100,000 troops to Langya, forcing Yuan Shao to back down and sign the Langya Alliance?"

"Not bad!"

Bang!

The other party immediately prostrated himself, his voice trembling with tears: "Greetings, General Liu!"

"I've always admired General Liu's character, and I never imagined I'd actually meet him today! Waaaaah~~~"

Liu Miao was amused by the other party's reaction.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to kill you. You haven't sided with Yuan Shao..."

The other party remained silent.

Liu Miao also looked suspicious: "You wouldn't..."

"This humble official would not!"

The other party firmly replied, "I am loyal to the Han Dynasty and to Liu Biaoqi, and I will never surrender to Yuan Shao!"

"what!"

Seeing the other party's reaction, Liu Miao knew that this guy had definitely surrendered to Yuan Shao. At the very least, he had already pledged allegiance to Yuan Shao.

However, Liu Miao was too lazy to expose the other party, and instead asked, "Is there beef here... ptooey! Is there any oxen that died by accident?"

"Yes! Yes!"

The other party nodded hastily.

"Yesterday, a dozen... no, dozens of oxen accidentally fell into the water and drowned! It's such a pity!"

Liu Miao agreed, saying, "Yes! That was so careless!"

"In that case..."

"understand!"

The other party showed great respect.

"I'll bring it to you soldiers right now!"

(End of this chapter)