I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 317 Avoiding the Edge?

When Sima Yi saw Yuan Shao's banner appear in front of him, he knew he was in trouble.

as predicted.

Upon arriving, Yuan Shao immediately launched an attack on Li Tong, driving him to Shangcai.

Just when the garrison of Shangcai was on high alert, Yuan Shao did not continue the attack to remove this thorn in their side. Instead, he left 5,000 troops in Pingyu, east of Shangcai, and then marched directly west to Nanyang.

"Zhongda! Yuan Shao has gone in!"

"I know."

What do you mean you know?

Sun Ce asked angrily, "Now that Yuan Shao is personally leading the expedition, can Nanyang really be defended?"

"If our lord is truly trapped in Nanyang by Yuan Shao, do I need to explain what will happen to him?"

Sima Yi's eyes were also full of dejection, and he gestured to Sun Ce to calm down.

"Has Bo Fu ever played chess?"

"nature!"

"Now we play black, and Yuan Shao plays white."

Sun Ce was even more puzzled: "In that case, shouldn't our army have the upper hand?"

"It's true that he gained the upper hand, but Yuan Shao was able to place two pieces at once."

Sima Yi stood with his hands behind his back and said, "The battlefield is different from a game of chess; there is no absolute fairness there."

"Although there are no fixed formations in warfare, just as water has no fixed shape, the so-called military strategy, no matter how varied, is all about one thing in the end—how to create a combat advantage on a local battlefield, and then use that advantage to break through the entire front and defeat the enemy."

"Therefore, the art of war says: Victory can be known, but it cannot be achieved."

"A victory can be planned, but it cannot be actively pursued."

"Just like when we defeated Yuan Tan, if Yuan Tan had remained unchanged and not created the conditions for us to defeat him, then we would have had no chance of defeating him."

“Yuan Shao’s military strategy is undoubtedly far superior to Yuan Tan’s.”

"With his superior numbers, he only needed to capture Xiping first, then leave troops in Pingyu, where he could maintain an invincible force and then go to other battlefields at will. This is because Yuan Shao knew that as long as we could not create the conditions to defeat him, he would never be defeated."

Sima Yi's initial slight contempt for Yuan Tan's army, stemming from his defeat of Yuan Tan, vanished instantly.

On Yuan Shao's side, it was clear that Liu Miao, who had successively seized Yang and Jing provinces, could not be a useless person; Liu Miao's soldiers also needed to have a clear understanding that Yuan Shao, who had become the hegemon of Hebei, could not possibly be a useless person who had risen to power solely based on his clan's reputation!

Otherwise, what about Yuan Shu, whose grave in Shouchun is now overgrown with weeds?

Sima Yi knew that all he could do in the face of the current situation was to wait.
With Yuan Shao personally leading the expedition, the focus of the battlefield shifted elsewhere.

Holding this position and ensuring that the Huai River defense line is not breached is Sima Yi's only mission now!

"you!"

However, Sun Ce, Cao Hong, and even the newly arrived Li Tong did not quite understand Sima Yi's approach.

"Are we just going to stand by and watch? What if..."

Before the other party could speak, Sima Yi took out the talisman from his pocket again.

"My lord's order for me to carry the imperial staff means that he trusts all my judgments."

"Anyone who disagrees, don't blame me for dealing with them according to military law!"

------

Nanxiang.

This is the exit of Wuguan Road, and we will reach the Nanyang Basin almost immediately.

A large army suddenly appeared here; it was Liu Miao's troops who had hurriedly returned to Nanyang from Hedong!
"We're almost there!"

Even a tough guy like Zhou Tai felt he was nearing his limit!
Even though they could ride warhorses all the way, the fact that they were running day and night, which was completely against their physiology, made most people feel uncomfortable.

Liu Miao breathed a sigh of relief as he saw a large plain finally appear in front of him.

"Set up camp here! In three days at most, we will be able to return to Jingzhou!"

The soldiers behind him were not enthusiastic; they responded listlessly.

Liu Miao didn't care. After jumping off the fast ship, he immediately started to remove his skirt armor and pants, exposing the inside of his thighs.

"Whew! That felt great!"

Liu Miao took the water bag again, but not to drink it; instead, he poured some out and splashed it on his thigh.

"hiss!"

Liu Miao gasped, only then realizing that his leg flesh was indeed chafed in many places, and blood was seeping out.

The same goes for the rest of them.

Unlike Liu Miao, who was concerned about his image, Zhou Yu sat with his legs open on a rock or the ground, allowing his inner thighs to air out.

"You Han people are just so delicate!"

However, Liu Miao's newlywed wife, Lady Luanti, though a woman, was lively and energetic, and even mocked Liu Miao and the others.

"Nonsense! How can men and women be the same? Men have such a big extra piece of flesh, it's no wonder they get into accidents while riding horses!"

Liu Miao took the dry rations handed over by Luan Ti Shi, which were just some fried rice, and casually slapped Luan Ti Shi's round and perky buttocks, earning her a glare.

There was no time to start a fire and cook.

It involves throwing these dry, tasteless grains of rice into your mouth, then gulping down a mouthful of cold water. Once the cold water softens the rice a bit, you simply straighten your neck and swallow it whole.

Liu Miao ate a few bites, barely managing to fill his stomach. Seeing that Luan Ti was eating the same way he did, he immediately laughed and said, "Just a few days ago you were eating mutton with me, and now you can only eat this lousy dry rations. Do you feel like you've married the wrong person?"

After swallowing the grain with difficulty, Luan Ti shook her head at Liu Miao: "No matter how bad it tastes, it's still grain, better than grass."

"You've even eaten grass? Shouldn't the Xiongnu have been eating dried meat every day?"

Luan Ti rolled her eyes so hard this time that she showed absolutely no respect for her husband Liu Miao, who had no knowledge of nomadic life.

"Eating dried meat every day? If that's really the case, why go to the north to compete with the Xianbei people for grasslands?"

“However, I heard my father say that when the world was at peace, at least we Luan Ti people could eat dried meat every day. But now, most of the time, we can only eat dried millet, which is not much different from what we eat now.”

Liu Miao was also somewhat surprised.

"Sure enough, once war breaks out, most people end up living in the same boat."

Liu Miao shook his head, waved his hand, and quickly fanned the inside of his thigh to reduce the redness and swelling as soon as possible.

"We started fighting because we couldn't make ends meet, but now the more we fight, the harder it is to make ends meet. What kind of situation is this!" Liu Miao's complaints reached the ears of those around him, who also seemed to be deep in thought.

"What else could it be?"

Zhou Tai's eating habits were even more unrestrained than Liu Miao's.

He grabbed a handful of rice and poured it into his mouth, then chewed it with his teeth, which were even stronger than those of an animal. Zhou Tai said that this way, his mouth would have some flavor, so it wouldn't taste bland.

After chewing the food into small pieces, Zhou Tai gulped down a mouthful of water to wash it down, then shrugged and said, "It's just that there are too many people like Yuan Shao!"

"Others eat a bite of grain, but they insist on eating a bite of meat. And they're all lazy; they don't want to raise pigs and chickens themselves, so they take the grain from other people's mouths to buy meat! It's all just unequal distribution!"

Liu Miao glared at Zhou Tai: "Have you been secretly studying behind my back lately? Is that something you should be saying?"

"No! I thought of it when I was a bandit! Hehe!"

Zhou Tai was not ashamed of his past; on the contrary, he was proud of it!

"After we looted the goods, we distributed them among the brothers. We gave them a smaller share so that I would have more left!"

"Once I got the extra grain, I wanted to buy fish, meat, and girls!"

Zhou Tai seemed to have thought of something and suddenly smacked his lips.

"There was this girl back then, and I really liked her, sigh..."

Liu Miao was surprised to learn that the burly Zhou Tai had such a past, and immediately became curious—

"So, you just watched helplessly as that girl was sold to someone else?"

Zhou Tai glared at him: "How could that be! She's still my concubine! She even gave birth to a big, healthy son for me last year!"

Liu Miao glared back: "So, in the end, you still embezzled the rations of your men?"

"I can do that?"

Zhou Tai chuckled: "Later, I led a group to intercept a big spender! With more money, the brothers could eat their fill, and then I could afford to buy girls too!"

"Hahahaha!"

Liu Miao pointed at Zhou Tai and laughed loudly.

"That makes sense! With more grain, everything will be easier!"

"But Yuan Shao is not as capable as Youping! The people under his rule will definitely receive less and less in the future."

Liu Miao, now feeling much more comfortable down below, rose and looked north: "Therefore, we absolutely cannot let Yuan Shao win this battle!"

That night.

Wen Ping's scouts also discovered Liu Miao's army. His deputy general, Li Yan, rode over and wept with joy upon seeing Liu Miao!

"Our lord has finally come out! If he hadn't come out soon... sigh!"

"Alright! It's not like you're dead! What are you crying for!"

Liu Miao asked Li Yan, "How is the battle in Nanyang going?"

"This is not good!"

Li Yan wiped away the tears on his face: "After Sima Zhongda and Sun Bofu used a plan to defeat Yuan Tan, Yuan Shao personally led his troops to Nanyang."

"He did not directly attack Wancheng, where General Wenping was located, but instead went south to seize Xinye."

"According to General Wenping's guess, Yuan Shao's move is probably to block the road south of Nanyang, forcing our exhausted lord to fight him in a decisive battle!"

Liu Miao was taken aback at first, but then he understood Yuan Shao's intention.

"The others just want to trap me in Wuguan Pass, but only Yuan Shao wants to kill me in Nanyang!"

Liu Miao never expected Yuan Shao to be so bold!
They haven't even taken Xuchang yet, and they're already trying to take advantage of the situation to eliminate themselves in Nanyang?

"Yuan Shao? Interesting! I didn't realize his fighting style was so aggressive!"

Li Yan continued to advise Liu Miao: "Now that Yuan Shao has only occupied Xinye on the east bank of the Baishui River and has not yet crossed the Baishui River, leaving an opening on the west bank, I urge my lord to immediately return to Xiangyang from the west bank!"

"what!"

Seeing Zhou Yu frown, Liu Miao had already spoken out Yuan Shao's intentions.

"That's a trap!"

"Do you believe it or not, that bastard Yuan Shao has already laid a trap downstream, just waiting for me to pass by from the west, and then kill me under Fancheng?"

If Liu Miao were truly afraid of Yuan Shao, he might have been fooled by Yuan Shao's seemingly deceptive trap.

but now?
Liu Miao suddenly asked Zhou Tai and Chen Wu, "It's been so long, haven't we met Yuan Shao yet?"

"Ugh?"

The two thought about it and realized that they had indeed not met Yuan Shao yet.

During the Langya incident, everyone thought they were going to run into Yuan Shao, but Yuan Shao's sudden admission of weakness prevented them from meeting.

"what!"

Liu Miao excitedly slapped his longsword.

"In that case, let's go and meet Yuan Shao this time! Let's get to know him!"

Li Yan was greatly alarmed upon hearing this: "My lord! We are currently at a disadvantage, how can we provoke Yuan Shao?"

"In my opinion, it would be better to temporarily avoid the confrontation and fight on another day!"

"Should I avoid his edge?"

Liu Miao seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world.

"Don't forget, affirmative side!"

"Last time, it was Yuan Shao who avoided a direct confrontation!"

"Today I'm going to show Yuan Shao that from now on, he'll have to avoid me!"

Before Li Yan could offer any further advice, Liu Miao had already given the order—

"The entire army sets off for Wancheng!"

“Send a letter to Yuan Shao, telling him not to follow his son's example and resort to such underhanded tricks. If there's anything to discuss, do it honestly and fairly!”

"I'll wait for him in Wancheng! If he has the guts, let him come to me!"

(End of this chapter)