I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 320 The Great Righteousness Lies Within Me
Jiang Qin and Wu Jing each led their troops to attack Yuan's army. Zhang He and Gao Lan could not see the number of Liu Miao's troops for a while, so they could only retreat continuously to preserve their own forces, rather than choosing to fight a big battle with the enemy in the dark when the situation was unclear.

Zhuge Liang and the others did not lead their troops to pursue them. Seeing Zhang He and Gao Lan retreat, they followed Lu Kang into Xiaopei.

Xu Sheng was also quite surprised to see all the generals arrive together: "Zhongda only said that Kongming and General Jiang Qin were coming, how come Lu Zhongyi is here as well?"

Lu Kang shook his head: "It's all because Zhongshan wrote a letter telling me that this old body of mine can't rest."

"Now that Zhongshan has gone to Wancheng and Yuan Shao has personally led his troops to conquer, countless eyes in the world are focused on Nanyang, which has given other places an opportunity to take advantage of the situation."

"elsewhere?"

Xu Sheng instantly realized: "Does the lord intend to follow Zhongda's tactics and have the Jiangdong army sail upstream along the Huai River to Nanyang to join forces?"

"Of course!"

But Xu Sheng quickly realized something was wrong: "What about Yuan Shao's other armies in various places?"

"For example, Zhang He and Gao Lan have 20,000 to 30,000 troops under their command. Do you think they would just stand by and watch us head to Nanyang?"

Everyone suddenly looked at Jia Xu.

Clearly, the group had discussed this matter beforehand, and Jia Xu had provided the final solution.

"..."

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Jia Xu had no choice but to step forward from the back.

"It's actually not difficult."

"Yuan Shao launched his campaign against Cao Cao and attacked the Central Plains based on the emperor's edict written in blood on his belt."

"But what does the campaign against Cao Cao have to do with Liu Biaoji?"

Jia Xu and the others repeated his plan once again—

"From this moment forward, raise your banners and declare that you are acting on the Emperor's edict, which is written in blood, and are heading to Xuchang to rescue the Emperor."

"If any of Yuan's soldiers block the way, they shall be denounced as traitors to the Han."

"After all, we are now allies with Yuan Shao, and we are loyal subjects of the Han Dynasty who are acting on the Emperor's decree to jointly attack Cao Cao."

When Jia Xu said the words "loyal minister of the Han Dynasty", his tone was clearly inflected and forceful!
Those who don't know the situation might actually believe that Yuan Shao and Liu Miao were allies from the north and south who were loyal to the emperor!
“Yuan’s army attacked us without any sense of righteousness.”

"The previous proclamation against Liu Biaoji did not mention any immoral behavior on his part. So, on what basis did Yuan Shao dare to take action against Xiaopei?"

If the name is not correct, the words will not go well, and if the words are not good, then things will not happen.

Since Yuan Shao used the imperial edict in the belt as the legal basis for attacking Cao Cao, he had set the objective for his soldiers in this battle.

Given this, Liu Miao could also use this legal basis to attack Cao Cao.

If Yuan Shao treats his words as nonsense and his laws as blank slates, what should his soldiers think?
Therefore, Jia Xu has now given the opposing Yuan army two paths—

Or, they reluctantly acknowledged the "alliance."

Alternatively, they could ignore everything and continue attacking Liu Miao, allowing their morale to crumble little by little.

The banner of the Han dynasty is not so easy to raise.

If Yuan Shao could pick it up, wipe it clean, and use it, then Liu Miao could do the same!
as predicted!

When Zhang He and Gao Lan heard that Liu Miao's army, which had attacked them in the chaos the night before, was now claiming that they were going with them to attack Cao Cao and rescue the emperor, they almost spat out a mouthful of blood!
"It's one thing for Liu Miao to be a scoundrel himself! But how come his subordinates are all such insidious individuals?"

Not only that.

Jiangdong quickly issued an official proclamation, claiming that Liu Miao had also secretly received the emperor's blood edict, and the witness was Chen Yu, the son of Chen Qiu, one of the former Three Dukes!

Chen Yu recounted in detail his previous plot with Dong Cheng to assassinate Cao Cao and save the emperor.

Before his death, Dong Cheng did indeed admit that he had contacted Liu Miao. Thus, Liu Miao's position as a "loyal minister of the Han Dynasty" was firmly established!

Even Yuan Shao, when he wanted to attack Cao Cao, still had to rely on Liu Bei's reputation to write his proclamation. Now, Liu Miao, a member of the Han imperial family whose status and position far surpassed Liu Bei's, and the General of the Cavalry of the Han Dynasty who was personally addressed as "Imperial Uncle" by the emperor, could he possibly be a fake?

Zhang He and Gao Lan were furious, but without Yuan Shao's approval, they dared not continue attacking Liu Miao's soldiers.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhuge Liang ordered Lü Meng and Pang Tong to go to Huainan to assist Man Chong, the governor of Runan, in quelling the Yellow Turban rebels led by Pei Yuanshao and restoring peace to the south.

When Guo Tu, who had been left outside Xuchang by Yuan Shao, heard about this, he was filled with melancholy.

Liu Miao, is he treating the world like fools?
But rather.

Because Liu Miao had laid a solid foundation with the emperor from the beginning, and Dong Cheng had indeed approached Liu Miao back then, it's hard to deny that.

Even if Yuan Shao were to accuse Liu Miao of colluding with Cao Cao, Liu Miao could easily deflect the accusation by saying he had "suddenly realized his mistake."

"Liu Miao, he actually had such a trick up his sleeve? If I had known, I should have ignored Liu Bei's request and written Liu Miao's name directly on the proclamation!"

Guo Tu immediately informed Yuan Shao of this turn of events, while simultaneously ordering the Jiangdong proclamation to be thrown inside the walls of Xuchang, attempting to demoralize Cao Cao and allow his army to capture Xuchang as soon as possible.

Once Xuchang falls, nothing Liu Miao says will matter! After all, at that time, the emperor will be on Yuan Shao's side!
------

Xuchang, Xun Mansion.

Cao Cao sat by the bed and fed the person on the bed spoonful by spoonful of medicine.

Who else could Cao Cao feed like this but Xun Yu, whom Cao Cao praised as "my Zhang Liang"?

Xun Yu lay on the couch, his chest wrapped in cloth, from which a strong herbal scent emanated.

"Xun Yu, I have failed you, my lord!" "Why bother saying such things?"

Cao Cao looked haggard at this time, no longer the cunning and ruthless hero he once was.

But when facing Xun Yu, Cao Cao still forced a smile: "The doctor said that Wenruo is recovering well and will be able to walk soon."

Xun Yu reached out and touched his chest, clearly still shaken: "That assassin was swift and decisive. If I hadn't followed you on the battlefield through wind and rain before, and managed to dodge a few inches to the side, I probably would have been pierced through the chest by that assassin's sword and wouldn't be seeing you again."

Cao Cao put down the empty medicine bowl and sighed deeply.

“I should have killed him when I discovered that he had let Liu Qubei, the Right Wise King, go.”

"Unfortunately, I spared his life because I thought of our friendship from when we were young, and also because he had escaped from Yuan Shao."

Cao Cao never imagined that the rare warmth in his heart would turn into the sharpest sword piercing him, leading to his utter defeat.

Xun Yu still felt guilty: "If Xu You hadn't said he could spare tens of thousands of shi of grain for me, I wouldn't have been so unprepared as to attend the banquet alone."

Cao Cao shook his head: "Xu You is not only incredibly audacious, but also extremely meticulous. After all, he was the one who plotted to install an emperor back then... Never mind, let's not talk about that."

Xun Yu's complexion became slightly rosier, and he asked Cao Cao, "My lord, what is the current situation outside?"

"What else?"

Cao Cao gave a wry smile.

"Guo Tu outside the city wishes he could report the affairs of the world to me every moment."

"It is now known that Yuan Rang has been defeated, surrendered Luoyang, and fled to Guanzhong; Dongjun has also been captured by Yuan Shao, and Yu Jin has also surrendered to Yuan Shao."

"Whoo~~~"

Cao Cao suddenly let out a long breath, as if he were sighing with emotion.

"At this point, they have surrendered, and I have nothing more to say."

Although Xun Yu had anticipated the complete defeat of Cao Cao's army, he did not expect it to happen so quickly.

After a moment of silence, Xun Yu suddenly asked Cao Cao, "Where is Liu Miao?"

"Who?"

"Liu Miao!"

Xun Yu said earnestly, "Right now, if there is anyone who can turn the tide, it is only Liu Miao!"

"Liu Miao?"

Upon hearing Liu Miao's name, Cao Cao shook his head even more.

Guo Tu said that Liu Miao has now also issued a proclamation, saying that he has come to punish me on the emperor's edict written in blood.

"You know Liu Miao, he never knows how to suffer a loss, and now he's probably trying every means to make peace with Yuan Shao!"

Xun Yu blinked, looking at Cao Cao in disbelief.

Seeing Cao Cao's dull eyes, he couldn't help but frown and ask, "My lord, is this truly how you view Liu Miao?"

"..."

Cao Cao closed his eyes: "What does it matter how we view him now?"

"Ming Gong!"

Xun Yu let out a sharp shout, which aggravated his wounds.

However, Xun Yu clearly couldn't care less about this injury at this moment—

"My lord, Liu Miao may be greedy for petty gains, forget his friends for lust, speak and act crudely, behave eccentrically, and act rashly... but he always holds a great sense of righteousness in his heart!"

"If he didn't have a strong sense of righteousness, how could he have asked Lu Su to provide money and provisions so soon after the emperor fled from Guanzhong, and reprimanded Yang Feng and others to vindicate the Han dynasty?"

"If he didn't have a strong sense of righteousness, how could he have been the first to issue a proclamation to attack the Yuan family when his power was inferior to Yuan Shu's?"

"If he didn't have a sense of righteousness, how could he have supplied us with money and provisions when you were defending against Yuan Shao in the north?"

Xun Yu said solemnly, "Liu Miao's actions must have a deeper meaning!"

"With your wisdom, sir, you might as well think carefully about what Liu Miao is trying to achieve by suddenly issuing such a proclamation."

After hearing Xun Yu's words, Cao Cao also felt that Xun Yu's words seemed to make sense.

"But what does Liu Miao want to do at this moment? Does he really want to fight Yuan Shao head-on under the walls of Xuchang, given their current absolute disadvantage? Hahahaha..."

As he laughed, Cao Cao gradually lost his laughter.

His eyes widened: "No way?"

Xun Yu nodded: "That's possible!"

"Both Lord Ming and Yuan Shao believed that Liu Miao would not engage in a direct battle with Yuan's army at this time."

"But I feel that Liu Miao... might not lack the courage!"

"Perhaps he has already begun choosing a battlefield to engage in a decisive battle with Yuan Shao!"

(End of this chapter)