I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 322 Joining Forces at Kunyang!

Sun Ce took the initiative and led his cavalry in a charge.

This is the first time that anyone has dared to launch a frontal cavalry charge against Yuan's army on the Central Plains battlefield!
Strangely enough, Yuan's cavalry is now being outnumbered by Liu Miao's army!

Zang Ba then led his cavalry in a charge, and the cavalry on the left and right flanks were like two broad scythes slashing down on Yuan's army from the ribs!
Zhang He had an elite force called the Halberd Warriors!
These halberd warriors were originally used to break through enemy lines at the front, gradually slicing through the enemy's formation!

But when he saw Sun Ce and Zang Ba launching a fierce attack, he immediately deployed his halberdiers to the left and right flanks to contain the cavalry.

In Liu Miao's army, Jiang Qin and Xu Sheng, who were at the vanguard, saw that Zhang He's vanguard had shown a weakness and waved their flags at each other, immediately understanding each other's intentions.

Charge forward!
Although Jiang Qin initially followed Liu Miao, as rising stars such as Taishi Ci, Zhu Huan, and Huang Zhong surpassed him, Jiang Qin always remained vigilant and fought with the same bravery he showed when he was still a river bandit!
Xu Sheng, being young and fearless, had just received the precious sword as a gift, and was at the peak of his vigor and vitality!
Each of the two led their troops and took the lead, immediately closing in on Yuan's army and engaging them in close combat with their short swords!

The more intense the war becomes, the more important things that seemed unimportant before gradually become.

These are the great principles! They are the morale!

Whether they were Yuan Shao's soldiers or Liu Miao's soldiers, they all held the same belief: they were still Han soldiers! They were still fighting for the Han Dynasty!

His sword should be pointed at the enemies of the Han Dynasty! At the invaders! At the very least, at the traitors to the Han!

This belief never wavered among Liu Miao's soldiers.

But for Yuan Jun, it was clearly a different story.

As the battle intensified and flesh clashed with steel, the soldiers of Yuan's army were first shocked, then confused.

They were puzzled as to why they had to fight against Liu Miao's army.
Wasn't it said that Liu Miao on the other side was also a member of the Han imperial family, or even the emperor's uncle?
Didn't they say that the soldiers on the other side were also fighting to restore the Han Dynasty, rescue the emperor, and drive out the traitors?

Then why are the two sides fighting to the death here?

Aren't the soldiers from Hebei all in Hebei? Why are they fighting here in Xuzhou now?
These doubts slowly turned into dark clouds, gradually looming over the heads of Yuan's soldiers.

When the battlefield situation is favorable, these soldiers do not think about such questions.

But now, standing with Liu Miaojun, these subtle doubts are like countless cracks, slowly creeping onto the faces of every Yuan soldier, and eventually causing them to collapse!
"The vanguard has collapsed!"

Gao Lan watched helplessly as his own soldiers, whose equipment, physique, and fighting spirit were no less than Liu Miao's army, were reduced to crumbling sections of a fragile city wall before his very eyes in less than a quarter of an hour.

"On the day the army sets out, death is an honor, and survival is a disgrace."

"Now that soldiers no longer consider dying in battle an honor and living a shameful act, how can we possibly defeat the enemy?"

Seeing that the vanguard had been routed, Gao Lan immediately decided to retreat and planned to take the opportunity to withdraw.

Meanwhile, Zhang He on the flank also encountered trouble.

Although the halberdiers' sharp spears were effective in restraining cavalry, Sun Ce and Zang Ba were not. Sun Ce came from a family of military strategists and was a tiger son of a military family who had studied military books since childhood. Zang Ba was of humble origin and had been a bandit from Mount Tai since the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Why would they use their precious cavalry resources to force their way through a passage?
The two, as if on the same wavelength, simultaneously bypassed the flank and charged towards the rear of the reinforcements.

Thus, although this exposed his flank, Zhang He dared not urge his cavalry to advance and attack Liu Miao's army's flank!
Although Liu Miao's flanks have been exposed, if Zhang He orders his cavalry to charge, the halberdiers will lose protection of their flanks.

Ultimately, it's because Zhang He is now the first to experience the predicament of fighting on the Central Plains battlefield without cavalry!
And it turns out.

The lack of cavalry was indeed fatal during the campaigns in the Central Plains!
This kind of fatality cannot be compensated for by the wisdom of one or two famous generals or by any advanced skills.

Just like playing chess.

The abundance of cavalry is like the other side being able to take back a move at any time after it has been made. By utilizing the high mobility of cavalry, tactical maneuvers can be completed and tactics can be delayed. In this way, one can remain invincible!
When Zhang He saw that Sun Ce and Zang Ba had not fallen for the trap and instead chose to attack his rear, Zhang He knew that the enemy would have a general who knew how to utilize cavalry!

"Withdraw."

Zhang He and Gao Lan signaled with flags that they had no intention of engaging in a desperate battle with Liu Miao's army at this time.

Using the ordinary soldiers as cover, the elite troops were calmly withdrawn to the rear. Sun Ce and Zang Ba wanted to continue the pursuit, but were stopped by the sound of gongs from behind and returned to their camp.

"After this battle, Zhang He and Gao Lan dared not attack Xuzhou without Yuan Shao's orders."

"The most urgent task is to rush back to Shangcai and join forces with our lord to besiege Yuan Shao and decide the outcome!"

The Jiangdong army from Xuzhou slowly moved towards the Central Plains.

Yuan Shao also heard the news immediately that Zhang He and Gao Lan had been blocked north of Xiaopei.

"I see."

It was only at this point that Yuan Shao finally understood Liu Miao's true intentions.

He looked at the city walls of Wancheng, which seemed impregnable, with a complicated expression.

"I underestimated you. I didn't expect you to actually want to fight me."

But the final battlefield was definitely not in Nanyang, but in Wancheng.

Although both sides were fighting fiercely, it was clear to everyone that if Wancheng continued to fight in this manner, it would never be possible to produce a decisive battle!

"The battlefield Liu Miao chose was Xuchang!"

As the Jiangdong army from Xuzhou slowly moved towards Shangcai, it became an enhanced version of Yuan Tan's previous attack on Nanyang.

With Liu Miao's troops now plentiful, even Yuan Shao could no longer use the tactic of "Liu Miao plays one piece, but Yuan Shao can play two" to deal with him.

If Yuan Shao does not retreat, he will be trapped in the Nanyang Basin by the large army coming from the east, unable to move.

Therefore, Liu Miao only gave Yuan Shao one choice: Yuan Shao retreat, Liu Miao advance, and they would have a decisive battle under the walls of Xuchang!
“A skillful strategist commands the enemy without being commanded by them. He can make the enemy come of his own accord by offering them benefits; he can prevent the enemy from coming by inflicting harm on them. Therefore, he can exhaust the enemy when they are at ease, starve them when they are well-fed, and rouse them when they are at rest.”

A skilled strategist can lure the enemy to their pre-arranged battlefield by offering them advantages; or prevent them from reaching their designated battlefield by pressuring them into submission. Therefore, if the enemy is at ease, harass and annoy them to make them weary; if the enemy has ample provisions, devise ways to starve them; if the enemy is content to defend themselves, provoke and harass them to prevent them from moving in peace.

Yuan Shao realized that Liu Miao was now a typical example of someone who "could prevent the enemy from reaching him by harming them." But Yuan Shao couldn't understand why Liu Miao had chosen Xuchang as the battlefield.

It should be noted that, given the navigability of the Yangtze and Han Rivers, Liu Miao was fully capable of gathering his army in Nanyang.

This marching route is undoubtedly much more convenient than having the Jiangdong army cross the Central Plains to reach Nanyang.

But Liu Miao went to such lengths; could it be that something unexpected happened near Xuchang?
The only person Yuan Shao could think of was Cao Cao, who was now half-dead.

Apart from that, Yuan Shao could not think of any external force that Liu Miao could rely on at this time.

"You still want to pin your hopes on Cao Cao?"

Yuan Shao found Liu Miao's idea incomprehensible.

but……

What if?
The still unconquered city of Xuchang was like a poisonous thorn stuck deep in Yuan Shao's heart.

Yuan Shao could not guarantee that nothing would happen in Xuchang.

Moreover, from beginning to end, Yuan Shao was unhappy with the feeling of being led by the nose by Liu Miao.

He should be the one who rules the world and all things!

Why should Liu Miao get to do whatever he wants?

Yuan Shao took one last look at Wancheng and then ordered, "Withdraw!"

"withdraw?"

The generals of Yuan's army were all puzzled.

"Lord Yuan! Let's charge one more time!"

"Yes! We're about to break through Wancheng!"

"Lord Yuan!!!"

I said let's go!

Yuan Shao turned his head and said, "Wherever we go, Liu Miao will surely follow."

"This time, he's determined to fight me to the death!"

"Admirable...but also utterly foolish!"

"Lord Yuan, where should we retreat to? Xuchang?"

Yuan Shao shook his head.

"Liu Miao wanted to force us to Xuchang."

"But I refuse to do as he wishes!"

"The entire army marches to Kunyang! This is where Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu proved his divine mandate! Now, I too will prove here... that the divine mandate is with me!"

Yuan Jun's generals and soldiers were all shocked.

This was the first time Yuan Shao had uttered the words "Mandate of Heaven" in public!
Clearly, Yuan Shao is now completely impatient!
Meanwhile, Liu Miao, inside Wancheng, rubbed his swollen eyes after seeing Yuan Shao retreat: "Hey! Yuan Shao understands now, doesn't he? Even though he's on the offensive in this battle, he still has to obediently follow my lead in how to fight!"

"Zhongshan."

Chen Yu, who had been studying in Jiangdong and had only recently arrived in Wancheng, looked at Liu Miao with trepidation: "Zhongshan, right now, you look just like a duck."

"What? You're praising my stamina? Or how many women I have?"

"No, I mean, all you're doing right now is your mouth, which is still stubborn."

Chen Yu asked Liu Miao, "How exactly should this battle be fought?"

"To the east of Nanyang, it's all plains!"

"You can't expect that while you're fighting Yuan Shao, a shooting star will fall from the sky and kill him, can you?"

"Ha! Superstition!"

Liu Miao glared at Chen Yu with annoyance: "Back when Yuan Shu came to Huainan, you weren't this cowardly!"

"Can that be the same?"

When Yuan Shu went to Huainan, he was a defeated dog who had been utterly routed by Cao Cao and had no base of operations left.

Although it is enormous, it is not so frightening as to cause excessive fear.

But Yuan Shao now reigns supreme in the north! A super warlord with a million armored soldiers!
Its current momentum seems to remind people of the glorious years when Emperor Guangwu marched south from Hebei, sweeping across the land and restoring peace to the world!

Liu Miao, who is now holding the southern position, looks exactly like a villain from history, which is really worrying!

"Tsk!"

Liu Miao stretched out his arms: "Gongwei, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, there's no difference between them. You've been in Jiangdong for so long, can't you even see that?"

"Stop your nonsense! What do you know about warfare, you scholar? I'm asking you, did you bring the things I asked you to bring from Jiangdong?"

(End of this chapter)