I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 330 Marching into the Han Capital! (Second Update)

At this time, Yuan's army had also retreated to Dingling.

Even without Yuan's generals conducting a census, it was clearly visible to the naked eye that the number of soldiers in Yuan's camp had decreased by more than half.

Many of Yuan's soldiers huddled in their camp, not bothering to dry their soaked clothes, and began to sob quietly to themselves.

The flood came too fast! Too suddenly!
Especially for the Hebei soldiers in Yuan Shao's army, the sudden and severe blow in this unfamiliar territory made them so grief-stricken that their blood seemed to choke them, and they were completely speechless.

"Mother, mother..."

As she cried, someone called out for her mother.

They didn't understand the point of leaving their homes and families to come here and fight against a member of the Liu clan who could summon heavenly fire and floods!
The proclamation issued by Liu Miao earlier, the righteous cause seized, and now, the counterattack, together with the heavenly fire and the flood, weighed heavily on the hearts of the soldiers.

Moreover, the damp environment seems to naturally make people feel depressed. Now, the sobbing sounds all over Yuanying have blended in with the chirping of insects and become part of the place.

Guo Tu witnessed all of this, but was powerless to do anything about it.

The soldiers' problems were serious, but Yuan Shao's problems were even more serious!
Although Jiang Yiqu urged Yuan Shao to leave the camp quickly last night, and even took a detour north to Dingling to avoid the flood, the flood still caught up with Yuan Shao, leaving him to stagger in the flood for an hour and his feet soaked in the flood for an hour.

After returning to Dingling, Yuan Shao sent a renowned physician into his camp, refusing to come out and show himself, in an effort to appease the people.

"Could it be that Lord Yuan's feet were damaged by the flood?"

Guo Tu had this guess, and recalling all the strange things that had happened to Yuan Shao before, his heart sank to the bottom.

"Report——"

House seemingly endless rain.

Just when Yuan Jun's morale was at its lowest, a scout finally came to report that Guo Tu had known for a long time, but had been hoping that the news would arrive later.

"A large number of enemy troops have been spotted to the south!"

Guo Tu asked weakly, "Did you see who the general leading the troops was?"

"It was Liu Miao himself who came!"

"Ok?"

Guo Tu, who had been somewhat dejected, immediately sat up straight upon hearing the name: "Are you sure you saw it clearly?"

"Absolutely right! Liu Miao isn't even in the central army; he's charging this way all by himself! Anyone who knows him would think it's Lü Bu!"

"..."

Guo Tu no longer harbored any thoughts of taking chances or delaying.

He hurried to Yuan Shao's tent and asked Yuan Shao's personal guards to go in and inform him.

"Lord Yuan is right! Liu Miao is really not giving us any time to breathe! Now Liu Miao has personally led a large army to attack Dingling!"

Even with such important news, Yuan Shao did not rush to respond to Guo Tu, but made Guo Tu wait a moment before letting him into the tent.

As soon as Guo Tu entered the tent, he had a bad feeling!
The air in Yuan Shao's tent smells wonderful!

However, Guo Tu had been a trusted advisor to Yuan Shao since Yuan Shao was serving in Luoyang, and knew that Yuan Shao had absolutely no fondness for spices!

What is being concealed by the strong aroma emanating from the tent?
But upon seeing the still imposing Yuan Shao, Guo Tu swallowed all his suspicions and stopped overthinking.

"Lord Yuan, Liu Miao has arrived!"

"Sure enough, it's here."

Yuan Shao's expression remained normal, but this normality was somewhat abnormal!
"Does the Duke think he can resist Liu Miao?"

Although unwilling, Guo Tu still shook his head.

"Our army's morale is currently low, while Liu Miao's personal arrival has put our troops at their peak! How can we concentrate our main force to fight Liu Miao at this time?"

"The soldiers I brought to Dingling were not affected by the flood. We can leave them there to cover the rear. My lord, take this opportunity to cross the Ying River immediately, go up the north bank, and meet up with Zhang He and Gao Lan in Xuchang!"

Yuan Shao nodded.

However, Yuan Shao suddenly asked Guo Tu a question—

"I have never seen Gongze panic, even in this situation, Gongze remains as calm as Mount Tai. I wonder how Gongze does it?" Guo Tu hadn't expected Yuan Shao to ask such a question!
At this moment, Guo Tu did not know how to answer, and could only say: "I am actually flustered. The reason I am calm in front of Lord Yuan is only because it is my duty."

He was a strategist.

Soldiers can panic, generals can panic, even Yuan Shao can panic!
But he absolutely must not panic!
If he also loses control, Yuan's army will be completely finished.

Yuan Shao glanced down and muttered to himself, "Is it my duty?"

Yuan Shao hesitated for only a moment before making his decision: "Gongze is right, it is my duty!"

"Get the vehicle ready, cross the river as soon as possible!"

Upon hearing Yuan Shao say "prepare the carriage" instead of "prepare the horses," a profound sorrow welled up in Guo Tu's heart.

However, as Guo Tu said.

It's my duty; I can't reveal it!

Guo Tu immediately went to prepare a carriage to take Yuan Shao to the north side of Ying River.

The Yuan army's organization had been completely disrupted by the flood. The once-coordinated army could no longer muster even a thousand men, no matter how much they shouted. It was only by sending out his personal guards that a force was barely assembled to protect Yuan Shao as he crossed the Ying River.

Liu Miao had already arrived by this time.

Upon seeing a large number of Yuan Shao's troops gathered near Dingling, Liu Miao knew that Yuan Shao was still there.

However, the profound sorrow that has settled here is not unfounded, and now is the best time to launch an attack!
Liu Miao was the first to arrive near Dingling and immediately planted his flag at the forefront!

Even with such provocation, Yuan Jun on the other side remained motionless, like a salted fish.

"Tsk! Now I know how much Yuan Shao hated me before!"

You're all itching to get your act together, ready to make a big splash! But your opponent just won't cooperate at all, lying there like a corpse. Where's the thrill in that?

The only difference is that Liu Miao had been holding back his strength and pretending to be a corpse before suddenly exerting force and drawing blood with a single spear thrust, thus counterattacking Yuan Shao!
But now it seems that Yuan Jun is really dead!

At this moment, the remaining soldiers arrived from the rear.

They rushed to Yuan Jun's makeshift position and felt the same helplessness as Liu Miao.

They desperately wanted Yuan's army to rally up and fight them in a real battle to relieve their pent-up frustration! But these Yuan soldiers were different. Upon seeing Liu Miao's soldiers, they threw down their weapons, took off their armor, and lay prostrate on the muddy ground, choosing to surrender.

Some of Yuan's soldiers cried even louder when they saw Liu Miao's soldiers, forcing Liu Miao's soldiers to temporarily put down their swords and comfort them.

"Don't cry, I'll start a fire for you so you can dry your clothes."

"Wow!"

"Don't cry... Here! I still have some dry food! There's even some dried meat in it!"

"Wow!"

"Stop crying! If you cry again, I'll send you to Jingnan! I'll make sure you never return to Hebei for the rest of your life!"

Liu Miao's soldiers were utterly helpless.

Am I here to fight a war?
I'm clearly here to coax a child!
The key issue is that it's one thing for seventeen or eighteen-year-olds to cry, but why are so many veterans in their forties and fifties crying and calling for their mothers at this time?
What was originally a combat operation instantly turned into a resettlement operation.

Liu Miao had not expected that a flood could so severely damage the morale of Yuan Shao's army. In his distress, he finally thought of searching for Yuan Shao's whereabouts.

"Lord Yuan... no! That bastard Yuan Shao has crossed the river!"

"Yes! We saw it with our own eyes! He wasn't riding a warhorse, but a black-canopied carriage! There's no mistake!"

"The other generals also crossed the river together!"

With the frantic assistance of the prisoners of Yuan's army, Liu Miao quickly learned Yuan Shao's location without even asking.

"Has Yuan Shao gone mad? He's making such a grand show of fleeing! He's even using a carriage!"

Although Liu Miao was somewhat disappointed that he had not yet met Yuan Shao, he quickly figured out where Yuan Shao was headed!
"Tsk tsk! Very well! Then Mengde can watch from the top of Xuchang city walls how I avenge him!"

Don't try to gain fame like Xiang Yu!
Unless Liu Miao can't catch up, even if Yuan Shao runs to the ends of the earth, Liu Miao will still catch him!
"Tsk! My ill-fated relationship with the Yuan family..."

(End of this chapter)