I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 333 A Caged Bird (Fifth Update)
North bank of the Ying River.

Yuan Shao has successfully crossed the river.

However, of the tens of thousands of troops that once filled Yuan Shao's army, only a few thousand remain by his side.

The entire Yuan army was lifeless as they advanced towards Xuchang.

Jiang Yiqu was still complaining, "Why haven't Zhang He and Gao Lan's troops arrived yet?"

Liu Miao was chasing after them.

Surrounded by these remnants of the army, Jiang Yiqu felt like a naked woman walking in the wilderness, with hungry wolves about to rush up and ravage her at any moment!

Not only Jiang Yiqu, but other Yuan army generals were also in a similar situation.

Walking in the wilderness without any organized troops to protect you, that's how you feel insecure.

Just then, a rider appeared from the north. Upon recognizing him as their own scout, Jiang Yiqu and the others were overjoyed: "Could it be that Zhang He and Gao Lan have already arrived?"

But the scout only delivered a letter to Yuan Shao.

Sitting in his black-canopied carriage, Yuan Shao read the letter and sighed deeply, "Zhang He and Gao Lan won't be coming."

Upon hearing this, the civil officials and strategists surrounding Yuan Shao were suddenly taken aback!
"Lord Yuan, has something unexpected happened?"

Guo Tu anxiously pressed his knees against Yuan Shao's carriage, asking questions, but Yuan Shao simply handed Guo Tu the letter from Zhang He and Gao Lan.

After reading it quickly, Guo Tu was somewhat incredulous.

Only after reading the letter word by word did Guo Tu's voice tremble slightly: "Lord Yuan..."

"Xuchang~The Emperor~Really~~~"

Before Guo Tu could finish speaking, he had already jumped up from the spot!
Strange to say.

It was the same person, even dressed the same, looking disheveled and dirty. But Guo Tu was completely different now compared to before!

If Guo Tu was a living dead man on his deathbed, then now he is a young man full of energy!

"Quickly! Lord Yuan!"

Guo Tu forcefully suppressed the excitement in his voice.

"Quickly! Get back to Xuchang!"

"As long as we capture Xuchang... no! As long as we welcome back the Emperor, what does it matter if we are defeated by Liu Miao?"

The hope that Guo Tu had been searching for had miraculously appeared in Xuchang!

As long as the emperor is brought back, it will be worth it no matter how many troops are lost!
"Lord Yuan! Hurry! Hurry!"

Guo Tu urged them on repeatedly, and his active and determined expression inspired the soldiers around him. Using their last bit of strength, they finally made it back to the Xuchang camp!

"How? How?"

Guo Tu's lips were cracked, and if he swirled his tongue quickly enough, he could tear off a piece of flesh from them. But Guo Tu had no interest in drinking even a drop of water. Instead, he grabbed Gao Lan's shoulders and shook him violently.

"Gongze, look at what that is!"

Gao Lan was so dizzy from being shaken that he quickly raised his hand to signal Guo Tu to look.

Guo Tu looked up, but was blinded by the glaring sunlight.

He quickly raised his hand to block it, and finally, through Guo Tu's bloodshot eyes, he saw that thing.

The imperial banner of the Han Dynasty fluttering in the air!
The Emperor of Han is right here in the camp!
"Ugh! Ugh~"

Guo Tu wanted to laugh out loud, but the exhaustion of the past few days prevented him from uttering a single word. Instead, he gagged for a long time!
Gao Lan quickly handed Guo Tu some rice porridge. Guo Tu held the earthenware pot and took a delicious sip. The happiness and satisfaction on his face were almost tangible!

"In the end, we have won this battle!"

The Emperor of Han!

The legitimate successor of the Han Dynasty!
All of this was once again in Yuan Shao's hands!

Guo Tu's unrestrained and flamboyant laughter also reached the ears of the owner of the imperial dragon banner.

Although Liu Xie was properly dressed in his official robes, he felt a chill run down his spine when he thought about what Cao Cao had shouted at him from the gate of Xuchang that day.

Upon seeing Yuan Shao return, Liu Xie was filled with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation, keeping his eyes fixed on Yuan Shao's carriage, waiting for Yuan Shao's reaction.

Yuan Shao's carriage was indeed heading towards the emperor.

When Liu Xie saw that Yuan Shao did not get out of his carriage to pay his respects, his face turned pale.

At this time, Liu Xie's tent was open on three sides, with only some ceremonial objects and decorations placed around it, without any grand display.

This means that Yuan Shao's carriage could drive very, very close to the emperor.

As Yuan Shao's carriage approached, its tracks almost crushing the silk on the ground, the emperor turned deathly pale!
He subconsciously looked to his left and right, only to find that the servants and officials who had accompanied him out of Xuchang City were all silent!
He was all too familiar with this scene!

This was the case during Dong Zhuo's time.

This was the case during the time of Li Jue and Guo Si.

This was the case during the time of Yang Feng and Han Xian.

It was the same during Cao Cao's time! No matter how many places he moved to, it seemed to be the same all the time!

Every time a caged bird thinks it has broken free from its constraints, it discovers that it has only entered an even larger cage.

Fortunately.

Just as Yuan Shao's cart was about to run over the silk, the cart stopped.

This sudden stop brought a great sense of relief to the emperor.

But what happened next completely extinguished the emperor's brilliance.

Then, the attendants on either side lifted the curtain hanging on Yuan Shao's black-canopied carriage, revealing Yuan Shao's face.

The emperor remembers Yuan Shao.

At that time, Yuan Shao was still very young and was an advisor to General He Jin.

Now, although Yuan Shao appears to be a rising star, the wealth and majesty on his face are unmatched even by ten He Jins.

If it weren't for the rich and dignified appearance of Yuan Shao that completely masked his domineering nature, the emperor would have thought he was seeing a second Cao Cao!
But after the attendant lifted the curtain, Yuan Shao did not get out of the carriage.

After giving the emperor a fiercely aggressive once-over, he actually bowed slightly in the carriage—

"General Yuan Shao greets Your Majesty."

He went to see the emperor, but did not dismount from his carriage!
Even Cao Cao, when receiving an audience with the emperor, had to burn incense and change his clothes!
The emperor knew about this! Just a few days ago, when he saw Cao Cao, he noticed that Cao Cao's hair was wet and slightly damp.

But Yuan Shao...

The emperor's throat seemed to choke, and he looked around pleadingly before finally managing to squeeze out two words—

"No gift."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao nodded slightly and then ordered his attendants to lower the curtain, truly ceasing all courtesy towards the emperor!

Liu Xie's hands and feet were ice cold.

He recalled a rumor.

Legend has it that when Yuan Shao was in Chang'an, he believed that the throne was established by the treacherous minister Dong Zhuo and that he did not know the mother of his son. Therefore, he wanted to support Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou at the time, as emperor.

……

Liu Xie didn't know if Yuan Shao still had any intention of reinstating the emperor, but based on Yuan Shao's actions just now, Liu Xie was certain that Yuan Shao truly disliked him as the emperor.

The thought of Cao Cao shouting "Great Han, Great Han" on the city wall of Xuchang that day gave rise to a terrifying idea in Liu Xie's mind.

"No, no."

"At worst, I'll just be more careful and lenient in the future."

"Cao Cao and I have a blood feud involving the murder of my wife and children, but what grudge do I have against Yuan Shao? It can't be..."

However, following Yuan Shao's earlier disrespect, a seed of regret was ultimately planted in the emperor's heart.

At this time, the other members of Yuan's camp also came to pay their respects to the emperor.

Unlike Yuan Shao, these people were all quite proper in their etiquette towards the emperor, which gave the emperor some consolation.

However, Liu Xie soon learned that all benefits had a price tag attached.

That very night, Guo Tu came to request an audience with the emperor.

"General Liu Miao, a cavalry general, has no regard for the law and is in cahoots with Cao Cao, plotting to obstruct the Grand General from rescuing the Emperor!"

"We implore Your Majesty to issue an edict condemning Liu Miao as a traitor to the Han Dynasty! And to order him to never cross the Ying River again!"

Although the emperor knew he would come back alive.

But he never expected that his troubles would come so soon! And right off the bat, it was directed at Liu Miao, the imperial uncle he had a rather good impression of!

The emperor, using the same methods he had employed with Cao Cao, tried to mediate with Guo Tu: "Is there some misunderstanding? My imperial uncle has always been loyal to the emperor and loved his country, how can he be called a traitor to the Han?"

"..."

It was different from what the emperor had expected.

There is absolutely no room for discussion regarding Guo Tu's position.

Guo Tu simply bowed again to request the emperor's presence, then stared intently at him, unmoved.

The emperor felt a chill run down his spine under Guo Tu's gaze and finally dared not utter another sound.

"In that case, let's follow what the Duke said."

"but……"

The Emperor asked, "Could we send Geng Ji, the Chamberlain, as an imperial envoy to Liu Miao's camp to reprimand him?"

Guo Tu gave the emperor a very strange look, but still granted his request.

"Here!"

(End of this chapter)