I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 348 Northern Expedition, You're a Professional!

"Youzhou?"

Cao Cao was puzzled.

“I previously had an advisor named Tian Yu. Later, because his mother was old, he did not follow me to Xuzhou, but returned to Youzhou, where he is now a military strategist.”

"He told me that Yuan Shao is still wary of Zhongshan, so he wants to cut off trade between Hebei and Zhongshan, and also wants to find a way to stop Gongsun Du of Liaodong from trading with Zhongshan."

Previously, Liu Miao and Yuan Shao could maintain a facade of harmony under the guise of the "Great Han." But now, it was clearly a life-or-death struggle between the two sides, and Yuan Shao could not stand idly by and watch the elite warhorses of the north continue to flow south, becoming the cornerstone of Liu Miao's counterattack against the Zhao state.

"Therefore, Yuan Shao may soon send someone to Youzhou to recruit troops to intimidate Liaodong... This is our opportunity!"

Compared to Cao Cao, who was unfamiliar with the area in Hebei, Liu Bei, who had spent most of his life in Hebei, was clearly back on his home turf and had a much better grasp of information and intelligence than Cao Cao.

When Cao Cao heard Liu Bei's plan, he agreed with Liu Bei's statement.

"Although Yuan Shao tried to downplay the news of his defeat at Kunyang by Zhong Shan, it is an undeniable fact that nearly 40,000 to 50,000 elite troops from Hebei were lost at Zhong Shan's hands. Such a loss would require even the wealthy Ji Province to recover for some time. If we want to deter Liaodong at this time, we can only recruit soldiers in You Province."

The protracted war between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan had already accumulated considerable resentment among the people on both sides. Yuan Shao, wanting to recruit soldiers in Hebei, would certainly need to find a suitable proxy to go to Youzhou.

Liu Bei was a native of Youzhou, a member of the Han imperial family, a friend of Gongsun Zan, and most importantly, he had a high reputation! It was clearly the right decision to have Liu Bei act as the mediator.

Although Yuan Shao's suspicious nature meant he wouldn't grant Liu Bei military power or any extra authority, it was still better for him to be able to leave than to be kept in Ye City like a caged bird by Yuan Shao!

When Cao Cao heard Liu Bei tell him everything, he knew that Liu Bei still believed him after all, and he smiled with relief.

"I see."

"Xuande, you handle this matter; leave the rest to me."

Liu Bei frowned: "Mengde, why don't you fight for yourself? You should know that Zhongshan has more than one way to obtain warhorses than Liaodong! There's also Guanzhong!"

Cao Cao shook his head decisively.

"Benchu ​​didn't understand you, which is why he dared to let you go. But he would never let me leave Ye City."

"I heard that the Primordial Lord is building a high platform in the west of the city, called the Bronze Sparrow Terrace. He will imprison me there."

Cao Cao was not betting on the present, but on the future!

"Since Xuande has such ambitions, then he should make great strides!"

"When Zhongshan launches his northern expedition, as long as we raise our arms and shout, the north and south will respond in unison, and the Han dynasty will surely be restored!"

------

Jinling, Qianyang Hall of Ziwei Palace.

Liu Miao and Zhuge Liang were staring at each other.

"Kongming, come here! Are you afraid I'll eat you?"

Liu Miao patted the spot next to him, but Zhuge Liang refused to go over no matter what: "Now that Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, I dare not overstep my bounds."

"cut!"

Liu Miao could only place the folding chair opposite the table, inviting Zhuge Liang to sit there and talk to him.

The framework for the provincial-level Taiwan Affairs Office system has now been established.

Zhang Zhao was appointed Minister of the Imperial Secretariat.

Gu Yong was appointed as the Grand Secretary, and Zhang Hong was appointed as the Director of the Grand Secretariat.

Lu Su was appointed as a Chamberlain, while Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi, Liu Ye, Pang Tong, and others were appointed as Gentlemen-at-the-Gate, serving as advisors to the emperor.

Now that there is a distinction between ruler and subject, Zhuge Liang is much more reserved in his actions. He refused to sit next to Liu Miao no matter what. Only when he saw Liu Miao put the folding chair opposite him did he cautiously come over.

"Your Majesty, the map has been completed."

To remind the officials of the Han Dynasty not to forget their struggles, Liu Miao ordered a map of the present world to be drawn up, which he intended to hang in the center of the Qianyang Palace to remind everyone that the country was still in a state of division!
Liu Miao unfolded this enormous map, and the current situation of the world was laid out before him.

What catches the eye is an ugly, earthy yellow color...

Like Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao believed that the Yuan surname originated from Chen, which was descended from Shun. Chen was associated with earth and fire, and thus the Zhao dynasty was associated with the virtue of earth.

On the map, Youzhou, Bingzhou, Jizhou, and Yanzhou, these three major northern provinces, were all covered in yellow earth, forming an iron curtain in the north.

Beneath this iron curtain lies the fiery red Han Dynasty.

It is clear that the two sides are bounded by the Xiaoshan Mountains to the west and the Ji River to the east.

From west to east, the key military towns along the boundary were also marked in sequence—

Xingyang, Guandu, Chenliu, Dingtao, Xiaopei.

These five cities, like five fingers, were slammed onto the map of the Central Plains, holding most of the Central Plains in their grasp.

Beyond this clear dividing line lie the Guanzhong Plain and the Qingxu region.

These two areas are like two wings, growing on either side of the Central Plains battlefield.

Further southwest lies the vast land of Shu.

After that, there was Jiaozhi to the south and Liaodong to the northeast.

The current global situation can be clearly seen from this map.

Yuan Shao's actual control encompassed the four provinces of Ji, Bing, You, and Yan.

Liu Miao's actual control covered the three provinces of Yang, Jing, and Yu.

However, considering Liu Miao's significant influence over Lü Bu, who occupies Qing and Xu, it seems that Han and Zhao are now evenly matched. Liu Miao examined the map and suddenly asked Zhuge Liang, "Kongming, looking at this map, don't you have anything to say?"

The strong smell of paint on the map had not completely dissipated. At this moment, Zhuge Liang smelled this scent and had some ideas in mind.

"My lord, our army exposed many problems in the last battle in Hedong."

Zhuge Liang spoke frankly about this, and did not fully affirm the victory of the Battle of Hedong simply because it was a victory.

"The first problem is the lack of horses."

Zhuge Liang pointed with his feather fan at the vast plains of Guanzhong and the Central Plains.

"This is a well-worn topic. Without warhorses, it's impossible to move an inch on the Central Plains battlefield."

The Battle of Hedong was a perfect example of Zhou Yu's use of the natural defenses of the mountains and rivers, catching Yuan Tan completely off guard.

The Battle of Kunyang also utilized the terrain and the advantage of the Zhi River to deliver a fatal blow to Yuan Shao.

However, Liu Miao could not remain holed up in the south forever, relying on the natural defenses of the mountains and rivers to fight only defensive battles against Yuan Shao.

Liu Miao will one day break out of the enemy lines and confront Yuan Shao head-on on the plains!
Northern Expedition!

What is "伐" (fá)? It means "attack" or "conquer"!
But does Liu Miao currently have the capability to launch a northern expedition?

Even Zhou Yu dared not make any guarantees about this matter.

If the Northern Expedition is to be launched and a decisive battle with Yuan Shao is to be fought on the main battlefield, cavalry is an unavoidable issue, and Liu Miao must solve this problem no matter what.

"Secondly, people from the south are not tolerant of the cold."

This was the second major problem exposed by the southern soldiers during the Battle of Hedong.

The cold in the north and the cold in the south are completely different concepts!

Southerners complain of the cold, but they just shiver and it passes.

But when northerners complain of the cold, it really means they can freeze to death!
The fighting mostly took place in the late autumn and early winter.

Sending soldiers on a northern expedition in such weather would be tantamount to sending them to their deaths on the front lines!

Horse, Clothes.

If we want to launch a northern expedition, we must resolve these two major issues!

In addition, Zhuge Liang also instructed Liu Miao to pay attention to five important border towns: Xingyang, Guandu, Chenliu, Dingtao, and Xiaopei.

"All five cities have no natural defenses to rely on."

"In the north, let alone the Honggou and Jishui rivers, even major rivers would be difficult to defend against as effectively as the Yangtze River. Not to mention the vast Central Plains, which are mostly flat land."

Zhuge Liang said solemnly, "The reason we are able to maintain this battle line now is because Yuan Shao was eager to declare himself emperor after his defeat at Kunyang, which is why he fled in disarray, allowing Your Majesty to recover Yuzhou."

"But once Yuan Shao recovers, Yu Province will be unable to resist the Zhao army in the north and will be forced to retreat all the way to Nanyang-Runan, or even to Xiangyang-Huai River."

Zhuge Liang was not misled by the occupied Central Plains, so he also gave Liu Miao a very serious warning.

"Your Majesty's best course of action now is to build fortified villages in the Central Plains, station troops inside them, and use the people's hearts as walls to build a defensive line, thereby delaying any possible future attacks by Yuan Shao."

"Even so, we can only delay the inevitable, not make it an impregnable defense. So in the end, Your Majesty still needs to prepare warhorses and clothing to fight Yuan Shao!"

After hearing Zhuge Liang's analysis, Liu Miao tapped his fingers on the table.

Based on Zhuge Liang's views, Liu Miao's biggest challenges were overcoming the obstacles of timing and location.

The cold weather and the lack of warhorses became key factors that restricted the Northern Expedition.

In other words.

The Northern Expedition had long since become an ordinary war, but it had escalated to an act against the will of Heaven!

Yuan Shao, who controlled the north, had an inherent advantage over Liu Miao, who controlled the south.

Correspondingly, Liu Miao's "popularity" was the only advantage that allowed him to suppress Yuan Shao.

With the gradual improvement of institutional reforms and the popularization of early rice varieties like Champa rice, the grain production and wealth of the South will visibly surpass those of the North in the future.

To make up for one's shortcomings, one must let one's strengths compensate for those shortcomings.

Money and grain piled up in the treasury are nothing but rotten and useless things; only by circulating them can their true value be realized.

As for how to make amends...

Liu Miao smiled slightly at Zhuge Liang, a smile that was undeniably warm and gentle. Yet, for some reason, a chill suddenly ran down Zhuge Liang's spine!
"Since Kongming's analysis is so thorough, then the matter of the warhorses and clothing will be entrusted to Kongming!"

Zhuge Liang's straight nose suddenly contracted, and he felt suffocated as if a python were coiling around him because of Liu Miao's words.

"Your Majesty, minister..."

"Don't say no! I trust Kongming!"

Liu Miao showed no shame in shirking responsibility, only an open and honest trust in Zhuge Liang!
"After all, when it comes to the Northern Expeditions... Kongming should be a professional!"

"Ok?"

Just as Zhuge Liang was questioning the meaning of life, news arrived from Qingzhou—

"Gongsun Du has decided to sever trade ties with the Han Dynasty!"

Now, Liu Miao's nose twitched, and he felt a suffocating sensation as if a python were coiling around him...

(End of this chapter)