I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 378 White Emperor City

"Very well! I've got it!"

Seeing Gan Ning's fighting spirit, Liu Miao couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"With Xingba's promise, the land of Shu will surely be conquered!"

Liu Miao did not forget.

Although both Sima Yi and Lu Su believed that Yuan Shao would not send troops at this time, they both gave a deadline.

If Shu cannot be pacified within three months, Yuan Shao will definitely spare no effort to launch a southward attack!
Three months was the deadline given to Liu Miao to pacify Shu.

This was obviously difficult, but Liu Miao still wanted to give it a try!
Provoking Gan Ning is just the first step.

Pang Tong, the strategist who accompanied the army, also offered his advice at this time.

"Zhang Lu of Hanzhong can assist Your Majesty in conquering Shu!"

The feud between Zhang Lu and Liu Zhang was well-known throughout the Jing and Shu regions.

Zhang Lu was the grandson of Zhang Daoling and a master of the Five Pecks of Rice sect. After Zhang Daoling's death, Zhang Lu's father, Zhang Heng, continued the sect. After Zhang Heng's death, Zhang Lu became its leader.

Zhang Lu's mother was fond of health preservation, "had a youthful appearance," and "was also skilled in the ways of the supernatural." She frequently visited the home of Liu Yan, the governor of Yizhou. From then on, Zhang Lu gained Liu Yan's trust and eventually became the governor of Hanzhong, becoming a bulwark for the northern part of Shu.

After Liu Yan's death, Zhang Lu disobeyed Liu Zhang's orders, which enraged Liu Zhang. He then killed Zhang Lu's mother and family, and the two families became sworn enemies, constantly attacking each other.

Pang Tong told Liu Miao about the feud between Liu Zhang and Zhang Lu, but Liu Miao's focus was clearly not on the two of them.

"Shiyuan is saying that Zhang Lu's mother is clearly a beautiful woman, but she has the face of a young girl, and she often visits Liu Yan's house?"

"Then there is still a holiday?"

Liu Miao suddenly revealed a mischievous smile. Pang Tong, seeing this, also smiled knowingly, revealing the same knowing smile that all men understand.

"Liu Zhang's actions were truly disrespectful! How could he kill his own stepmother?"

"that is!"

"In my opinion, Liu Zhang should marry Zhang Lu's mother! Wouldn't that bring peace to Hanzhong?"

"..."

Pang Tong looked at Liu Miao with admiration.

He had no doubt that, given Liu Miao's character and way of dealing with people, he was actually capable of doing such a thing!

Liu Miao was still feeling sorry for Zhang Lu's mother.

"You're so charming! Zhang Lu's mother must be at least sixty, right? You know, Liu Yan is the governor of Yizhou, how many beautiful young women couldn't he get his hands on? How did he end up with Zhang Lu's mother? That woman is so charming!"

Pang Tong replied with great confidence, "Of course it's different! What man wouldn't be tempted by a woman who is mature inside and beautiful on the outside?"

Liu Miao looked at Pang Tong in surprise: "Shi Yuan is very knowledgeable!"

"Hahaha! Lessons learned! Lessons learned!"

"..."

Lu Meng, Lu Yi, and Sima Yi, who were accompanying him, also agreed to win over Zhang Lu and get him to make some noise in the north.

Even if Zhang Lu doesn't make any moves, as long as Liu Miao informs Liu Zhang that he has sent an envoy to Hanzhong, Liu Zhang will naturally not remain indifferent and will certainly disperse his troops.

"Zhang Lu is just an external force; we still need to defeat Liu Zhang with real swords and spears and take back the Shu territory."

Unconsciously, Liu Miao's gaze fell on the words "Baidi City" on the map.

Baidi City is located at the mouth of Qutang Gorge, on the north bank of the Yangtze River, on Baidi Mountain. It faces Kuimen to the east, faces Baiyan Mountain across the river to the south, borders Fengjie County to the west, and leans against Jigong Mountain to the north, serving as the eastern gateway to Sichuan.

Two hundred years ago, Gongsun Shu, who established himself as emperor in Shu, built a city on a mountain. Because a well in the city constantly emitted white steam, resembling a white dragon, he named himself the White Emperor and changed the original name of Ziyang City to Baidi (White Emperor). Gongsun Shu was one of the warlords who competed with Liu Xiu for the empire, and could even be considered the biggest obstacle to Liu Xiu's unification of the country. His choice of Baidi City as the eastern gateway to Shu must have been due to its strategic defensive position.

The same is true.

Baidi Mountain, where Baidi City is located, juts out from the land, like a foot kicking into the heart of the Yangtze River. Its terrain is both attached to the mountains and relies on the Yangtze River, making it a formidable pass!
"One man can hold the pass against ten thousand!"

Liu Miao even led a team to personally investigate the vicinity of Baidi City.

The Yangtze River upstream is extremely turbulent and rapid, so in theory, the naval forces of Sichuan should have a greater advantage.

However, the commander of Baidi City clearly had no intention of engaging Liu Miao in a naval battle.

Despite having the advantage of being upstream, they kept all their ships anchored in the harbor of Baidi City, without taking the initiative to block Liu Miao's ships. They were just sitting there leisurely, as if they wanted Liu Miao to be able to swagger into the heart of Shu.

Pang Tong was overjoyed when he realized that the general guarding Baidi City would not send out his navy to block the river.

Before Pang Tong could even articulate his plan, Lü Meng frowned—

"A tactic to lure the enemy."

Lu Yi echoed:

"It was indeed a ploy to lure the enemy."

Although Sima Yi did not say it explicitly, his eyes were constantly scanning the city's defense system, which shows that he had also seen through the trap set by the city's garrison commander and knew that Baidi City was an insurmountable obstacle for Liu Miao to enter Shu.

"Yes, yes! This is clearly a trap to lure the enemy!"

Pang Tong quickly changed his words, but even Zhou Tai could hear the unusual confidence in his voice, and looked at Pang Tong with some surprise.

Liu Miao also silently glanced back at Pang Tong.

Clearly, Pang Tong's strengths did not lie in specific military planning.

“The Yangtze River upstream from Baidi City is not only extremely narrow, but also has towering mountains on both banks, making it impossible to get supplies.”

Gan Ning, who was most familiar with the terrain of Shu, especially the terrain in the east of Shu, had one foot on the bow of the boat and kept tossing his short blade up and down. Each time, the hilt of the blade landed steadily in his hand.

"If our army were to enter Shu so brazenly, the Shu army in Baidi City would rush out and cut off our supplies... And the terrain of Baidi City is extremely special. Even if our army is several times more elite, it cannot completely stop them."

"The army that entered Shu and marched south would encounter Jiangzhou City."

Even Gan Ning slapped his forehead when Jiangzhou was mentioned.

"Jiangzhou City is not so easy to conquer."

"That hellhole is also a mountain city, but it's several times larger than Baidi City! If we send a small group of people to attack without any supplies or support, it's just suicide!"

As a native of Shu, Gan Ning was very proud of the strength of his hometown, but as the attacker, he was indeed troubled about how to conquer Shu.

Liu Miao sailed around for a while, making sure he had memorized the obvious defensive layout of Baidi City. Then he returned to the camp south of the Yangtze River to think about how to defeat the enemy.

Just as Liu Miao was boating and observing Baidi City, two pairs of eyes within Baidi City were also staring intently at him.

"Look at that banner, it should be Liu Miao's imperial banner."

Zhang Ren, with his resolute face and powerful arms, couldn't help but sigh when he saw Liu Miao's dragon banner: "He truly is an emperor on horseback, actually coming to inspect Baidi City in person."

Beside Zhang Ren was Fa Zheng, who was always expressionless and had a perpetually unfocused gaze.

"What does Xiaozhi think of Liu Miao?"

"..."

Fa Zheng sensed a hint of probing and danger in Zhang Ren's questioning tone!
　A surprise update!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)