I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 386 The troops are divided into three groups
Under the guise of hosting a banquet, they summoned Zhang Song's servant again.

Unlike usual banquets where everyone sits separately, this time Liu Miao specially set up a round table in the former prefectural governor's residence, with some charcoal fire on the table and a pot of fragrant fish soup boiling above it.

"The people of Youzhou often cook meat in a boiling pot, which they call 'cooked pot,' but I prefer to call it hot pot."

Next to Liu Miao was not a high-ranking general like Gan Ning or Huang Zhong, nor a close adopted son like Lü Meng or Lu Yi, but a servant from Zhang Song's household.

He clearly hadn't expected the banquet to be set up this way, and he certainly hadn't expected the mighty Emperor of Han to be sitting right next to him. From the very beginning, he was terrified and dared not look at Liu Miao.

Liu Miao, on the other hand, showed no sign of awkwardness throughout, and instead enthusiastically introduced the hot pot he had been making over the past few days.

"I heard from merchants traveling to Southeast Asia that in the far west there is a crop called 'chili pepper.' One bite of it will give you a rosy complexion! It can dispel the cold and dampness from your body, making it the finest ingredient for hot pot!"

"Unfortunately, this ingredient has not yet been introduced to China. I could only rummage through the Jiangzhou treasury and find some pepper, ginger, dogwood, and mustard to make do with a spicy hot pot!"

Seated at the round table were Fa Zheng, Lü Meng, Lu Yi, Sima Yi, and others.

Smelling the aroma wafting from the hot pot and hearing Liu Miao's introduction, everyone had completely forgotten their original purpose and began to discuss with Liu Miao: "Is what Your Majesty said really true?"

"of course!"

Tofu needs to be boiled a thousand times, and fish a thousand times.

The fresh fish, simmered over a low flame for a long time, was already tender and ready for Emperor Liu Miao to take the first bite.

Liu Miao, without any hesitation, used his chopsticks to scoop the fist-sized fish head out of the pot.

However, Liu Miao did not put the fish head in his own bowl, but instead gave it to Zhang Song's servant next to him.

"Come on, you're from Sichuan, try this cooking method carefully. Is it delicious? Does it suit your taste?"

Liu Miao looked at the other person expectantly.

As a native of Sichuan and Yizhou, how can I go through life without eating hot pot?
Liu Miao's intense anticipation made him temporarily forget about his business, and he just waited to observe the other party's reaction.

At this moment, Zhang Song's servant smelled the spicy aroma of the hot pot broth, and fine beads of sweat were already dripping from his forehead.

Of course he knew who the person next to him was!
The Great Emperor of Han! He will revive the Han Dynasty three times! In the future, an ancestral temple will be built for him, just like Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Guangwu!

This kind of person is actually putting fish on his plate?
The other party was extremely panicked.

If the person sitting next to Liu Miao at this moment were an official from Shu, they would probably have been polite and frankly said that they were not worthy to eat this fish head.

But in the end, the other party was nothing more than a servant.

His years of passive acceptance of fate had rendered him incapable of refusing, let alone being polite to Liu Miao.

I picked up the wooden chopsticks and tremblingly tried to pick up the fish... but after fiddling around for a long time, I could only manage to pick up a thin piece of fish skin...

"Pinch that piece of flesh on my face! That flesh is delicious! And the eyes too!"

Liu Miao, standing to the side, was so impatient that he even seemed to be feeding the other person himself!
The other person's fingers finally stabilized, and they picked up a piece of cheek meat from the fish head and put it in their mouth.

“Cough cough cough cough!!!”

The intense numbing and spicy flavors hit the top of his head, causing the other person to cough violently the moment the fish entered their mouth, bringing tears and snot to their eyes. Startled, Liu Miao quickly poured the other person a glass of wine.

"This is fermented rice wine, it's not very strong!"

The other person was so badly choked that they disregarded etiquette and hierarchy and drank it all in one gulp!

Liu Miao fell down again, and the other person drank again, three cups in a row!
It wasn't until the third cup that the other man felt a little better. At the same time, he realized that it was Liu Miao "serving" him. He was immediately terrified, his buttocks jerking off the couch. He kowtowed to Liu Miao and said, "How dare this lowly commoner have the Emperor pour wine for me? Forgive me! Forgive me!"

"What kind of crime is this?"

Liu Miao appeared unperturbed, but inwardly he sighed, clearly knowing that the hot pot broth recipe needed further adjustment and couldn't be served like this...

Liu Miao also left the folding chair and pulled it back to his side.

"You may not know what you have done today."

"The intelligence you brought can enable our army to take Chengdu as soon as possible and pacify the Shu region."

"If it weren't for you, I'm afraid tens of thousands of our soldiers would have died in Shu. At that time, the whole Han Dynasty would be filled with weeping, with every family and every prefecture mourning, so that parents would never see their children and children would never see their fathers."

With each sentence Liu Miao spoke, the other person lowered their head a little further, and even their body trembled slightly.

"As you know, I am the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty, yet I grieve that I cannot see the unification of the nine provinces."

"If we can pacify Shu as soon as possible, the people of Shu will suffer less injustice. At that time, I wonder how many people will be overjoyed."

Liu Miao suddenly asked the other person, "How many people are in your family?"

"Ok?"

The other party was too nervous and did not hear Liu Miao's question clearly.

"I'm asking you, how many people are in your family?"

The other party quickly replied, "My family consists of my parents, a son and a daughter, and my wife, making a total of six people."

"Tsk, six people!"

Liu Miao made a rough estimate in his mind: "When your son grows up in the future, your family should be able to be allocated a total of 260 mu of farmland..."

"Ok?"

This was the first time the other person had taken the initiative to speak to Liu Miao during all the time they had spent together.

"How many?"

This is the second time.

Liu Miao did the calculation in his mind to make sure he hadn't made a mistake: "Two hundred and sixty mu."

Pfft!
The other person's buttocks bounced off the couch again, and as they fell forward, their buttocks were sticking up high.

"Your Majesty! This humble subject deserves death!!"

"..."

As the other party embellished their account, Liu Miao and the others finally learned of Zhang Song's death. "Phew~~~"

Liu Miao let out a soft sigh, still feeling regret over Zhang Song's death.

Regardless of what Zhang Song was thinking, he did indeed choose to betray his class.

Given Zhang Song's central position, he could have easily lived a life of leisure in Shu, ignoring Liu Miao and even doing everything he could to prevent Liu Miao from entering Shu, just like his brother Zhang Su.

But Zhang Song has clearly taken a completely different and contradictory path.

"The Ziqiaos I know are all true men."

The others were delighted with the intelligence they had obtained, but also saddened by Zhang Song's death, so the atmosphere at the round table gradually turned somber.

At this moment, Fa Zheng clenched his fists and trembled violently.

After Zhang Song's servant finished speaking, he kept kowtowing to Liu Miao until his head bled, and cried out to Liu Miao, "This lowly person does not wish to aid and abet evil! It is only because my family is still in Chengdu that I have no choice but to do this!"

The other person kowtowed heavily to Liu Miao, but suddenly felt his forehead hit a soft spot, and looked up in surprise.

Upon closer inspection, they discovered that Liu Miao had placed his foot underneath, and Liu Miao was now grimacing, saying, "You little brat, you really hit that hard!"

Liu Miao grabbed the other man's arm, trying to pull him up, but the man simply wouldn't get up.

Helpless, Liu Miao could only squat down, reach under the other person's armpit, and pull the other person up from the ground like pulling a radish.

"Since ancient times, loyalty to one's country and filial piety have been difficult to reconcile. For the sake of one's family, I understand!"

"Rest assured, I will not expose you! Once I arrive in Chengdu, I will immediately send people to protect your family!"

The other person's tears and snot were mixed together, and after hearing Liu Miao's words, they burst into tears!

"Alright! What's with all the crying, you're a grown man?"

Liu Miao helped the other person back onto the table.

"Come on! Let's continue tasting the dishes... oops! I mean, let's continue the banquet!"

But Liu Miao soon realized he had made a mistake.

When the other person returned to the table, he ate the fish and meat with his snot and tears mixed with his own. When asked anything, he said it was delicious and couldn't give Liu Miao any proper feedback.

"Your Majesty, this humble subject truly cannot eat anymore..."

"Alright! If you can't eat, go have some fun! Your accommodation has been prepared; you can stay for a few days!"

Liu Miao patted the other person on the back, signaling him to go and rest.

"And stop calling me a lowly commoner! You're sitting and eating with me, if you're a lowly commoner, then what am I? Why are you crying again? Still crying? If you cry again, do you believe I'll beat you up!?"

Chen Wu led Zhang Song's servant, who was still sobbing, away, and the table returned to silence.

"..."

Almost everyone was looking at Fa Zheng.

"Xiaozhi, please accept my condolences and take heed of this difficult time!"

Fazheng's personality is actually not very likable.

In addition, being from Guanzhong, he had very few friends in Sichuan.

It is truly regrettable that Zhang Song, a rare and dear friend, has passed away in such a way.

The key is……

With Zhang Song killed and Fa Zheng exposed, it is highly likely that Fa Zheng's other close friends will also be implicated.

For example, Meng Da, who came to Shu from Guanzhong with Fa Zheng.

Even if Meng Da isn't beheaded, his fate won't be good.

The torment Fazheng must have felt at this moment, with his already few close friends being implicated, is unimaginable...

"filial piety."

"His Majesty!"

Fa Zheng interrupted Liu Miao's hesitant attempt at comforting him.

"The most urgent task is to formulate a strategy as soon as possible."

"Since Zhang Su sent over the fake defense map, he must be certain that our army will attack Chengdu from the inner river. As a result, the defenses of the middle and outer rivers will inevitably be relaxed."

"At this time, it would be better to launch a three-pronged attack to confuse the Shu army. Then, we can launch a fierce assault from the middle and outer waterways and take Chengdu in one fell swoop!"

Fa Zheng did not dwell on mourning Zhang Song.

But he still made a request to Liu Miao.

"When that time comes, I hope Your Majesty will hand Zhang Su over to me for disposal!"

Liu Miao understood Fa Zheng's meaning.

Since Zhang Song is dead, Fa Zheng probably wouldn't bother to think about right and wrong anymore.

Forgiveness? Forgiving Zhang Su is Zhang Song's business! Fa Zheng's goal is to send Zhang Su to see his younger brother, Zhang Song!
"I'm sure."

Anyway, Zhang Su was a powerful clan in Shu, and Liu Miao would get rid of him sooner or later, so agreeing with Fa Zheng wouldn't hurt.

"In that case, let us follow Xiaozhi's advice and divide our forces into three routes to advance into Shu!"

Two months have passed since the decision to attack Shu was made.

"We must capture Chengdu and completely pacify the Shu region within one month!"

(End of this chapter)