I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 394 Pacifying the Shu Region

"No way to talk?"

"Ah."

"..."

Just then, Huang Quan suddenly felt as if the earth was shaking violently, and he immediately panicked.

"It's the sound of a trebuchet."

Liu Miao thoughtfully offered Huang Quan a considerate explanation.

"You are waiting for me, but I am not waiting for you."

Huang Quan strode out of the tent, only to witness a scene that sent chills down his spine.

Hundreds of trebuchets, each about ten feet tall, were placed at the forefront of the Han army. Several Han soldiers operated each trebuchet, stretching the sinew on it to its maximum length.

Stone projectiles, ranging in size from the size of a fist to the size of a human head, were launched by the trebuchet and flew hundreds of paces to the Chengdu city wall. Each strike caused the long-neglected Chengdu city wall to emit a worrying sound, like the helpless groan of a terminally ill old man.

The land of Shu is rich.

However, its isolated terrain has indeed made it a self-contained place, creating huge obstacles to communication and exchange with the outside world.

The trebuchets that once breached Shouchun City now appear to the Shu soldiers as if the five warriors who once split mountains and shattered rocks have been resurrected, using their divine power to throw those rocks one by one, as if they want to destroy Chengdu and fill up the Minjiang River!
Furthermore, with Gongsun Shu, who had once occupied Shu, declaring himself the White Emperor and opposing Emperor Guangwu, Shu was largely neglected during the two hundred years of the Later Han Dynasty. No one risked their political career to repair the Chengdu city walls. It was only after a major fire in Mianzhu that Liu Yan was forced to move the prefecture's capital to Chengdu, at which point some repairs and reinforcements were made to the city walls.

But how could the city walls, which had been in disrepair for two hundred years, withstand the stone projectiles fired by the trebuchet?
The Shu army's only hope is to fight their way out! To come out and fight the Han army to the death! To come out and destroy these trebuchets!

But did the Shu army really have such courage and ambition?
Liu Miao also came out of the tent at this time and stood behind Huang Quan.

Huang Quan saw the crumbling city wall, then turned to look at Liu Miao's somewhat indifferent face in the shifting light and shadow...

"Your Majesty, have you always been this cold-hearted?"

"I never show mercy to my enemies."

Liu Miao stared intently at the city wall that was being bombarded.

"Gongheng, guess how long it will take to break down the city wall?"

"How can the Dongzhou soldiers you rely on possibly defend such a city?"

Looking around, Huang Quan couldn't see a single Shu soldier on the Chengdu city wall.

Those Shu soldiers are now hiding under the parapets and trembling in the alleys; they have no fighting power left.
Huang Quan estimated that even without these trebuchets to smash the city walls, as long as the Han army followed up this offensive and pushed towards Chengdu, the heart of Shu would collapse completely like a dilapidated house, turning into ruins.

"Your Majesty, how will you treat Chengdu in the future?"

"Of course it should be demolished!"

Huang Quan's expression was gloomy.

"Then, build a more beautiful, grander, and stronger Chengdu!"

Liu Miao's heavy breathing almost suffocated Huang Quan!

"what?"

Liu Miao ignored Huang Quan's resentful little eyes.

"They are people from Shu, and also Han people."

"I have no reason to treat them differently, nor is it necessary."

Liu Miao gazed into the distance.

Today in Sichuan, it's a rare sunny day, and you can see the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

"What? Could it be that Gongheng has been fighting with me for so long that he has forgotten that I am actually the Emperor of the Han Dynasty?"

Huang Quan also looked into the distance with Liu Miao.

"Your Majesty, three months is not a long time."

The tranquility of the distant snow-capped mountains and the chaos beneath the city walls in front of us form two extremes.

As the last few sporadic sounds subsided, the trebuchet ceased its stone-throwing attack and entered a brief silence.

Huang Quan turned his gaze back to Liu Miao, who was still standing with his hands behind his back.

He knew that Liu Miao was still giving him, and Chengdu, one last chance. This chance was only for them.

Whatever Huang Quan's answer is, it will not shake Liu Miao's resolve.

Otherwise, Liu Miao wouldn't have remained so steadfast in not even glancing back at Huang Quan until now.

"His Majesty……"

"Figured out?"

"Figured out."

Huang Quan both loved and feared Liu Miao's domineering nature.

"Anyway, His Majesty didn't leave us any other way to go."

"Hey! Don't be like that! I'm still quite reasonable! Even a dead end is still a way out!"

"..."

Huang Quan requested permission, and Liu Miao allowed him to enter the city.

What if Gongheng goes in and can't get out?

"By then, the disgraced official will probably be dead, and Your Majesty will no longer need to worry about anything."

"That won't work!"

Liu Miao reached for his waist, pulled hard, and ripped off his jade pendant, throwing it to Huang Quan.

"I want you to live! I want most of the people in Shu to live! And to live well!"

"Otherwise, if the people of Shu were not doing well before I came, and they are still not doing well after I come, then wouldn't my trip have been in vain?"

Holding the piece of yellow jade, Huang Quan heard Liu Miao's words and finally sighed deeply. After bowing to Liu Miao, he returned to Chengdu alone, just as he had come alone, without any worries.

Liu Miao waited patiently in front of the tent.

At this moment, Zhou Tai rushed to Liu Miao's side: "Your Majesty, tell me, which should be the city gates of Chengdu opened first, or Huang Quan's body thrown down?"

Liu Miao rolled his eyes at Zhou Tai: "Can't you hope for something better?"

"What do you mean 'I don't hope for a good outcome'? That brat Huang Quan just now clearly looked like he was ready to die!"

Zhou Tai had already made a bet with Liu Miao: "I guess Huang Quan's body will be thrown down first!"

Faced with Zhou Tai's provocation, Liu Miao's eyes sharpened: "What are we betting on?"

"One string of cash!"

"make a deal!"

From noon to evening.

The sun rises from east to west, never stopping for anyone. By the time you realize it, it has already stopped at the mountaintop, and will set in just a moment.

"One string of cash! One string of cash!"

Zhou Tai has decided that once he wins that string of coins from Liu Miao, he will pass it down to his descendants as a family heirloom!
This money was won by our ancestors from the Han Dynasty emperor! It's incredibly rare!
Finally, the sun began to set.

As the sun sets, only a few faint red rays remain on the horizon, turning half the sky into a ribbon.

"boom!"

The voice sounded.

Apart from Zhou Tai, all the Han soldiers were overjoyed!
Because that was clearly not the sound of a heavy object falling.

That sound was the sound of Chengdu's ancient city gates opening once again!

The character "Shu" on the mottled city wall was cut off, and banners with the character "Han" were replaced, fluttering in the wind.

Through the cracks in the city gate, someone carrying the Shu King's golden seal and ribbon slowly advanced, and finally knelt down and prostrated himself on the ground.

"This sinful subject of Shu respectfully welcomes the Emperor of Han!"

The Shu region, which had briefly left the territory of the Han Dynasty, was restored to Han territory under Liu Miao's decisive and efficient leadership!
(End of this chapter)