I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 413 Is my reputation bad, Liu Miao?
"Your Majesty! Our army has captured Lady Yuan Tan!"

Having just arrived in Lantian and set up camp, Liu Miao looked bewildered at the scout who had come to report the news.

"What's going on? Wei Yan has captured Chang'an?"

"No! We suddenly bumped into a group. They had many guards and women, and they were carrying Yuan Tan's royal banner. We all thought we had run into Yuan Tan, but when we rushed in, we found that it was a woman inside."

The scout was quite perceptive and added a sentence—

"She's a beautiful woman!"

"The woman was arrogant at first, but after she learned that we were Han soldiers, she began to beg and plead, even revealing her identity, and was captured by our army!"

Liu Miao was amused upon hearing this.

"What about people?"

"Right in the back!"

"Bring it in!"

"Here!"

Zhang Xiu, standing beside him, also asked with unusual understanding, "Your Majesty, should I go out?"

"What are you doing out there?"

Liu Miao sat upright in his tent with a smile: "I haven't met our sister-in-law yet!"

Zhang Xiu was quite worried, thinking he might witness some unspeakable scene: "Then I can't stay here any longer, can I? As the saying goes, nothing is more fun than your sister-in-law..."

"Your Majesty! The person has been brought!"

Wen had already been brought by the scouts.

Although she was a prisoner, at this moment, only the strands of hair at Wen's temples were slightly damp with sweat, clinging to her delicate, fair skin. There was nothing wrong with her, which was quite respectable of Yuan Tan.

"This humble woman greets the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty and inquires about his well-being."

The Wen family was indeed of noble birth, and their etiquette and demeanor were dignified and polite; it was just that Liu Miao hadn't looked closely enough.

Liu Miao carefully examined Wen's face, but his gaze sent chills down Wen's spine.

Clearly, she had heard the legend of Liu Miao countless times.

There are even rumors that Liu Miao's last attack on Hedong was for Luanti, the daughter of the Southern Xiongnu Chanyu...

Upon realizing this, Wen quickly lowered her head slightly, trying to conceal the fullness of her chest, but she couldn't hide it no matter what she did. This made Wen hate for the first time what she had once been proud of.

"I am related to the Yuan family. Yuan Tan was adopted by his father Yuan Shao into the main branch of the Yuan family. Strictly speaking, we are the same family."

Liu Miao's words did not lower Wen's guard; on the contrary, they made her even more panicked.

Why say all this?

Was she deliberately highlighting their relationship to make herself feel ashamed?
Damn it... How come this Han emperor has so many fancy tricks up his sleeve?
Liu Miao was unaware of the many wild thoughts that Lady Wen had been having. Instead, he solemnly said, "Therefore, if you tell me the truth, I will not do anything to you."

Did Yuan Tan tell you where he went before he left?

"..."

Seeing that Lady Wen remained silent, Liu Miao raised an eyebrow: "What? You don't believe me?"

"I swear on my name that everything I've said is the truth!"

Wen was already somewhat flustered.

Hearing Liu Miao's last words, she burst into tears!
Seeing Wen's strange reaction, Liu Miao was speechless and turned to ask Zhou Tai, "Is my reputation bad?"

Zhou Tai: ...

After crying for a while, Wen's hands were already on her belt, as if she wanted to shout, "Beast! Come and enjoy yourself!"

Seeing that Liu Miao and the others did not move, Lady Wen asked in a daze, "Is what Your Majesty said really true?"

"Why would I, the Son of Heaven, joke with you?"

Seeing that Liu Miao truly had not offended her, Lady Wen composed herself, but then stammered, "This humble woman really didn't hear His Highness mention anything, only that he was leading a large army to Hedong..."

Liu Miao asked some more questions and, seeing that Wen Shi really knew nothing, could only settle her in Lantian for the time being.

"Too bad I caught a pretty face."

Seeing that Wen Shi was of no use, Liu Miao stopped focusing his attention on her.

"Notify Wei Yan to continue the sweeping campaign through Guanzhong!"

"Here!"

------

Changan.

After a long period of contemplation, Guo Huai finally reacted and issued the order: "Seal off the city gates and passes! We cannot allow Liu Miao to seize Chang'an!"

"Furthermore, immediately notify Yecheng! Get support from Hebei!"

The scout asked, bewildered, "And what about the lady?"

Guo Huai looked pained upon hearing this.

"Do you really not know Liu Miao's reputation?"

"Which woman who got close to him managed to keep her chastity?"

"Even if we send troops to retrieve her now, I'm afraid the lady is already... alas!"

The scouts also fell silent.

This is word of mouth.

How could a beautiful woman possibly fare well after falling into Liu Miao's hands?

Especially since Lady Wen was a woman, wasn't that exactly what Liu Miao wanted?

"We have failed Your Highness!"

The scout went to deliver the order, weeping. A subject who humiliates his lord must die!

In particular, Yuan Tan has not lacked money since he took up his post in Guanzhong, so he has treated his soldiers fairly well, which makes the Guanzhong garrison even more miserable!

"Liu Miao has insulted the mistress! I will kill you!"

"Liu Miao has insulted His Highness! I will kill you!"

"Liu Miao is a homosexual! He has already... Ahhhhh!!! I swear to kill Liu Miao!"

"..."

By the time Guo Huai realized what was happening, the rumor had already spread that Liu Miao had severely humiliated Yuan Tan's father, Yuan Shao, during the Battle of Kunyang...

"Liu Miao! Look what you've done!"

However, Guo Huai still ordered all parties to remain calm and not to go out and engage Liu Miao in a decisive battle!

At the same time, military intelligence from all directions was converging on Chang'an.

First is Weinan.

Then there's Hu County.

Then came Oucheng.

Traces of Han troops have been found in these areas, and according to intelligence, they are mostly Han cavalry.

However, the course of the battle was exactly the same.

It is said that the Han cavalry charged and fought with their speed advantage, but then did not engage in a prolonged battle with Yuan's army. They merely harassed the enemy and then left immediately, showing no sign of attacking the city.

Moreover, Guo Huai noticed that these cavalrymen moved at a remarkably fast pace, engaging in combat and immediately retreating to a new location. This kind of warfare seemed strangely familiar to Guo Huai.

"When I was in Taiyuan, I often saw the Xianbei from the north plundering cities but not attacking them, which is exactly the same method used by the Han army now!"

Guo Huai, being from Taiyuan in Bingzhou, was extremely familiar with such tactics.

"But now that Liu Miao has suddenly led his army to attack, why use such tactics?"

If Liu Miao really leads a large army to attack, given the current weak defenses in Guanzhong, wouldn't he have already marched into Guanzhong and headed straight for Chang'an?
Furthermore, Guo Huai discovered that the Han army cavalry's activities were primarily concentrated on the south bank of the Wei River...

Does this mean that the Han army is now unable to cross the river, or even dares not to cross it?
When Guo Huai recalled this battle, he always felt that it started extremely abruptly!

It was so abrupt that this war should never have existed in the first place!
This battle was fought as if someone suddenly got a brain fart and just jumped up and came over!
Shouldn't Liu Miao's battlefield be in the Central Plains?
Shouldn't Liu Miao be facing Yuan Shao?

If we were to mobilize a large number of troops to attack Guanzhong now, wouldn't Hebei be able to break through the Central Plains in an instant if they suddenly sent troops?

Guo Huai had a vague idea—

At this time, Liu Miao probably didn't have many soldiers around him!

The fact that they suddenly attacked Guanzhong must have been just a coincidence!
Although this conjecture is extremely ridiculous.

After all, it seems utterly incomprehensible that the emperor, a man of such high status, would be doing such a trivial test.

But let's think about it from a different perspective.

Has Liu Miao done far too few unbelievable things?
In that instant, Guo Huai became even more certain of his conjecture! And he began to resolutely implement his tactic of holding firm and not venturing out, in order to await reinforcements from the Hebei direction!
From Guanzhong to Hedong, there were beacon fires.

The rising smoke signals caused widespread panic among the officials in Hebei.

"What's going on in Guanzhong again? Could it be that Ma Teng and Han Sui have attacked?"

Guo Tu looked at the plumes of smoke with a headache and hurriedly ordered his men to investigate the situation.

Upon learning that Liu Miao's dragon banner had appeared in Guanzhong, Guo Tu's vision went black!
Didn't they say that Liu Miao had just pacified the Shu region?

How come he has so much energy? He actually went all the way to Guanzhong!
Without time to verify, the court in Ye City directly began to hold a meeting based on the premise that "Liu Miao did indeed appear in Guanzhong," or even that "Liu Miao did indeed lead the main force to appear in Guanzhong."

Because it concerned Guanzhong, and a considerable number of Cao Cao's remnants remained there, Cao Cao also joined the discussion. However, Cao Cao sat still and did not say a word.

"We need to provide support immediately!"

Pang Ji offered his opinion.

"If Guanzhong is lost, Hedong will be in danger! If Hedong is in danger, Hebei will inevitably be thrown into turmoil!"

"Last time, Liu Miao wanted to use Guanzhong and Hedong as a springboard to threaten Hebei! But due to the urgency of the situation, he did not succeed! Now it seems that Liu Miao is probably using the same old trick again, trying to strike first!"

Pang Ji's words were naturally based on evidence.

Holding firm on the main battlefield while seeking opportunities from the flanks—this was the tactic Liu Miao used last time.

Moreover, there is Lü Bu to the east. If they attack Hebei from both Guanzhong and Qingzhou, even Yuan Shao would probably be exhausted from running around!
But Guo Tu had a different idea.

After a moment of contemplation, he said, "When it comes to familiarity with Liu Miao, no one here can surpass me."

Cao Cao: ...

Guo Tu: "Liu Miao is like a gazelle hanging its horns on a tree, making him difficult to find."

"The same principle applies to Langya's fierce fighting and refusal to retreat, and also to their secret excavation of the Zhi River in Kunyang."

Guo Tu showed everyone the map.

"But this time, if Liu Miao is really fighting according to his tactics from last time, then his intentions are too obvious."

"If I were him, even if I didn't let Liu Bei and Lü Bu cause any trouble in Liaodong and Qingzhou, I would at least gather troops in the Central Plains to attract our attention, instead of running directly to Guanzhong!"

"Moreover, the information that His Highness the King of Qin is not in Guanzhong should not have been leaked... Liu Miao's sudden entry into Guanzhong seems rather strange."

After all that buildup, Guo Tu finally voiced his conjecture: "Is it possible that Liu Miao's actions this time were just an accident?"

Accident?

If Guanzhong were truly lost, it wouldn't be an accident!
Just as Pang Jiyao and Guo Tu were arguing, Yuan Shao, who had been silent all along, suddenly asked by name—

"Mengde, tell me, what exactly does Liu Miao want to do when he goes to Guanzhong?"

Instantly, everyone's eyes were drawn to Cao Cao, who seemed almost indifferent to worldly affairs and like a mascot!

　There will be another update tonight; this chapter is a make-up update.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)