I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 417 Meeting
"It's not just someone with the same name; it's none other than Cao Cao, the former Minister of Works of the Han Dynasty!"

Liu Miao hesitated for a moment, then asked uncertainly, "Is Yuan Shao dead or has he gone mad?"

These words startled Zhang Xiu and Wei Yan: "Why does Your Majesty say such a thing?"

"Nonsense! If Yuan Shao were normal, why would he release Cao Cao?"

Liu Miao found Cao Cao's sudden appearance in Guanzhong utterly incomprehensible!

That's Cao Cao!
Even if such a person isn't killed outright, he should at least be chained up and locked up in the Bronze Sparrow Terrace or somewhere else. How could you possibly hand him military power and let him out?
Liu Miao completely lost interest in visiting more imperial tombs.

"Let's go! Let's see what tricks Yuan Shao and Cao Cao are up to!"

Without lingering in Changling, Liu Miao openly paid homage to Emperor Gaozu and then headed east, intending to meet Cao Cao!

east.

After leaving Ye City, Cao Cao immediately set off at full speed, fearing that Yuan Shao would change his mind and recall him.

It was precisely because of this that Cao Cao was able to reach Guanzhong so quickly and escape the cage that had imprisoned him for so long.

He marched hastily to Hanoi, then crossed the river at Mengjin, passed Hangu Pass, went through Hongnong, and finally crossed Tongguan Pass. When Cao Cao set foot on the land of Guanzhong and saw the Tongguan Pass, nestled between mountains and rivers, he finally burst into unrestrained laughter!
The laughter shook the mountains and rivers. If Yuan Shao had heard such laughter, it's hard to say whether he would have released Cao Cao.

"Wonderful! Wonderful!"

Although Guanzhong was not as prosperous as Xuchang or Yecheng, Cao Cao found the scenery here to be absolutely beautiful!
Guo Jia, standing beside him, also smiled and said, "Congratulations, my lord!"

Having adjusted their mindset, Yu Jin and the usually calm and composed Yue Jin were now eager to try: "My lord! Are we going directly to Chang'an to consolidate military power?"

"No!"

Cao Cao stopped laughing.

"Let's go find Liu Miao first!"

"Yuan Shao dared to release me because he believed he would definitely defeat Zhongshan!"

"That is indeed the case. Even if Yuan Shao had truly pacified the Guandong region, what could he possibly do even if he only controlled a corner of Guanzhong?"

Cao Cao was about to order his scouts to disperse and search for Liu Miao's whereabouts, but Guo Jia stopped him.

"Rest assured, my lord."

“Even if you don’t go looking for Liu Zhongshan now, Liu Zhongshan will come looking for you.”

"If you wait here for a few days, he will surely show up!"

As Guo Jia predicted, things turned out just as he had.

Just two days later, Han troops appeared around Cao Cao's camp.

On the third day, the blood-stained crimson dragon banner appeared directly at the end of the plain, slowly heading towards Cao Cao's camp.

As Liu Miao approached Cao Cao's camp, the first people he saw were Yu Jin and Yue Jin.

There is clearly only one person who can make them both willingly be controlled.

"Yuan Shao actually released you..."

Liu Miao was quite emotional for a moment, and then said to himself, "Should I write an anonymous letter of denunciation and send it to Yuan Shao to wake him up and make him take Cao Cao back?"

"Ok?"

Zhou Tai, standing nearby, was puzzled: "Isn't His Majesty on good terms with Cao Mengde?"

"That's right, so I know how difficult he is to deal with."

Liu Miao said, half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Sometimes, I really wish Yuan Shao would kill him..."

Zhou Tai scratched his head, clearly not understanding this tangled and distorted emotion.

At this moment, Cao Cao, riding his Shadowless Horse, slowly emerged from the camp.

Liu Miao smiled knowingly, spurred his horse forward, and continued onward.

The setting sun cast long shadows of the two of them, and just as they were about to meet, they both stopped abruptly.

Two hundred steps.

Both sides tacitly stopped at this distance, refusing to take another step forward and fall into a range that might put them in danger.

Liu Miao looked Cao Cao up and down: "Mengde! It's been a long time, and you've become even more spirited! You must have been recuperating well in Ye City these past few days?"

Cao Cao was also sizing up Liu Miao.

His perspective differed from Liu Miao's.

Cao Cao stood in the east.

Looking westward, the enormous red sun blurred his vision, making it impossible for him to see Liu Miao's facial features. He could only see Liu Miao riding on the fast boat, his back always upright like a pine tree, exuding both majesty and his usual relaxed demeanor.

Moreover, although Cao Cao could not see Liu Miao's face, he knew that Liu Miao must be smiling broadly at this moment.

"Zhongshan, I really didn't expect that after going through so much, you would have already usurped the throne. It's truly like a dream."

Liu Miao was displeased upon hearing this!
"Mengde! What do you mean by overstepping your bounds! I even went to the Changling Mausoleum of Emperor Gaozu! Emperor Gaozu himself agreed, so what are you babbling about here for?"

"Did the Emperor agree?"

"Nonsense! Even my great-grandfather didn't agree, so why would he agree to someone with the surname Yuan or Cao?"

Liu Miao picked at his ear: "Mengde! For the sake of your former position as Minister of Works of the Han Dynasty, I will give you face today! Surrender! Then come with me to Changling to apologize, and I will spare your life, how about that?"

Cao Cao laughed in exasperation: "Zhongshan, now that you've declared yourself emperor, your arrogance has certainly grown!"

"How about this: you surrender obediently, and I'll take you to Ye City to apologize before His Majesty, and then I'll spare your life, how about that?"

Liu Miao sneered, then roared, "You're courting death!" Immediately, Liu Miao grabbed his bow and arrow from his horse, strained his arm, and drew it into a full moon shape!
"Cao Cao! Take this arrow!"

Following this warning, the arrow crashed down like the setting sun. Cao Cao squinted for a long time before finally locating the trajectory of the arrow.

He dodged to the side, and an arrow immediately stuck in the spot where Cao Cao had just stood. The constantly trembling feathers at the end of the arrow made Cao Cao's heart tremble with fear!

"Liu Miao! You actually resorted to underhanded tactics; you truly are unworthy of being called a hero!"

Cao Cao manipulated the reins of Jueying, making it spin twice in place, before uttering a harsh threat—

"It's getting late! Let's fight again tomorrow!"

After saying this, Cao Cao rode back to his camp, turned off the lights and went to sleep early, seemingly to conserve his energy for a decisive battle with Liu Miao!
But at midnight, Cao Cao, who had been keeping his eyes closed, suddenly opened them, his eyes wide and round like copper bells!
Disguised as ordinary soldiers, he quietly left the camp with only a dozen or so men, including Dian Wei and Xu Chu, and headed northwest.

They walked for four or five miles until they could hear the sound of the Wei River flowing before finally seeing light.

A thatched hut stood by the riverbank, with a few sparks flickering nearby, and a tantalizing aroma of meat wafting through the air.
Cao Cao approached and saw that who else could be sitting by the campfire but Liu Miao?
"Oh! Mengde is here?"

At this moment, Liu Miao was not wearing armor, but only a fox-tail cloak over his deep robe. He was holding a half-cooked carp that had been skewered and roasted, and he was greeting Cao Cao warmly, which was completely unlike the tense atmosphere between the two armies.

Cao Cao dismounted and sat down next to Liu Miao.

At this time, even though the sun was no longer behind Liu Miao, Cao Cao could still clearly see Liu Miao's facial features, which were exactly the same as those he had seen a few years ago.

"You actually dare to come? Aren't you afraid I'll lead my troops to surround and kill you here?"

As he spoke, Cao Cao returned the arrow that Liu Miao had shot earlier that day to Liu Miao. In the firelight, a line of small characters could be clearly seen on it.

Liu Miao twirled the grilled fish in his hand, laughing and scolding, "Come on!"

"Only if I live can you grow stronger in Guanzhong; if I die, you will be forever subdued by Yuan Shao."

Liu Miao sensed something was wrong and suggested reminding Cao Cao, "He was suppressed by Yuan Shao as a loser!"

Cao Cao's lips twitched, but he remained silent, clearly agreeing with Liu Miao's statement.

"I was waiting for you because you weren't coming, so I went fishing in the river... I originally planned to keep fishing until you came, and then say 'You're here' with my back to you? But I didn't expect to catch a carp out of nowhere. I thought it was strangely fat and pitiful, so I just grilled it."

Liu Miao held the carp towards Cao Cao: "Want to try some?"

The carp was indeed very fat, and the aroma of fish oil made Cao Cao twitch his nostrils twice.

However, Cao Cao still chose to remember one thing.

"I remember last time Fengxiao ate your barbecue, he almost died out there. Let whoever wants this fish eat it!"

"Tch! I'm not dead anyway! I won't eat it!"

Liu Miao reluctantly took a small piece of fish with his dagger and put it in his mouth, smacking his lips repeatedly: "I have to say, this Yellow River carp is really delicious... hmm?"

A hand was already placed in front of Liu Miao.

Liu Miao chuckled twice and cut off a piece of fish, placing it in Cao Cao's palm.

Cao Cao placed it to his lips, and with a single slurp, the fish meat vanished instantly.

"I didn't lie to you, did I?"

"You asked me out in the middle of the night just to eat a grilled fish?"

Cao Cao chewed twice, then suddenly revealed a pained expression. He then rolled his tongue around repeatedly and finally spat out a small fish bone.

"It's been so many years since we last met, so I came to catch up with you!"

Liu Miao raised the fish and waved it at Dian Wei and Xu Chu. After both of them clearly refused, he could only regretfully continue talking to Cao Cao: "Yuan Shao is dead?"

What kind of daydream are you having?

"He must be crazy! Otherwise, why would he let you out?"

"..."

Cao Cao swallowed the fish with great difficulty: "You don't understand Yuan Shao at all."

Liu Miao stroked his beard, and roughly understood Yuan Shao's thoughts.

"Mengde, you said Yuan Shao lost to me twice in Langya and Kunyang, how can he still be so confident? Is it because the Yuan family's feng shui is not good? Should I go and help him fix it?"

"The original has always been the same."

At this moment, Cao Cao asked Liu Miao, "You came to Guanzhong, not just for Yuan Tan's wife, were you?"

"Am I that kind of person?"

"Anyway, the news has already spread, and everyone is saying that you, Liu Miao, attacked Guanzhong because you coveted the beauty of Lady Wen, the wife of Yuan Tan."

Liu Miao also revealed a mask of pain.

What kind of troublemaker is this? How dare they slander the Emperor of Han?
When I conquer Hebei, I will kill you all!
"Did Mengde believe it?"

I only half believed it.

You shouldn't believe even half of it.

At this moment, Liu Miao also extended his palm towards Cao Cao.

"what?"

"Mengde should know why I came to Guanzhong."

Liu Miao's expression finally turned serious.

"Hebei, crucial intelligence regarding the Central Plains War!"

(End of this chapter)