I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 425 Verification
"Commander-in-Chief, Generals Yuan Chunqing and Chunyu Qiong have appeared at Guandu and Xingyang with 50,000 infantry and cavalry!"

The post stations built along the Ji River ensured that the news could reach Zhou Yu, who had already moved to Dingtao, as quickly as possible, allowing Zhou Yu to have a comprehensive understanding of the situation.

"It's just as I predicted. I originally thought Yuan Shao would send Zhang He or Ju Shou to Xingyang. Now it seems that Yuan Shao has really risked his core forces."

Zhou Yu is currently atop the city walls of Dingtao.

Dingtao was originally called Tao. Because Emperor Yao was also known as Tao Tang, it was named Taoqiu. After Fan Li helped Yue destroy Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period, he moved to Tao. He considered Tao to be the center of the world and settled there to do business. "In nineteen years, he amassed a fortune of a thousand gold pieces three times." He was revered as the ancestor of merchants by later generations. After his death, he was buried in Tao, and the name Dingtao originated from this.

The fact that Fan Li called Dingtao "the center of the world" speaks volumes about its strategic importance.

Dingtao is bordered by the Ji River to the north and the Si River to the south; Juye County to the east and Kuiqiu County to the west. Standing on the city wall, one sees no obstruction whatsoever; it is truly a fertile plain stretching for thousands of miles, right in the heart of the Central Plains!
With abundant arable land, a dense network of waterways, and a large population, it has basically met all the conditions to become a major city in the Central Plains.

If the Central Plains were at peace, then Dingtao would undoubtedly be the commercial center.

But from a military perspective, this is absolutely fatal!
Zhou Yu gazed into the distance for a while, and especially when he saw the Ji River to the north, which was getting shallower and shallower and was now less than ten zhang wide, his expression became serious.

"Since 50,000 troops have appeared in Xingyang and Guandu, then conservatively speaking, the Yuan army here will exceed 200,000!"

As the central hub of intelligence for the entire front line, Zhou Yu already had a clear picture in his mind of the troop distribution across the Central Plains.

On the Han side, 20,000 soldiers, led by Cheng Pu and Wen Pin, were deployed in the Xingyang area to protect the flanks.

Ten thousand troops were divided by Zhou Yu and deployed to various fortified villages in the Central Plains, organized by military prefecture.

Ten thousand men formed Langya's second line of defense.

Another 10,000 men, led by Xu Huang, served as a reserve force in Shouchun.

The Han army could deploy approximately 150,000 troops to the main battlefield in the Central Plains.

One hundred and fifty thousand against two hundred thousand – that’s a rough comparison of the total strength of both sides.

Although the Han army appeared to be at a great disadvantage on the main battlefield, its tactics were generally defensive, so this difference in troop strength could actually be easily overcome.

What truly made Zhou Yu hesitate were the cavalry and the Guanzhong army led by Yuan Tan.

"I don't know if it's just my imagination, but winters have actually been getting colder in recent years."

At this rate, once winter truly arrives, the Ji River, Dingtao's natural barrier, will be completely frozen and rendered useless.

There's no need for winter to even arrive.

Now, perhaps some shallows have appeared, allowing Yuan's cavalry to wade across in large numbers and besiege Dingtao!
Zhou Yu's appearance in Dingtao was not because he wanted to defend Dingtao to the death, but because he wanted to emulate Cao Cao's actions at Baima and Yanjin, and to expand the results of small-scale battles as much as possible to weaken the enemy's morale, so as not to let Yuan's army rush directly to the city of Pengcheng with murderous intent!

"General, His Majesty has arrived!"

Zhou Yu originally did not intend to let Liu Miao come to the front line in person, but he couldn't resist Liu Miao's constant talk of the imperial banner pressing forward and the emperor personally leading the expedition, so he still let Liu Miao come to the front line.

As Zhou Yu went down to the city gate to greet Liu Miao, he could hear Zhou Tai shouting in his hoarse voice, "His Majesty has brought many livestock! Where are your cooks? Why aren't they here yet?"

Zhou Yu turned the corner and, sure enough, saw that along with Liu Miao's dragon banner, there were many bamboo cages filled with live chickens, ducks, pigs, and dogs...

Hearing the noisy commotion of the livestock and smelling the unpleasant odor, the morale of the Dingtao garrison was indeed greatly boosted: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Hahaha! Plenty! Plenty!"

Helpless, Zhou Yu stepped forward and stopped Liu Miao, who was personally unloading chicken coops from the cart: "Your Majesty, what are you doing? This war is going to last forever. You're feasting now, but what will you do in the future?"

"Gongjin, stop distorting the truth! All I've brought are meat, not fish!"

Liu Miao turned around, skillfully took out a cooked chicken egg from his pocket, and tapped it on the cart frame, immediately revealing the white egg white.

Liu Miao quickly peeled off the outer shell and fed the whole egg to Zhou Yu.

"I don't know if bitterness comes first and sweetness follows, but sweetness comes first... Aren't chicken eggs delicious?"

"It smells a bit sour."

"It's normal for it to have a bit of a smell after it's been sitting out for a day."

Liu Miao laughed heartily as he watched Zhou Yu's face gradually turn ashen.

"By the way, why isn't Gongjin wearing the mask I gave him?"

"It's not wartime now..."

It took Zhou Yu a lot of effort to swallow everything that was stuffed into his mouth, and then he swallowed two mouthfuls of saliva before he recovered.

When Zhou Yu saw that the supplies brought by Liu Miao had been completely wiped out, he couldn't help but ask, "Why is Your Majesty not staying in Pengcheng? What are you doing at the front lines?"

"Pengcheng isn't far from here, what's the rush?" Pengcheng and Dingtao are only about 400 to 500 li apart, which is indeed not far.

Liu Miao looked up, as if he could see the other side of the city.

Has Yuan Shao arrived?

"The scouts haven't found any trace of Yuan's army yet, but it should be within the next two or three days."

Zhou Yu had a basic estimate of Yuan Jun's itinerary.

"Where is Yuan Tan?"

When Liu Miao asked the crucial question, Zhou Yu became serious: "Logically speaking, Lü Bu should have already left Qingzhou, but there is no news at all about northern Qingzhou, and there is no sign of Yuan Tan leading his army to attack."

Even for this battle, there have been far too many strategic calculations.

Even though these strategic plans were devised by top talents such as Zhou Yu, Taishi Ci, Lu Su, Lü Meng, Lu Yi, Liu Ye, and Sima Yi, it is impossible to win a war solely based on strategic plans. Otherwise, Zhao Kuo would not have left behind the four words "talking about war on paper" to be ridiculed by later generations.

Zhou Yu just didn't expect the first fork in the road to come so quickly.

Upon learning that Lü Bu had sent troops to Liaodong, Zhou Yu instinctively assumed that Yuan Tan would launch an attack from Qingzhou to open up the situation. However, the fact that the other side had not made a move made Zhou Yu somewhat uneasy.

"Your Majesty should not have sent Lü Bu to conquer Liaodong."

Upon hearing Zhou Yu's barely audible complaint, Liu Miao shrugged.

"According to intelligence, Xuande should have suffered heavy injuries, and even Yunchang and Yide have died in battle."

"Does Your Majesty truly believe that Guan Yu and Zhang Fei will die in battle?"

"I always consider the worst-case scenario when assessing the overall situation."

To be honest, although Liu Miao felt that Guan Yu and Zhang Fei should not have died in battle at such a young age, the dramatic events surrounding the two brothers were still a bit too much, and Liu Miao inevitably took the worst possible outcome into account.

"Even if Yuan Tan does manage to retake Qingzhou, the outcome of the war will still depend on Pengcheng."

"The flank, always the flank. Unless he can charge into the enemy's heartland like Huo Qubing did back then, he might be able to play a role."

But Liu Miao understood Yuan Tan.

He is not Huo Qubing.

If he were truly determined, he shouldn't have done those things in Guanzhong.

After hearing Liu Miao's words, Zhou Yu also felt that what Liu Miao said made sense.

Ultimately, the outcome of the battle will be decided on this square piece of land, south of Dingtao, north of Huainan, east of Chenliu, and west of Pengcheng.

A total of 350,000 people will compete for supremacy on this land.

Even if Yuan Tan captures Qingzhou, the flank will still be the flank.

Since the Han army is going to defend and counterattack, it must stick to the defensive and counterattack strategy and carry it out to the end. It must keep its five fingers firmly clenched and not let go, instead of scattering its strength here and there.

Even so, Your Majesty, please return to Pengcheng as soon as possible.

"What! You think you can kick me out just because you ate my food? Gongjin, you have no conscience!"

"..."

Seeing Zhou Yu's expression turn resentful again, Liu Miao burst into laughter once more.

"Gongjin, rest assured, I am not here to cause you trouble. As for the battle on the front lines, fight it as you should. I will not give you orders haphazardly, and you do not need to pay too much attention to me."

Liu Miao looked north: "I just want to see Yuan Shao with my own eyes to verify one thing."

Zhou Yu: "What is it that warrants His Majesty's personal visit?"

Liu Miao stood with his hand on his sword: "I suspect... Yuan Shao probably won't live much longer."

Zhou Yu was startled and hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, what does this mean? What do you mean that Yuan Shao won't live much longer?"

Liu Miao glanced at Zhou Yu: "Just the literal meaning!"

"It's actually a bit beyond my expectations that Yuan Shao has managed to hold out until now."

(End of this chapter)