I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 456 Liu Miao and Zhou Yu's Ultimate Goal
"Gongjin, I bet you! That old codger Yuan Shao must have fainted from anger! I just wonder if we can actually kill him with anger! Tsk!"

At the victory banquet for the Battle of Mangdang Mountain, the ingredients were simple. The skinned and blooded warhorses captured from the battlefield during the day were thrown into a pot with plenty of salt and boiled. They were then served with some pickles and soup noodles in countless rough porcelain and earthenware bowls, creating a fragrant and delicious meal!
Although horse meat is not as fatty as the fish meat we had in the morning, and its fibers are quite coarse, it still tastes better than dry rations, doesn't it?
The meals for Liu Miao, Zhou Yu, Taishi Ci, Zhang Liao, and their group were slightly more refined, but only to a limited extent. They simply had more time-consuming and labor-intensive roasted meat and half a jar of fine wine, making the food a little more fragrant and warming.

It was already dusk, and Liu Miao and the others were no longer in their tents. Instead, they were sitting on their couches around a fire, sharing meat with each other using small knives from their plates.

Liu Miao cut off a piece of leg meat, dipped it in a sauce made of pepper and other spices, and swallowed it in one gulp, while constantly nudging Zhou Yu with his elbow.

Zhou Yu sighed helplessly, "My lord is being a bit presumptuous. Yuan Shao has witnessed countless trials and tribulations in his life; how could he possibly be so easily frightened by a single defeat?"

"Ha! That's different!"

Liu Miao chewed on the horse meat in his mouth, but he couldn't swallow it. He picked up the wine pot next to him and drank several cups before he could barely swallow it.

“Yuan Shao was young before, so if he lost, he could just start over; but now he's probably going to die soon. After such a crushing defeat, it's a miracle he survived!”

Liu Miao punched Zhou Yu: "Gongjin! Have some confidence!"

"In this battle, we annihilated Yuan's cavalry! From now on, Yuan's army can only rely on their short-legged infantry to fight us. What are we afraid of?"

Liu Miao raised his wine cup: "Wen Yuan! And Gong Fu! Yi Gong! In this battle, you should all be credited with the greatest merit!"

The three men quickly raised their glasses, saying they dared not.

However, Liu Miao persisted, offering several toasts in succession, and the three of them eventually couldn't keep up.

The first one to get drunk was not Huang Gai, who was from the south, but Zhang Liao, whose sallow face showed a few blushes.

"This humble general was merely an outsider before, yet His Majesty entrusted the cavalry to you. It is I who should respect Your Majesty!"

Among the several generals with high titles, Zhang Liao and Gan Ning had the least seniority and were also the most disliked by the other soldiers.

Now that Gan Ning has made a great contribution in conquering Shu, all the pressure is actually on Zhang Liao.

Despite Zhang Liao's seemingly cautious demeanor before the battle, he was actually on tenterhooks the entire time, not daring to make the slightest mistake.

Only now, as the celebration began and after drinking all this wine, did Zhang Liao finally calm down and feel at ease.

"Ha! What does this have to do with me?"

Liu Miao pointed to Huang Gai and Han Dang, who were standing to Zhang Liao's left and right—

"If Wen Yuan really is a good-for-nothing, neither of them will let you off the hook!"

"Exactly!"

"Hahahaha!"

Snapped!Snapped!
Huang Gai and Han Dang slammed their large palms onto Zhang Liao's back with a resounding thud.

"I could tell what kind of person you were from the very beginning of your training!"

"Not bad! Although not as good as the Marquis of Wucheng, it's still quite good!"

"..."

At that time, Zhang Liao was awarded the title of General of the Highest Rank, and the most objections came from Huang Gai, Han Dang, and Zhu Zhi, who were old ministers who had brought Sun Jian's former troops to join Liu Miao.

So when Zhang Liao asked Liu Miao for Huang Gai and Han Dang, even Liu Miao was hesitant to put them under Zhang Liao's command... But now it seems that he was just worrying unnecessarily.

Liu Miao smiled and raised his wine cup to Taishi Ci from afar.

"I have already heard about Ziyi's killing of the deputy general."

"If the flank had been thrown into disarray, Ju Shou might have actually charged in recklessly! You also deserve great credit in this battle!"

Taishi Ci forced a smile.

In this battle, Taishi Ci may have been the least conspicuous, but without a doubt, he was under the most pressure.

Watching your comrades and others go to their deaths is far more difficult to do than it sounds.

"Your lieutenant has a wife?"

"He has a wife he married the year before last, and also a son who is still an infant."

Liu Miao nodded: "I have the Empress bring them to the palace. You don't need to worry about anything else for now."

The surprise came so suddenly that even Taishi Ci was somewhat apprehensive: "How can this be?"

"How can this not be allowed?"

Liu Miao saw that the gloom on Taishi Ci's brow had disappeared and burst into laughter.

However, just to be on the safe side, Liu Miao still cautiously asked, "Is his wife...beautiful?"

"This... well, you can't say she's stunningly beautiful, but she's at least decent-looking."

"Okay! Then everything's fine!"

Liu Miao stood up again, walked behind Lü Meng and Lu Yi, and vigorously rubbed their heads: "You two are not bad either! Hahahaha!"

Having grown up, Lü Meng and Lu Yi considered themselves men, so how could they withstand Liu Miao's sudden humiliation? Thus, they could only lower their heads in embarrassment.

"Hahahaha!"

Liu Miao stood up, turned his back to look at the brightly lit camp below, and Chen Wu hurriedly came forward to help Liu Miao put on a cloak so that the mountain wind would not blow through his body.

Zhou Yu seemed to sense something at this moment.

"Your Majesty, shall we begin?" "Yes, it's better to start sooner rather than later."

Taishi Ci, Lü Meng, and Lu Yi, who were often by Liu Miao and Zhou Yu's side, clearly understood what the two meant. Their brows furrowed, and the joyful atmosphere of the celebration vanished instantly.

Zhang Liao, Huang Gai, and Han Dang, however, seemed somewhat confused: "What are His Majesty and the Commander-in-Chief talking about?"

"Naturally, it's war."

Zhou Yu also stood up at this moment, his expression somewhat sarcastic.

"Do you really think His Majesty is the kind of person who would obediently rely on fortified cities and fight Yuan Shao to the death?"

"If that's the case, then why fight the battle at Mangdang Mountain? Why gamble on the outcome of this battle at the risk of potential defeat?"

Zhang Liao and the other two also realized what was going on.

Back then, Liu Miao was someone who dared to fight Yuan Shao to the death, even when his power was far inferior to Yuan Shao's.

Now, they have to obediently wait in Pengcheng for Yuan Shao to attack.

This is indeed inconsistent with Liu Miao's usual style.

Moreover, if they really wanted to defend, they should have stayed in Pengcheng instead of risking a battle at Mangdang Mountain.
After all, even if the main force of Yuan's cavalry were completely annihilated, it wouldn't actually affect the future battle for Pengcheng...

Lu Meng, who had just been embarrassed by Liu Miao's pat on the head, now forced himself to act like an adult.

"In fact, after His Majesty received the intelligence from Xu You, he had already begun to discuss strategies to defeat the enemy with the Commander-in-Chief."

"After learning that the General and the people of Qingzhou were trapped by Yuan Tan in Jiaodong, His Majesty felt even more strongly that the Battle of Mangdang Mountain was a must! The objective was to take Yuan Tan's main force!"

Zhang Liao was the first to react.

He looked at Lü Meng in astonishment: "Doesn't that mean..."

"Not bad!"

Lu Meng's thick eyebrows and large eyes gave him a mature and steady demeanor beyond his years.

"The battle of Mangdang Mountain will inevitably slow down the advance of Yuan Shao's main force."

"Whether it's gathering up the remnants of the army or dealing with the aftermath of the deaths of Ju Shou and Jiang Yiqu, Yuan Shao will be too busy to do anything else, otherwise he won't be able to advance towards Pengcheng in the short term."

"In this way, our cavalry will have time to reach Qingzhou and defeat Yuan Tan's main force!"

Liu Miao now needs to exploit a time difference.

Yuan's army suffered heavy losses at Mangdang Mountain, and Liu Miao was certain that Yuan Shao, a man who was extremely concerned with his image, would not publicize it.

The killing of Ju Shou, in particular, will inevitably cause a great uproar in Hebei. Yuan Shao will certainly try his best to suppress the news, and Yuan Tan will certainly not be able to find out in a short period of time.

Yuan Tan is probably still waiting for the main force of the Han army to come to Lu Bu's rescue.

At this time, Yuan Tan was certainly unaware of the existence of the Han cavalry.

This is the Han army's current opportunity to further expand its gains!
The force of rushing water, capable of carrying away stones, is its momentum; the speed of a bird of prey, capable of breaking and destroying, is its precision. Therefore, a skilled warrior's momentum is fierce, and his precision is swift. Momentum is like a drawn crossbow, precision like releasing the trigger!

A swift current rushes forward, capable of carrying away stones, due to its immense power; a bird of prey, striking a sparrow, can kill it in a single blow because it has mastered the most advantageous time and space for unleashing its force, with a rapid rhythm. Therefore, a skilled general always creates a perilous and aggressive situation, launching attacks with a swift and decisive pace. A perilous situation is like a fully drawn crossbow, and a swift rhythm is like the triggering of the crossbow!

Now that we have gained the upper hand, we should keep striving to expand it, instead of sitting still and watching our opponent recover from their injuries.

In layman's terms—

Give that cripple a good kick! Strike while the iron is hot and kill him!
However, Han Dang still didn't quite understand.

"If that's the case, why not just engage Yuan Shao's main force in a decisive battle?"

"Um~~~"

Lu Meng was also a little confused and unconsciously looked at Zhou Yu.

But Lu Yi, who was beside Lü Meng, asked first in his slightly shy voice, "How many prisoners were captured in today's battle at Mangdang Mountain?"

"A total of more than 20,000 people!"

Lu Yi then asked, "If a major battle breaks out in Pengcheng in the future, even if we defeat Yuan's army, how many people can we capture?"

Han Dang was speechless.

be honest.

The Battle of Mangdang Mountain was brilliantly fought! It was perhaps the most brilliant battle Han Dang ever fought in his military career!
Even with such a brilliant performance, 10,000 to 20,000 able-bodied men still escaped.

Although they may no longer have warhorses, these able-bodied men can be rearmed and rejoined the battlefield as soon as they return to the north.

The same reason.

Even if the Battle of Pengcheng is won in the future, many of Yuan's troops will probably still be able to retreat back to Hebei.

At that time, these young men will still be the enemy of the Han army! They will be an obstacle to the Han army's unification of the world!
Han Dang finally understood Liu Miao and Zhou Yu's intentions.

He gasped—

"Your Majesty and the Commander-in-Chief intend to annihilate Yuan's main force?"

(End of this chapter)