I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 467 Yuanlong's Last Plan (Part 1)

Jimo, Yuan Jun's main camp.

After scolding Liu Miao's envoy away, Yuan Tan stood alone in the tent, pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back.

He thought that after denouncing Liu Miao and Lady Wen, he would feel refreshed and no longer be distracted by Lady Wen, and could concentrate on thinking about the war.

But the reality is quite the opposite.

Now, whenever Yuan Tan relaxes his guard even slightly, Wen Shi's appearance and figure appear in his mind.

Its form is as radiant as spring blossoms, its skin as smooth as ice and as pure as the moon.

Her face was like the first snow on the silver shore, glistening like freshly picked lychees; her lips held the unbroken crimson of cherry blossoms, tinged with the hue of the morning glow. Her eyebrows were like emerald peaks, her distant dark eyebrows reaching into her cloud-like hair; her starry eyes turned like autumn pools, shimmering with a captivating light, clear enough to reflect the moon over a thousand rivers, deep enough to hold the spring of ten thousand valleys.

Her slender frame seemed to float on wisps of cloud, her delicate body transformed into jade-like smoke.

When she walks, she is like a willow swaying in the breeze, graceful as orchids weeping on the banks of the Xiang River; when she stands still, she is like a lotus reflected in the water, elegant as dew condensing in the Jade Pool. Her fair hands are as slender as scallion roots, her delicate fingers brushing the moon; her slender waist is as slender as a white silk ribbon, her sash draped with rosy clouds. When she turns, the flowing clouds stop in their tracks, her long sleeves fluttering startling the shadow of a crane; when she lingers, her jade pendants tinkle like a spring, her silk stockings stirring up dust as she treads on clear ripples.

Only then did Yuan Tan finally realize what was happening—

The beautiful woman who had been with him for years seemed to have truly left him.

Moreover, he personally drove it away.

What distressed Yuan Tan even more was that those places he had carefully protected and dared not defile were now probably utterly ruined by Liu Miao.

Whenever Yuan Tan closed his eyes, he seemed to see obscene scenes and hear obscene sounds.

Yuan Tan suddenly regretted it.

Why should I fight for a mere pride?

Wouldn't it be better to just ask Liu Miao for his wife?
Back then, Liu Bei's wife and daughters were all captured by Lü Bu. Even though they were returned to him afterward, no one ridiculed Liu Bei for it!

Yuan Tan wanted to send an envoy, but he was afraid of being ridiculed by Liu Miao, so he was caught in a dilemma.

An inexplicable irritability made Yuan Tan completely lose interest in continuing to study the map and prepare for war.

"do not care!"

The confusion in his thoughts made it impossible for Yuan Tan to think clearly.

What time, what battlefield...

Yuan Tan refused to believe that he, with his heavy cavalry and Wuhuan cavalry at his disposal, could not possibly defeat Liu Miao.

Lifting the heavy curtain of the tent, the cold wind and fresh air made Yuan Tan shiver.

Tightening his collar, Yuan Tan stepped out of the tent.

In the ring of camps closest to Yuan Tan's tent, there were many large carts with their wheels deeply embedded in the mud.

Looking at those large carts, Yuan Tan's desire to fight Liu Miao reached its peak!
It was clearly she who was looking forward to Liu Miao's arrival.

Why am I hesitating now?
Yuan Tan slapped himself hard, drawing the attention of his personal guards, who quickly looked away.

The burning pain on his face did not make Yuan Tan feel ashamed; on the contrary, it made him feel relieved.

"As it should be!"

Yuan Tan strode forward towards Tadun's tent.

No more waiting!
Tonight! We'll launch an attack while Liu Miao is still establishing his foothold!
After taking a few steps, Yuan Tan paused slightly in surprise.

Then, Tadun Chanyu led a group of people toward him.

Seeing the anger emanating from Tadun Chanyu and noticing a Han soldier standing out from the crowd of Wuhuan cavalry, Yuan Tan frowned.

"May I ask, Chanyu, what has happened?"

Tadun approached Yuan Tan, casually clasped his hands in a salute, and then pushed out the Yuan soldier from the crowd, making him kneel before Yuan Tan.

The soldier had thick eyebrows and big eyes, rough skin, and his voice revealed him to be a man of great courage and tragic spirit from Yan and Zhao.

"Your Highness! I just discovered that some Wuhuan cavalrymen were bullying a common woman. I couldn't stand it, so I killed him!"

Yuan Tan frowned even more deeply.

Ever since he heard Liu Miao's intelligence, things around him have always been so unpleasant.

At this moment, the Wuhuan soldiers behind Tadun Chanyu suddenly cried out in a strange voice, "He killed the Wuhuan chieftain!"

“I recognize this man! He used to be a cavalryman on the frontier! This must be for personal revenge!”

The man kneeling before Yuan Tan suddenly struggled and spat behind him: "Pah! If I really wanted to settle a personal score, do you think you'd still be standing in front of me now?"

"Bastard!"

"Watch me skin this Han man alive!"

"..."

Yuan Tan ignored the clamoring Wuhuan soldiers and stared at Tadun Chanyu: "What exactly does Chanyu mean?"

Tadun Chanyu's expression was equally unpleasant.

"I told Your Highness before that the cavalry accompanying me on this trip are not only from my own troops, but also from several other subordinate units of the Sovereign!"

"The adult who died this time was the nephew of another member of the Danyu Tower. If we can't get an explanation, I won't be able to stand up to him either!"

Yuan Tan appeared calm, but inwardly he was cursing.

He still doesn't know whether Tadun is hopelessly stupid or did it on purpose to bring this matter into the open.

Why bring this up in broad daylight when it was just a matter of sending a personal guard to deliver a message?
Now that this has been exposed, what is Yuan Tan supposed to do?

Is it biased towards the Han people? Or towards the Wuhuan?

Favoring the Han people could very well alienate the Wuhuan people, and even cause the Wuhuan Chanyu to outwardly comply but inwardly disobey, and to shirk his duties in the upcoming war.

By favoring the Wuhuan, and now in front of everyone, does he even care about his reputation as the commander of Yuan's army?

Just as Yuan Tan was struggling with his decision, one of the Yuan soldiers shouted at him—

"Your Highness!"

"Now it is my Han women who are being bullied by others! Are you going to just stand by and do nothing?"

"Although I am from Youzhou, I also know the principle that the people of all lands are closely connected and should not be abandoned! Now that the people of Qingzhou are in distress, are we just going to stand idly by?"

Yuan Tan's face twitched.

It would have been better if the other party hadn't said that.

The mere mention of "wife being humiliated" brought back the image of the scholar that he had finally managed to erase from his mind.

"Bastard!"

Yuan Tan, now looking fierce and menacing, assumed the soldier was cursing him!
"So what if a woman is humiliated? Even if she is truly humiliated, what right do you have to take her life? Is military law just something to be displayed?"

Yuan Tan immediately turned and left, indicating that he would no longer concern himself with the matter.

As for the soldiers of Yuan's army, they could be killed or tortured at will by the Wuhuan people!

But what Yuan Tan didn't see was that the moment he turned around, a sly smile appeared in Tadun's eyes.

Tadun, who was praised by the old man on the grassland as having "the bearing of Modu Chanyu", could certainly not be a fool.

in contrast.

Tadun was merely using the lives of these Han soldiers to test Yuan Tan. He was testing him.

This was a test to see if the lives of the Wuhuan people were truly equal to, or even more important than, those of the Han people!

If Yuan Tan can execute a Han Chinese for the sake of a Wuhuan person, then who says that in the future, he might belittle more Han Chinese because of more Wuhuan people?
And this test was clearly a great success.

Tadun Chanyu, who was initially furious, suddenly changed his expression, revealing his yellowed teeth: "It's such a trivial matter, I really shouldn't have offended Your Highness!"

"A banquet will be held in my camp tonight, and I hope Your Highness will do me the honor of attending."

Yuan Tan, who was already planning to discuss the war with Tadun, immediately agreed.

night.

Before the Wuhuan Chanyu's yurt, a bonfire crackled, and a whole sheep sizzled as it roasted over the flames. Tadun and Yuan Tan sat in the main seats, while many Wuhuan leaders and Han soldiers sat around the fire, all draped in fur.

There is a bone-made huqin (a type of reed pipe), which sounds like the wind howling across the wilderness, and plays the "Hunting Fire Tune"; there is a leather-covered drum with bells tied around the dancer's waist, which rings out with each step.

There are also horn flutes made by drilling holes in ox horns, which produce deep, long, melodious tones.

The Wuhuan soldiers, bows in hand, leaped forward, mimicking the pursuit of deer, performing an unknown dance, wild and powerful…

All of this made Yuan Tan and his soldiers feel uneasy.

Compared to the usual etiquette of Han Chinese gentry, the banquets of the Wuhuan were so crude that they were unbearable to look at!

But by this time everyone knew how important the Wuhuan were to this battle, so they reluctantly accepted it, just like drinking Wuhuan fermented mare's milk.

However, Yuan Tan underestimated the quality of these Wuhuan people.

As they danced, several women were brought up, stripped naked, and forced to dance with the Wuhuan soldiers to entertain them.

"Chanyu, let's go to the tent to discuss important matters."

Tadun Chanyu reluctantly withdrew his gaze from the women's flesh.

Tadun Chanyu had intended to persuade Yuan Tan to watch the dance before leaving, but seeing Yuan Tan's terribly gloomy expression, he reluctantly followed Yuan Tan into the tent.

Even the Xiongnu chieftain's tents were different from those elsewhere.

A strong, pungent smell of mutton mixed with a foul stench that seemed to be either feces or something else assaulted Yuan Tan's nostrils. Fortunately, having been tempered by the Chen Deng incident, Yuan Tan's patience had greatly improved, and he did not react too violently.

"Chanyu".

Yuan Tan had prepared for this battle for too long and had endured for too long, so now he could continue to endure whatever he encountered.

"I request that you lead light cavalry tonight to launch a direct attack on Liu Miao's camp!"

"Liu Miao has just arrived in Jiaodong and has not yet established a firm foothold. We should take this opportunity to storm his camp and disrupt his morale!"

Tadun was not interested in raiding camps, which was extremely risky and had very low returns.

The specifics will depend on the price Yuan Tan offers.

"There are still several hundred good horses left in the isolated camp. If the Chanyu goes there, we will give them all to him."

Yuan Tan might not be very good-looking.

But at this moment, in Tadun's eyes, Yuan Tan was simply the most pleasing-to-the-eye among the Han people!
"it is good!"

"When will we leave?"

"Just at dawn!"

"We await good news from the Xiongnu!"

Yuan Tan discussed many details with Tadun and only felt at ease after confirming that everything was in perfect order.

However, the camp that Tadun Chanyu had set out at dawn returned to its camp looking embarrassed after only half an hour.

"Why?"

"Liu Miao has far too many warhorses; we dare not approach him lightly."

"..."

Yuan Tan cursed inwardly, "What a load of nonsense!"
Liu Miao was the Emperor of the Han Dynasty!

Since he personally led the expedition, he must have brought the entire cavalry of the Han Dynasty with him!
No one knew better than him, the one who personally smuggled the warhorses, how many warhorses the Han Dynasty actually had!
Seeing that Yuan Tan was about to lose his temper, Tadun Chanyu quickly laughed and said, "It's nothing! It's nothing! Just consider it as me going out to let the horses roam around! As for those warhorses, Your Highness doesn't need to part with them."

Yuan Tan, his face stern, asked, "What does the Chanyu mean by this?"

A gentleman's glance is as good as a bond that cannot be broken!

"Since I said I would give you a warhorse, there is absolutely no possibility of me going back on my word!"

Tadun stared at Yuan Tan in astonishment.

He did nothing, yet he gained hundreds of precious warhorses?
Have Han Chinese always been so wasteful?
However, Tadun quickly realized what was happening.

This is probably what the Han people call "appeasement" or "winning hearts and minds."

Even Tadun had to admit that working under the emperor's command, like the Yuan family, was indeed comfortable.

Unlike the Han Dynasty of the past, which frequently threatened to attack and kill the Wuhuan people...

Tadun accepted the spoils that Yuan Tan had offered with great joy.

The warhorses that the people of Hebei had raised with so much grain and effort were carelessly handed over to the Wuhuan by Yuan Tan.

of course.

In Yuan Tan's eyes, this was nothing more than a reward and charity from himself, the crown prince, to the Wuhuan.

"When the Chanyu arrived at Liu Miao's camp just now, did he get a clear view of their military formation?"

Tadun nodded quickly.

If we return empty-handed, fine. But if we can't even offer anything of substance, I'm afraid Yuan Tan might really turn against us!
"The Han army on this mission must consist entirely of cavalry."

"Around their camp, many large vehicles were also deployed on the perimeter for defense."

cart!

Yuan Tan gasped for breath!
really!

Liu Miao did indeed come with heavy cavalry!
No wonder Liu Miao was so arrogant!
However, Yuan Tan chuckled lightly.

Liu Miao probably never imagined that he had gathered almost all of Hebei's heavy cavalry under his command, just waiting for him to walk into a trap.

"it is good!"

At this point, Yuan Tan had completely lost all restraint!
Go to war!
If he wins this battle, he will be the crown prince! He will be the emperor! He will be the king whose land is the whole world and whose people are his subjects!
In the future, he will be the one closest to the sun and moon! A thousand mountains should bow their heads before me, and ten thousand rivers should change their course when they encounter me!
For the first time in all these years, Yuan Tan felt that he was so close to that position, so close that all it took was one battle, one victory.

"When it comes to preparation and determination for this battle, no one can surpass me!"

Even Yuan Shao, even Liu Miao, even the two suns and moons that appeared in the sky together in this era, none of them had such determination for this battle as Yuan Tan!

Because whether Yuan Shao or Liu Miao lost, both of them had the opportunity to make a comeback.

But Yuan Tan knew that if he lost this battle, he would never have another chance to rise again!
He knew he would be trampled underfoot by Yuan Shang for the rest of his life, becoming a stepping stone for Yuan Shang's ascension to the throne!
As the eldest son of the Yuan family, and as someone who had accompanied Yuan Shao from nothing to where he was today, how could Yuan Tan tolerate such a thing happening?

For this reason, Yuan Tan was willing to give up his reputation, face, morality, and even his wife!

He wants to fight! He wants to win!
Yuan Tan took a deep breath, just as he was about to begin planning a full-scale attack, when his personal guards suddenly rushed over—

"Your Highness, Chen Yuanlong seems to be experiencing a final burst of energy before his death. He wants Your Highness to come immediately, as he has matters to settle with Your Highness!"

(End of this chapter)