I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 477 The young generation has utterly defeated the bandits!
Red Hare carried Lü Bu at breakneck speed.

Behind him followed a large number of emaciated Bingzhou wolf riders!
Although these cavalrymen looked like skin and bones from hunger, their eyes were full of green light!
Further on, the incredibly imposing Zhao Yun was escorting a four-wheeled cart, which was slowly making its way...

"Strategist, it seems we've arrived just in time."

Zhuge Liang wore a cloak, placed a feather fan lightly on his lap, and calmly closed his eyes.

"In that case, Zilong, go to Jimo to meet His Majesty."

Zhao Yun asked in surprise, "His Majesty is not on the battlefield?"

"His Majesty will not personally attend to battles where the outcome is already known."

……

Tadun, who was charging forward, saw Lü Bu charging towards him and felt so aroused that his teeth almost fell out.

"Damn it! How are we supposed to fight this war?"

Tadun looked around dejectedly.

Nearby, the Han heavy cavalry led by Zhang Liao was about to determine the victor.

Not far away, Sun Ce had already turned around and was attacking them.

Further away, Lü Bu charged straight into the battlefield like an unreasonable bull...

And this doesn't even include Liu Miao, the Han emperor, whose name was widely known but who was nowhere to be seen on the battlefield.

Tadun had never fought a battle like this before, nor did he want to fight one again.

"Let's quit! We're done! There's no future in following Yuan Tan!"

Several Wuhuan leaders hesitated: "But Yuan Tan said that the army has run out of food..."

"You've been in Han territory for a while, so you really think of yourselves as Han people? Why do you put all sorts of rules on yourselves?"

Tadun angrily reprimanded everyone.

"If there's no food, then we'll rob it!"

"Aren't these Han people everywhere just granaries?"

"As long as we preserve our troops, why should we be afraid of not having enough to eat?"

However, doing so would mean breaking ties with Yuan Tan and even the entire Northern Zhao.

But if Tadun had to choose between preserving the future of the Wuhuan or offending the Northern Zhao, he would still choose the latter, even if he had to choose ten thousand times!
"We've already made enough money this time! There's no need for our own men to die for Yuan Tan!"

After Tadun said this, the Wuhuan leaders all nodded in agreement.

After learning the rules from the Han people for two days, how come you've forgotten your own special skills?

If there's no food, why not just rob it?

As for whether the Han people starve to death, what does that have to do with them?
"The Chanyu truly possesses the qualities of Modu Chanyu!"

"We'll be leaving now! By the way, should we say goodbye to Yuan Tan?"

"What's the point of caring about a dead person?"

"..."

Yuan Tan and the Hebei heavy cavalry in the center of the battlefield watched helplessly as the Wuhuan cavalry led by Tadun went from being one step away from saving the situation to suddenly leaving the battlefield and fleeing northwards with no hope of recovery.

Upon seeing this, the eyes of the Hebei heavy cavalryman dimmed instantly, and the arm that had been waving with its last bit of strength slowly began to stop.

The entire battle situation suddenly began to collapse.

This was Zhang Liao's umpteenth charge.

Zhang Liao's hands and feet had begun to tremble, and even his legendary Akhal-Teke horse showed signs of fatigue, gradually slowing its pace.

But it was after this incident that Zhang Liao noticed something different.

In his next charge, he was no longer met with Yuan's weapons and armor.

Instead, it was those panicked faces and those tangled, unruly ponytails.

The Hebei heavy cavalry has been routed!
Zhang Liao suddenly opened his blood-stained eyes and let out a tiger's roar!
The whistle was heard by all the Han soldiers, and everyone's spirits were lifted!
Won!

After enduring hunger and hardship in Qingzhou for so long, we have finally won the battle we deserved to win!

"rush!"

The Han cavalry gave chase!
We cannot give Yuan Tan another chance! We cannot give the Northern Zhao another chance!
Right here! Right now! We must completely break the backbone of Northern Zhao!
Zhang Liao tried to reach for the bow and arrows, but his hand grasped only empty air.

Just as the thread suspending this battle suddenly snapped, Zhang Liao's body seemed to break as well, his head sinking as he was about to fall off his horse.

Just then, Zhang Liao suddenly felt as if a wall had blocked his way, and at the same time, the familiar voice made him open his eyes wide.

"Wen Yuan, leave the rest to me!"

Lü Bu straightened Zhang Liao's body and glanced at the double-sided stirrups and high-bridged saddle beneath him.

"Hmph! I don't need any of these things!"

Meanwhile, Red Hare beneath him gave Zhang Liao's exhausted Akhal-Teke horse a disdainful shove and stuck out its tongue mockingly.

"I will handle the rest of the battle myself!"

------

"Great victory! Great victory!"

After receiving the intelligence, Zhou Tai immediately rushed to Liu Miao's camp, only to find Zhao Yun and Chen Wu standing outside like two wooden logs.

"What's wrong? Where is His Majesty?"

Chen Wu made a shushing gesture.

Zhao Yun pointed inside the tent: "His Majesty is playing chess with the strategist!"

"what?"

Zhou Tai's face was utterly speechless.

"What's the point of playing chess at a time like this!"

"Besides, His Majesty is such a terrible chess player, he can't even beat me, and now he wants to play against Zhuge Liang?"

"..."

There's a trap here!

Zhou Tai carefully lifted the curtain and saw Liu Miao and Zhuge Liang sitting opposite each other in the center... For some reason, being with Zhuge Liang, Zhou Tai felt that even Liu Miao seemed more human!

But when Zhou Tai stepped forward and glanced at the chessboard, he was instantly stunned.

"This game is so strange! I can't understand it at all!"

Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "This is the game of Gomoku that His Majesty mentioned. You win as long as you connect five in a row."

"Oh~~~~"

However, Zhou Tai was even stranger.

He pointed to the chessboard—

"Aren't these four white stones already connected? And there are no black stones blocking them on the left and right. Haven't we already won? Kongming, what are you still racking your brains about?"

Zhuge Liang: "I am playing the white pieces, Your Majesty is playing the black pieces."

"..."

"Oh, it's okay then!"

Seeing Liu Miao's furrowed brows, Zhou Tai ultimately didn't dare ask why Liu Miao was still stubbornly insisting on his defeat. At the same time, he was unsure whether he should tell Liu Miao that the outcome of the battle at the front was already decided.

"If the general has anything to say about the battle at the front, he can simply tell His Majesty."

It was only after Zhuge Liang spoke that Zhou Tai breathed a sigh of relief, and then shouted in his hoarse voice, "Your Majesty! A great victory has been won at the front!"

"Tadun led the Wuhuan Chanyu into a long flight! Zhang Liao and Lü Bu led their troops to annihilate the heavy cavalry of Hebei! They captured more than 10,000 Yuan soldiers and more than 7,000 warhorses! Yuan Tan escaped back to his camp on horseback, barely escaping with his life!"

"..."

Surprisingly, Liu Miao did not make any move.

Just as Zhou Tai was wondering if Liu Miao was hard of hearing and was about to repeat himself, Liu Miao finally nodded slightly and then casually uttered a sentence—

"Just a bunch of kids defeating a bandit!"

"..."

Zhou Tai's eyes turned disdainful.

Liu Miao continued.

Liu Miao sighed, "This game of chess with Kongming is truly a fierce battle, and I don't know how long it will take to determine the winner. Unfortunately, I am currently entangled in trivial matters, so I can only play it another time."

Zhuge Liang unusually said, "Your Majesty should naturally prioritize matters of state."

Zhou Tai, however, bluntly remarked, "What's the point of betting now? We've already lost!"

Liu Miao looked up and glared at Zhou Tai, but then he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Youping is talking about Yuan Tan, isn't he? Indeed! He's lost everything now, what else is there to say?"

"No, I was referring to Your Majesty..."

"Hahaha! Alright, Youping, get out of here!"

"..."

Zhou Tai left the tent in a huff, leaving only Liu Miao and Zhuge Liang behind.

"Kongming must have had a really tough time."

"It's just to share His Majesty's burdens."

"Don't burden me! I have no worries! If anyone should worry, it's the country!"

"..."

While speaking, Liu Miao secretly took a black piece and blocked Zhuge Liang's four white pieces on one side, and Zhuge Liang pretended not to see it...

"After this victory, Yuan Shao had no other options but to fight to the death at Pengcheng."

Liu Miao checked again to make sure that Zhuge Liang had no more connected pieces, then he raised his head with a smile.

"If Yuan Shao really chooses to fight me to the death at Pengcheng, then he will be no different from Yuan Tan in this battle."

"He might still win, but it would only be by chance!"

Liu Miao's tail couldn't help but wag at this moment.

If it weren't for the fact that there's neither wine nor meat available now, a banquet would probably have already begun!
However, Zhuge Liang timely poured cold water on Liu Miao's idea.

"Has Your Majesty not heard the saying, 'Heaven never seals off all paths'?"

"There is a saying among military strategists: I never dare to start a war, but prefer to defend; I never dare to advance blindly an inch, but prefer to retreat a foot. That is to say, although there is action, it is as if no action has been taken; although the arm is raised, it is as if the arm is not raised; although the weapon is in hand, it is as if there is no weapon; although facing the enemy, it is as if the enemy does not exist."

No disaster is greater than underestimating the enemy; underestimating the enemy will cause you to lose the most important thing for victory. Therefore, in a situation where two armies are evenly matched, the army that has been humiliated and is filled with indignation is more likely to win.

Zhuge Liang also used the examples of Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, and Xiang Yu, the overlord of Chu, during the Chu-Han Contention.

"In the Battle of Pengcheng, Gaozu led a large army to capture Xiang Yu's capital. He then held daily banquets and celebrations with his ministers and the feudal lords of the world. However, Xiang Yu and his generals were worried about their families who would fall into Gaozu's hands. So they chose to travel light and take advantage of Gaozu's absence to defeat his army of hundreds of thousands, causing the Sui River to stop flowing. Gaozu was forced to break through the encirclement with only a dozen or so horsemen."

"Now that Yuan Tan has been defeated and Yuan Shao is about to die, the Yuan army has already shown signs of desperation. If Your Majesty does not take this seriously, I fear there will be great disaster."

"..."

Liu Miao felt both helpless and amused.

"Kongming, how come you're so old-fashioned at such a young age?"

"Luckily you're married now, otherwise, if you open your mouth, all the women would run away, and who would warm your bed in the future?"

Zhuge Liang calmly replied, “When I speak with petty people, I always use flattering words because I know they cannot accept criticism of their mistakes; but when I speak with gentlemen, I can speak freely and openly because I know that true gentlemen will not blame me for it, but will instead make our relationship even more amicable!”

"and……"

As if he had just thought of something, Zhuge Liang revealed a rare and extremely warm smile: "My wife and I can understand each other's feelings even without speaking, so Your Majesty need not worry about the matter of warming the bed."

"..."

Liu Miao laughed and cursed, "Fine! You win!"

"I will remember Kongming's words!"

"But tonight is the celebration! This matter cannot be delayed!"

"Why are you glaring at me? You can't even beat me at chess, yet you have quite the temper! Tell Zhou Tai to hurry up and prepare the banquet!"

　Regarding the updates these past few days… Actually, after issuing my self-reproach, I wanted to update regularly, but unfortunately, starting from the National Day holiday, I began experiencing dizziness and nausea. A hospital checkup revealed my blood pressure had spiked to around 170. During that period, I felt like I was about to die, and I really didn't dare write… However, since I had already taken leave in October due to a family member's surgery, I felt embarrassed to issue another separate chapter explaining it. So, while hospitalized, I maintained a basic update schedule, gritting my teeth and persevering for a few days. Fortunately, it's all over now, and things shouldn't continue to be so difficult. I should be able to maintain a stable update schedule! (I'm not setting up any more pawns; I've found that the faster you do, the more miserable your death, haha!) Finally, although it's a few days late, I still wish all my readers a happy National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival, and good health!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)