I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 482 Fellow villager, what are you doing here?
……

"Your Majesty, Yuan Tan has escaped."

"Oh."

Liu Miao had already crossed the Jiao River and met up with Zang Ba in Linzi.

When Liu Miao heard Zang Ba say that Yuan Tan had not been captured, he was somewhat unhappy, but he did not criticize him excessively.

Once the army falls, it becomes a vast ocean; how can one find a single person so easily?

"And one more thing."

Zang Ba recounted the deeds of the Yuan army envoy to Liu Miao, causing Liu Miao's usually frivolous expression to become unusually serious.

"What's that man's name?"

"I...don't know his name."

Liu Miao let out a long sigh: "Phew—I don't know his name."

After a brief silence, Liu Miao laughed again: "Most of the heroes in the world are nameless, while it is those of us who are not heroes who are able to survive in the end."

"Tell the historian to write this down carefully! Don't keep writing about my excrement and piss! Otherwise, I might just poop on his desk next time!"

"Hmm... Here!"

Liu Miao rode on the fast ship, staring at a dilapidated ruin not far away.

"Sigh, this is the same bustling and prosperous city of Linzi that was just a month or two ago!"

Lü Bu and Chen Gong approached Liu Miao and sighed with emotion.

"Small things."

"If a city is gone, it can be rebuilt."

"If a person is gone, then you really have nothing left."

Liu Miao was not so sentimental.

"When I first arrived in Jiangdong, I didn't even have a place to stay. In the end, didn't I still build a tall building from the ground up, creating Jinling and the great Han Dynasty?"

Liu Miao never felt regret for what he had lost.

Since we've already started over once, we can always start all over again!
"Let Kongming settle the people as soon as possible and try to catch up with the spring plowing."

Upon hearing Liu Miao's order, Zang Ba hesitated: "Your Majesty, what about Yuan Tan... are we just going to ignore him?"

"Care! Why not care?"

"I miss my brother-in-law so much! I can't live without him now."

Liu Miao spoke with a smile, but for some reason, Zang Ba felt a chill.

"But the more we pressure him, the more he hides like a mouse and refuses to see anyone."

"He's going back to Hebei anyway! He'll be waiting at the ferry crossing!"

"Here!"

------

Yuan Tan was led into the hunter's home.

The small courtyard contained a pile of firewood far exceeding the amount needed for one person to get through the winter.

Inside the house, the limited space was divided into several neatly arranged areas, some of which contained women wearing rather flashy clothes.

Throughout the entire ordeal, only one person entertained Yuan Tan, and the hunter never uttered a single call into the house to elicit a response that was destined to go unheard.

He clumsily lit the stove and cooked a bowl of fish porridge for Yuan Tan. After taking a sip of the warm porridge, Yuan Tan finally felt that he was still alive.

Seeing that Yuan Tan had been quite well-behaved throughout the journey, and observing his expression and appearance, the hunter made some guesses—

"You come from a wealthy family?"

"Yes."

"Have you recently suffered a great calamity?"

Thinking of how he had annihilated his entire Hebei cavalry force in Jiaodong, Yuan Tan's tears fell into his bowl again, making the already salty fish porridge even saltier...

"Tsk, young man, it's nothing."

The hunter had the typical appearance of a long-haired man. His large hands could kill wild beasts in the forest and cook a warm bowl of porridge. However, when he saw Yuan Tan crying, he was at a loss for what to do and could only awkwardly comfort Yuan Tan with his own experiences.

Are your parents still alive?

"My mother has passed away, but my father is still alive."

Do you have any siblings?

"I have two younger brothers..."

"Then why are you still crying?"

The hunter pointed to himself.

"That day I went hunting in the mountains, and when I returned, I saw that some Wuhuan barbarians had broken into my house, and then..."

He intended to feign nonchalance and comfort Yuan Tan.

But halfway through his sentence, the hunter couldn't bring himself to say it. He just sat silently on the couch, not uttering a word.

Yuan Tan now understood what had happened.

But it was precisely because he understood that he dared not ask.

"Fellow villager, what will you do in the future?"

The hunter chuckled good-naturedly: "That's right, the past is the past, let's not talk about it anymore, let's think more about the future."

"Next spring, I will go south to join the army."

Yuan Tan became anxious: "Why do you want to join the army?"

The hunter was clearly not going to throw himself at Zhao Jun.

The hunter gave Yuan Tan a strange look: "What else could it be? Of course, it's to kill a few more of Yuan's dogs to avenge my wife and daughters?"

Yuan Tan trembled as he took a sip of fish porridge, not daring to offer direct advice. He simply said indirectly, "Fellow villager, you said it yourself, the past is the past. Wouldn't it be better to live a peaceful and quiet life?"

"We are all Han Chinese, and it is unacceptable for us to hate each other."

"intolerable?"

The hunter was amused by Yuan Tan's words.

"I see you're a scholar, so why are you speaking so harshly? No wonder the Han Dynasty is in such a mess! If all scholars were like this, how could the Han Dynasty not be in chaos?" "Put it down? Fine! Then when I kill a few of those Yuan dogs, I'll slaughter their mothers, wives, and daughters right in front of them. Then I'll ask you to go and persuade them not to hate me. Do you think that will work?"

Yuan Tan remained silent, simply continuing to drink his fish porridge in silence...

The hunter, however, did not mind.

The general consensus is that Yuan Tan was ultimately a wealthy young man, a scholar, and a nobleman.

In the eyes of ordinary people, influential people are mostly good people, and it is not unforgivable for them to make minor mistakes.

They boiled water and had Yuan Tan wash his body. They found him a clean set of clothes and then let him sleep in the small room inside.

Yuan Tan huddled in the corner.

Only then was he finally able to calm down and think about many things related to this battle.

Why is there such a sudden shortage of food supplies in the rear?
Why would even a gentleman like Wang Xiu abandon him?

Why was he defeated so badly by the Han army in just one encounter on the battlefield?
Why...

These countless questions, along with the words Chen Deng and the envoy had spoken earlier, flooded Yuan Tan's mind, causing a throbbing headache.

Yuan Shang's underhanded tactics in his struggle for the throne.

He looked down on the Han people in order to win over the Wuhuan.

There was also blind anger and overconfidence towards Liu Miao...

While doing these things, Yuan Tan never felt there was anything wrong with it.

A direct confrontation with Yuan Shang?

He is the eldest son of the Yuan family! What's wrong with him vying for the position of crown prince?
Favoritism towards the Wuhuan?

The fighting strength of the Wuhuan cavalry is of paramount importance! We must strive to improve it!
Blind confidence and anger towards Liu Miao?
Yuan Tan didn't believe it. Who in the world wouldn't feel confident of victory after commanding such a large force of heavy cavalry?

Yuan Tan also didn't believe that any man in the world could remain calm when he saw his wife lying in another man's arms.

Every single thing I did had countless valid reasons when I did it, but now, upon closer reflection, I realize that every single one of them was completely and utterly wrong!

Yuan Tan began to feel lost.

Even now, he still doesn't know where he went wrong.
Is it Yuan Shang?
Or was it Liu Miao?

Or perhaps, it's myself?
Overwhelmed by a torrent of thoughts, the already fragile Yuan Tan gradually lost consciousness. When he awoke again, he had no idea when it had happened.

However, when Yuan Tan woke up, he found himself covered with blankets.

Clearly, the hunter had been here.

Just as Yuan Tan was about to breathe a sigh of relief, his fingers accidentally touched the corner between the bed and the wall, where something seemed to be stuck.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a small bamboo dog.

It even has a mouth and nose painted on it, which looks a bit strange, but also a bit cute.

This must be the hunter's daughter's toy.

Just as Yuan Tan was thinking this, his heart tightened.

If this hunter knew my true identity, I'm afraid he'd chop me into pieces!

The next moment, a familiar voice made the hairs on Yuan Tan's body stand on end!

Stab it!

Stab it!

That rhythmic, gritty sound—what else could it be but a knife being sharpened?
The hunter is sharpening his knife!

Why are you sharpening your knife? Are you trying to kill me?
Yuan Tan became increasingly frightened and quickly looked around.

Seeing the window on the wall, Yuan Tan panicked and jumped over it, fleeing the place as quickly as possible!

moment.

The hunter walked over, shouting, "Fellow villager! I've caught a mountain weasel today! Come and have a taste!"

But when the hunter entered the house with great enthusiasm, he was taken aback.

"gone?"

His initial excitement turned somewhat dejected.

The hunter smacked his lips twice, then sat down cross-legged, looking quite puzzled, and absentmindedly poked at the pieces of meat in his bowl.

"I wonder if the fellow villager was cold or hungry on the road..."

Yuan Tan gritted his teeth and continued heading north.

He had already ascertained his location and found out that he was near Linqu.

As long as you take the side path and pass Lushan, you can go from Zhangqiu to Dongpingling, then cross the river at Linyi and return to Hebei!

Along the way, Yuan Tan disguised himself with a Qingzhou accent and intentionally or unintentionally imitated the hunter's demeanor. He told everyone he met about the hunter's experiences in exchange for a hot meal, and surprisingly, he managed to sneak to the outskirts of Linyi.

And once you get here, you can see the wide river!
When Yuan Tan saw the great river, his eyes involuntarily welled up with tears.

What crown prince? What victory?

Only now did Yuan Tan realize—

It's good to be alive!
Not daring to delay for a moment, they hurriedly arrived at the ferry.

But as soon as they approached the ferry, Yuan Tan's alarm bells went off!
Here, the Han army was clearly visible!
Yuan Tan panicked immediately and even considered turning around and running back!

But when he thought about how close he was to Hebei, Yuan Tan was still somewhat unwilling!

He waited for several days and finally found the right opportunity to locate a lone boatman.

"Take me to the north, and I will reward you handsomely after I have accomplished my mission!"

Ordinary people are all short-sighted and ignorant!

Yuan Tan did not believe that his actions would give him away.

Unexpectedly, after hearing Yuan Tan's request, the boatman suddenly let out a loud shout—

"Guards! Guards! Someone here wants to go back to Hebei! He must be a spy from Hebei!"

Yuan Tan's body trembled, and even his tongue went limp.

"No, fellow villager! What's going on here?"

(End of this chapter)