I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 485 The world is shaken!

Yuan Shao closed his eyes, but his eyelids kept twitching and wouldn't stop.

"Where is Yuan Tan?"

"His fate is unknown."

"His fate is unknown, does that mean he's dead?"

"I'm afraid he's still alive."

"..."

In front of his father, he said he didn't want his son to live.

If Yuan Shao hadn't understood Xu You's meaning, he probably would have reacted on the spot.

"Yes, I'm afraid he's still alive."

The thing I feared most was that Yuan Tan would be captured alive by Liu Miao again.

When Yuan Tan was captured last time, he was merely the eldest son of the Yuan family. Although Yuan Shao and Liu Miao had become warlords, they were still colleagues of the Han Dynasty and maintained a certain level of decorum.

This time, however, Yuan Tan was captured as the King of Qin of the Great Zhao.

If such a person, with such an identity, fell into Liu Miao's hands, who knows what Liu Miao would do!
Having clashed with Liu Miao several times, Yuan Shao never dared to overestimate Liu Miao's limits...

It was precisely for this reason that Xu You suggested that Yuan Shao should issue a formal edict appointing Yuan Shang as the crown prince.

Otherwise, the consequences for the Great Zhao would be far too terrible!
Yuan Shao took a few deep breaths of stale air, but felt even more oppressed.

"Liu Miao, Liu Miao..."

"Could it be that the fate of the Han Dynasty has not yet run its course?"

Yuan Shao lowered his head, looking at his feet wrapped in medicinal herbs, and finally let out a low, sorrowful sigh, like that of an old ox.

"Am I destined to become a second Wang Mang?"

"..."

Xu You stood silently to the side.

He had already made everything clear to Yuan Shao.

The rest is up to Yuan Shao to decide.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Pengcheng.

The Han generals, led by Zhou Yu, learned of Yuan Tan's defeat a day earlier than Yuan Shao.

"Long live!"

"May the Great Han Dynasty prevail!!"

"Victory is possible, but impossible!"

Amidst the cheers, Lu Su was the one most deeply moved.

“When I went to Ye City, I was extorted for bribes by the local officials. At that time, I knew that no matter how powerful Yuan Shao became or how many troops he had, he could never become the man of destiny.”

"Now it seems that it is exactly as I predicted back then!"

Upon hearing Lu Su's words, the other civil and military officials of the Han Dynasty nodded in agreement.

The Battle of Jiaodong.

Did Liu Miao try his best?

There is no doubt that they tried their best.

But did Liu Miao really do anything?

Liu Miao did not force Yuan Tan to allow the Wuhuan cavalry to plunder; he did not contact Ye City to cut off Yuan Tan's supplies. But these very things he did not do led to a battle that completely changed the course of the war...

By cultivating the Way and upholding the Law, one can govern the affairs of victory and defeat!

However, compared to reviewing the battle, the generals of Pengcheng undoubtedly had another important task to complete—

"Yuan Tan was defeated. Yuan Shao may still have an army of 200,000, but in reality, he had no other choice!"

Zhou Yu was in high spirits!

"Now Yuan Shao only has one option! That is to fight us to the death in Pengcheng!"

"Now that Pengcheng is impregnable, it can be said that the victory has completely tilted in the favor of the Han Dynasty!"

Compared to Zhou Yu's confidence, Lu Su still had some worries.

"What if Yuan Shao realizes something is wrong and chooses to retreat?"

"Will not."

The speaker was none other than Chen Yu, one of the Three Dukes of the Han Dynasty who had come with the army.

Chen Yu was the son of Chen Qiu and was quite familiar with both Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu.

“People like Yuan Shao only ever think about themselves.”

"Now that he has declared himself emperor, it means that for him, 'I am the country.'"

"If it were an ordinary person, knowing that their chances of winning this battle were extremely slim, they would most likely choose to withdraw their troops to preserve their strength for another battle; but a man like Yuan Shao would never entrust his foundation to anyone else, not even his own son... In addition, he is already nearing the end of his life, so he will not retreat in this battle."

If Cao Cao was domineering, then Yuan Shao was arrogant.

To live proudly, to die proudly.

Even if there were only the slightest chance, Yuan Shao would not choose to trust others.

Even though he knew that if the attack on Pengcheng failed again, the fate of the entire Zhao state would be in jeopardy, he would still launch an attack.

Without such ambition, Yuan Shao could not have come this far and become the emperor who overthrew the country!

Some who knew Yuan Shao also echoed Chen Yu's words.

Yuan Shao is unlikely to retreat.

If he were to retire, he would no longer be Yuan Shao!
After hearing these words, Lu Su felt somewhat relieved.

As long as Yuan Shao does not retreat, what awaits him in Pengcheng is only a dead end!

However, he was slightly taken aback when he saw Chen Yu's expression.

There was a hint of sadness in Chen Yu's eyes and brows.

Mourning for Yuan Shao?
That's clearly impossible. Since it's not Yuan Shao...

"Is Sikong worried about Chen Deng and Chen Yuanlong?"

Hearing Lu Su expose his thoughts, Chen Yu didn't hide anything and nodded frankly.

“Yuanlong is, after all, my elder brother’s son. Although he committed a heinous crime, he still shares some of my bloodline… I want to go to Jimo to give him a proper burial.”

The once bustling Han army camp suddenly grew quiet.

Anyone familiar with Liu Miao knows that what Chen Deng did in Qingzhou touched the emperor's sore spot.

It's only because Liu Miao didn't insult the dead that it's not impossible he would have dug up Chen Deng, skinned him alive, and dismembered him.

If Chen Yu were to go rashly, he would surely incur Liu Miao's displeasure.

Moreover, the matter of Chen Deng is actually very significant.

Don’t say anything else.

Can the scholars of Xuzhou and Qingzhou still be trusted in the future?
Do the scholars of Xuzhou and Qingzhou still respect the Han Dynasty?

However, since Chen Yu was one of the Three Dukes, no one dared to stop him. They just asked him to consult Liu Miao before taking any action.

After some thought, Chen Yu also wrote a letter to Liu Miao.

Liu Miao's reply came very quickly—

"go with!"

It was just a single word; Liu Miao didn't even bother to write it down, he simply sent a message via scout.

Upon hearing this, Chen Yu smiled and immediately packed his bags, heading towards Jiaodong.

On the way, an acquaintance met Chen Yu and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Chen Deng and Chen Yuanlong were traitors to the Han Dynasty. Why are you going to pay your respects to them? Is it because you are related by blood?"

Chen Yu replied, “A person is not one-dimensional. Chen Deng did indeed collude with Yuan Tan this time, causing harm to the people of Qingzhou; but when he served as the Agricultural Commandant, he also allowed the people of Xuzhou to recuperate. How can one judge a person’s character based on one incident?”

These words later circulated and were regarded as classics by some scholars, becoming the enlightenment words for some new ideas.

After learning about this, Chen Deng's family members voluntarily submitted their land deeds and private registers to the local government, no longer daring to conceal their land and people...

Guanzhong, Chang'an.

After Cao Cao arrived here, he immediately quelled several rebellions caused by Liu Miao, restoring peace to Guanzhong.

At the same time, Cao Cao proactively opened several passes in Guanzhong and resumed trade with Xiliang and Nanyang. This policy greatly increased Cao Cao's prestige in Guanzhong and allowed him to replace Yuan Tan with the support of the powerful clans in Guanzhong!
With the troops preserved for him by Zhong Yao and Xiahou Dun, Cao Cao had almost completely taken control of Guanzhong!
The only trace left by Yuan Tan is probably Guo Huai, who guarded this place.

However, Guo Huai was clearly not able to carry the burden alone.

He received gifts from Cao Cao almost every day, and Cao Cao would invite him to drink every few days. His bottom line was being broken step by step under Cao Cao's probing.

That day, Cao Cao invited Guo Huai to drink again, but as soon as Guo Huai sat down, he sensed that the atmosphere seemed a little strange.

"May I ask, Lord Cao, what has happened?"

Before Guo Huai entered, Cao Cao had been pondering something.

Upon hearing Guo Huai's words, he was caught off guard and his arm trembled, spilling a lot of the wine from his cup.

Seeing that even the usually composed Cao Cao reacted this way, Guo Huai became even more curious: "May I ask, Lord Cao, what exactly happened?"

What is it...?

Cao Cao sighed softly, his tone neither heavy nor joyful.

"News has come from Shandong that Liu Miao led his army in a surprise attack on Qingzhou, inflicting a crushing defeat on Yuan Tan and annihilating his entire force. Meanwhile, Yuan Tan's whereabouts remain unknown, and his fate is uncertain..."

moment!

Guo Huai felt as if a pair of large hands were gripping his neck, making it impossible for him to breathe!

"Is the news accurate?"

"There's no mistake, news has come from both the Central Plains and Ye City."

Guo Huai was pale and his movements were somewhat awkward.

Cao Cao seemed not to notice, simply picking up his wine cup and muttering something to himself.

"Liu Zhongshan, what a fine Liu Zhongshan..."

"I don't know whether to praise your military prowess or just say it was pure luck that the war turned out this way?"

Cao Cao vaguely sensed that something was amiss with the battle at Jiaodong.

Both Ye City and Yuan Shao's side seem to be intentionally concealing something.

But for Cao Cao, this was not important.

The important thing is that Liu Miao has now truly defeated Yuan Tan.

Since Liu Miao had taken Yuan Tan's wife, he could only settle for taking other things from Yuan Tan...

"Boji!"

Cao Cao's eyes suddenly turned red, and his tone became unconsciously sorrowful!

"I know you can't accept this right now, but His Highness has indeed been defeated!"

"What we can do right now is to continue to manage Guanzhong well and wait for His Highness's return."

"After all, His Highness is my son-in-law, my blood relative!"

Seeing that Cao Cao was crying uncontrollably, Guo Huai quickly stepped forward to support him, saying, "Lord Cao, please don't be too sad!"

"Your Highness is a member of the noble Yuan family, and is naturally blessed with boundless good fortune!"

"But now that we have been defeated, the struggle for the throne will likely be even more difficult in the future... Cao Gong is right. We must manage Guanzhong well for Your Highness so that you will still have the strength to fight in the future!"

After Yuan Tan's defeat, Guo Huai finally let go of his pride and insistence.

He fell to the ground—

"Now that His Highness is not here, all matters, large and small, in Guanzhong still need to be decided by Lord Cao! Please do not be too saddened, Lord Cao!"

"If Lord Cao needs any orders, please give them. I, Guo Huai, will gladly die for you!"

Cao Cao forcibly suppressed the smirk on his face and stepped forward to support Guo Huai: "Boji, what are you saying?"

"It is only natural that Boji would be indispensable in protecting Guanzhong for His Highness!"

“Let’s encourage each other! Let’s encourage each other!”

(End of this chapter)