I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 486 During the Han Dynasty!

It's now the last month of the year.

December 1st.

Normally at this time of year, people stay at home, with wives doing chores when there's nothing to do and taking care of themselves when there's nothing else. Then, around September or October of the following year, a healthy, chubby baby will be born, adding to the family's population.

But this year, at least the people of the Central Plains cannot do so many shameful things.

Many people have been staying in the fortified village for three or four months, and from the initial discomfort, they have come to be able to talk about anything and say anything.

But doing that in front of others is still embarrassing.

Even if we can't do it, we can at least talk about it.

Several elderly farmers surrounded a young man, passing on their experience to him.

"Woman, thick legs and a big butt are the best!"

"You young people are so naive, you all like those skinny legs! Actually, that kind of uprightness is no good!"

"Remember this! When you're looking for a wife in the future, find one who walks with a swaying, seductive gait!"

"..."

The young man blushed and said, "But, but my family has already arranged a marriage for me. They said I was to marry a girl from the Li family."

"Oh! So it's the Li family!"

"That Li family girl... tsk, her legs are quite long, but she's too thin. Young man, you're probably going to have your legs chafed by them later!"

The young man looked bewildered, clearly not understanding why he would feel uncomfortable around a thin girl.

The other men around burst into laughter, drawing frequent glances from the women nearby.

"All you ever say are embarrassing things!"

"Exactly! Huh? Where were we? Oh! Right! When it comes to men, we have to find strong, muscular ones! Being skinny isn't really a problem, but you have to look at their backs and waists, not hunched over! That's what makes them strong!"

"That won't do! It's too powerful, wouldn't it make people scream?"

"Isn't it better to scream and yell? That's better than secretly shedding tears!"

"..."

Wei Yan listened to these words in silence.

Especially the woman, even he felt embarrassed listening to her!

"Hiss! Why are these people always talking about this?"

"if not?"

The guards beside him, however, didn't seem to care and laughed heartily.

"If we don't talk about these things between men and women, are we supposed to talk about how to farm?"

Wei Yan grew increasingly displeased: "Even if we don't talk about men farming and women weaving, there are schools in the fortified villages. Can't they go and learn some characters?"

"General, that's where you're wrong!"

After spending a long time with Wei Yan, the guards were no longer afraid of him and instead tried to reason with him.

"In these chaotic times of war, we should live one day at a time! Why bother with so much? Even if we are educated, we probably won't live long enough to be of any use... What was that poem Your Majesty wrote? 'Enjoy life while you can!'"

"Bah! You dare to use His Majesty to intimidate me?"

Wei Yan laughed and cursed, but stopped dwelling on the foul language.

In fact, Wei Yan wasn't complaining about these things; he was just grumbling to himself.

Having been trapped in this fortified village for many days, many people have encountered problems to varying degrees.

For the younger ones, they could be forcibly sent to the academy to study; for the older ones, they would just chat about things they couldn't normally talk about to pass the time.

Moreover, Wei Yan discovered that discussing these matters immediately lightened the previously somewhat oppressive atmosphere. Several families with past conflicts reconciled, and the place became peaceful and harmonious, free of conflict and strife…

But as the highest-ranking general in the area, Wei Yan couldn't very well go around talking to the common people about those things.

Otherwise, where would they put their identity? Where would they put their dignity?

"I don't know how His Majesty was able to do those things."

Wei Yan thought of Liu Miao.

Let alone this kind of environment.

Even during marches, Liu Miao would often talk about vulgar things, yet no one seemed to find it wrong... At the time, we didn't think much of it, but now, who dares to say that this wasn't a skill?
"Let's go back and continue playing dice!"

"No? General? You're still playing games?"

The guards were somewhat worried.

"General, please stop gambling! I've never seen you win a single bet since we started playing together!"

"Stop talking nonsense! How can you lose every day?!"

"..."

Just as Wei Yan was about to pull his personal guards back to their room to continue gambling, he suddenly heard a rapid sound burst out from outside!
"Has General Cheng Pu sent a messenger?"

Wei Yan rushed outside.

In any case, this is something new, so of course we should run to welcome it!
Wei Yan climbed to the corner tower of the fortified village and saw a group of Han cavalry scouts outside. He immediately shouted excitedly, "What military order has arrived? Could it be that we are about to launch a counterattack?"

"No! The general has ordered you to continue to hold the fortified village."

"Damn!"

Wei Yan cursed under his breath.

He was so bored in this fortified village that he couldn't even fart, and now he had to wait for himself?

For a moment, Wei Yan's tone became more aggressive: "Then what are you doing here?"

"The general dispatched us to deliver the news of victory!"

"What good news?"

"Your Majesty and the Commander-in-Chief first defeated Yuan Tan's army at Mangdang Mountain, beheading his supervisor Ju Shou! Then Your Majesty personally led the cavalry to Qingzhou, where you defeated Yuan Tan in the Battle of Jiaodong, annihilating his entire army!"

Wei Yan didn't react at first.

However, his breathing quickly became rapid, and he floated into the air as white mist.

"really?"

"really!"

The Han scouts outside clearly understood Wei Yan and his men's predicament.

"The general specifically ordered us to report the victory to you, so that you would not be anxious, and so that the people in the fortified village would not be anxious either!" "His Majesty will surely defeat the enemy! You need not worry!"

The cold of winter is certainly unbearable.

But there are already signs that warm spring is coming!

At this moment, Wei Yan felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of relief throughout his body!
The pent-up frustration of the past few months vanished in an instant!
They are also waiting.

But before that, including Wei Yan, most of them didn't actually know what they were waiting for.

But now, Wei Yan knows—

They are waiting for victory!

And victory is very close!

Wei Yan suddenly burst into hearty laughter, his attitude towards the scouts completely changing: "You've all had a difficult journey! Why don't you come in and have a hot meal before you go on your way!"

"Thank you for your kindness!"

The Han scouts below waved to Wei Yan.

"There are dozens of fortified villages like this in this area. The people inside are still waiting for news from us! So we won't stay here with you, General!"

However, the other party still shouted—

"I hope the general will be patient for a while longer!"

"When spring arrives and flowers bloom, let us meet again in the land of Han!"

"Okay! Take care!"

Wei Yan watched the scouts leave with great joy, then hurriedly informed the people in the fortified village of Liu Miao's victory at the front.

"Long live your Majesty!"

"The great man is victorious!"

For ordinary people, they didn't know who Ju Shou was or where Jiaodong was.

But they know.

The more victories Liu Miao wins, the sooner they will return to peace!

Wei Yan chuckled and patted his belly, "Guards! Let's splurge today! Slaughter lamb and chicken! To celebrate His Majesty's victory!"

"Here!"

On the Central Plains, the aroma of meat and the rising heat wafted from more than one fortified village on the same day!

Today, many people have an extra serving of meat and spices in their bowls.

Although they were not connected, everyone's emotions were surprisingly aligned at this moment!
The Great Han is about to win!

The world will be at peace!

During the reign of Emperor Huang of Han!

Climbing the high mountains, towering peaks and lofty cliffs, one can see the flowing river.

Under the vast sky, the time is the opposite.

The fate of the Han Dynasty! The fate of the Han Dynasty!
The bustling fortified villages everywhere were filled with clusters of crimson flames belonging to the Han Dynasty, which stood out conspicuously against the desolate land!
In contrast, there was Yuan's army responsible for the offensive on the western front.

Chunyu Qiong and Yuan Chunqing.

As Zhou Yu had predicted, the two had to specifically allocate soldiers to surround the Han army's fortified villages.

At the same time, this clearing of the fields meant that Yuan's army could not get any supplies and could only transport grain from Hebei to the Central Plains.

Although the western front did not undertake any combat missions and its number of soldiers was far less than that of the central battlefield, its consumption of food and fodder was already showing signs of exceeding that of the central battlefield!

Yecheng kept sending letters asking questions, but Chunyu Qiong and Yuan Chunqing didn't know how to respond.

Are we going to abandon these occupied territories?

If they dared to do such a thing, Yuan Shao would dare to kill them!

The advance on the western front was almost the only result achieved by Yuan Shao after launching this unprecedented campaign!

No matter how heavy the burden of this victory may be, they must grit their teeth and persevere!

This is an explanation to Yuan Shao, and also an explanation to Hebei!

On the other hand, this victory, which only had appearances but no substance, did indeed leave the two of them exhausted.

Especially after hearing about the consecutive defeats in the Battle of Mangdang Mountain and the Battle of Jiaodong, both of them couldn't help but waver.

"If we do nothing, we may not only fail to achieve anything when we return, but we may also make a mistake."

The more mature Chunyu Qiong said irritably, "Even if we know, what can we do?"

"Cheng Pu is an old coward! Wen Ping is a stubborn bastard! If those two just sit there like that, who can beat them?"

"Moreover, Xu Huang is stationed in the Shouchun area. Although we seem to have conquered the entire Central Plains, we are actually trapped in this small area!"

Chunyu Qiong is also extremely dissatisfied with his current situation!

Actually, it's quite easy to counter this trick!

That would mean Yuan Shao withdrawing his troops, slowly digesting the Central Plains, and gradually making his move.

But at this moment, Yuan Shao showed absolutely no intention of retreating.
Yuan Chunqing also knew that given the current situation and troop strength, it would be difficult for them to make any breakthroughs.

But what if?
Especially now that the results of the battles of Mangdang Mountain and Jiaodong are known to everyone, shouldn't we make use of them?
"General, why not feign a retreat and then lure the Han army to attack?"

"Now that Cheng Pu and Wen Ping know that Liu Miao has won, what if they rush to catch up in their eagerness for quick success? Wouldn't that be a way to break the deadlock?"

"..."

Chunyu Qiong pondered for a moment and felt that Yuan Chunqing's words were not without reason!
"In that case, shall we retreat now?"

There's no need to rush.

Yuan Chunqing was confident of victory: "Before leaving, we can forcibly breach a few fortified villages, kill some people to vent our anger, and make it look convincing!"

Chunyu Qiong immediately agreed, saying, "That's how it should be! Otherwise, it would be too conspicuous."

Yuan Chunqing held up a map and pointed to the fortified village where Wei Yan was located—

"This fortified village was built by the Xun family of Yingchuan in the past. It is much larger than other places, and correspondingly, it is easier to attack."

"Their commander is nothing but an unknown nobody! He's not a formidable figure at all."

"Now that the entire Eastern Front has been annihilated, we on the Western Front must fight to restore His Majesty's morale! Let the world know that the Yuan family is the one destined by Heaven!"

(End of this chapter)