I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 497 The Battle of Pengcheng (Part 4)

Everyone looked inside in surprise, only to see a face that still looked very young.

"You careless bear, what are you doing here, making a racket?"

"Are you trying to fool Huang Zi? Do you think I owe you something just because I have a bite to eat?"

"Pick it up, pick it up!"

"..."

Surrounded by his comrades, the soldiers became visibly uneasy and their movements became hesitant, as if they had just realized the terrible trouble they had caused.

Liu Miao looked at the other person and patted the spot next to him: "Come here."

"..."

"What are you afraid of? I don't even eat pork, so why would I be afraid of you?"

Another chorus of boos erupted from the sides, causing the other person to reluctantly approach Liu Miao. Instead of sitting down, the person squatted down in front of Liu Miao, defensively hugging himself and coldly staring at him.

"What? You don't want to live anymore?"

They remained silent.

Do you have parents at home?

"died."

The sound was pitifully soft.

Are you married?

"Who would even want me?"

Liu Miao looked the other man up and down and couldn't help but laugh, "You're not crippled at all, and you're not oddly shaped, so how can you be so sure that no girl would be interested in you?"

Perhaps annoyed by Liu Miao's questions, or perhaps touched a nerve, the boy snorted and his tone became much harsher: "No money!"

Liu Miao chuckled to himself.

"I dare not speak for others, but at your age, and as a soldier in the imperial guards, I can guarantee that you will not starve in the Han Dynasty. How can you say you have no money?"

The other party was even more annoyed: "It's not that easy!"

"How is this not difficult?"

Liu Miao's retort clearly upset the other party: "Anyway, nothing is easy! You are the emperor, how would you know about our affairs?"

Someone nearby reminded him that he shouldn't speak to Liu Miao like that and stomped on his foot, but Liu Miao glared at him angrily and rushed forward to fight him.

Zhou Tai reacted quickly and pinned him down.

The other person's arm was twisted behind his back, causing him extreme pain. Coupled with his intense inferiority complex, this made him extremely rude. He directly rebuked Liu Miao: "You've never been on a battlefield, what do you know?"

"Whether it's the Yuan army on the other side or our Han army, they all fell down like grass!"

"Even cattle and horses that die by the roadside get their bodies collected, so why should we humans be trampled into the mud and trampled on after we die?"

The other person's voice was very loud.

Zhou Tai was about to reach out and cover it, but Liu Miao stopped him.

Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, the soldiers who had been watching the commotion quickly explained to Liu Miao, "He used to have a fellow villager by his side, but now he's nowhere to be seen. He must have been killed on the battlefield."

"..."

The other party continued to hurl insults, but Liu Miao remained silent throughout.

Only after the other person's voice had become hoarse from yelling did Liu Miao pour them a glass of water: "Tired of yelling? Drink some water if you're tired."

"..."

The other person looked at Liu Miao with a puzzled expression.

"What? Did you think I was going to kill you and send you to reunite with your friends?"

Liu Miao shook his head, amused.

"I understand everything you have said."

“Your age probably comes from a poor family and have given up a lot of things since you were young.”

"When I was little, I gave up a handful of candy; when I was a little older, I gave up the meat I loved; and when I was even older, I gave up the girl I liked... I've given up so many things since I was little that it's become a habit, and I've given up so many things that I could have gotten."

"Having given up so much, it's not surprising that they're now giving up their lives to die."

Seeing that the other person was not drinking, Liu Miao picked up the cup and drank it himself.

"Besides, on the battlefield, people are indeed as fragile as grass. If you don't want to live anymore, I understand."

Not everyone has parents waiting at home, or a wife guarding them at home.

Protect our homeland and defend our country.

But if you don't even have a home, whose home will you protect? Whose country will you defend?

Liu Miao asked the other person with a grin, "Have you ever heard a saying?"

"Death is inevitable for all men, but its weight can be as weighty as Mount Tai or as light as a feather; it all depends on what one does to achieve it."

After hesitating for a moment, the other party nodded.

Even those who haven't read books have likely heard a few of Sima Qian's famous sayings recited by local teachers.

"Fine, then I'll tell you, that's all bullshit."

Liu Miao scratched his head: "On my way here, I saw your captain. He was so fearless, as if he had traveled a long way and eaten so much just to be buried here."

"You and he are somewhat different, but not by much."

"I don't believe what those sages said, as if we are born thinking about how to die. I always feel that instead of thinking about how to die well, we should think about how to live well."

But Liu Miao's calm demeanor did not earn him any approval; instead, he scoffed, "Hmph! Live well? How are you going to live?"

These words displeased the veterans around him.

Do you know what it was like during the Yellow Turban Rebellion?

"Exactly! Why don't you know how to be grateful?"

"If it weren't for His Majesty, you would have starved to death long ago!"

"..."

The boy stubbornly pressed the corners of his mouth down, while Liu Miao silenced the surrounding noise.

Immediately, Liu Miao raised his hands and bowed to the boy, who was much younger than him: "Then it is my fault." The boy was clearly taken aback by Liu Miao's sudden admission of fault.

Even the other soldiers were stunned for a moment, and then panicked and didn't know what to do.

"I don't know if you heard me when I ascended the throne. When I ascended the throne at Zhongshan, I made it very clear that I am the Son of Heaven chosen by the people, not the Son of Heaven who is ordained by Heaven."

"Tsk! I can tell from your eyes that you didn't understand! In short, it is because the people agreed that I could become the emperor that I became the emperor."

"The people chose me as their emperor because they believed I could protect them and that I could ensure their well-being... Now that you do not believe me, it must be I who am in the wrong."

Is... is it?
The soldiers' eyes gradually became confused.

It seems that, or perhaps, that's the right way to put it?
Could it really be Liu Miao's fault?
But how is this possible?
Ignoring the surrounding noise, Liu Miao continued to ask the boy, "Now, tell me, what do I have to do for you to want to live?"

The other party was clearly intimidated by this issue.

He didn't dare answer.

Even though he dared to defy the emperor, there were things even more terrifying that made him dare not reply at all.

gradually.

To everyone's surprise, the boy suddenly burst into tears.

It's as if the boy has become the victim at this moment.

But in reality, Liu Miao knew that this hysterical teenager was indeed a victim.

Liu Miao grabbed the other person's hand and pulled the boy two steps closer to him.

The boy did not refuse this time and followed Liu Miao's strength to come to Liu Miao's side.

"I believe you when you say that on the battlefield, the lives of soldiers are as insignificant as weeds."

"But I want to tell you that I have never regarded any soldier, including you, as a weed."

"Human life is cheap in chaotic times, which is why I want to end this chaotic era."

"Human life is cheaper than wealth, which is why I want to equalize land distribution and open up trade."

"Human life is cheaper than ignorance, which is why I am forcibly taking all the children of today to study."

"To put it bluntly, I want to make everyone more valuable, which is why I'm doing these things."

"Only when people are valued will they not be treated like weeds, arbitrarily humiliated and slaughtered."

Liu Miao's gaze grew increasingly sharp, while the boy's eyes grew increasingly somber.

"If you don't believe any of what I've said, and you haven't seen any of it, then let me tell you something else—"

"I have already dispatched General Lü Bu, General Taishi Ci, and General Zhang Liao to lead cavalry across Lu to cut off Yuan Shao's retreat from the rear!"

Liu Miao's words were like a thunderbolt from the blue!

The Han army's cavalry was actually sent to cut off Yuan Shao's retreat?
Doesn't that mean...

Seeing that the soldiers were beginning to cheer up, Liu Miao looked at the young man in front of him again.

“That bastard Yuan Shao is really treating his soldiers like weeds, throwing them into Pengcheng one after another.”

"But I assure you, I am different from him, and I have never regarded you as weeds."

Therefore, please do not worry.

"And don't make a scene in the future. You must remember that even if others don't remember you, I will remember you."

Liu Miao asked the young man before him, "What is your name?"

"..."

The young soldier could no longer bear it and collapsed onto Liu Miao's lap, weeping bitterly, all his surging and passionate emotions erupting at that moment.

Later, after hearing what happened in the tent, someone remarked with great emotion, "His Majesty has the demeanor of a magnanimous elder."

The next day.

The Yuan army generals who came to attack clearly sensed that something was wrong.

"How did the Han army become so fierce?"

"who knows!"

On this day, Liu Miao didn't even go to his tent in Pengcheng, but stayed peacefully in his tent at the front.

"Isn't Your Majesty at all worried about the war on the front lines?"

"Then what's there to worry about?"

Liu Miao had completely lost interest in the battles at the front.

Instead, he asked Zhou Tai, "Youping, do you think an army that is afraid of death is stronger, or an army that is not afraid of death?"

Zhou Tai immediately replied, "Of course, an army that is not afraid to die is stronger!"

"wrong."

Liu Miao's gaze was deep and unfathomable.

“If a person is not even afraid of death, then such a person can only be called a living dead, just like Yuan Shao now.”

"Only those who fear death know what they are fighting for, and can truly fight to the death."

"Therefore, I knew from the very beginning that the Han Dynasty was destined to win this battle."

"Because what the Han Dynasty has given to its people and soldiers is something that Yuan Shao could never give back."

Liu Miao listened to the sounds of fighting at the front lines.

"I don't understand matters of war, so I've left them all to Gongjin."

"But I know all too well about matters of victory and defeat."

"Right now, I'm only thinking about one thing!"

Zhou Tai looked at Liu Miao in confusion: "Is it a woman?"

"..."

However, after glaring at Zhou Tai, Liu Miao quickly burst into laughter: "We're getting closer!"

"What I'm thinking about is how to deal with Yuan Shao's wife! Hahaha!"

(End of this chapter)