I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 504 Crossing the North for the Northern Expedition
"Liu Miao has arrived."

"..."

Such a large crimson dragon banner was visible even to Gao Lan, let alone Zhang He.

"Liu Miao wasn't the only one who came."

Yuan Jun's scouts were also working hard, and they learned that Cheng Pu, Wen Pin, Xu Huang, Zhou Yu, as well as Lü Bu, Zhang Liao, and Taishi Ci were leading their armies and gradually gathering here.

"So what if it's not Liu Miao? It's already a stroke of luck that we managed to lure Liu Miao out of Pengcheng. Do you really intend to continue attacking Pengcheng?"

Gao Lan lowered his eyes: "Of course I didn't mean that."

"But I always felt that we hadn't tricked Liu Miao out. The current situation clearly shows that he's happily charging towards our army."

"The morale of the Han army is now incredibly high... This battle will be tough."

"Even if it's difficult to fight, it's better than wasting lives in Pengcheng."

How could Zhang He not know what Gao Lan was saying?
But the current situation is already the most favorable battlefield conditions that Yuan Shao can create for them!
After the battles of Mangdang Mountain and Jiaodong, Yuan's army had a terrifyingly narrow range of strategic options. It was already extremely difficult to obtain the relatively fair fighting environment we have now.

"His Majesty previously ordered the Southern Xiongnu to attack Liu Miao's main camp."

"Have heard a little bit."

"It is said that Liu Miao personally donned armor and took up a sword, and went into battle, killing several people. Even Hu Chuquan's warhorse was shot to death by Liu Miao."

"Does he still have this ability?"

"..."

Zhang He took a deep breath and brought his mind to its peak.

"Indeed, nobody knew he had this ability."

"However, the fact that someone as shrewd and calculating as him could personally take the field shows that Liu Miao himself had reached a dead end."

"After that, whoever wins will have to fight a real battle."

Zhang He gazed into the distance and saw the Ji River, frozen into a silver river, shimmering brilliantly. The Yuan army nearby and the Han army in the distance were as dazzling as stars, chaotic yet magnificent.

Gao Lan, being a famous general from Hebei, naturally understood Zhang He's meaning.

"How should we fight this battle?"

This is not a war involving only a few thousand or even a few dozen people.

If it were a war of that scale, both Zhang He and Gao Lan would be able to handle it with ease.

Explore the enemy camp, analyze the battlefield, and then seize the opportunity to lead the army in a desperate battle.

But now, the enemy forces are hundreds of thousands of troops from both the Han and Zhao sides combined! The battlefield is no longer limited to any one place, but covers the entire Yanzhou region!
If an ordinary general were to command such a battlefield, he would probably be completely unable to make sense of it.

Even renowned generals like Zhang He and Gao Lan, looking at the scene from afar, seemed to be looking at a tangled mess, completely unsure where to begin this battle.

"When Lü Bu invaded Yan Province, Mengde's forces were far inferior to Lü Bu's. Do you know how Mengde ultimately won?"

A familiar voice sounded.

Both of them turned around with a hint of surprise: "Your Majesty?"

The man clad in a suit of fine iron lamellar armor, its plates as dense as fish scales, its entire body as black as ink, clanged with each movement like the striking of metal. The two gilded breastplates on his chest were carved with coiled dragons, their eyes inlaid with red jade—who else could it be but Yuan Shao?

Since the Battle of Mangdang Mountain, Yuan Shao has rarely appeared in public, which has even led to many rumors and gossip.

Some say Yuan Shao will not live much longer, and some even say he is dead.

If the central command were not still able to operate stably, the Yuan camp might already be in a state of panic and have lost all will to fight.

Seeing Yuan Shao appear before them once again in armor, how could Zhang He and Gao Lan not be overjoyed?

However, the joy was short-lived, and Gao Lan quickly became worried, saying, "Your Majesty, your health..."

"At this point, what's the point of saying all that?"

Yuan Shao's eyes, beneath his iron helmet, held only resolute determination.

He gazed at the Han army's camp: "Back then, Mengde only had three cities under his control, and everyone thought he would surely be defeated by Lü Bu. Even I had already dispatched soldiers to bring him from Yanzhou to Hebei, but unexpectedly he won."

"In terms of the elite status of soldiers, Mengde's Qingzhou soldiers are not necessarily stronger than Lü Bu's Bingzhou wolf cavalry."

"As for the morale of the army, when their hometown of Yanzhou was occupied, not all the soldiers were necessarily willing to fight alongside Mengde."

"But in the end, Mengde still won!"

Yuan Shao slowly straightened his slightly hunched back.

"When I was in Ye City, I asked Mengde how he was able to win this battle?"

"Mengde didn't hold back at all. He only told me that at that time he fought day and night for ten consecutive days without closing his eyes once."

"Moreover, he also proclaimed to the soldiers how greedy Lü Bu was and how cruel his subordinates were. He said that if Yanzhou fell into Lü Bu's hands, the soldiers' families would surely suffer as well. That's why he was able to defeat Lü Bu and drive him out again."

Yuan Shao gripped the hilt of his sword: "If we are to defeat Liu Miao in this battle, then this is the way to go."

"This time, I will personally command this battle."

"Furthermore, you must explain to your soldiers what Liu Miao will do to them if he really marches into Hebei."

"Liu Miao will seize their property, encroach on their land, take their wives, and humiliate their children."

"If we don't give it our all in this battle, we may never have another chance."

Although Zhang He and Gao Lan could see that Yuan Shao, now wearing armor, was noticeably thinner than before.

But as the saying goes, even if the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up! Yuan Shao, who looks thin now, is actually the tallest among the 200,000 soldiers in Yuan's camp!

"Here!"

Zhang He and Gao Lan no longer hesitated and immediately spread Yuan Shao's words.

They told Yuan's soldiers how terrible it would be if they lost this battle!
Liu Miao, who was on the other side, was a complete cannibalistic monster!

If he wins, it will be a devastating blow to everyone in Hebei!

The Yuan army soldiers' slightly low morale turned into roars of anger under the barrage of questions!

"Do you really want to see your life's savings taken away by Liu Miao for nothing?"

"I don't want to!"

"Do you really want Yuan Shao to take away the land you've cultivated for generations?"

"I don't want to!"

"Do you all really want to hand over your wives to Liu Miao's bed?"

"I don't want to!"

"Then let's go and win this battle!"

Only by winning can we continue to have what we have now.

If you lose, then lose all your life savings!
The underlying meaning is actually just one thing—

"You are not fighting for the Emperor, or for the Great Zhao, but for yourselves!"

"Ouch!"

……

"What is Yuan Ying doing on the other side?"

"Who knows? Maybe they're saying I'll take their hoes and sleep with their wives someday!"

Liu Miao estimated that even if there were some discrepancies, they wouldn't be too far off.

Otherwise, what would Yuan Shao say?
Yuan Shao said, "When the Han dynasty attacks, you will all have your own private lands, receive education pacified by the pacification, and no longer be discriminated against because of your aristocratic family background or Confucian scholarly lineage. You might even be able to secure an official position after Liu Miao wipes out the aristocratic families of Hebei."
Yuan Shao is sick, not crazy. How could he say such things?
Instead of paying attention to the nonsense Yuan Shao spews, we should think about where to start this battle.

Liu Miao rubbed his hands excitedly, feeling a warm, stinging sensation in his frozen, red palms.

"That little brat Yuan Shao, how dare he call me a turtle crawling in Pengcheng before? Now he's lying here by the river, sticking his ass out and letting me beat him up. He doesn't even try to fight back. Where is the spirit of an emperor?"

Lu Su and the others who were accompanying Liu Miao looked at him helplessly.

The words may be rough, but the principle is sound.

But Liu Miao's words were still too crude; that's not how you fight a war.

However, Yuan Shao is currently relying on the Ji River, quietly lying in the northern part of Yan Province, showing no intention of launching an offensive.

Now Yuan Jun is shamelessly cowering there, then patting his buttocks at the Han army—

"bring it on!"

If the Han army can charge deep and fiercely, they will naturally achieve a great victory and utterly destroy the entire Yuan army.

Conversely, if it were just some superficial wounds, it would be entirely possible for Yuan's army to become increasingly pleased, and then, after the Han army was exhausted, they could turn around and launch a counterattack, crushing the Han army beneath them...

Ultimately, what is being tested now is the Han army's offensive capabilities.

“Wen Yuan from the east reported that Yuan’s army has dug several frozen ditches, connecting Dayeze and the river. Light cavalry may be able to attack Yuan’s camp, but heavy cavalry cannot get through.”

Liu Miao was not surprised.

Although Yuan Shao no longer had any heavy cavalry, no one understood the weaknesses of heavy cavalry better than Yuan Shao, so he naturally wouldn't easily let his heavy cavalry cross the river.

"Then let Gongjin push forward with his infantry!"

Liu Miao still entrusted Zhou Yu with the overall command of the battle.

"Let's fight! My Han Dynasty has the Ironclad Sword, are we afraid of Yuan Shao?"

Hebei was indeed the heartland of the Later Han Dynasty's two hundred years of development, and its iron smelting techniques represented the pinnacle of the Later Han era.

However, the strategic advantage of Su Tie, which allowed Jiangdong to strike later, gave Liu Miao considerable confidence in the equipment of the Han army!
The reason why the Han army's cavalry was able to crush the Northern Zhao cavalry on the battlefield was not only due to Zhang Liao's tactics and the innovations in stirrups, saddles, and heavy arrows.

The craftsmanship of the equipment itself and the advanced technology of the Han Dynasty are the foundation of all this!

In terms of mutual slaughter, Liu Miao was absolutely confident that he could defeat Yuan Shao!
After confirming that Liu Miao had no intention of micromanaging even if he went to the front lines in person, Zhou Yu completely dispelled his last remaining concerns.

"Cross the river!"

The Han soldiers relayed Zhou Yu's orders down the ranks—

"Cross the river!"

"Cross the river!"

For several months after the start of the war, the Northern Zhao state crossed the border between the Han and Zhao states, namely the Ji River, and swaggered around the Central Plains.

But now, it's finally the Han Dynasty's turn to cross the Ji River and go to Yanzhou to give the Northern Zhao a sound beating!
Thus, the wars of suppressing tyranny and eliminating chaos, which proceeded from south to north, had another name—

Northern Expedition!

(End of this chapter)