I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 505 No Bottom Line

The sound of the Han army's firm footsteps treading over broken ice and puddles on the riverbank resounded like muffled thunder in the ears of Yuan's soldiers.

The first to be dispatched were Zhou Yu's own troops.

Hundreds of heavily armed soldiers, wielding swords and shields, led the soldiers behind them in a continuous advance, trying to compress the space and territory of Yuan's army.

On the western front, Cheng Pu and Wen Pin's troops also began to cross the chasm, advancing steadily towards the west of Wuchao.

In the northeast, the cavalry led by Lü Bu and Zhang Liao were also slowly approaching, still eyeing the two ferry crossings of Yanjin and Baima with covetous intent!

Ambush from all sides!

Zhou Yu boldly chose the most aggressive, and also the most confident, battle strategy!

Fight them everywhere!
Victory in every aspect!
Little by little, they devoured Yuan Shao's 200,000-strong army!

"His Majesty once told me something."

Clad in silver armor and a white robe, with a demon mask on his face, Zhou Yu spoke with Jiang Qin beside him.

"His Majesty has spoken with me about Cao Cao and Liu Bei."

He said the biggest difference between Cao Cao and Liu Bei was that Liu Bei was invincible with an army of a thousand men, but Cao Cao was invincible with an army of ten thousand men.

"Why?"

"Liu Bei had the heart of a child and had fierce generals like Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, so he was almost invincible in battles involving thousands of men."

"Cao Cao, being a cunning and ruthless man, was able to gain the trust of the masses and was also well-versed in military strategy, so he was able to command his generals with ease."

"But Liu Bei could only lead a thousand troops because his subordinates, whether Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, or others, would only submit to him and not to others."

"Cao Cao could only lead an army of 10,000 because he was suspicious by nature and could not allow anyone else to command a large army."

After listening silently, Jiang Qin asked Zhou Yu, "What about Yuan Shao?"

"His Majesty said that Yuan Shao can lead a thousand troops or ten thousand troops, but he cannot lead a hundred thousand troops."

"Why?"

"Because Yuan Shao is very capable."

Jiang Qin asked in bewilderment, "If you are so capable, why can't you lead an army?"

"That's what I asked His Majesty at the time."

Zhou Yu still finds it hard to believe that an emperor could say what Liu Miao said back then.

"Gongjin, I ask you, what is the most important thing in war?"

"Orders must be obeyed."

"I see. So, fighting a war and governing a country are actually not that different?"

The king received the mandate and established the first month to unify the world, so that all things would follow it as the beginning, hence the saying "great unification"!

So after thinking it over, Zhou Yu agreed with what Liu Miao said.

There is indeed no difference between governing an army and governing the people.

"Bullshit!"

But Liu Miao directly refuted Zhou Yu.

"If the emperor were truly that divine, how could the Han Dynasty have been destroyed twice?"

"What? Gongjin says it's because the last emperors of the Han Dynasty were all incompetent rulers? Then let me ask you, am I an incompetent ruler? If I am, how come the Han Dynasty is now thriving? If I am not an incompetent ruler, then how could I possibly know how some young widow is doing, even if she lives thousands of miles away?"

Liu Miao lay on his side on the couch, his posture so languid that one wouldn't even bother to glance at him, yet his words were a profound reminder to Zhou Yu.

"The emperor doesn't actually know anything."

"Even if I were a god, I could not command the people thousands of miles away to obey my orders. Similarly, on the battlefield, I could not command the soldiers a few miles away to act according to my will at any time."

Liu Miao was amused at the time.

"But Yuan Shao had that ability, or at least he thought he did."

"But the greater his abilities, the less he can lead an army of more than 100,000."

"As long as we surround him from all sides and wear him down inch by inch, we'll eventually drain that old codger of Yuan Shao dry!"

……

Having great abilities can make one a poor leader.

This struck Jiang Qin as absurd, yet somehow also as not entirely unreasonable.

At the same time, Jiang Qin asked, "And what about His Majesty? How many soldiers did His Majesty say he could command?"

Zhou Yu glanced at Jiang Qin helplessly: "Does Gongyi really want to know?"

"never mind!"

"..."

After a long silence, Jiang Qin finally asked Zhou Yu, "So, what did His Majesty say?"

“The more the merrier.”

"I shouldn't have asked..."

--------

"Report——"

"The Han army in the southwest has advanced to Yuanyang!"

"Report——"

"Lü Bu appeared at Yanjin with more than ten cavalrymen!"

"Report——"

"Xu Huang led his troops to march towards Lankao!"

"..."

A barrage of haphazard intelligence reports flooded Yuan's command center and Yuan Shao's imperial tents like garbage.

Guo Tu, Pang Ji, and the others exchanged bewildered glances. What kind of tactic was the Han army using?
I thought it was a supreme sword technique that would showcase the majesty of the Han Dynasty, but instead, Liu Miao rushed up and threw a bunch of clumsy punches at himself.

The chaotic mix of intelligence gradually caused people like Guo Tu and Pang Ji to become sluggish.

Are you going to take care of Cheng Pu and Wen Pin in the Southwest?

If we ignore it, they'll advance right up to the vicinity of Baima, and then we'll have to go to great lengths to take it back.

Are you going to do anything about Lü Bu in Yanjin?

Yes, indeed, Lü Bu had fewer men.

Who among the soldiers under Yuan Shao could forget that back then, Lü Bu led only a few dozen cavalrymen and managed to annihilate tens of thousands of Black Mountain bandits led by Zhang Yan?
And Zhou Yu.

If the achievements of pacifying Jiangdong and taking Jingzhou were not quite impressive enough, after capturing Ju Shou alive in the Battle of Mangdang Mountain, who would dare to underestimate Zhou Yu?

Not to mention Liu Miao, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, who had no battle record whatsoever, but whose mere presence on the battlefield inspired fear in all who beheld him…

Fortunately.

Amidst this complex and chaotic information, Yuan Shao was always able to find ways to exert control.

"Cheng Pu and Wen Ping's soldiers are mostly from the Jingzhou navy. Their troops are short of warhorses, and they are good at maintaining the status quo but not good at advancing. They only need a good general to protect their flanks."

"Although Lü Bu appears to be coming on strong, he has been trapped in Jiaodong for several months and has been leading his army on a rapid march. He is already outwardly strong but inwardly weak. If the garrison of Liyang is ordered to move south and control the crossing, Lü Bu will surely retreat on his own."

"I have also heard of Xu Huang's reputation. People in the Han army say he has the style of Zhou Yafu. His troops are also close to Liu Miao's main camp. We must be careful that Liu Miao doesn't launch a surprise attack from here. We need to deploy heavy troops to defend against him."

"Zhou Yu is located in the center of the Han army and needs to coordinate the east and west sides. He will not move lightly. At least he will not advance rashly until there is a clear victory or defeat in either direction."

"..."

Yuan Shao methodically sorted out the battle situation in various parts of the battlefield, found countermeasures for each situation, mobilized troops, and launched counterattacks.

Such a Yuan Shao left Guo Tu and Pang Ji, who were accompanying him, in a daze!

came back!
They're all back!

The Yuan Shao who dared to challenge the world with his sword and was full of vigor has finally returned!
This is the Yuan Shao they know! The one who rose from nothing to become the overlord of Hebei!

No matter how dangerous the situation, Yuan Shao was always the most reassuring one!
"Report——"

"Report——"

At this moment, Yuan Shao seemed like an emotionless puppet. As long as there was military intelligence input, he would definitely be able to come up with an effective battle plan.

In just one day, Yuan Shao, without making any mistakes while taking overall control of the situation, issued at least dozens of orders!

On this day, Yuan's army also achieved remarkable results!

Not only were they not defeated by the Han army's offensive, but they even achieved some victories on local battlefields!
Just when Guo Tu and Pang Ji thought the war was finally turning around for the better, Yuan Shao developed a high fever that very night.

To cool things down, Yuan Shao even forbade anyone to place braziers inside the tents, making his camp as cold as a ghost cave.

Exactly.

Yuan Shao cannot fall yet.

Because the day-and-night battle was a tactic devised by Yuan Shao.

After nightfall, Yuan Shao organized several night raids against the Han army, which indeed achieved considerable results, causing some Han soldiers to even abandon their positions. However, the price was that Yuan Shao did not get any sleep all night.

"Your Majesty! This cannot be done!"

Guo Tu and Pang Ji went from being happy to being terrified.

Yuan Shao isn't fighting a war; he's clearly just waiting to die!

After this battle, regardless of victory or defeat, how long can Yuan Shao hold out?
"Get out of the way! We must win this battle!"

Another day and night has passed.

Yuan Jun once again withstood the Han army's attack.

But Yuan Shao was now completely exhausted.

"His Majesty……"

"almost!"

A burning light burst forth from Yuan Shao's sunken eye sockets!

"It's almost here! I've spotted an opportunity! If we keep fighting like this, victory will be mine sooner or later!"

The third day...

"Report! Xu Huang has suddenly shifted his operations to the southwest! He's approaching Suanzao!"

"Report! Zhang Liao has led his heavy cavalry to the north and is heading straight for Baima!"

"Report! Liu Miao! Liu Miao's dragon banner has moved! It looks like he's about to start moving towards Fengqiu!"

"..."

Yuan Shao's expression immediately turned ugly.

Guo Tu and Pang Ji also had tears in their eyes!

Were these actions by the Han army useful in the war?

Useless!

It's completely useless!
In order to relocate, the Han army even abandoned many camps that they had already occupied and gave up many victories they had already gained!
This is the most foolish move imaginable, no matter the time!
But of all times, it's now!
It was Yuan Shao who painstakingly unraveled the mystery until the dawn was almost breaking, only to find that the Han army had changed their position.

This means that all the effort Yuan Shao had put in was in vain!
Everything has to be started all over again!

"Liu Miao!"

Guo Tu cried out Liu Miao's name, his voice like a cuckoo weeping blood!

"Liu Miao! You despicable man!"

Let's fight!
Let's have a fair and square battle!
They've already drawn their imperial swords! They've even brought the dragon banner to the battlefield, so why don't you dare fight us to the death? Instead, you resort to such despicable and shameless tactics, making such useless moves and wasting Yuan Shao's energy?

Shameless!
mean!

Guo Tu used every insult he could think of to insult Liu Miao!
He never imagined that the emperor of a country could go to such lengths!
In the end, he and Yuan Shao overestimated Liu Miao's limits!
Could it be that Liu Miao truly has no bottom line at all?
(End of this chapter)