I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 518 Guo Jia: Afraid

Although Liu Miao did not know who Yuan Shao would ultimately choose to succeed him as emperor of Northern Zhao, he could roughly guess many things from the fact that Yuan Tan secretly chose to ascend the throne in Hanoi instead of Ye City!
"hey-hey!"

Liu Miao was quite pleased!

After all, whether it was Yuan Tan or Yuan Shang, they were both his brothers-in-law! They were both his flesh and blood! Liu Miao would be happy for either of them if they became emperor! If both of them could become emperor, Liu Miao would be even happier!
And there's more than one happy event!
"I never imagined I'd meet an old friend again!"

Inside Liu Miao's imperial tent stood a young scholar with a ruddy complexion and abundant vitality.

"Fengxiao looks so good; he must have had a wonderful time in Ye City these past two years?"

Compared to when he was still serving under Cao Cao, Guo Jia not only looked much better, but he also became much more subdued.

As for whether his sharpness was dulled or he simply concealed it, only Guo Jia himself probably knows.

Guo Jia bowed respectfully to Liu Miao: "Your Majesty's demeanor is as impressive as ever."

"Nonsense! I'm much better than I was a few years ago, okay?"

Liu Miao completely regarded Guo Jia as one of his own, and openly praised him without any reservation: "Now that Yuan Shao is dead, and his two sons have made such a fool of themselves. With Fengxiao's wisdom, can't you see that the current trend of the Han Dynasty's three revival is the will of the people and is unstoppable?"

"..."

At this point, Liu Miao's image became increasingly deserving of a beating in Guo Jia's eyes.

But ironically, he couldn't refute it.

However, he did not come here to refute Liu Miao.

Guo Jia bowed slightly: "This humble subject has come on behalf of the Emperor of Great Zhao to pay a visit to Your Majesty."

Liu Miao's smile gradually faded, as if his previous amiable demeanor with Guo Jia had been a facade.

This change in attitude made Guo Jia's hair stand on end instantly!

Seeing how happy Liu Miao was just now, I thought he had become somewhat carried away with his pride, but now it seems that's not entirely the case...

“Fengxiao, watch your words. Neither I nor the Han Dynasty has ever acknowledged the existence of any ‘Zhao State.’ If you are truly standing before me as an envoy of Zhao, I can kill you right now.”

Liu Miao's words were very calm, but this made Guo Jia feel even more that Liu Miao was terrifying.

Because he could tell that Liu Miao was truly capable of completely abandoning personal feelings and killing him on the spot when faced with such a matter of principle!

Even when looking into Liu Miao's eyes, Guo Jia felt for a moment that his head had been severed from his neck...

Clearly, in the face of the standpoint of national unity, neither the affection between Guo Jia and Liu Miao nor Liu Miao's appreciation for Guo Jia was worth mentioning.

"His Majesty……"

Guo Jia dared not address himself as an outsider, and instead chatted with Liu Miao about other matters.

"Now that Your Majesty has achieved a great victory over Yuan Shao, you are renowned throughout the land... But I wonder, what will Your Majesty do next?"

"How to do?"

Seeing that Guo Jia was no longer trying to outsmart him and was trying to get him to acknowledge the Yuan-Zhao regime, Liu Miao was happy to discuss the matter with Guo Jia, a top strategist.

"Needless to say? Naturally, we will march north, capture Ye City, and then head north to Youyan to unify the country!"

"As the saying goes, 'Handan is full of enchanting women, while Luoyang produces many handsome young men!' I really want to test just how powerful these enchanting women of Handan are!"

Guo Jia nodded in agreement: "The dancers from Handan are indeed impressive!"

Liu Miao's eyes lit up: "It seems Fengxiao has experienced it? Come, come, tell me how it was?"

"Cough cough!!!"

When Guo Jia came to see Liu Miao, there were naturally more than two people in the tent.

At this moment, it was Lu Su who was coughing, and at the same time, he glared at Liu Miao, reminding Liu Miao to get down to business!
"cut!"

Liu Miao rolled his eyes, and Guo Jia also looked like he hadn't had enough.

However, Guo Jia quickly rallied and resumed talks with Liu Miao.

"Your Majesty's ambition is indeed lofty! But can the strength of the Han Dynasty truly withstand such turmoil?"

Guo Jia looked around and said, “Although Your Majesty is wealthy in Jiangdong, you have been fighting for years. First you defeated Yuan Shu, then you took Jingzhou, and last year you attacked Bashu. Even though Jiangdong is full of treasures and silk is piled up like mountains, you must be exhausted by now.”

"Furthermore, in order to weaken Zhao... and to deplete the Yuan family's national strength, Zhou Gongjin established a mopping-up operation in the Central Plains, which was ultimately detrimental to the spring plowing in the Central Plains next year."

"Moreover, although all of you ministers appear dignified and imposing, you all look quite weary!"

"Now that the people of the Han Dynasty are impoverished and the soldiers are exhausted, can we really conquer the entire Hebei with an invincible force?"

"..."

Guo Jia was telling the truth.

While the Han Dynasty was indeed powerful, the foundation in the south was weak, and the continuous wars had indeed greatly depleted the Han Dynasty's national strength.

but……

How could these things be acknowledged in front of Guo Jia, who called himself an "outer minister"?
Liu Miao laughed and lay down on the Hu bed covered with a layer of red fox fur, asking with a grin, "Oh? Fengxiao says he can see that the officials of the Han Dynasty are tired? Then why don't you point it out and let me see who is so tired?" As soon as he said this, the officials in the tent immediately perked up!

Even Jia Xu, who was usually the laziest, stood up straight for once, not letting Guo Jia find a single fault!
Guo Jia felt helpless once again.

Isn't Liu Miao just being a complete scoundrel?

The feeling of powerlessness he had when confronting Liu Miao welled up in his heart again.

The difference is that before, she was afraid that slapping Liu Miao would make him feel good, but now she's afraid that slapping Liu Miao will make him mount her...

"Moreover, Fengxiao is unaware of something."

Liu Miao continued to smile broadly:

“Previously, Yi Jibo went to Champa, south of Jiaozhi, and brought back a type of rice called Champa rice. It can be planted in two seasons, is early-maturing, drought-resistant, and has fine grains, making it suitable for high-lying fields! Therefore, our Han Dynasty’s grain supply is already abundant, so Fengxiao has no need to worry!”

Heh~~~
Guo Jia didn't reply, but his eyes said it all!
What Champa rice? Two harvests a year? Zhongshan, are you kidding me?
At this moment, Lu Su, who was standing nearby, was afraid that Liu Miao would pick on his colleagues again, so he nodded to Guo Jia: "What His Majesty said is true."

"It's actually true?"

"Hey! Fengxiao! Why don't you believe me when I say it, but you believe Zijing as soon as he says it?"

Liu Miao felt that the world was going to the dogs and people's hearts were no longer what they used to be!
How could someone as upright as myself have my words questioned?
At the same time, Liu Miao glared at Lu Su, feeling that being suspected was entirely Lu Su's fault, and had absolutely nothing to do with his past actions...

As for Guo Jia, he was still immersed in the terrifying intelligence about Champa Dao.

I thought the military of the Han Dynasty was invincible, but what was truly terrifying was the overflowing national power of the Han Dynasty.
Guo Jia simply couldn't imagine what it would be like for a country that possessed the Yangtze River basin and the entire Central Plains to have its grain production double...

Seeing Guo Jia in a daze, Liu Miao slapped him twice to bring him back to his senses.

"Fengxiao, I have never liked beating around the bush. Just say what you want to say."

Upon hearing Liu Miao's words, Guo Jia felt a surge of bitterness in his heart.

Clearly, Liu Miao and the Han Dynasty are no longer forces that anyone can control.

Guo Jia even felt that the reason Liu Miao was speaking to him so earnestly wasn't because Guo Jia was representing anyone, but simply because of their past relationship...

Guo Jia took a deep breath.

He was indeed there as a lobbyist.

As for persuasion, the strategists of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods had already set up vivid templates for it.

Whether it was Yanzi's mission to Chu or Tang Ju's successful completion of his mission, both fully illustrate one point: to be a qualified diplomatic envoy, one must first and foremost maintain a commanding presence!

But Liu Miao is now telling Guo Jia a lesson: no one, no force, has the right to demand that the Han Dynasty and he, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, back down based on their strength!
If we're going to talk, we should sit down and talk calmly.

If we're not going to talk, then let's go all out and get to work!
The Han Dynasty is now fearless of any enemy!

After realizing his current predicament, Guo Jia somewhat gave up his efforts.

But now, all he can do is dryly state his intentions—

"Your Majesty, as far as I know, Generals Zhang He and Gao Lan have gathered quite a few remnants of their troops and are arrayed along the river."

There was nothing to hide, and Liu Miao immediately nodded.

"This matter need not trouble you, Fengxiao. In the past few days, the various camps have gathered about 100,000 surrendered soldiers. Moreover, every day, hundreds to thousands of soldiers will escape from the other side. Before long, Zhang He and Gao Lan will have no soldiers left to use."

Guo Jia's heart sank.

He hadn't expected the situation to have deteriorated to this extent.

Although, based on his understanding of Liu Miao, he knew that Liu Miao's words were somewhat exaggerated, it was certainly true that Zhang He and Gao Lan were about to collapse.

Thus, Guo Jia had one less reason to persuade Liu Miao.

Seeing this, Guo Jia could only start with what Liu Miao cared about most—

"Your Majesty and the Han army are undoubtedly exceptionally brave, but I would like to ask Your Majesty a question."

"What's the matter?"

"Does Your Majesty intend to govern Hebei and treat its people as your own, or will you harbor hatred towards Hebei and regard its people as rebels?"

Liu Miao frowned: "Is this what you mean by reconciliation?"

"There are now as many as 200,000 Hebei soldiers in Henan! That's 200,000 able-bodied men. If we calculate based on a family of five, that's one million households."

"If Your Majesty does not release them to reunite with their families, or even kills them outright, wouldn't that cause a million households in Hebei to hate Your Majesty and the Han Dynasty?"

“But if Your Majesty lets them go back, it will only increase Yuan Shang’s power. Isn’t that what Your Majesty is worried about?”

At this moment, Guo Jia finally voiced his request—

"Your Majesty, I request that you relocate the 200,000 soldiers from Hebei to Guanzhong and Hedong. This would not only resolve the grievances between Your Majesty and the people of Hebei, but also weaken Yuan Shang, preventing him from challenging Your Majesty. Why not do this?"

Inside the emperor's tent, there was absolute silence...

(End of this chapter)