I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 523 Sword Pointing at Ye City
After Guo Jia was politely seen off by Liu Miao that day, he did not dare to rest for a moment and immediately returned to Hebei to inform Yuan Tan of Liu Miao's terms.

Upon hearing Liu Miao order him to accept the title of "Lord Zhao of the Great Han," even though Yuan Tan had made ample preparations, he couldn't help but grit his teeth and exclaim, "Liu Miao! You've gone too far!"

But Yuan Tan eventually agreed to it.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that Yuan Tan was a reasonable person.

It's because Yuan Tan knew Liu Miao too well!

When others are exhausted and their horses are weary, talking about attacking Guanzhong might just be a scare tactic, but if it were Liu Miao, Yuan Tan truly believed that he would risk the poor harvest in the Central Plains this year and lead the Han army westward to break through the entire Guanzhong region!
After all, Yuan Tan clearly remembered that Liu Miao was the emperor who was willing to risk his life to personally lead his soldiers across the Xiaoshan Mountains to cut off his retreat!
From the moment Yuan Tan decided to declare himself emperor, he knew he must have gone mad.

But Liu Miao wasn't crazy! He was the kind of guy who would risk his own life!

Knowing Liu Miao well, Yuan Tan knew that Liu Miao wouldn't give him much time, so he agreed to all of Liu Miao's requests!
This is why Liu Miao was able to cross the river to Hanoi so quickly!
Liu Miao said to Qian Zhao, who was pale-faced beneath him, "Zijing, then I won't keep you any longer. Hurry back and inform Yuan Shang, and tell him to bring out the million-strong army of Hebei for me to see, so that he won't say that I lack martial virtue."

Now that he had become emperor, Liu Miao felt he needed to cherish his reputation!

"But it's settled! If he doesn't come, I'll go to Ye City to find him myself! If he hasn't killed that Princess Qinghe yet, then he should clean up his act. I'd like to see what kind of woman could have Yuan Shang so bewitched?"

Having said that, before Qian Zhao could react, Liu Miao headed north alone!

It wasn't until the umpteenth column of Han soldiers passed by that Qian Zhao finally realized what was happening, his face filled with panic.

Liu Miao, leading the Han army, actually crossed the river!
------

"Has Liu Miao crossed the river?"

"Absolutely true!"

Upon hearing this news, all the officials of Northern Zhao who had been clamoring to kill Yuan Tan, Gao Gan, or Zhang He and Gao Lan fell silent!
What Yuan Tan? What high-ranking official?
The sky has completely fallen over Northern Zhao!

And this day refers to Liu Miao!

"..."

After silence, there was still silence.

Since no one could resolve the issue of Liu Miao, naturally no one dared to take the initiative to handle it.

At this moment, Yuan Shang, who was already wearing the emperor's crown and robes, hurriedly glanced at the Zhao officials who had previously boasted about their great abilities.

But none of them dared to meet Yuan Shang's eyes.

It wasn't until he finally saw the two of them that Yuan Shang felt he had finally found someone to rely on.

"Lord Shen, Lord Tian, ​​now that Liu Miao's army has entered Hanoi, what should we do?"

Both Shen Pei and Tian Feng looked exhausted at this moment.

But the two of them still tried their best to straighten their backs, so as to be the pillars supporting the Great Zhao!

"Your Majesty, Liu Miao's sudden crossing of the river and his appearance in Hezhong is indeed somewhat suspicious."

Tian Feng's words drew frequent nods of agreement from the officials of Northern Zhao.

Don't forget where Yuan Tan declared himself emperor?

Hoai District, Hanoi!
How did Liu Miao suddenly infiltrate the place where Yuan Tan declared himself emperor and the place controlled by Chunyu Qiong's army?

If you said that Liu Miao and Yuan Tan didn't have some kind of business dealings behind the scenes, no one would believe it!

In an instant, the officials of Northern Zhao were filled with righteous indignation!
They're not good at solving problems, but they're exceptionally good at swearing!

"Yuan Tan is truly worse than a beast! He has been defeated by Liu Miao countless times! How dare he still have the nerve to coexist with Liu Miao!"

"Hmph! In my opinion, Yuan Tan has no shame whatsoever! He's a bastard who was born but not raised! Such a person should have his entire family executed!"

"Yeah! Wait, something's not right..."

The courtiers, who had been fiercely criticizing each other, immediately fell silent after Shen Pei glanced back at them indifferently.

Tian Feng then continued to explain the current situation to Yuan Shang.

"Liu Miao has been fighting for years, and he certainly doesn't have enough supplies to attack Hebei now."

"His presence in Hanoi at this time is probably just for show."

Let's set aside whether it's right or wrong.

Yuan Shang was delighted to hear this!
Yuan Shang's panic gradually disappeared, and his eyes regained their light: "Does Lord Tian mean that Liu Miao's crossing of the river was nothing more than a bluff?"

Tian Feng nodded hesitantly: "It is indeed impossible for Liu Miao to attack Hebei now; this is probably just him bluffing."

"Now, if Your Majesty were to issue an order to mobilize troops from all parts of Hebei, Liu Miao would surely be filled with fear and retreat."

Yuan Shang nodded happily!

As long as Liu Miao isn't really here to attack us, then everything is fine!

"I hereby order General Gao Fan to lead the Youzhou army to intimidate Liu Miao!"

But Tian Feng hesitated to speak.

He glanced at Shen Pei beside him, whose expression was exactly the same as his.

In fact, the country is currently in turmoil, having suffered a defeat in the decisive battle, lost its founding emperor in battle, and then Yuan Tan went out and forged an imperial edict to declare himself emperor... It has long been on the verge of collapse.

In this situation, the best course of action is to seek peace talks with Liu Miao.

Whatever Liu Miao wants, let him withdraw his troops first. This way, the Northern Zhao... no, the Eastern Zhao court can free up its hands to deal with other matters and straighten out the many affairs of the country.

but……

Both Shen Pei and Tian Feng were known for their fierce temperaments.

The reason they enjoy such high prestige in Hebei and have become pillars of society today is because they still carry the same fearless spirit that Zhao had when it was founded!
If even they were to speak up and agree to make peace with Liu Miao, then the Eastern Zhao court and Yuan Shao's last glory as the overlord of Hebei would truly be completely wiped out!
When Yuan Shao was in power, there were Guo Tu and Xu You who would speak softly and find a way to save face, and then Yuan Shao would step in and make a decision to transfer the matter to a middle ground.

But now, without the mediation of these people, both Shen Pei and Tian Feng could only speak with a firm tone! They could only gamble now, gambling that Liu Miao, as they predicted, was just making a brief visit to Hanoi and leaving…

The meeting is over.

Tian Feng specially invited Shen Pei for a chat.

"Today, you should offer some advice to His Majesty."

Tian Feng always spoke in a simple and straightforward manner.

Shen Pei, however, was not going to tolerate Tian Feng. He snorted coldly, "Why didn't Yuan Hao advise against it? You're going to be an upright and loyal minister, while I, Shen Pei, am going to be a cowardly and treacherous minister?"

Tian Feng also fell silent.

This is the kind of system and atmosphere inherited from the Later Han Dynasty.

You can be incompetent, you can be stupid, but you must not let your reputation be damaged.

"Ah~"

Shen Pei knew he couldn't blame Tian Feng, so he sighed.

"I never imagined that I would ever miss Xu You."

"If he could mediate, there might be another way to resolve this matter."

When Tian Feng heard Shen Pei mention Xu You, he was somewhat disdainful.

"Stop mentioning such traitors!"

If it weren't for Xu You, Yuan Tan wouldn't have had the ability to become emperor!
Shen Pei frowned: "What about Guo Tu?"

"After saying he was going to Bingzhou last time, he didn't come back. I guess he went straight to Yuan Tan after hearing the news that Yuan Tan had declared himself emperor!"

Tian Feng felt a sharp, tightness in his chest!

It stands to reason.

Guo Tu, Xu You, Chunyu Qiong, and all those who were not from the Hebei faction left, and the power in the entire Hebei province was now in the hands of these Hebei scholars, which was exactly what they had been pursuing... But when they finally got it, it was so frustrating!

"Let's not talk about those rebels!"

Tian Feng clenched his fist: "The matter of Liu Miao should be pretty much as I estimated."

"Send Qian Zijing to Hanoi again and try to stall Liu Miao for a few more days. When Liu Miao hears that the Youzhou army is approaching, he will surely withdraw his troops!"

"There is one more thing..."

Tian Feng paused for a moment after saying this.

Clearly, Dongzhao is now in such a mess that he doesn't even know where to begin.

"What about Lady Cao? That's Qinghe! Did His Majesty kill her or not?"

Shen Pei was also troubled when Tian Feng mentioned Princess Qinghe.

"That woman was quite clever; after His Majesty ascended the throne, she hid in front of the Empress Dowager."

Empress Dowager, Lady Liu...

Thinking of the ruthless methods Liu used to deal with Yuan Shao's favorite concubine, Tian Feng closed his eyes.

Without Yuan Shao's suppression, far too many monsters and demons emerged to cause trouble!

"Even if he hides in front of the Empress Dowager, if His Majesty wants to kill him, can't he kill him easily?"

Shen Pei said, "His Majesty said that killing Qinghe now would only confirm Yuan Tan's slander, and if the people were to become agitated, it would be difficult to deal with."

"Hmph! It's clearly... sigh!"

Tian Feng's hands were trembling with anger, yet he had no moves whatsoever.

He could only comfort himself: "It will be alright, as long as Liu Miao withdraws his troops, everything will be alright..."

--------

“Zijing, I gave Yuan Shang a chance, but you didn’t take it.”

Having crossed the river and arrived in Hanoi, and upon seeing Qian Zhao again, who had come from Ye City, Liu Miao's face was filled with disappointment.

"However, I understand. After all, they are just parasites hiding in the rear, and even now, they are probably still dreaming of being the Celestial Empire."

Liu Miao was all too familiar with these scholars and powerful families.

They won't understand that they can die unless you put a knife to their throats.

After hearing Qian Zhao's words about attending the banquet again, Liu Miao was too lazy to exchange another word with Qian Zhao. He simply called Zhou Tai and Chen Wu to his side.

"Has Hanoi been completely cleaned up?"

"It's all gone! That brat Yuan Tan is truly inhuman! He actually relocated all the people of Hanoi! Bah!"

Zhou Tai cursed Yuan Tan, but Liu Miao smiled and comforted him, "It's alright, they've left! We'll make sure they can't escape from our next destination."

Zhou Tai immediately became excited: "Where is Your Majesty going?"

Liu Miao smiled and looked north in front of Qian Zhao.

"Where else could it be?"

"Naturally, it's Ye City!"

(End of this chapter)