I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 74 Defeat and Death
After seeing Han Yin off, Liu Miao immediately had Zhou Tai kick him.

Why did you kick me, my lord?

Zhou Tai still looked aggrieved when Liu Miao kicked him again.

"Could you please be more selective with your words, like 'Yinglong Cloud Qi'?"

Liu Miao knew that it wouldn't matter if it were anyone else, but Yuan Shu was the one who liked prophetic sayings, so he would avoid mentioning things like dragons and Tu Gao in front of him!
"Gongjin has captured Niuzhu and crossed the Yangtze River, so there is no need to worry about the subsequent battles."

Once the Yangtze River is gone, the entire Jiangdong region will be nothing more than a plate of white, juicy meat. Liu Miao is not worried at all that this meat will break his teeth; he is only worried that his appetite is not good enough and that he might overeat and make himself sick.

"Let Lu Jun cross the river first. The reputation of the Lu family of Wu County should be effective in Jiangdong. With him there, at least the people of Jiangdong can be appeased as soon as possible."

After a moment's thought, Liu Miao instructed Zhou Yu to send Cheng Pu to Ruxukou.

“A considerable number of people have already gathered there, and they can be transported to Jiangdong. Cheng Pu is a steady and reliable person, and he should be able to handle matters large and small.”

Zhou Tai noted these things down, then suddenly remembered something: "When Han Yin arrived, Yuan Yi's envoy also came and asked me to stop him outside. Should the lord see him or not?"

Liu Miao's gaze softened immediately, filled with relief: "I thought Youping would probably remain a child for the rest of her life, but I never expected her to possess such wisdom. It's rare! It's rare!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tai unabashedly extended his index and middle fingers, making a halberd-like gesture, and launched into a tirade against Liu Miao. Liu Miao, however, was not angered by the insults; instead, he laughed heartily and returned the insult, extending his own middle finger in a gesture of ambiguity.

"Youping did the right thing in this matter! Now I need him to come see me!"

Zhou Tai was clearly still angry. After leading the envoy in, he cursed him a few times, leaving the envoy bewildered.

The envoy bowed and asked, pointing to Zhou Tai's departing figure, "Doesn't Lord Liu welcome my arrival?"

"My gates are right there. As long as you don't come with swords, I will absolutely welcome anyone."

The envoy questioned Liu Miao: "If that's the case, why did you break your promise and present the imperial seal to Yuan Shu, a traitor of the Han dynasty, and even help him attack Zhou Xin, the governor of Danyang?"

"stop!"

Liu Miao stretched out his palm, puzzled, and said, "Where have I broken my promise? Please explain, messenger!"

Seeing that Liu Miao was still pretending to be ignorant, the envoy immediately rebuked him angrily: "Have you forgotten that you accepted 20,000 bushels of grain from Chen Wen that day, Lord Liu?"

How dare you say that?

Liu Miao slammed his hand on the table, immediately suppressing the envoy's arrogance to some extent.

"The promised 20,000 bushels of grain were delivered, but only 10,000 were brought! The grain was even robbed, and I had to personally lead troops to reclaim it. Does Chen Wen think he's in the right?"

"He's gone, and I don't want to bring up this mess with Chen Wen. How dare you even mention it?"

Yuan's envoy gaped open.

He truly knew nothing about the matter of provisions.

Instantly, the envoy broke out in a cold sweat, but still stammered, "That, that's still ten thousand bushels of grain, isn't it?"

"Ten thousand bushels of grain is nothing!"

Liu Miao was in the military camp at that moment, so he simply stomped his foot.

"I've just recruited two thousand soldiers. Do you think ten thousand bushels of grain will last the men and horses for several days?" "You're so stingy with twenty thousand bushels of grain, while General Hou gives you money when you ask for it, and wives when you ask for them. He even appointed me Governor of Yangzhou and General Zhen Dong! And that Zhou Ang of yours is still occupying my position as Prefect of Jiujiang. Come, come, if you were me, what do you think you should do?"

At this moment, Liu Miao showed no courtesy whatsoever, displaying an attitude of being obligated to accept a gift; on the contrary, he was so forceful that even the envoy felt he was being unreasonable…

The envoy left, covering his face, but was bumped into by Zhou Tai, who was still cursing, just as he was leaving. His heart ached even more, and he wept bitterly as he returned north to Yuan Yi.

"Liu Miao is not human!"

"..."

Yuan Yi sent an envoy to Liu Miao to rebuke Liu Miao for taking money without doing anything, and also to ask Liu Miao to lend him a hand in consideration of the financial and grain support. However, when he heard that the grain sent was only 10,000 hu, he immediately felt a lump in his throat.

Summoning Chen Xiu, who was in mourning for his father, Yuan Yi asked him directly, "When I asked your father to give Liu Miao 20,000 hu of grain, how much did he actually give?"

Chen Xiu stammered, and Yuan Yi, seeing this, understood and helplessly closed his eyes.

"Chen Yuanti, Chen Yuanti! The great cause of the Principality was destroyed by people like you!"

Shouchun City is currently occupied by Chen Yu, the governor of Yangzhou appointed by Yuan Shu, and Liu Miao is unwilling to help because he did not provide enough money and grain in the past. Yuan Yi knows that he has reached a dead end!
"Your only option now is to fight a desperate battle with your back to the river!"

Yuan Yi prepared his troops and stationed them in the Huaiyuan area.

However, just as they set up camp, Yuan Shu's general Zhang Xun came to attack, easily defeating Yuan Yi and forcing him to flee to Pei State in the north.

Chen Wen's son, Chen Xiu, also fled with Yuan Yi, but his carriages and horses were too heavy, which aroused Yuan Yi's suspicion.

After pulling Chen Xiu off the carriage, Yuan Yi discovered that Chen Xiu had hidden gold and pearls in the axle. Enraged, Yuan Yi cursed again, "You scoundrel!"

Yuan Yi took out the gold, ignoring the longing looks from the soldiers around him, and threw it into the river as if it were dirt.

Upon arriving in Pei State, seeing that Yuan Yi was still heading north, the local soldiers of Huainan were somewhat unwilling and asked Yuan Yi, "Where are you going?"

Yuan Yi replied, "I am leading you all to Hebei to seek refuge with Lord Yuan!"

Upon hearing that they were to be sent to Hebei, the soldiers from Huai'an immediately erupted in chaos once again.

Yuan Yi then boarded the carriage and addressed the routed soldiers: "Mencius said: 'A sage is filled with anxiety if he has no ruler for three days!' Your anxiety stems from the fact that you have not seen a true ruler!"

But Yuan Yi didn't understand that the soldiers around him were not afraid of not having a lord, but rather afraid of leaving their homes.

Seeing that Yuan Yi was just a scholar and had no guards by his side, a bold soldier immediately shot an arrow at Yuan Yi.

As if the arrow was some kind of signal, soldiers immediately drew their swords and slashed at Yuan Yi.

Yuan Yi was knocked to the ground and finally became frightened.

He couldn't understand how someone could dare to attack him with a knife when he was a noble member of the Yuan clan just a few days ago.
Even after being slashed several times, Yuan Yi still cried out, "Only Lord Yuan can save the people and the nation! Only Yuan Yuan!!"

The surrounding soldiers, unaware of the identities of "Lord Yuan" and "Benchu" mentioned by Yuan Yi, killed Yuan Yi, Chen Xiu, and others, stripped them of their valuable silk garments, and then scattered like frightened birds, not lingering there.

The message was relayed back.

When Yuan Shu heard of Yuan Yi's death, he was not saddened by the loss of a fellow clansman. Instead, he couldn't help but rub his hands together, eager to take control of Huainan: "Today, I can finally take over Huainan!"

(End of this chapter)