Three Kingdoms: Ten Times Speed, Diao Chan Says I'm Too Fast

Inside the main hall of the front courtyard of the Dong Family Manor.

Peacefulness.

A dozen scantily clad, slender dancers were swaying lightly to the music in the hall.

Although it was already mid-October and the night was cold, the dancers, dressed in semi-transparent white gauze, were still drenched in sweat as they vigorously moved their bodies.

Duan Yu and Fan Jian, the prefect of Longxi County, sat in the main seats at the head of the table.

Dong Huang's father, Dong Zhuo's elder brother Dong Zhuo, and his younger brother Dong Min, along with some other important members of the Dong clan, sat to the left of Duan Yu and Fan Jian.

The magistrate of Lintao County, along with Zhang Ji and others, sat in the lower right position.

During the banquet, Fan Jian, the prefect of Longxi County, frequently raised his cup to toast Duan Yu.

"Your Excellency is young and promising, truly a pillar of the Han Dynasty. With Your Excellency here, Liangzhou will have no worries in the future."

Fan Jian, who was in his early forties, was dressed in a black official robe. He had a fair complexion and a kind smile.

He looks just like Liu Wei, the prefect of Taiyuan County—a cunning and corrupt official.

He was over forty years old and had already reached the position of prefect, and even more so the prefect of Longxi Commandery. He probably didn't have much room for promotion in his life.

After another year or two, I can go back to the capital and take a sinecure in Luoyang, and that's it.

Although both were prefects, Fan Jian was clearly inferior to Duan Yu.

Because Duan Yu held military power.

The general appointed to govern the Xiongnu was a man of two thousand shi (a unit of grain), and there was also a marquis named Dutinghou.

If it weren't for a powerful prefect like Duan Yu, Fan Jian and Duan Yu would at most be addressed by their names.

There was no need for Fan Jian to address Duan Yu as "Lord".

Moreover, Duan Yu's strength is no longer limited to his status.

What became of Liang Hu is still undecided.

But how could a prefect like Fan Jian not know this?

Jincheng County was almost completely destroyed, and Liang Hu could not escape the blame.

If Duan Yu had been a little more ruthless, Liang Hu would have surely died.

Furthermore, with Duan Yu now forcefully suppressing the Qiang rebellion and killing countless people, his fearsome reputation is well-deserved. It would be a lie to say that Fan Jian is not afraid.

As a prefect, whose backside is clean?

If Fan Jian hadn't taken Dong Zhuo too seriously before...

but now.....

That's not how it works anymore.

Listening to Fan Jian's flattery, Duan Yu simply smiled and raised his wine cup: "Lord Fan, you flatter me. In terms of official conduct, Lord Fan is my senior. I still have much to learn from you."

"Haha." Fan Jian laughed loudly and said, "Your Excellency is too modest, too modest."

As the saying goes, "Learning has no order of precedence, but those who achieve it come first; ambition is not limited by age, and a hundred years is wasted without ambition."

"Gan Luo served as an envoy at the age of twelve, precisely for this purpose."

“How could someone as mediocre as me dare to, and what could I possibly teach you, my lord?”

"Come, come, this cup is for you, my lord." Fan Jian raised his wine cup.

Duan Yu smiled and raised his wine glass in a gesture of respect.

Then everyone in the hall joined in raising their glasses.

After a glass of wine, Fan Jian turned his gaze to Dong Zhuo, Dong Zhuo's elder brother.

Dong Zhuo was a few years older than Dong Zhuo and shorter but more robust.

He appears to be a strong and powerful man.

“Brother Meng Gao, I have already submitted a report to the court regarding the matter of the eldest brother of the Lady of the Marquis wanting to serve as an official in the prefecture. I intend to recruit Dong Huang as the magistrate of Lintao County.”

"It's estimated that the imperial document will be issued in a while."

"I originally intended to inform Brother Meng Gao when the imperial document arrived, but I did not expect that Brother Meng Gao's son would go to Ji County. This was an oversight on my part, and I hope Brother Meng Gao will not take offense."

Fan Jian addressed Dong Zhuo's elder brother, Dong Zhuo.

Before going to Ji County, Dong Huang had already sought out Fan Jian to ask for an official position.

After Dong Zhuo took office as the governor of Hedong Commandery, Dong Huang thought that with Dong Zhuo's influence, Fan Jian would definitely give him face.

However, Fan Jian did not give Dong Zhuo any face at all.

As a seasoned official, could Fan Jian not see what position Dong Zhuo was in?

He's nothing more than one of Yuan's dogs.

If Dong Huang had a good reputation, that would be one thing.

To give Dong Zhuo face, they gave it to him.

However, Dong Huang, relying on his status as the eldest son and only son of the Dong family, acted arrogantly, bullied men and women, and dominated the market in Lintao.

If this kind of person were recommended...

If something really goes wrong, then Fan Jian will also be left with a case of unclear accusations.

Fan Jian, a seasoned official, would never do something like this.

Moreover, he was not afraid of offending Dong Zhuo.

but......

The situation is different now.

Fan Jian was not afraid of offending Dong Zhuo or the Dong family.

However, Fan Jian was afraid of offending Duan Yu.

Fan Jian knew perfectly well what Dong Huang was doing in Ji County.

Meanwhile, Duan Yu wreaked havoc in Jincheng County.

After this battle, Duan Yu will surely be promoted and ennobled.

That's why Fan Jian rushed from Didao, the county seat, to Lintao.

On the one hand, it was to befriend Duan Yu, and on the other hand, it was to resolve the matter of Dong Huang, which inevitably made Duan Yu resentful.

Dong Zhuo was visibly taken aback when he heard Fan Jian's words.

He then laughed heartily and thanked Fan Jian, saying, "Thank you, sir, thank you, sir. I am grateful for your help with my son's matter."

Dong Zhuo was clearly a barbarian warrior, the kind who had no cunning or scheming.

However, Dong Min, who was sitting below Dong Zhuo, noticed something amiss.

“Sigh…” Fan Jian shook his head, pursed his lips and smiled, “How can I be thanked for this? If anyone should be thanked, it should be Lord Jun.”

Fan Jian directly attributed the credit to Duan Yu, explicitly stating that it was Duan Yu's achievement.

Dong Min, sitting to the left of Dong Zhuo, said, "Elder brother, we really have to thank our nephew-in-law for this."

"Yes, yes, yes, yes." Dong Zhuo finally realized what was happening and raised his glass to Duan Yu.

Duan Yu smiled and once again attributed the credit to Fan Jian.

As the group was exchanging toasts...

Tie Shitou, holding the hilt of his sword, walked from outside the main hall behind the screen inside, and then circled around to Duan Yu's back.

"General, a letter has arrived from Ji County," Tie Shitou said. "It's a message from Bai Tu."

Duan Yu smiled and stood up, saying, "Please drink first, everyone. I have some things to take care of."

After saying goodbye, Duan Yu led Tie Shitou toward the back of the hall.

Iron Stone quickly followed.

..........

In a side hall next to the main hall, Duan Yu sat on a folding chair.

A maid brought over some hangover tea, and Duan Yu glanced at it before dismissing everyone else.

Tie Shitou took out a secret letter from his pocket and placed it in front of Duan Yu.

Upon seeing the pinyin on the secret letter, Duan Yu knew it came from the Military Affairs Department.

Pinyin was something Duan Yu gave to the Military Affairs Department, something akin to Morse code.

All important intelligence transmitted by the military intelligence agency was replaced with pinyin.

Only the Military Affairs Bureau could translate this kind of pinyin.

This is to ensure the confidentiality of intelligence.

However, Pinyin was only the first-level code of the Military Intelligence Bureau; there was also a second-level code, which was English.

Only a handful of people in the Military Intelligence Bureau knew the level two password.

Duan Yu opened the secret letter and carefully read its contents.

After reading the contents, Duan Yu handed the letter to Tie Shitou.

The iron stone was taken to the oil lamp next to it and lit.

Duan Yu slowly tapped his fingers on the table.

"Stone, bring the Imperial Guard into the manor later." Duan Yu said with a dark face, "Heaven's sins can be forgiven, but self-inflicted sins cannot be escaped."

Tie Shitou didn't ask why, he just nodded and accepted the order.

Before long, Duan Yu returned to the banquet, as if nothing had happened.

After several rounds of drinks and several dishes,

At Dong Zhuo's urging, Fan Jian stayed overnight at the Dong family's manor.

The Dong family's manor was not located within Lintao County, but outside of it.

Powerful clans like those in Liangzhou typically had their own manors outside the city walls.

Manors typically occupy a very large area.

Because of its location in Liangzhou, in addition to farming, many powerful clans also engaged in animal husbandry, so there were many cattle, sheep and horses.

Larger estates are actually more convenient.

The manor also has fortified villages, which are no less impressive than those in the county town.

Some fortified villages even had stronger defenses.

This is why Dong Zhuo built Meiwu after moving the capital to Chang'an.

Fan Jian stayed overnight, and naturally, maids served him.

Although Duan Yu was Dong's son-in-law, he still had to be properly dressed.

Given Duan Yu's status, he would naturally have maids to serve him in bed.

In fact, right after Duan Yu settled into his residence, a beautiful young woman dressed in black gauze with a graceful figure was already waiting in Duan Yu's room.

Duan Yu, who had drunk quite a bit at the banquet, returned to his warm and cozy room.

In the dim firelight, a maid wearing only a transparent black veil sat on the edge of the bed.

Her long, black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and her long, straight, beautiful legs and slender waist were faintly visible beneath the transparent black gauze.

It looks incredibly tempting.

"This servant, Lian'er, greets the General."

The maid Lian'er slowly stood up after seeing Duan Yu.

Duan Yu habitually spread his arms.

The maid Lian'er immediately stepped forward and helped Duan Yu take off his coat and long robe.

"General... General, you've had too much to drink. Would you like... would you like me to fetch you some hangover soup?" The maid stood behind Duan Yu, removing his long robe as she asked.

Duan Yu smiled slightly and said, "Okay."

After saying that, Duan Yu walked to the bedside.

The maid named Lian'er went outside to fetch some hangover soup.

Before long, the maid Lian'er returned to the room with a bowl of hangover soup. She then knelt down at the edge of the bed where Duan Yu was sitting, holding up the brownish hangover soup with both hands.

For example, the hangover soup of powerful clans is made by simmering Ganoderma lucidum and honey over low heat.

It looks like a light dark brown.

Fresh Ganoderma lucidum has a slightly sweet taste, but after being dried in the sun, it will have a slightly bitter taste.

But the smell is very faint.

After kneeling before Duan Yu, the maid Lian'er held up a bowl of hangover soup made with Ganoderma lucidum and honey in both hands, her beautiful face lowered.

The steaming hangover soup in the delicate bowl rippled gently.

It seemed that the hands holding the hangover soup were trembling slightly.

"Raise your head," Duan Yu said, leaning back with his hands.

The maid Lian'er slightly raised her head, her beautiful eyes lowered, seemingly afraid to meet Duan Yu's gaze.

"Why don't you dare look at me?" Duan Yu asked.

“This servant…this servant…”

"Are you scared?" Duan Yu said with a smile.

"I don't have any," the maid Lian'er said softly.

"Oh?" Duan Yu raised an eyebrow and said, "If you're not afraid, then why are your hands shaking?"

"Could it be... that something that shouldn't have been added to this hangover soup?"

Upon hearing Duan Yu's words, Lian'er, the maid kneeling before him, immediately raised her head in alarm to look at Duan Yu.

“This servant…this servant has no.”

Duan Yu leaned forward.

His open chest revealed pectoral muscles as hard as granite.

He pinched her chin with one hand, and her eyes seemed to pierce through people's hearts.

"There's none?"

"hehe."

"Would you like to have a sip first?"