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

Far outside Lintao County.

A group of over a hundred riders is heading towards Lintao County.

They stopped in a vast, flat area about ten miles from Lintao County.

The leader was a Qiang chieftain, around fifty years old, riding a white warhorse.

On either side of them were Qiang leaders or representatives whose clothing was noticeably more ornate than that of ordinary Qiang people, and who were also wearing armor.

After encountering Bai Lin, the son of Bai Long, the old king of the Baima Qiang, in Jianwei City, Duan Yu decided to hold negotiations in Lintao.

One reason is that this is Dong Zhuo's territory, and as the old king of Baima Qiang mentioned before, he has connections with Dong Zhuo.

Duan Yu also confirmed this news.

Soon, Duan Yu received a reply from Bai Long, saying that it was possible to meet in Lintao County, but neither side could bring troops; at most, they could bring some guards.

Of course, this was not only the wish of Bailong, the old king of the Baima Qiang, but also the wish of many Qiang leaders.

There's no way around it; it's mainly because Duan Yu's reputation for being ruthless is too great now.

The Shaodang Qiang, the Xianling Qiang, and more than a dozen other Qiang tribes that participated in the Battle of Jincheng County are now almost wiped out.

Duan Yu's ruthless methods were enough to instill fear in the Qiang people.

If this weren't the case, the Qiang people wouldn't have taken the initiative to request peace talks with Duan Yu.

The tens of thousands of Qiang heads in Jianwei City.

There were also corpses scattered all over Yunwu City, and corpses floating in the Huangshui River.

It was like a whip constantly lashing at the souls of the Qiang people.

It allows a feeling called fear to emanate from the depths of one's heart.

Duan Jiong, one of the Three Bright Men of Liangzhou, killed over 60,000 people in Liangzhou over ten years.

This man, also surnamed Duan, had already beheaded nearly 100,000 people in just three months.

One hundred thousand!

The combined population of the Eastern Qiang and Western Qiang is only two million.

If Duan Yu were to fight for ten years, would two million people be enough?

"Just here."

Bai Long, the old king of the Bai Ma Qiang, looked at the terrain before him.

The Qiang leaders around them looked around warily at their surroundings.

They were terrified that an ambush might suddenly appear from nowhere and wipe them all out.

After he finished speaking, a group of guards behind him began to make arrangements on the flat ground.

The colorful carpets, the exquisite food of the Qiang people, and the fine wine vessels were all on display.

Everything was arranged according to the highest standards the Qiang people use to receive distinguished guests.

..........

Meanwhile, in the main camp outside Lintao County.

Upon learning that the Qiang people who were negotiating had arrived, the cavalry in the camp began to assemble.

Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, both clad in armor, gathered in front of the camp gate with their respective soldiers.

Wearing black thorn armor, with a bright red cloak draped over his back, holding the Heavenly Dragon City-Breaking Halberd, and riding the Crimson Dragon Cloud-Treading Beast, Duan Yu slowly walked out of the camp gate.

Behind him were the generals, except for Lü Bu and Zhang Xiu.

Two days ago, Lü Bu and Zhang Xiu were ordered to lead troops to Didao to capture all the members of the Niu clan in Didao.

"Ziyi!"

"Ziyi".

Upon seeing Duan Yu emerge from the camp gate, both Yuan Shao and Cao Cao rushed forward.

Duan Yu greeted the two men.

"Ziyi, Mengde and I will go with you later. If those Qiang tribes dare to make any moves, we will kill them all and then send troops to wipe out all the Qiang tribes in Longxi County."

Yuan Shao, mounted on his horse, was eager to try.

Cao Cao, who was standing to the side, also breathed on his palms to warm them and nodded.

However, Duan Yu shook his head.

This battle is almost over.

The Baima Qiang are now the strongest remaining Qiang ethnic group in the Western Qiang.

This already aligns with his original intention.

His initial intention was to use a combination of force and persuasion, and then first promote mulberry planting and silkworm breeding in Western Qiang.

First subdue them by defeating them, then subdue them by taming them.

His original intention in launching this war was to promote the economic development of Liangzhou and completely subdue the Qiang people for his own use.

It wasn't because they had a blood feud with the Qiang people and were determined to fight to the bitter end.

It wasn't until he launched the war against the Qiang that Duan Yu learned what it meant to spend money like water.

If it weren't for the income and expenditure from the snow, salt, and white paper, as well as the grain support from local powerful families in Hanyang County such as Yang Fu, Yan Zhong, and Jiang Xu, he would not have had the ability to launch this war at all.

The consumption of money and food alone would be enough to bankrupt him.

The consumption of nearly 20,000 troops over these three months would amount to four or five hundred million coins if converted into cash.

This does not include the weapons and equipment consumed, or the compensation for soldiers who died in battle.

If we convert the food consumption of a single soldier into money, it would cost about two thousand coins over three months.

The food consumption for 20,000 people is more than 40 million coins.

A soldier needs two shi of rations per month, so three months would require six shi.

120,000 shi of grain and fodder.

Moreover, this is the minimum standard, and it doesn't even include the food and fodder consumed by Yunwu in defending the city.

With 20,000 soldiers, even at the lowest standard, three months of fighting would consume 120,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain.

Based on the current price of 400 shi of Liangmi (a unit of dry measure), that would amount to 48 million coins.

Among them were seven thousand warhorses.

The consumption of these seven thousand warhorses is greater for each warhorse than for three soldiers.

The cost of fodder for the warhorses alone exceeded the total cost for 20,000 soldiers.

This doesn't even include the 30-40% loss due to grain and fodder transportation.

In other words, the cost of soldiers' food alone exceeded 200 million coins.

It should be noted that Duan Yu's combined income from Jinyang's white paper and snow salt businesses over three months is only 500 million coins.

In addition to provisions, there was also salt, clothing, military pay, and weapons.

The expenses for salt and clothing were not high.

However, both military pay and weaponry expenses are enormous.

Duan Yu had done the math.

He is now attacking the Qiang people because they have many horses and he can capture warhorses from them.

However, if it's not an attack on the Qiang people, or a people like the Xiongnu who can be defeated and whose warhorses can be captured, but rather an attack on infantry.

Losing even one warhorse costs at least 100,000 coins.

The consumption of warhorses is something that ordinary forces cannot afford.

There's also the soldiers' pay.

A soldier's monthly salary is about 800 coins, so three months' salary would be nearly 3,000 coins.

In addition, there are pensions for soldiers who died in battle.

These all cost money.

In other words, in just three months, he had almost squandered all the savings he had accumulated.

No money!

Moreover, as the weather gets colder, soldiers need to change into winter uniforms, and weapons and armor need to be updated, which is another astronomical expense.

Duan Yu can't afford to keep going like this, because he's out of money.

If the fighting continues, we'll just go hungry.

This is why, after the battle of Yunwu, Duan Yu ordered his infantry to return to Hanyang County immediately.

Yuan Shao and Cao Cao are not in power now, so they don't know the cost of living and will definitely want to continue fighting.

But only Duan Yu knew that he was out of money and couldn't fight anymore.

The best option now is to sit down and negotiate.

War is never about who is braver or more skilled in combat.

There are plenty of people who can fight.

But first, we need money and supplies.

Without money and supplies, what can we fight?

Driven by passion? To fight to the death on an empty stomach?

Therefore, the next step is to focus on the economy, promote economic development in Liangzhou, and then professionalize the legions, reducing their number and improving their quality. This is what Duan Yu needs to do next.

"Benchu, Mengde, you two shouldn't go."

"It's just a negotiation, I don't expect anything to go wrong."

"You all stay here and hold the fort. I'll go by myself," Duan Yu shook his head.

Since it was a negotiation, there were some things that were not convenient for Yuan Shao and Cao Cao to hear, so Duan Yu refused to listen to them.

Under Duan Yu's insistence, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao had no choice but to agree.

Duan Yu, on the other hand, only took ten guards with him to the place he had agreed upon with Bai Long.