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

In the courtyard.

Apart from Xun Cai, the two attendants and the maid had already been tied up.

Xun Cai was the only one sitting on the hu chair, holding a little girl who looked about two or three years old in his arms.

Duan Yu remembered that historical records indicated Xun Cai married at the age of seventeen, gave birth to a daughter at nineteen, and her husband died of illness not long afterward.

Judging from his appearance, Xun Cai is currently in his early twenties, and the age of the daughter in his arms also matches.

The little girl, who had just been frightened, huddled in Xun Cai's arms, her gaze turning to Duan Yu with a mixture of timidity and curiosity.

This immediately reminded Duan Yu of his two children in Liangzhou.

Holding food and water in his hand, Duan Yu then closed the courtyard gate behind him.

"Xun Cai," Duan Yu said, looking at Xun Cai. "Let me introduce myself. I am Duan Yu. I'm sure Miss Xun has heard of my name."

The moment Duan Yu's name was uttered, Xun Cai's gaze shifted slightly.

Duan Yu is now two meters tall, and with his burly body covered in heavy full armor, he looks like a giant standing in front of Xun Cai, who is only about 1.6 meters tall.

The oppressive aura emanating from Duan Yu was something Xun Cai had never encountered before in her life.

Furthermore, after Duan Yu entered and introduced himself, Xun Cai, sitting in the Hu chair, looked more wary.

Based on the events just described...

Xun Cai guessed that Duan Yu's troops were probably doing something shady.

The reason she was locked up here was because she happened to witness it.

The reason she is still alive is because she has the identity of the Xun family.

But now Duan Yu has arrived, and he immediately introduced himself.

So it's very likely that she... can't go back.

After a brief moment of distraction, Xun Cai quickly calmed himself down.

"Are you going to kill me?" Xun Cai, sitting on the folding chair, looked up at Duan Yu.

The two servants and the maid were frightened when they heard Xun Cai's words.

Duan Yu smiled slightly.

I was not surprised by Xun Cai's question.

The daughter of a prominent family is indeed extraordinary.

If this were an ordinary young lady from a modest family...

They'll either beg for mercy or be so terrified they'll lose their composure.

Xun Cai remained quite calm.

"I brought you some food and drinks." Duan Yu approached Xun Cai, then squatted down and looked at the daughter in Xun Cai's arms with a smile, saying, "You've been out of the city for two days now, haven't you eaten yet?"

"Your daughter must be hungry too."

Duan Yu handed the food and water in his hand to Xun Cai.

Xun Cai looked wary and did not reach out to take it.

"Don't worry, the food isn't poisoned. If we wanted to kill you, we wouldn't need to go through all this trouble."

Xun Cai's gaze shifted slightly.

But the daughter in her arms couldn't bear the hunger.

"Mother... I'm hungry..."

Hearing her daughter's call, Xun Cai took the food and water from Duan Yu's hands.

Duan Yu took a chair from the side and sat down, then took off his helmet and put it aside.

Xun Cai lowered his head and fed the little girl the food little by little.

Children's ideas are mostly naive.

The little girl smiled at Duan Yu as she ate the food he brought her.

It's both sweet and cute.

"How old are you?" Duan Yu asked, looking at the little girl.

"The mountain...the mountain is asleep," the little girl said, her words unclear.

"Is it tasty?"

The little girl nodded with a smile.

"The child is very cute," Duan Yu said with a smile. "Miss Xun, I know you are a smart person, so I won't hide it from you, and of course there's no need to."

"You did see something you shouldn't have seen, so you're locked up here."

"Of course, these are all accidents."

"Since you come from the Xun family, there are some things that I don't need to explain further."

Xun Cai, who was feeding her daughter, lowered her head and paused slightly in her movements.

"So... this is my last meal?" Xun Cai said, head down.

Duan Yu nodded: "Theoretically, that should be the case."

"Because only the dead can keep secrets."

Xun Cai took a deep breath, then looked up at Duan Yu seriously.

I've heard of you.

“They all call you a tiger general of the world. My brother has also spoken of you, saying that you have repeatedly made military achievements in Liangzhou, and that you have worked for the benefit of the people, and that you have implemented benevolent policies and loved the people.”

"Is this how General Duan treats the people?" Xun Cai asked in a calm tone.

Ok?

Duan Yu raised an eyebrow.

He thought Xun Cai would beg for mercy.

I never expected her to say something like that.

This truly surprised Duan Yu.

“Miss Xun has misunderstood. First of all, Miss Xun is not an ordinary person, but a daughter of the Xun family.”

Duan Yu smiled and explained, "If an ordinary person were to witness this scene, they probably wouldn't realize what was happening here."

“But Miss Xun is different.”

"I think... with Miss Xun's intelligence, it shouldn't be hard for her to guess what happened here."

"Moreover, these words are much more credible coming from Miss Xun than from an ordinary person."

"Therefore, I naturally cannot gamble."

“My subordinates understand this, which is why they have imprisoned Miss Xun here.”

“However…” Duan Yu paused and said, “Miss Xun’s identity is not ordinary, so we can only keep her here temporarily and wait for me to deal with her.”

"What about the people in the city?" Xun Cai asked, frowning. "General Duan ordered his men to disguise themselves as Yellow Turban rebels and enter Yingyin. Does that mean that the fall of Yingyin and the suffering of its people have nothing to do with General Duan?"

Duan Yu narrowed his eyes.

He then smiled and shook his head, saying:

"If Miss Xun is trying to provoke me with such words, or to make me feel guilty, then I think Miss Xun may be disappointed."

"This world..."

"I would not find it inappropriate for anyone to utter the words 'harming the people'."

"But when the words 'harming the common people' come from the mouths of the gentry and powerful, I find it laughable."

"Miss Xun, I would like to ask, in this vast Xun clan, within Yingyin City, your Xun clan is the largest. Over the years, how many tens of thousands of people have you seized land from the common people, cultivated the land for your Xun clan, and kept servants and laborers?"

"Your Xun family does not engage in labor, but only studies the books of sages and worthies. Where did the mountains of money and grain piled up in your family's treasury come from?"

"Could it have grown on its own?"

"Every penny, every grain of rice, is accumulated with the blood and sweat of the people."

"If we're talking about harming the people, then wasn't it me, Duan Yu, who forced the people of this world to rise up in rebellion?"

"Or are you powerful clans and gentry who lead beasts to devour people?"

Xun Cai's gaze shifted from calm to surprise.

Duan Yu shook his head and said, "Of course, I know you can't understand these things."

Duan Yu's statement was not because he thought Xun Cai was not smart enough.

This is an idea bestowed upon us by the times.

Very few people can break this mindset.

Because in the eyes of these aristocratic families and powerful clans that have been established for hundreds or even thousands of years, ordinary people are just roadside weeds or ants.

In fact, the vast majority of ordinary people think this way.

The common people are born lowly, like roadside weeds; this is the result of hundreds of years of ideological education.

Even ordinary people are unaware of this problem, so how could the powerful clans and wealthy gentry, those high and mighty gentlemen, possibly think there's anything wrong with it?

If people weren't truly starving and desperate, who would rebel?

Even if it's just enough to make a living, even if it means selling one's children or becoming a slave to powerful clans, as long as one can survive, no one will rebel.

However, sometimes even this path to survival is blocked.

This is an idea that has been deeply ingrained for centuries.

They were those in positions of power, the gentry who educated the common people using Confucianism.

Therefore, Duan Yu did not expect Xun Cai to understand.

He said this simply to tell Xun Cai that what he was going to do was not as simple as it seemed on the surface.

Looking into Xun Cai's eyes, Duan Yu knew that she had not understood the meaning behind her words.

It's possible that Xun Cai wasn't the only one who didn't understand.

Even many of his subordinates didn't know what he was trying to do.

"Nian'er is still young, she doesn't understand anything."

Xun Cai did not continue to argue.

Duan Yu did not speak again.

Two people whose thought processes and logics are from different eras simply cannot reach an agreement on this matter.

Xun Cai looked Duan Yu straight in the eye and said, "Can you... spare Nian'er's life?"

Duan Yu stood up and tucked the helmet that was on the ground under his arm.

"Although Liangzhou is bitterly cold, it has its own unique scenery. I will spare your life."

After turning around, Duan Yu turned his head to look at Xun Cai: "Of course, it's not because of your identity."

"The path I've chosen is one where anyone who stands in my way is destined to die."

"Since you're talking about the common people, then please go and see the common people of the world."

Duan Yu strode out of the courtyard.

Xun Cai, who was left behind, had a slight change in his expression.

Go to Liangzhou?

He won't kill him?

Upon further reflection, Xun Cai's worried expression relaxed.

Duan Yu was quite composed.

If he really wanted to kill, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths.

Going to Liangzhou is also an option.

This would also save her from being pressured by her family to remarry.

Even if... even if it's just being an ordinary person, raising my daughter slowly, it's better than remarrying.

...........

Yingyin.

Towards afternoon.

Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song's two armies have arrived outside Yingyin City.

The city was filled with scattered Yellow Turban rebels; there was no one in charge of the overall situation.

Therefore, after Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song's two armies arrived in Yingyin.

The Yellow Turban rebels in the city had already begun to collapse.

Duan Yu, with his troops, watched from outside Yingyin City as Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song led their armies into the city.

"Ziyi, didn't you say you've always admired the Xun family of Yingchuan?"

Cao Cao, who was on horseback, turned to look at Duan Yu and said, "The Xun family is in Yingyin. Now that Ziyi is not leading troops to attack, it is a good opportunity to relieve the Xun family's crisis. Isn't this a good opportunity to recruit the Xun family?"

Duan Yu pursed his lips and shook his head.

Some things are destined to be beyond our control.

These things—alliance, ideology, and class—are insurmountable.

To reiterate, if the world hadn't descended into chaos, why would these aristocratic families have risked following them?

Besides, there's still one move to be made in this game.

"If Mengde finds it too difficult, he can lead his troops to charge and rescue the Xun family in the process," Duan Yu said with a smile.

"what?"

Cao Cao was stunned.

"Go," Duan Yu waved his hand and said, "Accumulate more military merits, and we can reward you according to your merits after the Yellow Turban Rebellion is quelled."