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

That night.

The Luo River bank east of Jieqiao.

A vast military camp was stationed here.

This bridge, according to historical records, was the site of a crucial battle that determined the ruler of Ji Province. It was also the burial place of the White Horse Cavalry and the place where Qu Yi rose to power.

Armored soldiers stood in rows in front of the camp gate.

Huge braziers stood on both sides of a straight road extending inward from the tightly closed camp gate.

The burning firelight illuminated the camp.

In the middle of the camp was a huge military tent.

Dozens of soldiers with knives stood about ten paces away from the military tent.

Inside the military tent, candles were lit, illuminating the interior brightly.

Duan Yu, dressed in black casual clothes, sat in the tent with a serious expression.

Besides Duan Yu, the camp also contained Li Ru, Hua Xiong, Lü Bu, Gao Shun, Qu Yi, and others.

"My lord, please grant me a troop of cavalry. I am certain that I can intercept Lord Dong on his way to Luoyang."

"My lord, this humble general is willing to go!"

Lu Bu and Hua Xiong both stood up and asked Duan Yu for permission to take command.

Duan Yu, who was sitting in the main seat, looked up at the two of them and then shook his head.

Li Ru also stood up at this moment: "Generals, please do not act rashly."

"All of this was arranged by Master Dong beforehand. If we act impulsively now, we will be letting down Master Dong's good intentions."

"My Lord".

Li Ru looked at Duan Yu: "Lord Dong understands your filial piety."

"Now that today's events are over, the people of the world have all witnessed your filial piety."

"But a lack of patience in a small matter can ruin a great plan."

“If you act impulsively at this moment and save Lord Dong, then you will be in a passive position.”

"That day, before my lord and I guessed that Lu Zhi was probably going to take action, my lord said that he didn't care about his own honor or disgrace, but he absolutely couldn't let the people in the court find an excuse to deal with the Lord."

"Now that you, my lord, hold a high position and command a large army, you are not only being eyed by Yuan Wei and others."

"If the military commander disobeys the imperial decree, he will likely incur the emperor's suspicion."

"If you truly incur the emperor's suspicion, then your situation will be perilous."

Li Ru explained the pros and cons of the matter in one breath.

"My lord, it seems that Yuan Wei and the others want to provoke you by making things difficult for you, so that you will reveal a weakness. But no one knows whether the emperor's will is behind this, or whether they want to test your loyalty."

Duan Yu nodded after hearing Li Ru's words and said, "Mr. Wen, please have a seat."

“I understand everything Mr. Wen said.”

I already understand my father-in-law's intentions.

"But simply backing down won't make the enemy show mercy."

"I was going to do this today to tell those people not to go too far!"

Duan Yu's gaze was icy.

This wasn't a particularly sophisticated conspiracy.

The person behind it, and the goal they want to achieve, are both simple and obvious.

Those who made the moves were none other than Yuan Wei and Yang Ci.

Moreover, the purpose is very clear.

The more he tried to provoke Dong Zhuo, the more he wanted to use him.

Or it could directly provoke Dong Zhuo.

As long as his father-in-law Dong Zhuo can't stand the humiliation and rebels.

Then Yuan Wei, Yang Ci, and the others had already achieved their goal.

Moreover, even if his father-in-law Dong Zhuo did not rebel, or even if he wanted to rebel but was suppressed by Lu Zhi, he would still be implicated.

Furthermore, if he impulsively wanted to rescue his father-in-law, then Yuan Wei and the others would have achieved their goal.

This is Yang Conspiracy.

It was not a conspiracy.

From the very beginning, Yuan Wei and Yang Ci had blocked all the paths.

Even if Dong Zhuo surrendered, Duan Yu would not go to rescue him.

Yuan Wei and Yang Ci still won.

First, Dong Zhuo's power was weakened, and Dong Zhuo was Duan Yu's father-in-law. Seeing his father-in-law suffer, Duan Yu, as the son-in-law, remained indifferent.

Such behavior would be condemned by the world in the Han Dynasty, a country that governed the country with filial piety as its guiding principle.

In short, Dong Zhuo was caught between two equally unfavorable situations: rebellion and non-rebellion.

Duan Yu was caught in a dilemma: to save him or not to save him.

Almost every road is a dead end.

Everything seemed simple, but in reality, there were hidden dangers everywhere.

At this time, Duan Yu had no ability to rebel.

He is currently in Jizhou, not Liangzhou.

If he has the motive to rebel, Liangzhou will probably collapse in an instant.

If his isolated army had no supplies, it would have been trapped and killed in the Central Plains.

Even if he doesn't die.

But what can be done?

After enduring so much hardship and patience, I can't let it all end in vain.

Furthermore, even if he were in Liangzhou, he wouldn't have the conditions to rebel right now.

Liangzhou currently only has three counties under his control, and its population, logistics, food supplies, troops, and financial resources are insufficient to support his domination of the Central Plains.

Liu Hong is still alive, and the majesty of the Han Dynasty remains.

If he rebels, who would dare to follow him?

Liangzhou's foundation was too weak.

His tenure in Liangzhou was far too short.

The population of the three counties was simply insufficient to support his rebellion.

Moreover, not to mention, Liangzhou itself still has unresolved problems.

Once he actually embarks on the path of rebellion, the other counties of Liangzhou will be the first to betray him.

Then there are the Qiang people, such as Beigong Boyu.

They are surrounded by tigers and wolves, and hounds and dogs, not to mention the lack of people, money and food.

This was destined to be a defeat.

This gap cannot be bridged by individual force.

Duan Yu slowly tapped the table in front of him with one hand.

He needs time now.

We need people.

We need money and supplies.

Liangzhou needs a period of stable development.

He now needs to increase the population of Liangzhou.

Developing Liangzhou into a major rear area can provide him with a stable source of troops and supplies.

Only after all these things have matured will he have the right to turn against Luoyang.

As for now, if things really come to a head, he might have to go into exile.

If that time truly comes, then any desire to contend for control of the Central Plains will have to wait until after Liu Hong's death.

That would be four or five years from now.

It's hard to say how much the Central Plains will change in four or five years.

Liangzhou is promoting mulberry planting and silkworm rearing this year, but the first batch of silk will not be harvested until autumn at the earliest.

Furthermore, the grain transported from Bingzhou will not be harvested until this autumn. It will take at least another year before it can be widely promoted and achieve exponential growth.

Now that the term "favorable weather and abundant harvests" has been added, as long as it is under his rule, the weather will be favorable and the harvests will be plentiful.

If we wait until next autumn, Liangzhou will surely have a bumper harvest.

If another million people were to enter the cooler climate.

Then he would have the capital to challenge and contend with Luoyang.

time.

time.

It still comes down to time; he needs to endure for at least another year.

Seeing the angry atmosphere in the tent gradually subside, Li Ru breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Excellency is wise. At this moment, only by being patient can we get through this safely," Li Ru said, cupping his hands in greeting.

Duan Yu took a deep breath and nodded, saying, "Mr. Wenyou, rest assured, I will absolutely not let my father-in-law's hard work go to waste, nor will I let him suffer humiliation in vain."

"Boping, you may all leave now." Duan Yu said to Gao Shun and the others, "I have a few words to say to Mr. Wenyou."

Gao Shun and the others stood up one after another, bowed to Duan Yu, and then left the tent.

Only Duan Yu and Li Ru remained in the tent.

“Mr. Wen, I rose to prominence under your witness since my humble beginnings.”

"I feel that I can trust Mr. Wen."

"So there are some things I don't intend to hide from Mr. Wenyou anymore," Duan Yu said, looking at Li Ru.

Li Ru straightened his posture and said, "Your Lordship's father-in-law is Li Ru's master, and I greatly admire Your Lordship's abilities."

"Now that our lord is in trouble, he told Li Ru before he left that he would obey your orders in everything from now on."

“If Your Excellency does not mind that I am not very talented, I will certainly serve Your Excellency with utmost loyalty.”

With that, Li Ru clasped his hands and bowed deeply.

Duan Yu nodded and said, "Wen You's abilities are rare in this world. If I want to succeed, I naturally cannot do without Wen You's help."

“Actually, I have seen everything that Mr. Wen has done for me over the past year.”

"There will be many things I need to rely on in the future, so please continue to take care of me, Mr. Wen."

After hearing these words, Li Ru no longer had any reservations.

That night, Dong Zhuo had entrusted all his wealth and possessions to Duan Yu.

This time, the imperial court reduced the sentence from death by one degree.

That is, life imprisonment.

It's unlikely that Dong Zhuo will emerge anytime soon.

It depends on Duan Yu when exactly he will be released.

The wealth that Dong Zhuo had accumulated over the years.

This time, all of his generals and subordinates were under Duan Yu's command.

But the Duan Yu of today is not the same Duan Yu of a little over a year ago. Duan Yu now has quite a few talented and extraordinary people under his command.

Li Ru also worries that he will be marginalized.

However, Duan Yu sent everyone away, leaving only him behind.

Li Ru knew that he had not been marginalized.

I was naturally quite moved.

“Mr. Wenyou, do you know why I wrote to my father-in-law asking him not to attack Guangzong?” Duan Yu asked, looking at Li Ru.

Li Ru stroked his beard and pondered seriously: "Is it related to the Yellow Turbans in Guangzong City?"

Duan Yu smiled and nodded, then said, "That's right."

“My father-in-law often said that Mr. Wen was good at planning, and he was right.”

"To be honest, the Yellow Turban army in this city is now entirely controlled by my people."

Duan Yu revealed the shocking secret within Guangzong City in a single sentence.

"Huh?" Li Ru was immediately stunned, as if struck by lightning.

Li Ru had guessed that Duan Yu was connected with the Yellow Turban rebels in Guangzong City, but he never expected that all the Yellow Turban rebels in Guangzong City were actually controlled by Duan Yu.

"Mr. Wen, don't be surprised. In fact, I started making arrangements in Jizhou a long time ago."

"There are several of my men in the city now, including Zhang Jiao, who is now serving as his personal confidant."

"The reason I did this was actually for a purpose."

Duan Yu continued, "I remember when I went to Luoyang last year, I discussed with Mr. Wenyou where I would be assigned to a post, and I chose Liangzhou."

"I want to use Liangzhou as my base to build a family business."

"But Liangzhou has natural defects."

Li Ru nodded slowly and said, "Liangzhou, Bingzhou, Youzhou, and Liaodong are all extremely suitable places to establish a foothold."

"But the natural defects in these places are also very obvious."

"The land is vast but sparsely populated, and extremely cold..."

At this point, Li Ru's expression suddenly paused, and he looked at Duan Yu in surprise, saying, "Lord, could it be that you intend to...?"

Talking to smart people is simple.

There's no need to explain everything.

Just one point is enough.

The migrant population moved to Liang.

In fact, Duan Yu was not the first person to relocate people to Liang.

In fact, most of the population of Liangzhou migrated there from the Guanzhong region starting from the Western Han Dynasty.

The migration of people to Liangzhou was mainly to consolidate Han Chinese control over the region.

Of course, that was the will of the imperial court.

However, Duan Yu's plan to relocate people to Liang this time is not so simple.

First, one must have a reasonable excuse to persuade the imperial court.

Secondly, there must be conditions that make the people willing to comply.

Of course, Duan Yu's words alone cannot prove that the people were truly willing to comply.

Therefore, we can only utilize, or rather, rely on, Zhang Jiao's power.

Zhang Jiao's prestige among the people of Ji Province far surpassed that of the imperial court and even the emperor.

"This plan will take a long time to implement, and it's hard to say for sure right now. After some time, Mr. Wen will naturally understand."

"But the immediate problem to be solved is Lu Zhi."

Duan Yu narrowed his eyes and said, "With him here, my plan cannot proceed."