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

Upon hearing these two names, Jian Shuo, kneeling in the main hall, unconsciously shifted his body.

He Jin...

He Jin is easy to talk to.

He Jin is now nothing more than a general in name only.

Unable to mobilize troops and without any soldiers at his disposal, He Jin's only remaining reliance is Duan Yu.

The difficult one is Duan Yu.

After pondering for a while, Jian Shuo still couldn't come up with a good way to deal with Duan Yu.

"If the Empress Dowager is truly incapable... perhaps... perhaps we should take the initiative to win over Duan Yu."

Ok?

Empress Dowager Dong raised an eyebrow and looked down at Jian Shuo: "You said... you said I should win over Duan Yu?"

"Didn't you say at the beginning that Duan Yu had a close relationship with He Jin and that I should be wary of Duan Yu?"

"If you hadn't said that, why would I have allowed Ding Jianyang to block Hangu Pass?"

"Then Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun were transferred to Luoyang."

"Now you want me to win over Duan Yu again?"

Jian Shuo's expression was bitter.

He would never have said that if he hadn't been unable to figure out how to restrain Duan Yu.

He has a conflict with Duan Yu.

Although it's not exactly a blood feud, they don't get along.

However, this is the only option left.

"What are you thinking?" Empress Dowager Dong looked at Jian Shuo with satisfaction and said, "Will those Liangzhou barbarians submit to me?"

Jian Shuo nodded and said, "Your Majesty, the reason why Duan Yu is close to He Jin is because of the relationship between Marquis Shi and He Jin."

"Now that Lord Shi has disappeared, He Jin has lost the opportunity to support him."

"After that, you can naturally win over Duan Yu."

"No matter who becomes the crown prince or succeeds to the throne, as long as Duan Yu can get some benefits, Duan Yu will naturally support them."

"Why don't you, Your Majesty, directly win over Duan Yu? What He Jin can promise Duan Yu, Your Majesty can certainly do as well."

"As long as Duan Yu agrees, and as long as the Crown Prince successfully ascends the throne, then we can deal with Duan Yu slowly later."

"The priority is to get through the current difficulties first."

Empress Dowager Dong listened to Jian Shuo's words with a frown.

Although Empress Dowager Dong did not interfere in state affairs, it does not mean that she was ignorant of anything.

Since the goal is to win them over, there must always be some price to pay.

What can be used to win over Duan Yu?

"That barbarian from Liangzhou is now the governor of Liangzhou, holding the title of Grand Master of the Three Departments, and has also been granted the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households. You say you want to win him over? What do I have to do to win him over?"

"What else can I give him?" Empress Dowager Dong asked, looking at Jian Shuo.

Jian Shuo's eyes darted around rapidly.

"Your Majesty, this humble general believes... that it would be appropriate to grant Duan Yu... the title of King!" Jian Shuo raised his head.

"what!"

Empress Dowager Dong nearly stood up abruptly, pointing at Jian Shuo: "Jian Shuo, how dare you! Do you know what you're saying?!"

"Seal the king!"

"You want me to bestow a title of king upon Duan Yu?"

"Why don't you just let me hand over the Han Dynasty to Duan Yu!"

"According to the ancestral precepts of the Han Dynasty, anyone not of the Liu clan shall be granted the title of king; let the whole world unite against them!"

"Jian Shuo, do you want to make me a sinner for all time?!"

"Your Majesty, this humble general... this humble general dares not!"

Jian Shuo quickly kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, this humble general is wholeheartedly thinking of Your Majesty, His Majesty, the Crown Prince, and the Great Han. How could I dare to have the slightest disloyalty?"

"Your Majesty, please calm down and listen to what I have to say."

Empress Dowager Dong frowned as she looked at Jian Shuo, suppressing her anger: "Speak!"

Kneeling on the ground, Jian Shuo took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty, this humble general does not mean that Your Majesty should immediately confer a title of king upon Duan Yu."

"It's just a promise."

Empress Dowager Dong's brows remained furrowed.

Even promises should never be made lightly.

"Your Majesty, Duan Yu is in Liangzhou. Last year, he restored the Hexi Corridor and opened up the Western Regions."

“Since he wants to develop the Western Regions, why doesn’t Your Majesty give him a job so that he can properly develop his Western Regions?”

"As long as he can bring the Western Regions back into the territory of the Han Dynasty, the Empress Dowager will promise him the title of King of the Western Regions, but the condition is that the Western Regions be brought back into the territory of the Han Dynasty."

“Since the Yongchu era, the Western Regions have been freed from the control of the Han Dynasty. In recent years, the Wusun and the Northern Xiongnu have grown extremely large by relying on the various states of the Western Regions.”

"Neither the Wusun nor the Northern Xiongnu would stand idly by and watch Duan Yu occupy the Western Regions."

"As long as Wusun and Northern Xiongnu keep Duan Yu occupied, even if Liangzhou's army is strong, it is impossible to solve the Western Regions overnight."

"Moreover, once the Crown Prince successfully ascends the throne and stabilizes the country, dealing with Duan Yu will be much simpler."

"Sending Duan Yu to the Western Regions to expand territory, and only giving him a promise, I'm afraid he'll never be able to fulfill it in his lifetime."

Even if he managed to complete it by sheer luck.

"The troops and a large amount of money and grain from Liangzhou have been consumed in the Western Regions. It will be difficult for Duan Yu to rise again. Whether or not he is granted a fiefdom will ultimately depend on the Empress Dowager's word."

what!

Empress Dowager Dong's brows relaxed somewhat after hearing Jian Shuo's words.

Then he slowly sat down again to ponder.

Under Jian Shuo's expectant gaze, Empress Dowager Dong slowly nodded.

"Hmm, what you said makes some sense."

“The Western Regions were never part of the Han Dynasty. Even if we bestow upon him the title of King of the Western Regions, what difference would it make? If he can truly expand the territory of the Han Dynasty, that would be a great achievement.”

Jian Shuo, kneeling before the prince, let out a long breath.

"Get up, I have wronged you." Empress Dowager Dong waved the sleeve of her robe and said, "Your idea is good."

"I can make such a promise as bestowing the title of king upon him, but He Jin certainly cannot. If that barbarian from Liangzhou were to hear that I would bestow the title of king upon him, he would probably be very happy."

Jian Shuo nodded quickly: "The Empress Dowager is wise."

"Alright, in that case, send someone to summon Duan Yu to the palace, so that I can speak with him before tomorrow's court assembly."

"only!"

Jian Shuo bowed in response.

.........

Outside Luoyang City.

After spending the morning in the city, Duan Yu left the city after noon and returned to the fortified village located outside the city.

Tomorrow is the first grand court assembly after the Lunar New Year.

Duan Yu was also required to attend court as usual.

Inside the Wubao.

Duan Yu was watching Liu Bian, who was vigorously wielding his long sword in the training ground, sweating profusely.

Liu Bian is practicing a simple slashing and thrusting motion repeatedly.

Two black tigers lay down at Duan Yu's feet.

"My Lord".

Tie Shitou walked over from outside the training ground and bowed to Duan Yu.

Upon hearing the sound, the two black tigers turned around and glanced at Tie Shitou, then stretched and opened their blood-red mouths.

"What's wrong?" Duan Yu asked, looking at Liu Bian who was practicing martial arts.

"Mr. Wenhe has arrived," Tie Shitou said.

Ok?

Duan Yu raised an eyebrow.

Has Jia Xu arrived?

Why is he here.

Wasn't it supposed to be him stationed in Liangzhou?

Duan Yu frowned.

Jia Xu's arrival at this time must mean he has something extremely important to discuss.

"Just bring him here," Duan Yu said.

Tie Shitou nodded, then turned around to greet Jia Xu.

Before long, Jia Xu, dressed in a black robe and looking travel-worn, arrived from outside.

"My Lord".

Upon seeing Duan Yu, Jia Xu stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

Seemingly because he saw a stranger, Liu Bian stopped his sword dance and turned his gaze to Jia Xu.

Sensing Liu Bian's gaze, Jia Xu looked at the young Liu Bian.

“My lord, this is…” Jia Xu turned his head and glanced at Duan Yu.

“Lord Shi, Liu Bian,” Duan Yu said directly.

"what?"

Jia Xu was instantly struck dumb.

"This...Lord Shi?"

Duan Yu nodded.

Jia Xu's eyes widened, and his mind raced.

"Don't think about anything else yet. Tell me what happened and why you're here," Duan Yu asked Jia Xu.

"Oh, it's nothing really that big of a deal."

"After learning that you, my lord, were blocked at Hangu Pass and that you had occupied it, I felt that this strategic location might become the throat of Liangzhou in the future. So I took it upon myself to take the half of the tiger tally given to me by you and led a troop to occupy the strategic location of Hangu Pass."

"Besides that, there's another piece of news."

"Just two days after you left Liangzhou, news came from Loulan that Wusun and the Northern Xiongnu had decided to send troops to attack Loulan."

"The excuse was that Loulan killed the general sent by General Yutian."

"Currently, the Wusun and the Northern Xiongnu are uniting with various states in the Western Regions."

"However, it seems that Wusun does not intend to send troops directly, but instead has the Western Regions states form a coalition army."

"The Northern Xiongnu and Wusun jointly led the campaign against Loulan."

Duan Yu was not surprised when he heard the news.

Because Jia Xu, Li Ru, Xun You, and others had already foreseen this last year when they were in Loulan.

The Wusun, the overlords of the Western Regions, and the Northern Xiongnu will certainly not sit idly by and wait for their demise.

After the Western Regions broke away from the control of the Han Dynasty, the Wusun began to collect taxes from the various kingdoms of the Western Regions in the name of the Protectorate of the Western Regions in order to strengthen themselves.

Meanwhile, the Northern Xiongnu have also gained many benefits from the Western Regions in recent years.

Neither the Wusun nor the Northern Xiongnu had any reason to easily give up the Western Regions to him.

The fight must be fought.

It was precisely for this reason that he did not manage to draw a large number of troops to Luoyang.

With spring just around the corner, it's not surprising that the Wusun and Northern Xiongnu are taking action.

Before Duan Yu could speak, Tie Shitou, who had just left, returned.

And it brought news that surprised Duan Yu.

Empress Dowager Dong summoned him to the palace.