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

East of Lijue Pass, the Liangzhou army's main camp was located on the flat land between the valleys behind Lijue Pass.

Lijue Pass, later known as the Iron Gate Pass, is a natural and formidable pass that stretches across the northern route of the Western Regions.

This area was formed by an earthquake zone extending from the Tianshan Mountains, connecting the Tianshan Mountains to the north and stretching across the Gobi Desert to the south.

It was also the only route from Kucha eastward to Yanqi.

A tributary flowing from east to west through Bosten Lake passes through this area, forming a rare oasis in the desert.

Just a few days earlier, on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, the Liangzhou army defeated the Yanqi Kingdom, located east of Lijue Pass, with overwhelming force.

The eighth day of the fourth lunar month was an extremely important festival in the Yanqi Kingdom.

Like the Kingdom of Cheshi, the Kingdom of Yanqi revered Buddhism and held a very important fasting and pilgrimage event on the 8th day of the fourth lunar month. All the people and monks would hold a memorial ceremony on this day.

Duan Yu learned of this news and subsequently led his cavalry to hide near Liangcheng, the capital of Yanqi, on the seventh day of the fourth month.

However, on the eighth day of the fourth month, they suddenly launched an attack on Yanqi and captured King Yuanlong of Yanqi.

King Yuanlong of Yanqi then declared his submission to the Han Dynasty and sent his prince to Liangzhou as a hostage.

Duan Yu also ordered a Liangzhou army to be left behind and asked Yanqi to send troops to cooperate in the campaign against Wusun.

King Yuanlong of Yanqi assigned the three thousand most elite troops of Liangcheng to Duan Yu.

East of Lijue Pass, inside the Liangzhou army's main camp.

Duan Yu was sitting upright in his central command tent.

The floor inside the large tent was covered with soft blankets.

A small table was placed across Duan Yu's face.

The table was laden with fresh fish, lamb, freshly slaughtered beef, and dried fruit and wine from the Western Regions.

The silver wine glasses and bowls and chopsticks are full of texture.

Wearing only a black robe, Duan Yu's chest was open, revealing his granite-like pectoral muscles and his well-defined abdominal muscles, which looked as if they had been sculpted by the heavens themselves.

The black robe was embroidered with cloud patterns in gold thread, luxurious yet dignified.

In front of Duan Yu, who was lying on his side, Yi Mei nestled against his chest like a tamed Persian cat.

Her long, gilded hair flowed down to her waist like molten gold, with two strands of hair at her temples adorned with precious peacock blue glass beads.

Those emerald green eyes resembled turquoise polished by the desert winds, with gold leaf-painted vine patterns at the slightly upturned corners, exuding a unique, languid charm.

Her nose was high and straight like a snow-capped peak, her lips were full like ripe poplar fruit, and the natural upturn of her lips always carried a faint smile.

There is a captivating charm in every frown and smile.

When those bare feet stepped onto the velvet carpet, the snake-shaped gold bracelets coiled around their ankles revealed their scale-like patterns, creating a striking contrast with the jade-inlaid leather belt around their waist.

Compared to Han Chinese women, the wildness emanating from Yi Mei's voluptuous figure was enough to ignite the most primal urges in any male.

Besides Duan Yu and Yi Mei, there were two other blonde, blue-eyed beauties from the Western Regions beside him, gently feeding Duan Yu wine from wine glasses.

Duan Yu, with one hand twirling Yi Mei's golden hair, took a sip of the fine wine.

Footsteps sounded outside the tent.

Following the sound of footsteps, Duan Yu looked toward Jia Xu, Xun You, and Cheng Yu who were walking out of the camp.

When the three arrived at the camp gate and saw the situation inside, they immediately lowered their heads.

"Wenhe, Gongda, Zhongde, you've arrived." Duan Yu sat up and looked at the three people outside the camp.

The three men standing in front of the tent bowed and said, "My lord, we have come up with a plan to quickly defeat the enemy."

"Oh?"

Duan Yu raised an eyebrow: "Come in and talk."

The three entered the tent and sat down on either side of Duan Yu.

After sitting down, the three of them did not speak immediately, but instead looked at Yi Mei in Duan Yu's arms.

Just as Yi Mei was about to get up and say goodbye, Duan Yu gently pressed down on Yi Mei's shoulder.

Then, with a flick of his sleeve, he said, "There are no outsiders here, so let's just get straight to the point."

Duan Yu smiled as he looked at Yi Mei, who was being pulled into his arms, and said, "If it weren't for the information provided by Yi Mei, we wouldn't have been able to conquer Yanqi so quickly."

"Don't you think so?"

As Duan Yu spoke, he gently lifted Yi Mei's pointed chin with one hand.

Yimei smiled shyly: "This servant was just saying it casually."

Jia Xu, sitting below, frowned deeply.

"Tell me, what strategy have you devised to defeat the enemy?" Duan Yu asked.

"My Lord".

Xun You cupped his hands and said, "After leaving Lijue Pass, we arrived in the territory of Kucha, but so far it is not clear whether Kucha is cooperating with Wusun."

"If Kucha cooperates with Wusun, it will probably be impossible to conquer it in a short time."

"Kucha has high walls and thick walls, and its soldiers are well-trained and well-supplied. If it were to be aided by the Wusun cavalry, forming a pincer movement from the inside and outside, it would be disadvantageous to us."

"Now that the battle lines have been extended, transporting grain from Liangzhou to here requires passing through Gaochang and Yanqi, a journey of nearly two thousand miles. Currently, there are not enough laborers to transport the grain."

"If the war is to last for a long time, at least 100,000 laborers will need to be conscripted to transport supplies."

"Therefore, the only right way is to fight a quick battle and resolve the issue quickly."

"If this continues, the consumption will be too great."

Duan Yu nodded after hearing this.

Currently, 100,000 people have been conscripted to launch this war.

If another 100,000 laborers were to be conscripted, it would be a huge burden for Liangzhou.

The total population of Liangzhou is now only about 1.6 million.

One-third of them are young adults.

That is, around 500,000.

If 200,000 able-bodied men were to be conscripted, one can imagine the state of production and life in Liangzhou would be in.

"Gongda makes sense," Duan Yu nodded slowly in reply.

"Therefore, Wenhe, Zhongde, and I discussed and decided to use the strategy of leading troops to defeat the enemy!" Xun You said.

"How do we lead the troops?" Duan Yu asked.

After a slight hesitation, Xun You said, "My lord, this is an excellent ambush site."

"From this place, there is a flat expanse of yellow sand for a thousand miles around. No large-scale battle can be concealed here; the only way to take it is by force."

"If the Wusun continue to fight us, that's fine. But I'm afraid the Wusun will fight and then flee, and we will retreat and then return."

"With Kucha holding firm, it will be difficult for you, my lord, to win."

"Therefore, we have decided to use a strategy of luring the enemy."

Duan Yu stood up and said to the outside of the camp, "Meng Qi, bring me the map."

Ma Chao, who was standing outside the camp, immediately took out a sheepskin map.

Duan Yu walked to the middle of the three and spread the map directly on the ground.

Jia Xu, Xun You, and Cheng Yu also gathered around.

Xun You pointed in the direction of Kucha and said, "The Wusun should currently be stationed near Kucha."

“The Wusun are a nomadic people, while the Kucha are a city-state. I have already told you about this before.”

"The Wusun were mostly cavalry, and they were extremely fast in wartime."

"Your Majesty can send troops to lure the Wusun into open field battle with cavalry, and then feign defeat and retreat towards Lijue Pass to lure the Wusun troops to follow and attack."

"And here..."

"It's the perfect ambush spot."

Duan Yu listened and nodded repeatedly: "Very good, not bad."

"In that case, let's do as you say."

............

After some discussion.

Jia Xu, Xun You, and Cheng Yu then left Duan Yu's tent.

Outside the tent, the three walked side by side toward the distant military camp.

Jia Xu stood with his hands tucked into his sleeves, his expression serious and silent.

"Wenhe..."

Xun You asked, "Why didn't Wenhe speak just now? This plan to lure the enemy was proposed by Wenhe."

Jia Xu kept his head down, his dissatisfaction written all over his face.

It was Cheng Yu, who was standing to the side and was quite straightforward, who spoke first.

"Gongda, don't you think the Lord has changed?" Cheng Yu turned around and glanced in the direction of Duan Yu's tent behind him, saying, "The Lord has never been like this before."

"How can a completely unrelated female relative be present during a military meeting that involves such important matters?"

"That woman is clearly a femme fatale."

Xun You took a deep breath, shook his head, and said, "Your Excellency should... should do more than this."

"That's not all?" Cheng Yu denied, saying with a serious expression, "Indulging in female entertainment and neglecting state affairs will lead to the downfall of the country."

“Zhongde, be careful what you say!” Xun You immediately interrupted.

However, Cheng Yu seemed to deliberately raise his voice, and while looking behind him, he loudly proclaimed: "My strength can uproot mountains, my spirit can cover the world, but the times are against me, and my steed will not go. My steed will not go, what can I do? Yu, my Yu, what can I do for you!"

"Aren't these lessons enough?"

Xun You's expression changed.

Jia Xu, standing to the side, sighed: "Zhongde, shut up, my lord... my lord should not stop here."

“I have known you the longest, and I believe you are only relaxing for a moment.”

Cheng Yu turned his head and said angrily, "If you ask me, it's all because of this beautiful woman who seduced you, Lord Jun. She deserves to die!"

..............

Book of Wei

Yanqi Kingdom was located south of Cheshi, with its capital at Yuanqu City, seventy li south of Baishan Mountain. It was an ancient kingdom during the Han Dynasty. It was 12,000 li from Dai.

Their writing system is the same as that of the Brahmins. They worship gods and also believe in Buddhism. They especially value the eighth day of the second and fourth months, on which the entire country follows Buddhism, fasting and practicing the Way.

PS: According to the Book of Wei, Buddhism was quite prevalent in the Western Regions at that time, and there is also the Thousand Buddha Caves in Kucha.