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

Governor's Office, Council Hall.

After returning from Chen Qing'an's camp outside the city, Li Ru went to Duan Yu's governor's mansion.

After Duan Yu left, most of the basic administrative affairs of Liangzhou were handed over to Li Ru.

However, he usually handles most of his government affairs at the county government office in Ji County.

Unless there is an urgent and extremely important matter.

Just like now.

In the political hall.

Besides Li Ru himself, there was Yang Fu, the prefect of Hanyang Commandery, and Chen Qing'an, the military commander of Hanyang Commandery, Liu Baitu, Jiang Xu, and Yan Zhong.

At this moment, everyone was seated in the lower position, while Dong Yi was seated behind the beaded curtain in the main position.

Since Duan Yu was not in Liangzhou, important matters in Liangzhou were handled by officials at all levels. Although Dong Yi was the nominal first wife, she would not participate in political affairs.

Dong Yi only attends as an observer when there is something extremely urgent to discuss.

At this moment, everyone sitting in the hall had extremely solemn expressions.

Especially Chen Qing'an and Liu Baitu.

Anger, urgency, and suppressed emotions were written all over his face.

The contents of the secret letter sent from Hedong County have already been revealed to everyone.

Liu Hong is dead.

Crown Prince Liu Xie ascended the throne before the coffin.

Empress He was demoted because she harbored ulterior motives, and was subsequently pursued by the court.

To cover Empress He's escape, Duan Liuqing disappeared after blocking Yuan Shu's Tiger Army at Caoyang Pavilion.

Subsequently, Yuan Shu arrested Wang Hunu and Tieshitou in the city.

Wang Hunu was captured by Yuan Shu while covering Tie Shitou's wife and children's escape from the city.

Later, in order not to implicate Tie Shitou, he chose to commit suicide in Anyi County.

Tie Shitou led his troops to surround Anyi, trapping Yuan Shu's elite Tiger Army inside the city.

The matter described in the secret letter would have been a huge deal if any of these things had been brought to light in the past.

And now, these events, each of which can be described as groundbreaking, have coincidentally come together.

The relationship between Tie Shitou, Chen Qing'an, Wang Hunu, and Liu Baitu is self-evident.

All four were among the earliest members of Duan Yu's community.

This was also the core group that Duan Yu had when he first started out.

They are very close friends.

The four were childhood playmates, fellow villagers, and brothers who could entrust their lives to each other.

Now that Wang Hunu has died for the sake of brotherhood, one can imagine how furious Tie Shitou is in Anyi.

Li Ru first bowed to Dong Yi, who was sitting behind the table, to show his respect.

He then turned his gaze to the crowd.

"I'm sure everyone is already aware of the contents of the secret letter," Li Ru said slowly.

Everyone nodded in agreement, waiting for Li Ru to continue.

"I have already sent people to the Western Regions with great speed to inform you, but it will definitely take some time before you receive the message and return."

"If it were a trivial matter, we could simply wait for your return, but... I'm sure you all know that what happened this time is no small matter."

"Given your character, I think there's no need to say anything more."

Chen Qing'an clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, saying, "Lord Jun will definitely avenge Hu Nu, definitely..."

Li Ru nodded in agreement.

Definitely.

The four generals of Jinyang—Tie Shitou, Wang Hunu, Chen Qing'an, and Liu Baitu—were all like brothers.

They also have a teacher, Gao Shun.

Among the Bingzhou faction were the Zhang brothers, Hao Zhao, and others.

These people now hold important positions in Liangzhou.

Putting everything else aside, from an emotional standpoint alone, Duan Yu would definitely avenge Wang Hunu.

Dong Yi, sitting behind the beaded curtain, was also very clear about this.

"You are all familiar with your lord's character. I predict that if you knew about this matter, you would definitely return first."

"Your Majesty's army is still near Yutian. If the army were to turn back, even if only the cavalry were brought back, the journey alone would take more than half a month."

"Moreover, there are still 20,000 infantrymen. If the main army turns back, it will definitely not be able to return in less than a month."

Marching a large army is not as simple as one might imagine.

Everyone needs rest.

Just as people need to rest, sleep, and eat, warhorses also need to rest.

Moreover, most of the time, a man can grit his teeth and die, but a warhorse cannot.

Aside from eating and resting, the most important factors for an army marching are the route and the weather.

When the weather is good, one can travel thirty or forty li a day.

When the weather is bad, it can take three to five days to walk even thirty or forty miles.

Weather changes can also cause diseases and other problems.

An army of over 30,000 men, along with tens of thousands of corvée laborers, would take far too long to travel back from the Western Regions, thousands of miles away.

Based on Li Ru's assessment of Duan Yu's character, he predicted that Duan Yu would immediately return alone once he received this news.

Only in this way can we maximize the speed.

"Now that Yuan Shu is trapped in Anyi, the Yuan family will definitely not let this matter rest, and General Tie..."

"General Tie's actions are certainly understandable, but I think Yuan Wei will definitely make a fuss about it."

"General Tie's actions have violated the laws of the imperial court."

Chen Qing'an's face was filled with anger: "It was clearly Yuan Shu who acted inhumanely first, yet he wants to pin the blame on Shi Tou. Why is that!"

Liu Baitu suddenly stood up and said in an icy voice, "You don't need to lift a finger, Lord Jun. I have my own ways to kill him!"

"General Chen, Commandant Liu," Li Ru quickly reached out and pressed down on the two men, saying, "Please listen to me."

"This matter is definitely not as simple as you think."

Li Ru secretly made his plans.

Whether it was the downfall of the He family or the attack on He Lingsi who had escaped.

Behind all of this is a vast, secretly orchestrated network.

And the target of this net is definitely not the He family.

Destroying the He family would be too easy.

With Liu Hong dead, the He family is nothing but a paper tiger. Without the power of the Grand General, they can be easily wiped out by a few people.

Xiang Zhuang's sword dance was aimed at Liu Bang!

From the very beginning, this was Yuan Wei's plan to target Duan Yu.

Given Duan Yu's relationship with the He family, and the question of whose child He Lingsi was carrying, it's not hard to make the connection.

Once He Lingsi is caught, even if the child has no relation to Duan Yu, rumors will still circulate that they do.

He engaged in licentious behavior in the imperial harem and secretly had an affair with the empress.

Once this gets out, there will truly be nowhere left to hide in the world.

Even if the troops in Liangzhou are powerful, Duan Yu will never be able to leave Liangzhou.

No one in the world will stand on Duan Yu's side anymore.

Even in Liangzhou, a large number of officials resigned and left.

Definitely.

Therefore, arresting He Lingsi, Tie Shitou, and Wang Hunu was all aimed at Duan Yu.

Given this situation, and with Yuan Shu now trapped in Anyi, how could the cunning Yuan Kui not make preparations?

So the day Duan Yu returns will be the day he falls into the trap Yuan Wei has prepared.

To avenge Wang Hunu by killing Yuan Shu would be a heinous crime.

Leading troops out of Liangzhou is a crime of treason.

Li Ru even suspected that Yuan Wei, that old fox, might even sacrifice Yuan Shu, the eldest son of the Yuan family.

One of the same legitimate sons could directly exchange for Duan Yu's life.

This possibility is not impossible.

As a strategist, one naturally has to consider the worst-case scenario for everything.

We cannot afford to take any chances.

Therefore, he needed to make some plans before Duan Yu returned.

"Gentlemen, if we want to avoid being passive when our lord returns, and to prevent our lord from being passive, we must make some preparations in advance."

"Miss."

Li Ru looked at Dong Yi and cupped his hands, saying, "This matter is of great importance, and I, Li Ru, cannot make the decision on my own. Now that the Marquis is not in Liangzhou, no one can make the decision on this matter."

“But… for the sake of Your Majesty’s great cause, I, Li Ru, am willing to bear the consequences of this matter.”

"If any negative consequences arise from the decision I, Li Ru, made today, I will bear them alone, and it will have nothing to do with any of you present here."

"If there is any overstepping of authority, it is solely my doing, Li Ru, and has nothing to do with any of you present here today."

“What you have heard and experienced today, Miss, will serve as witness to the day when Lord Hou returns.” After saying this, Li Ru bowed again to Dong Yi.

Sitting behind the beaded curtain, Dong Yi, dressed in a long black dress, nodded slightly and said, "Uncle Li served my father wholeheartedly in the past, and now he serves my husband. I believe that everything Uncle Li does is for the sake of the Lord."

Chen Qing'an and Liu Baitu, who were standing, exchanged a glance and then bowed to Li Ru.

"Mr. Li, we two will share the consequences of everything that happened today!"

Chen Qingan and Liu Baitu said in unison.

"Very well, since that's the case, then I, Li Ru, will boldly devise a plan for your sake, my lord!"

After saying that, Li Ru's aura suddenly changed.

The fine white embroidery on the black robe stretched out like a giant spider web.

"One of the reasons why you, my lord, have returned this time is that you have lost your troops."

"Therefore, the most important task at present is to build a new army."

"Although there are troops stationed in various parts of Liangzhou, they cannot be deployed without authorization in order to guard against the Qiang people and other Hu tribes in various places."

"It's hard to say how this incident will develop in the future, but it will definitely exceed everyone's expectations."

“Therefore, the first priority is to recruit soldiers,” Li Ru said. “Fortunately, the ‘Liangzhou Battle Record’ has already shown initial results. The ‘one person enlists and the whole family is honored’ that you mentioned has been established in Liangzhou for a long time. I believe that it will not be long before we can recruit a strong army.”

"Secondly, there's intelligence."

Li Ru looked in the direction of Liu Baitu and said, "The Yuan family will definitely not sit idly by and wait for death. There are also the gentry of Hedong and the gentry of Hongnong County."

"Therefore, the Grand Council needs to concentrate a large number of personnel on Hedong, Hongnong, and even Youfufeng, Zuofengyi, and Jingzhao Yin, etc..."

"Recruiting soldiers is the first priority, intelligence is the second, and the remaining task is the supply routes."

"If Your Excellency leads your troops out of Liangzhou, you must ensure that provisions are delivered first."

"There is only one way out of Liang. If we want to advance as quickly as possible, we need to gather food and supplies along the route in advance."

“Miss, Madam Zhen has always been in charge of commerce and trade. This matter still needs to be handled by Madam Zhen herself. In the name of Liangzhou Commerce and Trade, the grain and fodder should be arranged in advance. I would like to trouble you to discuss this with Madam Zhen.”

Dong Yi, sitting behind the beaded curtain, nodded.

“There’s another issue that requires Miss’s intervention,” Li Ru said.

"Uncle Li, please speak. I will do my best to help."

Li Ru nodded and said, "When you went to war in the Western Regions, almost all of your generals accompanied you on the expedition, and the remaining troops also need to be stationed in various places in Liangzhou."

"If a major war is launched, I'm afraid we won't have enough generals and men under our command."

"But Ji County has a force that can be mobilized immediately. If they are willing, then this matter can be resolved!"