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

The Han army camp outside Hangu Pass was divided into four camps.

There were four large camps in total, stretching for dozens of miles.

The central army camp consisted of 20,000 infantry and cavalry led by Grand Commandant Zhang Wen from Luoyang, while the left and right flanks were each guarded by 50,000 troops led by Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun.

As for the rear army, it consisted of over 100,000 White Wave soldiers from Zhao'an.

Although the White Wave Army had the largest number of soldiers, in terms of combat strength, it was not even as good as the 20,000 infantry and cavalry that Zhang Wen brought from Luoyang.

Most of these 100,000-plus people were laborers, transporting grain and supplies.

When it comes to attacking Hangu Pass, the main force was still Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song.

At this time, news of Duan Yu's arrival at Hangu Pass had already reached Zhang Wen's central army.

Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, Yuan Ji, and the loyal and righteous General Yang Feng all sat to the left and right of Zhang Wen.

Yang Feng was the first to be frightened when he heard that Duan Yu had arrived at Hangu Pass.

Last month, Yang Feng witnessed Duan Yu's ferocity firsthand in the battle at Fenshui in Baibo Valley.

The scene of carnage still lingered in Yang Feng's mind.

Legend has it that Duan Yu became famous in Jinyang because of his unparalleled archery skills.

However, in Yang Feng's understanding, even the most unparalleled archery skills were nothing more than hitting a willow leaf from a hundred paces away, never missing a shot, or shooting arrows in rapid succession.

But the arrows Duan Yu shot were simply inhuman.

The sky was filled with golden light, and he single-handedly killed countless soldiers in the army led by Guo Tai and others.

A single charge decimated tens of thousands of troops.

After the battle, Yang Feng went to see the soldiers who had been shot dead by Duan Yu.

Each one of them killed several people with a single arrow.

Gulu.

Upon hearing Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song say that Duan Yu had arrived, Yang Feng unconsciously swallowed.

Zhang Wen, whose hair was already half-gray, also looked solemn.

“Duan Yu’s bravery is beyond our ability to defeat,” Zhang Wen said earnestly. “Hangu Pass was already easy to defend and difficult to attack, and now that Duan Yu has personally led his troops here, we are afraid we will have to return empty-handed this time.”

“Continuing to deplete our supplies and troops like this is not a solution. I believe we should write to the court as soon as possible to withdraw our troops and return to Luoyang, and then make further plans next year.”

Upon hearing Zhang Wen's words, the expressions of the people in the tent varied.

Yang Feng naturally had a hundred reasons.

Anyone who wants to fight Duan Yu can fight him; he certainly doesn't.

Yuan Ji, dressed in a white robe, lowered his head and looked thoughtful.

Zhang Wen is here on behalf of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun were the deputy generals.

As for Yuan Ji, he served as a military supervisor in the capacity of Grand Master of the Palace at this time.

withdraw troops.......

"Grand Commandant."

After some deliberation, Yuan Ji looked at Zhang Wen and cupped his hands, saying, "The Empress Dowager and I have been ordered to break through Hangu Pass. Although breaking through Hangu Pass has not been successful, if we retreat without even fighting Duan Yu, wouldn't that be encouraging the enemy and diminishing our own prestige?"

"To petition the court to withdraw troops in this way is tantamount to escaping with your back, and I'm afraid the Empress Dowager will blame us."

As soon as Yuan Ji finished speaking, Zhu Jun, who was sitting opposite Yuan Ji, looked at Zhang Wen at the same time.

"Correct!"

"Grand Commandant, Duan Yu is also a human being. Although we cannot conquer Hangu Pass, Duan Yu cannot lead his troops out either."

Zhu Jun said emphatically, "Even if we send troops out of Hangu Pass, we still have to cross the Hongnong River. Duan Yu is very powerful, but not all of his troops are Duan Yu's. As long as we hold the Hongnong River or lay an ambush behind us, if Duan Yu dares to lead his troops out of the pass, we have a chance to defeat him."

"We have more than 200,000 troops, what do we have to fear from Duan Yu?"

Huangfu Song nodded slightly.

That's right, Zhu Jun is correct.

The terrain of Hangu Pass made it inconvenient for either the attacking or defending side to launch an attack.

Duan Yu's martial prowess is formidable, but he is not a god.

As long as many obstacles are set up along the banks of the Hongnong River, Duan Yu will not be able to leave the pass.

Zhang Wen took a deep breath, then nodded and said, "Alright, in that case, let's give it a try."

Anyway, there's only a little over a month until winter, so we can just wait another month or so before withdrawing our troops.

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

The next morning.

The rising morning light shone on the thick walls of Hangu Pass.

The dew that condensed at night dripped from the rubble of the three-story gate tower above the city gate.

As dawn breaks, another day of fighting begins.

However, the soldiers on the city wall today were clearly in even higher spirits than yesterday.

Wearing golden armor adorned with dragon scales and a red cloak, Duan Yu followed Dong Zhuo and his companion up the walls of Hangu Pass.

Zhao Yun, Zhao Feng, Tie Shitou, and Wang Erhu followed behind.

“Ziyi, Chang’an has just been pacified, and you have so many things to attend to. Why bother coming here in person?”

As Dong Zhuo walked, he said, "With their abilities, they won't be able to breach the walls of Hangu Pass by this time next year."

"As long as I'm here, Ziyi, you can rest assured and just focus on stabilizing the situation in Chang'an."

Duan Yu smiled and nodded, saying, "I am naturally at ease with my father-in-law here at Hangu Pass. However, I have some other purposes for coming here this time. If it is just about guarding the pass, my father-in-law is enough to handle it himself."

Dong Zhuo laughed loudly, "How are Yi'er and Mu'er? I haven't seen Xu Jiu, and I miss them terribly."

"Yi'er often misses her father-in-law. Mu'er has grown taller and can already call him maternal grandfather. This year, on New Year's Day, her father-in-law will return to Chang'an, and our family will reunite to celebrate the New Year together."

Dong Zhuo nodded repeatedly: "Good, good, let's go back and reunite for the New Year."

"I, Dong Zhuo, have never done anything truly right in my life. But now it seems that marrying Yi'er to you was the best decision I ever made. Yi'er is so lucky to have a husband like you."

Duan Yu shook his head modestly.

His achievements today are considerable.

But all of this stemmed from Dong Zhuo's promotion and assistance during their time in Jinyang.

Isn't everything he has now exactly what Dong Zhuo had in history?

It's as if Dong Zhuo had given him everything, including his daughter.

They even volunteered to help him guard the city gate.

"I am where I am today because of my father-in-law's love and Yi'er's unwavering support," Duan Yu said.

Dong Zhuo laughed and patted his armor.

The two laughed as they walked up the wall of Hangu Pass and looked towards the distant area beyond the pass.

After just one glance, Dong Zhuo let out a soft exclamation.

"Huh!" Dong Zhuo said in surprise, "Why isn't there an attack on the city today?"

"At this time of year, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun would have already begun their attacks on the city. Why haven't they even assembled their troops today?"

As Dong Zhuo spoke, he looked carefully towards the outside of the city gate.

Duan Yu followed Dong Zhuo's gaze and looked out.

In the distance, on the opposite bank of the Hongnong River, squads of Han soldiers were pushing ballistae pulled by horse-drawn carts and setting them up on the other side of the river.

Beyond the dense array of ballistae, there were also rows of enormous shields.

Only a gap remained for the ballista to fire its bolts.

From a distance, it looks like a steel fortress.

In addition to the ballistae along the riverbank, there were also many ballistae mounted on the siege towers.

More than a dozen towers, each several meters tall, were all aimed at the direction of Hangu Pass.

Upon seeing this, Duan Yu immediately smiled.

"Why is Ziyi laughing?" Dong Zhuo asked, puzzled as he watched the Han army's movements in the distance.

This doesn't seem like an attack on Hangu Pass; it looks more like... it looks like a defense.

"Father-in-law, they're probably... a little scared," Duan Yu said with a smile.

Now, the only things that can threaten him are these powerful ballistae and crossbows.

Generally, the range of this type of ballista is 800 paces, while the range of a powerful crossbow is 300 paces.

Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song were both old acquaintances of his.

They also knew that his archery skills were unparalleled, and that if he charged close, he would be like a mowing grass, reaping the harvest.

That's why I came up with this method.

They used the same method that Beigong Boyu had devised to ambush and kill him, preventing him from leaving Hangu Pass.

They used crossbows and crossbow formations to keep him away.

However, on the other hand, this trick does work.

With so many crossbows and crossbows, no one can get past them.

What was a perfectly good offensive play has now been turned into a defensive one by Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun.

Duan Yu now expresses great doubt.

Will they build a fortress on the opposite bank of the Hongnong River after some time, or rather, build a city to block him from leaving Hangu Pass?

The soldiers at Hangu Pass, who were already prepared for battle, were now looking curiously at the Han army on the opposite bank of the Hongnong River.

Duan Yu originally intended to give the Han army outside Hangu Pass a taste of their power.

The way Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun are doing things now is a bit difficult to handle.

Across the Hongnong River outside Hangu Pass.

Hundreds of meters away from the ballista array, Grand Commandant Zhang Wen, Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, Yuan Ji, and others watched Hangu Pass from afar.

The fact that Duan Yuguang used a bow and arrow to kill Guo Tai and others last time is already well known to everyone.

Therefore, at this moment, no one dared to get too close to Hangu Pass.

Who knows if Duan Yu will snipe them with a stray arrow?

The group wanted to see what Duan Yu's intentions were in coming to Hangu Pass.

Yang Feng followed behind the group, watching as hundreds of ballistae and more than a dozen ballistae set up on towers were all aimed at Hangu Pass. He finally felt less afraid.

As time went by, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun let out a soft exclamation.

The gates of Hangu Pass, which had been tightly closed, suddenly opened.

Immediately afterwards, a tall and imposing figure rode a black tiger and slowly walked out from the heavy gate.

Duan Yu!

"It's Duan Yu!"

Zhu Jun stared wide-eyed at Duan Yu, who was slowly walking out of Hangu Pass.